Pesquera Mares Australes, a Chilean salmon exporter, was accused of dumping salmon in the U.S. market at less than fair value. An AD duty petition was filed in 1997 by the Coalition for Fair Atlantic Salmon Trade. The U.S. Department of Commerce (ITA) conducted an investigation to compare the price of the salmon sold in the United States with its "normal value" in the home market. Finding no sales of Mares Australes' salmon in Chile during that time, ITA based normal value on the price of the salmon sold in Japan. However, while the salmon sold in the United States was of the "premium" grade, the salmon sold in Japan was of both "premium" and "super-premium" grades. ITA nevertheless found that the salmon sold in Japan and in the United States had "identical physical characteristics" and thus were "like products" as defined by the U.S. statute. ITA then included the price of the super-premium Japanese grade in its determination of normal value. This resulted in the ITA finding a larger dumping margin and imposing higher AD duties. The duties were affirmed by the Court of International Trade, and Mares Australes appealed to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
1. What is the purpose of comparing the price of salmon sold in the United States to that sold in Japan?
2. Why did Mares Australes not want the ITA to compare the price of salmon sold in the United States to the price of the "super premium" salmon it sold in Japan?
3. Explain the problem confronting the ITA in determining "foreign like product." How did the court define that term?