Commerce Department May Probe TKS Again

WASHINGTON, DC—The legal headaches for newspaper press manufacturer Tokyo Kikai Seisakusho (TKS) won't go away.

The U.S. Department of Commerce, through its International Trade Administration (ITA), is considering a possible antidumping duty against TKS. After a review earlier this year, the ITA felt there was enough information to consider reopening its look into TKS' prior business dealings.

Fueling the review was the 2004 judgment in favor of Goss International, upheld in U.S. District Court, that clipped TKS for $31.6 million on the grounds of illegal press equipment dumping. Then, in July of 2004, Goss filed a request with the Commerce Department, asking it to take action against TKS, alleging it evaded antidumping duties when submitting misleading information to the department during administrative review.

The Commerce Department conducted annual reviews in the late 1990s to investigate whether TKS was complying with the department's anti-dumping order on Large Newspaper Printing Presses (LNPPs) from Japan. Goss contends that evidence of a fraudulent price increase and secret rebates was not reported to the Commerce Department during the administrative reviews.