Barcode : 4314179-01 A-533-889 REV - Admin Review 12 / 13 / 19 - 5 / 31 / 21
22-0085717
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November 18 , 2022
The Honorable Gina Raimondo Secretary of Commerce U . S . Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Avenue NW Washington , D . C . 20230
Dear Secretary Raimondo :
We are writing to express serious concern regarding media reports that the U . S . Department of Commerce will impose tariffs of up to 323 % on certain countertops due to an apparent 5-hour filing mistake . According to these reports , Commerce would impose hundreds of millions of dollars in punitive tariffs due to errors that were not committed by American companies .. We strongly urge your office to use its statutory discretion to find a more reasonable outcome that avoids significant collateral damages based on a several-hour filing mistake .
Commerce ’ s findings threaten to impose hundreds of millions of dollars in retroactive duty liabilities on U . S . companies . The duties could lead to significant U . S . job losses at companies employing tens of thousands of American workers . The duties also would lead to massive price hikes for the subject products , thereby exacerbating inflationary pressures for U . S . homebuilders and remodelers and undermining efforts to reduce inflation and ensure affordable housing options .
The AD / CVD statute provides Commerce the authority to assign high dumping margins based on the use of facts available with an adverse inference ( AFA ), which can be an important tool to prevent respondents from knowingly withholding or providing false information to try to manipulate potential AD / CVD margins in their favor . However , in this case , since there was nothing to be gained by filing several hours late , the facts do not appear to meet that standard . American companies , workers , homebuilders , and consumers should not face higher prices for an inadvertent deadline mistake that did not impact the timing of the review .
Fortunately , the AD / CVD statute and Commerce ’ s Regulations appear to provide ample discretion to assign fairer rates in circumstances such as these . Commerce routinely accepts untimely filings in AD / CVD Investigations and Administrative Reviews , including on multiple occasions since rejecting the filing in the quartz countertop case . Short of accepting the filing , Commerce has discretion to select
Filed By : Charles Doss , Filed Date : 11 / 25 / 22 11:59 AM , Submission Status : Approved