All active judges at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 31 heard oral argument in the lead case on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The 11 judges peppered counsel for the government and the parties challenging the tariffs, which include five importers and 12 U.S. states, with questions about whether the statute authorizes tariffs at all; whether there are limits to that tariff authority, should it exist; and whether the major questions or non-delegation doctrines strip IEEPA of its ability to convey tariff authority (V.O.S. Selections v. Trump, Fed. Cir. # 25-1812).
The following lawsuit was filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
The Court of International Trade on July 29 signed off on importer Briggs & Stratton's dismissal of its case on CBP's assessment of excess duties, taxes and fees on its engine parts and components (see 2301250071). The importer filed its notice of dismissal last month (see 2506270029). Briggs & Stratton brought the suit to argue that the duties were added due to clerical and technical errors. The case was previously dismissed for lack of prosecution, though the trade court re-added it to the court's docket after the company asked for relief (see 2502040015) Counsel for Briggs & Stratton didn't respond to a request for comment on the reason for dismissal (Briggs & Stratton Corp. v. United States, CIT # 23-00014).
In a July 25 complaint to the Court of International Trade, Chinese xanthan gum exporter Deosen Biochemical (Ordos) alleged the Commerce Department’s 10th antidumping duty review of its products wrongly assigned it partial adverse facts available for a sales date disagreement (Deosen Biochemical v. United States, CIT # 25-00145).
Defending a motion for reconsideration, the U.S. said again July 23 that fish oil importer BASF Corp.’s products should have been classified as “food preparations” and that the Court of International Trade defined “fish extracts” too broadly. The trade court failed to address several U.S. points raised during litigation, so the standard for reconsideration has been met, it claimed (BASF Corp. v. United States, CIT Consol. # 13-00318).
The Court of International Trade on July 29 lifted its statutory injunction on the liquidation of exporter Siderca's entries of oil country tubular goods from Argentina after importers led by Tenaris Bay City asked the court to lift its injunction. Judge Claire Kelly noted that although the importers appealed the trade court's decision sustaining the Commerce Department's dumping determination, the appeal only concerns the agency's initiation of the investigation and the "continued existence" of the antidumping duty order (Tenaris Bay City Inc. v. United States, CIT # 22-00343).
Countervailing duty petitioner U.S. Epoxy Resin Producers Ad Hoc Coalition on July 25 filed a complaint at the Court of International Trade challenging the Commerce Department's CVD investigation into epoxy resins from South Korea. The six-count complaint challenged, among other things, Commerce's alleged failure to use world price benchmarks in calculating the benefit from the provision of epichlorohydrin, a key epoxy resin input, and the agency's decision not to investigate the provision of certain chemical inputs for less than adequate remuneration (U.S. Epoxy Resin Producers Ad Hoc Coalition v. U.S., CIT # 25-00147).
The U.S. filed its reply briefs in a pair of appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on whether challenges to the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act belong in the Court of International Trade. Responding to arguments from the State of California and various members of the Blackfeet Nation indigenous tribe, the government said the case "arises out of" President Donald Trump's executive orders implementing the tariffs and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, giving CIT exclusive jurisdiction under Section 1581(i) (State of California v. Trump, 9th Cir. # 25-3493) (Susan Webber v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 9th Cir. # 25-2717).
The Court of International Trade on July 29 denied importers Johanna Foods' and Johanna Beverage Company's application for a temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump's threatened 50% tariff on Brazil. Judge Timothy Reif held that the importers failed to show "a likelihood that immediate and irreparable harm would occur before the threatened August 1, 2025 tariff" (Johanna Foods v. Executive Office of the President of the United States, CIT # 25-00155).
The Court of International Trade on July 31 sustained in part and remanded in part the Commerce Department's scope ruling on importer School Specialty's No. 2 pencils made in the Philippines with Chinese-origin raw material inputs. Judge M. Miller Baker held that Commerce failed to discuss how it balanced its various findings after conducting a "substantial transformation" analysis and looking at where the pencil's "essential component" was made. However, Baker individually sustained Commerce's conclusions regarding the different factors found in these analyses.