Opinion ID: 711212
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Monthly Averaging

Text: 13 Asocolflores's appeal challenges ITA's selection of monthly, instead of annual, average U.S. prices as unsupported by substantial evidence. Asserting that ITA's reasoning for selecting a monthly average is merely speculative, Asocolflores states that ITA's choice is not based on any evidence and is inadequate as a matter of law. Asocolflores notes that ITA's internal analyses all support an annual averaging. Further, Asocolflores claims that the constructed value for foreign market value is based on an annual average, so that comparing monthly U.S. prices to a constructed annual value will necessarily establish dumping anytime the Colombian grower does not meet its average annual profit. With perishable flowers, growers must occasionally sell at a loss, but at other times the growers sell at a great profit, so that their annual profit balances the peaks and valleys of selling. Last, Asocolflores notes that ITA's reasoning for rejecting an annual average for U.S. prices directly contradicts its reasoning for rejecting third country prices for foreign market value. 14 The Tariff Act empowers ITA to use averaging in determining United States price. 19 U.S.C. Sec. 1677f-1(b). The determination to select averages rests exclusively with the ITA if the averages are representative of the transactions under investigation. Id. Because ITA has discretion to use averages, Asocolflores's challenge must be directed to whether the averages are representative of the transactions under investigation. 15 In its preliminary determination, ITA found averaging was necessary to account for perishability. Growers do not control when flowers will be sold nor the price at which they will be sold. With flowers having such a limited life span, growers cannot await a better market by warehousing nor may growers regulate production in the short term. Growers must sell what their plants produce when the plants produce. In its final determination rejecting economic reports submitted by the growers, ITA stated that annual averaging would mask dumping by balancing high prices in peak months with low prices in other months. ITA also rejected FTC's proposal to use a daily or weekly averaging because ITA wanted a long enough period to account for both distress and nondistress sale prices. Reasoning that flowers can last more than one week and that perishability is a function of variables other than merely time, ITA selected a monthly period for averaging. 16 The trial court noted: No period accounts for the legitimate concerns of all parties. Monthly averaging is one acceptable compromise. ITA averaged over what it considered the shortest period possible to ensure that dumping was not obscured entirely, and at the same time, to account for as many perishability factors as possible. Floral Trade Council, 775 F.Supp. at 1500. The government argues in its brief that 19 U.S.C. Sec. 1675(a)(2)(A) directs ITA to compare each entry of merchandise subject to the antidumping order, whereas Asocolflores's annual averaging would violate that mandate by masking individual instances of dumping. Under an annual averaging, dumping would only be found if the annual aggregate sales of a foreign seller were at less than fair value. 17 Based upon the particular factual record before us, we agree with the government that an annual average would mask dumping related to individual sales. Although some dumping would also be masked under a monthly average, Commerce chose to use a monthly average as representative of the U.S. price to account for perishability of the flowers. Even Asocolflores admits that in general, shorter averaging periods are preferable to longer averaging periods. Basing the U.S. price on an annual average in this market would completely eviscerate determining dumping on the statutorily mandated each entry of merchandise. Yearly averaging is clearly not more representative of the U.S. price than monthly averaging in the circumstances of this case. 18 In sum, Asocolflores has not persuaded us that ITA abused its discretion, committed an error of law nor made its determination of the amount of dumping unsupported by substantial evidence. 19 AFFIRMED.