Itochu Bldg. Prods. Co. v. United States

2018 CIT 3
United States Court of International Trade·Decided January 18, 2018·No. 13-00132·Published

Opinion

Slip Op. 18-3

UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE

ITOCHU BUILDING PRODUCTS CO., INC., TIANJIN JINGHAI COUNTY HONGLI INDUSTRY & BUSINESS CO., LTD., HUANGHUA JINHAI HARDWARE PRODUCTS CO., LTD., TIANJIN JINCHI METAL PRODUCTS CO., LTD., SHANDONG DINGLONG IMPORT & EXPORT CO., LTD., TIANJIN ZHONGLIAN METALS WARE CO., LTD., HUANGHUA XIONGHUA HARDWARE PRODUCTS CO., LTD., SHANGHAI JADE SHUTTLE HARDWARE TOOLS CO., LTD., SHANGHAI YUEDA NAILS INDUSTRY CO., LTD., SHANXI TIANLI INDUSTRIES CO., LTD., MINGGUANG ABUNDANT HARDWARE PRODUCTS CO., LTD., CHINA STAPLE ENTERPRISE (TIANJIN) CO., LTD., and CERTIFIED PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL INC.,

Plaintiffs,

Before: Jane A. Restani, Judge .v.

Court No. 13-00132

UNITED STATES, PUBLIC VERSION

Defendant,

MID CONTINENT NAIL CORPORATION, Defendant-Intervenor.

OPINION

[Commerce’s final remand redetermination results in antidumping duty administrative review sustained.]

Dated: January 18, 2018

Consol. Court No. 13-00132 Page 2

Bruce M. Mitchell, Andrew Thomas Schutz, Dharmendra Narain Choudhary and Ned Herman Marshak, Grunfeld Desiderio Lebowitz Silverman & Klestadt, LLP, of New York, NY, and Washington, D.C., for plaintiffs Itochu Building Products Co., Inc., Tianjin Jinghai County Hongli Industry & Business Co., Ltd., Huanghua Jinhai Hardware Products Co., Ltd., Tianjin Jinchi Metal Products Co., Ltd., Shandong Dinglong Import & Export Co., Ltd., Tianjin Zhonglian Metals Ware Co., Ltd., Huanghua Xionghua Hardware Products Co., Ltd., Shanghai Jade Shuttle Hardware Tools Co., Ltd, Shanghai Yueda Nails Industry Co., Ltd., Shanxi Tianli Industries Co., Ltd., Mingguang Abundant Hardware Products Co., Ltd., China Staple Enterprise (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., and Certified Products International Inc.

Sosun Bae, Lead Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, U.S.

Department of Justice, of Washington, DC, for defendant. Also on the brief was Tara Kathleen Hogan, Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice. Of counsel on the brief was Jessica Rose DiPietro, Attorney, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Adam Henry Gordon, and Ping Gong, The Bristol Group PLLC, of Washington, DC, for defendant-intervenor Mid Continent Nail Corporation.

Restani, Judge: In this action, Plaintiffs Itochu Building Products Co., Inc., Tianjin Jinghai County Hongli Industry & Business Co., Ltd., Huanghua Jinhai Hardware Products Co., Ltd., Tianjin Jinchi Metal Products Co., Ltd., Shandong Dinglong Import & Export Co., Ltd., Tianjin Zhonglian Metals Ware Co., Ltd., Huanghua Xionghua Hardware Products Co., Ltd., Shanghai Jade Shuttle Hardware Tools Co., Ltd., Shanghai Yueda Nails Industry Co., Ltd., Shanxi Tianli Industries Co., Ltd., Mingguang Abundant Hardware Products Co., Ltd., China Staple Enterprise (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., and Certified Products International Inc. (collectively “Itochu”), challenge the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce”)’s final redetermination results pursuant to Itochu Building Products Co., Inc. v. United States, Slip Op. 17–66, 2017 WL 2438835 (CIT June 5, 2017) (“Itochu I”). Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Itochu Building Products Co., Inc. v. United States Court No. 13-132, Slip Op. 17-66 (Ct. Int’l Trade June 5, 2017), A-570-909, Remand (Dep’t Commerce August 21, 2017) (“Remand Results”). Itochu requests that the court hold Commerce’s redetermination decision, to value wire rod based on Global Trade

Consol. Court No. 13-00132 Page 3 Atlas (“GTA”) import data from Thailand rather than Metal Expert data from Ukraine, is not supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, Itochu requests that Commerce select Metal Expert data, instead of Thai GTA import data, to value the principal input in subject nails – steel wire rods – whether or not Ukraine is ultimately selected as the primary surrogate country. The court suggested that this might be the appropriate result if the primary input value was from the Ukraine. Itochu I at *7. Conversely, Defendant, the United States, requests the court sustain Commerce’s Remand Results.

BACKGROUND

On October 3, 2011, Commerce initiated a third administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain steel nails from the People’s Republic of China (“China”), covering the period of review (“POR”) from August 1, 2010 through July 31, 2011. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews and Requests for Revocations in Part, 76 Fed. Reg. 61,076, 61,076–84 (Dep’t Commerce October 3, 2011). On March 18, 2013, Commerce published the final results from that review. See Certain Steel Nails From the People’s Republic of China; Final Results of Third Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2010-2011, 78 Fed. Reg. 16,651, 16,651–54 (Dep’t Commerce March 18, 2013) (“Final Results”); see also Certain Steel Nails From the People’s Republic of China: Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final Results of the Third Antidumping Duty Administrative Review A-570-909, POR 08/01/2010–07/31/2011 (Dep’t Commerce March 5, 2013) (“I&D Memo”).1 Specifically, Itochu

1 Because Commerce considers China a non-market economy (“NME”), Commerce creates a hypothetical market value for steel nails in conducting its review. See Downhole Pipe & Equip. LP v. United States, 887 F. Supp. 2d 1311, 1320 (CIT 2012) (citing Nation Ford Chem. Co. v. United States, 166 F.3d 1373, 1375 (Fed. Cir. 1999)). To construct such a value, Commerce relies on data from a market economy or economies to provide surrogate values for the various factors of production used to manufacture the subject merchandise. See 19 U.S.C. § 1677b(c)(1)(B). In addition, Commerce uses financial statements from producers of identical or comparable

Consol. Court No. 13-00132 Page 4 challenged Commerce’s selection of surrogate financial statements and surrogate valuation for steel wire rod, the main input in steel nails, arguing that: (1) GTA steel wire rod import data from Thailand were not the best available; and (2) financial statement data from Thai companies were not the best available.2 See Itochu I at *2–*7.

On June 5, 2017, the court remanded the Final Results for Commerce to reconsider its selection of Thai import data as a surrogate value for steel wire rod, specifically directing Commerce to make two determinations: (1) whether Thai GTA import data, Ukrainian GTA import data, and Ukrainian Metal Expert data are “comparably specific”; and (2) whether diameter or carbon content is a more important factor in determining whether a surrogate source provides prices specific to the steel wire rod used by respondents. Itochu I at *7–*8. In the Remand Results, Commerce found that Thai import data were still the best available, and provided revised rationale for this conclusion. Remand Results at 1.

On remand, Commerce reconsidered its evaluation of the surrogate valuation of the main input, steel wire rod. Id. Specifically, Commerce reconsidered two factors in determining the relative specificity of Ukrainian Metal Expert, Ukrainian GTA, and Thai GTA data sets: wire rod

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