Tianjin MacHinery Import & Export Corp. v. United States

394 F. Supp. 2d 1369, 29 Ct. Int'l Trade 1216, 29 C.I.T. 1216, 27 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2327, 2005 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 137
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedSeptember 22, 2005
DocketSlip Op. 05-127; Court 03-00732
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 394 F. Supp. 2d 1369 (Tianjin MacHinery Import & Export Corp. 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.

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Tianjin MacHinery Import & Export Corp. v. United States, 394 F. Supp. 2d 1369, 29 Ct. Int'l Trade 1216, 29 C.I.T. 1216, 27 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2327, 2005 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 137 (cit 2005).

Opinion

OPINION

STANCEU, Judge.

Defendant-intervenor Ames True Temper (“Ames”) challenges a redetermination of the U.S. Department of Commerce (“Commerce” or the “Department”), issued in response to a remand order of this court, in which redetermination Commerce concluded that certain hand tools identified as “cast picks” are not within the scope of a 1991 antidumping duty order applying to picks and mattocks (the “Pick/Mattock Order”). 1 In the redetermination before the court, Commerce reversed its earlier ruling that cast picks were within the scope of the Pick/Mattock Order; which is one of four antidumping duty orders on heavy forged hand tools (“HFHTs”) from the People’s Republic of China (“China” or the “PRC”). Although acknowledging that cast picks are not “forged,” Ames argues that Commerce nevertheless should have ruled that cast picks fall within the scope of the Pick/Mattock Order and urges this court to remand the challenged redetermination to Commerce for a second reconsideration. The court finds no merit in defendant-intervenor’s argument and affirms Commerce’s redetermination excluding cast picks from the scope of the Pick/Mattock Order.

*1371 I. Background

Commerce issued antidumping orders on each of four classes of hand tools in 1991, including the class consisting of picks and mattocks. Common language defining the scope of the investigations applied to all four of the orders. See Antidumping Duty Orders for Heavy Forged Hand Tools, Finished or Unfinished, With or Without Handles From the People’s Republic of China, 56 Fed.Reg. 6,622 (Feb. 19, 1991) (“HFHT Orders”). On April 25, 2003, plaintiff Tianjin Machinery Import & Export Corporation (“Tianjin”) requested a scope ruling from Commerce pursuant to regulations codified at 19 C.F.R. § 351.225(c) (2003). See Scope Ruling Request on Cast Picks Submitted on Behalf of Tianjin Machinery Import & Export Corporation at 1 (Apr. 25, 2003) (“Tianjin Scope Ruling Request") (PI. ’s Mot. for J. on the Agency R., Ex. 2). In its scope ruling request, plaintiff argued that Commerce should determine cast picks to be outside the scope of the Pick/Mattock Order. See id. at 2.

Commerce’s scope ruling, issued on September 22, 2003, rejected Tianjin’s arguments and concluded that cast picks were within the scope of the Pick/Mattock Order. Commerce relied on the product description “in the petition, the initial investigation, and the determinations of [Commerce] and the [U.S. International Trade Commission].” Memorandum from Thomas Futtner, Acting Office Director, Office of AD/CVD Enforcement TV, to Holly A. Kuga, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary, Group II, Import Administration at 9 (Sept. 22, 2003) (“Tianjin Scope Ruling”) (PI. ’s Mot. for J. on the Agency R., Ex. 3). Reasoning that the scope language in the HFHT Orders was illustrative and not exclusionary with regard to method of production, Commerce concluded that a product need not be forged to be considered a heavy forged hand tool within the scope of the HFHT Orders:

[T]he scope of the orders notes that HFHTs are manufactured through a hot forge operation, but it does not state that this is the only operation used to make HFHTs or the only process covered by the scope of the orders. Moreover, nothing in the record of this case suggests that the Department had a reason to limit the scope of this proceeding to a single production type, such as forging.

Id. at 11 (emphasis omitted).

Plaintiff Tianjin filed a summons and complaint in this court on October 8 and 17, 2003, respectively, challenging the Tianjin Scope Ruling in this proceeding and contending that because its imported picks are hand tools that are cast, not forged, these picks should be found to be outside the scope of the Pick/Mattock Order. On February 2, 2004, plaintiff moved for judgment on the agency record pursuant to USCIT Rule 56.2.

In response to plaintiffs motion, defendant United States moved for and obtained from this court an order for a voluntary remand. Defendant’s motion sought a voluntary remand so that Commerce could reconsider the Tianjin Scope Ruling in view of the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Court of Appeals”) in Duferco Steel, Inc. v. United States, 296 F.3d 1087 (Fed.Cir.2002) (“Duferco”). Plaintiff Tianjin consented to that motion, and defendant-intervenor Ames did not oppose it. On April 7, 2004, the court granted defendant’s unopposed motion for a voluntary remand.

Commerce filed its redetermination pursuant to the court’s remand on July 20, 2004, in which the Department reversed the determination set forth as the Tianjin Scope Ruling and concluded that the cast picks at issue do not fall within the scope *1372 of the Pick/Mattock Order. See Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Remand for Tianjin Machinery Import & Export Corporation v. United States and Ames True Temper at 1 (July 20, 2004) (“Redetermination”). In the Redetermination, Commerce interpreted the scope of the HFHT Orders to exclude the cast picks because they are not forged. Commerce, relying on Duferco, reasoned that because “the language of the scope is clear, the Department cannot interpret the order in a manner that impermissibly modifies it.” Id. at 5. Defendant-intervenor Ames, successor in interest to WoodingsVerona Tool Works, Inc. (‘Woodings-Verona”), the petitioner in the antidumping investigation, now challenges the Redetermination, urging this court to order another remand so that Commerce may reconsider its decision to exclude cast picks from the Pick/Mattock Order. The court exercises jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1581(c) (2000).

II. Standard of Review

The court must affirm a determination concerning the scope of an antidumping order by Commerce if that determination is supported by substantial evidence on the record and is otherwise in accordance with law. See 19 U.S.C. §§ 1516a(b)(l)(B)(i), 1516a(a)(2)(A)(ii), 1516a(a)(2)(B)(vi) (2000). Substantial evidence is “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Consol. Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938).

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394 F. Supp. 2d 1369, 29 Ct. Int'l Trade 1216, 29 C.I.T. 1216, 27 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 2327, 2005 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 137, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tianjin-machinery-import-export-corp-v-united-states-cit-2005.