Jinan Yipin Corp. v. United States
2014 WL 1259769
Ct. Intl. Trade2014Background
- Seven Chinese garlic producers challenged the tenth administrative review of antidumping duties on fresh garlic from China in Jinan Yipin II and related remands.
- Jinan Yipin I sustained some Commerce findings but remanded five issues, including surrogate values for raw garlic bulbs, labor, and packaging inputs, for further consideration.
- First Remand recalculated margins using revised values for raw garlic, labor, and ocean freight, while continuing to rely on Indian import data for packaging inputs; margins increased for several Chinese producers.
- Jinan Yipin II sustained some remand results but remanded again on several issues, notably the raw garlic bulb surrogate value and related data sources.
- Second Remand reevaluated raw garlic bulbs using Agmarknet data from six Indian garlic categories in five long-day zones, revised the labor surrogate using India-specific industry data, and used domestic Indian price quotes for cartons and jars instead of import data; margins for Jinan Yipin and Linshu Dading dropped near zero.
- Domestic Producers contest the raw garlic bulbs surrogate value and argue for further data filtering; the court sustains Commerce’s Second Remand Determination as reasonable and supported by substantial evidence.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw garlic bulbs surrogate value source | Desi/Average/Other should be excluded; use China-only data. | All six Agmarknet categories are acceptable; data filtering is not warranted. | Second Remand value sustained; six-category Indian data used. |
| Labor surrogate value methodology | Regressions from multiple countries are inappropriate post-Dorbest. | India industry data provides a consistent, single-surrogate basis. | Second Remand labor rate using India industry data sustained. |
| Cardboard packing cartons surrogate value | Domestic price quotes should be used; Indian import statistics are flawed. | Import statistics are comprehensive and public; quotes are less reliable. | Use domestic price quotes; Second Remand carton value sustained. |
| Plastic jars and lids surrogate value | Domestic price quotes are superior; import data are distorted. | Import statistics are public and contemporaneous; quotes may be non-representative. | Use domestic price quotes; Second Remand jars/lids value sustained. |
| Product specificity and data filtering for Agmarknet categories | Filtered data (Desi/Average/Other) should be excluded to improve specificity. | Further filtering could distort remaining data; record lacks definitions for categories. | No further filtering required; data set with six categories sustained. |
Key Cases Cited
- Shakeproof Assembly Components v. United States, 268 F.3d 1376 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (surrogate-value data must be best available to reflect accurate margins)
- Ningbo Dafa Chem. Fiber Co. v. United States, 580 F.3d 1247 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (statutory directive to use best available information for FOP valuation)
- Dorbest Ltd. v. United States, 604 F.3d 1363 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (overturned regression-based wage valuation in NME antidumping)
- Jinan Yipin I, 33 CIT 453, 617 F. Supp. 2d 1281 (Court of International Trade 2009) (remanded multiple issues in tenth review; product-specific surrogate concerns)
- Jinan Yipin II, 35 CIT _, 800 F. Supp. 2d 1226 (Court of International Trade 2011) (ront insists on content of remand parameters and data-source justification)