World Trade Organization members negatively affected by national security-related trade restrictions may be able to impose retaliatory measures as a way to address the U.S. gripe with the body's review of national security issues, former Office of the U.S. Trade Representative counsel Warren Maruyama and former WTO deputy director-general Alan Wolff said. In a working paper released by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Maruyama and Wolff propose a compromise to the U.S. position that national security claims are nonreviewable.
Any plaintiff in the massive Section 301 litigation looking to dismiss their case must comply with the court's rules to file a stipulation of dismissal signed by all parties who have appeared in the case, the Court of International Trade said in a text-only order. The court clarified that this rule, USCIT Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), applies in the present action since the U.S. filed a Master Answer in the overarching test case, meaning the answer is considered to be filed in each Section 301 case "now pending or hereafter filed" in the court. Certain companies have begun dismissing their challenges to the China tariffs following the trade court's ruling that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not violate the law when implementing them (see 2303170063) (In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT # 21-00052).
Importer DS Services on May 19 asked the Court of International Trade to dismiss a case it brought challenging the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's decision not to reinstate a Section 301 tariff exclusion on water coolers even after the only opposing party on record withdrew its opposition comments. The company argued USTR violated the Administrative Procedure Act because the agency failed to both explain its decision and to back it with substantial evidence. USTR then requested a voluntary remand to reconsider (see 2209010023) but stuck by its decision in its December remand results (see 2212150043). DS Services declined to comment on the dismissal request (DS Services of America v. U.S., CIT # 22-00157).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
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Plaintiffs in the massive Section 301 litigation officially filed on May 12 their notice of appeal of the Court of International Trade's decision upholding President Donald Trump's tariff action on China. The case was filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. CIT had agreed that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative complied with Administrative Procedure Act requirements when it set lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs (see 2303170063) (In Re Section 301 Cases, CIT # 21-00052).
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
While the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), an alternative to the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body, may work for the nations that want an appellate level of review of WTO panel decisions, it doesn't necessarily make sense for U.S. purposes, said Jamieson Greer, former chief of staff for the U.S. trade representative and partner at King & Spalding. Speaking at a May 8 Federalist Society event, Greer said that if the U.S. wanted another level of review at the WTO, the government would simply just start staffing up the AB again rather than pursue a solution under the MPIA.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was within its discretion when it declined to reinstate a Section 301 tariff exclusion on water coolers even after the only opposing party withdrew its comments, the DOJ said in an April 28 response to DS Services of America's remand comments at the Court of International Trade (DS Services of America v. United States, CIT # 22-00157).
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai officially signed the instrument of acceptance of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies deal struck at the 12th Ministerial Conference. With the signing, the U.S. became the fourth WTO member, and first large fishing nation, to formally accept the deal. Two-thirds of WTO members must accept the deal for it to take effect.