The Court of International Trade Friday issued an order authorizing the government to reopen the 2008-09 administrative review of the antidumping duty order on shrimp from China that was concluded in 2010. The Commerce Department now will consider evidence made public in 2012 suggesting transshipment through Cambodia to evade antidumping duties. This evidence, from a criminal prosecution related to mislabeled imported catfish, was brought to the agency’s attention by PKR on behalf of an association of domestic shrimp producers, the Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee (AHSTAC).
AHSTAC through PKR filed suit in 2010 challenging the results of the 2008-09 administrative review. The CIT ordered remand in 2011, finding that Commerce improperly ignored AHSTAC’s evidence – including documented instances of transshipment to evade antidumping duties. AHSTAC appealed to the Federal Circuit in 2012 after the CIT found that Commerce had adequately responded to the evidence on the record at the time. While this appeal was pending, however, Commerce sought permission to reconsider AHSTAC’s new evidence. The Federal Circuit granted remand in May 2013, and Friday the CIT remanded back to Commerce. Today’s CIT order is the latest in a string of developments regarding the antidumping duty order on shrimp from China. In the 2011-12 review, Commerce reversed its preliminary decision that would have granted an exemption from the order to the Chinese exporter implicated by the evidence. Instead, Commerce assigned a 112.81% rate to that exporter after discovering misrepresentations as to its affiliation with a Cambodian company. Commerce also reconsidered its 2010-11 review to reach the same result. Further, Commerce preliminarily reversed its 2007 determination as to the successor-in-interest status of that Chinese exporter. Each of these developments resulted from a single evidentiary submission to Commerce by AHSTAC.