Corporate Counsel Quotes Devin Sikes on China Tariff Exclusion Requests

For its article “Tips on China Tariff Exclusion Requests as Deadline Approaches,” Corporate Counsel has quoted Akin Gump international trade counsel Devin Sikes.

The article discusses what trade lawyers are doing to help U.S. clients as the deadline looms for submitting tariff exclusion requests for $200 billion in Chinese imports. Tariffs on China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 cover, according to the publication, goods ranging from food to electronics to furniture.

Sikes discussed the case of JSW Steel USA Inc., which saw the Commerce Department deny JSW’s request for exclusion from a 25 percent tariff on Mexican and Indian steel under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. He noted that, because the exclusion result processes under the two sections are different, the JSW case should not spill over into 301 reviews.

He said, however, that the complaint that JSW filed with the U.S. Court of International Trade is a case of first impression, adding, “The court will first have to grapple with whether it has jurisdiction over the dispute. If it does, it will get into the merits for the first time ever for whether the Commerce Department’s decision comports with accepted administrative law principles.”