Amendments that would have directed the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to broaden access to Section 301 exclusions and would have liberalized the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program will not get a vote when the America Competes Act gets a vote on the House floor this week, but the Ocean Shipping Reform Act will get a vote. That bill passed the House last year, but has not gotten a vote in the Senate.

The Court of International Trade heard oral argument on Feb. 1 over whether lists 3 and 4A of Section 301 tariffs were properly imposed, marking one of the largest cases in the CIT's history. The hourslong affair saw the judges push back on arguments made by both the Department of Justice and the plaintiffs, with significant attention paid to the procedural elements of the president's decision to impose the retaliatory Section 301 tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods. In all, the three-judge panel of Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves heard from the Department of Justice, counsel for the test case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, and amici.

The Court of International Trade heard oral argument on Feb. 1 over whether lists 3 and 4A of Section 301 tariffs were properly imposed, marking one of the largest cases in the CIT's history. The hourslong affair saw the judges push back on arguments made by both the Department of Justice and the plaintiffs, with significant attention paid to the procedural elements of the president's decision to impose the retaliatory Section 301 tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods. In all, the three-judge panel of Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves heard from the Department of Justice, counsel for the test case plaintiffs HMTX Industries and Jasco Products, and amici.

The 1974 Trade Act and the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act (APA) “impose obligations of opportunities to comment by stakeholders and reasoned decision-making” by the federal agencies involved, said attorney Joseph Palmore of Morrison & Foerster on behalf of amici CTA, the National Retail Federation and five other trade associations in Section 301 oral argument Tuesday before the U.S. Court of International Trade. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative “complied with neither” statute in the Lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings, Palmore told the court's three-judge panel.

Sandler Travis managing principal Nicole Bivens Collinson said that Sandler Travis is working with companies to develop comments to the federal government on how to implement the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (see 2201210031) because a lot of companies don't want their names on their comments. "We are creating an ad hoc coalition because I know a lot of companies don't want to go on record," partly "because they may be a global operation that has operations in China," she said, while speaking on a recent webinar hosted by the firm. China prohibits companies from adhering to foreign laws that negatively impact the country.

The Americans for Free Trade coalition, which would like the Section 301 tariffs removed entirely, said Congress must act to spur the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to institute a broad exclusion process for the China tariffs. The group sent a letter to the House speaker and minority leader asking that two amendments on an exclusion process be allowed a vote, and they said they encourage members to vote for the amendments.

Thirteen groups that represent business interests told House leaders that they strongly oppose the changes to de minimis in the trade title of the America Competes Act, the House answer to the Senate China bill that passed last year.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 24-30:

The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:

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.