British Steel P.L.C. v. U.S., Slip Op. 96-156.

• Decision Date: 10 September 1996
• Docket Number: Slip Op. 96-156.,Court No. 93-09-00558-CVD.,Court No. 93-09-00550-CVD.,Court Nos. 93-09-00567-CVD to 93-09-0070-CVD.
• Citation: 941 F.Supp. 119
• Parties: BRITISH STEEL P.L.C., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. USINAS SIDERURGICAS de MINAS GERAIS, S.A., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. INLAND STEEL INDUSTRIES, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. LTV STEEL CO., INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. LACLEDE STEEL CO., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant. LUKENS STEEL CO., INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of International Trade

941 F.Supp. 119

BRITISH STEEL P.L.C., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

USINAS SIDERURGICAS de MINAS GERAIS, S.A., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

INLAND STEEL INDUSTRIES, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

LTV STEEL CO., INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

LACLEDE STEEL CO., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

LUKENS STEEL CO., INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

Slip Op. 96-156.

Court No. 93-09-00550-CVD.

Court No. 93-09-00558-CVD.

Court Nos. 93-09-00567-CVD to 93-09-0070-CVD.

United States Court of International Trade.

September 10, 1996.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Steptoe & Johnson (Richard O. Cunningham, Peter Lichtenbaum), (Sheldon E. Hochberg, William L. Martin, II), on brief, (Richard O. Cunningham, Sheldon E. Hochberg),

on oral argument, Counsel for British Steel plc; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius (Mark R. Joelson), (Marcela B. Stras, Roger C. Wilson), on brief, Counsel for the Government of the United Kingdom, et al.; Dewey Ballantine (Michael H. Stein), (Alan Wm. Wolff, Thomas R. Howell, Martha J. Talley, John A. Ragosta, Guy C. Smith, John R. Magnus, Jeffrey D. Nuechterlein, Philip Karter, Michael R. Geroe, Jennifer Danner Riccardi), on brief, (Martha J. Talley, John A. Ragosta), on oral argument, Counsel for Geneva Steel, et al.; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (John J. Mangan, Robert E. Lighthizer), (D. Scott Nance, Barry J. Gilman), on brief, (D. Scott Nance, Barry J. Gilman), on oral argument, Counsel for Geneva Steel, et al. in No. 93-09-00550-CVD.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher (Christopher S. Stokes), (William H. Barringer, Nancy A. Fischer), on brief, (Christopher S. Stokes), on oral argument, Counsel for USIMINAS; Dickstein Shapiro & Morin (Arthur J. Lafave, III, Douglas N. Jacobson), Counsel for Companhia Siderurgica Nacional; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (Robert E. Lighthizer, John J. Mangan), (Barry J. Gilman, D. Scott Nance), on brief, (Barry J. Gilman, Scott Nance), on oral argument, Counsel for Gulf States Steel, Inc., et al.; Dewey Ballantine (Michael H. Stein), (Alan Wm. Wolff, John A. Ragosta, Guy C. Smith, Michael R. Geroe), on brief, (John A. Ragosta), on oral argument, for Gulf States Steel, Inc., et al. in No. 93-09-00558-CVD.

Dewey Ballantine (Michael H. Stein), (Alan Wm. Wolff, Martha J. Talley, John A. Ragosta, John R. Magnus, Jeffrey D. Nuechterlein, Jennifer Danner Riccardi), on brief, (Martha J. Talley, John A. Ragosta, John R. Magnus), on oral argument, Counsel for Inland Steel Indus., Inc., et al.; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (John J. Mangan, Robert E. Lighthizer), (D. Scott Nance), on brief, (Barry J. Gilman, D. Scott Nance), on oral argument, Counsel for Inland Steel Indus., Inc., et al.; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP (Stuart M. Rosen), (M. Jean Anderson, Jeffrey P. Bialos, Diane M. McDevitt, Scott Maberry; and Stuart M. Rosen, Mark F. Friedman, Jonathan Bloom), on brief, (M. Jean Anderson, Stuart M. Rosen), on oral argument, Counsel for Usinor Sacilor, Sollac and GTS in No. 93-09-00567-CVD.

Dewey Ballantine (Michael H. Stein), (Alan Wm. Wolff, Martha J. Talley, John A. Ragosta, Guy C. Smith, O. Julia Weller, Kristen M. Neller, Michael R. Geroe), on brief, (John A. Ragosta, Guy C. Smith), on oral argument, Counsel for LTV Steel Co., et al.; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (John J. Mangan, Robert E. Lighthizer), (D. Scott Nance), on brief, (D. Scott Nance), on oral argument, Counsel for LTV Steel Co., et al.; Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C. (Gail T. Cumins), Counsel for Thyssen Stahl AG, et al.; LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, L.L.P. (Pierre F. de Ravel d'Esclapon, Mary Patricia Michel), Counsel for AG der Dillinger Hüttenwerke; Hogan & Hartson (Lewis E. Leibowitz, Steven J. Routh, Paul Minorini), Counsel for Fried, Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, et al. in No. 93-09-00568-CVD.

Dewey Ballantine (Michael H. Stein), (Alan Wm. Wolff, Martha J. Talley, John A. Ragosta, Linda C. Menghetti, Jeffrey D. Nuechterlein, Jennifer Danner Riccardi), on brief, (John A. Ragosta, Jeffrey D. Nuechterlein, Jennifer Danner Riccardi), on oral argument, Counsel for Laclede Steel Co., et al. Armco Steel Co., et al. and Bethlehem Steel Corp., et al.; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (John J. Mangan, Robert E. Lighthizer), (D. Scott Nance), on brief, (D. Scott Nance), on oral argument, Counsel for Laclede Steel Co., et al., Armco Steel Co., et al., and Bethlehem Steel Corp., et al.; Morrison & Foerster (Donald B. Cameron), (Julie C. Mendoza, Craig A. Lewis, Sue-Lynn Koo, Panagiotis C. Bayz), on brief, (Donald B. Cameron, Julie C. Mendoza), on oral argument, Counsel for Dongbu Steel Co., et al. in No. 93-09-00569-CVD.

Dewey Ballantine (Michael H. Stein), (Alan Wm. Wolff, Martha J. Talley, John A. Ragosta, Guy C. Smith, Scott L. Forseth, Michael R. Geroe), on brief, (John A. Ragosta), on oral argument, Counsel for Lukens Steel Co., et al.; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (John J. Mangan, Robert E. Lighthizer), (D. Scott Nance), on brief, (D. Scott Nance), on oral argument, Counsel for Lukens Steel Co., et al.; Shearman & Sterling (Jeffrey M. Winton), (Robert E. Herzstein Shavit Matias), on brief, Counsel for Altos Hornos de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. in No. 93-09-00570-CVD.

Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General of the United States, David M. Cohen, Director, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, (A. David Lafer); Stephen J. Powell, (Terrence J. McCartin, Robert E. Nielsen, David W. Richardson, Elizabeth C. Seastrum, Marguerite Trossevin), on brief, Office of Chief Counsel for Import Administration, United States Department of Commerce, of Counsel, Counsel for defendant.

OPINION

CARMAN, Judge:

As noted several times by this Court in previous opinions, a number of actions were consolidated by order of the Court of International Trade on February 4, 1994. See British Steel plc v. United States, 879 F.Supp. 1254, 1261-62 (CIT 1995) (British Steel I), appeals docketed, Nos. 96-1401 to - 06 (Fed.Cir. June 21, 1996); British Steel plc v. United States, 924 F.Supp. 139, 146 (CIT 1996) (British Steel II), appeals docketed, Nos. 96-1401 to -06 (Fed.Cir. June 21, 1996); British Steel plc v. United States, 929 F.Supp. 426, 430-31 (CIT 1996) (British Steel III).¹ After a scheduling conference with the parties, the Court entered a scheduling order applying to all of the consolidated cases. See British Steel I, 879 F.Supp. at 1262. The scheduling order required parties to brief jointly five general issues, consisting essentially of privatization, allocation methodology, grant methodology, sales denominator, and disproportionality. That aspect of the proceeding was dubbed the "general issues" proceeding, and the Court used British Steel plc v. United States, Consol. Court No. 93-09-00550-CVD, and the case caption used in this opinion, to identify it. The scheduling order also provided for parties briefing issues specific to their respective cases; i.e., "country-specific" briefing.

On February 9, 1995, this Court issued an opinion addressing all five general issues, including the issue of disproportionality which this Court remanded. See id. at 1320-28. On October 17, 1995, this Court held two oral arguments. The first concerned the disproportionality remand, and the second concerned issues raised by the parties' briefing in the Korean country-specific action, Laclede Steel Co, et al. v. United States, Consol. Court No. 93-09-00569-CVD. The present opinion addresses both the remand on the general issue of disproportionality as well as issues raised by the parties' motions in Laclede Steel. Familiarity with this Court's opinion in British Steel I, remanding Certain Steel Products from Korea, 58 Fed.Reg. 37,338 (Dep't Comm.1993) (final determ.) (Korean Final Determination), is presumed.

Dongbu Steel Company, Ltd. (Dongbu), Pohang Iron & Steel Company, Ltd. (POSCO), Pohang Coated Steel Company, Ltd. (POCOS), Pohang Steel Industries Company, Ltd. (PSI), and Union Steel Industries Company, Ltd. (Union) (collectively "Respondents") oppose the Department of Commerce's ("Commerce" or "Department") disproportionality remand determination, Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Remand British Steel plc v. United States Slip Op. 95-17 (Feb. 9, 1995) (Redetermination). Laclede Steel Company, AK Steel Corporation, Geneva Steel, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Gulf States Steel, Incorporated of Alabama, Inland Steel Industries, Incorporated, LTV Steel Company, Incorporated, Lukens Steel Company, National Steel Corporation, Sharon Steel Corporation, U.S. Steel Group a Unit of USX Corporation, and WCI Steel, Incorporated (collectively "Domestics" or "Domestic Producers") support Commerce's Redetermination.

Respondents have also filed briefs under the country-specific Laclede Steel action challenging six aspects of the Korean Final Determination. Domestic Producers challenge two aspects of the Korean Final Determination in their country-specific Laclede Steel briefs.

BACKGROUND

A. The Court's Remand Instructions to Commerce on the General Issue of Disproportionality

In British Steel I, this Court remanded the Korean Final Determination, and, with respect to the general issue of disproportionality, ordered Commerce to:

explain, if it is able, what evidence on the record demonstrates that programs existed during the period of investigation to benefit the respondent steel companies by giving them preferential access to both domestic and direct foreign credit markets, and how the respondent steel companies received that access to credit. Commerce is directed to advise the Court whether the Government of Korea's (GOK) control over long-term lending in Korea and the program concerning alleged preferential access to direct foreign loans administered by the Ministry of Finance were industry specific, and point out what evidence on the record,...