Archroma U.S., Inc. v. Commerce

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit·Decided August 7, 2026·No. 24-2159·Published

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

ARCHROMA U.S., INC., Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, TEH FONG MIN (TFM) INTERNATIONAL CO, LTD., Defendants-Appellants

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Defendant

2024-2159, 2024-2162

Appeals from the United States Court of International Trade in No. 1:22-cv-00354-MMB, Judge M. Miller Baker.

Decided: August 7, 2026

TATIANA SAINATI, Wiley Rein, LLP, Washington, DC, argued for plaintiff-appellee. Also represented by TIMOTHY C. BRIGHTBILL, PAUL A. DEVAMITHRAN, DERICK HOLT, MAUREEN E. THORSON.

GEOFFREY M. LONG, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington , DC, argued for defendant-appellant. Also represented by TARA K. HOGAN, PATRICIA M. MCCARTHY, BRETT 2 ARCHROMA U.S., INC. v. COMMERCE

SHUMATE, FRANKLIN E. WHITE, JR.; AYAT MUJAIS, FEE PAUWELS, Office of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Compliance, United States Department of Commerce , Washington, DC.

PETER JOHN KOENIG, SBA Trade Law, Washington, DC, for defendant-appellant. Also represented by JEREMY WILLIAM DUTRA, Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP, Washington , DC

Before MOORE, Chief Judge, CUNNINGHAM and STARK, Circuit Judges.

STARK, Circuit Judge.

This case, which is before us on review from the Court of International Trade (“Trade Court”), asks us to decide whether a filing deadline imposed by a regulation issued by the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) conflicts with the statute governing “sunset reviews” of antidumping duty orders. The Trade Court found such a conflict and, thus, declared Commerce’s regulation void, enjoining its enforcement.

We see the situation differently. The applicable statute is silent as to when a domestic interested party must indicate an intent to participate in a sunset review, and Commerce ’s regulatory requirement that such parties do so within 15 days after Commerce issues notice of initiating a review was the product of reasoned decisionmaking within the bounds of the agency’s delegated power. Therefore, the regulation is a permissible exercise of the agency’s authority . We reverse the contrary judgment of the Trade Court.

ARCHROMA U.S., INC. v. COMMERCE 3

I

A

The Tariff Act of 1930 (“Tariff Act”), as amended by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (“URAA”), 1 requires Commerce to review antidumping duty orders every five years to determine whether revocation of such an order would be likely to lead to the continuation or recurrence of dumping. See 19 U.S.C. § 1675(c)(1). The statute further commands that these “sunset reviews” begin with the agency publishing “a notice of initiation of a review” in the Federal Register . Id. § 1675(c)(2); see also generally SAA, 1994 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 4205 (explaining that § 1675(c) “establish [es] the procedural and basic substantive rules to be applied by Commerce and the [International Trade Commission (“Commission”)] in conducting five-year reviews (i.e., sunset reviews)”). The statute adds that the notice of initiation must request that “interested parties submit” information , including “a statement expressing their willingness to participate in the review.” 19 U.S.C. § 1675(c)(2). “Interested party” is defined in § 1677(9) and includes,

1 The URAA gave effect to several agreements arising from the Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations . See Comm. Overseeing Action for Lumber Int’l Trade Investigations or Negots. v. United States, 66 F.4th 968, 977 (Fed. Cir. 2023) (hereinafter “COALITION”). The URAA is interpreted according to the Statement of Administrative Action (“SAA”), H.R. Doc. No. 103-316 (1994), reprinted in 1994 U.S.C.C.A.N. 4040, which “shall be regarded as an authoritative expression by the United States concerning the interpretation and application of the [URAA] in any judicial proceeding in which a question arises concerning such interpretation or application.” 19 U.S.C. § 3512(d); see also Mid Continent Steel & Wire, Inc. v. United States, 941 F.3d 530, 539 (Fed. Cir. 2019).

4 ARCHROMA U.S., INC. v. COMMERCE

among others, “a foreign manufacturer, producer, or exporter , or the United States importer, of subject merchandise ” as well as “a manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the United States of a domestic like product,” the latter of whom are referred to as “domestic interested parties.” Id. § 1677(9)(A), (C); see also 19 C.F.R. § 351.102(b)(17) (“‘Domestic interested party’ means an interested party described in subparagraph (C) . . . of section 771(9) of the [Tariff Act].”).

While the Tariff Act imposes no express deadline for interested parties to submit the information requested by Commerce, it provides that “[i]f no interested party responds to the notice of initiation . . . , [Commerce] shall issue a final determination, within 90 days after the initiation of a review, revoking the [antidumping duty] order . . . to which such notice relates.” 19 U.S.C. § 1675(c)(3)(A) (emphasis added). 2 This provision, according to the SAA, is intended to “eliminate needless reviews,” as it is expected that any entity failing to respond within 90 days to a notice of initiation also “would not provide adequate information if the agencies conducted a full-fledged review.” SAA, 1994 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 4206.

Because the Tariff Act mandates that Commerce terminate a sunset review, and revoke an antidumping order, if no interested party responds within 90 days to the notice of initiation, it is necessary that Commerce determine, at some point in advance of the 90-day mark, whether any interested parties intend to participate. The statutory 90-

2 If, alternatively, at least one interested party submits

an adequate and timely response, Commerce must conduct a full sunset review and (subject to certain exceptions) “shall make its final determination . . . within 240 days after the date on which a review is initiated.” 19 U.S.C. § 1675(c)(5)(A).

ARCHROMA U.S., INC. v. COMMERCE 5

day command also means, as a logical consequence, that in effect the deadline for interested parties to submit the information Commerce needs to conduct its sunset review is no later than 90 days after the notice of initiation of such review.

The Tariff Act authorizes “appropriate officers of the United States Government” to “issue such regulations, as may be necessary to ensure that any provision of [the URAA] . . . is appropriately implemented.” 19 U.S.C. § 3513(a)(2); see also generally COALITION, 66 F.4th at 974-75 (explaining that Commerce typically proceeds through notice-and-comment rulemaking). Pursuant to this authority, Commerce undertook a notice-and-comment rulemaking process and adopted two regulatory deadlines. The first, which is at issue in this appeal, is a requirement that domestic interested parties submit a “notice of intent to participate” within 15 days after Commerce issues the notice of initiation of review (“15-day requirement ”). 19 C.F.R. §351.218(d)(1)(i) (“Section 315.218(d)(1)(i)”). The second deadline requires that all interested parties submit their “substantive response [s]” within 30 days after issuance of the notice of initiation of review (“30-day requirement”).

Id. § 351.218(d)(3)(i).

Commerce justified its adoption of the 15-day requirement as furthering the goals of eliminating needless reviews and promoting administrative efficiency. See 63 Fed. Reg. at 13,517 (“The requirement that domestic interested parties notify [Commerce] of their intention to participate prior to the deadline for submission of substantive responses . . . is intended to alleviate the burden on parties of having to prepare substantive responses in cases where there is no domestic party interest.”). It emphasized the minimal burden of complying, given that a domestic interested party is required to submit only basic, readily-available information (as we describe more fully below). See id.

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