Latest Constitutional Challenge To Section 232 Duties

Beginning in March 2018, President Trump issued
proclamations imposing duties on steel and aluminum imports into the United
States.  In response, one company filed a complaint last week alleging
that the administration of these duties is unconstitutional.  Thyssenkrupp
Materials, NA, Inc. and several of its related operating divisions, filed a
complaint with the Court of International Trade (CIT) last week seeking to
challenge the Section 232 duties.

The complaint alleges improper administration of the exclusion request process.  The Presidential Proclamations imposing the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports indicated that the Department of Commerce be permitted to “exclude from any adopted import restrictions” certain steel and aluminum “articles.”   However, the final rules promulgated by the Commerce Department approve exclusions only to the “individual or organization that submitted the request” and that “[o]ther individuals or organizations that wish to submit an exclusion request for steel or aluminum product that has already been the subject of an approved exclusion request may request an exclusion under this supplement.”

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