Supreme Court Denies Hyundai's Case Challenging Power Transformer Duty Rate

The U.S. Supreme Court will not hear Hyundai Heavy Industries' case challenging the Commerce Department's use of adverse facts available to set an antidumping duty rate on power transformers from Korea. The court did not explain the June 21 petition denial. Hyundai appealed a 2019 Court of International Trade opinion sustaining Commerce's use of AFA and an opinion-less affirmation of that ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

In its Feb. 5 petition to the Supreme Court, Hyundai argued that the split between the Federal Circuit and the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit over "retroactive application of revised methodologies" warranted a Supreme Court hearing. This split undermines the predictability and reliability of agency action, Hyundai said. The company challenged Commerce's retroactive adjustment to its “capping” methodology when it applied AFA for Hyundai's failure to report service-related revenue.