The Court of International Trade (“CIT”) and the District Court for the District of Columbia (“DDC”) both issued decisions enjoining the Trump IEEPA tariffs. In both venues, the government appealed the courts’ decisions, and both orders are currently stayed. The DDC stayed its own preliminary injunction pending appeal; the U.S. Court

John Brew
John Brew is the former chair of Crowell & Moring’s International Trade Group and a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.
John has extensive experience in import and export trade regulation, collaborating with corporations, trade associations, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations on customs administration, enforcement, compliance litigation, legislation, and policy matters. He represents clients in proceedings at the administrative and judicial levels as well as before Congress and the international bureaucracies that handle customs and trade matters. John advises clients on all substantive import regulatory issues handled by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, such as classification, valuation, origin, marking, tariff preference programs, other agency regulations, admissibility, customs brokerage, Section 321, drawback, foreign trade zones, duty recovery programs, import restrictions, quotas, audits, prior disclosures, penalties, investigations, Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and trade compliance programs, importations under bond, the Jones Act, and vessel repairs.
Court of International Trade Blocks IEEPA Tariffs
On May 28, 2025, the Court of International Trade granted summary judgment in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. et al v. Donald J. Trump Case No. 25-cv-66, ordering that all the executive orders imposing tariffs on the basis of IEEPA (Executive Order 14193, Executive Order 14194, Executive Order 14195, Executive Order 14257), were declared to be invalid…
First Suit Against Trump IEEPA Tariffs Filed in Florida
A Florida-based small business is first out of the gate to challenge President Trump’s sweeping new tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. The complaint was filed by conservative legal advocacy group New Civil Liberties Alliance (“NCLA”) on behalf of Emily Ley Paper, Inc.(doing business as “Simplified”), a small business based in…
White House Updates Section 232 Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum
On February 10, 2025, the White House released an executive order (“EO” or “Order”) titled “Adjusting Imports of Steel into the United States” that reinstates a 25% tariff on imports of steel and steel derivative products into the United States. The administration has also previewed a parallel executive order on aluminum and aluminum derivative product…
White House Amends Feb 1st Executive Order, Temporarily Reinstates De Minimis Eligibility for China-Origin Goods
On February 5, 2025, the White House issued an amendment to an Executive Order (“EO”) issued by President Trump on February 1, titled “Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China.” The amendment states that “de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 is available for otherwise eligible…
Update: U.S. Tariffs on Canada Also Paused for 30 Days, China Tariffs Start on February 4
It was announced late on Monday that new U.S. tariffs on Canada will, like Mexico, be paused for 30 days to allow the U.S. and Canada time to negotiate.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada is implementing a $1.3 billion plan to reinforce the U.S.-Canadian border and appointing a Fentanyl Czar, among other things.
At…
Trump Follows Through with Sweeping Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China – Who Intend to Retaliate
On Saturday, February 1, 2025, President Trump signed three Executive Orders (“EOs”) following through with the promised tariffs targeting products of Canada, Mexico and China (the “February 1 EOs”), and the White House issued a supporting informational fact sheet.
The United States will impose 25% tariffs on all products of Mexico and Canada…
Moolenaar Heads Reintroduction of Bill to Strip China of PNTR Status
Yesterday, Representative John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, along with House Ways & Means Committee member Tom Suozzi (D-NY), reintroduced a bill in the House of Representatives to revoke Permanent Normal Trade Relations (“PNTR”) with the People’s Republic of China. When reintroducing the bill, Molenaar cited to Trump’s…
Trump Sets Stage for Future Tariffs and Trade Actions
On his first day in office, President Trump rolled out a sprawling set of directives to the heads of numerous government agencies charged with shaping U.S. trade policy. While stopping short of enacting new tariffs, the Presidential Memorandum defining an “America First Trade Policy” lays the investigative groundwork for potentially sweeping changes to tariffs and…
Goods Subject to Tariffs May Lose 321 De Minimis Treatment in Proposed Rulemaking
On January 21, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a notice of proposed rulemaking that would make goods subject to tariffs under Sections 232, 201, and 301 ineligible for the de minimis duty exemption under the Section 321 Program, which allows imported shipments not exceeding $800 to enter the United States duty-free. To…