CIT Declines to Reconsider Stay of IEEPA Tariff Suit Pending Appeal of Lead Case on IEEPA Tariffs

The Court of International Trade on July 18 denied importer Simplified's motion to reconsider the court's decision to stay the company's case against tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act pending the appeal of the lead IEEPA tariff case, V.O.S. Selections v. Trump (Emily Ley Paper, d/b/a Simplified v. Donald J. Trump, CIT # 25-00096).

Simplified argued that its case should proceed since it's challenging the trade court's jurisdiction to hear the case, which wasn't at issue in V.O.S. Selections (see 2506240073). In a text-only order, Judges Gary Katzmann, Timothy Reif and Jane Restani said that jurisdiction was already "fully considered" in V.O.S. Selections. In that case, the same three judges said CIT has exclusive jurisdiction to hear challenges to IEEPA tariffs, since the challenged executive orders implementing the tariffs are laws of the U.S. providing for tariffs, which gives the court exclusive jurisdiction under Section 1581(i).

Section 1581(i) says only CIT will hear cases arising out laws providing for tariffs, setting up a jurisdictional battle on whether the IEEPA tariffs arise out of IEEPA itself or President Donald Trump's executive orders implementing the tariffs. The trade court said the case arises out of the executive orders, since the orders modify the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and a statute implementing the HTS says presidential modifications of the HTS are laws of the U.S. for statutory purposes (see 2505280068).