The Court of International Trade (CIT) released an initial ruling in 2022 that indicated that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) did in fact have the authority to impose Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods.

After careful deliberation, the CIT has determined that these duties placed on Chinese goods were appropriately implemented and supported.

Some of the key takeaways from the CIT decision include:

  • “In contrast to the conclusory treatment of comments in Final List 3 and Final List 4, the Remand Results reflect USTR’s conclusion that statutory language linking any modification to the specific direction of the President constrained USTR’s ability to depart from that direction and explained USTR’s position vis-à-vis the President’s direction. Nothing more was required.”
  • “For List 3, USTR noted that “the selection process” considered “likely impacts on U.S. consumers and involved the removal of subheadings identified by analysts as likely to cause disruptions to the U.S. economy.””
  • “By segregating out List 4B, USTR delayed additional duties for products where China’s share of imports from the world is 75 percent or greater to ‘provide a longer adjustment period.’” Id. (quoting Final List 4, 84 Fed. Reg. at 43,305).”  The exclusion process also supported these concerns.

Click here to read the CIT decision in its entirety.

There will likely be appeals to this decision.  

Shapiro will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.

Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions.