ITA Proposes to Eliminate Company Specific Revocations of AD/CV Orders in Admin Reviews

According to ITA sources, the proposed rule would completely eliminate the possibility of company-specific revocations of an order during administrative reviews, as there is no other way for a firm to obtain an individual revocation.

Comments are due by April 20, 2011.

Now ITA Can Revoke Order in Whole or for Individual Exporters/Producers

Currently, 19 CFR 351.222 provides requirements and procedures for ITA to determine in the context of an administrative review whether to: (1) revoke an order in whole if all exporters and producers covered by the order have sold the subject merchandise at not less than AD normal value for at least three consecutive years or have not received any net countervailable subsidies on the subject merchandise for five consecutive years; or (2) partially revoke an order with respect to an individual exporter or producer that has received AD margins of zero for three consecutive years or CV duty rates of zero for five consecutive years.

Proposal Would Eliminate Order Revocations for Individual Exporters/Producers

The ITA proposes to eliminate the latter category of revocations and retain, with some conforming modifications, the former category. In other words, in the context of administrative reviews, ITA would only be able to revoke an order in whole. To implement this modification, ITA would eliminate the following paragraphs of 19 CFR 351.222:

• (b)(2) and (3) on revoking AD orders for individual exporters and producers; and
• (c)(3) and (4) on revoking CV orders for individual exporters and producers.

ITA Says Proposal Wouldn’t Change Treatment of Firms that Maintain Zero Rates

ITA argues that to the extent that companies maintain AD or CV duty rates of zero percent, its proposed rule would not change the amount of duties applied to entries that remain subject to AD or CV orders.

Company-Specific Revocations Not Required by Law, Consume ITA Resources

According to ITA, company-specific revocations are not required by the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended. In addition, current regulations require ITA to expend additional resources, including additional mandatory verifications, in conducting administrative reviews where a request for company-specific revocation is being considered.

Only Fraction of Reviewed Companies Found Eligible for Individual Revocations

ITA adds that while it annually conducts administrative reviews of hundreds of foreign companies subject to AD or CV duty orders, only a small fraction of the reviewed companies are ultimately found to be eligible for a company-specific “zero rates” revocation under the regulations at issue.

Many Firms Not Reviewed & Have No Chance for These Individual Revocations

Furthermore, the ITA frequently limits the examination of companies for which reviews have been requested, as it is not practicable to examine all companies. Companies not selected for review will normally receive an AD or CV duty rate based upon the average of the rates calculated for the individually reviewed companies. ITA states that this may not afford equitable opportunity to all companies that seek revocation.

For all the above reasons, ITA is proposing to eliminate its company-specific (zero rates) revocation regulations.

(ITA also proposes to clarify its existing regulation(s) that a request to revoke an order in whole during the third and subsequent annual anniversary month of an order’s publication has to meet certain requirements (i.e. there must be certifications for all exporters and producers covered by the order that they sold the subject merchandise at not less than normal value during the period) in order for ITA to publish a notice that a request for revocation was made or a notice of final determination regarding the revocation.)

(D/N 110315198-1198-01, FR Pub 03/21/11)