A U.S. trade court has revived a challenge to President Donald Trump's removal of exemptions from tariffs on low-value imports. This legal dispute has begun again, involving e-commerce retailers, small businesses, and American consumers who purchase goods directly from overseas, and involves significant economic interests.
Litigation over the so-called "de minimis exemption" had been put on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court considered a broader dispute involving Trump's global tariffs. In February, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's invocation of emergency powers to impose tariffs was illegal, but did not rule on whether he had the authority to end tariff exemptions on low-value packages — a related but separate issue.
Over the past year, Trump has signed multiple executive orders suspending long-standing tariff exemptions for imported goods with a retail value of up to $800. Detroit Axle, the U.S. auto parts distributor that filed the lawsuit, argued that the president's move illegally overrides Congress because it was Congress that set the tax threshold.
The U.S. Court of International Trade in New York lifted the suspension of the immunity case on March 5. The three-judge panel has set a timetable for written submissions and the trial will end in April. If the court rejects the relevant claims of the U.S. Department of Justice defending the government, Trump's tariff policies may be pushed to the Supreme Court again.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement: "The President has legally exercised the authority granted by Congress to suspend the de minimis exemption. The administration will vigorously defend this policy change to safeguard our national security and economic security."
Meanwhile, a trade court judge has ordered the government to take steps to advance refunds of tariffs that the Supreme Court ruled were illegal. The refund process appears to cover duties already paid on at least some low-value imported goods. But litigation over the future of the exemption also involves other types of tariff issues.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in December that it had imposed tariffs on more than $1 billion in imported goods that should have been exempted. The agency did not break down the data by tariff type. Its spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.