Notice2024-08458
Brass Rod From Mexico: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 22, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of brass rod from Mexico are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29305-29306]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08458]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-201-858]
Brass Rod From Mexico: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
imports of brass rod from Mexico are being, or are likely to be, sold
in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of
investigation (POI) April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
DATES: Applicable April 22, 2024.
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 or (202) 482-1369,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 1, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register its
Preliminary Determination in the LTFV investigation of brass rod from
Mexico, in which it also postponed the final determination until April
15, 2024.\1\ We invited interested parties to comment on the
Preliminary Determination.\2\
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\1\ See Brass Rod from Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of
Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 88 FR
83913 (December 1, 2023) (Preliminary Determination), and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ See Preliminary Determination, 88 FR at 83913.
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A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the
Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues
raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum.\3\ The Issues and Decisions 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 Issues
and 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 Final
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value in the
Investigation of Brass Rod from Mexico,'' dated concurrently with,
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and 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
During this investigation, Commerce received scope comments from
parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum to
address these comments and set aside a period for parties to address
scope issues in scope-specific case and rebuttal briefs.\4\ We did not
receive timely comments from any interested parties on the Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum. Thus, we did not make any changes to the
scope of the investigation from the scope published in the Preliminary
Determination, as noted in Appendix I.\5\
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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,''
dated September 25, 2023 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
\5\ See Brass Rod from India: Final Affirmative Countervailing
Duty Determination, 88 FR 87407 (December 18, 2023).
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Verification
Commerce verified the sales and cost information submitted by
Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V. (IUSA) for use in our final
determination, consistent with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act). We used standard verification procedures,
including an examination of relevant sales and accounting records, and
original source documents provided by IUSA.\6\`
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\6\ See Memoranda, ``Verification of Sales Response of
Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V.,'' dated February 15, 2024;
``Verification of the Constructed Export Price Sales Response of
Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V.,'' dated February 15, 2024; and
``Verification of the Cost Response of Industrias S.A. de C.V.,''
dated February 16, 2024.
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Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by
interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum is attached to this notice as Appendix II.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
We made certain changes to the margin calculations for IUSA since
the Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of these changes, see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters
not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
individually investigated exporters and producers, excluding rates that
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the
Act, i.e., facts otherwise available.
In this investigation, Commerce assigned a rate to ALEAMEX S.A. de
C.V. 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 IUSA. Consequently, Commerce assigned the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated for IUSA to all
other producers and exporters of the merchandise under consideration,
pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated weighted-average
dumping margins exist:
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Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V............................... 6.51
ALEAMEX S.A. de C.V......................................... 29.43
All Others.................................................. 6.51
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in
connection with this final determination to
[[Page 29306]]
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 in the Federal Register, in accordance with
19 CFR 351.224(b).
Continuation Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend
liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise, as described in
Appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after December 1, 2023, the date of
publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), upon publication of this notice, we will instruct CBP to
require a cash deposit equal for estimated antidumping duties for such
entities as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents
listed in the table above is the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin listed for the respondent in the table; (2) if
the exporter is not a respondent identified in the table above, but the
producer is, then the cash deposit rate is the company-specific
estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed for the producer of
the subject merchandise in the table above; and (3) the cash deposit
rate for all other producers and exporters is the all-others estimated
weighted-average dumping margin listed in the table above.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of this final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. Because Commerce's final determination
is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the
ITC will make its final determination as to whether the domestic
industry in the United States is materially injured, or threatened with
material injury, by reason of imports or sales (or the likelihood of
sales) for importation of brass rod no later than 45 days after this
final determination. If the ITC determines that such injury does not
exist, this proceeding will be terminated, all cash deposits posted
will be refunded, and suspension of liquidation will be lifted. If the
ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce will issue an
antidumping duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further
instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on all imports of the
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of
liquidation, as discussed in the ``Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation'' section above.
Administrative Protective Order
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written
notification of return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to
judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with
the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
This final determination and this notice are issued and published
pursuant to sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(c).
Dated: April 15, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the 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
Topic Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Application of Facts Available and AFA
VII. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Date of Sale in the Comparison Market
Comment 2: Freight Expenses in the U.S. Market
VIII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-08458 Filed 4-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 22, 2024.
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