Commerce Drops PMS Adjustment to Sales-Below-Cost Test in Remand of AD Case on Korean Pipe

The Commerce Department, under protest, dropped a cost-based particular market situation adjustment to the sales-below-cost test in an antidumping administrative review in June 22 remand results submitted to the Court of International Trade. The agency recalculated the weighted-average dumping margins of mandatory respondents Hyundai Steel Company and Husteel Co. in the 2016-17 review of circular welded non-alloy steel pipe from Korea. Husteel, the plaintiff in the case, received a 6.44% antidumping rate, down from 10.91%, while Hyundai received a 4.82% rate -- down from 8.14% before litigation (Husteel Co., Ltd. v. U.S., CIT #19-00107).

The remand results brought Commerce in line with instructions from the court that granted Commerce's wishes for a voluntary remand of the case. Following a separate CIT decision in December 2020 that ruled against the agency's application of a PMS adjustment under similar circumstances, Commerce requested to review its own administrative review results to come into compliance with this decision (see 2105030043).