Mexican Steel Company Seeks Stay of Section 232 Case Pending Related Action at CAFC

Mexican steel company Deacero S.A.P.I. de C.V. and its U.S. affiliate moved to stay proceedings in its case at the Court of International Trade pending the appeal of a related matter at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in an Aug. 12 stay motion. Deacero wants action halted in its case until the Universal Steel Prod., Inc. et al. v. U.S. case has a decision at the Federal Circuit. While Deacero's case challenges the Commerce Department's findings in an antidumping duty review on the grounds that the agency's treatment of Section 232 duties paid by Deacero as ordinary customs duties and deduction from U.S. price are unsupported, the Universal Steel case has broader implications and would eliminate the need for Deacero to litigate the claims.

Universal Steel's case concerns whether the Section 232 duties on Mexican steel imports violated procedural time limits. "The validity of Section 232 duties on Mexico is a legal prerequisite to Commerce’s treatment of them as ordinary customs duties and deduction from U.S. price, which Deacero is challenging in this case," Deacero said. Most recently on this question, the Federal Circuit said that the president was justified in hiking the Section 232 duties beyond these procedural time limits since the action was part of a broader plan (see 2107130059).

Deacero's case stems from the 2017-18 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steel concrete reinforcing bar from Mexico and also includes a broader Section 232 challenge. While there are many cases in front of the Federal Circuit that deal with the procedural challenges to President Donald Trump's Section 232 action, the Universal Steel case is uniquely set up to rule on the potential procedural violations committed when expanding the duties onto Mexican steel products, Deacero said.

"If the Federal Circuit overturns this Court’s decision in Universal Steel, then Commerce’s treatment of Section 232 duties as ordinary customs duties would be ultra vires and judicial resources would be conserved because the Court need not consider Deacero’s other arguments prior to remanding to Commerce with instructions not to deduct the unlawful Section 232 duties from U.S. price," the motion said.