The US International Trade Commission (ITC) on Oct. 23 gave notice of the procedures it intends to follow to comply with the court-ordered remand of its final determinations in the countervailing duty investigations of phosphate fertilizers from Morocco and Russia (GM Sept. 22, p. 1).
The US Court of International Trade (CIT) remanded for reconsideration ITC’s factual finding regarding the feasibility of reshipment of phosphate fertilizer from one destination to another. CIT said that while the plaintiffs brought multiple challenges to the ITC ruling, ITC grounded its findings on an unsupported assumption that fertilizer could be reshipped from one destination to another to meet existing demand.
CIT cited industry testimony that it was not economically feasible to ship barges positioned upriver back down the river to meet demand elsewhere, such as the Delta. Plaintiffs had argued that it was more feasible to simply import product to meet those needs, as domestic freight costs were prohibitive. This all relates to the fact that imports grew during a time of low demand spurred on by three seasons of flooding.
The ITC said only those persons who were interested parties that participated in the investigations and were also parties to the appeal may participate in the remand proceedings. ITC said it is reopening the record in these proceedings for the limited purpose of issuing a short supplemental questionnaire to US producers and US importers. It said it is otherwise not reopening the record for the collection of new factual information.
ITC said it will permit parties to file written comments (electronically) limited to addressing new factual information obtained during the remand proceedings. It said these comments must be based solely on the information in the ITC’s record. ITC said it will reject submissions containing additional factual information or arguments pertaining to issues other than those it has defined.
The deadline for filing comments is Nov. 27, 2023. Comments must be limited to a total of 25 double-spaced and single-sided pages of textual material for domestic interested parties, inclusive of attachments and exhibits; and a total of 25 double-spaced and single-sided pages of textual material for respondent interested parties, inclusive of attachments and exhibits.