Essar Steel Limited v. United States

753 F.3d 1368, 2014 WL 2609930, 36 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 245, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 10910
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedJune 12, 2014
Docket2013-1416
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 753 F.3d 1368 (Essar Steel Limited v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Essar Steel Limited v. United States, 753 F.3d 1368, 2014 WL 2609930, 36 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 245, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 10910 (Fed. Cir. 2014).

Opinion

LOURIE, Circuit Judge.

Essar Steel Ltd. (“Essar”) appeals from the decision of the United States Court of International Trade (the “Trade Court”) affirming the United States Department of Commerce’s (“Commerce”) corroboration of the adverse facts available (“AFA”) rate from the fifth administrative review of the countervailing duty order covering certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India. See Essar Steel Ltd. v. United States, 908 F.Supp.2d 1306 (Ct.Int’l Trade 2013). Because we agree with the Trade Court that Commerce corroborated the AFA rate to the extent practicable, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Essar is an Indian steel manufacturer with a facility in the state of Chhattisgarh, India that imports hot-rolled carbon steel flat products into the United States. In 2008, Commerce initiated an investigation to assess whether Essar received counter-vailable subsidies for its iron ore products in India for the period of review from January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2007. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 73 Fed.Reg. 4829 (Jan. 28, 2008).

Commerce investigated Essar’s receipt of benefits from nine separate subsidies provided under the Chhattisgarh Industrial Program (“CIP”) administered by the state government of Chhattisgarh. Essar, 908 F.Supp.2d at 1310-11. In response to Commerce’s requests for information on its use of and benefit from the CIP subsidies, Essar repeatedly denied receiving any CIP subsidies based on a claim that Essar did not have any manufacturing facilities in Chhattisgarh. Essar Steel Ltd. v. United States, 678 F.3d 1268, 1275 (Fed.Cir.2012). Commerce found, however, that Essar’s claims were contradicted by other information that Essar itself had placed on the record. Id. at 1274-79. During the fifth administrative review, the government of India and the state government of Chhattisgarh also failed to respond to Commerce’s requests for information on the CIP subsidies. Essar, 908 F.Supp.2d at 1312.

Commerce therefore applied adverse facts in its May 2009 final results and concluded that Essar did benefit from the CIP. Essar, 678 F.3d at 1271. Essar appealed Commerce’s final results to the Trade Court, and after numerous proceedings before the court and a remand back to Commerce, the United States government and United States Steel Corporation (“U.S. Steel”) appealed Essar’s use of and benefit from the CIP subsidies. Id. at 1271-72. We upheld Commerce’s decision to apply AFA with respect to Essar’s use of and benefit from the CIP subsidies, *1371 noting “Essar’s dishonest denials of a facility in Chhattisgarh.” Id. at 1274-79. Es-sar then “contacted the [Trade Court] for guidance” with regard to corroboration of the AFA rate, which was an issue that was previously raised before the Trade Court but never resolved. Essar Steel Ltd. v. United States, 880 F.Supp.2d 1827, 1328-29 (Ct.Int’l Trade 2012). The Trade Court then remanded the case to Commerce with instructions to explain how it corroborated the AFA rate assigned to Essar for its participation in the CIP or why corroboration was not practicable. Id. at 1332.

Commerce filed its remand results explaining how it corroborated, to the extent practicable, the AFA rate assigned to Es-sar given that Essar, the state government of Chhattisgarh, and the government of India failed to cooperate during the fifth administrative review. Essar, 908 F.Supp.2d at 1309. Commerce explained that it applied a hierarchical methodology in selecting an AFA rate. Commerce first “sought to apply, where available, the highest, above de minimis [AFA] rate calculated for the identical program from any segment of the proceeding.” J.A. 114. Then, absent an above de minimis subsidy rate calculated for an identical program, Commerce sought an AFA rate “for a similar program.” Id.

Commerce then explained that there was no independent information on the record regarding company-specific benefits under the CIP and that it therefore selected an alternate rate by following its practice of identifying subsidy rates from “similar” programs. Essar, 908 F.Supp.2d at 1310-11. Commerce originally identified nine CIP programs as countervailable subsidies divided into three categories: grants, indirect tax benefits, and the provision of land at less than adequate remuneration. Id. Commerce calculated Essar’s AFA rate by aggregating nine calculated subsidy programs deemed similar to the nine subprograms identified under the CIP using information provided by Essar and other Indian hot-rolled steel producers in other investigations. Id.

For the four subprograms identified as providing indirect tax benefits, Commerce assigned a net subsidy rate of 3.09% ad valorem, which had previously been calculated for Essar under the Indian state of Gujarat tax incentives program during the second administrative review of the underlying countervailing duty investigation of hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India. Id. On remand, Commerce explained that the Gujarat tax incentives program was an indirect tax program that was similar to the CIP tax program because it reflected the government of India’s behavior in implementing an indirect tax program. Id. at 1311.

For the four subprograms identified as providing benefits in the form of a grant, Commerce assigned a net subsidy rate of 6.06% ad valorem, which was the subsidy rate calculated for the Steel Authority of India, Ltd. (“Steel Authority”) under a grant program also identified during the underlying countervailing duty investigation. Id. On remand, Commerce explained that the subsidy rate calculated for the Steel Authority reflected the government of India’s behavior in implementing a grant program. Id.

For the single subprogram identified as providing land for less than adequate remuneration, Commerce assigned a net subsidy rate of 18.08% ad valorem, which was the subsidy rate calculated for a program involving the captive mining of iron ore from the fourth administrative review of the underlying countervailing duty investigation. Id. On remand, Commerce explained that the captive mining program was similar to the CIP program, and the *1372 captive mining program reflected the government of India’s behavior in implementing a program for providing a good for less than adequate remuneration. Id. The sum of the combined subsidy rates was 54.68%, which was the AFA rate Commerce had assigned to Essar. Id.

Commerce reported its remand results to the Trade Court, and Essar argued that although Commerce explained the methodology it used to determine the assigned AFA rate, Commerce failed to corroborate that rate. Id. Essar also argued, inter alia,

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753 F.3d 1368, 2014 WL 2609930, 36 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 245, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 10910, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/essar-steel-limited-v-united-states-cafc-2014.