CIT Says Commerce Legally Told CBP to Liquidate Entries Despite Provisional Exclusion of Exporter's Entries

The Commerce Department didn't violate statutory, regulatory or constitutional considerations in instructing CBP to automatically liquidate exporter Goodluck India's cold-drawn mechanical tubing shipments as part of the third antidumping review without providing the company with a later chance to file a request for review, the Court of International Trade ruled. The court originally excluded Goodluck's entries from the AD order, but that ruling was reversed on appeal. Commerce told CBP to liquidate Goodluck's entries subject to the AD order's third review at the 33.7% rate instead of the provisional zero percent rate in place during the second AD review's anniversary month.

Judge Gary Katzmann said Commerce properly determined that Goodluck was still covered by the AD order's final determination after CIT's first decision, adding the agency legally differentiated between the exclusion of a particular exporter vs. particular entries of that exporter. The judge noted said the holding is "narrow" and doesn't discuss whether a full provisional exclusion from an AD order renders an exporter no longer covered by that order.