US Court of International Trade Dismisses J.D. Irving’s Challenge to Third Administrative Review Deposit Instructions

On August 21, the US Court of International Trade (CIT) dismissed J.D. Irving’s challenge to the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) antidumping duty cash deposit instructions following the 2020 administrative review (AR3) of certain softwood lumber imports from Canada (published on August 9, 2022).

The court ruled it lacked jurisdiction because, on September 8, 2022, other parties had already requested a United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) binational panel to review the AR3 results. Once requested, the panel takes over the review process, leaving no role for the CIT. The decision follows an October 2024 Federal Circuit ruling that rejected J.D. Irving’s earlier challenge to the 2019 administrative review (AR2).

After AR3, the DOC continued to apply an 11.59% cash deposit rate to J.D. Irving’s entries, saying the company should remain at the previous rate because it was not individually reviewed. J.D. Irving challenged those deposit instructions, arguing that the rate should have been the non-selected company rate it received in AR1 (1.57%).

The court found that although the complaint was entered as a challenge to the instructions, it was in substance a challenge to the results of AR3, making it subject to exclusive USMCA panel review.