US Asks to Add Another Respondent in AD Review After YC Rubber Opinion

The government filed for an unopposed remand at the Court of International Trade of a suit on the 2020-21 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled steel flat products from Japan. The U.S. said that if the remand is granted, the Commerce Department intends "to treat Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co. as a mandatory respondent in its administrative review." Counsel for plaintiff Optima Steel consented to the motion, while counsel for petitioner Nucor Corp. took no position on the motion (Optima Steel International v. U.S., CIT # 23-00108).

In the review, Commerce tapped Nippon Steel Corp. as the sole mandatory respondent. Tokyo Steel requested a review of this pick so that it could be included, but the agency denied the bid. Following a lawsuit from exporter Optima Steel, Commerce moved to remand the matter to bring the review in line with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's ruling in YC Rubber Co. v. U.S., which said that when the agency limits its investigation to less than all exporters in a review, the "reasonable number" of respondents it must pick must generally be more than one (see 2208290026).

"Commerce intends to treat Tokyo Steel as a mandatory respondent to ensure its compliance with YC Rubber, which is a compelling justification for remand," the brief said. The government added that should remand be granted, the entire review process will be done in "just 180 days" instead of the normal year-to-18-month time frame. As a result, the remand will "foster the just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution of this case," the brief said.