A lawsuit was filed in the Court of International Trade (CIT) alleging that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) neither had the authority nor was within the proper timeline to levy duty on the importation of goods listed on List 3 and List 4a of products from China. This lawsuit could result in the refund of duties paid on those goods. This lawsuit is open to both U.S. domiciled importers and non-resident importers.
Initially, the conservative legal interpretation was that the timeline to file would be based on two (2) years after the initiation of the duties, which was September 21st, 2020. However, other legal opinions have surfaced stating that the importer may be able to file for up to two (2) years after the duty was paid on the initial entry of merchandise (28 USC 2636 (i)). Therefore, the timing would become a ‘rolling’ date based on the individual entry.
At this point in time, we encourage our clients to review past importations of merchandise subject to List 3 and 4a of the Section 301 China tariffs. If a determination is made that your company would like to join the lawsuit seeking potential refund of the duties paid, we would recommend engaging a trade attorney recognized by the Court of International Trade (CIT).
If you have any questions please contact the Willson U.S. Regulatory Team at transitionus@willsonintl.com and we will assist as needed.