Notice2025-11231
Certain Brake Drums From the Republic of Türkiye: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
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
June 18, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain brake drums from the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye (T[uuml]rkiye). The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 116 (Wednesday, June 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 116 (Wednesday, June 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26008-26011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-11231]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-489-854]
Certain Brake Drums From the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye: Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters
of certain brake drums from the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye
(T[uuml]rkiye). The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through
December 31, 2023.
DATES: Applicable June 18, 2025.
[[Page 26009]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Doss or Kyle Clahane, AD/CVD
Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4474 or (202) 482-5449,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 3, 2024, Commerce published its Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register and aligned this countervailing
duty investigation with the final determination in the less-than-fair-
value investigation of certain brake drums from T[uuml]rkiye, in
accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act) and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4).\1\ Commerce invited interested
parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination.\2\ On January 29,
2025, Commerce published the preliminary determination in the less-
than-fair-value investigation of certain brake drums from T[uuml]rkiye
and postponed the deadline for the final determination.\3\
Consequently, the deadline for the final determination of this
investigation is now June 13, 2025.
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\1\ See Certain Brake Drums from the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye:
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and
Alignment of Final Determination with the Final Antidumping Duty
Determination, 89 FR 95740 (December 3, 2024) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum
(PDM).
\2\ Id., 89 FR at 95742.
\3\ See Certain Brake Drums from the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye:
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of
Provisional Measures, 90 FR 8377 (January 29, 2025).
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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.\4\ The Issues and Decision Memorandum
is a public document and is made available to the public 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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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty
Investigation of Certain Brake Drums from the Republic of
T[uuml]rkiye,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this
notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are certain brake drums
from T[uuml]rkiye. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope
comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum to address these comments and set aside a period of
time for parties to address scope issues in additional scope comments
and in scope-specific case and rebuttal briefs.\5\ We received comments
from parties on the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, which we
address in the Final Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ We have included
additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
subheadings in the scope of the investigation from the scope published
in the Preliminary Determination, as noted in Appendix I to this
notice.
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\5\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations and
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain Brake Drums from the
People's Republic of China and the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye:
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated January 23, 2025.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations and
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain Brake Drums from the
People's Republic of China and the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye: Final
Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Verification
Consistent with section 782(i) of the Act, in January 2025,
Commerce verified all information reported by the mandatory respondent,
EKU Fren ve Dok. San. A.S. (EKU) and the Government of T[uuml]rkiye
(GOT). We used standard verification procedures, including an
examination of relevant account records and original source documents
provided by EKU and the GOT.\7\
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\7\ See Memoranda, ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses
of the Government of the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye,'' dated February
25, 2025; and ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of EKU
Fren ve Dok. San. A.S.,'' dated March 6, 2025.
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Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in
the case and rebuttal briefs that were submitted by parties in this
investigation, are discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. For
a list of the issues raised by interested parties and addressed in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum, see Appendix II to this notice.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our analysis of the comments received from interested
parties and our verification findings, we made certain changes to the
subsidy rate calculations for EKU. For a discussion of these changes,
see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Methodology
Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section
701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found to be
countervailable, Commerce determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a
financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives rise to a benefit
to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\8\ For a full
description of the methodology underlying our final determination, see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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\8\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; see also section 771(5)(E) of the Act
regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding
specificity.
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In making this final determination, Commerce relied, in part, on
facts otherwise available, including with an adverse inference,
pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full discussion
of our application of adverse facts available (AFA), see the
Preliminary Determination PDM \9\ and section ``Use of Facts Otherwise
Available and Application of Adverse Inferences'' in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
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\9\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 8-16.
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All-Others Rate
Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, Commerce will
determine an all-others rate equal to the weighted-average
countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and/or
producers individually examined, excluding any rates that are zero, de
minimis, or rates based entirely under section 776 of the Act.
For this final determination, Commerce has calculated a rate for
EKU that is above de minimis. Because the other rates we assigned are
based entirely under section 776 of the Act, the estimated weighted-
average rate calculated for EKU is the rate assigned to all other
producers and exporters, pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the
Act.
[[Page 26010]]
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated countervailable
subsidy rates exist:
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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EKU Fren ve Dok. San. A.S................................. 2.80
Akkus Dokum San.Ve Tic.Ltd.Sti............................ * 131.60
Buyuk Eker Bijon Sanayi Ve Ticaret........................ * 131.60
Genk Otomotiv San.Dis Tic.Ltd.Sti......................... * 131.60
All Others................................................ 2.80
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* Rate is based on AFA.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations
and analysis performed in this final determination within five days of
any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within
five days of the date of the publication of this notice in the Federal
Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Suspension of Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary Determination, pursuant to sections
703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce instructed U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries of
subject merchandise, as described in the scope of the investigation
section, that were entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption
on or after December 3, 2024, the date of publication of the
Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register, except for EKU
because its preliminary subsidy rate was de minimis. In accordance with
section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to discontinue the
suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise entered
or withdrawn from warehouse on, or after, April 2, 2025, but to
continue the suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject
merchandise between December 3, 2024, and April 1, 2025. Because the
subsidy rate for EKU was de minimis, Commerce directed CBP not to
suspend liquidation of entries of the merchandise from this company.
However, because the final subsidy rate for EKU is above de
minimis, in accordance with section 705(c)(1)(C) of the Act, we are
directing CBP to suspend liquidation of all entries of subject
merchandise produced and/or exported by EKU that are entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of the
publication of this notice in the Federal Register and to require a
cash deposit for such entries of merchandise in the amount indicated
above.
If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a countervailing duty
order, reinstate the suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of
the Act, and require a cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties
for entries of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If
the ITC determines that material injury, or threat of material injury,
does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all estimated
duties deposited or securities posted as a result of the suspension of
liquidation will be refunded or canceled.
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the
ITC of our final affirmative determination that countervailable
subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain
brake drums from T[uuml]rkiye. Because the final determination is
affirmative, in accordance with section 705(b) 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 of certain brake drums from T[uuml]rkiye
no later than 45 days after our final determination. In addition, we
are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and nonproprietary
information related to this investigation. We will allow the ITC access
to all privileged and business proprietary information in our files,
provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information,
either publicly or under an administrative protective order (APO),
without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement
and Compliance.
If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material
injury does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all cash
deposits will be refunded. If the ITC determines that such injury does
exist, Commerce will issue a countervailing duty order directing CBP to
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on
all imports of the subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the
suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in the ``Continuation of
Suspension of Liquidation'' section.
Administrative Protective Order
In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties
subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of
proprietary information disclosed under APO, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO
is a violation which is subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: June 13, 2025.
Steven Presing,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain brake
drums made of gray cast iron, whether finished or unfinished, with
an actual or nominal inside diameter of 14.75 inches or more but not
over 16.6 inches, weighing more than 50 pounds. Unfinished brake
drums are those which have undergone some turning or machining but
are not ready for installation. Subject brake drums are included
within the scope whether imported individually or with non-subject
merchandise (for example, a hub), whether assembled or unassembled,
or if joined with non-subject merchandise. When a subject drum is
imported together with non-subject merchandise, such as, but not
limited to, a drum-hub assembly, only the subject drum is covered by
the scope.
Subject merchandise also includes finished and unfinished brake
drums that are further processed in a third country or in the United
States, including, but not limited to, assembly or any other
processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the
scope of this investigation if performed in the country of
manufacture of the subject brake drums. The inclusion, attachment,
joining, or assembly of non-subject merchandise with subject drums
either in the country of manufacture of the subject drum or in a
third country does not remove the subject drum from the scope.
Specifically excluded is merchandise covered by the scope of the
antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain chassis and
subassemblies thereof from the People's Republic of China. See
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic
of China: Antidumping Duty Order, 86 FR 36093 (July 8, 2021) and
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic
of China: Countervailing Duty Order and Amended Final Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination, 86 FR 24844 (May 10, 2021).
The scope also excludes composite brake drums that contain more
than 38 percent steel by weight.
The merchandise covered by this investigation is classifiable
under
[[Page 26011]]
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading
8708.30.5020. The merchandise covered by this investigation may be
classifiable under HTSUS subheading 8708.30.5090 when entered as
part of an assembly. Subject merchandise may also enter under HTSUS
subheading 8716.90.5060, 8704.10, 8704.23.01, 8704.32.01,
8704.43.00, 8704.52.00, 8704.60.00, 8708.50.61, 8708.50.6500,
8716.90.5010, 8716.31.00, 8716.39.00, 8716.40.00. Although the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the merchandise covered by this investigation
is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Calculation of the All-Others Rate
IV. Diversification of T[uuml]rkiye's Economy
V. Subsidies Valuation Information
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse
Inferences
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether Commerce Used the Correct Export Sales
Denominator for EKU
Comment 2: Whether Commerce Correctly Calculated the Benefit
Provided to EKU Under the Rediscount Program
Comment 3: Whether Commerce's Selection of a Single Mandatory
Respondent was Appropriate
Comment 4: Whether Assigning an AFA Rate to Akkus, Eker, and
Genk Otomotiv is Appropriate
Comment 5: Whether Commerce's AFA Rate is Unduly Punitive and
Based on Sufficient Analysis
Comment 6: Whether Commerce's All-Others Determination is
Reasonable and Consistent with the SCM Agreement and WTO Obligations
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-11231 Filed 6-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 18, 2025.
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