The Court of International Trade on Jan. 19 sustained the Commerce Department's use of exporter PhosAgro's profit before tax number instead of its gross profit mark when calculating the company's phosphate mining rights benefit.
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission published the following Federal Register notices Jan. 19 on AD/CVD proceedings:
The Commerce Department’s use of Turkish lira, not U.S. dollars, to calculate home market sales was contrary to record evidence that a Turkish exporter used the latter currency in its price negotiations, invoices and records, the exporter said on appeal (Habas Sinai ve Tibbi Gazlar Istihsal Endustrisi A.S. v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 24-1158).
The Supreme Court heard oral argument on Jan. 17 in a pair of cases contesting the Chevron doctrine, under which deference is afforded to executive agencies in interpreting federal laws where there is ambiguity. Many of the justices appeared primed to strike down the doctrine, including Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and John Roberts, who either criticized its use or questioned its current relevancy and impact (Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Sup. Ct. # 22-451) (Relentless v. Dept. of Commerce, Sup. Ct. # 22-1219).
The Court of International Trade in a Jan. 19 opinion sustained the Commerce Department's final remand results in a case on the countervailing duty investigation of phosphate fertilizers from Russia. Judge Jane Restani upheld Commerce's decision use of exporter PhosAgro's profit before tax calculation rather than its gross profit figure in its profit ratio calculation. The agency explained that the profit before tax is "narrower and helps to isolate costs for phosphate ore mining and beneficiation activities." Restani said that PhosAgro failed to show that "including expenses broader than those involved in the mining and beneficiation of phosphate ore would bolster Commerce's goal to render an accurate profit ratio."
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission published the following Federal Register notices Jan. 18 on AD/CVD proceedings:
CBP affirmed an August 2023 Enforce and Protect Act decision that thermal paper from Germany transshipped through Mexico was covered by the scope of, and evaded, an antidumping duty order, the agency said in a de novo administrative review on Dec. 22.
Case Contesting Commerce’s 2020-2021 Review of Turkish Aluminum AD Dismissed for Lack of Prosecution
A case brought by Teknik Aluminyum Sanayi A.S., a Turkish common alloy aluminum sheet exporter, was dismissed Jan. 17 for lack of prosecution after the company filed a summons Dec. 13 (see 2312140060). Teknik had intended to contest parts of the Commerce Department’s 2020-2021 review of the antidumping duty order on its products, the summons said (Teknik Aluminyum Sanayi v. U.S., CIT # 23-00265).
Importer Sweet Harvest Foods and the National Honey Packers & Dealers Association will appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit a November Court of International Trade decision sustaining the International Trade Commission's critical circumstances finding on raw honey imports from Vietnam that led to the retroactive imposition of antidumping duties on the products, they said in Jan. 16 notices of appeal (see 2311170064) (Sweet Harvest Foods v. U.S., CIT # 22-00188).
A Greek pipe exporter said Commerce made an error calculating its dumping rate, then violated antidumping duty laws when it didn't allow comment before hitting it with an adverse facts available rate, in a Jan. 16 reply brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Corinth Pipeworks Pipe Industry v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 23-2094).