Fuwei Films (Shandong) Co., Ltd. v. United States
2012 WL 1959327
Ct. Intl. Trade2012Background
- This ITC review concerns antidumping duty on PET film from China with final results from Commerce in 2011 and a remand order to reconsider surrogate values.
- Plaintiffs Fuwei Films (Shandong) and Green Packaging challenged surrogate labor, packing-related clerical issues, and PET chip valuations in the final results.
- Respondents urged corrections to Green’s per-unit water/electricity costs and challenged labor input surrogates.
- DuPont and other petitioners challenged Commerce’s PET chip surrogate data and methodology under the best available information standard.
- The court remands for further Commerce analysis on labor surrogate values, Green’s clerical error, and PET-chip surrogate valuation, while sustaining other aspects of the final results.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Commerce reasonably valued labor inputs as surrogate data. | Fuwei/Green contend labor surrogate data were incorrect or incomplete. | Commerce's labor surrogate selection was reasonable under best available information. | Remanded for reconsideration of labor surrogate values. |
| Whether Green’s per-unit water/electricity clerical error affected results. | Clerical error altered Green’s calculation (weight/consumption). | Error did not affect results; Commerce properly treated the issue. | Remanded to correct inadvertent transposition; other findings sustained. |
| Whether the surrogate valuation of PET chips for Respondents used the best available information. | Respondents advocate HTS 3907.60.20 (or a broader approach) as best. | HTS 3907.60.10 and 3907.60.20 simple-average appropriately reflect best data. | Remanded to address reasonableness of chip surrogate selection and averaging method. |
| Whether Infodrive data and the use of a simple average were reasonable for CHIP surrogates. | Infodrive data should corroborate and the simple average may overweight HTS 3907.60.20. | Infodrive considerations and averaging were appropriately applied. | Remand to clarify and reconsider Infodrive use and averaging approach. |
Key Cases Cited
- SKF USA Inc. v. United States, 254 F.3d 1022 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (voluntary remand and reasonable review standards for agency actions)
- DuPont Teijin Films USA v. United States, 407 F.3d 1211 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (substantial evidence standard and reasonableness in surrogate value decisions)
- China National Machinery Import & Export Corp. v. United States, 264 F. Supp. 2d 1229 (2003) (conjecture and substantial evidence in administrative decisions)
- Peer Bearing Company-Changshan v. United States, 752 F. Supp. 2d 1353 (2011) (limitations on using data from a single country when data is aberrational)