Commerce Unfairly Penalized Vietnamese Plywood Producer With Circumvention Finding, Exporter Argues

No record evidence supports the Commerce Department's finding that imports of plywood from Vietnam circumvented the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain hardwood plywood products from China, Vietnamese producer and exporter Greatriver Wood said in a Sept. 8 complaint to the Court of International Trade (Greatriver Wood v. U.S., CIT # 23-00155).

The exporter took issue with Commerce's use of adverse inferences in the case based on allegedly deficient questionnaire responses in the combined scope ruling/circumvention inquiry. Greatriver argued that the use of AFA was unwarranted, saying the company cooperated to the best of its ability and attempted to address any confusion in its questionnaire responses. Commerce "never informed Greatriver of the nature of the deficiencies ... or provided Greatriver with an opportunity to cure the alleged deficiencies," the exporter argued.

Greatriver said when it attempted to address the alleged deficiencies in its responses, Commerce initially allowed it to submit evidence at verification on-site, but the department then rescinded that invitation only a day before verification was scheduled.

Commerce's subsequent finding that Greatriver had not provided enough information to allow it to participate in the certification regime was unlawful and the department's failure to reopen the record, to verify Greatriver, and to accept exculpatory evidence was arbitrary and capricious, the complaint said.

The exporter asked the court to remand Commerce's final circumvention determination for reconsideration.