Challenging 301 Tariffs in Court to Recover List 3 and 4A Duties
Client Alert
Beginning in September 2020, thousands of companies have challenged the Section 301 China Tariffs under List 3 and 4A in the U.S. Court of International Trade. As part of this challenge, companies are seeking a refund of duties paid under List 3 and 4A, as well as revocation of those tariffs. The lawsuits allege that the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) acted outside its authority by extending the initial China tariffs, which were focused on countering China’s policies with respect to intellectual property, into an open-ended trade war. In addition, the lawsuits allege that the USTR failed to provide appropriate due process to companies seeking to argue against the tariffs, seek exclusions to the tariffs, and seek extensions of exclusions to the tariffs.
The Section 301 List 3 and 4A tariffs have imposed a substantial burden on U.S. importers and their customers, often implementing high duty rates of 25% for China-origin goods even when these goods can only be produced at cost and scale in China. Over the past several years, companies have had to pay high duties and spend considerable time and money to adjust long-standing and secure supply chains.
The majority of lawsuits related to List 3 against the USTR were filed before September 18, 2020 in order to minimize questions related to the statute of limitations for filing an action. GKG Law, however, has identified several grounds upon which challenges can still be brought against List 3 tariffs. In addition, there is no question that challenges to List 4A tariffs are still within the statute of limitations.
If your company still wishes to file a challenge against the USTR to seek a refund of List 3 and List 4A duties, contact Brendan Collins (bcollins@gkglaw.com; 202-342-6793) or Oliver Krischik (okrischik@gkglaw.com; 202-342-5266) to learn more about the process. Challenges to List 4A are certainly still timely and even challenges to List 3 tariffs may be able to proceed depending on the circumstances.
