Court Orders Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Chinese and Korean Diamond Sawblades

October 1, 2009

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a rare and significant decision, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a writ of mandamus, an extraordinary judicial remedy, on September 30, 2009, ordering the Department of Commerce (DOC) to immediately issue and publish antidumping duty orders on diamond sawblades from China and Korea, and to begin collecting antidumping duties on incoming entries of such merchandise.

Earlier this year, the CIT upheld a decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) finding that the U.S. diamond sawblades industry is threatened with material injury by reason of imported sawblades from China and Korea. However, the DOC failed to issue antidumping duty orders or to collect antidumping duties. The Diamond Sawblades Manufacturers Coalition (DSMC), a trade association of U.S. producers that brought the original antidumping petition, subsequently asked the court to order the agency to fulfill its statutory obligation to issue and publish the orders and immediately collect duties.

The CIT has taken the extraordinary step of granting the writ of mandamus ordering the agency to follow its statutory obligations and publish antidumping orders and begin collecting cash deposits on imports "forthwith." Daniel B. Pickard, a partner in Wiley Rein's International Trade Practice and counsel to the DSMC, welcomed the court's decision, stating, "We are very pleased with this decision, which will finally permit the U.S. industry to receive the relief it deserves, and for which they have waited too long."

Pursuant to the court's order, the DOC will issue antidumping duty orders covering all imports of Chinese and Korean sawblades, cores and segments. The antidumping duty margins calculated for these products are as high as 164.9% for China and 26.55% for Korea.

Commenting on the CIT's decision, Pickard stressed the importance of the U.S. trade remedy laws. "The enforcement of these laws is vital not only to the DSMC and its members who have been injured by unfairly traded imports," he said, "but to all U.S. manufacturers. In light of the ongoing economic crisis, these laws have a particularly important role in maintaining a fair and level playing field for U.S. companies and their workers."

    CONTACT:  Daniel B. Pickard
    202-719-7285
    dpickard@wileyrein.com

SOURCE Wiley Rein LLP