Steel Grating Importers Evaded AD/CV Duties, CBP Says

Two importers of steel grating from China didn't declare the goods as subject to antidumping and countervailing duty orders as required, CBP said in a recently posted notice of determination. CBP made the determination following an allegation from Hog Slat that prompted an investigation into Ikadan System USA and Weihai Gaosai Metal Product under the Enforce and Protect Act. The investigation involved entries of "galvanized steel Tri-Bar Floor product (tribar floors), composed of rolled steel rods welded to another steel cross rod (i.e., a product of two or more pieces of steel joined together by assembly)," CBP said.

During the investigation, the importers asked the Commerce Department "to issue a scope ruling confirming that imports of ductile cast iron flooring for pig farrowing crates are outside the scope of the steel grating AD/CVD orders." While those requests were pending, the companies responded to requests for information with "why CBP should proceed with a negative determination and asserted that there was no substantial evidence supporting a determination of evasion," CBP said. "Additionally, the Importers stated that only DOC can interpret and clarify the scope of the AD/CVD orders and that CBP does not have the authority to make its own scope ruling while a DOC scope ruling proceeding on the same merchandise is pending."

CBP disagreed and said the agency isn't required to seek guidance from Commerce on the scope, it said. "Rather, CBP will initiate a referral only if the Agency is unable to determine whether the imported merchandise properly falls within the scope of the relevant AD/CVD order." The record showed that the importers "regularly import tribar floors, listing them under the description 'parts for farrowing crates' rather than separately listing the tribar floors and declaring them as subject to the AD/CVD orders," the agency said. "CBP entry data confirms this as well. Thus, substantial evidence on the record indicates that the Importers entered tribar floors, which is covered merchandise, into the customs territory of the United States through evasion." CBP didn't find evidence to support allegations of transshipment or misclassification of steel grating as plastic, it said.

After the record closed in the investigation, Commerce "issued decisions, dated May 11, 2021, and May 13, 2021, on the Importers’ scope referral requests," it said. "However, CBP did not place those decisions on the administrative record of this investigation because regulatory timeframes for considering new factual information did not allow for the regulated amount of time for comments nor would it have allowed CBP to issue its determination as to evasion in accordance with statutory deadlines." Commerce said in one scope ruling that the flooring system is subject to AD/CV duties on steel grating (see 2105170049). In the other ruling, Commerce cast iron flooring for pig farrowing crates is not subject to AD/CV duties on steel grating