DOJ Opposes AD Respondent's Bid for Indefinite Injunction

Antidumping respondent Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co.'s bid to indefinitely extend a preliminary injunction should be rejected by the Court of International Trade, the Department of Justice said in a Jan. 18 brief. DOJ said that Cheng Shin failed to show that it will suffer immediate irreparable harm for its entries made beyond the original expiration date of the injunction -- June 30, 2022 -- and that if its entries beyond this date are at risk of being liquidated, that the exporter can just request an extension of the injunction (Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd. v. U.S., CIT #21-00398).

The brief comes in Cheng Shin's challenge to the Commerce Department's decision to not exclude the exporter's light-truck spare tire models from the AD duty investigation into passenger vehicle and light truck tires from Taiwan (see 2109090056). Cheng Shin filed for an injunction, which was subsequently granted, against the liquidation of its subject entries until the end of the first administrative review period of the investigation. The exporter then filed for an indefinite extension of the injunction.

DOJ took aim at this extension bid in its Jan. 18 brief, telling the trade court that Cheng Shin failed to even mention the traditional four-part test that is used to grant injunctions. Part of this includes the exporter's alleged failure to establish that it will suffer immediate irreparable harm for its entries made beyond the June 30, 2022. cut off. This includes any non-speculative harm, DOJ said. The brief also argued that even if the litigation is not resolved by the time future entries would be liquidated without the protection of the injunction, Cheng Shin can apply for an extension, which the government would consent to.

"In sum, Cheng Shin’s request for an open-ended injunction covering additional prospective entries pending the outcome of this litigation is both premature and overbroad because the threat of immediate irreparable harm for entries made on or after June 30, 2022, is wholly 'speculative,'" the brief said.