On April 5, 2021, a majority of a three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade (CIT) held that President Trump issued Proclamation 9980, Adjusting Imports of Derivative Aluminum Articles and Derivative Steel Articles Into the United States (85 Fed. Reg. 5,281), beyond the statutory time limits set forth in Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (19 U.S.C. §1862) and was therefore invalid as contrary to law. The CIT found that Proclamation 9980 was not issued within the 105-day time period beginning on the President’s receipt of a report qualifying under Section 232(b)(3)(A).Proclamation 9980 assessed a 25% tariff on certain imported articles made of steel and a 10% tariff on certain imported articles made of aluminum (steel and aluminum derivatives, respectively). An earlier motion for summary judgment had been denied, but the CIT, after reviewing the facts, concluded that it had the authority to grant summary judgment pursuant to USCIT R. 56(a) as there were no contested issues of fact. Primesource Building Products, Inc. v. United States, (Slip Op. 21-36, April 5, 2021). The decision was written by Hon.Timothy Stanceu, CJ and Jennifer Che-Groves. J. M. Miller Baker, J. dissented.
