US Asks for Remand to Consider Conflicting Stances on Duty Drawback Adjustment

The U.S. on Nov. 27 filed a partial motion to remand regarding the Commerce Department's duty drawback adjustment in exporter Assan Aluminyum Sanayi ve Ticaret's case concerning the antidumping duty investigation on aluminum foil from Turkey. The government said it wants another chance to consider or further explain the "ratio used for the duty drawback adjustment" in the case after considering Assan's arguments. Assan consented to the request, while the petitioners, led by the Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group, said it takes no position on the motion without having looked at a copy of the motion (Assan Aluminyum Sanayi ve Ticaret v. United States, CIT # 21-00616).

The exporter filed its suit to argue against Commerce's decision to limit Assan's full duty drawback adjustment, among other things. Recently in the case, Assan filed a notice of supplemental authority in which the company pointed to a separate AD review involving a duty drawback adjustment and Commerce's requirement that only closed inward processing certificates be included in the numerator of Commerce's super unit calculation (see 2311070032).

Commerce said the separate AD review, along with another proceeding in which a similar decision was made, occurred after the final determination at issue in this case, so the agency "has not yet had the opportunity to consider these decisions." Due to the "conflicting methodologies employed by Commerce since the publication of the final determination of this investigation, it is appropriate for the Court to grant our request for a partial remand to provide Commerce the opportunity to reconsider its previous position regarding the applied ratio in its duty drawback adjustment, without confessing error," the brief said.