CBP Should Have Suspended Liquidation Pending AD/CVD Reviews, Importer Argues

Liquidation of imported picture frame moldings should have been suspended pending antidumping and countervailing duty administrative reviews, importer Larson-Juhl told the Court of International Trade in a March 30 complaint. The complaint contests CBP's denial of Larson-Juhl's protests concerning the liquidation and assessment of duties on nine entries subject to AD and CVD orders on wood mouldings and millwork products from China (Larson-Juhl US v. United States., CIT # 23-00032).

The case stems from Larson-Juhl's payments of more than $2 million in AD/CVD at the 220.87% China-wide entity AD rate and the 20.56% all-others CVD rate. The company said it didn't immediately pay cash deposits early in the review period because it was "unaware of the scope coverage" in the ongoing cases. After it learned it was importing covered merchandise, Larson-Juhl filed a prior disclosure letter with CBP in which it asked the agency to reset the entries from type 01 consumption entries to type 03 AD/CVD entries and to suspend liquidation pending instructions by Commerce.

Despite paying more than $2 million in owed duties, the company said CBP never reset the entry types or suspended liquidation pending the results of the reviews. As a result, when the Larson-Juhl requested an administrative review of the relevant period in an attempt to secure lower AD/CVD assessment rates, the entries had already liquidated.

In August, Commerce found that the entries were covered by the wood mouldings and millwork orders and that they should have been designated as type 03 in its preliminary determination. Larson-Juhl asked the court to order the port director at Chicago to designate the entries type 03, suspend liquidation until Commerce finalizes its administrative reviews, and reliquidate the entries at the reviewed rates, refunding any excess duties with interest.