Torrington Co. v. United States

21 Ct. Int'l Trade 251, 960 F. Supp. 339, 21 C.I.T. 251, 19 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1313, 1997 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 24
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedMarch 7, 1997
DocketConsolidated Court No. 95-03-00345
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 21 Ct. Int'l Trade 251 (Torrington Co. 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
Torrington Co. v. United States, 21 Ct. Int'l Trade 251, 960 F. Supp. 339, 21 C.I.T. 251, 19 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1313, 1997 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 24 (cit 1997).

Opinion

Opinion

Tsoucalas, Senior Judge:

Plaintiff and defendant-intervenor The Torrington Company (“Torrington”) moves this Court pursuant to Rule 56.2 of the Rules of this Court for judgment on the agency record challenging aspects of the final determination of the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (“Commerce”), of the fourth administrative review of antifriction bearings (“AFBs”) from Sweden, entitled Antifriction Bearings (Other Than Tapered Roller [252]*252Bearings) and Parts Thereof From France, et al.; Final Results of Anti-dumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Partial Termination of Administrative Reviews, and Revocation in Part of Antidumping Duty Orders {“Final Results”), 60 Fed. Reg. 10,900 (1995). Defendant-intervenors and plaintiffs SKF USA Inc. and SKF Sverige AB (collectively “SKF”) also challenge the fourth administrative review of AFBs from Sweden.

Background

On May 15,1989, Commerce published the antidumping duty orders on AFBs from Sweden. See Antidumping Duty Orders: Ball Bearings, Cylindrical Roller Bearings, and Parts Thereof From Sweden, 54 Fed. Reg. 20,907 (1989). The fourth administrative review encompasses imports of AFBs entered during the period of May 1,1992 through April 30, 1993. See Final Results, 60 Fed. Reg. at 10,900. The present consolidated action concerns imports from Sweden.

On February 28, 1994, Commerce published the preliminary results of the fourth administrative review. See Antifriction Bearings (Other Than Tapered Roller Bearings) and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Partial Termination of Administrative Reviews, and Notice of Intent To Revoke Orders (in Part), 59 Fed. Reg. 9,463 (1994). On February 28,1995, Commerce published the Final Results at issue. See Final Results, 60 Fed. Reg. at 10,900.

Torrington contests the following actions of Commerce: (1) refusing to apply the reimbursement regulation; (2) using below-cost sales in its calculation of profit for constructed value; (3) resorting to constructed value where sales were made below cost without considering other similar models; and (4) adjusting foreign market value (“FMV”) for pre-sale inland freight expenses.

SKF claims that Commerce erred in: (1) failing to apply a tax-neutral methodology in computing the value-added tax (“VAT”) adjustment; (2) treating certain home market sales as related party sales; and (3) adopting an incorrect “all others” rate for ball bearings from Sweden.

On May 3,1995, the Court granted Torrington’s motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining the liquidation of the subject entries during the pendency of this litigation.

Discussion

The Court’s jurisdiction in this action is derived from 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(a)(2) (1994) and 28 U.S.C. § 1581(c) (1994).

The Court must uphold Commerce’s final determination unless it is “unsupported by substantial evidence on the record, or otherwise not in accordance with law.” 19U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(l)(B) (1994). Substantial evidence is “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. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 477 (1951) (quoting [253]*253Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229 (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.” 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. Reimbursement Regulation:

In the Final Results, Commerce refused to apply 19 C.F.R. § 353.26 (1995), the so-called “reimbursement regulation,” for the following reasons:

We disagree with Torrington * * * that the Department should deduct from ESP [exporter’s sales price] antidumping duties allegedly reimbursed by foreign producers to their U.S. affiliates. In this administrative review neither party has identified record evidence that there was reimbursement of antidumping duties. Evidence of reimbursement is necessary before we can make an adjustment to USP [U.S. price]. This has been our consistent interpretation of 19 C.F.R. 353.26, the reimbursement regulation, and was upheld by the Court in Otokumpu Copper Rolled Products AB v. United States, 829 F. Supp. 1371 (CIT 1993).
* * si: * * * *
We also disagree with Torrington * * * that the amount of anti-dumping duties assessed on imports of subject merchandise constitutes a selling expense and, therefore, should be deducted from ESP

60 Fed. Reg. at 10,907.

Torrington argues Commerce erred by failing to apply the reimbursement regulation in all instances where (1) transfer prices between related exporters and importers were less than the cost of production plus profit, or, alternatively, cost of production, and (2) actual dumping margins were found. Torrington’s Mem. Supp. Mot. J. Agency R. at 12-21. In the alternative, Torrington insists that Commerce should have at least further investigated the possible reimbursement. Id. at 21-22.

In response, Commerce states that there is no evidence in the administrative record that the exporter paid duties or reimbursed the related importer through alleged intra-company transfers. Commerce further argues that mere allegations that intra-company transfers were actually reimbursements of antidumping duties are insufficient to require Commerce to investigate the transfers. Commerce does request a remand, however, to explain the circumstances in which Commerce would apply the regulation in an ESP situation. Def.’s Partial Opp’n to Mots. J. Agency R. at 41-44.

The Court has already addressed this issue in previous cases dealing with the same administrative review. The Court found that Torrington failed to provide sufficient evidence of a link between intracorporate transfers and the reimbursement of antidumping duties to warrant requiring Commerce to commit resources to conduct an investigation. INA Walzlager Schaeffler KG v. United States, 21 CIT 110, 132, Slip Op. [254]*25497-12, at 42-43 (Feb. 3, 1997); FAG Italia S.p.A. v. United States, 20 CIT 1377, 1385-86, 948 F. Supp. 67, 74-75 (1996); Torrington Co. v. United States, 20 CIT 1207, 1210, 944 F. Supp. 930, 933-34 (1996).

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

Related

Allied Pacific Food (Dalian) Co. v. United States
587 F. Supp. 2d 1330 (Court of International Trade, 2008)
Tung Fong Indust. Co., Inc. v. United States
318 F. Supp. 2d 1321 (Court of International Trade, 2004)
Ntn Corp. v. United States
306 F. Supp. 2d 1319 (Court of International Trade, 2004)
Nsk Ltd. v. United States
245 F. Supp. 2d 1335 (Court of International Trade, 2003)
NTN Bearing Corp. of America v. United States
186 F. Supp. 2d 1257 (Court of International Trade, 2002)
STC Corp. v. United States
21 Ct. Int'l Trade 1379 (Court of International Trade, 1997)
Timken Co. v. United States
21 Ct. Int'l Trade 1313 (Court of International Trade, 1997)
INA Walzlager Schaeffler KG v. United States
21 Ct. Int'l Trade 1120 (Court of International Trade, 1997)
Torrington Co. v. United States
973 F. Supp. 164 (Court of International Trade, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
21 Ct. Int'l Trade 251, 960 F. Supp. 339, 21 C.I.T. 251, 19 I.T.R.D. (BNA) 1313, 1997 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 24, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/torrington-co-v-united-states-cit-1997.