Brazilian Steel Exporters Back ITC's Cumulation Decision

The Court of International Trade should reject a challenge from U.S. steel company Cleveland-Cliffs of the International Trade Commission’s decision not to cumulate imports in sunset reviews, two Brazilian steel exporters said in a June 27 brief at CIT. The steel producers -- Companhia Siderurgica Nacional and Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais -- said Cleveland Cliffs illegally asked CIT to "seize the Commission’s statutory discretion to decumulate in sunset reviews, establish new law, reweigh the evidence, and make findings that this Court has never made before” (Cleveland-Cliffs v. U.S., CIT # 22-00257).

The case stems from a five-year sunset review of the antidumping duty and countervailing duty orders on imports of cold rolled steel from Brazil. The ITC on June 13 argued that it has discretion regarding cumulation decisions in five-year reviews (see 2306140068), and the two Brazilian producers agreed, adding that the ITC has “wide discretion,” including over “what factors to consider and weigh in reaching that determination.”

They also said Cleveland-Cliffs has not shown the commission deviated from any established “practice” when it considered the relevance of Section 232 duties to the cumulation decision. Both producers echoed the ITC's argument that the standard of review for the court is not to weigh evidence differently from the commission.