AD/CVD Court Decisions in Second Half of December 2010

The Court of International Trade (CIT) made the following antidumping duty law determinations in the second half of December 2010.

Liquidation Enjoined for Target & Walgreen to Examine CBP Liq Instructions on China Pencils

Following the AD administrative review of certain cased pencils from China for the period December 1, 2007 through November 30, 2008, Customs sought to apply the China-wide rate of 114.9% on entries destined for Target and Walgreen from mandatory respondents China First Pencil Company, Ltd. and Shanghai Three Star StationaryCo., Ltd., due to documentation which listed the two companies as manufacturers. The two retail chains separately each requested an injunction to provide time to argue that the appropriate liquidation instructions should have reflected the low or de minimis AD rates instead. The court agreed that liquidation should be delayed pending further examination of the two companies’ complaints. (Target Corp. v. U.S., Slip-Op. 10-141, dated 12/23/10; Walgreen Co. v. U.S., Slip-Op. 10-142, dated 12/23/10)

Injunction Not Granted for Japan Ball Bearings AD Review Based on Zeroing

NTN Corporation, et. al, sought an injunction against liquidation following the final results of the ITA’s AD administrative review of ball bearings and parts thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom for the period May 1, 2008 through April 30, 2009. At issue were the ITA’s use of zeroing (excluding from the margin calculation those transactions which would reduce the overall dumping margin), and the ITA’s policy of issuing liquidation instructions to Customs 15 days after the publication of final results of administrative reviews. The Japanese producers also argued that the ITA may have made clerical errors that could only be determined through access to the confidential administrative record. The court dismissed all three claims for an injunction against liquidation. (Slip-Op. 10-136, dated 12/17/10)

Chinese Lined Paper Maker’s 258% AD Rate Based on 1 Entry Confirmed

Chinese exporter Watanabe Group opted not to cooperate with the ITA’s questionnaires in the AD administrative review of certain lined paper products from China for the period September 1, 2007 through August 31, 2008, arguing that it made no sales in the U.S. during that period. However, Watanabe did in fact make one U.S. entry during the period, resulting from an earlier sale, and the ITA assigned the company the China-wide rate of 258.21%. The court affirmed the agency’s determination and dismissed the Chinese exporter’s complaint. (Slip-Op. 10-139, dated 12/22/10)

Three New Shippers Lose Challenge to AD Surrogate Garlic Bulb Values

Three Chinese exporters challenged the ITA’s surrogate value selections for garlic bulbs in the final results of their new shipper reviews of fresh garlic from China for the period November 1, 2006 to April 30, 2007, but the CIT dismissed the challenges and upheld the agency’s determinations. (Slip-Op. 10-134, dated 12/16/10)