Yue Pak, Ltd. v. U.S. International Trade Administration

20 Ct. Int'l Trade 495
CourtUnited States Court of International Trade
DecidedApril 18, 1996
DocketCourt No. 94-06-00364
StatusPublished

This text of 20 Ct. Int'l Trade 495 (Yue Pak, Ltd. v. U.S. International Trade Administration) 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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Yue Pak, Ltd. v. U.S. International Trade Administration, 20 Ct. Int'l Trade 495 (cit 1996).

Opinion

Opinion

Musgrave, Judge:

Plaintiffs challenge the final results of the review of the United States Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (“Commerce” or “ITA”) in Potassium Permanganate From the People’s Republic of China; Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Inv. No. A-570-001, (“Final Results”), an administrative review of an antidumping duty order covering the period of January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1990, as published in the Federal Register. 59 Fed. Reg. 26625 (May 23,1994). The Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1581(c) (1994).

Background

Commerce issued an antidumping order on potassium permanganate (“KMnO4”) from the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) on January 31, 1984. On February 1991, the ITA initiated an administrative review of the antidumping order for the period January 1,1990 to December 31, 1990. Commerce initiated review of 54 firms from the PRC and Hong Kong, notice of which was published in the Federal Register. Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 56 Fed. Reg. 6621 (Feb. 19, 1991) (“Initiation”). The number of firms reviewed was eventually reduced to 47, to include 15 PRC exporters and manufacturers, and 32 Hong Kong resellers. Plaintiffs were among the firms listed in the Initiation. Questionnaires were sent to each of the manufacturers, exporters, and resellers listed in the Initiation. Questionnaires were not sent to Yue Pak’s PRC suppliers, He-Ro’s PRC producer, or the particular branch of the PRC trading company used by [496]*496He-Ro. Defendant’s Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion For Judgment Upon the Agency Record (“Def.’s Br.”), at 5. However, these particular parties did not seek to voluntarily participate in the review. Both Plaintiffs submitted responses to Commerce’s questionnaires.

On December 30, 1993, the ITA published the preliminary results of the administrative review in which it preliminarily imposed a countrywide dumping margin of 128.94 percent. Potassium Permanganate From the People’s Republic of China; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Inv. No. A-570-001, 58 Fed. Reg. 69330 (Dec. 30, 1993) “(Preliminary Results”). Three of the 15 PRC exporting and manufacturing firms listed in the Initiation responded to Commerce’s questionnaires, including Zunyi Chemical Factory (“Zunyi”), the only producer to respond. Id., 58 Fed. Reg. at 69330-31. Commerce preliminarily determined that the respondents had not demonstrated their independence from the state controlled economy and therefore preliminarily determined that a single, country-wide rate applied to all PRC producers and shippers. Id. at 69331. Commerce further preliminarily determined that it would apply best information available (“BIA”) due to the lack of cooperation of not only the respondents, but the PRC government as well. Id. at 69330-31. Accordingly, Commerce assigned a dumping margin and deposit rate of 128.94 percent, the highest rate established in the 1989 administrative review. Id. at 69331. The Hong Kong resellers also received the same rate because, according to Commerce, they did not demonstrate an entitlement to separate rates as intermediate country resellers. Id.

Plaintiffs and other respondents requested a hearing which was held on February 10, 1994. Final Results, 59 Fed. Reg. at 26626. In their pre-hearing and rebuttal briefs, Plaintiffs objected to Commerce’s use of BIA and included information which they urged Commerce to use in lieu of BIA. Plaintiffs’ 56.1 Motion for Judgment Upon Agency Record (“Pl.s’ Br.”), Exh. B, at 9-15. Commerce rejected certain portions of Plaintiffs’ briefs because it claimed those portions contained factual information which was untimely provided. Def.’s Br. at 56-57. Plaintiffs claim Commerce then reinstated some of the previously deleted information, but then deleted other information from consideration in its determination. Pl.s’ Br. at 8.

In the Final Results, Commerce concluded that the PRC respondents had not overcome the presumption of state control and were therefore not entitled to separate rates. Final Results, 59 Fed. Reg. at 26627. Commerce also concluded that the Hong Kong resellers were not entitled to separate rates as intermediate country resellers because the PRC trading companies from which the resellers purchased the KMnC>4 knew or should have known that merchandise was being exported to the United States. Id. at 26628-29. Commerce therefore assigned a single, countrywide rate of 128.94 percent to all producers, shippers and resellers based [497]*497upon BIA. Id. at 26629-30. That BIA rate was the rate established in the 1989 administrative review. Id. at 26629.

Standard of Review

In reviewing a final determination of Commerce, the 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) (1) (B). “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.” Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229 (1938); Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 477 (1951). Substantial evidence “is something less than the weight of the evidence, and the possibility of drawing two inconsistent conclusions from the evidence does not prevent an administrative agency’s finding from being supported by substantial evidence.” Consolo v. Federal Maritime Comm’n, 383 U.S. 607, 619-20 (1966). Moreover, the Court may “not displace the [ITA’s] choice between two fairly conflicting views, even though the court would justifiably have made a different choice had the matter been before it de novo. ” Universal Camera v. NLRB, 340 U.S. at 488. However, it is not sufficient to examine only the evidence that allegedly sustains the agency’s conclusion. “The substan-tiality of the evidence must take into account whatever in the record fairly detracts from its weight.” Id. The decisions of Commerce are presumed to be correct. Plaintiffs bear the burden of proving otherwise. 28 U.S.C. § 2639 (a) (1). Thus, Plaintiffs bear the burden of persuading the Court that Commerce’s determination is unsupported by substan: tial evidence.

In reviewing Commerce’s interpretation of the antidumping statute, the Court first asks

whether Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue. If the intent of Congress is clear, that is the end of the matter; for the court, as well as the agency, must give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress.

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