Cased Pencils Importer Says Old Scope Ruling Only Applied to Different Company
In a Nov. 14 complaint, a cased pencils importer said CBP wrongly determined its novelty pencils were of Chinese origin and liquidated them at a 114.9% antidumping duty rate, having based its finding on an unrelated company-specific scope ruling (Raymond Geddes & Company v. United States, CIT # 25-00265).
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The importer, Raymond Geddes, argued that it exports its pencils from the Philippines, not China. The only Chinese-origin components in its pencils are the pencils’ “optional ferrules, erasers, and foil wraps,” it said, which make up only a small part of their total manufacturing cost.
It said CBP’s decision cited a scope ruling the Commerce Department reached last year regarding pencils imported by School Specialty Inc. That ruling was specific to School Specialty, having been based on the manufacturing process of the other importer’s pencils, it said.
“Commerce never analyzed Raymond Geddes’ Philippine pencil-manufacturing operations, never sought or reviewed any data concerning those operations, never sought data regarding those operations, and never issued any scope ruling concerning the Raymond Geddes’ pencils, or the pencils of any other producer or importer other than School Specialty,” it said.
It claimed a June 14, 2024, field message issued following the School Specialty Scope ruling had misled CBP. That message “inaccurately” informed the agency that “any pencils manufactured in the Philippines containing Chinese-origin materials” were covered by the AD order on Chinese-origin cased pencils, it said.
It asked the court to have CBP reverse the decision and reliquidate its pencils without duties.