In a riveting decision, the U.S. Court of International Trade upheld the U.S. Department of Commerce’s determination that oil pipes were strategically processed in Brunei and the Philippines to elude duties aimed at China. Bruneian powerhouse HLDS (B) Steel Sdn Bhd and Filipino giant HLD Clark Steel Pipe Co. contested Commerce’s scrutiny, claiming the manufacturing process was not given its due consideration.
Oil Pipes Evaded Duties On China : Minor or Significant Operations?
Arguing their case, HLDS and HLD urged Commerce to dissect whether their transformation of steel sheets into oil piping was merely an assembly or completion process. However, CIT Judge M. Miller Baker asserted that the law treats “completion or assembly” as synonymous with the broader term “production process.” In a twist of events, Judge Baker emphasized Commerce’s prerogative to delve directly into determining the significance of the companies’ operations.
“The Department did exactly that,” Judge Baker proclaimed in a Tuesday opinion, firmly supporting Commerce’s finding of “minor and insignificant” operations backed by substantial evidence.
The Intricate Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Probe
In a bold move, Commerce initiated an investigation in 2020 to scrutinize whether certain oil piping imports, completed in Brunei and the Philippines with China-made inputs, were sidestepping antidumping and countervailing duty orders targeting specific China-origin pipes. The investigation honed in on four mandatory respondents, including HLDS and HLD.
