A case involving allegedly defective plywood should be dismissed from consideration at the Court of International Trade because the importer has failed to show evidence of actual defect or specific value lost, the government said in a July 18 cross-motion for summary judgement (Bral Corporation v. United States, CIT # 20-00154).

The Commerce Department properly found that Shelter Forest International Acquisition's hardwood plywood exports didn't circumvent the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hardwood plywood from China, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in a June 15 opinion. Affirming the Court of International Trade's opinion, the Federal Circuit said that the merchandise was commercially available before Dec. 8, 2016, and was thus not later-developed merchandise that circumvented the AD/CVD orders.

The Commerce Department is issuing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on walk-behind snow throwers from China (A-570-141/C-570-142). The orders, set for publication May 19, set permanent antidumping and countervailing duties, which will remain in place unless revoked by Commerce in a sunset or changed circumstances review. Commerce will now begin conducting annual administrative reviews, if requested, to determine final assessments of AD/CVD on importers and make changes to cash deposit rates.

The Commerce Department's anti-circumvention inquiry into the antidumping and countervailing duties on corrosion-resistant steel (CORE) products from China did not violate the intent behind Congress' passage of the anti-circumvention statute, the U.S. said in an April 27 reply brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Al Ghurair Iron & Steel v. United States, Fed. Cir. #22-1199).

The Commerce Department issued a notice to correct rates listed in a recent countervailing duty order on pentafluoroethane (R-125) from China (C-570-138) (see 2203020063). The March 3 order, issued at the same time as the antidumping duty order on R-125, incorrectly listed the applicable CV duty rates for the companies covered by the order, "due to a typographical error," the agency said March 8.

The Commerce Department is issuing antidumping and countervailing duty orders on collated pentafluoroethane (R-125) from China (A-570-137/C-570-138). The orders, set for publication March 3, set permanent antidumping and countervailing duties, which will remain in place unless revoked by Commerce in a sunset or changed circumstances review. Commerce will now begin conducting annual administrative reviews, if requested, to determine final assessments of AD/CVD on importers and make changes to cash deposit rates.

The Commerce Department erred when it found that Al Ghurair Iron & Steel LLC circumvented the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from China via the United Arab Emirates, AGIS said in its Feb. 14 opening brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Al Ghurair Iron & Steel v. United States, Fed. Cir. #22-1199).

CBP initiated two antidumping and countervailing duty evasion investigations on cast iron soil pipe fittings (CISPF) from China under suspicion that imports from certain companies were evading the orders by way of transshipment through Cambodia. The Cambodian-registered company Little Fireflies International was implicated in both of the investigations as the importer of record in each case but also as the source of the covered merchandise for another importer named in one of the investigations, Granite Plumbing. CBP imposed interim measures in both investigations after finding a reasonable suspicion that Little Fireflies and Granite Plumbing entered merchandise covered by the ADD/CVD orders through evasion.

The Commerce Department on Jan. 7 released its final determination in its countervailing duty investigation on pentafluoroethane (R-125) from China (C-570-138). Suspension of liquidation is currently not in effect for entries on or after Oct. 23, 2021, and Commerce will only require cash deposits of estimated CV duties on future entries if it issues a CV duty order.

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Dec. 1 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):