The Court of International Trade in a March 18 opinion made public March 23 sustained the Commerce Department's final determination in the countervailing duty investigation on utility scale wind towers from Canada. Addressing the five issues raised by the plaintiffs, Judge Gary Katzmann said Commerce permissibly excluded plaintiff Marmen's foreign auditor's foreign currency adjustment as unreliable, reasonably found the Quebec Local Content Requirement provided a recurring benefit and acted within its authority to find that the Quebec On-the-Job Training tax credit was a de facto subsidy. Commerce also legally excluded some increased tax liabilities and acted lawfully when finding the financial benefit from additional depreciation for buildings used in manufacturing, Katzmann said.
The World Trade Organization published the agenda for the March 28 meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body. It includes U.S. status reports on the implementation of recommendations adopted by the DSB on: antidumping measures on certain hot-rolled steel products from Japan; antidumping and countervailing measures on large residential washers from South Korea; certain methodologies and their application to antidumping proceedings involving China; and Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act. Status reports also are expected from the EU on measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products and from Indonesia on importation of horticultural products, animals and animal products.
The Court of International Trade sustained the Commerce Department's final determination in the countervailing duty investigation on utility scale wind towers from Canada, as well as the agency's final negative determination of critical circumstances, in confidential opinion March 18. In a public order on the case, Judge Gary Katzmann denied the motions for judgment filed by plaintiffs Government of Quebec, Marmen Energie and Government of Canada and by defendant-intervenor Wind Tower Trade Coalition. The litigants challenged Commerce's position that Quebec's local content requirement program didn't confer a countervailable subsidy on Marmen, among other things (The Government of Quebec v. U.S., CIT Consol. #20-00168).
The Court of International Trade remanded the Commerce Department's final determination in the antidumping duty investigation on fabricated structural steel from Mexico. In a March 21 letter on the March 18 confidential opinion, Judge Claire Kelly said the court intends to release a public version March 29 following a period wherein the litigants may review bracketed confidential information. Building Systems de Mexico (BSM) had challenged multiple aspects of Commerce's constructed value in the investigation. One such issue concerns the agency's decision to use a 45.42% combined home market selling expense and profit rate as BSM's constructed value indirect selling expense and profit rate (Building Systems de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. v. United States, CIT #20-00069).
The Court of International Trade rejected exporter Ancientree Cabinet's arguments that the Commerce Department violated the law with its financial ratio calculations in an antidumping duty investigation. Judge Gary Katzmann ruled March 21 that Commerce adequately explained its ratio calculation methodology on remand and that, contrary to Ancientree's arguments, the agency didn't violate any normal or established practice.
The Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission published the following Federal Register notices March 21 on AD/CVD proceedings:
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
South Korean steel exporter Hyundai Steel Company filed a proposed judgment in a countervailing duty case after the Court of International Trade told litigants to do so as resolution of the matter was reached following a voluntary remand from the Commerce Department (see 2203100028). The proposed order would have the trade court sustain Commerce's remand results. In the remand, Commerce said that a South Korean sewerage fees program was not countervailable, leading to a de minimis rate for Hyundai Steel. In a March 9 joint status report, Hyundai and the U.S. said that case was resolved following the voluntary remand. The case concerns the 2018 CVD administrative review of cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate from South Korea (Hyundai Steel Company v. United States, CIT #21-00012).
Nucor Corporation says the Commerce Department should have added countervailing duties in an administrative review for the South Korean government's provision of electricity below cost for certain tariff classes, instead of finding the provision of electricity conferred a "non-measurable benefit." In its March 18 complaint at the Court of International Trade, Nucor took particular issue with Commerce's decision to run a "tier three" analysis into the alleged benefit (Nucor Corporation v. United States, CIT #22-00050).
The Court of International Trade on March 21 sustained the Commerce Department's remand results in a challenge brought by The Ancientree Cabinet Co. to the antidumping duty investigation of wooden cabinets and vanities from China. Judge Gary Katzmann upheld Commerce's financial ratio calculations after the agency provided more explanation on remand..