The Commerce Department has the right to select a single mandatory respondent in antidumping proceedings, the Department of Justice said in a June 21 response brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. YC Rubber, Sutong and ITG Voma are appealing their unsuccessful Court of International Trade challenge of the second administrative review of the antidumping duty order on passenger vehicle and light truck tires from China. In its brief, DOJ says that Commerce is not required by law to examine more than one company individually (YC Rubber Co. (North America) et al. v. United States, Federal Circuit #21-1489).
Court of International Trade activity
The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear Hyundai Heavy Industries' case challenging the Commerce Department's use of adverse facts available to set an antidumping duty rate on power transformers from Korea. The court did not explain the June 21 petition denial. Hyundai appealed a 2019 Court of International Trade opinion sustaining Commerce's use of AFA and an opinion-less affirmation of that ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Steel exporter Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret will appeal a June 16 Court of International Trade decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, according to a June 21 notice of appeal. In the decision, Judge Jane Restani sustained the Commerce Department's remand results in an antidumping administrative review of circular welded carbon steel standard pipe and tube products from Turkey. The remand results dropped any adjustments made to the sales-below-cost test relating to a particular market situation (see 2106170026). Restani said that PMS adjustments are only allowed when calculating normal value based on constructed value, as opposed to normal value based on home market sales (Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. et al. v. United States, CIT #20-00015).
Dominican aluminum extrusion manufacturer Kingtom Aluminio SRL will not be allowed to intervene in a Court of International Trade case in which it is alleged to be involved in a transshipment scheme to avoid antidumping duties, according to a June 21 order. Kingtom did not establish that its interest in continuing to sell aluminum extrusions to the importer plaintiffs without duties is an "interest relating to the property or transaction that is the subject of the action," as required by the court's rules. Kingtom also did not have a claim that shares with the main action -- a challenge of an Enforce and Protect Act" investigation -- a common question of law or fact (Global Aluminum Distributor LLC v. United States, CIT #21-00198).
The Commerce Department complied with the Court of International Trade's remand instructions in an antidumping case on frozen warmwater shrimp from India by switching from an application of adverse facts available to neutral facts available, the Department of Justice said in June 17 comments on the remand results (Calcutta Seafoods Pvt. Ltd., Bay Seafood Pvt. Ltd. v. U.S., CIT #19-00201). So far, no parties to the case have taken issue with the remand results, though Commerce submitted them “under respectful protest.” DOJ joins defendant-intervenor and petitioner in the case, Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee, in signing off on the remand results (see 2106040074).
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The following lawsuits were recently filed at the Court of International Trade:
The Commerce Department's denial of third country sales data for evasion of antidumping duties in establishing normal value in an antidumping duty case lacks proper evidence, shrimp exporter Z.A. Sea Foods Private Limited said in a brief filed June 18 with the Court of International Trade. ZASF said that there was no evidence in the record to back Commerce's reliance on CBP's determination in an Enforce and Protect Act investigation that ZASF's shrimp imports from Vietnam evaded antidumping duties from India (Z.A. Sea Foods Private Limited et al v. United States, CIT #21-00031).
Former Sidley Austin partner Brian Nester joined Covington & Burling as a partner in its Washington, D.C.-based patent litigation practice, the firm announced in a June 15 press release. Nester has litigated extensively before the International Trade Commission and federal district courts across the country.
Opposing sides in the Section 301 litigation sparred heatedly in the closing minutes of oral argument June 17 (see 2106170061) about the role the plaintiffs’ steering committee should play should the Court of International Trade grant the motion of sample-case plaintiffs HMTX and Jasco for a preliminary injunction to freeze the liquidations of unliquidated customs entries from China with lists 3 and 4A tariff exposure.