White House schedules April 28–29 hearings on temporary import taxes after Supreme Court ruling
- U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer opened April 28 hearings on Section 301 cases covering 60 economies, the administration’s next tariff path after February’s ruling. - The White House’s fallback import surcharge is a 10% duty that began February 24 and lasts 150 days, with hearings now aimed at sturdier replacements. - Customs began IEEPA refund filings April 20, but only in phases for limited entries. (cbp.gov)
The Trump administration opened public hearings Monday on new Section 301 tariff cases, its clearest move yet to replace the trade duties the Supreme Court struck down in February. (ustr.gov) (whitehouse.gov) The Office of the United States Trade Representative said the April 28-29 hearings cover Section 301 investigations into 60 economies’ handling of forced-labor imports. The sessions began at 10 a.m. at the U.S. International Trade Commission and can continue until May 1. (ustr.gov 1) (ustr.gov 2) A second Section 301 track is already queued up for May 5-8. That investigation covers structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors across 16 trading partners, including China, the European Union and Japan. (ustr.gov 1) (ustr.gov 2) These hearings matter because the White House’s stopgap tariff is temporary by design. President Donald Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 on February 20 to impose a 10% import duty for 150 days, effective February 24. (whitehouse.gov 1) (whitehouse.gov 2) The White House said that temporary duty does not apply to some categories, including certain critical minerals, energy products, pharmaceuticals, some electronics, many vehicles, and goods already covered by Section 232 actions. USMCA-compliant goods from Canada and Mexico are also excluded. (whitehouse.gov) The administration turned to that surcharge after the Supreme Court rejected the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for broad tariff programs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said at the time that the ruling affected only “one element” of the administration’s trade policy. (thompsonhinesmartrade.com) (whitehouse.gov) Customs and Border Protection is now also building the refund system for duties collected under the rejected IEEPA tariffs. The agency said its CAPE process launched April 20 in phases and, for now, is limited to certain unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation. (cbp.gov) (cbp.gov) CBP said importers or their brokers must file CAPE declarations through the ACE secure data portal, using CSV uploads rather than the Automated Broker Interface. Each declaration can include up to 9,999 entries, and refunds are meant to include interest. (cbp.gov) Associated Press reported that the forced-labor investigations cover economies accounting for 99% of U.S. imports, while the excess-capacity cases cover economies accounting for 70%. That gives the administration a broad platform to rebuild tariffs through a process that is more formal than the one the Court rejected. (usnews.com) The next marker is procedural, not rhetorical: transcripts from this week’s hearings will be posted after the sessions, and the May hearings will show how far the White House plans to extend its post-ruling tariff strategy. (ustr.gov) (ustr.gov)
