Carlisle Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States

2 Ct. Int'l Trade 97
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Carlisle Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States. Read the opinion of the Court — 517 F. Supp. 704
United States Court of International Trade·Decided September 11, 1981·No. Court No. 79-5-00748·Published

Opinion

Maletz, Judge:

Plaintiff, a domestic manufacturer of bicycle tires and tubes (BTT), challenges a negative countervailing duty determination published by the Secretary of the Treasury on January 12, 1979 involving bicycle tires and tubes from the Republic of Korea. 44 [98]*98FR 2570-1. The determination was rendered under section 303 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. § 1303), as that provision existed prior to January 1, 1980.1

In substance, the Secretary found that three Korean BTT manufacturers, Hung-A Industrial Co. Ltd. (Hung-A), Dae Yung Tire & Rubber Co., Ltd. (Dae Yung), and Korea Inoue Kassei Co., Ltd. (Inoue) received benefits from the Government of Korea under various countervailable programs. However, the Secretary further found that the aggregate benefits received by Hung-A and Dae Yung were 0.34 percent and 0.31 percent, respectively, which were considered de minimis in size and hence need not be countervailed.2

Presently before the court are cross-motions for summary judgment. Plaintiff argues (1) that even a de minimis benefit must be countervailed; and (2) that in any event amounts received by Hung-A and Dae Yung were not de minimis but actually were much greater than the amounts found by the Secretary. Defendant and amicus curiae argue, on the other hand, that the de minimis rule is applicable to a countervailing duty determination and that the Secretary correctly determined the amounts of the benefits.3

I

We consider first plaintiff’s claim that even de minimis bounties and grants must be countervailed because of the mandatory language of the countervailing duty statute. However, this identical argument by the same plaintiff was rejected in this court’s recent decision in Carlisle I, 517 F. Supp. at 706, where it was held that the de minimis doctrine is applicable to cases arising under the countervailing duty statute.

II

We turn next to plaintiff’s argument that benefits received by Hung-A and Dae Yung from the Government of Korea under three countervailable programs were not de minimis but actually were much greater than the allegedly erroneous amounts found by the Secretary. The programs involved (1) accelerated depreciation; (2) [99]*99preferential income tax treatment; and (3) preferential short-term financing. Each of these programs will now be considered.

1. Accelerated Depreciation. Under Article 51 of the Enforcement Decree to the Korean Corporation Tax Law, certain businesses earning more than 50 percent of their total income during the business year from foreign exchange may increase the depreciation allowance for fixed assets used directly for exporting by 30 percent over the normal depreciation allowance. The Secretary found that in 1977, Hung-A benefited under this provision in an amount equal to 0.06 percent ad valorem which defendant later corrected to 0.09 percent.

The dollar amount utilized by Treasury in the computation of ad valorem value was supplied by the Government of Korea in response to a Customs’ countervailing duty questionnaire. According to this response, Hung-A received $13,029 in benefits under the accelerated depreciation program. Allegedly this information was provided to the Government of Korea by Hung-A.

The manner in which Hung-A or the Korean Government computed the figure was unknown, as was the amount of normal depreciation experienced by Hung-A in 1977 and the amount of increased depreciation that Hung-A claimed in 1977. The figure of $13,029 supposedly supplied by Hung-A and transmitted by the Government of Korea was simply accepted by Treasury. Rather than seeking clarification, Treasury assumed the figure was correct in accordance with its policy of relying “upon the integrity and credibility of the responding foreign governments.”

However, the attention of Treasury was directed to financial statements for the year 1977 that were filed by Hung-A in a then co-pending antidumping investigation. More specifically, Hung-A’s Profit and Loss Statement and Statement of the Cost of Goods Manufactured, which were prepared by the company’s certified public accountant and certified by the company’s managing director to be true and correct, show that for the year 1977 Hung-A claimed normal depreciation in the amount of $710,656.66. Also, the record shows that in 1977, Hung-A took advantage of the program permitting accelerated depreciation in an amount equal to 30 percent of normal depreciation. Since Hung-A in that year claimed normal depreciation in the amount of $710,656.66, this amount for tax purposes seemingly should have been increased by -30 percent or $213,196.99.

This certified financial information provided directly by Hung-A to Treasury thus clearly called into question the accuracy of the depreciation figure of $13,029 supplied by the Government of Korea. In the face of this conflict, Treasury was not justified in accepting as complete and accurate the figure provided by the Korean Government, the origin of which was unknown. The ipse dixit of the Govern[100]*100ment of Korea was “hardly a factual basis supporting the conclusion that” the amount of the benefit received by Hung-A under the accelerated depreciation program was as set forth in its submission. ASG Industries, Inc. v. United States, supra, 610 F. 2d at 778 and n. 16.

Finally, in support of its motion for summary judgment, plaintiff states that the depreciation expenses presented in Hung-A’s financial statements for 1977 were computed in accordance with generally accepted principles of accounting. Based on that premise and coupled with the fact that Hung-A exported 80 percent of its production by quantity, plaintiff has prepared its own computation concluding that the amount of the benefit received by Hung-A in 1977 under the accelerated depreciation program was 1.16 percent ad valorem.

What this all comes down to is that the figure of $13,029 which the Government of Korea transmitted to Treasury as the amount of benefit received by Hung-A in 1977 under its accelerated depreciation program cannot be reconciled with the depreciation figures contained in Hung-A’s own financial statements. Added to that, in the absence of explanation, it would appear that Hung-A’s own financial data— which Treasury disregarded — would provide a more reliable indication of the accelerated depreciation benefits Hung-A received than the figure presented to Treasury by the Government of Korea. Given this circumstance, were it not for the conflict in figures, the court would be inclined to deem persuasive plaintiff’s computations based on Hung-A’s financial data. However, with this conflict unresolved, the court does not have sufficient information to determine what the truth is.

2. Preferential Income Tax Treatment. In his determination, the Secretary concluded that Dae Yung did not benefit under any of the Government of Korea’s laws authorizing a reduction in, or exemption from, income taxes on business income.

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

Carlisle Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States, 2 Ct. Int'l Trade 97 (cit 1981).

2 Ct. Int'l Trade 97 (Carlisle Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Carlisle Tire & Rubber Co. v. United States
517 F. Supp. 704 (Court of International Trade, 1981)
ASG Industries, Inc. v. United States
610 F.2d 770 (Customs and Patent Appeals, 1979)