The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit allowed the American Steel Nail Coalition to appear as amicus curiae in a dispute over whether the president properly expanded the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs onto "derivative" products made beyond procedural deadlines. In the brief, the coalition urged the Federal Circuit to uphold this extension since it had a positive impact on the U.S. industry and the issue was already decided in the key case Transpacific Steel v. U.S. (see 2201100059). In Transpacific, the Federal Circuit greenlighted presidential action taken beyond procedural time limits so long as it is part of the original plan of action laid out in the Commerce Secretary's report preceding the Section 232 tariffs (see 2107130059) (PrimeSource Building Products v. United States, Fed. Cir. #21-2066).
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Borusan Mannesmann and Gulf Coast Express Pipeline, plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to apply Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusions to their 19 entries, filed a notice of supplemental authority citing CBP rulings on classification of steel goods under Section 232 and Presidential Proclamation 9705 on the Section 232 tariffs to further support their arguments. The Department of Justice has moved to dismiss the case since the entries are unliquidated, precluding the Court of International Trade from having judicial review over the entries and the resulting tariff exclusion claims (Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret v. U.S., CIT #21-00186).
The U.S.Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit shouldn't strike down President Donald Trump's extension of Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs onto "derivative" products made beyond procedural deadlines since the tariffs had a positive impact on the U.S. industry, The American Steel Nail Coalition said in Jan. 10 proposed amicus brief. The coalition asked the court for leave to file the amicus brief in a bid to broaden the defense of the president's tariff action. The proposed amicus further said that this issue has already been decided following the Federal Circuit's decision in the key case Transpacific Steel v. U.S. (PrimeSource Building Products v. United States, Fed. Cir. #21-2066).
The Commerce Department wants another shot at considering 15 denied requests for exclusions from the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs, it said in a Dec. 23 partial voluntary remand request at the Court of International Trade. Commerce's offer of reconsideration would cover only 15 of plaintiff NLMK Pennsylvania's 54 denied exclusion requests. Commerce's brief stated that counsel for NLMK did not indicate support for or opposition to the motion yet, but would oppose the agency's 150-day timeline for reconsidering the 15 exclusion requests (NLMK Pennsylvania v. U.S., CIT #21-00507).
The Court of International Trade on Dec. 20 extended the time to conclude mediation in a case involving the Commerce Department's denial of Section 232 exclusions until Feb. 15, 2022. The plaintiffs, Voetsalpine High Performance Metals Corp. and Edro Specialty Steels, brought their case to CIT to contest the denial of 502 exclusion requests for high alloyed specialty steel products (see 2110010032). As he did in six other contested exclusion denials, Judge M. Miller Baker sent the cases to mediation before Judge Leo Gordon (Voestalpine High Performance Metals v. U.S., CIT #21-00093).
The Court of International Trade extended on Dec. 16 a mediation period in three cases contesting the Commerce Department's denial of Section 232 exclusion requests, until Feb. 15. The mediation, held by Judge Leo Gordon, was ordered after the consolidated plaintiffs' request for a status conference was denied as moot. The plaintiffs wanted the status conference to discuss the availability of a remedy for already-liquidated entries.
Mediation at the Court of International Trade in six consolidated cases over Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff exclusion denials failed to produce a settlement, the court said in a Dec. 14 report. The mediation, held by Judge Leo Gordon, was ordered after the consolidated plaintiffs' request for a status conference was denied as moot. The plaintiffs wanted the status conference to discuss the availability of a remedy for already-liquidated entries (Valbruna Slater Stainless, Inc. v. U.S., CIT #21-00027).
The refunds issued to parties that challenged President Donald Trump's Section 232 steel and aluminum tariff hike on Turkish steel are either back in the government's hands or on their way, the litigants told the Court of International Trade in a joint status report (Transpacific Steel LLC, et al. v. United States, CIT #19-00009).
A group of U.S. steel companies, including U.S. Steel Corp., made their case to the U.S. Court of Appeals to the Federal Circuit in a Dec. 8 brief as to why they should be allowed to intervene in multiple cases challenging the Commerce Department's decision to deny an exclusion to Section 232 national security tariffs. The Court of International Trade had denied their right to intervene due to the companies' lack of a legally protectable interest in the cases. The American steel producers countered by arguing that they have a right to intervene based on their participation administratively in the exclusion cases, direct economic stake in the outcome and position as intended beneficiaries of the Section 232 measures (California Steel Industries, Inc. v. United States, Fed. Cir. #21-2172).