Law360 Quotes Bernd Janzen on Government Shutdown’s Impact on Trade Matters
Contact:
Akin Gump international trade partner Bernd Janzen was quoted in the Law360 article “Gov’t Shutdown Causing Headaches For Trade Attorneys,” which looks at how the partial shutdown of the federal government is affecting the nation’s trade remedy proceedings that are overseen by the Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission (ITC).
According to the article, the cases most affected by the shutdown are new investigations that have not reached a conclusion, though that does not mean there is not any work to be done. Trade remedy proceedings come with many deadlines and filing requirements that are mostly being honored as if the government were functioning normally.
That is especially true of cases with longer lead times and longer deadlines, according to Janzen, but more urgent matters have effectively been put into stasis.
“Cases involving active communication with ITC or Commerce officials have effectively ground to a halt,” Janzen said. “There is nobody home at either agency to talk about deadline extensions, questionnaire scope clarifications, and similar day-to-day issues that arise in every proceeding.”
Regarding litigation, the U.S. Court of International Trade remains open, the article says, but because the Department of Justice has been shut down, government attorneys are requesting stays in their pending cases.
“This translates into waiting longer to see government briefs in appeals we have initiated, thus delaying the eventual CIT decisions that we are seeking,” Janzen said.
