Canadian Exporter's Challenge to AD Cash Deposit Instructions Assigned to Reif

A case brought by Canadian exporter J.D. Irving challenging the Commerce Department's antidumping duty cash deposit instructions to CBP was assigned to Judge Timothy Reif in a Jan. 5 order. The complaint contests the instruction that follows the final results of the 2019 administrative review of the AD duty order on softwood lumber products from Canada. Neither J.D. Irving nor any U.S. lumber producer requested a review of the exporter for the 2020 period of review, yet Commerce nevertheless replaced J.D. Irving's 2020 AD cash deposit rate with a dumping rate for the 2019 period, the complaint said. In doing so, the agency acted "arbitrarily and inconsistent with Congress's intent," the exporter argued. When no one requested a 2020 review, this signaled that "both sides" agreed that the cash deposit rate in effect was an accurate measure of J.D. Irving's dumping level for assessing final AD duties during 2020 and that the most recent AD cash deposit rate was the "appropriate estimated dumping margin for J.D. Irving going forward," the company said (J.D. Irving, Limited v. U.S., CIT #21-00641).