The U.S. opposed two importers' bid to have the Supreme Court hear their challenge to the president's ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has a chance to hear the case. The government argued that the high court shouldn't step in before either the D.C. Circuit or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has had a chance to address the claims against the IEEPA tariffs, particularly since both courts are hearing the appeals on very expedited timelines (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, Sup. Ct. # 24-1287).
The Court of International Trade's decision to vacate the executive orders imposing tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't "withstand close scrutiny," NYU Law School professor Samuel Estreicher and recent law school grad Andrew Babbit said in a blog post.
The U.S. on July 15 opposed importer Simplified's bid to have the Court of International Trade reconsider its stay of proceedings in its case against the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, arguing that Simplified's case will be resolved by the current appeal on the IEEPA tariffs before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Emily Ley Paper, d/b/a Simplified v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00096).
Importers Waaree Energies and ISS Global Forwarding Texas on July 14 dropped their case at the Court of International Trade on CBP's collection of excess safeguard duties on solar cell imports. The case was stayed pending resolution of Solar Energy Industries Association v. U.S., which concerned President Donald Trump's revocation of the tariff exclusion for bifacial solar panels. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in SEIA that the tariff exclusion revocation was lawful (see 2311130031) (Waaree Energies v. United States, CIT #22-00296).
The Court of International Trade on July 10 heard oral argument in importer Detroit Axle's case against President Donald Trump's decision to end the de minimis exemption for Chinese goods. Judges Gary Katzmann, Timothy Reif and Jane Restani pressed counsel for both the U.S. and the importer on whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act enables the president to take such action, given the specific language at play in both IEEPA and 19 U.S.C. 1321, the de minimis statute (Axle of Dearborn, d/b/a Detroit Axle v. Dep't of Commerce, CIT # 25-00091).
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in a July 10 text-only order, told parties in a case on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to file a joint status report that lays out the parties' proposed schedule to govern future proceedings at the district court. The case is currently on appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 2507030052). At the district court, Judge Rudolph Contereras held that the Court of International Trade doesn't have exclusive jurisdiction in the case, since IEEPA categorically doesn't provide for tariffs (see 2505290037) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, D.D.C. # 25-01248).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit set the oral argument date regarding two appeals against the legality of President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for Sept. 17. The 9th Circuit will be the second circuit court to hear arguments on the validity of the tariffs following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 31 (see 2506100076) (State of California v. Trump, 9th Cir. # 25-3493) (Susan Webber v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 9th Cir. # 25-2717).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit fielded a total of 20 amicus briefs regarding the lawsuit against the tariffs President Donald Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 18 of which supported the importers and U.S. states challenging the tariffs. The amicus briefs came from 191 current members of Congress, various business interests, former government officials, advocacy groups and economists (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, Fed. Cir. # 25-1812).
The Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. CASA limiting the ability for lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions doesn't affect the Court of International Trade's permanent injunction against President Donald Trump's executive orders implementing tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 12 U.S. states told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 8. The states, led by Oregon, argued in a reply brief that the trade court's injunction, which applied to parties not part of the lawsuit against the tariffs, is necessary to afford the states complete relief (V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, Fed. Cir. # 25-1812).
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