Elkem Metals Co. v. U.S.

• Decision Date: 15 March 2001
• Docket Number: Slip Op. 01-30.,No. 99-10-00628.,99-10-00628.
• Citation: 135 F.Supp.2d 1324
• Parties: ELKEM METALS CO.; American Alloys, Inc.; Applied Industrial Materials Corp.; and CC Metals & Alloys, Inc., Plaintiffs/Plaintiff-Intervenors, and Globe Metallurgical, Inc., Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant, and Ferroatlantica de Venezuela; General Motors Corp.; Associação Brasileira dos Productores de Ferroligas e de Silico Metalico, et al.; and Ronly Holdings, Ltd., et al., Defendant-Intervenors.
• Court: U.S. Court of International Trade

135 F.Supp.2d 1324

ELKEM METALS CO.; American Alloys, Inc.; Applied Industrial Materials Corp.; and CC Metals & Alloys, Inc., Plaintiffs/Plaintiff-Intervenors and Globe Metallurgical, Inc., Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant and Ferroatlantica de Venezuela; General Motors Corp.; Associação Brasileira dos Productores de Ferroligas e de Silico Metalico, et al.; and Ronly Holdings, Ltd., et al., Defendant-Intervenors.

Slip Op. 01-30.

No. 99-10-00628.

United States Court of International Trade.

March 15, 2001.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Baker Botts L.L.P., Washington, DC (William D. Kramer, Kirk K. Van Tine, Martin Schaefermeier, and Samuel J. Waldon);

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Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA (Dale Hershey and Mary K. Austin), for Plaintiff Elkem Metals Company.

Doepken, Keevican & Weiss, Pittsburgh, PA (Gordon W. Schmidt), for Plaintiff American Alloys, Inc.

Altheimer & Gray, Chicago, IL (Theodore J. Low), for Plaintiff Applied Industrial Materials Corporation.

Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC (Stephen L. Gibson, George R. Kucik, and Nada S. Sulaiman), for Plaintiff CC Metals and Alloys, Inc.

Dangel & Fine, LLP, Boston, MA (Edward T. Dangel, III, Michael K. Mattchen, and Jonathan L. Glover), for Plaintiff-Intervenor Globe Metallurgical, Inc.

Lyn M. Schlitt, General Counsel, United States International Trade Commission; James A. Toupin, Deputy General Counsel, United States International Trade Commission (Marc A. Bernstein), for Defendant.

Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler, LLP, Washington, DC (Julie C. Mendoza, Donald B. Cameron, R. Will Planert, and Margaret E. Scicluna), for Defendant-Intervenor Ferroatlantica de Venezuela.

Hogan & Hartson L.L.P. (Mark S. McConnell and Jonathan J. Engler), for

Defendant-Intervenor General Motors Corporation.

Dorsey & Whitney LLP, Washington, DC (Philippe M. Bruno and Kevin B. Bedell), for Defendant-Intervenors Associação Brasileira dos Productores de Ferroligas e de Silico Metalico, Companhia Brasileira Carbureto de Calcio-CBCC, Companhia de Ferroligas de Bahia-FERBASA, Nova Era Silicon S/A, Italmagnesio S/A-Industria e Comercio, Rima Industrial S/A, and Companhia Ferroligas Minas Gerais-Minasligas.

Aitken Irvin Berlin & Vrooman, LLP (Bruce Aitken, Kieran Sharpe, and Virginie Lecaillon), for Defendant-Intervenors Ronly Holdings, Ltd., Cheliubinski Electrometalurgical Works, Kuznetsk Ferroalloy Works, Stakhanov Ferroalloy Works, and Zaporozhye Ferroalloy Works.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

EATON, Judge.

Plaintiffs Elkem Metals Company ("Elkem"), American Alloys, Inc. ("American Alloys"), Applied Industrial Materials Corporation ("AIMCOR"), and CC Metals and Alloys, Inc. ("CC Metals"), and Plaintiff-Intervenor Globe Metallurgical, Inc. ("Globe") (collectively, "Petitioners"), move for preliminary injunctions to enjoin liquidation of entries pending a final decision on the merits of the underlying action. The court has the power to grant the requested relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1585 (1994); 28 U.S.C. § 2643(c)(1); see also The All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651(a).¹ However, this Court, for the reasons set forth below, denies Petitioners' motions.

BACKGROUND

The present motions were made in the context of a challenge to the United States International Trade Commission's ("ITC") reconsideration and reversal of its final affirmative material injury determinations in antidumping investigations Nos. 731-TA-566-570 and 731-TA-641 (Final) covering ferrosilicon² from Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, and countervailing duty investigation No. 303-TA-23 (Final) covering ferrosilicon from Venezuela.

The ITC issued the original injury determinations, whose reconsideration and reversal are the subject of the underlying dispute, in 1993 and 1994, shortly after the United States International Trade Administration ("ITA") found that ferrosilicon from Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela was being sold in the United States at less than fair value, and that the Venezuelan government was subsidizing ferrosilicon sales. Based on the final determinations of the ITA and ITC, the United States Department of Commerce ("Commerce") issued antidumping orders against ferrosilicon from Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, and a countervailing duty order against ferrosilicon from Venezuela. See Antidumping Duty Order: Ferrosilicon From Brazil, 59 Fed. Reg. 11,769 (Mar. 14, 1994); Antidumping Duty Orders: Ferrosilicon From Venezuela and the Russian Federation, 58 Fed. Reg. 34,243 (June 24, 1993); Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination: Ferrosilicon From Venezuela; and Countervailing Duty Order for Certain Ferrosilicon From Venezuela, 58 Fed.Reg. 27,539 (May 10, 1993), amended by 58 Fed.Reg. 36,394 (July 7, 1993); Antidumping Duty Orders: Ferrosilicon From Kazakhstan and Ukraine, 58 Fed.Reg. 18,079 (Apr. 7, 1993), amended by 60 Fed.Reg. 64,018 (Dec. 13, 1995); Antidumping Duty Order: Ferrosilicon From the People's Republic of China, 58 Fed.Reg. 13,448 (Mar. 11, 1993).

The imposition of these orders remained unchallenged until 1998, when certain Brazilian ferrosilicon producers petitioned the ITC to institute a review of its final affirmative material injury determination as to ferrosilicon from that country. The petition alleged that a recently disclosed price-fixing conspiracy among certain domestic manufacturers, and its consequent distortion of the price data presented to the ITC during its original material injury investigations, constituted "changed circumstances" sufficient to warrant review pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1675(b). See Ferrosilicon From Brazil, China, Kazakstan [sic], Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 63 Fed.Reg. 27,747, 27,747 (May 20, 1998). On July 28, 1998, the ITC instituted the requested changed circumstances review and, further, self-initiated changed circumstances reviews of the other related final affirmative material injury determinations, i.e., those pertaining to ferrosilicon from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela. See Ferrosilicon From Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 63 Fed.Reg. 40,314 (July 28, 1998).

In May 1999, the ITC suspended these changed circumstances reviews and proceeded to "reconsider" its original determinations. See Ferrosilicon From Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 64 Fed.Reg. 28,212 (May 25, 1999); see also USITC Pub. 3218, at 6 (Aug.1999) (concluding that "reconsideration" was "a more appropriate procedure for review of the original determinations"). Thereafter, the ITC reversed its original affirmative material injury determinations ab initio and issued a negative injury determination as to each of the original investigations. See Ferrosilicon From Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 64 Fed.Reg. 47,865 (Sept. 1, 1999); see generally USITC Pub., at 1. Thus, the ITC concluded, on reconsideration, that the domestic industry had never been materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of the unfairly priced and subsidized imports. See Ferrosilicon From Brazil, Kazakhstan, People's Republic of China, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 64 Fed.Reg. 51,097, 51,098 (Sept. 21, 1999); see also USITC Pub., at 4.

In accordance with the ITC's action, Commerce "rescinded" the antidumping and countervailing duty orders covering the subject imports. See Ferrosilicon From Brazil, Kazakhstan, People's Republic of China, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 64 Fed.Reg. at 51,098 (explaining that ITC's negative injury determinations on reconsideration had "rendered [the orders] legally invalid from the date of issuance"). In conjunction with this rescission Commerce terminated all related administrative reviews, see id., and instructed Customs to liquidate all unliquidated entries.³ See id. at 51,099.

Thereafter, domestic ferrosilicon producers brought individual suits separately challenging the actions of the ITC and Commerce. The suits against the ITC were consolidated, as were those against Commerce. The former consolidated action is currently before the Court.⁴ Petitioners have, in the interim, made the instant motions, seeking to enjoin liquidation of the subject entries.

The ITC and Defendant-Intervenors, Ferroatlantica de Venezuela ("Ferroven"); General Motors Corporation ("GM"); Associação Brasileira dos Productores de Ferroligas e de Silico Metalico, Companhia Brasileira Carbureto de Calcio-CBCC, Companhia de Ferroligas de Bahia-FERBASA, Nova Era Silicon S/A, Italmagnesio S/A-Industria e Comercio, Rima Industrial S/A, and Companhia Ferroligas Minas Gerais-Minasligas (collectively "ABRAFE, et al."); and Ronly Holdings, Ltd., Cheliubinski Electrometalurgical Works, Kuznetsk Ferroalloy Works, Stakhanov Ferroalloy Works, and Zaporozhye Ferroalloy Works (collectively "Ronly, et al."), oppose these motions, contending that Petitioners have failed to make the requisite showings for the grant of the requested relief.

DISCUSSION

Injunctive relief is an "extraordinary remedy," to be granted sparingly. Weinberger v. Romero-Barcelo, 456 U.S. 305, 312, 102 S.Ct. 1798, 72 L.Ed.2d 91 (1982); FMC Corp. v. United States, 3 F.3d 424, 427 (Fed.Cir.1993); PPG Indus., Inc. v. United States, 11 CIT 5, 6 (1987). The movant bears the burden of establishing that: (1) absent the requested relief, it will suffer immediate irreparable harm; (2) there exists in its favor a likelihood of success on the merits; (3) the public interest would be better served by the requested relief; and (4) the balance of the hardships on all parties tips in its favor. S.J. Stile Assocs., Ltd. v. Snyder, 68 C.C.P.A. 27, 646 F.2d 522, 525 (Cust. & Pat.App. 1981); accord Zenith Radio Corp. v. United States, 710 F.2d 806, 809 (Fed.Cir.1983); Bomont Indus. v. United States, 10 CIT 431, 434, 638 F.Supp. 1334, 1337 (1986). The court in its analysis of these factors employs a "sliding...