11 F. Supp. 3d 1326
Ct. Intl. Trade2014Background
- This action is a second administrative review of the antidumping order on steel threaded rod from PRC; Commerce’s remand results sustain Thailand as the primary surrogate country using Thai data for all factors of production.
- Plaintiffs challenge Commerce’s surrogate country selection, arguing Wire Hangers contradicts using CEN and Thailand.
- Wire Hangers favored the Philippines due to data concerns with CEN’s Thai data and diverse corporate activities.
- Commerce explains remand reasoning: CEN’s Thai data show prestressed concrete wire production related to comparable merchandise; Philippine data have comparable shortcomings.
- Court previously remanded in Jiaxing I to reassess surrogate data; remand confirms Thailand’s data superiority for main input (steel wire rod).
- Commerce prefers valuing all FOPs from a single surrogate country and relies on totality of evidence to select Thailand as primary surrogate
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Thailand is reasonable primary surrogate given data quality | Jiaxing argues Wire Hangers dictates Philippines data | Commerce found Thailand superior overall data quality for main input | Yes; Thailand remains primary surrogate |
| Whether use of CEN as financial surrogate is appropriate | CEN is investment-focused and not manufacturing | Record shows CEN’s data support comparable merchandise | Yes; CEN data appropriate after remand |
| Whether steel input data justify surrogate choice over HC1/Philippine data | Philippine HC1 and data are superior | Steel input dominates NV; Thai data more specific to steel input | Yes; Thai steel data outweighs Philippine HC1/data |
Key Cases Cited
- Nippon Steel Corp. v. United States, 458 F.3d 1345 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (substantial evidence and reasonableness review standard)
- DuPont Teijin Films USA v. United States, 407 F.3d 1211 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (definition of substantial evidence in administrative review)
- Consol. Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197 (U.S.) (substantial evidence standard origin of 'reasonable mind')
- Consolo v. Fed. Mar. Comm'n, 383 U.S. 607 (U.S.) (clarifies substantial evidence review framework)
- Lifestyle Enter., Inc. v. United States, 751 F.3d 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (reasonableness of agency choice when data sets are imperfect)