CIT OKs Model Match, but not Zeroing in Korea Steel Products AD Review

Korean producer Union Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd. challenged the International Trade Administration’s model match, which made price comparisons between painted and laminated products, and its use of zeroing (disregarding non-dumped sales transactions in the margin calculation) in the August 2005 - July 2006 AD duty administrative review of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Korea. Following two remands, the Court of International Trade affirmed the ITA’s revised model match, in which it ultimately conceded it would not treat painted, non-laminated corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products as identical to more costly laminated products in U.S.-to-home-market price comparisons.

Regarding the complaint over zeroing, in keeping with the March 31, 2011 decision by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Dongbu Steel Co. v. U.S., the CIT ordered the ITA to alter or explain its decision to apply zeroing methodology, questioning the rationale for continuing to use zeroing in AD administrative reviews while no longer doing so in AD investigations. (See ITT’s Online Archives 11040408 for summary of CAFC Dongbu ruling.)

(Slip Op. 11-144, dated 11/21/11)