Solar Panel Exporter Seeks CBP, Commerce Documents to Resolve Liquidation Discrepancy
Solar panel exporter MS Solar Investments is seeking targeted discovery of documents relating to the liquidation of its solar panel exports to determine if decisions made by CBP and the Commerce Department were erroneous, MS Solar said in a Sept. 22 letter to the Court of International Trade (MS Solar Investments, LLC v. United States, CIT #21-00303).
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MS Solar filed a complaint at CIT, alleging an error made by either CBP or Commerce relating to the liquidation of a solar panel entry made by Yingli Energy (China) Company Limited. The Yingli-made solar panels were shipped from storage in the Bahamas to the U.S. during the period of review for an antidumping duty investigation, but were actually purchased from Yingli and exported from China before the POR, the letter said.
The plaintiff had failed to obtain information from CBP or Commerce regarding its liquidation instructions, to see which had committed the alleged error in liquidating the solar panel entries with the antidumping duties. MS Solar said it finally received the non-public version of Commerce's liquidation instructions as an exhibit in the U.S.'s motion to dismiss. But, the instructions don't explain why CBP declined to liquidate the Yingli solar panels at the Yingli-specific dumping rate, while liquidating solar panels from Sun Earth Solar Power Co. at its specific rate, even though the Sun Earth panels were part of the same entry, the letter said.
To clarify this discrepancy, MS Solar is seeking a copy of the non-public Commerce liquidation instructions for solar panels made and shipped by Sun Earth, documents relating to how Commerce created the Sun Earth instructions, documents relating to how Commerce created the Yingli instructions, documents relating to Commerce's policy and practices regarding products that were imported by respondents during an AD administrative review but sold by respondents and initially exported prior to an administrative review period, and more.