CIT Faults Adverse Rate Based on Single Transaction in Russian Magnesium AD Review

Russian producer-exporter PSC challenged the International Trade Administration’s use of a 43.58% adverse antidumping duty rate in the April 2007 - March 2008 AD review of magnesium metal from Russia. PSC VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation and VSMPO-Tirus, U.S., Inc. (collectively, PSC) had withdrawn from the review, citing the burden of multiple verifications, among other causes.

The Court of International Trade acknowledged the validity of two of the government’s defenses, noting that the 21.71% AD duty rate in effect during the review had indeed failed to provide PSC adequate incentive to cooperate, and that the ITA sometimes can base AD rates on single transactions from prior reviews (as opposed to its general practice of using the highest weighted average rate for any respondent in any previous review or investigation of the order).

Nevertheless, the court instructed the ITA to either corroborate the 43.58% rate by relating it to the “commercial reality” of the respondent in the review period at issue, or find a rate with “some grounding in commercial reality.” (See ITT’s Online Archives or 03/04/11 news, 11030405, for BP summary of court remand for a different issue in the preceding review.) (Slip Op. 11-26, dated 03/07/11)