Baroque Timber Industries (Zhongshan) Co. v. United States
2013 CIT 96
Ct. Intl. Trade2013Background
- ITC consolidated action challenging Commerce Final Determination in antidumping investigation of multilayered wood flooring from China.
- Commerce applied targeted dumping methodology and withdrew regulations; challenges include surrogate values, zeroing, and late-filed financial statements.
- Parties include Baroque Timber Industries (Zhongshan), Riverside Plywood, Samling group, Fine Furniture (Shanghai) Ltd., and CAHP as petitioner.
- Final Determination found dumped merchandise with margins for Layo and Samling (3.98% and 2.63%), with Yuhua de minimis.
- Court grants remand on surrogate values and targeted dumping; affirms rejection of late-filed surrogate financial statements; issues remanded for reconsideration.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remand advisable for surrogate values for Layo plywood input and Samling HDF input | Layo and Samling contend values are incorrect | Commerce seeks remand to reconsider value calculations | Remand granted for both surrogate values |
| Remand advisable to reconsider targeted dumping methodology | Targeted dumping may be inapplicable after value changes | Remand warranted to apply current standards | Remand granted to reconsider application of targeted dumping |
| Remand needed for core veneer and brokerage/handling values | Core veneer value and handling fees misvalued | values supported by data; may need clarification on steps | Remand granted for core veneer and brokerage/handling values |
| Rejection of late-filed surrogate financial statements affirmed | Petitioners argued for inclusion of late data | Commerce properly rejected late filings | Affirmed; rejection of late-filed surrogate financials sustained |
Key Cases Cited
- SKF USA Inc. v. United States, 254 F.3d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (three-pronged test for remand appropriateness; substantial questions of law or fact)
- Parkdale Int'l v. United States, 475 F.3d 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (remand appropriate when agency seeks to correct significant errors)
- Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Comm. v. United States, CIT__, 882 F. Supp. 2d 1377 (2013) (remand justified where finality does not outweigh substantial agency concern)
- Dorbest Ltd. v. United States, 604 F.3d 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (deference to agency procedures; review of record adequacy on remand)
- Zhejiang DunAn Hetian Metal Co. v. United States, 652 F.3d 1333 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (reasonableness of agency determinations; standard of review on surrogate values)