CIT Lets Steel Nail Exporter's CEO Testify at Hearing Over Preliminary Injunction in AD Case

The Court of International Trade in a Jan. 16 paperless order denied a U.S. motion to exclude live testimony from plaintiff Oman Fasteners' CEO, Seve Karaga, in an antidumping duty case. The court said that Oman Fasteners can call Karaga to testify at the Jan. 23 hearing over the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction, though the testimony "shall be confined to the facts set forth in his declaration attached to Plaintiffs motion" (Oman Fasteners v. United States, CIT # 22-00348).

The case concerns the sixth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on steel nails from Oman, covering entries in 2020-2021. In the past five reviews, the exporter said it received AD rates of 0.56%, zero, zero, zero and 1.65%, respectively. Oman Fasteners was a fully cooperating respondent in the review with the only hang-up coming from the exporter's supplemental Section C questionnaire responses. Part of the response was filed 16 minutes late, resulting in a total adverse facts available rate of 154.33%.

In its complaint and motion for a PI (see 2212280043), Oman Fasteners dubbed the AFA rate "draconian" and said that the company already had to stop all U.S. shipments of its goods subject to the duties, and it will face insolvency unless it can quickly resume U.S. sales and maintain them through the case. Oman Fasteners told the trade court's case managers that it wants to call a live witness to support the PI bid.

The government contested the move, saying that had it known of the plaintiff's desire to have live testimony at the hearing, it "would have taken steps to prepare, including deposing the witness." Now, it will not have time to depose the witness given the case's expedited briefing schedule, the government said, dubbing the plaintiff's move "trial by ambush." Oman Fasteners filed a brief in support of its motion to include Karaga's testimony, arguing that PI motions are "routinely decided without the parties engaging in discovery because, as in this case, they involve emergency requests for relief to prevent imminent, irreparable harm."

The trade court ultimately sided with the plaintiff, though it said that Oman Fasteners "shall not submit any further evidentiary materials, including any supplemental declaration by Mr. Karaga, in support of its motion."