The Court of International Trade in a pair of decisions on April 3 remanded both the 2019 and 2020 reviews of the countervailing duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China. In both decisions, Judge Timothy Reif sent back the Commerce Department's use of UN Comtrade data in setting a benchmark price in assessing the provision of plywood for less than adequate remuneration and the agency's use of adverse facts available to find that certain input suppliers are government "authorities." On the second point, Reif said Commerce appropriately found that the Chinese government's submissions were insufficient but that the agency didn't give the Chinese government proper notice or opportunity to remedy these deficiencies. In the 2019 review, Reif also remanded Commerce's benchmark price for veeners, though the judge sustained the benchmark for inland freight and use of AFA to find use of China's Export Buyer's Credit Program.
The Commerce Department properly found that the provision of mining rights by the Moroccan government didn't confer a benefit to countervailing duty respondent OCP and that the provision of port services was not countervailable, the Court of International Trade held on April 1.
The following lawsuit was filed recently at the Court of International Trade:
Cable importer Cyber Power Systems said in a March 28 motion for judgment that CBP misclassified its products, resulting in imposition of Section 301 duties. It claimed its cables fall under the tariff-free Harmonized Tariff Schedule provision for “telecommunications cables” because they serve as parts of larger telecommunications systems (Cyber Power Systems (USA) v. United States, CIT # 21-00200).
Responding to a U.S. motion to dismiss (see 2502050050), importer Houston Shutters said March 31 the trade court “must" possess jurisdiction over its challenge to the Commerce Department’s refusal to conduct a changed circumstances review under 1581(i) if it doesn’t under 1581(c) (Houston Shutters v. United States, CIT # 24-00175).
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The Commerce Department erred in picking just one mandatory respondent in the 2017 review of the countervailing duty order on multilayered wood flooring from China, the Court of International Trade held in a decision made public on April 1. In a monster 117-page decision, Judge Timothy Reif remanded parts of the review, including the agency's decision on remand to stick with just one mandatory respondent.
The Court of International Trade on April 1 sustained parts and remanded parts of the Commerce Department's 2020-21 review of the countervailing duty order on phosphate fertilizers from Morocco. Judge Timothy Stanceu rejected Commerce's finding that Morocco's program for relief from tax fines and penalties is specific to OCP. The judge sustained the remaining issues in the case, which included Commerce's decision not to find a benefit from the provision of mining rights by the Moroccan government, its decision not to countervail the provision of port services, its use of adverse facts available for respondent OCP's failure to report a payroll tax refund, and its ability to request information from OCP on unspecified "other benefits" it received.
Mediation at the Court of International Trade in Dominican exporter Kingtom Aluminio's challenge to CBP's finding that the company makes aluminum extrusions using forced labor didn't result in a settlement. Judge Leo Gordon submitted a report of mediation on March 28 to the trade court noting the failed outcome of the mediation bid (Kingtom Aluminio v. United States, CIT # 24-00264).
Melamine exporters led by Qatar Melamine Company brought suit against the Commerce Department March 28 contesting the department’s assignment of adverse facts available to its government-supplied water and electricity purchases (Qatar Melamine Company v. United States, CIT # 25-00053).