Newly Released CBP HQ Ruling March 4
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated March 4 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
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H333226: Application for Further Review of Protest Number 530120103202; Antidumping Duties; Xanthan Gum from the People’s Republic of China; A-570-985; Enforce and Protect Act; 19 U.S.C. § 1517(e); 19 C.F.R. § 165.24(b); 19 U.S.C. § 1673b; 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d)
| Ruling: CBP didn't prematurely liquidate the entries. CBP properly liquidated the entries in accordance with Commerce’s liquidation instructions. The protest should be denied in full. |
| Issue: Did CBP prematurely liquidate two entries? |
| Item: Between Jan. 6, 2019, and March 6, 2019, Crude Chem entered two entries of xanthan gum. The country of export and origin of the imported xanthan gum was India. ACE identifies Chem Fert Chemicals (“Chem Fert”) as the manufacturer for one of the entries and Alfa Exim India (“Alfa”) for the other entry. CBP determined that the People’s Republic of China, not India, was the country of origin for the imported xanthan gum. Xanthan gum from China is subject to the antidumping duty. In March 2020, CBP determined that there was substantial evidence that Crude Chem entered xanthan gum from China through evasion by transshipping the xanthan gum through India. Crude Chem filed a protest on April 8, 2020, protesting the liquidation of its entries. |
| Reason: Commerce directed CBP to suspend liquidation of entries of xanthan gum from China entered for consumption on or after July 13, 2013. Once Commerce affirmed its preliminary determination of dumping, it directed CBP to suspend liquidation of entries subject to the ADD order. As a result, CBP suspended liquidation of entry numbers XXX-XXXX260-5 and XXX-XXXX153-1 pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1673b(d)(2), prior to the initiation of the EAPA investigation. The purpose of an EAPA investigation is for CBP to take enforcement actions against the evasion of an ADD order, such as the ADD order on xanthan gum from China. With respect to entry numbers XXX-XXXX260-5 and XXX-XXXX153-1, CBP independently determined that these entries were subject to the ADD order and suspended liquidation of both entries as required by statute, notwithstanding the EAPA investigation that began shortly thereafter. Additionally, 19 U.S.C. 1517(e) is silent as to the treatment of entries for which CBP has already suspended liquidation subject to an ADD order prior to the initiation of an EAPA investigation. |
| Ruling Date: Jan. 3, 2024 |