Commerce Requests Remand in AD Case to Fix Mistake Made in Granting Byproduct Offset

The Commerce Department in a June 22 brief requested a partial voluntary remand at the Court of International Trade so it can fix a mistake in its decision to grant a byproduct offset for antidumping duty respondent NTSF Seafoods Joint Stock Co. The agency said it wanted the chance to review the decision after looking at evidence submitted by petitioner Catfish Farmers of America so that it can "reconsider the narrow issue of potential double counting" with regard to byproduct offsets that NTSF received (Catfish Farmers of America v. U.S., CIT # 20-00105).

"Regrettably, in the remand results, Commerce mistakenly stated that 'NTSF did not request or obtain an offset related to frozen portions of fillets or any other frozen by-product in this segment,'" the U.S. said. "That was incorrect; the record demonstrates that NTSF did obtain an offset for frozen by-product in this segment." The agency requested the remand to fix its mistake.

The case, brought by the petitioner against an administrative review of the AD order on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam, concerns the byproduct offset issue and a challenge to Commerce's decision not to treat Indonesia as being at the same level of economic development as Vietnam during the surrogate country selection process. Recently, the court canceled an oral argument in the proceeding to order further briefing on the byproduct offset matter (see 2305120053).