Background
KG Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd., Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd., and Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd. challenged the U.S. Department of Commerce’s fourth administrative review of the countervailing-duty order covering certain corrosion-resistant steel products from South Korea. The dispute concerned Commerce’s treatment of the first three equity infusions, its finding of a countervailable benefit, and its determination that the benefit passed through when KG Consortium acquired the company.
The Court of International Trade twice remanded the matter to Commerce and later sustained Commerce’s final results as amended by two remand redeterminations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit subsequently issued an opinion and mandate in KG Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. v. Nucor Corp., reversing the relevant conclusions reached by the Court of International Trade.
The Court’s Holding
Acting in accordance with the Federal Circuit’s opinion and mandate, the Court held that Commerce’s reconsideration of the first three equity infusions, determination of a countervailable benefit, and finding that the benefit passed through upon KG Consortium’s acquisition were supported by substantial evidence and were not contrary to law.
The Court therefore reversed its contrary conclusions in its three earlier opinions to conform to the Federal Circuit’s decision and ordered that judgment be entered accordingly.
Key Takeaways
- The Court upheld Commerce’s reconsideration of the first three equity infusions.
- Commerce’s countervailable-benefit and pass-through determinations were supported by substantial evidence and consistent with law.
- The ruling implements the Federal Circuit’s mandate by reversing the Court of International Trade’s earlier contrary conclusions.
Why It Matters
The order resolves the remanded challenge in Commerce’s favor and confirms that the agency’s subsidy analysis concerning the equity infusions and KG Consortium’s acquisition satisfies the governing evidentiary and legal standards.
It also illustrates the Court of International Trade’s obligation to conform its judgment to a controlling Federal Circuit mandate after appellate review.