Issue 304, June 13, 2001
In a long awaited decision, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) voided liquidation instructions issued in the anti-friction bearing case by the Department of Commerce to Customs (Consolidated Bearings Co. v. United States, Slip op. 01-66, No. 98-09-2799.) A copy of the decision is available on the CIT website (www.uscit.gov). The liquidation instructions at issue had required Customs to liquidate Consolidated Bearings' entries of AFBs using the antidumping duty (ADD) rate utilized at the time of entry to deposit the ADD, even though Commerce had previously determined that the merchandise of the manufacturer was entitled to a lower ADD rate. The Court ruled that Commerce's liquidation instructions were arbitrary.

Although the case involved AFBs, it has implications beyond just the AFB case. For example, importers of certain DRAM from Korea also have filed suit in the CIT to challenge similar instructions issued in that case. It also is worth noting that while the situation in the AFB and DRAM cases involve potential refunds to importers, other fact patterns, such as where the deposit rate is lower than the rate assigned to the manufacturer after the annual review, could result in an increase in the amount of ADD owed by the importer. Accordingly, companies who have imported ADD merchandise from distributors, rather than manufacturers, should contact their trade counsel for further guidance on appropriate steps to be taken.

Our contributing writer, Michael Roll, is an attorney at Katten, Muchin & Zavis in Chicago and can be reached at via email or at 312-902-5200.

Please note that due to the complex nature of the subject matter, Danzas AEI cannot be responsible for actions taken by the reader in reliance on the information contained herein without prior consultation with Danzas AEI.