Aimcor, Alabama Silicon, Inc. v. United States

18 Ct. Int'l Trade 1106, 871 F. Supp. 455, 18 C.I.T. 1106, 16 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2455, 1994 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 231
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedDecember 13, 1994
DocketConsolidated Court No. 93-07-00428
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 18 Ct. Int'l Trade 1106 (Aimcor, Alabama Silicon, Inc. 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
Aimcor, Alabama Silicon, Inc. v. United States, 18 Ct. Int'l Trade 1106, 871 F. Supp. 455, 18 C.I.T. 1106, 16 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2455, 1994 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 231 (cit 1994).

Opinion

[1107]*1107Memorandum Opinion and Order

DiCarlo, Chief Judge:

Plaintiffs, United States manufacturers of fer-rosilicon, move for judgment on the agency record pursuant to USCIT R. 56.2, contesting certain parts of the final determination of the Department of Commerce in Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Ferrosilicon From Venezuela, 58 Fed. Reg. 27,522 (Dep’t Comm. 1993). The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(a)(2) (1988) and 28 U.S.C. § 1581(c) (1988)

Background

In response to plaintiffs’ petition, Commerce initiated an antidump-ing investigation of ferrosilicon imports from Venezuela. Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations: Ferrosilicon From Argentina, Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 57 Fed. Reg. 27,021 (Dep’t Comm. 1992). CVG-Venezolana de Fer-rosilicio, C.A. (FESILVEN) was the sole Venezuelan producer of ferrosilicon. The period of investigation was from December 1,1991 to May 31,1992.

During the investigation, plaintiffs claimed that FESILVEN’s home market sales should not be used as the basis for establishing the foreign market value (FMV) because FESILVEN made home market sales at less than cost of production (COP). At plaintiffs’ request, Commerce initiated a COP investigation of FESILVEN pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1677b(b) (1988), which requires Commerce to disregard home market sales made at less than COP if such sales have been made over an extended period of time and in substantial quantity. Id. In such a circumstance, the statute directs Commerce to use constructed value (CV) of the merchandise to determine the FMV Id.

In order to determine whether home market prices were below COR Commerce calculated COP based on the sum of FESILVEN’s cost of materials, fabrication, and general expenses. See 19 C.F.R. § 353.51(c) (1994). In the production of ferrosilicon, FESILVEN purchased inputs from five related suppliers: (1) electricity from CVG Electrificación del Caroni, C. A. (EDELCA); (2) woodchips from CVG Productos Forestales del Oriente, C.A. (PROFORCA); (3) electrode paste from CVG Siderúr-gica del Orinoco, C.A. (SIDOR); (4) iron ore from CVG Ferrominera Orinoco, C.A. (FERROMINERA); and (5) limestone from CVG Compania Nacional de Caliza, S.A. (CONACAL). FESILVEN and its related suppliers are members in a group of businesses having intertwined ownership, headed by a parent company Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG). CVG holds more than 50 percent ownership in FESILVEN and its related suppliers.

Having determined that FESILVEN and its related suppliers were related parties, Commerce treated them as a single entity for the purpose of calculating FESILVEN’s COE Following its general practice in related party transactions, Commerce used COPs of the related suppliers, rather than transfer prices, in determining the cost of components [1108]*1108used in FESILVEN’s production. However, where the related suppliers purchased inputs in their own production from other CVG members, Commerce utilized transfer prices in calculating the group members’ COPs. Final Determination, 58 Fed. Reg. at 27,528.

Commerce conducted on-site verification of COP and CV data submitted by FESILVEN and accepted the verified data; where the costs were not appropriately quantified or valued, it used best information available (BIA) or made an adjustment to the data. Final Determination, 58 Fed. Reg. at 27,524-25. Where more than 90 percent of FESIL-VEN’s sales of a given product type were at prices above COE Commerce did not disregard any below-cost sales because the below-cost sales were not made in substantial quantities. If between 10 and 90 percent of the sales of a given product type were made at below COP over an extended period of time, Commerce discarded only the below-cost sales. Where more than 90 percent of the sales were made at prices below COP over an extended period of time, Commerce disregarded all sales for that product type and calculated FMV based on CV Id. In the final determination, Commerce found that FESILVEN was selling ferrosilicon in the United States at less than fair value, and calculated the weighted-average dumping margin at 9.55 percent. Id. at 27,534.

Plaintiffs allege that Commerce improperly calculated FESILVEN’s COE and the improper calculation deflated FESILVEN’s dumping margin. Specifically, plaintiffs assert: (1) Commerce may not treat FESIL-VEN and its related companies as a single entity while treating FESILVEN and CVG as separate entities in the companion countervailing duty investigation of ferrosilicon from Venezuela; (2) Commerce should have used transfer prices rather than actual costs of related suppliers in determining FESILVEN’s COP; (3) Commerce inadequately calculated the amount of general expenses in FESILVEN’s COP and the COPs of FESILVEN’s related suppliers; and (4) Commerce inadequately calculated the COPs of FESILVEN’s related suppliers.

In addition, plaintiffs claim that Commerce erred in accepting the depreciation expenses reported by FESILVEN. Defendant agrees, and requests that the court remand this issue to Commerce for redetermination.

Discussion

This court shall uphold Commerce’s final determination in an anti-dumping duty investigation unless that determination is “unsupported by substantial evidence on the record, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(l)(B) (1988). Substantial evidence is “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 477 (1951) (quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229 (1938)).

[1109]*11091. Whether Commerce properly treated FESILVEN and related parties as a single entity:

Plaintiffs assert that Commerce may not treat FESILVEN and its related suppliers as a single entity in the antidumping duty investigation unless Commerce also treats FESILVEN and CVG as a single entity in the companion countervailing duty investigation. In the countervailing duty investigation of ferrosilicon from Venezuela, Commerce treated FESILVEN and CVG as separate entities for the purpose of determining whether export subsidies were conferred upon the production of ferrosilicon. See Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination: Ferrosilicon From Venezuela; and Countervailing Duty Order for Certain Ferrosilicon From Venezuela, 58 Fed. Reg. 27,539 (Dep’t Comm. 1993). Plaintiffs claim it was arbitrary and contrary to law for Commerce to treat the same related parties inconsistently in the companion antidumping duty and countervailing duty investigations.

The court disagrees.

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18 Ct. Int'l Trade 1106, 871 F. Supp. 455, 18 C.I.T. 1106, 16 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2455, 1994 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 231, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/aimcor-alabama-silicon-inc-v-united-states-cit-1994.