KAM Expands Its Legal Reach in Q4 2024 to Again Protect Kentucky’s Business Community
FRANKFORT, KY – Entering a foreign courtroom for the first time, the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) expanded its litigation actions in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024 to protect Kentucky business and industry with KAM’s first-ever international lawsuit and by weighing in on an important U.S. case threatening business access to federal courts.
In its first international courtroom action, KAM joined with four business group partners in a lawsuit filed in Brussels, Belgium, to challenge that country’s implementation of the global minimum corporate tax agreement adopted by more than 100 countries in 2021. The litigation is closely related to the action taken Monday by President Donald Trump withdrawing the United States from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal negotiated by the prior administration.
The lawsuit by KAM and its partners – the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AmFree Chamber), based in Washington, D.C., the lead plaintiff; the California Business Roundtable in Sacramento, CA; the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock, AR; and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce in Topeka, KS – is the first step towards ensuring that the 27 member nations of the European Union (E.U.) properly administer the international tax agreement. If KAM and partners prevail in the Belgian litigation, it will set a precedent that all 27 E.U. members must follow.
“A regulation that tramples on other established legal protections cannot stand,” said Dr. Jeffery P. Langer, Chair of KAM’s Legal Affairs Council and General Counsel of Zoeller Company in Louisville, KY. “The Belgian regulation, along with its broader adoption within the E.U., should not be found lawful due to its unlawful enforcement mechanism. There was no international consensus to legalize the coercive tactics proposed by the new regulation, which aims to compel U.S. businesses to disclose their U.S. records to E.U. state regulators. Belgium had several alternative approaches to achieve the law’s objectives but opted for a path marked by overreach.”
“We applaud President Trump’s clear statement and guidance that the agreements made by the prior administration with respect to the Global Tax Deal have no force or effect absent an act of Congress,” said Rob Engstrom, President of the AmFree Chamber. “This is an important first step toward reasserting American sovereignty and protecting American assets. There is still work to be done and we are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with KAM and our other partners in this important fight. We will never back down in the face of misguided attempts to allow foreign governments to impose their will on American industry.”
“As the Commonwealth’s leading voice of free enterprise, KAM stands ready to defend the rights of Kentucky industry and business,” said Frank Jemley, KAM President and CEO. “The Belgian case is an important effort to ensure American companies serving customers in Europe are not disadvantaged by European governments. We are grateful to the AmFree Chamber and our partners in Arkansas, California, and Kansas in this litigation as we, simply put, work together to defend American businesses in the global economy.”
In the U.S. case, KAM joined with thirteen other state and national business organizations to defend their right to litigate when necessary to defend their member companies. The amici curiae filing of the group is in the appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit of a U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruling in Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce v. Becerra that rejected national and local Chambers participation in the litigation, saying the Chambers did not have standing to participate in the case. Standing arguments, though commonly asserted by the government in its challenges to organizational participation on behalf of members, unduly shortcut the courts’ ability to reach the ultimate issues that the organizations seek to have heard, stifling consideration of legitimate concerns across industries.
Concerned about the precedent such a district court ruling could create, KAM and its partners joined the brief of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to ensure that the right of business organizations to intervene in federal courts remains robust.
“America’s local, state, and national business organizations play any number of vital roles in our nation and economy,” said Dr. Langer, “not the least of which is to advocate for business in the courts, before legislative bodies, and with mayors, governors, and presidents. Their access to American courtrooms cannot be limited capriciously.”
“The Dayton Area Chamber decision could limit the business community’s right to defend free enterprise in American courtrooms,” said Jemley. “If that right is diminished, it will be a bad day for our economy. Thank you to the NAM and our other allies in this effort to protect American business access to the judicial system whenever needed.”
About the Kentucky Association of Manufacturers
The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers (KAM) is Kentucky’s leading industry and business organization. Our mission is to make a better Kentucky by promoting and growing manufacturing in the Commonwealth. We are the voice for economic growth and opportunity in Kentucky. Learn more at kam.us.com.
