An Giang Fisheries Import & Export Joint Stock Co. v. United States
2017 CIT 82
| Ct. Intl. Trade | 2017Background
- Commerce conducted the ninth administrative review of antidumping duties on frozen fish fillets from Vietnam; court previously remanded Commerce’s Final Results for further explanation on several valuation issues.
- Primary contested FOPs: rice husk (byproduct of rice) and Vinh Hoan’s fish oil byproduct; record contained Indonesian import data (HTS 1213.00 and HTS 1504.20.9000), price quotes, and Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) historic rice prices.
- Court instructed Commerce to ensure U.S. price and normal value were stated on a consistent weight basis (net vs. gross/glazed weight).
- On remand Commerce: (1) found Indonesian HTS 1213.00 import data aberrational and selected Indonesian ICBS data to value rice husk; (2) adjusted Vinh Hoan’s U.S. sales and FOP databases to net weight; and (3) continued to construct a value for fish oil bybuilding FOP costs (calling that value a “cap”) rather than using Indonesian HTS 1504.20.9000 import data.
- No party challenges the rice husk valuation or net-weight recalculation; Vinh Hoan continues to challenge Commerce’s decision to construct a fish oil value instead of using existing surrogate-value data on the record.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice husk surrogate value selection | Rice husk should not be valued at aberrational Indonesian import AUV; ICBS or Indian import data acceptable | Commerce legitimately rejected Indonesian import AUV as aberrational and selected ICBS as best available | Sustained: Commerce reasonably found Indonesian import data aberrational and permissibly selected ICBS data; no party contests on remand |
| Weight basis for NV and U.S. price (net vs. gross) | Vinh Hoan argued inconsistent weight bases; NV should exclude glazing (use net weight) | Commerce argued most sales reported on net basis and adjusted databases accordingly | Sustained: Commerce adjusted both U.S. sales and FOP databases to net weight to ensure consistent denominators |
| Fish oil valuation method (constructed value vs. surrogate import data) | Vinh Hoan: Commerce must use best available SV on record (Indonesian HTS 1504.20.9000) or explain why constructed value is superior | Commerce: import data meets SV criteria but constructed value (from FOPs + ratios) better reflects unrefined fish oil and avoids anomalies from refined-unrefined mix; characterizes constructed number as a “cap” on import SV | Remanded: Commerce failed to acknowledge it effectively replaced SV approach with constructed value or explain why constructed value is superior to existing SVs; further explanation or reconsideration required |
| Use of price quotes on record | Price quotes unreliable, not broad-market averages, not tax/duty exclusive | Commerce found price quotes deficient and less suitable than import or ICBS data | Implicitly sustained: Commerce’s rejection of the price quotes as best available was reasonable on remand |
Key Cases Cited
- QVD Food Co. v. United States, 658 F.3d 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (agency has discretion in selecting best available information but must ground choice in statutory purpose)
- Rhone Poulenc, Inc. v. United States, 899 F.2d 1185 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (Commerce must select methodologies that produce accurate dumping margins)
- CS Wind Vietnam Co. v. United States, 971 F. Supp. 2d 1271 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2014) (agency must tie surrogate selection to accuracy in margin calculation)
- Xinjiamei Furniture (Zhangzhou) Co. v. United States, 968 F. Supp. 2d 1255 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2014) (standard of review for remand redeterminations: compliance with court remand order)