CIT Sustains CBP's Reversed AD/CVD Evasion Finding on 4 Hardwood Plywood Importers

The Court of International Trade on April 8 upheld CBP's decision on remand that four importers didn't evade the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on hardwood plywood from China. Judge Mark Barnett said the decision will be upheld because because there's "no substantive challenge" to the remand.

CBP originally found in the Enforce and Protect Act investigation that importers Far East American, Liberty Woods International, American Pacific Plywood and InterGlobal Forest evaded the orders following a scope referral to the Commerce Department, which said the companies' products fell under the orders' scope. In a separate CIT case, Commerce reversed its decision, finding that hardwood plywood made by Vietnamese manufacturer Finewood using Chinese two-ply and shipped to the U.S. is outside the scope of the orders (see 2308220033).

The U.S. asked for a voluntary remand in the present suit to consider the reversed scope decision, and a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling in Royal Brush Manufacturing v. U.S., in which the court said that failing to provide parties with confidential information in an EAPA case violates due process (see 2310230022). On remand, CBP dropped the evasion finding and said it didn't need to address the Royal Brush holding as a result (see 2403210035).

Barnett sustained the remand and added that there are "no further issues for the court to adjudicate, including with respect to remedy." The judge cited a CIT opinion saying that duty refunds achieved via EAPA challenges "must be pursued through timely protests of the liquidations before CBP." Since the parties here protested their entries before the customs agency, remedy isn't an issue, the court found.

(Far East American v. U.S., Slip Op. 24-40, CIT Consol. # 22-00213, dated 04/08/24; Judge: Mark Barnett; Attorneys: Gregory Menegaz of deKieffer & Horgan for plaintiffs Far East American and Liberty Woods; Frederic Van Arnam of Barnes Richardson for consolidated plaintiff American Pacific Plywood; Thomas Cadden of Cadden & Fuller for consolidated plaintiff InterGlobal Forest; Elizabeth Speck for defendant U.S. government)