On the same day that 37 trade associations worked to draw attention to a renewed push to eliminate Section 232 tariffs, a left of center think tank published a paper disagreeing with the arguments that the Tariff Reform Coalition is making, that steel and aluminum sanctions cost more jobs in manufacturing than they saved at primary steel producers.

The International Trade Commission on March 17 published Revision 1 to the Basic Edition of the 2021 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. This latest edition implements the four-month suspension of Section 301 tariffs on goods from the European Union imposed as part of the Airbus subsidy dispute at the World Trade Organization (see 2103050036).

Personal protective equipment importer Radia Enterprises became the first complainant in the massive Section 301 litigation in the U.S. Court of International Trade to name new U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai as a defendant. The 1974 Trade Act doesn't authorize USTR “to engage in an indefinite trade war,” said the Friday complaint (in Pacer) from Radia, which does business as Spectrum Uniforms. Like the more than 3,700 other complaints flooding the court since September, it seeks a declaratory judgment that the tariffs are unlawful and a refund of the Lists 3 and 4A duties paid. Tai won Senate confirmation last Wednesday on a 98-0 vote (see 2103170042). She was sworn in late Thursday.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of March 15-21:

Personal protective equipment importer Radia Enterprises became the first complainant in the massive Section 301 litigation in the U.S. Court of International Trade to name new U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai as a defendant. The 1974 Trade Act doesn't authorize USTR “to engage in an indefinite trade war,” said the Friday complaint (in Pacer) from Radia, which does business as Spectrum Uniforms. Like the more than 3,700 other complaints flooding the court since September, it seeks a declaratory judgment that the tariffs are unlawful and a refund of the Lists 3 and 4A duties paid. Tai won Senate confirmation last Wednesday on a 98-0 vote (see 2103170042). She was sworn in late Thursday.

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from March 15-19 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.

When members of Congress had the opportunity to publicly tout their priorities for legislation this year at the House Ways and Means Committee, most of the Democrats emphasized social spending and ending the cap on state and local tax deductions on personal income taxes more than traditional infrastructure projects. Only one Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, spoke at the March 23 hearing, to say that Republicans would boycott the hearing because holding a hearing without any expert witnesses was just a cover for “another multi-trillion, one-sided spending bill.”

Lawyers for the roughly 3,700 Section 301 complaints inundating the U.S. Court of International Trade reached consensus on picking the first-filed HMTX Industries-Jasco Products action as the sole sample case in the massive litigation, and on seating 15 among their ranks for the plaintiffs’ steering committee, said HMTX-Jasco counsel Akin Gump in the lawyers’ “coordinated proposal” (in Pacer) Friday. Though plaintiffs “cannot guarantee 100% agreement on every issue on behalf of every single counsel,” they are “not aware of any objection to this proposal after repeated consultations and opportunities for review,” it said.

Sony didn’t respond to questions about the nature of the large-screen TVs it’s importing from China under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule’s 8528.72.64.60 subheading for sets with screen sizes exceeding 45 inches, one of the more standout disclosures in Sony’s Section 301 complaint Wednesday at the U.S. Court of International Trade (see 2103180054). The TVs have List 4A tariff exposure, and Sony joined the roughly 3,500 other complaints inundating the court for a finding that the List 3 and 4A tariffs are unlawful and for an order refunding the duties paid.

Lawyers for the roughly 3,700 Section 301 complaints inundating the U.S. Court of International Trade reached consensus on picking the first-filed HMTX Industries-Jasco Products action as the sole sample case in the massive litigation and on seating 15 among their ranks for the plaintiffs’ steering committee, HMTX-Jasco counsel Akin Gump said in the lawyers’ “coordinated proposal” March 19. Though plaintiffs “cannot guarantee 100% agreement on every issue on behalf of every single counsel,” they are “not aware of any objection to this proposal after repeated consultations and opportunities for review,” it said.