CIT Upholds Invoice Date as Sale Date in Taiwan Pipes & Tubes AD Review

A Taiwanese producer/exporter challenged the International Trade Administration’s use of invoice date to define the dates of its U.S. sales in the May 2008 - April 2009 AD administrative review of certain circular welded steel pipes and tubes from Taiwan. Yieh Phui Enterprise Co. argued that few of its terms of sale changed after contract date and that in other, similar cases, the ITA used a date other than invoice date. However, the Court of International Trade agreed with the ITA’s “detailed, well-reasoned response” to each of Yieh Phui’s arguments, noting in particular that the agency observed frequent sales terms changes between contract date and invoice date. Accordingly, the court upheld the agency’s use of its standard sale-dating practice for Yieh Phui. (Slip Op. 11-107, dated August 24, 2011, public version posted subsequently)