The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Sept. 9. The following headquarters rulings were modified recently, according to CBP:

Friday is the one-year anniversary of the first-filed Section 301 complaint alleging the Lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese goods are unlawful under the 1974 Trade Act and violate the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act protections against sloppy agency rulemakings (see 2009110041). Virtually all the roughly 3,800 cases from 6,500 or more importers that have since inundated the U.S. Court of International Trade seek to vacate the Lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded with interest. The court’s order Wednesday vacating components of its July 6 preliminary injunction order instructed the government to liquidate customs entries from China with Lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure “in the ordinary course” and refund the money with interest if the tariffs are declared unlawful, once the litigation becomes “final and conclusive” (see 2109080061). The order also frees the litigation to return to arguments on the merits after a prolonged battle over many months over refund relief. Oct. 1 is the deadline for DOJ to file papers supporting its June 1 dispositive motion and response to the plaintiffs’ Aug. 2 cross-motion. Nov. 15, the last date listed on the court’s April 13 briefing schedule (in Pacer), is when the plaintiffs file their reply.

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. feels its leverage has faded from 25% tariffs on hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and 7.5% tariffs on most of the rest. So, the report said, the administration is considering initiating another Section 301 report, which would focus on the impact on American businesses from Chinese subsidization of its industry. The same story said officials are "leaning toward" reinstituting tariff exclusions on some of the products already subject to tariffs, but also said no decision has been made.

The U.S. Court of International Trade vacated the repository requirement imposed in its July 6 preliminary injunction (PI) order for importers to request suspending the liquidation of customs entries from China with Section 301 Lists 3 or 4A tariff exposure, said an order (in Pacer) signed Wednesday by Judges Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves. The government will liquidate those entries “in the ordinary course” and refund the money with interest if the tariffs are declared unlawful, “should that decision become final and conclusive, including all appeals,” it said. The court also vacated the PI order’s temporary restraining order period when no entries could have liquidated, with or without the repository. Customs and Border Protection was to have activated the repository on Friday, and the TRO period was to have expired Oct. 2. The order is without prejudice on the issue of whether refunds will be limited to plaintiffs in the Section 301 cases that are the importers of record who actually paid the Lists 3 and List 4A duties, said the judges. DOJ said in a Sept. 3 joint status report (in Pacer) it would be impossible to refund any tariffs to anyone other than an importer of record that paid the money. Plaintiffs argued that the vast majority of the Section 301 cases were filed by importers of record, but that a few involved in some of the stayed cases don’t fit that description.

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

Sept. 10 is the one-year anniversary of the first-filed Section 301 complaint alleging the lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese goods are unlawful under the 1974 Trade Act and violate the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act. Virtually all the roughly 3,800 cases from 6,500 or more importers that have since inundated the Court of International Trade seek to vacate the lists 3 and 4A tariff rulemakings and get the duties refunded with interest. A court order Sept. 8 vacated components of its July 6 preliminary injunction order instructed the government to liquidate customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure “in the ordinary course” and refund the money with interest if the tariffs are declared unlawful, once the litigation becomes “final and conclusive” (see 2107060077). The order also frees the litigation to return to arguments on the merits after a prolonged battle over many months over refund relief. Oct. 1 is the deadline for Department of Justice to file papers supporting its June 1 dispositive motion and response to the plaintiffs’ Aug. 2 cross-motion. Nov. 15, the last date listed on the court’s April 13 briefing schedule, is when the plaintiffs file their reply.

The U.S. Court of International Trade vacated the repository requirement imposed in its July 6 preliminary injunction (PI) order for importers to request suspending the liquidation of customs entries from China with Section 301 lists 3 or 4A tariff exposure, said an order signed Sept. 8 by Judges Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves. The government will liquidate those entries “in the ordinary course” and refund the money with interest if the tariffs are declared unlawful, “should that decision become final and conclusive, including all appeals,” it said. The court also vacated the PI order’s temporary restraining order period when no entries could have liquidated, with or without the repository.

The Commerce Department's proposed schedule to review Section 232 exclusion requests on remand is "necessary in light of Commerce's current limited resources," the agency said in a Sept. 9 brief. Replying to the plaintiffs' opposition to Commerce's voluntary remand motion at the Court of International Trade, the agency also urged the court to simply defer to the proposed schedule due to Commerce's limited resources and the non-prejudicial nature of the schedule to the lawsuit's parties. Many of the consolidated plaintiffs opposed the schedule, arguing that it was "unreasonable" with a "nonsensical" rationale (see 2108170072).

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 30 - Sept. 5:

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