ThyssenKrupp Steel North America, Inc. v. United States

ThyssenKrupp imports corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products (CORE) from Germany. In 1993, the Department of Commerce imposed an antidumping duty on such imports. Between February 14-July 2012, ThyssenKrupp made eight such entries. Customs assessed ThyssenKrupp’s antidumping duties at the prevailing rate: 10.02%. Meanwhile, in January 2012, the International Trade Commission instituted its required sunset review of the 1993 order; in 2013, the ITC informed Commerce that revocation of that order would not likely lead to material injury to a domestic industry. Days later, under 19 U.S.C. 1675(d)(2), Commerce published notice of the revocation of the order for CORE, effective February 14, 2012. In April 2013, Commerce instructed Customs that “all unliquidated entries” should be liquidated without regard to antidumping duties. ThyssenKrupp filed administrative protests, asserting that its CORE entries occurred after the February 14 effective date, and sought refunds of the duties. Customs denied ThyssenKrupp’s protests, interpreting the April instructions’ “unliquidated entries” phrase as not covering the eight entries. The Trade Court dismissed ThyssenKrupp’s suit as untimely under 28 U.S.C. 1581(a), leaving the entries subject to the antidumping duty, even though the entries were made when duties were no longer legally warranted. The Federal Circuit reversed the dismissal of the claim; the entries were “unliquidated” within the meaning of the April instructions implementing the results of the sunset review. View "ThyssenKrupp Steel North America, Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law