CIT Rules Inactive Former Manufacturers Ineligible for Byrd Amendment Certification

When a former TV receiver maker, Five Rivers Electronics Innovation LLC, sought a share of the duties distributed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection for fiscal year 2009 on color television receivers from China under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (aka the Byrd Amendment), CBP denied the certification because the firm no longer produced any sets in 2009. The manufacturer sued, arguing that “[t]o force a company that has been injured by the dumped imports to continue to produce subject product especially in the face of continued dumping and other harsh economic conditions, not only defies logic but is contrary to the purpose behind the law.” However, the Court of International Trade ruled that Congress, through the CDSOA statute, “explicitly favored domestic producers who remain in production,” and dismissed the complaint. Note that the CDSOA was repealed in 2006. (Slip Op. 11-28, dated 03/14/11)