Commerce Can't Pick (k)(1) Materials Over Plain Meaning of Scope, Importer Says

The Commerce Department should not have considered "(k)(1)" materials over the plain meaning of the scope of an antidumping duty order on cast iron pipe fittings from China in finding that certain flanges fall outside of the ADD order, defendant-intervenor ASC Engineered Solutions said in Jan. 20 comments at the Court of International Trade. Since Commerce found that Crane Resistoflex's flanges "clearly fall within the plain language of the scope," that should have been the end of the case. Instead, Commerce considered the (k)(1) materials and illegally excluded Crane's flanges, the brief said (MCC Holdings dba Crane Resistoflex v. U.S., CIT #18-00248).

Crane initially sought a scope ruling on nine models of its Ductile Iron Lap Joint Flanges, with each model being a single disc-shaped piece made of ductile iron with a large, unthreaded center hole. Commerce said five of the nine models were described by the first sentence of the second paragraph of the ADD order. Following an initial remand from Judge Timothy Stanceu, Commerce relied on brochures from the antidumping duty petitioner, Anvil International, along with the petition itself, to find that the ADD order covers the flanges in question. Stanceu was not convinced, though, since neither the petition nor the scope language of the ADD order touch on flanges, remanding the matter to Commerce.

The agency came back and said it found Crane's ductile iron flanges to be outside the scope of the ADD order, even though it continued to find that Crane's flanges are pipe fittings that have the same physical characteristics as those described in the first paragraph of the scope. Crane took issue with this in its comments on Commerce's remand.

"The interpretation that Commerce understood to be the Court’s conclusion and that Commerce adopted (without analysis) under protest is that all ductile iron flanged fittings are outside the scope," the brief said. "But this interpretation contradicts the plain meaning of the scope language. ... The interpretation that all ductile flanged fittings are excluded simply cannot be reconciled with the scope language, and hence that interpretation is not tenable. Because the plain language of the scope encompasses ductile iron flanged fittings, statements in the ITC report or other '(k)(1)' sources should not have been construed so as to exclude those products. The Second Redetermination thus is not in accordance with law."