Isotope Excludes Chemical From Scope Ruling, Importer Argues

An enriched ammonium sulfate isotope was incorrectly ruled as being within the scope of antidumping and countervailing duty orders on ammonium sulfate from China, Cambridge Isotope Laboratories argued in an April 28 complaint at the Court of International Trade. Cambridge sued to contest a final scope ruling, issued March 16, which held that NLM-713-10, which consists of an enriched 15N ammonium sulfate isotope, fell within the scope of the orders on ammonium sulfate from China (Cambridge Isotope Laboratories v. U.S., CIT # 23-00080).

In its complaint, Cambridge argued that its ammonium sulfate uses the nitrogen-15 isotope, while the order "explicitly identifies" the scope as applying to ammonium sulfate with the chemical formula of (NH4)2SO4. The enriched 99% pure 15N ammonium sulfate is chemically different from the ammonium sulfate in the scope because the scope's formula is nitrogen-14, with trace amounts of 15N.

Cambridge said that the language of the scope description is ambiguous because "Ammonium sulfate … has the chemical formula (NH4)2SO4" conflicts with the language “The merchandise covered by these orders is ammonium sulfate in all physical forms.” When the scope language is ambiguous, Commerce must take into account the descriptions of the merchandise from the petition, the initial investigation and prior determinations, which make it clear that Cambridge’s enriched 99% pure 15N ammonium sulfate is excluded from the scope of the AD and CVD orders, the company said.