President Donald Trump’s “many tweets” and statements from his administration are strong evidence the White House unlawfully imposed the lists 3 and 4A tariffs to boost the U.S. Treasury and not curb the allegedly bad Chinese trade behavior documented in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s March 2018 Section 301 investigative report. So said the lawyer for two automotive components importers making the case that the tariffs are unconstitutional because only Congress has the power of taxation.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is considering sanctions against Vietnam for importing illegal lumber to use in wood furniture and for currency manipulation that it suspects is hurting U.S. industry. The Section 301 investigations, announced the evening of Oct. 2, invite public comment on the extent of the violations, the scope of its impact on U.S. commerce, and suggestions for how to respond. Comments are due by Nov. 12.

The Section 301 lawsuits are an important check on the government's imposition of tariffs despite the recent claims of a domestic industry group, a customs lawyer told us. Kenneth Rapoza, an industry analyst with the Coalition for a Prosperous America, had disparaged lawyers representing companies challenging Lists 3 and 4 of the Section 301 tariffs (see 2009300028). "Importers and Exporters, Domestic Producers and the population at large have a right to expect proper federal enforcement of Trade Laws," said Simon Gluck lawyer Chris Kane in an email and on LinkedIn Thursday. "Attorneys play an indispensable role in seeing that happens. In the last BIG case, attorneys protected the rights of U.S. exporters, including the members of Mr. Rapoza’s employer, to retrospective refunds of and prospective dispensation from the Export Harbor Maintenance Tax all the way to U.S. Supreme Court and thereafter. That’s how it works in our legal system," he said.

The Section 301 lawsuits are an important check on the government's imposition of tariffs despite the recent claims of a domestic industry group, a customs lawyer told us. Kenneth Rapoza, an industry analyst with the Coalition for a Prosperous America, had disparaged lawyers representing companies challenging Lists 3 and 4 of the Section 301 tariffs (see 2009300028). "Importers and Exporters, Domestic Producers and the population at large have a right to expect proper federal enforcement of Trade Laws," said Simon Gluck lawyer Chris Kane in an email and on LinkedIn Thursday. "Attorneys play an indispensable role in seeing that happens. In the last BIG case, attorneys protected the rights of U.S. exporters, including the members of Mr. Rapoza’s employer, to retrospective refunds of and prospective dispensation from the Export Harbor Maintenance Tax all the way to U.S. Supreme Court and thereafter. That’s how it works in our legal system," he said.

The Section 301 lawsuits are an important check on the government's imposition of tariffs despite the recent claims of a domestic industry group, a customs lawyer told us. Kenneth Rapoza, an industry analyst with the Coalition for a Prosperous America, had disparaged lawyers representing companies challenging Lists 3 and 4 of the Section 301 tariffs (see 2009300028). "Importers and Exporters, Domestic Producers and the population at large have a right to expect proper federal enforcement of Trade Laws," said Simon Gluck lawyer Chris Kane in an email and on LinkedIn Thursday. "Attorneys play an indispensable role in seeing that happens. In the last BIG case, attorneys protected the rights of U.S. exporters, including the members of Mr. Rapoza’s employer, to retrospective refunds of and prospective dispensation from the Export Harbor Maintenance Tax all the way to U.S. Supreme Court and thereafter. That’s how it works in our legal system," he said.

The U.S.-Japan mini-deal is not consistent with World Trade Organization rules, a former White House trade negotiator said, so the two sides mentioned a future phase two deal to cover substantially all trade to convince Japan's parliament to pass the accord. Because of the way the deal was structured, with small tariff reductions for Japanese exporters, it did not require a vote in Congress, Clete Willems, speaking recently on a webinar for University of Nebraska students, said. In calling the mini-deal phase one, “I think both sides were playing it cute, to be honest,” Willems, now at Akin Gump, said. He said Japan was not interested in a comprehensive bilateral trade deal, because it still wants the U.S. to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The thousands of complaints seeking to vacate the List 3 and 4A Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods and get the duties refunded (see 2009220027) warrant the U.S. Court of International Trade assigning the litigation to a three-judge panel instead of a single judge, motioned (login required) Akin Gump Wednesday on behalf of importers HMTX Industries and Jasco Products. DOJ told Akin Gump it opposes the motion and will file a response, the firm said.

The Coalition for Prosperous America, supporting Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on China, complained Tuesday about the "cadre of legal firms" suing the Trump administration over tariffs on goods from Lists 3 and 4A (see 2009220027). "The equivalent of tariff ambulance chasers" recruited the companies to file the lawsuits, blogged Kenneth Rapoza. The analyst mentioned Sandler Travis, which said in a recent client notice there's still time to file similar challenges, and noted the role of Sandler Travis lawyer Lenny Feldman as co-chair of the Customs and Border Protection's Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee. The blog post highlighted Akin Gump, which filed the first lawsuit, for being the largest lobbying operation in Washington and representing ZTE. The law firms didn't comment Wednesday.

The Coalition for Prosperous America, supporting Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on China, complained Tuesday about the "cadre of legal firms" suing the Trump administration over tariffs on goods from Lists 3 and 4A (see 2009220027). "The equivalent of tariff ambulance chasers" recruited the companies to file the lawsuits, blogged Kenneth Rapoza. The analyst mentioned Sandler Travis, which said in a recent client notice there's still time to file similar challenges, and noted the role of Sandler Travis lawyer Lenny Feldman as co-chair of the Customs and Border Protection's Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee. The blog post highlighted Akin Gump, which filed the first lawsuit, for being the largest lobbying operation in Washington and representing ZTE. The law firms didn't comment Wednesday.

Rep. George Holding, R-N.C., and Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, asked the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to lift the 25% Section 301 tariffs on Chinese hand sanitizer, suggesting that 301 exclusions for pump parts or other imports for American hand sanitizer manufacturers is not sufficient. They said that the ad hoc sanitizer manufacturing that has sprung up does not include ingredients to make sanitizers that have a gel or foam consistency, and that a more liquid form is not as effective. “There have been various other reports of quality problems in the industry, including a surge in reports of sanitizers containing dangerous contaminants, such as methanol and 1-propanol, that can be poisonous when absorbed through the skin or ingested. The list of FDA-recalled hand sanitizers due to unsafe and potentially lethal ingredients is rapidly growing; in June there were nine recalled sanitizers, and in only two months the list has grown to 165 recalled sanitizers,” they wrote recently.