Metalcam S.p.A. is an Italian steel producer specializing in open die steel forgings and they recently found success in the U.S. Court of International Trade when the court denied a Pennsylvania company’s bid to raise duties on Italian components used in well service pumps. Faegre Drinker represented Metalcam S.p.A. in an antidumping and countervailing duties investigation before the U.S. Department of Commerce that began just before the COVID-19 pandemic. The timing prevented travel to Italy to investigate the producers and Ellwood City Forge Group, a Pennsylvania steel producer, sued as they felt the duties handed down were too low and that the use of remote verification was an unfair departure. In the suit before the U.S. Court of International Trade, Ellwood City argued the U.S. Department of Commerce investigation shouldn’t have bypassed on-site verification but made no specific argument saying that the U.S. Department of Commerce didn’t have the authority to conduct remote investigations. The judge agreed with the U.S. Department of Commerce and upheld their findings, sparing Metalcam from any duties at all and stating that Ellwood City had failed to exhaust other administrative remedies.
