Sections 301 and 232 tariffs have created greater exposure to trade-related False Claims Act allegations, Sidley Austin said in a May 10 analysis. Since President Donald Trump drastically increased CBP's workload via the tariffs, greater incentives now exist to skirt the tariffs through fraudulent activity such as transshipment or inappropriate country of origin analysis for imports. This incentive for fraudulent activity mirrors the ramped-up incentives for the FCA allegations by those seeking to obtain a financial award for calling out the illegal behavior, the firm said.

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

Flooring importer FD Sales Company, LLC launched a challenge in the Court of International Trade claiming that CBP improperly denied some of its imports exclusions from Section 301 tariffs (FD Sales Company v. U.S., CIT # 21-00244). In a May 7 complaint, FD Sales said it brought in 49 entries of vinyl flooring, engineered wood flooring, “Aquaguard” wood flooring, tile saws and tile nippers on which it was granted exclusions from the Section 301 tariffs. The importer sought a refund of $671,442.81 in duties paid on the goods, of which $238,025.44 was granted by CBP. FD Sales claims that its imports were properly excluded from the additional duties “pursuant to exclusions to Section 301 granted by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.”

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U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai generally avoided being pinned down on timing as she was asked about rekindling trade negotiations with the United Kingdom and Kenya, the pause on tariffs on European imports, and a solution for steel overcapacity that could make way for the lifting of Section 232 tariffs.

CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:​

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

First-quarter consumer tech imports in the key categories of smartphones, laptops, tablets and TVs declined somewhat from Q4 but remained well ahead of their Q1 2020 volumes, according to Census data accessed Saturday through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. As the National Retail Federation reported Friday, the robust year-over-year Q1 growth rates in some import categories may have been “artificially high” due to comparisons with first-quarter 2020, when much of the Asian supply chain was mired in the first COVID-19 global lockdowns.

A list of “principles” will set the “foundation for a high transparency standard” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will follow, said the agency Friday. USTR is committed “to comprehensive public engagement, including outreach to historically overlooked and underrepresented communities, as it develops and implements a trade policy that advances the interests of all Americans,” it said. “USTR will seek public input with respect to new major trade initiatives when feasible even when not required.” Reforming the Section 301 tariff exclusions process on Chinese imports would be “very high on my radar,” if confirmed, “in terms of assessing the process that’s in place for exclusions” and the “decision-making” on them, then-USTR nominee Katherine Tai told her confirmation hearing (see 2102250043). “Transparency and predictability and due process are all critical to the way we want our government to function.”

First-quarter consumer tech imports in the key categories of smartphones, laptops, tablets and TVs declined somewhat from Q4, but remained well ahead of their Q1 2020 volumes, according to Census data accessed through the International Trade Commission’s DataWeb tool. As the National Retail Federation reported, the robust year-over-year Q1 growth rates in some import categories may have been “artificially high” due to comparisons with first quarter 2020, when much of the Asian supply chain was mired in the first COVID-19 global lockdowns.