Fujitsu General America, Inc. v. U.S.

• Decision Date: 15 August 2000
• Docket Number: Slip Op. 00-98.,Court No. 98-08-02748.
• Parties: FUJITSU GENERAL AMERICA, INC., Successor-In-Interest to Teknika, Electronics Corp., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. Court of International Trade

110 F.Supp.2d 1061

FUJITSU GENERAL AMERICA, INC., Successor-In-Interest to Teknika, Electronics Corp., Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES, Defendant.

Slip Op. 00-98.

Court No. 98-08-02748.

United States Court of International Trade.

August 15, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Greenberg Traurig LLP, (Brian S. Goldstein), New York, NY, for Plaintiff.

David W. Ogden, Assistant Attorney General, John J. Mahon, Assistant Branch Director, International Trade Field Office, James A. Curley, Attorney, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Chi S. Choy, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, International Trade Litigation, U.S. Customs Service, Of Counsel; Melanie A. Frank, Office of Assistant Chief Counsel for Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Of Counsel, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

OPINION

POGUE, Judge.

Plaintiff Fujitsu General America, Inc. ("Fujitsu") moves for summary judgment pursuant to USCIT Rule 56.¹ Specifically Fujitsu moves this Court to order the U.S. Customs Service ("Customs") to refund to Fujitsu all antidumping duties and interest assessed by Customs on certain of Fujitsu's entries upon liquidation.² Fujitsu claims that it is entitled to an antidumping duty refund because the entries in issue were "deemed liquidated," or liquidated by operation of law, not at the rate assessed by Customs, but "at the rate of duty, value, quantity, and amount of duty asserted at the time of entry by the importer of record" pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d). In the alternative, Fujitsu asserts that, if the entries were not deemed liquidated, Customs should not have assessed interest. In turn, if Customs properly assessed interest on the antidumping duty payments, Fujitsu claims that Customs should have charged simple, rather than compound, interest.

Defendant, the United States, cross-moves for summary judgment under USCIT Rule 56, contending that Customs properly liquidated Fujitsu's entries at the antidumping duty rate calculated by the U.S. Department of Commerce ("Commerce") and properly charged interest at the compound rate.

Background

The merchandise in issue consists of televisions from Japan manufactured by Fujitsu General Limited (formerly known as General Corporation) and imported into the United States by Teknika Electronics Corp.³

Imports of televisions from Japan are subject to a 1971 antidumping duty finding by the Treasury Department under the Antidumping Act, 1921, 19 U.S.C. §§ 160-173 (1970). See Television Receiving Sets, Monochrome and Color, From Japan, 36 Fed.Reg. 4,597 (Dep't Treas., Mar. 10, 1971)(antidumping finding). In 1980, the functions of administering the antidumping law were transferred from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of Commerce.⁴ Because Treasury's finding covering imports of Japanese televisions remained in effect on January 1, 1980, the effective date of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, the amount of duties imposed under the finding became subject to periodic reviews administered by Commerce pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1675(a).

Under the administrative review scheme,

At least once during each 12-month period beginning on the anniversary of the date of publication of ... an antidumping duty order under [19 U.S.C. § 1673e] or a finding under the Antidumping Act, 1921, ... [Commerce] ... shall ... review, and determine ... the amount of any antidumping duty, and ... shall publish in the Federal Register the results of such review, together with notice of any duty to be assessed [and] estimated duty to be deposited .... 19 U.S.C. § 1675(a)(1994).⁵ Thus, upon completion of an administrative review and liquidation, antidumping duties are assessed on the entries of imports covered by the review period, and cash deposits of estimated antidumping duties are collected for all future entries.

On February 11, 1991, Commerce published the final results of an administrative review that covered, for entries of Fujitsu General Limited, the periods March 1, 1986, through February 28, 1987; March 1, 1987, through February 29, 1988; and March 1, 1989, through February 28, 1990. See Television Receivers, Monochrome and Color, from Japan, 56 Fed.Reg. 5,392 (Dep't Commerce, Feb. 11, 1991)(final results admin. review)("Final Results of February 11, 1991"). In this review, Commerce calculated a 35.40% dumping margin for Fujitsu General Limited. See id. at 5,401.

Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(a)(2)(B)(iii), Fujitsu General Limited brought suit in the Court of International Trade ("CIT"), challenging the antidumping duty rate found by Commerce in the Final Results of February 11, 1991. At the outset of the litigation, the CIT ordered a preliminary injunction pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(c)(2), which enjoined liquidation of Fujitsu General Limited televisions entered from March 20, 1986, through March 11, 1988 (the "subject entries"). Thus, the court suspended the liquidation of the subject entries of televisions at the antidumping rate determined by Commerce in the Final Results of February 11, 1991.

On April 27, 1993, Commerce filed a motion with the court requesting that the case be remanded with respect to seven issues raised by Fujitsu General Limited. The court granted Commerce's motion. Subsequently, on March 28, 1994, Commerce filed its remand determination with the court. On remand, Commerce reduced the antidumping margin it had previously found in the Final Results of February 11, 1991 to 26.17%. On March 14, 1995, the CIT affirmed Commerce's Final Results of February 11, 1991, as modified by Commerce's remand determination ("Modified Final Results of February 11, 1991"). See Fujitsu General Ltd. v. United States, 19 CIT 359, 883 F.Supp. 728 (1995). Following appeal, the Federal Circuit affirmed the CIT's decision on July 3, 1996, see Fujitsu General Ltd. v. United States, 88 F.3d 1034 (Fed.Cir.1996), and issued its mandate on August 26, 1996.

On September 16, 1997, Commerce published notice of the Federal Circuit's July 3, 1996, decision affirming Commerce's Modified Final Results of February 11, 1991. Television Receivers, Monochrome and Color, From Japan, 62 Fed.Reg. 48,592 (Dep't Commerce, Sept. 16, 1997)(notice of final court decision and am. final results admin. review). On September 26, 1997, Commerce sent liquidation instructions to Customs via e-mail. See Liquidation Instructions for Television Receivers, Monochrome and Color, from Japan Manufactured and/or Exported by Fujitsu General Limited for the Periods March 1, 1986 through February 28, 1997; March 1, 1987 through February 29, 1988; and March 1, 1989 through February 28, 1990 (A-588-015) (Dep't Commerce, Sept. 26, 1997)("Liquidation Instructions")(attached to Def.'s Reply Br. to Pl.'s Opp'n to Def.'s Cross-Mot. for SJ II ("Def.'s Reply Br. II")). Subsequently, during November 1997, December 1997, and February 1998, Customs liquidated the subject entries.

On February 11, 1998, Fujitsu filed Protest No. 2704-98-100059 with Customs pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514 (1994), against Customs' liquidations of subject entries on November 14, 1997, and December 5, 1997. See Protest No. 2704-98-100059 (Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ I, Ex. 1). Fujitsu's protest challenged Customs' assessment of interest on the subject entries, and alternatively, Customs' assessment of interest at a compound rate. See id. Customs denied Fujitsu's protest on March 11, 1998. See Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ I, Ex. 2. On April 15, 1998, Fujitsu sent a letter to Customs arguing that the entries listed in Protest No. 2704-98-100059 "must be deemed liquidated by operation of law at the rate and amount of antidumping duties asserted at the time of entry by the importer of record, i.e., zero antidumping duties." Pl.'s April 15, 1998, Letter to Customs (Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ I, Ex. 3). By letter of June 8, 1998, Customs acknowledged receipt of Fujitsu's deemed liquidation argument, but declined to reconsider its denial of Protest No. 2704-98-100059. See Customs' June 8, 1998, Letter to Pl. (Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ I, Ex. 4).

Also on February 11, 1998, Fujitsu filed Protest No. 3001-98-100026 with Customs, against Customs' liquidations of entries on November 28, 1997. See Protest No. 3001-98-100026 (Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ II, Ex. 4). As with Protest No. 2704-98-100059, this protest challenged Customs' assessment of interest on the subject entries, and alternatively, Customs' assessment of interest at a compound rate. See id. On March 30, 1998, Fujitsu filed with Customs an additional claim to supplement Protest No. 3001-98-100026, again arguing that Customs' assessment of antidumping duty principal on the entries liquidated on November 28, 1997, was unlawful because these entries were deemed liquidated by operation of law at the rate and amount of antidumping duties asserted at the time of entry by the importer of record. See Pl.'s Mar. 30, 1998, Letter to Customs (Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ II, Ex. 5). On April 22, 1998, Customs denied Fujitsu's protest. See Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ II, Ex. 6.

Finally, Fujitsu filed Protest No. 5301-98-100053 with Customs on March 24, 1998, against Customs' liquidation of entry 86-222766-5 on February 27, 1998. See Protest No. 5301-98-100053 (Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ II, Ex. 1). As with the others, this protest challenged Customs' assessment of interest on the subject entries, and alternatively, Customs' assessment of interest at a compound rate. See id. On April 1, 1998, Fujitsu again submitted a supplemental deemed liquidation claim. See Pl.'s Apr. 1, 1998, Letter to Customs (Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ II, Ex. 2). On April 10, 1998, Customs denied Protest No. 5301-98-100053. See Pl.'s Mem. in Supp. of Mot. SJ II, Ex. 3.

Subsequently, Fujitsu filed two actions in this Court addressing the entries covered by the above protests. Now, in reviewing Fujitsu's and Defendant's cross-motions for summary judgment, we are...