The International Trade Commission recently posted Revision 3 to the preliminary edition of the 2021 Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Changes include implementation of extended and revised Section 201 safeguards on large residential washers, as announced in a proclamation issued by former President Donald Trump in mid-January (see 2101150049). Minor changes are also made to an exclusion from Section 301 China tariffs for supported catalysts with zinc oxide as the active substance.

In the first sign of life in months for importers seeking to undo the Lists 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods, the U.S. Court of International Trade assigned the massive litigation to a three-judge panel. Judges Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves will preside over the cases, said an order (in Pacer) signed Friday by Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu. It took the court 103 pages to list the nearly 3,500 complaints filed since Sept. 10, all seeking to vacate the Lists 3 and 4A tariffs on Chinese imports and get the duties refunded.

Specialized Bicycle Components, a bicycle parts and accessories company, joined thousands of other importers inundating the U.S. Court of International Trade with litigation seeking to vacate the List 3 and 4A Section 301 rulemakings on Chinese tariffs and get the duties refunded. But with Robert Lighthizer’s departure as U.S. trade representative at the close of the Trump administration, Specialized Bicycle's complaint was the first we know of to name USTR Deputy General Counsel Maria Pagan as a defendant. Other actions filed after Jan. 20 continued naming Lighthizer or targeted his former agency without citing any officials. In Pagan’s capacity as acting USTR, “she oversees USTR’s decisions regarding List 3 and List 4,” said the Thursday lawsuit (in Pacer). The nomination of Katherine Tai, President Joe Biden’s pick to succeed Lighthizer as USTR, “is pending confirmation by the Senate, although the Senate Finance Committee has yet to announce a date for her confirmation hearing,” said the complaint. The bicycle importer stands to ultimately cash in well if plaintiffs prevail in the litigation and the court orders the refunds. Its complaint lists nearly five dozen categories of imports with List 3 tariff exposure and 11 on List 4A.

A three-judge Court of International Trade panel will oversee all cases tackling the legality of lists 3 and 4 Section 301 China tariffs, Chief Judge Timothy Stanceu said in an order signed Feb. 5. Judges Mark Barnett, Claire Kelly and Jennifer Choe-Groves -- the three most senior active judges on the court -- were assigned to hear one of the largest mass filings in the court's history.

More than 12.7 million counterfeit face masks were seized by CBP during fiscal year 2020, part of more than 950 seizures of either FDA-prohibited drugs or test kits, or counterfeit or fraudulent products aimed at fighting COVID-19, the agency said in its annual fiscal year report, released Feb. 4. About 51% came from China; 24% were discovered in the mail; and 53% were sent by express couriers. For general intellectual property seizures, 90% were in either international mail or express shipments.

The Court of International Trade on Feb. 4 denied a broad challenge to Section 232 tariffs on steel products (see 1912040033), finding against a group of steel importers that had challenged the initial proclamation that set the tariffs, as well as procedural steps that formed the basis for the action. One of several recent cases challenging the tariffs, this one differed in its focus on the Commerce Department report that preceded the tariffs, as well as the proclamation's failure to set an explicit expiration date. The trade court found in favor of the government on both issues, holding that the Commerce report was not a final agency action that could be challenged in court and that the law behind Section 232 does not require the president to decide a date when the tariffs will end.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he doesn't know when Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative nominee, might get a hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee. He told reporters on a press call Feb. 2 that it's likely that Finance will question the Health and Human Services secretary nominee ahead of Tai. He also said he doesn't know how the impeachment trial for Donald Trump could affect the timing. Grassley said he supports President Joe Biden's approach of trying to get Europe, other countries in North America, South Korea and Japan “on the same wavelength with regard to China,” and when he has the opportunity to talk to Tai, he'll be asking about “how long they're going to wait to follow up on phase two” of trade talks with China. He said he doesn't expect the issue of Section 301 exclusions to be on his list of topics to bring up. “I just haven’t had a lot of contact in the last six months with these business interests [with expired exclusions], maybe my staff has,” he said.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he doesn't know when Katherine Tai, the U.S. trade representative nominee, might get a hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee. He told reporters on a press call Feb. 2 that it's likely that Finance will question the Health and Human Services secretary nominee ahead of Tai. He also said he doesn't know how the impeachment trial for Donald Trump could affect the timing. Grassley said he supports President Joe Biden's approach of trying to get Europe, other countries in North America, South Korea and Japan “on the same wavelength with regard to China,” and when he has the opportunity to talk to Tai, he'll be asking about “how long they're going to wait to follow up on phase two” of trade talks with China. He said he doesn't expect the issue of Section 301 exclusions to be on his list of topics to bring up. “I just haven’t had a lot of contact in the last six months with these business interests [with expired exclusions], maybe my staff has,” he said.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 25-31:

International Trade Today is providing readers with the top stories from Jan. 25-29 in case they were missed. All articles can be found by searching on the titles or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.