Commerce's AD Successor Finding Clouds CVD Successor Claim, Canadian Lumber Firm Tells CIT
Although the Commerce Department in an antidumping duty proceeding found that GreenFirst Forest is the successor-in-interest to Rayonier A.M. Canada (RYAM), it concurrently found in a countervailing duty proceeding that the same acquisition was a "significant change," GreenFirst told the Court of International Trade. Even though Commerce uses different standards for starting AD and CVD changed circumstances reviews, GreenFirst thought it was significant that the agency analyzed the acquisition and found "there were no relevant changes to its structure and operations following the acquisition” (GreenFirst Forest Products v. U.S., CIT # 22-00097).
GreenFirst, a Canadian lumber firm, asked the court to remand the matter to Commerce with instructions to initiate the requested CVD CCR. GreenFirst bought lumber mills from RYAM and argued that this caused it to be a successor-in-interest, which would confer RYAM's "non-selected" countervailing duty rate on softwood lumber goods from Canada rather than the 14.19% all-others rate (see 2304040038). The U.S. said GreenFirst is not RYAM's successor because there was evidence of significant changes in GreenFirst's operations, ownership, corporate or legal structure (see 2302170042).
In the related AD proceeding, Commerce preliminarily found that GreenFirst was the successor-in-interest to RYAM. GreenFirst argued that despite the different CCR standards in AD and CVD proceedings, the company is submitting the notice of authority "simply to make the Court aware that the Department initiated an AD CCR with respect to GreenFirst, analyzed in detail whether there have been any relevant changes to the company since GreenFirst’s acquisition, and has now preliminarily determined that there were no relevant changes such that GreenFirst is the successor-in-interest to RYAM."