The Commerce Department was wrong to extend a total adverse facts available antidumping duty finding to "all other" respondents in an AD review, Indian exporter Kisaan Die Tech Private Limited said in a Sept. 14 complaint at the Court of International Trade (Kissan Die Tech Private Limited v. United States, CIT #21-00512). Commerce picked only one company, Chandan Steel Limited, to serve as mandatory respondent in the 2018-19 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel flanges from India. However, Commerce had more than 40 to choose from, Kisaan said. Nevertheless, the agency settled for just Chandan and hit it with the punitive 146.25% dumping rate after finding that the company failed to cooperate to the best of its ability. "Commerce never determined that Plaintiff nor any of the other 'all other' respondents failed to cooperate with the agency’s review to the best of their ability," Kisaan said. The plaintiff now argues that it is not affiliated with Chandan and thus should not face the consequences for its alleged failure to cooperate.
Court of International Trade activity
Eteros Technologies USA's challenge of CBP's seizure of its motor frame assemblies seeks to answer a “critical legal question" on the interaction of state and federal marijuana laws, the company said in a motion for judgment at the Court of International Trade. CBP seized the assemblies, finding them to meet the federal definition of “drug paraphernalia.” This move set the lines of the case over whether CBP can ignore the authorization exemption for drug paraphernalia where those goods are allowed to be imported and sold in a given state, Eteros said (Eteros Technologies USA, Inc. v. United States, CIT #21-00287).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Commerce Department's use of adverse facts available when weighing Bosun Tool's country of origin information using a first-in-first-out (FIFO) methodology was justified, Justice Department said in Sept. 13 comments at the Court of International Trade (Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers' Coalition v. United States, CIT #17-00167).
The Department of Justice in a Sept. 13 filing sought Court of International Trade approval of the Commerce Department's remand results stemming from the 2016-17 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on circular welded non-alloy steel pipe from South Korea (see 2106220064), which dropped a cost-based particular market situation adjustment from the sales-below-cost test. However, DOJ did note that Commerce filed its remand results under respectful protest, continuing to find a particular market situation exists in South Korea. Following elimination of the PMS adjustment, Husteel, one of the plaintiffs in the case, received a 6.44% dumping rate, down from 10.91%, while Hyundai, the other plaintiff, received a 4.82% rate, down from 8.14%. Hyundai agreed with the remand results as well in an Aug. 25 filing (see 2108260026), citing that no parties submitted comments opposing the remand results (Husteel Co., Ltd. v. U.S., CIT #19-00107).
The Court of International Trade issued two similar opinions remanding the Commerce Department's decision for a second time to include Worldwide Door Components' and Columbia Aluminum Products' "door thresholds" within the scope of the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China. Finding that Commerce's remand in both cases relies on facts or inferences contradicted by other evidence and unsupported by any specific evidence, Judge Timothy Stanceu told the agency to go back to the drawing board on its scope rulings. Commerce must determine whether the finished merchandise exclusion applies to Worldwide and Columbia's door thresholds, the court said.
Chinese exporter Yinfeng ripped the Commerce Department's decision to apply adverse facts available relating to the agency's inability to verify non-use of China's Export Buyer's Credit Program, in a motion for judgment at the Court of International Trade. Commerce's use of AFA for the EBCP has been shot down repeatedly at CIT, yet the practice continues, Yinfeng said (Fujian Yinfeng Imp & Exp Trading Co., Ltd. v. United States, CIT #21-0088).
Five steel companies filed an amicus brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in support of a full court rehearing in a critical case on presidential power regarding the Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs. The brief, filed Sept. 7 by Oman Fasteners, Huttig Building Products, Koki Holdings America, J. Conrad and Metropolitan Staple, was accepted by the appellate court Sept. 9. The five companies tap into the dissenting opinion at the Federal Circuit along with the Court of International Trade's original ruling to make the case that the appellate court erred in finding that the president could hike the Section 232 duties on Turkish goods well beyond procedural time limits (Transpacific Steel LLC, et al. v. United States, Fed. Cir. #20-2157).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
Kumho Tire (Vietnam) Co. filed a complaint with the Court of International Trade challenging the Commerce Department's finding that a countervailable subsidy existed in the form of Vietnam's currency manipulation practices (Kumho Tire (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. v. United States, CIT #21-00397). KTV was a respondent in the CVD investigation of passenger vehicle and light truck tires from Vietnam. In Commerce's final determination, KTV got hit with a 7.89% subsidy rate. In the complaint, KTV challenged three parts of this final determination, which include the finding that KTV got a countervailable benefit through its land-use rights, "even though Plaintiff’s acquisition of such rights pre-dated Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organization," through Vietnam's currency practices and through Vietnam's import-duty exemptions program for imported inputs used in exported products