US Honey Producers Challenge Commerce Cost Calculations in Trade Court

The Commerce Department erred in its calculations when determining the cost of honey during an antidumping duty investigation, AD duty petitioners American Honey Producers Association and the Sioux Honey Association said in an August 5 complaint at the Court of International Trade (American Honey Producers Association v. United States, CIT #22-00195).

AHPA and Sioux claim that Commerce failed to follow the statute when calculating foreign respondents' costs. Commerce is required to use the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of the exporting country, but failed to do so, the complaint said. Commerce selected Allied Natural Products and Ambrosia Natural Products as the mandatory respondents in the investigation and instructed them to submit audited financial statements in accordance with the GAAP of India. According to the complaint, the respondents failed to submit completed financial statements while the record was open. In the final determination, Commerce accepted those financial statements in contradiction of Commerce's earlier on-the-record position and established practice, AHPA and Sioux said.

The beekeeper and middlemen suppliers’ reported data is incomplete and unreliable, which tainted the results of the final determination, AHPA and Sioux said.