Yama Appeals CIT Ruling on Use of Evidence from Companion Cases in China Ribbons CV Investigation

Yama Ribbons and Bows appealed a Sept. 14 Court of International Trade decision affirming a 1.56 percent countervailing duty rate in the investigation of certain narrow woven ribbons with woven selvedge from China (C-570-953). Yama argued that it was affiliated with a Hong Kong company, and so the International Trade Administration should have used sales from the company based in Hong Kong to the U.S. to calculate its CV duty rate. Instead, the ITA used sales from Yama, which is based in China, to the Hong Kong company. When the ITA used sales from China to Hong Kong in its preliminary determination, Yama was assigned a de minimis CV duty rate. But the evidence showing Yama was affiliated with the Hong Kong company were only placed on the record of the companion antidumping duty investigation. CIT said the two investigations were separate proceedings, and Yama should have placed the evidence on the record of the CV investigation. The ITA would have violated its own regulations by placing the information on the CV investigation record on its own initiative, it said.