Lifestyle Enterprise, Inc. v. United States
2012 Ct. Intl. Trade LEXIS 47
| Ct. Intl. Trade | 2012Background
- This matter challenges Commerce’s remand results on wooden bedroom furniture from PRC, focusing on Orient’s AFA rate and surrogate wood inputs.
- Prior CIT decision Lifestyle Ent remanded to reconsider large array of issues including data sets for wood inputs and surrogate values.
- On remand, Commerce continued to use a 216.01% AFA rate for Orient (based on Kunyu data) and kept WTA weight data for wood surrogates, while excluding Diretso Design’s financial statements.
- AFMC and Lifestyle disputed whether the 216.01% rate is properly corroborated and whether NSO volume data should have been used instead of WTA weight data.
- The court held Commerce failed to show proper corroboration for Orient’s AFA rate and failed to justify preferring weight data over volume data for wood inputs; it sustained Commerce’s exclusion of Diretso Design’s statements and remanded for new AFA rate determination and use of volume data, with timing directions.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Orient’s AFA rate is properly corroborated | Lifestyle argues 216.01% lacks corroboration. | Commerce contends data are corroborated. | Remand required; corroboration inadequate. |
| Whether wood input surrogate data should use volume or weight | AFMC favors NSO volume data; weight data distortions exist. | Commerce favored weight data as more reliable. | Volume data must be used; weight data not supported. |
| Whether Diretso Design financials could be used | Diretso Design ownership ambiguous; statements should be relied on. | Commerce properly relied on other statements. | Affirmed withdrawal of Diretso Design; other statements sufficient. |
Key Cases Cited
- Gallant Ocean (Thai.) Co. v. United States, 602 F.3d 1319 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (corroboration requires grounding in commercial reality)
- PAM, S.p.A. v. United States, 582 F.3d 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (AFA corroboration based on multiple sales data or reasonable basis)
- Ta Chen Stainless Steel Pipe, Inc. v. United States, 298 F.3d 1330 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (AFA corroboration using respondent’s own sales data valid)
- F. Lli De Cecco Di Filippo Fara S. Martino S.p.A. v. United States, 216 F.3d 1027 (Fed. Cir. 2000) (AFA rate must reasonably estimate actual rate and deter non-compliance)