RH Peterson Challenges AD/CVD Assessment in Trade Court

CBP erred when it assessed antidumping and countervailing duties on imported sinks and kits from Taiwan as if they had originated from China, importer and seller RH Peterson said in a Nov. 29 complaint at the Court of International Trade (RH Peterson Co. v. United States, CIT # 20-00099).

The complaint follows CBP’s denial of two protests, which contested the agency’s assessment of AD/CVD on sinks and kits imported from Taiwan between November 2016 and June 2017. The sinks incorporate Chinese components, some of which Peterson says are "expressly excluded from and outside the scope of the ADD/CVD orders" and should've been excluded from the AD/CVD assessment.

The additional duties should have been assessed only on some of the underlying components that originated in China rather than on the entire value of the imports, which also include non-Chinese components. The company has asked the court to rule that Chinese components of the imported finished sinks and kits that are specifically excluded from and outside the scope of the AD/CVD orders along with Taiwanese parts and labor, are not subject to the orders and refund the excess duties with interest as well as to award costs, attorneys’ fees and other such relief as the court deems necessary.