Ad Hoc Committee of Southern California Producers of Gray Portland Cement v. United States

914 F. Supp. 535, 19 C.I.T. 1398, 17 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2467, 1995 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 244
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedDecember 1, 1995
DocketSlip Op. 95-195; Court No. 93-10-00697
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 914 F. Supp. 535 (Ad Hoc Committee of Southern California Producers of Gray Portland Cement v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of International Trade primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ad Hoc Committee of Southern California Producers of Gray Portland Cement v. United States, 914 F. Supp. 535, 19 C.I.T. 1398, 17 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2467, 1995 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 244 (cit 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM and OPINION

GOLDBERG, Judge:

This matter is before the Court on motions for judgment on the agency record made pursuant to USCIT Rule 56.2 by respondent, Onoda Cement Co., Ltd. (“Onoda”), and petitioner, the Ad Hoc Committée of Southern California Producers of Gray Portland Cement (“Committee”). In their motions, Ono-da and the Committee challenge the final results of the first antidumping duty administrative review concerning gray portland cement and clinker from Japan, which the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (“Commerce”) issued and amended in 1993. Gray Portland Cement and Clinker From Japan, 58 Fed.Reg. 48,826 (1993); Gray Portland Cement and Clinker From Japan, 58 Fed.Reg. 53,705 (1993) (“Final Results”). The Court exercises its jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1581(e) (1988).

DISCUSSION

In deciding a motion for judgment on the agency record, the Court analyzes whether Commerce’s determination is “unsupported by substantial evidence on the record, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(1)(B) (1988). Substantial evidence is more than a mere scintilla. Ceramica Regiomontana, S.A. v. United States, 10 CIT 399, 405, 636 F.Supp. 961, 966 (1986), aff'd, 5 Fed.Cir. (T) 77, 810 F.2d 1137 (1987). Substantial evidence is “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. United States, 3 Fed.Cir. (T) 44, 51, 750 F.2d 927, 933 (1984) (citing Consolidated Edison Co. v. N.R.L.B., 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938)).

In moving for judgment on the agency record, the parties raise a total of ten issues for the Court’s review. Specifically, Onoda contests the following six aspects of Commerce’s final results: (1) whether Commerce erred by comparing U.S. sales of type II cement with home market sales of type N cement; (2) whether Commerce erred by treating expenses related to Onoda’s home market service stations as indirect expenses; (3) whether Commerce erred by treating the cost of transporting Onoda cement from U.S. ports to ready-mix plants as further manufacturing costs; (4) whether Commerce erred by failing to deduct from the sales revenue of Onoda’s related importer, Lone Star Northwest (“Lone Star”), freight-out and inland insurance expenses incurred when Lone Star transported cement to unrelated customers; (5) whether Commerce erred in calculating terminal expenses for Onoda’s sales of ce[539]*539ment in Washington; and (6) whether Commerce erred by calculating duties on the basis of all sales, rather than all entries, made during the period of review.1 In addition, the Committee contests the following four aspects of Commerce’s final results: (1) whether Commerce erred by granting a difference in merchandise adjustment to Onoda; (2) whether Commerce failed to treat pre-sale moving expenses in a manner consistent with Ad Hoc Committee of AZ-NM-TX-FL Producers of Gray Portland Cement v. United States, — Fed.Cir. (T) -, 13 F.3d 398 (1994); (3) whether Commerce failed to deduct from U.S. price all relevant freight expenses incurred when Lone Star shipped concrete to unrelated customers in the United States; and (4) whether Commerce erred in calculating the amount of home market service station expenses to include in cost of production. The Court will address each of these issues in turn.

A. Onoda’s Challenges

I. Commerce’s Comparison Of U.S. Sales Of Type II Cement With Home Market Sales Of Type N Cement

Onoda claims that Commerce’s decision to compare U.S. sales of type II cement with home market sales of type N cement in the underlying administrative review was neither supported by substantial evidence nor in accordance with law. Onoda asserts that Commerce initially declined to compare type II with type N because type N has a higher tricalcium alumínate level, and this makes it less resistant to sulfates than type II. Then, according to Onoda, Commerce inexplicably used type N as a comparison in reaching its final results, when it should have used constructed value instead. The Court finds that Onoda’s argument lacks merit.

In determining whether a foreign manufacturer is selling merchandise at less than fair value in the United States, and to calculate a dumping margin, Commerce attempts to compare U.S. sales of the subject merchandise with sales of identical merchandise in the home market. See 19 U.S.C. § 1677b(a)(1)(A) (1988); Hussey Copper, Ltd. v. U.S., 17 CIT 993, 995, 834 F.Supp. 413, 417 (1993). If identical home market merchandise is unavailable, Commerce attempts to compare U.S. sales of the subject merchandise with sales of the most similar home market merchandise. Hussey Copper, 17 CIT at 995, 834 F.Supp. at 417. If other categories of similar merchandise are not available, similar merchandise may consist of:

Merchandise—
(i) produced in the same country and by the same person and of the same general class or kind as the merchandise which is the subject of the investigation,
(ii) like that merchandise in the purposes for which used, and
(in) which the administering authority determines may reasonably be compared with that merchandise.

19 U.S.C. § 1677(16)(C) (1988). If Commerce cannot find any similar home market merchandise, then Commerce may resort to using constructed value in making its comparison. 19 U.S.C. § 1677b(a)(2) (1988).

In this case, Commerce could not compare U.S. sales of type II cement with identical home market merchandise because Onoda does not sell identical merchandise in the home market. Commerce therefore attempted to find the home market model that is most similar to type II. Commerce rejected the most physically similar home market cement, type M, because its variable cost of manufacture differs too much from that of type II.2 Commerce consequently asked Onoda to provide it with information about other home market cements that could be compared with type II. Onoda recommended that:

the Department should use Type N as a basis for comparison to Type II. Type N would be an appropriate second choice for [540]*540comparison because it is closest in cost to Type II_ In addition to being the closest in cost,

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914 F. Supp. 535, 19 C.I.T. 1398, 17 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2467, 1995 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ad-hoc-committee-of-southern-california-producers-of-gray-portland-cement-cit-1995.