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Feb 9 (Reuters) – Chinese automaker BYD has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government challenging President Donald Trump’s bid to use \u200bsweeping authority to impose tariffs, and requesting a refund for \u200call levies it paid since last April, court documents show.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, the first by a \u200cChinese carmaker over U.S. tariffs, follows similar complaints by thousands of global companies with U.S. operations challenging Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose border taxes.<\/p>\n
In the lawsuit filed at the U.S. Court \u2060of International Trade on \u200cJanuary 26, four of BYD’s U.S. subsidiaries argue that the law does not authorize border taxes as “the text of \u200dIEEPA does not employ the word “tariff” or any term of equivalent meaning”.<\/p>\n
In a separate, high-stakes case, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality \u200bof the tariffs, but Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last week \u200cthe court was taking its time given the “enormous” stakes involved.<\/p>\n
BYD said in the lawsuit that it had to file an independent complaint to protect its ability to be refunded for the tariffs it has already paid.<\/p>\n
While the Chinese carmaker does not sell passenger cars in the U.S., its \u2060business in the country includes buses and \u200bcommercial vehicles, batteries, energy storage systems and \u200bsolar panels.<\/p>\n
Its unit BYD North America employs 750 workers in its truck plant in Lancaster, California, according to its website.<\/p>\n
Trump \u200drepeatedly said Chinese cars \u2060threaten the future of the U.S. auto industry, but has said a few times that he would welcome a Chinese automaker \u2060that wants to build cars on U.S. soil.<\/p>\n
The case is No. 26-00847 at the U.S. \u200cCourt of International Trade in New York.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi \u200cin Gdansk, editing by Chizu Nomiyama )<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n