The fight over the Section 301 tariffs imposed on imports from China in 2018 continues.
Recently the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative opened a second four-year review of the Section 301 tariffs on goods included on lists 1 and 2, which cover about $50 billion in Chinese exports. The chance to comment on lists 3 and 4A is still months away, but the legal challenge to those tariffs is moving forward in court.
Plaintiff HMTX first challenged the list 3 and 4A tariffs in 2019. The Court of International Trade rejected several of its claims and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit later rejected its remaining argument. HMTX has now asked the Supreme Court to review the case and that petition is still pending.
Last week the Department of Justice filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to deny HMTX’s petition. DOJ argued that the CAFC correctly held that the president had authority to modify the original Section 301 tariffs so no further review is needed.
HMTX has 14 days from May 11 to file a reply, after which the case can be scheduled for conference. At that conference, the SCOTUS justices will decide whether to hear the appeal. The earliest likely conference date is May 28, with June 4 as the next possibility.
If the case is not scheduled by June 25, the outcome may not be known until the court’s next term begins in the fall. Because only four justices are needed to grant review, the decision could be close. The upcoming second review of lists 3 and 4A should not affect the court’s decision on whether to take the case.
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