Exporter Salzgitter Flachstahl asked a panel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to rehear its case on the use of partial adverse facts available against the company in the antidumping duty investigation on cut-to-length carbon and alloy steel plate from Germany. Salzgitter argued that the panel seemingly ruled against its proposed methodology for addressing missing manufacturer information for around 28,000 of its downstream sales made in Germany by one of its affiliates based on a misunderstanding of the methodology (AG der Dillinger Huttenwerke v. United States, Fed. Cir. # 24-1219).
The Commerce Department abused its discretion in rejecting a submission from respondent Tau-Ken Temir in a countervailing duty investigation, which was filed one hour and 41 minutes late, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held on Aug. 4. Judge Todd Hughes filed a dissent in the case, noting that he believes "Commerce has extensive authority to enforce its own deadlines."
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission published the following Federal Register notices Aug. 4 on AD/CVD proceedings:
The Commerce Department was wrong to hit importer AM Stone with adverse facts available during antidumping duty and countervailing duty reviews on Chinese-origin quartz surface products for its exporter’s failure to provide information, AM Stone said in a July 27 brief. Despite Commerce's claim otherwise, substantial evidence shows the quartz countertops were manufactured in Malaysia, not China, AM Stone said, arguing that it shouldn’t have been assigned the China-wide 326.15% AD rate and 45.32% CVD rate (AM Stone & Cabinets v. U.S., CIT # 24-00241).
The Commerce Department slashed antidumping duty respondent Saha Thai Steel Pipe's antidumping duty rate to zero percent on remand in a case on the administrative review of the AD order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes from Thailand for the 2018-19 review period. The case was remanded after the Court of International Trade said Commerce failed to notify Saha Thai of supposed deficiencies in its submissions (see 2212020060) (PT. Saha Thai Steel Pipe Public Co. v. United States, CIT # 21-00049).
Importers Wego and Galleher didn't waive or forfeit their arguments against the Commerce Department's separate antidumping duty rate calculated in the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China for the 2016-17 review period, the importers argued in a July 31 reply brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Galleher Corp. v. U.S., Fed. Cir. # 25-1196).
The Commerce Department abused its discretion in rejecting exporter Jindal Poly Films' affiliate questionnaire response as untimely in the administrative review of the countervailing duty order on polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet and strip from India for the 2021 review period, the Court of International Trade held on Aug. 1. Judge Mark Barnett said Commerce failed to consider other factors in rejecting the submission, including the "early stage of the proceeding," the fact that Jindal was selected only after requests for review of all other companies were withdrawn and whether accuracy considerations outweighed the burden on Commerce.
The Commerce Department adequately explained its determinations regarding all the factors underlying a scope ruling on pencils made in the Philippines, though it failed to explain how it balanced these factors to find that the subject pencils fall under the scope of pencils from China, Judge M. Miller Baker held on July 31. Baker remanded the scope ruling "for the agency to provide the missing explanation."
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Aug. 4 held that the Commerce Department's rejection of a questionnaire submission by countervailing duty respondent Tau-Ken Temir that was one hour and 41 minutes late was an abuse of discretion. Judges Timothy Dyk and Sharon Prost said that future courts reviewing whether Commerce "abused its discretion by rejecting a submission as untimely" shall consider the "remedial-not-punitive purpose" of antidumping and countervailing duty laws, the burden on Commerce that stems from the untimely submission, whether any finality concerns are implicated by accepting the documents and the "late-filing party's efforts" and its "reasons for the submission's untimeliness." Applying those factors, Dyk and Prost said Commerce clearly abused its discretion in deciding not to accept Tau-Ken's late submission, which led to a 160% adverse facts available rate. Judge Todd Hughes dissented from the decision, declaring that "Commerce has extensive authority to enforce its own deadlines."
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission published the following Federal Register notices Aug. 1 on AD/CVD proceedings: