CIT Upholds Inclusion of 5050 Alloys in Aluminum Extrusions Duties, but Says Applied Too Early
The Court of International Trade on June 7 upheld a Commerce Department ruling that extended antidumping and countervailing duties to cover 5050-grade alloy aluminum extrusions from China (A-570-967/C-570-968), but found Commerce applied those duties months too early without adequate notice.
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Commerce had applied the duties beginning from the date it initiated its anti-circumvention inquiry, which eventually held that heat-treated 5050-grade alloys were developed after the AD/CVD orders were issued to take advantage of an exemption for 5-series aluminum alloys. But the initiation notice said the scope of the inquiry only covered one Chinese exporter, Zhongwang, and that the agency would consider including all Chinese exporters.
According to CIT, that did not give those other exporters enough notice that they would be covered in the event that Commerce issued a final determination of circumvention. The first time Commerce said all exporters were covered was in the preliminary determination, so AD/CV duties should only apply to heat-treated 5050-series alloy extrusions on or after the date of that preliminary determination, CIT said.
(Tai-Ao Aluminium (Taishan) Co. Ltd. v. U.S., Slip Op. 19-70, CIT # 17-00216, dated 06/07/19, Judge Katzmann)