Slip Op. 23- UNITED STATES COURT OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE CEK GROUP LLC, Plaintiff, Before: Jane A. Restani, Judge v. Court No. 22-00082 UNITED STATES, PUBLIC VERSION Defendant, M&B Metal Products Company, Inc., Defendant-Intervenor OPINION Dated: May 2, 2023 [The court sustains Customs’ final determination and final administrative decision pursuant to the Enforce and Protect Act finding evasion of duties on steel wire hangers.] David John Craven, Craven Trade Law LLC, of Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff CEK Group LLC. Elisa S. Solomon, International Trade Field Office, U.S. Department of Justice, of New York, NY, for Defendant United States of America. With her on the brief were Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Patricia M. McCarthy, Director, and Reginald T. Blades, Jr., Assistant Director, Commercial Litigation Branch, U.S. Department of Justice, of Washington, DC. Of counsel on the brief was Christopher Berridge, Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Jennifer L. Petelle, Office of Chief Counsel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, of Washington, DC. Frederick P. Waite and Kimberly R. Young, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, LLP, of Washington, DC, for Defendant-Intervenor M&B Metal Products Company, Inc. Restani, Judge: Importer of steel wire hangers CEK Group LLC (“CEK”) challenges the final determination and final administrative decision made by the United States Customs and Court No. 22-00082 Page 2 Public Version Border Protection (“CBP”). CEK asserts that the Enforce and Protect Act (“EAPA”), 19 U.S.C. § 1517, investigation should not have been initiated, that CBP made procedural errors regarding the rejection of evidence and failure to provide adequate public summaries, that adverse inferences were improperly applied, and that the determination and decision by CBP are not supported by substantial evidence. The United States (“Government”) refutes these claims and asks the court to sustain CBP’s evasion determination. BACKGROUND On July 6, 2020, M&B Metal Products Company, Inc. (“M&B”), a domestic producer of steel wire garment hangers, filed an EAPA duty evasion allegation asserting that CEK participated in a scheme to transship wire hangers from China through Thailand into the United States. EAPA Duty Evasion Allegation Concerning Steel Wire Garment Hangers Imported from Thailand— Importer: CEK Group LLC, C.R. 5, P.R. 5 (July 6, 2020) (“Allegation”). M&B alleged that CEK and three other U.S. importers, working with Thai exporter and manufacturer NWH Manufacture Company Limited (“NWH”), evaded an antidumping order on steel wire hangers from China. Allegation at 2–3, Ex. 1; see also Notice of Antidumping Duty Order: Steel Wire Garment Hangers from the People’s Republic of China, 73 Fed. Reg. 58,111 (Dep’t Commerce Oct. 6, 2008) (“AD Order”). On September 14, 2020, CBP’s Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Directorate (“TRLED”) initiated the investigation of CEK for EAPA Case Number 7501. Initiation of Investigation for EAPA Case Number 7501, C.R. 17, P.R. 29 (Sep. 14, 2020) (“Initiation Memo”). In analyzing the allegation submitted by M&B, TRLED determined that the materials that M&B provided Court No. 22-00082 Page 3 Public Version “reasonably suggest[] that covered merchandise has entered into the customs territory …
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