CIT Sustains Decision to Reduce to Zero Percent Xanthan Gum Exporter's AD Rate

The Court of International Trade on July 29 sustained the Commerce Department's decision on remand to slash exporter Meihua Group International Trading (Hong Kong)'s antidumping duty rate from 154.07%, based on adverse facts available, to zero percent in the 2019-20 review of the AD order on xanthan gum from China.

In the decision, Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves also sustained the agency's decision not to collapse exporter Deosen Biochemical with Deosen Biochemical (Ordos) given that Deosen Biochemical didn't make any xanthan gum shipments to the U.S. during the review period. As a result, Commerce rescinded Deosen Biochemical's review.

In the review, Commerce asked Meihua for information on the duties it paid on its entries, though it later became clear that this information could change given the exporter's claims for Section 301 exclusions. The agency said Meihua's initial submissions on its U.S. duties and sales database was incomplete, resorting to the 154.07% AFA rate.

The trade court rejected this stance in the case's first opinion (see 2304200010). The court again remanded the review after Commerce stuck by its use of AFA, finding that the agency's initial questionnaire only asked for information about Meihua's duties paid, which the company provided. Commerce didn't initially ask if those duties would change (see 2402220063).

Commerce dropped its use of AFA on remand, then used this zero percent margin to similarly set the rate for the non-individually examined companies at zero percent. Choe-Groves said this move was in line with the court's prior decisions.

The judge had also remanded Commerce's failure to rescind the review for Deosen Bioechmical, ordering the agency to conduct a new collapsing analysis of the company and Deoseng Biochemical (Ordos). Commerce did so on remand and considered the exporter's certification that it made no shipments during the review period. The agency said the entities shouldn't be collapsed, and that Deosen Biochemical "was not capable of producing xanthan gum or a similar product during the period of review" (see 2405280064).

Choe-Groves said this decision also was consistent with the court's prior decisions.

(Meihua Group International Trading (Hong Kong) Limited v. United States, Slip Op. 24-86, CIT # 22-00069, dated 07/29/24; Judge: Jennifer Choe-Groves; Attorneys: Mark Lehnardt of Law Offices of David L. Simon for plaintiffs Meihua Group Internaitonal Trading (Hong Kong) Limited and Xinjiang Meihua Amino Acid Co.; Chunlian (Lian) Yang of Alston & Bird for consolidated plaintiffs Deosen Biochemical (Ordos) and Deosen Biochemical; Robert Gosselink of Trade Pacific for consolidated plaintiff Jianlong Biotechnology Company; and Sosun Bae for defendant U.S. government)