The long-awaited decision by the Court of International Trade
("CIT") was not the outcome thousands of importer
companies were hoping for. On March 17, 2023, the CIT determined
that the United States Trade Representative ("USTR")
legally followed Section 307 of the Trade Act of 1974 and the
Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") when the List 3 and
List 4A Section 301 China tariffs were put into effect. This
decision by the CIT comes after months and months of back and forth
between both parties.
As background, on April 1, 2022, the Court held that the USTR
had the authority to impose Section 301 tariffs on List 3 and 4A
products, but held that the USTR failed to adequately explain its
rationale for the tariffs. As a result, the Court issued a Remand
Order requiring the USTR to provide further explanation regarding
its rationale for imposing the tariffs. On August 1, 2022, within
the 90-page remand results, the USTR provided detailed information
at a heading-by-heading
