Capella Sales & Services Ltd. v. United States

180 F. Supp. 3d 1293, 2016 CIT 72, 38 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1513, 2016 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 72, 2016 WL 3950721
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedJuly 20, 2016
DocketCourt 14-00304; Slip Op. 16-72
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 180 F. Supp. 3d 1293 (Capella Sales & Services Ltd. 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
Capella Sales & Services Ltd. v. United States, 180 F. Supp. 3d 1293, 2016 CIT 72, 38 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1513, 2016 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 72, 2016 WL 3950721 (cit 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

Pogue, Senior Judge:

In this action, Plaintiff Capella Sales & Services Ltd. (“Plaintiff’ or “Capella”) 1 challenges the assessment of countervailing duties (“CVD”), at the rate of 374.15 *1295 percent ad valorem, on four of its entries of aluminum extrusions from the PRC. The U.S. Department of Commerce (“Defendant” or “Commerce”) assessed these duties by applying the all-others rate calculated in Aluminum Extrusions from the [PRC], 76 Fed. Reg. 18,521 (Dep’t Commerce Apr. 4, 2011) (final affirmative countervailing duty determination) (“Final CVD Determination”). In levying such duties, Commerce did not impose the (lower) “lawful [all-others] rate” calculated subsequently on remand and redetermination following litigation of the Final CVD Determination by parties other than Capella. 2 Am. Compl, ECF No. 32-1, at ¶¶ 50, 52.

Defendant moves to dismiss this action pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction or, in the alternative, pursuant to USCIT Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Def.’s Mot. to Dismiss & Mot. for Summ. J,, ECF No. 40 (“Def.’s Br.”). 3

Because Capella’s complaint challenges Commerce’s administration and enforcement of a CVD rate, the court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) (2012). However, because Plaintiff did not participate in, and have liquidation of its entries enjoined pursuant to,’ the litigation that resulted in the “lawful rate” calculated on remand and redetermination, it cannot claim entitlement to that rate. See -Í9 U.S.C. §§ 1516a(c)(l), 1516a(e) (2012); Am. Compl., ECF No. 32-1, at ¶¶ 7,10. Plaintiff has, therefore, failed, to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. USCIT Rule 12(b)(6). Accordingly, .Defendant’s motion to dismiss under USCIT Rule 12(b)(6) is granted.

BACKGROUND

This case arises from Commerce’s CVD investigation of aluminum extrusions from the PRC. Aluminum Extrusions from the [PRC], 75 Fed. Reg. 22,114 (Dep’t Commerce Apr, 27, 2010) (initiation of countervailing duty investigation). 4 After investigation and comment, Commerce made a final affirmative finding and calculated an all-others rate of 374.15 percent ad valo-rem. Final CVD Determination, 76 Fed. Reg. at 18,523.

Following the International Trade Commission’s final affirmative finding of injury, Commerce issued a CVD order on aluminum extrusions from the PRC. Aluminum Extrusions from the [PRC], 76 Fed. Reg. 30,653 (Dep’t Commerce May 26, 2011) (countervailing duty order) (“CVD Order”). Pursuant to this Order, Commerce instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“Customs” or “CBP”) to collect cash deposits for non-individually investigated companies at the all-others rate of 374.15 percent ad valorem (the investigation rate). Id. at 30,655.

Ón June 23, 2011, the plaintiffs in Mac-Lean-Fogg v. United States, Consol. Ct. No. 11-00209, challenged Commerce’s Final CVD Determination pursuant to 19 *1296 U.S.C. §§ 1516a(a)(2)(A)(i)(II), 1516a(a)(2)(B)(i). 5 The ensuing litigation generated two redeterminations from Commerce 6 and four opinions from this Court 7 —the last one affirming Commerce’s calculation of an 137.65 percent ad valorem all-others rate, MacLean-Fogg Co. v. United States, 885 F.Supp.2d at 1339. This Court’s fourth opinion was appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”), which reversed and remanded. 8 The CAFC’s decision was followed by two more redeterminations by Commerce 9 and three additional opinions from this Court 10 —the last, issued on October 23, 2015, affirming Commerce’s final redetermination. The final, redetermined all-others rate was 7.37 percent ad valorem (the post-MacLean-Fogg rate). [Fourth] Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Ct. Remand, Consol. Ct. 11-209, ECF Nos. 124-1 (conf. ver.) & 125-1 (pub. ver.).

While the MacLean-Fogg litigation was proceeding, Commerce, on May 1, 2012, published notice of the opportunity for interested parties to request administrative review of the CVD Order for entries made between September 7, 2010 and December 31, 2011 (the first period of review). Anti-dumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative Review, 77 Fed. Reg. 25,679, 25,680 (Dep’t Commerce May 1, 2012) (“AR1 Opportuni-⅛”). Commerce indicated that, absent a timely request for review, it would, instruct Customs to assess' countervailing duties “on those entries [for which review was not requested] at a rate equal to the cash deposit of (or bond for) estimated [ ] countervailing duties required ... at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption....” Id. at 25,681. Commerce subsequently initiated the first administrative review. Initiation of Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative- Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 77 Fed. Reg. 40,565, 40,572 (Dep’t Commerce July 10, 2012) (“AR1 Initiation”). Commerce then issued automatic liquidation instructions for subject entries made during the period of review but for which administrative review had not been requested. CBP Message No. 2209305 (July 27, 2012), reproduced in Compl., ECF No. 2-1 at attach. 6.

On December 14, 2012, following this Court’s affirmance of Commerce’s [Sec *1297 ond] Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Remand, Consol. Ct. No. 11-209, ECF No. 80-1, see MacLean-Fogg, 885 F.Supp.2d at 1339, but prior to the appeal of the that decision to the CAFC, see Notice of Appeal (Jan. 28, 2013), Consol. Ct. No. 11-209, ECF No. 89, Commerce issued a Timken Notice 11 giving effect to the [Second] Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Ct, Remand, Consol. Ct. No. 11-209, ECF No. 80-1, as affirmed in Mac-Lean-Fogg, 885 F.Supp.2d 1337. The Timken Notice set the all others cash deposit rate, as it was then calculated pursuant to the litigation, at 137.65 percent ad valorem with an effective date of December 10, 2012. Timken Notice, 77 Fed. Reg. at 74,466, 74,466-67. Commerce then instructed Customs to require, for “all others,” “a cash deposit equal to the rate” of 137.65 percent ad valorem for “shipments of aluminum extrusions from the [PRC] entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after December 10, 2012.” CBP Message No. 2355304 (Dec. 20, 2012), reproduced in Compl., ECF No. 2-1 at attach. *8.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

J.D. Irving, Ltd. v. United States
615 F. Supp. 3d 1323 (Court of International Trade, 2023)
Intercontinental Chems., LLC v. United States
483 F. Supp. 3d 1232 (Court of International Trade, 2020)
Capella Sales & Services Ltd. v. United States
181 F. Supp. 3d 1255 (Court of International Trade, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
180 F. Supp. 3d 1293, 2016 CIT 72, 38 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1513, 2016 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 72, 2016 WL 3950721, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/capella-sales-services-ltd-v-united-states-cit-2016.