Abstract:
The Eighth Circuit has breathed life back into Missouri’s attempts to hold the People’s Republic of China (PRC) responsible in U.S. court for the COVID-19 pandemic. Missouri filed this claim in April 2020 and, as Chimène Keitner outlined at the time, the case is rife with Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) issues. This latest decision characterizes the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a “foreign state” under the FSIA, highlights a disputed reading of the FSIA’s commercial activities exception, and offers a reminder of intensifying anti-China politics during the pandemic.