ITA Changes AD/CV Rates from Investigation for 4 Chinese Products to Implement WTO 'Double Counting' Ruling

Antidumping and countervailing duty rates may change for Chinese exporters of merchandise subject to four AD/CV orders as a result of an International Trade Administration Section 129 proceeding to implement a World Trade Organization ruling on double counting, according to a Federal Register notice set for publication Aug. 30. The determination affects the investigation AD/CV rates for Chinese exporters of merchandise subject to the AD and CV duty orders on (1) certain new pneumatic off-the-road tires from China (A-570-912 / C-570-913); (2) circular welded carbon quality steel pipe from China (A-570-910 / C-570-911); (3) laminated woven sacks from China (A-570-916 / C-570-917); and (4) light-walled rectangular pipe and tube from China (A-570-914 / C-570-915). The revised AD/CV rates are prospective, and only apply if the ITA hasn’t assigned new AD/CV rates in administrative reviews to these companies.

The new investigation AD/CV rates were effective Aug. 21, the date the U.S. Trade Representative directed the ITA to implement these determinations.

(On March 11, 2011, the WTO Appellate Body (AB) reversed several findings of an October 2010 panel report on U.S. “double counting” of AD and CV duties in United States -- Definitive Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties on Certain Products from China (DS379). Specifically, the WTO found fault with the ITA’s imposition of double remedies (i.e., the offsetting of the same subsidization twice by the concurrent imposition of AD duties calculated on the basis of an nonmarket economy (NME) methodology and CV duties); as well as the ITA’s determination that certain Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are “public bodies,” in the investigations of the four products at issue. See ITT’s Online Archives 11031414 for summary.

See also ITT’s Online Archives 12031403 for summary of the law to allow the ITA to continue to impose CV duties on NME countries, which also included provisions for adjustments for double counting, and 12051106 for summary of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s remand to the Court of International Trade to determine the constitutionality of the new law.)

Section 129 Determinations Have Prospective Effect Only; No Change to Assessments

An implemented determination pursuant to Section 129 applies only with respect to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date on which the USTR directs the ITA to implement that determination (in this case, Aug. 21). Thus, such determinations have prospective effect only. These determinations will not determine affect rates for entries of subject merchandise made during the period of review in question.

New Investigation AD/CV Rates Effective Aug. 21

Effective Aug. 21, the ITA will instruct CBP to require a deposit at the following AD/CV rates, unless the applicable AD/CV rate has been superseded by intervening administrative reviews:

CV: Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from China (C-570-915)

AD: Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from China (A-570-914)

CV: Laminated Woven Sacks from China (C-570-917)

AD: Laminated Woven Sacks from China (A-570-916)

CV: Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from China (C-570-911

AD: Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from China (A-570-910)

CV: Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires from China (C-570-913)

AD: Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires from China (A-570-912)