The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an opinion in Meridian Products, LLC v. United States that could have a significant effect on the interpretation of the “finished merchandise” and/or “finished goods kit” exclusions to the antidumping and countervailing duty orders (the “Orders”) on aluminum extrusions from China. The CIT’s decision deals a blow to attempts by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to narrow the scope exemption for “finished goods kits” so as to require both aluminum extrusions and non-extruded aluminum parts, other than fasteners, in order for the kit to qualify.  Although this opinion does not directly affect the interpretation of the finished merchandise exclusion, the reasoning in the opinion could also indirectly undermine the DOC’s attempts in other cases to imply into this exclusion the “fastener” requirement from the finished goods kit exclusion.  However, because the DOC does not consider a CIT opinion to be “binding precedent” that would require it to change its position on other pending or new scope cases, we expect that the DOC likely will continue with its current interpretation, unless and until its interpretation is struck down by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC).  Nevertheless, it does provide importers with some hope that the courts will force the DOC to interpret more broadly the finished merchandise and finished goods kits exclusions in the aluminum extrusion antidumping and countervailing duty case.  To the extent that an importer believes that it will lose a scope ruling at the agency (DOC) level, the Meridian decision demonstrates that the DOC’s interpretations are vulnerable on appeal to being overturned.

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