Haixing Jingmei Chem. Prods. Sales Co. v. United States

335 F. Supp. 3d 1330
United States Court of International Trade·Decided September 26, 2018·No. Slip Op. 18-129; Court No. 16-00259·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Barnett, Judge:

*1333This matter is before the court following the U.S. Department of Commerce's ("Commerce" or the "agency") redetermination upon remand. See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Remand ("Remand Results"), ECF No. 50. Plaintiff, Haixing Jingmei Chemical Products Sales Co. ("Plaintiff" or "Jingmei"), initiated this action challenging Commerce's final determination to rescind the 2014-2015 new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on calcium hypochlorite from the People's Republic of China ("PRC"). See Calcium Hypochlorite from the People's Republic of China , 81 Fed. Reg. 83,804 (Dep't Commerce Nov. 22, 2016) (final decision to rescind the new shipper review of Haixing Jingmei Chemical Products Sales Co., Ltd.) (" Final Rescission "), ECF No. 18-4, and the accompanying Issues and Decision Mem., A-570-008 (Nov. 14, 2016) ("I & D Mem."), ECF No. 18-5.1 Plaintiff argued that Commerce's rescission of the new shipper review due to purportedly insufficient information to conduct a bona fide analysis of Plaintiff's sales during the July 25, 2014, through June 30, 2015 period of review ("POR") was unsupported by substantial evidence. See generally , Haixing Jingmei Chem. Prods. Sales Co., Ltd Mot. for J. on the Agency R., ECF No. 22, and Confidential Mem. in Supp. of Mot. for J. on the Agency R., ECF No. 23.

On December 5, 2017, the Court remanded the Final Rescission , holding that Commerce's rescission due to insufficient information to conduct a bona fide analysis of Plaintiff's sales was not supported by substantial evidence in light of the agency's statutory authority to use facts available, with or without an adverse inference, to fill any asserted gaps in the record. See Haixing Jingmei Chem. Prod. Sales Co., Ltd. v. United States , 41 CIT ----, 277 F.Supp.3d 1375, 1382-83 (2017).2 The court ordered Commerce "to determine whether the sales in question were bona fide ," so that "the court will be in a better position to evaluate whether that redetermination is supported by substantial evidence and otherwise in accordance with law." Id. at 1384.

*1334In its Remand Results, Commerce used facts available with an adverse inference (sometimes referred to as "adverse facts available" or "AFA") to determine whether Jingmei's sales were indicative of bona fide transactions. See Remand Results at 13-14, 30, 52. Based on the totality of the circumstances, Commerce concluded that Jingmei's sales were not bona fide and, therefore, rescission of the new shipper review was appropriate. See id. at 1-2. Jingmei now challenges Commerce's Remand Results as unsupported by substantial evidence. See Confidential Pl. Haixing Jingmei Chem. Prods. Sales Co., Ltd. Comments in Opp'n to U.S. Dep't of Commerce's Remand Redetermination ("Pl.'s Opp'n Cmts"), ECF No. 52. The United States ("Defendant" or "Government") and Defendant-Intervenor, Arch Chems. Inc., support Commerce's Remand Results. See Confidential Def.'s Resp. to Pl.'s Comments on the Dep't of Commerce's Remand Results ("Def.'s Supp. Cmts"), ECF No. 60; Confidential Def-Int. Arch Chems., Inc. Br. in Resp. to Pl.'s Comments on Agency Redetermination Upon Remand, ECF No. 58 ("Def.-Int.'s Supp. Cmts"). For the following reasons, the court sustains the Remand Results.

JURISDICTION & STANDARD OF REVIEW

The court has jurisdiction pursuant to § 516A(a)(2)(B)(iii) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(a)(2)(B)(iii) (2012),3 and 28 U.S.C. § 1581(c) (2012). The court will uphold an agency's determination that is supported by substantial evidence on the record and otherwise in accordance with law. 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(1)(B)(i). "The results of a redetermination pursuant to court remand are also reviewed for compliance with the court's remand order." SolarWorld Americas, Inc. v. United States , 41 CIT ----, ----, 273 F.Supp.3d 1314, 1317 (2017) (quoting Xinjiamei Furniture (Zhangzhou) Co. v. United States , 38 CIT ----, ----, 968 F.Supp.2d 1255, 1259 (2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Framework

a. New Shipper Reviews

Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1675(a)(2)(B)(i), when Commerce receives a request from a new exporter or producer who did not export merchandise subject to an antidumping duty order to the United States during the period of investigation, and is not affiliated with any exporter or producer that did export, Commerce must conduct a review to establish an individual weighted-average dumping margin for that exporter or producer. Commerce must determine any weighted-average dumping margin solely on the basis of bona fide sales to the United States during the period of review. See 19 U.S.C. § 1675(a)(2)(B)(iv). Commerce determines whether the sales are bona fide by considering, "depending on the circumstances surrounding such sales," the following factors:

(I) the prices of such sales; (II) whether such sales were made in commercial quantities; (III) the timing of such sales; (IV) the expenses arising from such sales; (V) whether the subject merchandise involved in such sales was resold in the United States at a profit; (VI) whether such sales were made on an *1335arms-length basis; and (VII) any other factor the administering authority determines to be relevant as to whether such sales are, or are not, likely to be typical of those the exporter or producer will make after completion of the review.

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

Haixing Jingmei Chem. Prods. Sales Co. v. United States, 335 F. Supp. 3d 1330 (cit 2018).

335 F. Supp. 3d 1330 (Haixing Jingmei Chem. Prods. Sales Co. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Shanghai Tainai Bearing Co. v. United States
2024 CIT 142 (Court of International Trade, 2024)
YC Rubber Co. (North Am.) LLC v. United States
487 F. Supp. 3d 1367 (Court of International Trade, 2020)
Haixing Jingmei Chem. Prods. Sales Co. v. United States
357 F. Supp. 3d 1337 (Court of International Trade, 2018)