Longkou Haimeng MacHinery Co., Ltd. v. United States

617 F. Supp. 2d 1363, 33 Ct. Int'l Trade 603, 33 C.I.T. 603, 31 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1441, 2009 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 49
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedMay 18, 2009
DocketConsol. 07-00321
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 617 F. Supp. 2d 1363 (Longkou Haimeng MacHinery Co., 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
Longkou Haimeng MacHinery Co., Ltd. v. United States, 617 F. Supp. 2d 1363, 33 Ct. Int'l Trade 603, 33 C.I.T. 603, 31 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1441, 2009 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 49 (cit 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

TSOUCALAS, Senior Judge.

This matter comes before the Court following its decision in Longkou Haimeng Mach. Co., Ltd. v. United States (“Longkou”), 32 CIT -, 581 F.Supp.2d 1344 (2008), in which the Court remanded the administrative determination in Brake Rotors From the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative and New Shipper Reviews and Partial Rescission of the 2005-2006 Administrative Review, 72 Fed.Reg. 42,-386 (Aug. 2, 2007) (“Final Results ”) to the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (“Commerce” or “Department”). Longkou arose from Plaintiffs’ challenge to Commerce’s Final Results, and ensuing motion for judgment on the agency record under USCIT Rule 56.2. In their motion, Plaintiffs alleged, inter alia, that Commerce failed to adhere to the statutory requirement to value factors of production using the best available information. Because Commerce valued pig iron using Indian import data, despite record evidence indicating that the imported pig iron (Sorelmetal) was not specific to the pig iron used by Plaintiffs, the Department’s valuation of this input was not based on the *1366 best available information. In Longkou, the Court instructed Commerce to specifically address: (1) whether Sorelmetal is fundamentally different from the pig iron consumed by respondents and cannot be used in the production of subject brake rotors; or alternately (2) whether pig iron imports into India under HTS 7201.1000 are the best available information for valuing the pig iron consumed by Plaintiffs in the production of subject brake rotors. See Longkou, 32 CIT at -, 581 F.Supp.2d 1344, 1364. The Court now reviews the Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Remand (Feb. 18, 2009) (“Final Remand Redetermination”), in which the surrogate value for pig iron, and hence Plaintiffs’ margin, remains unchanged from the Final Results.

JURISDICTION

The Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(a)(2) and 28 U.S.C. § 1581(c).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Court reviews the agency’s re-determination pursuant to the Court’s remand under the substantial evidence and in accordance with law standard, which is set forth in 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(1)(B)(i) (2000) (“The court shall hold unlawful any determination, finding, or conclusion found ... to be unsupported by substantial evidence on the record, or otherwise not in accordance with law .... ”). Substantial evidence is “‘such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.’ ” Huaiyin Foreign Trade Corp. (30) v. United States, 322 F.3d 1369, 1374 (Fed.Cir.2003) (quoting Consol. Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938)). “Substantial evidence requires more than a mere scintilla, but is satisfied by something less than the weight of the evidence.” Altx, Inc. v. United States, 370 F.3d 1108, 1116 (Fed.Cir.2004) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). The existence of substantial evidence is determined “by considering the record as a whole, including evidence that supports as well as evidence that ‘fairly detracts from the substantiality of the evidence.’ ” Huaiyin, 322 F.3d at 1374 (quoting Atl. Sugar, Ltd. v. United States, 744 F.2d 1556, 1562 (Fed. Cir.1984)). The Court “must affirm [Commerce’s] determination if it is reasonable and supported by the record as a whole, even if some evidence detracts from the [Department’s] conclusion.” Nippon Steel Corp. v. United States, 458 F.3d 1345, 1352 (Fed.Cir.2006) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).

BACKGROUND

The Court presumes familiarity with its decision in Longkou, which provides background discussion on the less-than-fair-value determination that Plaintiffs contest in this judicial proceeding. See Longkou, 32 CIT -, 581 F.Supp.2d 1344. Below, the Court provides additional background information specific to the Final Remand Redetermination now before the Court.

In making the determination of whether imported merchandise is being sold at less-than-fair-value in the United States, Commerce must first quantify the term “normal value.” Whereas normal value typically equals the domestic price of the product in the exporting country, see 19 U.S.C. § 1677b(a)(1), if the exporting country is a non-market economy (“NME”), domestic sales of subject merchandise may not be a reliable indicator of market value, see id. § 1677b(c)(1). In such instances, Commerce must “determine the normal value of the subject merchandise on the basis of the value of the factors of production utilized in producing the merchandise and to which shall be added an amount for general expenses and profit plus the cost of containers, cover *1367 ings, and other expense.” Id. Section 1677b(c)(1) further provides that “the valuation of the factors of production shall be based on the best available information regarding the values of such factors in a market economy country or countries considered to be appropriate by the administering authority.” Id.

In the Final Results, Commerce calculated the value of each input in the production process, using information from a market economy surrogate country. 1 The Department rejected alternative data submitted by Plaintiffs which included the financial statements of Indian Steel producer, Steel Authority of India Limited (“SAIL”). See Def.’s Resp. in Opp’n to Pis.’ Mot. J. Upon the Agency R. (“Def.’s Brief’) at 28. Plaintiffs contested the Department’s refusal to consider this alternative data, and argued that its reliance on what Plaintiffs consider less representative data to value pig iron, was unsupported by substantial evidence. See Mem. of P. & A. in Supp. of Pis.’ Mot. J. Upon the Agency R. (“Pis.’ Brief’) at 26. Specifically, Plaintiffs pointed to record evidence indicating that “approximately seventy percent of the pig iron imported into India during the POR was Sorelmetal.”

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617 F. Supp. 2d 1363, 33 Ct. Int'l Trade 603, 33 C.I.T. 603, 31 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1441, 2009 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 49, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/longkou-haimeng-machinery-co-ltd-v-united-states-cit-2009.