Key Legal Insights from Foley’s Automotive Team Analysis by Julie Dautermann, Competitive Intelligence Analyst KEY DEVELOPMENTS - Foley & Lardner partners Nicholas Ellis and Vanessa Miller were featured in Supply & Demand Chain Executive for their article, 6 Strategies to Reduce Price Risk and Strengthen Supply Chain Stability. - U.S. new light-vehicle sales are projected to reach a SAAR of 16.3 million units in May, representing an increase of 5.8% year-over-year, according to a joint forecast from JD Power and GlobalData. The analysis notes that year-over-year comparisons remain challenging, as May 2025 results were lowered by accelerated purchases in the two preceding months in response to U.S. import tariffs. Total global sales in 2026 are forecast to decline 1.1% YOY to 91.1 million units, due to market challenges that include the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, and weakened sales within China. - Plante Moran’s 2026 North American Automotive OEM-Supplier Working Relations Index® (WRI®) Study revealed overall improvements across all six North American OEMs for the first time in the study’s history. Toyota and Honda are in the top two positions, followed by GM, Nissan, Ford, and Stellantis. - Foley & Lardner provided an update for multinationals pertaining to new rules for Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper derivatives. - The Justice Department filed notice on May 29 announcing plans to appeal a Court of International Trade order that granted all U.S. importers the ability to seek refunds on IEEPA tariffs that were deemed unlawful by the U.S. Supreme Court. - The U.S. Court of International Trade will not stay its ruling prohibiting the collection of Section 122 10% global tariffs for certain plaintiff importers while the judgment is appealed, according to a report in Law360. This follows a federal appeals court’s temporary stay on a decision that