The U.S. asked for another 60 days to file its reply brief in the massive Section 301 litigation at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The government said the present suit is a test case for over 4,100 similar cases and an extension would allow DOJ more time to confer with all the federal agencies involved in the case (HMTX Industries v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 23-1891).

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Aug. 7-13:

Stephen Morrison, former law clerk at the Court of International Trade, joined Morris Manning as an international trade associate, the firm said in a letter to the trade court. Since he served as a law clerk for the last two years at CIT, Morrison is barred from working on various cases at the trade court, including the massive Section 301 case, the firm said.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., joined by 15 members of the Florida House delegation, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and four House members from Georgia, asked the U.S. trade representative for an update on a private sector industry advisory panel of Southeastern fruit and vegetable producers.

A bipartisan duo introduced a bill in the House that would not allow future Section 232 tariffs or quotas without congressional approval, and would give Congress the ability to end the current steel and aluminum tariffs and quotas.

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

CBP incorrectly denied protests seeking retroactive refunds of Section 301 duties for entries of furniture parts and boxes imported from China, importer Store Supply Warehouse said in an Aug. 4 complaint at the Court of International Trade. The protested items consisted of nine entries of hardware racks, three entries of jewelry boxes and 10 entries of showcase parts imported through the Port of Savannah (Store Supply Warehouse v. U.S., CIT # 23-00035).

House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., said he intends to co-sponsor a renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, and said he believes the appetite in Congress is "strong" to act before the summer of 2025. AGOA expires Sept. 30, 2025.

The National Foreign Trade Council said Canada's proposed digital services tax "is clearly discriminatory towards U.S. companies," and the bill's introduction is shortsighted.

U.S. trade policy should focus more on securing free trade deals and less on tariffs on Chinese goods, farmers told the leaders of the House Select Committee on China during an Aug. 3 panel in Iowa.