CIT Upholds No-Injury ITC Determination for Wire Decking

Domestic manufacturers challenged the determination by the International Trade Commission that the wire decking industry was not injured or threatened by imports from China from 2006 to 2009, during a contracting U.S. building market. In its preliminary finding, the ITC found “a causal nexus between the subject imports and the deteriorating condition of the domestic industry,” but later the Commission concluded the industry’s difficulties were due to other economic factors, notably declining demand and the availability of substitute products. Two ITC Commissioners dissented, arguing that the U.S. industry was being injured by Chinese imports. However, the Court of International Trade upheld the ITC’s majority determination, finding that in the face of credible evidence on both sides of the issue, the agency’s analysis was not unreasonable. (Slip Op 11-81, dated 07/12/11, public version posted subsequently)