Graphite rods that Boart Longyear says it imports for machining into specialty components for use as molds are covered by the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on small diameter graphite electrodes from China (A-570-929), the Commerce Department said in a scope ruling issued in early February.
The Commerce Department didn't "consider the plain language of the scope" when it found a type of aluminum sheet imported from Turkey by AA Metals to be covered by the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on common alloy aluminum sheet from China, the importer said in a Feb. 22 complaint challenging a scope ruling issued by Commerce in response to a CBP covered merchandise referral in an AD/CVD evasion investigation (AA Metals v. United States, CIT #22-00051).
An investigation by CBP into alleged evasion of countervailing duties and antidumping duties on wooden cabinets from China has found substantial evidence of evasion by two importers. In a final EAPA determination, CBP found that importers, Splendid Trading and Superior Granite and Marble, engaged in a scheme to transship Chinese wooden cabinets through Malaysia, announcing that it will continue to suspend liquidation and require cash deposits on entries from the two importers.
The Commerce Department stuck by its decision to hit affiliated antidumping respondents Ghigi 1870 and Pasta Zara with an adverse inference over their U.S. payment dates in Feb. 28 remand results submitted to the Court of International Trade. However, the agency dropped the adverse inference on the U.S. sales for which Commerce verified the correct date. The result, if sustained, is a weighted-average dumping margin of 91.74% for Ghigi/Zara (Ghigi 1870 S.P.A. v. United States, CIT #20-00023).
The World Trade Organization's 12th Ministerial Conference has been set has been set for the week of June 13 in Geneva, the WTO said Feb. 23. Following Switzerland's easing of COVID-19 restrictions, WTO members at a meeting of the General Council decided to reschedule the ministerial, which had already been rescheduled to begin at the end of November 2021. Originally the conference was to be held in June 2020 in Kazakhstan. MC12 is seen as a key summit for the resolution of many issues in international trade, including the WTO Appellate Body and fishery subsidies.
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Feb. 24 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
Neither importer Cyber Power Systems (USA) Inc. nor the U.S. succeeded in persuading the Court of International Trade that their side was right in a tiff over the country of origin for shipments of uninterruptible power supplies and a surge voltage protector. Judge Leo Gordon, in a Feb. 24 order, denied both parties' motions for judgment, ordering the litigants to pick dates on which to set up a trial.
World Trade Organization members initiated membership consideration for Turkmenistan at a Feb. 23 General Council meeting, the WTO said. Turkmenistan's application, officially received in November, originally was set to be considered at the 12th Ministerial Conference the next month until the conference was postponed due to COVID-19. In the meeting's stead, the General Council agreed to set up a working party to oversee accession negotiations with the Central Asian country.
CBP began a formal investigation of 10 companies for allegedly evading antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders by importing Chinese quartz countertops. In the Enforce and Protect Act investigation, CBP will consider whether Big D, Colorquartz, Cumberland, Durian, Flowery Stone, Kat, Kingway, Nio, Nomadic and Opal evaded AD order A-570-084 and CVD order C-570-085 by transshipping Chinese quartz countertops through Malaysia.