Commerce Imposes AFA Rate for Silicon Metal Exporter Despite CAFC Remand
The Commerce Department confirmed its decision to impose a 160% countervailing duty rate for exporter Tau-Ken Temir in the countervailing duty investigation on silicon metal from Kazakhstan despite a remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Tau-Ken Temir v. United States, CIT # 21-00173).
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After CAFC said Commerce improperly rejected a submission from Tau-Ken Temir for being one hour and 41 minutes late (see 2508040031), the case was remanded to the agency. However, after Commerce requested that the exporter refile the submission at issue, the respondent withdrew from participation in the proceeding.
After Tau-Ken Temir's withdrawal, Commerce attempted to use the respondent's original submission, since the Federal Circuit ordered the agency to accept the submission. However, the agency said that after reviewing its own files and "investigating the issue with our Central Records Unit and the ACCESS technical team," the agency was "unable to retrieve" the company's original submission.
As it did in the investigation, Commerce opted to use adverse facts available against the company, imposing a 160% CVD rate for the exporter. The agency said that Tau-Ken Temir "failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to comply with a request for information, and that adverse inferences are therefore warranted."