CBP Determines China Is Country of Origin for Stainless Steel Sinks
CBP upheld its decision that China as the country of origin for an unnamed company's stainless steel sinks, according to a recent ruling.
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The protesting company had asked CBP to reconsider its ruling, arguing that the stainless steel sinks should have Malaysia as the country of origin. Because CBP determined that China is the country of origin for the sinks, they are subject to antidumping and countervailing duty orders, according to ruling, released in early November.
CBP had also doubled the antidumping and countervailing duties since the protestant did not provide a certificate of non-reimbursement, and the agency doubled the value of the sinks since it appeared on the invoice that the unit value could be the transshipment fee for the merchandise, rather than the true value.
CBP subsequently agreed that the doubling of antidumping and countervailing duties no longer was appropriate because the unnamed company provided a blanket statement of non-reimbursement. CBP also agreed that the doubling of the value was inappropriate as the price on the invoice was consistent with previous entries made by the protestant.
Since CBP granted the protest of these two issues, the remaining issue became "the determination of whether CBP properly determined the merchandise to be subject to the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on stainless steel sinks from China," CBP said.
To prove that the sinks originated from Malaysia, the protesting company provided a certificate of origin from the Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Perak, Malaysia, stating the goods “were produced or processed in Malaysia," according to CBP's ruling. The company also provided an insurance agreement for the exporter that covered the merchandise from the insured warehouse in Perak, Malaysia, to the consignee's facility in the U.S., CBP said.
But CBP said the documentation is inadequate in proving that the sinks originated from Malaysia.
"The fact that the sinks travelled through Malaysia is not in dispute. The two documents, however, do not further the claim that the sinks were produced in Malaysia. For example, the insurance document describes the exporter’s location as a “warehouse” rather than a manufacturing facility," CBP said.
Furthermore, CBP's prior ruling still stands because "the mere fact that the other documents provided to CBP did not mention 'China' does not overcome the fact that the commercial invoice indicates shipment from China."
"The arguments and evidence provided by the protestant fail to overcome CBP’s presumption of correctness because they do not demonstrate production in Malaysia. Accordingly, we uphold CBP’s determination that the country of origin for the sinks is China and subject to antidumping and countervailing duty orders," CBP concluded.