An executive order issued by President Donald Trump April 17 directs the Commerce Department to reconsider aspects of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, among other things.
The U.S. filed motions to transfer the two cases challenging the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act filed in federal district courts to the Court of International Trade. In both cases, the government said the trade court has exclusive jurisdiction over the claims raised by both lawsuits, since they "arise out of laws providing for tariffs or the administration or enforcement of those laws" (Emily Ley Paper, d/b/a Simplified v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Fla. # 3:25-00464) (Susan Webber v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, D. Mont. # 4:25-00026).
International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
House Democrats, left and center, introduced a bill that would roll back all the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act -- 10% global tariffs and those on Canada and Mexico -- and would require that most tariffs, quotas, tariff rate quotas or concessions receive approval from Congress before going into effect.
The decline of U.S. commercial shipbuilding -- and the fact that it's not cost-competitive with Japanese and South Korean shipbuilding -- must be rectified, the administration said, but the precise details of how that can be accomplished are yet to be determined.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the lead Republican on a bill that would prevent future executive tariffs from lasting more than 60 days without an approval in Congress, said on a phone call with reporters that it was a deliberate choice not to have the bill roll back Section 232 tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, Section 301 tariffs on China, or tariffs on nearly all countries under the guise of national emergencies.
Importer GoLabs, doing business as GOTRAX, on April 4 dropped its customs suit at the Court of International Trade on the classification of its "hoverboards." The importer filed a complaint in February, alleging that dicycles with electric motors and gyroscopic balancing technology, marketed as hoverboards, are "children's cycles" and not "bicycles" (see 2502140057). The importer said the hoverboards fit under Harmonized Tariff Schedule subheading 9503.00.0090 and not subheading 8711.60.0050, which comes with a 25% Section 301 duty under secondary subheading 9903.88.02, as classified by CBP. John Peterson, counsel for GOTRAX, said the case will be refiled in a "week or so" due to a "minor jurisdictional glitch" (GoLabs Inc. v. United States, CIT # 25-00003).
The $1.5 million and $1 million docking fees proposed under the Section 301 shipbuilding case (see 2502240006) are "just those -- they're proposed actions," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., during an appearance in front of the Senate Finance Committee April 8.
President Donald Trump declared that if China doesn't withdraw its 34% retaliatory tariff hike, "above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a lawsuit on behalf of paper importer Emily Ley Paper, doing business as Simplified, on April 3 challenging President Donald Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose 20% tariffs on all goods from China. Filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Simplified laid out three constitutional and statutory claims against the use of IEEPA to impose tariffs and one claim that the tariffs violate the Administrative Procedure Act for unlawfully modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (Emily Ley Paper, doing business as Simplified v. Donald J. Trump, N.D. Fla. # 3:25-00464).