Nsk Ltd. v. United States

794 F. Supp. 1156, 16 Ct. Int'l Trade 401, 16 C.I.T. 401, 14 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1375, 1992 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 74
United States Court of International Trade·Decided May 21, 1992·No. Court 90-06-00309·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

TSOUCALAS, Judge:

This action, brought by NSK Ltd. and NSK Corporation (“NSK”), challenges the final results of the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (“ITA” or “Commerce”), in an administrative review of antidumping -findings for Tapered Roller Bearings Four Inches or Less in Outside Diameter From Japan; Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review (“Final Results”), 55 Fed.Reg. 22,369 (1990), for NSK for the period of April 1, 1974 through July 31, 1980. The investigation by Commerce likewise covered tapered roller bearings (“TRBs”) for Koyo Seiko Co., Ltd. and *1158 Koyo Corporation of U.S.A. (“Koyo”). See Koyo Seiko Co. v. United States, 16 CIT -, 796 F.Supp. 517 (1992).

On October 31, 1973, Timken filed a petition requesting the imposition of antidump-ing duties on TRBs from Japan. Tapered Roller Bearings From Japan; Antidump-ing Proceeding Notice, 38 Fed.Reg. 33,408 (1973). On June 5, 1974, Treasury published a notice to withhold appraisement of NSK entries of the subject merchandise, made on or after June 5, 1974. Tapered Roller Bearings From Japan — Anti- dumping; Withholding of Appraisement Notice, 39 Fed.Reg. 19,969 (1974). A determination of sales at less than fair value was published on September 6, 1974. Tapered Roller Bearings From Japan — An- tidumping; Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 39 Fed.Reg. 32,337 (1974).

Master lists were'issued on or about May 18,1978, for NSK entries covering the period May 1, 1974 through July 31, 1976. Administrative Record (“AR”) (Pub.) Doc. 50 (Attachment 1). Master lists for the period August 1, 1976 through December 31, 1976 were circulated on or about May 31, 1979. AR (Conf.) Doc. 33 (Attachment 2). Master lists for the period January 1, 1977 through March 31, 1978 were circulated on or about May 23, 1979, and amended July 30, 1979. AR (Conf.) Doc. 38 (Attachment 3).

Effective January 2, 1980, the authority for administering the antidumping law was transferred from Treasury to the United States Department of Commerce by Exec. Order No. 12,188, 3 C.F.R. 131 (1980). Subsequently, Commerce began to conduct administrative reviews of unliquidated entries pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1675 (1980).

On or about August 12, 1980, Commerce requested information covering NSK’s sales for the period May 1, 1979 through July 31, 1980. During 1981-84 counsel for NSK made several inquiries of Commerce concerning the progress being made with respect to the completion of NSK entries. See AR (Pub.) Docs. 145, 152, 153, 216 and 227. During this period, on September 1, 1981, Commerce published preliminary results for forty known firms covered by the 1976 dumping finding; however, NSK was not included. Tapered Roller Bearings and Certain Components Thereof From Japan; Preliminary Results of Administrative Review and Tentative Revocation in Part of Antidumping Finding (“TRBs From Japan I”), 46 Fed.Reg. 43,864 (1981). In addition, preliminary results for NTN (another large Japanese manufacturer) were published on February 27, 1981. Tapered Roller Bearings and Certain Components Thereof From Japan; Preliminary Results of Administrative Review of Antidumping Finding; NTN Toyo Bearing Co., Ltd. and NTN Bearing Corporation of America; and Tentative Determination to Revoke in Part (“TRBs From Japan II”), 46 Fed.Reg. 14,371 (1981).

On March 9,1984, Commerce issued final results for forty Japanese exporters subject to the September 1, 1981 preliminary results, relying on Treasury master lists as “best information available.” Tapered Roller Bearings and Certain Components Thereof From Japan; Final Results of Administrative Review of Antidumping Finding (“TRBs From Japan III”), 49 Fed. Reg. 8,976 (1984). NSK was not included in these results.

On July 9, 1986, the ITA initiated an administrative review of NSK’s entries running from April 1, 1974 through July 31, 1985. In the course of requesting information between 1974 and 1987, Commerce utilized three different methodologies related to selecting the similar merchandise to be compared with a U.S. sale when there was no identical home market model sold.

Commerce subsequently limited its investigation to the period,from April 1, 1974 through July 31, 1980. Final Results, 55 Fed.Reg. at 22,369. On March 29, 1989, Commerce published section 751(a) preliminary results on NSK’s entries covering the period from April 1, 1974 through July 31, 1980, which stated that based on best information available, the weighted average dumping margins for NSK ranged from 7.77% to 19.28%. Tapered Roller Bearings Four Inches or Less in Outside Diameter and Certain Components Thereof From *1159 Japan, Preliminary Results of Anti-dumping Duty; Administrative Review. 54 Fed.Reg. 12,938 (1989). On June 1, 1990, Commerce issued the final results for Koyo and NSK TRBs, finding that the dumping margins for NSK ranged between 4.99% to 23.43%. Final Results, 55 Fed. Reg. at 22,382.

NSK seeks judgment on the agency record claiming that Commerce’s review of NSK’s 1974-1980 sales was not in accordance with law, that Commerce treated NSK differently than other similarly situated companies, that Commerce’s failure to use master lists was not in accordance with law, and that Commerce’s use of best information available was not reasonable and not in accordance with law.

DISCUSSION

Pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930, in reviewing a final determination of Commerce, this Court must uphold that determination unless it is “unsupported by substantial evidence on the record, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(l)(B) (1988). Substantial evidence has been defined as being “more than a mere scintilla. It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Universal Camera Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 340 U.S. 474, 477, 71 S.Ct. 456, 459, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951) (quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. N.L.R.B., 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 216, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938)). It is “not within the Court’s domain either to weigh the adequate quality or quantity of the evidence for sufficiency or to reject a finding on grounds of a differing interpretation of the record.” The Timken Co. v. United States, 12 CIT 955, 962, 699 F.Supp. 300, 306 (1988), aff'd, 894 F.2d 385 (Fed.Cir.1990).

1. Use of Master Lists

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Nsk Ltd. v. United States, 794 F. Supp. 1156, 16 Ct. Int'l Trade 401, 16 C.I.T. 401, 14 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1375, 1992 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 74 (cit 1992).

794 F. Supp. 1156 (Nsk Ltd. v. United States) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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