Devin Sikes Quoted in Bloomberg Law Article on Federal Circuit Ruling in Steel Tariff Case

Devin Sikes, counsel in the international trade practice at Akin Gump, has been quoted in the Bloomberg Law article “Federal Circuit Upholds Steel Tariff, SCOTUS Bid Likely,” which reports on a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upholding the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel imports. The free trade group that lost its challenge, the article says, is now likely to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In its ruling, the Federal Circuit, as the article notes, cited a decades-old Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the President to adjust imports only to avert a threat to national security. The court said the administration complied with the requirements of the law in setting the tariffs.

Despite the appeal, Sikes said the Justices may decide this is not the best vehicle to address this issue as it implicates executive branch actions on national security, an area the Supreme Court is generally reluctant to wade into.