Notice2023-26416
Brass Rod From Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
Primary source
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Published
December 1, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that brass rod from Mexico is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 230 (Friday, December 1, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 230 (Friday, December 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83913-83915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26416]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-201-858]
Brass Rod From Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and
Extension of Provisional Measures
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that brass rod from Mexico is being, or is likely to be,
sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of
investigation is April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023. Interested
parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable December 1, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Schmitt or Jacob Waddell, AD/CVD
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4880 and (202) 482-1369,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on May 24,
2023.\1\ On September 8, 2023, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation until November 24, 2023.\2\
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\1\ See Brass Rod from Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, the
Republic of Korea, and South Africa: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 88 FR 33575 (May 24, 2023) (Initiation
Notice).
\2\ See Brass Rod from Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, the
Republic of Korea, and South Africa: Postponement of Preliminary
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 88 FR
62054 (September 8, 2023).
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to
registered users at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly
at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation
of Brass Rod from Mexico,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is brass rod from Mexico.
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see
Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ in
the Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a period of time for parties
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain
interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product
coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record of
this investigation and accompanying discussion and analysis of all
comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum.\6\ As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified, in one respect, the scope
language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the revised scope
in Appendix I to this notice.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296,
27323 (May 19, 1997).
\5\ See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 33576.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations of
Brass Rod from Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, the Republic of Korea,
and South Africa and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Brass Rod
from India, Israel, and the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum,'' dated September 25, 2023 (Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum).
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In the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce established
the deadline for parties to submit scope case and rebuttal briefs.\7\
Commerce intends to issue a final scope decision along with the final
determination in the concurrent countervailing duty investigation of
brass rod from India, currently due on December 11, 2023.
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\7\ Case briefs, other written comments, and rebuttal briefs
submitted by parties in response to this preliminary LTFV
determination should not include scope-related issues. See
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum and ``Public Comment'' section
of this notice.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated constructed export prices
in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Normal value is
calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. In addition,
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon adverse facts available under
sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act in determining the weighted-average
dumping margin for Aleamex S.A. de C.V. (Aleamex). For a full
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that
in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero
and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under
section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily assigned to Aleamex a
rate based entirely on facts available. Therefore, the only rate that
is not zero, de minimis or based entirely on facts otherwise available
is the rate calculated for Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V. (IUSA).
Consequently, the rate calculated for IUSA is also assigned as the rate
for all other producers and exporters.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
[[Page 83914]]
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Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V............................... 4.31
Aleamex S.A. de C.V......................................... 29.43
All Others.................................................. 4.31
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Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-
others rate, as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents
listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin determined in this preliminary determination;
(2) if the exporter is not a respondent identified above, but the
producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-
specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that
producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for
all other producers and exporters will be equal to the all-others
estimated weighted-average dumping margin. These suspension of
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in
connection with this preliminary determination to interested parties
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this
notice the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no
later than seven days after the date on which the last verification
report is issued in this investigation.\8\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to
issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days
after the date for filing case briefs.\9\ Interested parties who submit
case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a
table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of
authorities.\10\
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\8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for
general filing requirements).
\9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29,
2023).
\10\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes. In this investigation, we instead request
that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a
public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\11\
Further, we request that interested parties limit their executive
summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including
citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that
will accompany the final determination in this investigation. We
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant
citations in the executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce
has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of
documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\12\
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\11\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\12\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final
Rule, 88 FR 67069 (September 29, 2023).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone
number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a
foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a
request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at
a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone
the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the
scheduled date.
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register
if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request
for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the
event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such
postponement is made by the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of
Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for
postponement of the final determination be accompanied by a request for
extension of provisional measures from a four-month period to a period
not more than six months in duration.
On October 30, 2023, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), IUSA requested
that Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional
measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\13\ In
accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary determination is
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date
of publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal
Register, pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act.\14\
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\13\ See IUSA's Letter, ``IUSA Extension Request for Final
Determination,'' dated October 30, 2023.
\14\ See 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii).
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U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination
whether imports of brass rod from Mexico are materially injuring, or
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
[[Page 83915]]
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: November 24, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are brass rod and bar
(brass rod), which is defined as leaded, low-lead, and no-lead solid
brass made from alloys such as, but not limited to the following
alloys classified under the Unified Numbering System (UNS) as
C27450, C27451, C27460, C34500, C35000, C35300, C35330, C36000,
C36300, C37000, C37700, C48500, C67300, C67600, and C69300, and
their international equivalents.
The brass rod subject to this investigation has an actual cross-
section or outside diameter greater than 0.25 inches but less than
or equal to 12 inches. Brass rod cross-sections may be round,
hexagonal, square, or octagonal shapes as well as special profiles
(e.g., angles, shapes), including hollow profiles.
Standard leaded brass rod covered by the scope contains, by
weight, 57.0-65.0 percent copper; 0.5-3.0 percent lead; no more than
1.3 percent iron; and at least 15 percent zinc. No-lead or low-lead
brass rod covered by the scope contains by weight 59.0-76.0 percent
copper; 0-1.5 percent lead; no more than 0.35 percent iron; and at
least 15 percent zinc. Brass rod may also include other chemical
elements (e.g., nickel, phosphorous, silicon, tin, etc.).
Brass rod may be in straight lengths or coils. Brass rod covered
by this investigation may be finished or unfinished, and may or may
not be heated, extruded, pickled, or cold-drawn. Brass rod may be
produced in accordance with ASTM B16, ASTM B124, ASTM B981, ASTM
B371, ASTM B453, ASTM B21, ASTM B138, and ASTM B927, but such
conformity to an ASTM standard is not required for the merchandise
to be included within the scope.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation is brass ingot,
which is a casting of unwrought metal unsuitable for conversion into
brass rod without remelting, that contains, by weight, at least 57.0
percent copper and 15.0 percent zinc.
The merchandise covered by this investigation is currently
classifiable under subheadings 7407.21.9000, 7407.21.7000, and
7407.21.1500 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). Products subject to the scope may also enter under HTSUS
subheadings 7403.21.0000, 7407.21.3000, and 7407.21.5000. The HTSUS
subheadings and UNS alloy designations are provided for convenience
and customs purposes. The written description of the scope of the
investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
VI. Affiliation
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2023-26416 Filed 11-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 1, 2023.
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