International Trade Today Quotes Devin Sikes on CIT Decision on Imported Steel Nail Tariffs

International Trade Today has quoted Akin Gump international trade counsel Devin Sikes in the article “CIT Blocks Section 232 ‘Derivatives’ on Another Importer; 10 Importers Seek to Join Lawsuit.”

The article reports on a decision by the Court of International Trade blocking U.S. Customs and Border Protection from collecting tariffs on imported steel nails produced by Oman Fasteners, a company that is suing the federal government over its move to expand the tariff under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. A preliminary injunction was also recently issued in a case involving another importer, PrimeSource Building Products, in which 10 additional importers seek to join the lawsuit.

While PrimeSource was able to secure an injunction to stop the tariffs on its entries, whether any intervenors can get the same is not a settled question, said Sikes. “Normally, an intervenor can’t get any relief beyond what the plaintiff seeks,” he said. Issuing injunctions to intervenors in antidumping and countervailing duty cases is common, but that precedent has not been established for a broader procedural and constitutional challenge such as PrimeSource’s.

Sikes added that, even if importers cannot get an injunction as intervenors in these Section 232 cases on derivatives, there could be another way for those that don’t file their own lawsuits to get their tariffs refunded. A class action tied to a case like PrimeSource’s, he said, could be an avenue for all importers affected by the tariffs on “derivatives” to benefit if PrimeSource prevails in its case.