Anti-Circumvention's Ugly Duckling: 'Later-Developed Merchandise' and Subjecting New Products to Old Tariffs

Abstract

This unpublished student note examines the Federal Circuit's decision in Target Corp. v. United States (2010), subjecting candles composed of less than fifty percent petroleum wax imported from China to an antidumping tariff originally explicitly applied to only candles composed of greater than fifty percent petroleum wax. This counter-intuitive extension was accomplished through the obscure later-developed merchandise provision of laws intended to counteract attempted circumvention of antidumping tariffs. The note examines this provision's provenance and intent, concluding that it is inconsistent with the policy and function of antidumping tariffs, and ultimately recommends that the provision be constricted or eliminated. The note was written for the Federal Circuit Bar Journal at George Washington University Law School during the 2010-2011 term.