Esquel Group files motion for preliminary injunction in lawsuit against U.S. Department of Commerce

On July 19, 2021, Esquel Group filed a motion for preliminary injunction with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce. The motion seeks to put an immediate end to the daily commercial and reputational harm to Esquel Group by barring Changji Esquel’s inclusion on the Entity List.

Under the prior U.S. administration, Changji Esquel was added to the Entity List without notice and with no supporting evidence. Despite continued outreach and the sharing of numerous business documents with the Department of Commerce’s End-User Review Committee since September 2020, Esquel has received no meaningful response or evidence from the U.S. government that would support that inclusion on the List. Accordingly, Esquel has had no choice but to take legal action to end the devastating ongoing reputational and commercial damage resulting from this erroneous designation.

Esquel made an initial filing against the Department of Commerce on July 6, which points to a lack of any factual or legal basis for Changji Esquel’s listing and seeks access to the administrative record the Commerce Department relied on in making its erroneous listing. You can read the full press release regarding the lawsuit, here.