Washington, D.C. (March 17, 2023): The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) denied a request to eliminate Section 301 Tariffs on Friday, March 17, 2023. The plaintiffs argued the U.S. Trade Representative did not have the legal authority to impose and implement Section 301 Tariffs under the Trade Act, which authorizes tariffs equal to the amount of harm caused by the foreign country’s violations that impacted U.S. Commerce. USTR determined China’s intellectual property theft led to $50 billion in damages to U.S. businesses annually, but Section 301 Tariffs imposed resulted in more than $50 billion in tariffs for consumer goods on List 3 & 4A.
In April 2022, the Court requested that USTR provide additional information on the decision-making process for products included on List 3 & 4A, including public comments and USTR responses.
The Court ruled that the U.S. Trade Representative adequately responded to the April 2022 remand order to validate more than $200 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports. CIT sustained the Final List 3 & 4A tariffs and the process for placing products on the Section 301 tariff list. This ruling will not end the legal action challenging the tariffs as plaintiffs plan to appeal the decision.
For more information or for questions, please contact Bill Sells, SVP, Government & Public Affairs, at [email protected].