Court Sets 2 More Status Conferences in Section 301 Litigation
DOJ lawyers “are still conferring internally” about modifications proposed by the Section 301 plaintiffs to the July 6 preliminary injunction (PI) order freezing liquidations of unliquidated customs entries from China with Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure, said a government…
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filing at the U.S. Court of International Trade in docket 1:21-cv-5200 (in Pacer), made “under protest” due to defendants’ opposition to the PI. “A lack of response to any specific proposal should not be interpreted as agreeing to that proposal,” said DOJ. The government supports reliquidating, if the plaintiffs win the litigation, any entries that liquidated inadvertently during the PI order’s temporary restraining order (TRO) period due to Customs and Border Protection limitations, it said. “CBP only has the functionality to return liquidated entries to unliquidated status one entry at a time, and very few CBP personnel are knowledgeable and trained to utilize this very limited and extraordinary functionality,” said DOJ. The government has balked at accepting the plaintiffs’ proposal to obviate the need for CBP involvement by stipulating refunds would be available, at the end of the litigation if importers prevail on the merits, on all entries that liquidate in the normal course of business. The government missed Tuesday’s deadline for creating the “repository” required in the PI order for importers to identify for CBP which of their entries should not be liquidated. The repository is now due Aug. 6, said an order (in Pacer) signed Tuesday by Judges Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves. Chief Judge Mark Barnett, who dissented from the PI order, didn't sign. The court also extended the TRO period when no entries can liquidate to Sept. 2 from Aug. 2. The government wanted it extended to 30 days after the repository is created. Plaintiffs wanted a 90-day TRO. The judges scheduled two more virtual status conferences, one Friday at 11 a.m., the other Aug. 2 at 2 p.m. For both conferences, said Tuesday’s order, “the Parties are ordered to each bring an individual authorized to make decisions for the respective Party.”