CIT Sustains Decision to Drop AFA on Tube Exporter

The Court of International Trade sustained the Commerce Department's decision on remand to not apply partial adverse facts available against exporter Garg Tube in the 2018-19 review of the antidumping duty order on welded carbon steel standard pipes and tubes from India. Judge Claire Kelly issued a confidential decision deciding the matter, giving the parties until Nov. 14 to review the confidential information in the opinion (Garg Tube Export v. U.S., CIT # 21-00169).

Commerce used AFA against Garg Tube in the review due to its supplier's failure to submit certain cost information. Kelly remanded this move, telling the agency to invoke the specific statutory basis on which it relies to use AFA and explain either how the use of AFA boosts accuracy or how the exporter failed to respond to the best of its ability (see 2404160037). On remand, the agency dropped AFA and said it couldn't find enough evidence to show that the potential leverage Garg Tube could exert over the supplier supports the use of AFA (see 2408090057).

Commerce also found that Garg Tube failed to exhaust its administrative remedies regarding the agency's differential pricing analysis, which is used to detect "masked" dumping.