Seah Steel Vina Corporation v. United States ( 2020 )


Menu:
  • Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2     Page: 1   Filed: 01/27/2020
    United States Court of Appeals
    for the Federal Circuit
    ______________________
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION,
    Plaintiff-Appellant
    v.
    UNITED STATES, UNITED STATES STEEL
    CORPORATION,
    Defendants-Appellees
    TMK IPSCO, VALLOUREC STAR, L.P., WELDED
    TUBE USA INC., BOOMERANG TUBE LLC,
    ENERGEX TUBE (A DIVISION OF JMC STEEL
    GROUP), TEJAS TUBULAR PRODUCTS,
    MAVERICK TUBE CORPORATION,
    Defendants
    ______________________
    2019-1091
    ______________________
    Appeal from the United States Court of International
    Trade in Nos. 1:14-cv-00224-RWG, 1:14-cv-00259-RWG,
    Senior Judge Richard W. Goldberg.
    ______________________
    SEALED OPINION ISSUED: January 27, 2020
    PUBLIC OPINION ISSUED: February 14, 2020 *
    *   This opinion was originally filed under seal and has
    been unsealed in full.
    Case: 19-1091     Document: 80-2    Page: 2    Filed: 01/27/2020
    2              SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    ______________________
    JEFFREY M. WINTON, Law Office of Jeffrey M. Winton
    PLLC, Washington, DC, argued for plaintiff-appellant.
    DOUGLAS GLENN EDELSCHICK, Commercial Litigation
    Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Jus-
    tice, Washington, DC, argued for defendant-appellee
    United States. Also represented by JOSEPH H. HUNT,
    CLAUDIA BURKE, JEANNE DAVIDSON; BRENDAN SASLOW, Of-
    fice of the Chief Counsel for Trade Enforcement and Com-
    pliance, United States Department of Commerce,
    Washington, DC.
    THOMAS M. BELINE, Cassidy Levy Kent USA LLP,
    Washington, DC, argued for defendant-appellee United
    States Steel Corporation. Also represented by MYLES
    SAMUEL GETLAN, SARAH E. SHULMAN, JAMES EDWARD
    RANSDELL, IV.
    ______________________
    Before NEWMAN, SCHALL, and WALLACH, Circuit Judges.
    WALLACH, Circuit Judge.
    Appellant SeAH Steel VINA Corporation (“SeAH”)
    sued Appellee the United States (“Government”) in the
    U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”), challenging the
    U.S. Department of Commerce’s (“Commerce”) final deter-
    mination of an antidumping duty investigation covering
    certain oil country tubular goods (“OCTG”) from the Social-
    ist Republic of Vietnam (“Vietnam”). See Certain Oil Coun-
    try Tubular Goods From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
    
    79 Fed. Reg. 41,973
    , 41,973 (July 18, 2014) (final determi-
    nation) (“Final Determination”), as amended by Certain Oil
    Country Tubular Goods From the Socialist Republic of Vi-
    etnam, 
    79 Fed. Reg. 53,691
     (Sept. 10, 2014) (order and
    amended final determination). The CIT remanded the case
    Case: 19-1091     Document: 80-2      Page: 3     Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES                  3
    twice to Commerce, SeAH Steel VINA Corp. v. United
    States (SeAH I), 
    182 F. Supp. 3d 1316
    , 1345 (Ct. Int’l Trade
    2016); SeAH Steel VINA Corp. v. United States (SeAH II),
    
    269 F. Supp. 3d 1335
    , 1365 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2017), and sus-
    tained Commerce’s second redetermination on remand, see
    SeAH Steel VINA Corp. v. United States (SeAH III), 
    332 F. Supp. 3d 1314
    , 1318 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2018) (Opinion and
    Order); see also J.A. 3011–46 (Redetermination II); J.A.
    2942–69 (Redetermination I).
    SeAH appeals. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 
    28 U.S.C. § 1295
    (a)(5) (2012). We affirm-in-part, reverse-in-
    part, and remand.
    BACKGROUND
    I. Legal Framework
    Antidumping duties may be imposed on “foreign mer-
    chandise” that “is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United
    States at less than its fair value.” 
    19 U.S.C. § 1673
     (2012). 1
    Antidumping duties are a trade remedy “imposed to protect
    [domestic] industries against unfair trade practices.” Ca-
    nadian Wheat Bd. v. United States, 
    641 F.3d 1344
    , 1351
    (Fed. Cir. 2011). Domestic industries may seek “relief from
    imports that are sold in the United States at less than fair
    value,” Allegheny Ludlum Corp. v. United States, 
    287 F.3d 1365
    , 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2002), by filing a petition with
    1   In June 2015, Congress amended the statutes con-
    taining the antidumping provisions. See Trade Preferences
    Extension Act of 2015 (“TPEA”), Pub. L. No. 114-27,
    §§ 501–07, 
    129 Stat. 362
    , 383–87. While we review the Fi-
    nal Determination in accordance with the TPEA because it
    issued after the TPEA became effective, unless stated oth-
    erwise, we cite to the U.S. Code version of the statute as
    there are no material changes in the TPEA for purposes of
    this appeal. See Juancheng Kangtai Chem. Co. v. United
    States, 
    932 F.3d 1321
    , 1323 n.1 (Fed. Cir. 2019).
    Case: 19-1091     Document: 80-2      Page: 4    Filed: 01/27/2020
    4             SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission
    (“ITC”) to initiate an antidumping duty investigation, see
    19 U.S.C. §§ 1673a(b), 1677(9)(C). Following investigation,
    if Commerce determines that imported merchandise “is be-
    ing, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than
    its fair value,” id. § 1673(1), and the ITC determines that
    the importation or sale of that merchandise has “materially
    injured” or “threaten[s]” to “materially injur[e]” an indus-
    try in the United States, id. § 1673(2), then Commerce will
    “publish an antidumping duty order . . . direct[ing] [U.S.
    Customs and Border Protection] to assess . . . antidumping
    dut[ies]” on subject merchandise, id. § 1673e(a)(1).
    Commerce “determine[s] the estimated weighted aver-
    age dumping margin for each exporter and producer indi-
    vidually investigated” and “the estimated all-others rate
    for all exporters and producers not individually investi-
    gated.” Id. § 1673d(c)(1)(B)(i). A dumping margin reflects
    the amount by which the “‘normal value’ (the price a pro-
    ducer charges in its home market) exceeds the ‘export price’
    (the price of the product in the United States) or ‘con-
    structed export price.’” U.S. Steel Corp. v. United States,
    
    621 F.3d 1351
    , 1353 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (footnote omitted) (cit-
    ing 
    19 U.S.C. § 1677
    (35)(A)); see 19 U.S.C. §§ 1677b(a)(1)
    (defining “normal value” as “the price at which the [mer-
    chandise] is first sold . . . for consumption” in the home
    country or third country), 1677a(b) (defining “constructed
    export price” as “the price at which the subject merchan-
    dise is first sold . . . in the United States” to “a purchaser
    not affiliated with the producer or exporter”).
    If Commerce finds that the exporting country is a “non-
    market economy” (“NME”) country 2 and “that available
    2   An NME country is “any foreign country that [Com-
    merce] determines does not operate on market principles of
    cost or pricing structures, so that sales of merchandise in
    such country do not reflect the fair value of the
    Case: 19-1091     Document: 80-2     Page: 5    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES                5
    information does not permit the normal value of the subject
    merchandise to be determined under [§ 1677b(a)],” then
    Commerce calculates normal value using surrogate values
    for the “factors of production” in a comparable “market
    economy country.” Id. § 1677b(c)(1). 3 Further, “[b]ecause
    firms have ‘general expenses and profits’ not traceable to a
    specific product, in order to capture these expenses and
    profits, Commerce must factor [surrogate values for]
    (1) factory overhead (‘overhead’), (2) selling, general and
    administrative expenses (‘SG&A’), and (3) profit into the
    calculation of normal value”—that is, the respondent’s “fi-
    nancial ratios.”      Dorbest Ltd. v. United States, 
    462 F. Supp. 2d 1262
    , 1300 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2006) (quoting 19
    U.S.C. § 1677b(c)(1)). Commerce may, similarly, adjust ex-
    port price or constructed export price using surrogate val-
    ues for “movement expenses.” Prelim. I&D Memo at 10–
    11; see 19 U.S.C. § 1677a(c)(2)(A) (instructing Commerce to
    adjust constructed export price by, inter alia, “the
    amount . . . attributable to any additional costs, charges, or
    expenses . . . incident to bringing the subject merchandise
    from the original place of shipment in the exporting coun-
    try to the place of delivery in the United States”); Fine Fur-
    niture (Shanghai) Ltd. v. United States, 
    182 F. Supp. 3d 1350
    , 1368 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2016) (explaining that
    merchandise.” 
    19 U.S.C. § 1677
    (18)(A). Commerce “con-
    siders Vietnam to be [an NME] country[.]” Certain Oil
    Country Tubular Goods from the Socialist Republic of Vi-
    etnam, Issues & Decision Mem., A-552-817, POI Jan. 1,
    2013–June 30, 2013 (Feb. 14, 2014) (adopted in 
    79 Fed. Reg. 10,478
     (Feb. 25, 2014)) (“Prelim. I&D Memo”) at 6.
    3   Specifically, Commerce must value the factors of
    production “to the extent possible . . . in one or more mar-
    ket economy countries that are—(A) at a level of economic
    development comparable to that of the [NME] country, and
    (B) significant producers of comparable merchandise.” 19
    U.S.C. § 1677b(c)(4).
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 6    Filed: 01/27/2020
    6             SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    Commerce will use “a surrogate value for [movement] ex-
    penses” for NME respondents).
    In selecting surrogate values, Commerce “attempts to
    construct a hypothetical market value of [the subject mer-
    chandise] in the [NME].” Downhole Pipe & Equip., L.P. v.
    United States, 
    776 F.3d 1369
    , 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (inter-
    nal quotation marks, alterations, and citation omitted).
    Commerce’s surrogate value determinations must “be
    based on the best available information regarding the val-
    ues of [relevant] factors in a market economy country or
    countries.” 19 U.S.C. § 1677b(c)(1); see id. § 1677b(a)
    (providing that Commerce constructs the “normal value”
    “to achieve a fair comparison with the export price”). “Com-
    merce has broad discretion to determine” what constitutes
    “the best available information,” as this term “is not de-
    fined by statute.” QVD Food Co. v. United States, 
    658 F.3d 1318
    , 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2011). Commerce “generally selects,
    to the extent practicable, surrogate values that are publicly
    available, are product-specific, reflect a broad market av-
    erage, and are contemporaneous with the period of review.”
    Qingdao Sea–Line Trading Co. v. United States, 
    766 F.3d 1378
    , 1386 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (footnote omitted).
    II. Procedural History
    In July 2013, Commerce “received antidumping
    duty . . . petitions concerning imports of certain [OCTG]
    from,” inter alia, Vietnam, from domestic producers, in-
    cluding U.S. Steel Corporation (“U.S. Steel”), Maverick
    Tube Corporation, TMK IPSCO, Vallourec Star L.P., and
    Welded Tube USA Inc. (collectively, “Petitioners”). Certain
    Oil Country Tubular Goods from India, the Republic of Ko-
    rea, the Republic of the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan,
    Thailand, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, and the Social-
    ist Republic of Vietnam, 
    78 Fed. Reg. 45,505
    , 45,506
    (July 29, 2013) (initiation of antidumping duty investiga-
    tions). Petitioners alleged sales of OCTG “at less than fair
    value” and “material injury to [the] industry in the United
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 7    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES               7
    States.” 
    Id.
     Commerce initiated an investigation. 
    Id. at 45,505
    .
    Commerce “issued quantity and value . . . question-
    naires to the eight companies named in the [P]etition,” but
    received timely responses from only two—one of which was
    SeAH. Prelim. I&D Memo at 2. Commerce selected SeAH
    and the other responsive company as mandatory respond-
    ents. Id.; see 19 U.S.C. § 1677f-1(c)(2) (explaining when
    Commerce may limit its review to a “reasonable number of
    exporters or producers”). In February 2014, Commerce is-
    sued its preliminary determination. Certain Oil Country
    Tubular Goods From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 
    79 Fed. Reg. 10,478
    , 10,479 (Feb. 25, 2014) (preliminary de-
    termination). Because Commerce “considers Vietnam to be
    [an NME] country,” Commerce selected a surrogate market
    economy country, India, to provide surrogate values. Pre-
    lim. I&D Memo at 6, 11; see also 19 U.S.C. § 1677b(c)(1)
    (providing for the use of surrogate values to calculate nor-
    mal value for NME respondents).
    In July 2014, Commerce issued its Final Determina-
    tion. 79 Fed. Reg. at 41,973. Commerce calculated a
    24.22% dumping margin for SeAH. Id. at 41,975. Com-
    merce based this margin on various surrogate values. See
    J.A. 2203–06 (explaining Commerce’s selection of Welspun
    Corporation Limited’s (“Welspun”) financial statements for
    calculation of surrogate financial ratios, for SeAH’s normal
    value), 2226–27 (declining to deduct a surrogate value for
    domestic inland insurance from SeAH’s constructed export
    price); see also J.A. 2188–95 (selecting the World Bank’s
    Doing Business 2014: India (“Doing Business Report”) as
    the best available information for brokerage and handling
    (“B&H”) surrogate values 4 and explaining Commerce’s
    4   Here, B&H costs are, specifically, costs for “[d]ocu-
    ment[] preparation” and “[c]ustoms clearance and tech-
    nical control” for SeAH’s imported inputs and exported
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2     Page: 8   Filed: 01/27/2020
    8             SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    allocation of B&H costs, for adjustments to SeAH’s normal
    value and constructed export price).
    Both SeAH and Petitioners sued the Government in
    the CIT, challenging Commerce’s Final Determination as
    unsupported by substantial evidence, each arguing for the
    use of different surrogate values for SeAH’s margin calcu-
    lation. SeAH I, 182 F. Supp. 3d at 1322; see J.A. 185
    (Docket) (listing SeAH’s complaint before the CIT),
    J.A. 187 (Docket) (listing order consolidating SeAH’s case
    with U.S. Steel’s case before the CIT). The CIT remanded
    to Commerce twice, for “reconsider[ation]” and “further ex-
    planation” of its surrogate value determinations. SeAH I,
    182 F. Supp. 3d at 1330, 1335; see SeAH II, 269 F. Supp. 3d
    at 1347, 1358–59. On remand, Commerce calculated a
    61.04% dumping margin for SeAH.              J.A. 3046; see
    J.A. 2961–64 (on voluntary remand, setting aside
    Welspun’s financial statements in favor of Bhushan Steel
    Limited’s (“Bhushan”) financial statements); J.A. 2955–58
    (deciding to adjust SeAH’s constructed export price for in-
    land insurance), 3017–21, 3033–37 (using modified inland
    insurance surrogate values from Agro Dutch Industries,
    Ltd. (“Agro Dutch”)); J.A. 2977–83, 3024–28, 3037–45
    (providing further explanation of Commerce’s B&H surro-
    gate value by-weight allocation methodology). The CIT
    sustained Commerce’s Final Determination, as amended
    by Redeterminations I and II, finding “Commerce’s deter-
    minations . . . supported by substantial evidence,” and en-
    tered final judgment for the Government. SeAH III, 332 F.
    Supp. 3d at 1330–31; see SeAH II, 269 F. Supp. 3d at 1365.
    DISCUSSION
    SeAH contends that Commerce’s margin calculation
    was unsupported by substantial evidence and not in
    subject merchandise. J.A. 1923 (exports), 2235–36 (im-
    ports).
    Case: 19-1091     Document: 80-2     Page: 9    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES                9
    accordance with law because: (1) Commerce’s “selection of
    [Bhushan] for surrogate ‘financial ratios’” for SeAH’s nor-
    mal value “distorted the relevant overhead costs and ad-
    ministrative      expenses       without      providing      a
    meaningful . . . profit figure,” Appellant’s Br. 47 (capitali-
    zation normalized); (2) Commerce’s “determination to in-
    clude an additional surrogate amount for . . . inland
    insurance” for SeAH’s constructed export price is “unsup-
    ported by the record evidence,” id. at 44 (capitalization nor-
    malized); and (3) Commerce’s allocation methodology for
    surrogate B&H costs for SeAH’s normal value and con-
    structed export price was “unsupported by the record evi-
    dence,” id. at 55 (capitalization normalized). We address
    each argument in turn.
    I. Standard of Review
    We apply the same standard of review as the CIT, see
    Downhole Pipe, 776 F.3d at 1373, upholding Commerce’s
    determinations if they are supported “by substantial evi-
    dence on the record” and otherwise “in accordance with
    law,” 19 U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(1)(B)(i). “Although we review
    the decisions of the CIT de novo, we give great weight to
    the informed opinion of the CIT and it is nearly always the
    starting point of our analysis.” Nan Ya Plastics Corp. v.
    United States, 
    810 F.3d 1333
    , 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (inter-
    nal quotation marks, alterations, and citation omitted).
    Substantial evidence is “more than a mere scintilla”; rather
    it is such “evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as
    adequate to support a conclusion.” Downhole Pipe, 776
    F.3d at 1374 (internal quotation marks and citations omit-
    ted). “We look to the record as a whole, including evidence
    that supports as well as evidence that fairly detracts from
    the substantiality of the evidence.” SolarWorld Ams.,
    Inc. v. United States, 
    910 F.3d 1216
    , 1222 (Fed. Cir. 2018)
    (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 10    Filed: 01/27/2020
    10            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    II. Commerce’s Selection of Bhushan for Surrogate Finan-
    cial Ratios Is Supported by Substantial Evidence and
    Otherwise in Accordance with Law
    In its Final Determination, Commerce selected
    Welspun’s, not Bhushan’s, financial records as the “best
    available information on the record” for SeAH’s surrogate
    financial ratios. J.A. 2206; see J.A. 2205–06 (selecting
    Welspun as “a producer of OCTG,” with the closest availa-
    ble “production processes” to SeAH and a “financial state-
    ment [that] is contemporaneous, publically available, and
    evidences no receipt of countervailable subsidies”). How-
    ever, following voluntary remand and the submission of ad-
    ditional evidence, Commerce found that there was
    “insufficient evidence to conclude that Welspun is actually
    a producer of [OCTG].” J.A. 2962. Commerce determined
    that Bhushan, a company it had previously disqualified be-
    cause “its production process was not sufficiently similar”
    to SeAH, was acceptable because there was “no superior
    option . . . available on the record.” J.A. 2963–64; see
    J.A. 2205 (disqualifying Bhushan, in the Final Determina-
    tion, “because its production process is not sufficiently sim-
    ilar to [SeAH’s]”). Commerce explained that Bhushan was
    the “best [available] information on the record” because
    “Bhushan produces [OCTG] and their financial statements
    are publicly available and contemporaneous with the [pe-
    riod of investigation (‘POI’)].” J.A. 2964. The CIT sus-
    tained this determination as a “reasonable exercise of
    [Commerce’s] wide discretion to choose from among imper-
    fect options.” SeAH II, 269 F. Supp. 3d at 1350 (internal
    quotation marks omitted). SeAH argues that Commerce’s
    selection of Bhushan was “patently unreasonable,” Appel-
    lant’s Br. 55, because Bhushan’s “production processes” are
    insufficiently similar to SeAH’s to yield fair overhead and
    SG&A values, id. at 48; see id. at 48–51, while the record
    evidence is insufficient to conclude that “Bhushan actually
    produced OCTG” in meaningful quantities, to yield fair
    profit values, id. at 53–54. We disagree with SeAH.
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 11    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES               11
    Substantial evidence supports Commerce’s determina-
    tion that Bhushan’s financial statements are the best
    available information on the record to calculate SeAH’s
    surrogate financial ratios. Commerce found that Bhushan,
    unlike the other available options, “produce[d] identical
    merchandise” to SeAH, and further, that Bhushan has “fi-
    nancial statements [that] are publicly available and con-
    temporaneous with the POI.” J.A. 2964. Under the
    circumstances, this is sufficient. See Qingdao Sea–Line,
    766 F.3d at 1386 (“Commerce generally selects, to the ex-
    tent practicable, surrogate values that are publicly availa-
    ble, are product-specific, reflect a broad market average,
    and are contemporaneous with the period of review.”).
    Commerce acted in keeping with its “practice . . . to use,
    whenever possible, the financial statement of a producer of
    identical merchandise[.]” J.A. 2962; see J.A. 2204 (explain-
    ing that Commerce’s “preference for using the financial
    statements of producers of identical merchandise is espe-
    cially strong here because of the unique nature of OCTG
    among the wide range of pipe products . . . [s]pecifically it
    is among the most expensive and profitable”); see also
    
    19 C.F.R. § 351.408
    (c)(4) (2013) (providing that, to value
    surrogate financial ratios, Commerce “normally will use
    non-proprietary information gathered from producers of
    identical or comparable merchandise in the surrogate
    country”). Accordingly, substantial evidence supports
    Commerce’s selection of Bhushan’s financial statements as
    the best available information on the record. See Ad Hoc
    Shrimp Trade Action Comm. v. United States, 
    618 F.3d 1316
    , 1322 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (“Commerce has broad discre-
    tion to determine the best available information.”).
    SeAH’s counterarguments are unpersuasive. First,
    SeAH argues that Commerce has acted against its “estab-
    lished . . . preference for using the statements of surrogate-
    country producers that have production processes similar
    to those of the NME producer being examined.” Appel-
    lant’s Br. 48. However, Commerce’s mandate is to use the
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2     Page: 12    Filed: 01/27/2020
    12            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    “best available information” on the record. 19 U.S.C.
    § 1677b(c)(1). Commerce will “reject financial statements
    of surrogate producers whose production process is not
    comparable to the respondent’s production process when
    better information is available.” J.A. 2205 (emphasis
    added, internal quotation marks and footnote omitted).
    Where, as here, Commerce finds that better information is
    not available, see J.A. 2963–64 (finding it acceptable to use
    Bhushan’s financial statements because “no superior op-
    tion was available on the record”), Commerce may use the
    financial statements of “companies with differing integra-
    tion levels,” J.A. 2964; see Home Meridian Int’l Inc. v.
    United States, 
    772 F.3d 1289
    , 1296 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (“The
    data on which Commerce relies to value inputs must be the
    ‘best available information,’ but there is no requirement
    that the data be perfect.”). 5 While SeAH cites to several
    antidumping investigations and reviews to support its ar-
    gument, these determinations only confirm that Com-
    merce’s “best available information” analysis is context and
    fact dependent. See Dorbest, 
    462 F. Supp. 2d at 1268
     (ex-
    plaining that the best available evidence determination is
    “one of comparison,” requiring “Commerce to select, from
    5  SeAH argues, in a footnote of its brief, that Com-
    merce should have used the financial statements of APL
    Apollo Tubes, Ltd. (“Apollo”) instead of Bhushan’s, because
    Apollo’s subsidiary has a “license to produce OCTG.” Ap-
    pellant’s Br. 52 n.78. “Arguments raised only in footnotes
    are waived.” Ford Motor Co. v. United States, 
    926 F.3d 741
    ,
    760 n.12 (Fed. Cir. 2019) (internal quotation marks, alter-
    ations, and citation omitted). We decline to exercise our
    discretion to consider SeAH’s argument, as it amounts to a
    request for us to reweigh the evidence. See Downhole Pipe,
    776 F.3d at 1377 (explaining that we do not “reweigh the
    evidence” or “reconsider questions of fact anew”) (internal
    quotation marks and citation omitted).
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2     Page: 13    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES              13
    the information before it, the best data for calculating an
    accurate dumping margin”). 6
    Second, SeAH argues that because Bhushan’s produc-
    tion processes are different from SeAH’s, use of Bhushan’s
    financial statements “distort[s] . . . overhead costs and
    SG[&A] expenses[.]” Appellant’s Br. 53; see J.A. 2963
    (characterizing SeAH as a “semi-integrated producer”).
    Commerce acknowledged that Bhushan’s level of integra-
    tion was different from SeAH’s, but found that production
    of identical merchandise was more important than having
    identical production processes to calculate OCTG dumping
    margins as accurately as possible. See Rhone Poulenc, Inc.
    v. United States, 
    899 F.2d 1185
    , 1191 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (ex-
    plaining that “the basic purpose of the [anti-dumping]
    6   See, e.g., Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from
    the People’s Republic of China, Issues & Decision Mem., A-
    570-943, POR May 19, 2010–Apr. 30, 2011 (Dec. 5, 2012)
    (adopted in 
    77 Fed. Reg. 74,644
     (Dec. 17, 2012)) at 20 (ex-
    plaining that “[f]or purposes of selecting surrogate produc-
    ers, [Commerce] examines how similar a proposed
    surrogate producer’s production experience is to the NME
    producer’s,” but “is not required to duplicate the exact pro-
    duction experience of an NME producer, nor must it under-
    take an item-by-item analysis in calculating factory
    overhead” (internal quotation marks and citation omit-
    ted)); Certain Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe
    from the People’s Republic of China, Issues & Decision
    Mem., A-570-870 POI Oct. 1, 2000–Mar. 31, 2001 (May 15,
    2002) (adopted in 
    67 Fed. Reg. 36,570
     (May 24, 2002)) at
    cmt. 5 (explaining that “[w]hile relying on [an integrated
    producer’s] data [for a non-integrated producer] may be ap-
    propriate in other circumstances, in this case [Commerce]
    do[es] not need to use its financial information as [Com-
    merce had] four other surrogate companies which more
    closely approximate the . . . respondents experience”).
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 14    Filed: 01/27/2020
    14            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    statute” is “determining current margins as accurately as
    possible”); Nation Ford Chem. Co. v. United States, 
    166 F.3d 1373
    , 1377 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (“The ‘best available infor-
    mation’ . . . may constitute information from the surrogate
    country that is directly analogous to the production experi-
    ence of the NME producer . . . or it may not.”); see also
    J.A. 2204 (explaining that Commerce’s preference for using
    “the financial statements of producers of identical mer-
    chandise is especially strong” for OCTG, given the “unique
    nature of OCTG”), 2205 (explaining that “level of integra-
    tion is one factor” Commerce considers “[i]n analyzing the
    comparability of . . . production process[es]”), 2998 (finding
    that while “Bhushan operates at a different level of inte-
    gration than [SeAH],” “Bhushan[’s] financial statements
    are appropriate . . . because Bhushan produces identical
    merchandise”). We do not “evaluate whether the infor-
    mation Commerce used was the best available, but rather
    whether a reasonable mind could conclude that Commerce
    chose the best available information.” Zhejiang DunAn He-
    tian Metal Co. v. United States, 
    652 F.3d 1333
    , 1341 (Fed.
    Cir. 2011) (citation omitted). We “will not second-guess
    Commerce’s choice.” Mittal Steel Galati S.A. v. United
    States, 
    502 F. Supp. 2d 1295
    , 1313 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2007)
    (explaining that “[w]here Commerce is confronted with two
    alternatives (both of which have their good and bad quali-
    ties), and Commerce has a preferred alternative,” substan-
    tial evidence review means that we “will not second-guess
    Commerce’s choice”); see Consolo v. Fed. Mar. Comm’n, 
    383 U.S. 607
    , 620 (1966) (“[T]he possibility of drawing two in-
    consistent conclusions from the evidence does not prevent
    an administrative agency’s finding from being supported
    by substantial evidence.”).
    Third, SeAH argues that “the record is not clear as to
    whether Bhushan actually produced OCTG,” Appellant’s
    Br. 53, such that “when Commerce calculated a profit ratio
    based on Bhushan’s financial statements, its result was not
    in any way an OCTG profit figure,” id. at 54. The CIT,
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 15    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES               15
    however, found that SeAH had “failed to exhaust its ad-
    ministrative remedies” on this point and declined to con-
    sider the argument. SeAH II, 269 F. Supp. 3d at 1350
    (citing 
    28 U.S.C. § 2637
    (d) (requiring the “exhaustion of ad-
    ministrative remedies”)); see Reply Br. 18 (conceding that
    SeAH raised this argument only on remand). In reply,
    SeAH asserts that requiring exhaustion “would impose an
    impossible burden upon [SeAH],” because remand “pre-
    sented a different issue.” Reply Br. 18–19. However,
    SeAH, while aware the CIT had found failure to exhaust,
    did not raise the exhaustion issue or its “impossible bur-
    den” argument in its opening brief. See generally Appel-
    lant’s Br. SeAH’s exhaustion arguments are, accordingly,
    waived. Becton Dickinson & Co. v. C.R. Bard, Inc., 
    922 F.2d 792
    , 800 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (“[W]e see no reason to de-
    part from the sound practice that an issue not raised by an
    appellant in its opening brief . . . is waived.”). The CIT did
    not abuse its discretion in requiring exhaustion; like the
    CIT, we decline to consider the merits of SeAH’s argument
    that Bhushan did not produce OCTG. See Corus Staal BV
    v. United States, 
    502 F.3d 1370
    , 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (ap-
    plying an abuse of discretion standard to the CIT’s exhaus-
    tion determinations). Accordingly, Commerce’s selection of
    Bhushan’s financial statements is supported by substan-
    tial evidence and otherwise in accordance with law.
    III. Commerce’s Use and Selection of Surrogate Values for
    Inland Insurance Is Supported by Substantial Evidence
    and Otherwise in Accordance with Law
    In its Final Determination, Commerce did not “deduct
    a surrogate value from [SeAH’s constructed export price] to
    represent domestic inland insurance.” J.A. 2227. Com-
    merce reasoned that, while the record included a contract
    between SeAH and a freight forwarder (“the Freight For-
    warder Contract”) that suggested the freight forwarder had
    provided inland insurance, this did not “constitute[] an ‘in-
    surance contract’ that would require a separate surrogate
    value” because “it is not uncommon for [freight forwarders]
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2    Page: 16    Filed: 01/27/2020
    16            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    to bear the risk of loss on the shipments they handle.”
    J.A. 2227. The CIT remanded “for further explanation”
    from Commerce concerning “why it believes that [freight
    forwarders] [generally] carry the risk of loss” or why
    SeAH’s freight forwarder, specifically, did not. SeAH I, 182
    F. Supp. 3d at 1331. On remand, Commerce found that,
    because SeAH’s contract with its freight forwarder “in-
    cludes language to insure [SeAH] against ‘any accidental
    or any damage to cargoes’ for the full amount of the in-
    voice,” the “freight contract” was an “insurance contract.”
    J.A. 2957. Accordingly, Commerce “included a surrogate
    value for domestic inland insurance in [its] revised margin
    calculations.” J.A. 2957. Commerce used the only “availa-
    ble surrogate value source” on the record, the inland insur-
    ance value of Agro Dutch, a preserved mushroom producer,
    with some adjustment for inflation, since the value was
    from 2004–2005. J.A. 2958. The CIT sustained Com-
    merce’s decision to include a surrogate value for domestic
    inland insurance, but remanded for Commerce either for
    further explanation or reconsideration of its “rel[iance] on
    the A[gro] Dutch surrogate value.”            SeAH II, 269
    F. Supp. 3d at 1357–58 (sustaining use of a surrogate
    value while remanding for further explanation of Com-
    merce’s reliance on the Agro Dutch surrogate value). 7 On
    7   SeAH does not directly challenge Commerce’s use
    of the Agro Dutch surrogate value. See Appellant’s Br. 7–
    15, 43–46. Instead, SeAH argues that Commerce violated
    SeAH’s due process rights and Commerce’s regulations by
    not allowing SeAH to submit additional information about
    inland insurance during remand proceedings. Id. at 47.
    Specifically, during its second redetermination, in response
    to SeAH’s assertion that Agro Dutch’s records were illegi-
    ble, J.A. 3031, Commerce “placed on the record a more leg-
    ible copy of the same [evidence],” J.A. 3033. SeAH asserts
    that, in so doing, “Commerce rejected [SeAH’s] re-
    quest . . . to submit information concerning the actual cost
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 17     Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES                17
    of inland insurance in India.” Appellant’s Br. 47. However,
    Petitioners placed the Agro Dutch data on the record dur-
    ing the investigation, clearly labeled for “calculation of sur-
    rogate value for [SeAH’s] domestic inland insurance.”
    J.A. 1506 (submitting Agro Dutch’s information to “value[]
    [SeAH’s] domestic inland insurance”), 1519 (Agro Dutch
    values). SeAH, therefore, had the notice and opportunity
    to respond but did not. J.A. 3036 (explaining that the dead-
    line to submit factual information for the factors of produc-
    tion was January 17, 2014; that “rebuttal factual
    information to value factors was due on January 27, 2014”;
    and that, while Petitioners had submitted the relevant in-
    surance data by January 17, 2014, SeAH did not rebut or
    request a more legible version by January 27, 2014); see
    QVD Food, 
    658 F.3d at 1324
     (“[T]he burden of creating an
    adequate record lies with [interested parties] and not with
    Commerce.” (internal quotation marks and citation omit-
    ted)). “Commerce’s rejection of untimely-filed factual infor-
    mation does not violate a respondent’s due process rights
    when the respondent had notice of the deadline and an op-
    portunity to reply.” Dongtai Peak Honey Indus. Co. v.
    United States, 
    777 F.3d 1343
    , 1353 (Fed. Cir. 2015). As
    such, Commerce did not abuse its discretion in declining to
    reopen the record for SeAH’s untimely filed factual infor-
    mation, see Essar Steel Ltd. v. United States, 
    678 F.3d 1268
    , 1278 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (explaining that Commerce
    does not abuse its discretion when it declines “to reopen the
    record after it had long since closed” for evidence the re-
    spondent could have but did not previously provide), nor
    was it required under 
    19 C.F.R. § 351.301
    (c)(4) to allow be-
    lated rebuttal of evidence already on the record, see PSC
    VSMPO-Avisma Corp. v. United States, 
    688 F.3d 751
    , 761
    (Fed. Cir. 2012) (determining that the CIT improperly “in-
    truded upon Commerce’s power to apply its own procedures
    for the timely resolution of antidumping reviews”).
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 18     Filed: 01/27/2020
    18            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    remand, Commerce further adjusted its constructed export
    price calculation, since the Agro Dutch value also included
    marine insurance, but confirmed its decision to continue
    using the Agro Dutch data because it “reasonably meets
    Commerce’s criteria for the selection of [surrogate values].”
    J.A. 3021; see J.A. 3019–21. The CIT found this sufficient
    and sustained Commerce’s determination. SeAH III, 332
    F. Supp. 3d at 1326. SeAH argues that “Commerce’s deter-
    mination to include an additional surrogate amount for In-
    dian inland insurance costs is contrary to law and
    unsupported by the record evidence.” Appellant’s Br. 44
    (capitalization normalized). We disagree with SeAH. 8
    8  SeAH briefly argues that, because Commerce
    found in its Final Determination that SeAH’s Freight For-
    warder Contract “was not an insurance contract,” then
    changed its position on remand, its decision is “not entitled
    to deference” and should be reviewed “de novo” as a matter
    of “contract interpretation.” Appellant’s Br. 43–44. This is
    incorrect. We review Commerce’s factual findings, includ-
    ing on remand, under a substantial evidence standard. See
    19 U.S.C. § 1516a(b)(1)(B)(i). Whether SeAH paid overland
    freight insurance is a question of fact; its Freight For-
    warder Contract is evidence toward that fact. See PSC
    VSMPO-Avisma, 688 F.3d at 760 (explaining that a sub-
    mission that “clearly assumes the weight of evidence and,
    as such, amounts to [d]ata or statements of fact in support
    of allegations” is “factual information” (internal quotation
    marks and citations omitted)); see also 
    19 C.F.R. § 351.102
    (21)(i), (ii) (defining “factual information” in anti-
    dumping proceedings before Commerce as “[e]vidence, in-
    cluding statements of fact, documents, and data submitted
    either in response to initial and supplemental question-
    naires” or “in support of allegations,” or “to rebut, clarify,
    or correct such evidence submitted by any other interested
    party”); J.A. 703–06 (SeAH’s Freight Forwarder Contract,
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2     Page: 19    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES              19
    Substantial evidence supports Commerce’s determina-
    tion that SeAH’s Freight Forwarder Contract included do-
    mestic inland insurance separate from transportation
    costs. The express terms of SeAH’s Freight Forwarder
    Contract included an insurance clause with fees for cargo
    safety. J.A. 705 (providing that “[i]f there is any accident
    or any damage to cargoes [the freight forwarder] has re-
    sponsibility to compensate to [SeAH] 100% of the invoice
    amount”); J.A. 705–06 (providing that agreed price in-
    cluded both “transportation charge from SeAH’s factory to
    [port]” and “[f]ees for cargo’s safety”). Accordingly, Com-
    merce’s decision to account for such fees in its export price
    determination is supported by substantial evidence.
    Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. United States, 
    750 F.2d 927
    ,
    933 (Fed. Cir. 1984) (providing that substantial evidence
    includes “reasonable inferences from the record”).
    SeAH’s counterarguments are unpersuasive. SeAH ar-
    gues that Commerce’s inclusion of a surrogate value for in-
    land insurance is contrary to “well-established common-
    law principles” in India that “[hold] common carriers liable
    for any damages suffered by the cargo while the cargo is in
    their possession.” Appellant’s Br. 44. SeAH fails to estab-
    lish how this is relevant to our interpretation of SeAH’s
    contract. See J.A. 704 (providing that Vietnamese civil law
    governs SeAH’s Freight Forwarder Contract). SeAH offers
    no further evidence or explanation as to its actual ex-
    penses. See Nan Ya Plastics, 810 F.3d at 1344 (explaining
    that Commerce need not “‘prove a negative’ about a re-
    spondent’s pricing behavior if that respondent fails to pro-
    vide evidence that would yield more representative
    calculations of its pricing behavior”); QVD Food, 
    658 F.3d at 1324
     (“[T]he burden of creating an adequate record lies
    submitted in response to Commerce’s supplemental ques-
    tionnaire in appendix “SC-5”). Accordingly, substantial ev-
    idence is the appropriate standard of review.
    Case: 19-1091     Document: 80-2      Page: 20     Filed: 01/27/2020
    20            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    with [interested parties] and not with Commerce.” (second
    alteration in original, citation omitted)).
    SeAH further argues that, in selecting surrogate val-
    ues, “Commerce was required to determine the cost in In-
    dia of an agreement in which a carrier undertook to
    transport merchandise and to bear the cost of any losses
    during transport” and that Commerce’s finding any addi-
    tional cost “is directly contrary to Indian law.” Appellant’s
    Br. 45–46. This, however, misapprehends what Commerce
    was required to do. Commerce was required to “construct
    a hypothetical market value of [SeAH’s] product” using
    surrogate values, Downhole Pipe, 776 F.3d at 1375 (inter-
    nal quotation marks and citation omitted), not a hypothet-
    ical price using surrogate laws, see Nation Ford, 
    166 F.3d at 1377
     (“[A] surrogate value must be as representative of
    the situation in the NME country as is feasible[.]” (internal
    quotation marks and citation omitted)); 
    id. at 1378
     (“There
    is no reason . . . to incorporate the distortions in the [surro-
    gate] market into a hypothetical [respondent] market[.]”).
    Accordingly, Commerce’s inclusion of a separate surrogate
    value for inland insurance is supported by substantial evi-
    dence and otherwise in accordance with law.
    IV. Commerce’s Allocation Methodology for B&H Is Un-
    supported by Substantial Evidence
    In its Final Determination, Commerce concluded that
    the Doing Business Report “represent[s] the best infor-
    mation available on the record for the valuation of B&H
    costs,” J.A. 2192, as a “contemporaneous, broad market av-
    erage,” J.A. 2193. Commerce found it “appropriate” to al-
    locate B&H cost by weight, i.e., it divided the surrogate
    B&H values from the Doing Business Report by ten metric
    tons, because ten metric tons was the example shipping
    container “weight used in the Doing Business [Report],”
    then multiplied it by the weight of SeAH’s shipments, as-
    suming that B&H cost was proportional to shipment
    weight. J.A. 2194 (citation omitted). Commerce explained
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2     Page: 21    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES              21
    this decision was “consistent with the original data’s re-
    porting basis” thereby “maintain[ing] the relationship be-
    tween cost and quantity from the [Doing Business Report].”
    J.A. 2194–95 (citation omitted). The CIT “remand[ed] for
    further explanation” as to why Commerce presumed that
    SeAH’s “B&H costs would increase proportionately with
    the weight of the exported and imported goods.” SeAH I,
    182 F. Supp. 3d at 1343. On remand, Commerce pointed to
    record evidence that, it said, suggested SeAH’s “B&H costs
    can increase proportionately with the weight of the ship-
    ment.” J.A. 3009. The CIT remanded again to Commerce,
    with instructions to address SeAH’s counterarguments.
    SeAH II, 269 F. Supp. 3d at 1365. Commerce “continue[d]
    to find [its] allocation methodology . . . reasonable.”
    J.A. 3024. The CIT sustained Commerce’s determination
    as “supported by substantial evidence.” SeAH III, 332
    F. Supp. 3d at 1329. SeAH argues that Commerce’s by-
    weight allocation methodology “resulted in per-unit [B&H]
    values,” Appellant’s Br. 60 (capitalization normalized),
    that were contrary to record evidence and therefore “not
    reasonable,” id. at 64. 9 We agree with SeAH that Com-
    merce’s by-weight allocation methodology for B&H costs is,
    as applied here, unsupported by substantial evidence.
    First, Commerce concluded that its “allocation method-
    ology was reasonable given how [the] Doing Business [Re-
    port] calculated B&H costs.” J.A. 3042. The Doing
    Business Report aggregated data from “[l]ocal freight for-
    warders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials[,]
    and banks,” to “measure the time and cost (excluding tar-
    iffs) associated with exporting and importing a standard-
    ized cargo of goods by sea transport.” J.A. 1998. The Doing
    9   SeAH states that “[f]or purposes of this appeal, [it]
    accept[s] that Commerce could properly rely on the total
    costs identified in the Doing Business Report.” Appellant’s
    Br. 63.
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 22    Filed: 01/27/2020
    22            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    Business Report assumed that the “traded goods” travel in
    a “dry-cargo, [twenty-]foot, full container load,” “weigh[ing]
    [ten] [metric] tons and . . . valued at $20,000.” J.A. 1998.
    From this, Commerce inferred that “the Doing Business
    [Report] calculation assumed a fixed weight for purposes of
    calculating B&H costs,” such that price and weight are “de-
    pendent upon one another.” J.A. 3044. This inference,
    however, “simply is not representative of reality.” DuPont
    Teijin Films China Ltd. v. United States, 
    7 F. Supp. 3d 1338
    , 1351 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2014) (quoting CS Wind Vi-
    etnam Co. v. United States, 
    971 F. Supp. 2d 1271
    , 1295 (Ct.
    Int’l Trade 2014)). Commerce itself notes that the Doing
    Business Report “does not provide information showing
    how [its ten-metric-ton] assumption was developed” such
    that Commerce is “not able to go behind [the] Doing Busi-
    ness [Report] to analyze their assumption further.”
    J.A. 3043 (citation omitted). “Go[ing] behind” the report is
    not required: The Doing Business Report expressly pro-
    vides that it records “documents required per shipment,”
    J.A. 1999 (emphasis added); see J.A. 1999 (providing that
    “[i]t is assumed that a new contract is drafted per ship-
    ment” and that “[d]ocuments that are requested at the time
    of clearance but that are valid for a year or longer and do
    not require renewal per shipment . . . are not included”). It
    further provides that its “[c]ost” figures measure “the fees
    levied on a [twenty]-foot container.” J.A. 1999. It does not
    describe cost as dependent on the weight of that container.
    See J.A. 1999. Accordingly, Commerce’s assumption that
    “the Doing Business [Report] calculation assumed a fixed
    weight for purposes of calculating B&H costs” is without
    reasonable basis.      J.A. 3044; see DuPont Teijin, 7
    F. Supp. 3d at 1351 (explaining that “Commerce’s [by-
    weight B&H allocation] methodology incorrectly assumes
    that a shipment weighing less will incur lower document
    preparation and customs clearance costs, while a shipment
    weighing more will incur higher preparation costs”). If
    Commerce seeks, as it asserts, to “be internally consistent
    with the original data’s reporting basis,” J.A. 3028, then it
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 23    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES               23
    must reconsider its decision, see Universal Camera Corp. v.
    NLRB, 
    340 U.S. 474
    , 488 (1951) (“The substantiality of ev-
    idence must take into account whatever in the record fairly
    detracts from its weight.”).
    Second, Commerce concluded that “it is appropriate to
    value B&H on a weight basis because this basis reflects
    [SeAH’s] own service contract”; specifically, SeAH’s
    Freight Forwarder Contract “provides evidence that
    [SeAH] itself paid certain B&H charges on a weight basis.”
    J.A. 3026. SeAH’s Freight Forwarder Contract provided
    both prices per container and ton. J.A. 705 (providing
    “[p]rice of container” for forty foot and forty-five foot con-
    tainers and “[p]rice of [b]ulk [c]argoes” by “[t]on”). These
    prices were meant to include customs clearance, J.A. 706,
    and other services that, according to Commerce,
    “[c]learly . . . include document preparation,” J.A. 3040; see
    J.A. 705 (providing for “[a]rranging and finishing Customs
    Declaration, clearing customs at port, customs inspection”
    and “[p]aying port charges and any kind[] [of] fee[s] that
    relate to [p]ort formalities”). However, the prices per ton
    for bulk cargo also expressly provide that they are for
    “transport from SeAH” to regional ports, with price varying
    by destination, suggesting those fees are for transport (i.e.,
    freight forwarding). J.A. 705; see CS Wind, 971 F. Supp.
    2d at 1295 (“Common sense indicates that a half-full,
    twenty-foot container would incur the same document
    preparation expenses as a full twenty-foot container of a
    single type of good.”). The contract does not otherwise ex-
    plain why or when per container or per ton price might be
    charged. See J.A. 704–06. Commerce conceded that
    SeAH’s Freight Forwarder Contract “does not show how a
    Vietnamese company would charge for [B&H] services
    [separate from transportation],” but states that the con-
    tract is nonetheless “adequate to show that B&H costs can
    be incurred on a weight basis in Vietnam.” J.A. 3040; see
    Gov’t’s Br. 20 (arguing that Commerce “reasonably deter-
    mined that [B&H] costs should be allocated by weight”
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2    Page: 24    Filed: 01/27/2020
    24            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    because record evidence “indicat[es] that [SeAH’s] costs are
    or could be allocated by weight”). While “the burden of cre-
    ating an adequate record lies with [interested parties],”
    QVD Food, 
    658 F.3d at 1324
    , Commerce must, nonetheless,
    support its decision with substantial evidence, Downhole
    Pipe, 776 F.3d at 1374; see China Nat’l Arts & Crafts Imp.
    & Exp. Corp. v. United States, 
    771 F. Supp. 407
    , 413 (Ct.
    Int’l Trade 1991) (“Guesswork is no substitute for substan-
    tial evidence in justifying decisions.”). Commerce has
    failed to do so here. See CS Wind, 971 F. Supp. 2d at 1295
    (finding Commerce’s by-weight B&H allocation methodol-
    ogy unsupported by substantial evidence where “Com-
    merce has failed to explain why document preparation [and
    customs clearance] costs, as opposed to other B&H fees,
    would change depending on the size or weight of the ship-
    ment”). Substantial evidence “must do more than create a
    suspicion of the existence of the fact to be established.”
    NLRB v. Columbian Enameling & Stamping Co., 
    306 U.S. 292
    , 300 (1939).
    Third, Commerce supported its by-weight allocation
    methodology with reference to record evidence that “shows
    that at least some Indian B&H costs vary by weight.”
    J.A. 3042. Specifically, Commerce cited to a supplemental
    questionnaire response, submitted by a mandatory re-
    spondent, GVN Fuels Ltd. (“GVN”), in another OCTG anti-
    dumping duty investigation. J.A. 1763. The supplemental
    response disclosed five separate categories of B&H
    charges: “Agency Charges,” “Shipping [B]ill [C]harges,”
    “Dock Fee,” “Bill of [L]ading [C]harges,” and “Other
    [C]harges.” J.A. 1764. Of these, two categories (“Agency
    Charges” and “Other [C]harges”) were reported at cost “per
    metric ton.” J.A. 1764. Commerce concluded that “due to
    the uncertainty as to the exact nature of [the two by-
    weight] charges, [Commerce] cannot state definitively that
    it did [include document preparation and customs clear-
    ance], just as [SeAH] cannot be certain that it did not.”
    J.A. 3042. This is insufficient. See China Nat’l Mach. Imp.
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2      Page: 25    Filed: 01/27/2020
    SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES               25
    & Exp. Corp. v. United States, 
    264 F. Supp. 2d 1229
    , 1240
    (Ct. Int’l Trade 2003) (“Conjectures are not facts and can-
    not constitute substantial evidence.”). Further, the evi-
    dence Commerce cites does not support its conclusion. See
    Ta Chen Stainless Steel Pipe, Inc. v. United States, 
    298 F.3d 1330
    , 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (“To determine if substan-
    tial evidence exists, we review the record as a whole, in-
    cluding evidence that supports as well as evidence that
    fairly detracts from the substantiality of the evidence.” (in-
    ternal quotation marks and citation omitted)). Specifically,
    Commerce cites to a supplemental questionnaire response
    in which the respondent, to answer Commerce’s questions,
    reported some undefined B&H costs “per metric ton.” J.A.
    1764. GVN made no representations that it incurred or
    paid those costs by the metric ton. See J.A. 1763–65. To
    the contrary, GVN had “calculated the per metric ton rate
    identifiable to . . . certain [B&H-related] invoices” itself,
    and, when Commerce sought further clarification of what
    the specific expenses were and how GVN had calculated
    the rate, GVN provided itemized costs. J.A. 1764. GVN
    did not define “Agency Charges,” but explained “Other
    [C]harges” were “expenses that could [not] be directly allo-
    cated or traced to a specific invoice,” such that the total
    costs were “divided by the total quantity of the all [rele-
    vant] invoices” to allocate the costs. J.A. 1764. This does
    not establish that GVN paid any of the listed B&H costs by
    weight, but rather that the company reported its costs to
    Commerce by weight. Accordingly, Commerce’s B&H allo-
    cation methodology is unsupported by substantial evi-
    dence. See PAM, S.p.A. v. United States, 
    582 F.3d 1336
    ,
    1340 (Fed. Cir. 2009) (“There must be at least enough evi-
    dence to allow reasonable minds to differ.”).
    The Government’s primary counterargument is unper-
    suasive. The Government argues that “[g]iven the mixed
    record of evidence showing that [SeAH’s and] Indian
    [B&H] costs” were “sometimes charged [and paid] by
    weight,” Commerce acted within its “discretion.” Gov’t’s
    Case: 19-1091    Document: 80-2    Page: 26    Filed: 01/27/2020
    26            SEAH STEEL VINA CORPORATION v. UNITED STATES
    Br. 36. However, the record here is not “mixed” or “con-
    flicting,” as the Government asserts. Id.; see Cleo Inc. v.
    United States, 
    501 F.3d 1291
    , 1298 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (de-
    scribing evidence as “mixed” where there is evidence sup-
    porting two alternate conclusions). “Substantial evidence
    is more than a mere scintilla.” Consol. Edison Co. of New
    York v. NLRB, 
    305 U.S. 197
    , 229 (1938). As the CIT has
    already explained, we understand “that Commerce com-
    monly converts all surrogate values into a per kilogram
    amount for use in calculating dumping margins,” however,
    “its method of doing so here, based on the weight of the
    containers” is “unsupported by substantial evidence.”
    DuPont Teijin, 7 F. Supp. 3d at 1351–52; see CS Wind, 971
    F. Supp. 2d at 1295.
    CONCLUSION
    We have considered the parties’ remaining arguments
    and find them unpersuasive. Accordingly, the Opinion and
    Order of the U.S. Court of International Trade is affirmed-
    in-part and reversed-in-part, and the case is remanded.
    AFFIRMED-IN-PART, REVERSED-IN-PART,
    AND REMANDED
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 19-1091

Filed Date: 2/14/2020

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/14/2020

Authorities (21)

Becton Dickinson and Company v. C.R. Bard, Inc. , 922 F.2d 792 ( 1990 )

allegheny-ludlum-corp-ak-steel-corporation-formerly-armco-inc-butler , 287 F.3d 1365 ( 2002 )

China National MacHinery Import & Export Corp. v. United ... , 27 Ct. Int'l Trade 255 ( 2003 )

Dorbest Ltd. v. United States , 30 Ct. Int'l Trade 1671 ( 2006 )

China National Arts & Crafts Import & Export Corp. v. ... , 15 Ct. Int'l Trade 417 ( 1991 )

Qvd Food Co., Ltd. v. United States , 658 F.3d 1318 ( 2011 )

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. v. The United ... , 750 F.2d 927 ( 1984 )

Pam, S.P.A. v. United States , 582 F.3d 1336 ( 2009 )

Canadian Wheat Board v. United States , 641 F.3d 1344 ( 2011 )

Mittal Steel Galati S.A. v. United States , 31 Ct. Int'l Trade 1121 ( 2007 )

Ad Hoc Shrimp Trade Action Committee v. United States , 618 F.3d 1316 ( 2010 )

Cleo Inc. v. United States , 501 F.3d 1291 ( 2007 )

Universal Camera Corp. v. National Labor Relations Board , 71 S. Ct. 456 ( 1951 )

Consolo v. Federal Maritime Commission , 86 S. Ct. 1018 ( 1966 )

National Labor Relations Board v. Columbian Enameling & ... , 59 S. Ct. 501 ( 1939 )

United States Steel Corp. v. United States , 621 F.3d 1351 ( 2010 )

Essar Steel Ltd. v. United States , 678 F.3d 1268 ( 2012 )

Nation Ford Chemical Company v. United States, and Yude ... , 166 F.3d 1373 ( 1999 )

Rhone Poulenc, Inc. And Rhone Poulenc Chimie De Base, S.A. ... , 899 F.2d 1185 ( 1990 )

Corus Staal BV v. United States , 502 F.3d 1370 ( 2007 )

View All Authorities »