The Commerce Department violated the law by basing the margin for non-individually examined companies in an antidumping duty review only on a mandatory respondent with a zero rate, and not considering another mandatory respondent that got the China-wide rate for failing to cooperate, the American Manufacturers of Multilayered Wood Flooring (AMMWF) argued in a reply brief at the Court of International Trade. Even if the respondent does not cooperate, it remains an individually-examined company and must be used as part of the expected method for the non-individually examined respondents, AMMWF argued (American Manufacturers of Multilayered Wood Flooring v. United States, CIT #21-00595).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit should allow the U.S. to double its word count in its reply brief in a case on President Donald Trump's move to revoke a tariff exclusion for bifacial solar panels, the U.S. argued in a Sept. 15 brief at the appellate court. The government argued that good cause exists for their motion since it must reply to the issue of presidential authority raised by the appellees along with several alternative problems, and because the importance of the issues in question warrant an enlargement of the word count (Solar Energy Industries Association v. United States, Fed. Cir. #22-1392).
The Commerce Department properly dropped its use of facts available over a South Korean port usage rights program in a countervailing duty review, the Court of International Trade ruled Sept. 19. Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves also found that because the result is a de minimis rate, reviewing whether the program is countervailable "would have no practical significance and is mooted," sustaining Commerce's remand results.
Brazilian airline GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes will pay over $41 million to settle criminal and civil investigations by DOJ, SEC and Brazilian authorities on bribery charges, DOJ announced in a Sept. 15 news release. DOJ and the airline entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement over charges that the company violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the airline agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $17 million.
Domestic companies party to an antidumping duty matter are incorrect to argue that the Commerce Department should continue finding that a particular market situation exists for a welded line pipe input, Commerce argued in Sept. 16 comments at the Court of International Trade. Plaintiff Nexteel Co. added that the defendant-intervenors' points are moot since they have not highlighted any error of fact or law made by the trade court in striking down Commerce's past rationale for its PMS finding. The statute also does not allow for a PMS adjustment to the sales-below-cost test, Nexteel and the U.S. said in rebuking the U.S. companies (Nexteel Co. et al. v. United States, CIT #20-03898).
The Commerce Department erred by failing to reduce respondent Koehler Paper's constructed export price by interest accrued on unpaid antidumping duties, plaintiffs Domtar Corp. and Appvion argued in a Sept. 15 motion for judgment at the Court of International Trade. Commerce failed to explain why this unpaid interest should be added to the cost of production rather than taken from the CEP given that the agency has the authority to make needed adjustments to cost items that are treated as a CEP deduction and not just to cost items that are components of COP, the brief said (Matra Americas v. United States, CIT Consol. #21-00632).
A recent Court of International decision in a countervailing duty case is relevant to a case brought by The Mosaic Co. over the Commerce Department's countervailing duty investigation into phosphate fertilizers from Mexico, CVD respondent OCP told the Court of International Trade. The decision in the past case, also brought by Mosaic, said Commerce reasonably excluded freight, import duties and value-added tax from the tier-three benchmark price for phosphate rock (see 2209020061) (The Mosaic Co. v. U.S., CIT Consol. #21-00116).
The Court of International Trade should sustain the Commerce Department's determination that the South Korean government's provision of port usage rights constitutes a countervailable benefit, the U.S. argued in a Sept. 15 reply brief. Responding to respondent Hyundai Steel, Commerce said, contrary to what the company says, there is no evidence to show that the period of port usage for which Hyundai does not pay fees was specifically calculated to match the costs incurred by Hyundai for building the port (Hyundai Steel Co. v. U.S., CIT #21-00304).
The omission of certain documents related to service-related revenues (SRRs) in an antidumping review does not warrant the use of total adverse facts available, respondent Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems argued in a Sept. 15 brief at the Court of International Trade. Nor does the respondent's failure to report a sale of a large power transformer that the Commerce Department believed was made in South Korea, Hyundai said in vying for partial AFA (Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems v. U.S., CIT #20-00108).
The Commerce Department properly found that the South Korean government did not provide a countervailable subsidy via the provision of electricity below cost, the U.S. argued in a Sept. 12 reply brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case's second visit to the appellate court. Replying to countervailing duty petitioner and plaintiff-appellant Nucor Corp., the government said that it carried out a lawful "Tier 3" less than adequate remuneration (LTAR) analysis, looking at whether the Korean government sets its tariffs pursuant to market principles, and that it did not violate the Federal Circuit's prior ruling in the case since it did not undertake a preferentiality analysis. Nucor ignored the "lion's share of Commerce's actual determination," when arguing that the agency did carry out a preferentiality analysis, the brief said (POSCO v. United States, Fed. Cir. #22-1525).