Devin Sikes Speaks with Law360 About Biggest Trade Stories of 2020

July 2, 2020

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Akin Gump international trade counsel Devin Sikes has been quoted in the Law360 story “The Biggest International Trade Stories Of 2020, So Far.” Sikes discusses what he sees as one of the biggest stories of the year up to now: court cases stemming from President Trump’s use of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.

The article notes that the move by Mr. Trump prompted a wave of lawsuits, including one from the American Institute for International Steel, an importers group that was looking to strike down Section 232 as unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals, the article says, dealt the importers a loss in February, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take a closer look.

Sikes said the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear the case was not a surprise, noting that the constitutional bid against Section 232 was always a long shot. “Section 232 covers a sensitive area: the intersection of national security and Executive Branch power,” he said.  “Although the Supreme Court has addressed issues arising in this area here and there — think, for example, President Trump's travel ban — it mostly has shied away from them in recent decades.”

According to Law360, the U.S. Court of International Trade is hearing a batch of 10 other cases challenging the administration’s decision to extend duties on raw steel and aluminum to cover finished goods like nails and wiring. Sikes said these appeals “will test the limits of the president's authority under Section 232.”

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