Devin Sikes Quoted by Bloomberg Law on Tariff Waiver Challenges
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Bloomberg Law has quoted Akin Gump international trade counsel Devin Sikes in the article “Oil Pipe Importer Sues for Exclusions from Trump Steel Duties,” which reports on a court challenge by a U.S. subsidiary of a Turkish company to a Commerce Department decision on tariff waivers. According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration has permitted U.S. companies to petition for duty exclusions on products that are not adequately produced in the United States or if national security considerations warrant an exclusion.
The article notes that the challenge is the second of its kind by a U.S. importer, even though the Commerce Department has denied thousands of similar requests in the past. The first challenge is still pending in the U.S. Court of International Trade, said Sikes, with a decision expected around June or July.
Both complaints, Sikes pointed out, allege that Commerce acted arbitrarily by not meeting Administrative Procedure Act (APA) standards in making its tariff waiver decisions. There is a plausible argument, he said, that Commerce did not provide the sort of explanation for its decisions that the APA requires.
