NEXCO S.A. v. UNITED STATES and AMERICAN HONEY PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION and SIOUX HONEY ASSOCIATION
The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) remanded anti-dumping tariffs on Argentine honey, rejecting both the U.S. Department of Commerce's (“Department”) explanations for why it substituted beekeepers’ production costs with a figure up to three times that amount in its dumping calculations as well as its reliance on third-country sales for comparison. Anti-dumping tariffs are protectionist duties imposed on imports that a country believes are priced below fair market value. CIT Judge Claire Kelly acknowledged there were difficulties sourcing production data from hundreds of small beekeepers but said missing data alone didn't justify the Department’s decision to use the amount that Argentine exporter Nexco SA paid to purchase the honey as a proxy. The CIT ordered the Department to file its remanded redetermination within ninety days of the order.
[To accompany Case Law Update "Court of International Trade Rejects Department of Commerce Anti-Dumping Tariff on Argentinian Honey ” from Brooks Animal Law Digest Issue No. 193]