ICON EV LLC v. United States

United States Court of International Trade·Decided May 26, 2026·No. 26-02759·Published

Opinion

Slip Op. 26-

UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE

ICON EV LLC, Plaintiff, v. Before: Jane A. Restani, Judge

UNITED STATES; U.S. CUSTOMS AND Court No. 26-02759 BORDER PROTECTION; and ERIC CHOY, in his PUBLIC VERSION

official capacity as Executive Director, Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate, Office of Trade, U.S. Customs and Border Protection,

Defendants.

OPINION

[Denying government’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.] Luke Mathers, Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., of New York, NY, for the plaintiff ICON EV LLC. Also on the brief were Deborah Beth Stern and Sarah Suzanne Sprinkle. Adam Angelo Vischio, Trial Attorney, International Trade Field Office, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice, of New York, NY, for the defendant. Also on the brief were Douglas Glenn Edelschick, Senior Trial Counsel, of Washington, DC and Edward Francis Kenney, of New York, NY. Of counsel were Nicolas Alexander Morales and Tamari J. Lagvilava, Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, of Washington, DC.

Dated: May 26, 2026

Restani, Judge: Before the court is the government’s motion to dismiss ICON EV LLC’s

(“ICON”) complaint alleging that the United States Department of Customs and Border Protection (“Customs”) violated its Fifth Amendment due process rights by imposing interim measures under the Enforce and Protect Act, 19 U.S.C. § 1517 (“EAPA”), without pre-deprivation notice or a meaningful opportunity to respond. See Defs.’ Mot. to Dismiss & Resp. to Pl.’s Mot. for a TRO

Court No. 26-02759 Page 2

& Prelim. Inj., ECF No. 24 (Apr. 17, 2026) (“Gov. Mot.”); Compl. ¶¶ 42, 43, ECF No. 4 (Apr. 13, 2026). ICON asserts that the court has jurisdiction to hear its claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i). Compl. ¶ 11. The government seeks dismissal of ICON’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. 1 See Gov. Mot. at 1. For the following reasons, the court holds that it has subject matter jurisdiction over ICON’s claims and denies the government’s motion.

BACKGROUND

The court presumes familiarity with the facts of this case as explained in its order granting ICON’s motion for a preliminary injunction. See Order at 2–7, ECF No. 40 (Apr. 24, 2026) (“Order”). It recounts here only those facts necessary for the adjudication of the government’s motion to dismiss.

This case concerns certain interim measures that Customs imposed on ICON on April 6, 2026, pursuant to the EAPA. See Compl. ¶¶ 27, 28; U.S. Customs & Border Prot., EAPA Cons. Case 8247: Various Importers (Notice of Initiation of Investigation and Interim Measures, April 06, 2026) at 11–14, ECF No. 24-2 (Apr. 17, 2026) (“Notice”). The EAPA was enacted to “empower the U.S. Government and its agencies with the tools to identify proactively and thwart evasion at earlier stages to improve enforcement of U.S. trade laws, including by ensuring full collection of [antidumping and countervailing] duties and, thereby, preventing a loss in revenue.” Asia Wheel Co. v. United States, 762 F. Supp. 3d 1289, 1298 (CIT 2025), appeal docketed, No. 25-1692 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 24, 2025) (quoting Diamond Tools Tech. LLC v. United States, 545 F. Supp. 3d 1324, 1351 (CIT 2021)). The EAPA statutory scheme works as follows: A party may

1 In its motion, the government also requested that the court deny ICON’s motion for temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Gov. Mot. at 15–24. The court rejected the government’s arguments and issued an injunction in its April 24, 2026 order. See Order, ECF No. 40 (Apr. 24, 2026).

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submit an allegation of evasion 2 that Customs will investigate within fifteen business days if the allegation is reasonable. See 19 U.S.C. § 1517(b)(1)–(3) . If Customs finds a reasonable suspicion of evasion, it must impose certain interim measures 3 within ninety days of starting its investigation. Id. § 1517(e). Within 300 days of initiating the investigation, Customs must make a final determination, based on substantial evidence, with respect to whether evasion occurred. 4 Id. § 1517(c)(1)(A). An affected party may appeal the final determination with Customs within thirty business days, and Customs must complete the appeal process within sixty business days. Id. § 1517(f). Thereafter, an affected party may seek the court’s review. Id. § 1517(g)(1).

On April 6, 2026, Customs found a reasonable suspicion that ICON and Marxon Energy Inc. (“Marxon”) 5 had evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders against certain low-

2 The term “evasion” refers to “entering [merchandise subject to antidumping or countervailing duty orders] into the customs territory of the United States by means of any document or electronically transmitted data or information, written or oral statement, or act that is material and false, or any omission that is material, and that results in any cash deposit or other security or any amount of applicable antidumping or countervailing duties being reduced or not being applied with respect to the merchandise.” 19 U.S.C. § 1517(a)(5)(A). 3 Under Section 1517(e), Customs shall impose the following interim measures:

(1) suspend the liquidation of each unliquidated entry of such covered merchandise that entered on or after the date of the initiation of the investigation;

(2) pursuant to the Commissioner’s authority under section 1504(b) of this title, extend the period for liquidating each unliquidated entry of such covered merchandise that entered before the date of the initiation of the investigation; and (3) pursuant to the Commissioner’s authority under section 1623 of this title, take such additional measures as the Commissioner determines necessary to protect the revenue of the United States, including requiring a single transaction bond or additional security or the posting of a cash deposit with respect to such covered merchandise.

19 U.S.C. § 1517(e)(1)–(3). 4 Customs may extend the time to make a determination in certain circumstances. See id. § 1517(c)(1)(B). 5 ICON imports certain proprietary models of electric golf carts into the United States. See Decl. of Roy Williams ¶ 2, ECF No. 13-1 (Apr. 14, 2026) (“Williams Decl.”). ICON is also the ultimate consignee of the same merchandise imported by Marxon between October 8, 2025, and March 18, 2026, and is responsible for the payment of all duties owed on Marxon’s entries. Id. ¶ 3.

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speed personal transportation vehicles (“LSPTVs”) from China. Certain Low-Speed Personal Transportation Vehicles From the People’s Republic of China: Amended Final Antidumping Duty Determination and Antidumping Duty Order; Amended Final Determination of Countervailing Duty Investigation and Countervailing Duty Order, 90 Fed. Reg. 38,759 (Dep’t Commerce Aug. 12, 2025) (the “LSPTV Orders”); 6 Notice at 1–2. It thus imposed interim measures on ICON, requiring an over-500% duty rate on ICON’s imports and, inter alia, “live” entry cash deposits. 7 Notice at 18–19; March 30, 2026 Email at 2, ECF No. 5-2 (Apr. 13, 2026) (“March 30, 2026 Email”). ICON alleges that it received no notice of the EAPA investigation or the interim measures prior to Customs’ announcement of interim measures on March 30, 2026. See Compl. ¶¶ 30, 33. ICON further alleges that it received no meaningful opportunity to be heard prior to the enforcement of the interim measures. Id. ¶¶ 3, 33, 42–43. According to ICON, the required cash

6 The court notes that the government, in quoting the purported “relevant scope of the order,” omits (without an ellipsis) a critical paragraph limiting the LPSTV Orders’ scope:

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