Notice2025-14638
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
Primary source
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Published
August 1, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain chassis and subassemblies (chassis) thereof from Mexico. The period of investigation is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 146 (Friday, August 1, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 146 (Friday, August 1, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36137-36139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-14638]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-201-866]
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From Mexico:
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment
of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to
producers and exporters of certain chassis and subassemblies (chassis)
thereof from Mexico. The period of investigation is January 1, 2024,
through December 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on
this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable August 1, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jose Rivera or Isaiah Kahn, AD/CVD
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0842 or (202) 482-8328,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on March 24,
2025.\1\ On May 5, 2025, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now
July 28, 2025.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico
and Thailand: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 90
FR 13452 (March 24, 2025) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico
and Thailand: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 90 FR 18961 (May 5, 2025).
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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 Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are chassis 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\ the
Initiation Notice 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 for this preliminary
determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments
timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\
Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope language as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice. See scope in Appendix I.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\5\ See Initiation Notice, 90 FR at 13453.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Less Than Fair Value and Countervailing
Duty Investigations of Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof
from Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently with
this memorandum.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily 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.\7\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\7\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Commerce notes that, in making these findings, we relied on facts
available and, because we find that Hyundai de Mexico S.A. de C.V.
(HYMEX) did not act to the best of its ability to respond to Commerce's
requests for information, we drew an adverse inference where
appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.\8\
For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
Adverse Inferences'' section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\8\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment
As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is
aligning the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this
investigation with the final determination in the companion less-than-
fair-value (LTFV) investigation of chassis from Mexico based on a
request made by the U.S. Chassis Manufacturers Coalition (the
petitioner).\9\ Consequently, the final CVD determination will be
issued on the same date as the final LTFV determination, which is
currently scheduled to be issued no later than December 8, 2025, unless
postponed.
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\9\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Request to Align Countervailing
Duty Investigation Final Determination with Antidumping Duty
Investigation Final Determination,'' dated July 16, 2025.
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All-Others Rate
Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the
preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any
zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section
776 of the Act.
Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, if the individual
estimated countervailable subsidy rates established for all exporters
and producers individually examined are zero, de minimis, or determined
based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use ``any
reasonable method'' to establish the estimated subsidy rate for all
other producers or exporters. In this investigation, Commerce
preliminarily determined the individually estimated subsidy rate for
the individually examined respondent, HYMEX, based entirely on facts
otherwise available under section 776 of the Act. This is the only rate
available in this proceeding for deriving the all-others rate.
Consequently, Commerce
[[Page 36138]]
based the all-others rate on the rate assigned to HYMEX.
Rate for Non-Responsive Companies
The following nine exporters and/or producers of chassis from
Mexico did not respond to the quantity and value (Q&V) questionnaire:
(1) BRD Trailers, S.A. de C.V.; (2) Carrocerias Gallegos S.A. de C.V.;
(3) Commercializadora Nimmka; S.A. de C.V. (d/b/a Atro Remolques y
Carroceria); (4) Carrocerias Corpus Christi S.A. DE C.V.; (5) Fruehauf
de Mexico; S.A. de C.V.; (6) Lodi Trailers; (7) Norstar Trailers Mexico
S de R.L. de C.V. (d/b/a Iron Bull Trailers); (8) Semiremolques El
Paisano S.A. de C.V.; and (9) Ventura Trailers (collectively, the non-
responsive companies). We find that, by not responding to the Q&V
questionnaire, these companies withheld necessary information that was
requested of them, failed to provide information within the deadlines
established, and significantly impeded this proceeding. Thus, in
reaching our preliminary determination, pursuant sections 776(a)(1) and
(2)(A)-(C) of the Act, we are basing the countervailable subsidy rate
for the non-responsive companies on facts otherwise available.
In addition, we preliminary determine that an adverse inference is
warranted, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act. By failing to submit
responses to Commerce's Q&V questionnaire, these companies did not
cooperate to the best of their ability in this investigation.
Accordingly, we preliminarily find that an adverse inference is
warranted to ensure that the non-responsive companies will not obtain a
more favorable result than had they fully complied with our request for
information. For more information on the application of adverse facts
available (AFA), see ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse
Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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Subsidy rate (percent
Company ad valorem)
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Hyundai de Mexico S.A. de C.V.................. * 133.18
BRD Trailers, S.A. de C.V...................... * 133.18
Carrocerias Gallegos S.A. de C.V............... * 133.18
Commercializadora Nimmka, S.A. de C.V. (d/b/a * 133.18
Atro Remolques y Carroceria)..................
Carrocerias Corpus Christi S.A. DE C.V......... * 133.18
Fruehauf de Mexico, S.A. de C.V................ * 133.18
Lodi Trailers.................................. * 133.18
Norstar Trailers Mexico S de R.L. de C.V. (d/b/ * 133.18
a Iron Bull Trailers).........................
Semiremolques El Paisano S.A. de C.V........... * 133.18
Ventura Trailers............................... * 133.18
All Others..................................... 133.18
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* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (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
the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d),
Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates
indicated above.
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce discloses its calculations performed in
connection with the preliminary determination to interested parties
within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the
notice, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce
preliminarily applied facts available with adverse inferences in
determining the subsidy rates for HYMEX and the non-responsive
companies, and the assigned AFA rates are based on rates calculated in
prior proceedings, there are no calculations to disclose.
Verification
Because the examined respondent in this investigation HYMEX did not
provide information requested by Commerce and Commerce preliminarily
determines HYMEX to have been uncooperative, it will not conduct
verification.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination.
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.\10\ 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.\11\
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\10\ 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) (APO and Service Final Rule).
\11\ See 19 CFR 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.\12\
Further, we request that interested parties limit their public
executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not
including citations. We intend to use the public 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).\13\
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\12\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\13\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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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. Requests should contain
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of
participants and 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.\14\ Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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\14\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its 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 chassis from Mexico are materially
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: July 28, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
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 merchandise covered by this investigation consists of
chassis and subassemblies thereof, whether finished or unfinished,
whether assembled or unassembled, whether coated or uncoated,
regardless of the number of axles, for carriage of containers, or
other payloads (including self-supporting payloads) for road, marine
roll-on/roll-off (RORO) and/or rail transport. Chassis are
typically, but are not limited to, rectangular framed trailers with
a suspension and axle system, wheels and tires, brakes, a lighting
and electrical system, a coupling for towing behind a truck tractor,
and a locking system or systems to secure the shipping container or
containers to the chassis using twistlocks, slide pins or similar
attachment devices to engage the corner fittings on the container or
other payload.
Subject merchandise includes, but is not limited to, the
following subassemblies:
<bullet> Chassis frames, or sections of chassis frames,
including kingpin assemblies, bolsters consisting of transverse
beams with locking or support mechanisms, goosenecks, drop
assemblies, extension mechanisms and/or rear impact guards;
<bullet> Running gear assemblies or axle assemblies for
connection to the chassis frame, whether fixed in nature or capable
of sliding fore and aft or lifting up and lowering down, which may
or may not include suspension(s) (mechanical or pneumatic), wheel
end components, slack adjusters, dressed axles, brake chambers,
locking pins, and tires and wheels; and
<bullet> Assemblies that connect to the chassis frame or a
section of the chassis frame, such as but not limited to, pintle
hooks or B-trains (which include a fifth wheel), which are capable
of connecting a chassis to a converter dolly or another chassis.
Importation of any of these subassemblies, whether assembled or
unassembled, constitutes an unfinished chassis for purposes of this
investigation.
Subject merchandise also includes chassis, whether finished or
unfinished, entered with components such as, but not limited to: hub
and drum assemblies, brake assemblies (either drum or disc), bare
axles, brake chambers, suspensions and suspension components, wheel
end components, landing gear legs, spoke or disc wheels, tires,
brake control systems, electrical harnesses and lighting systems.
Processing of finished and unfinished chassis and components
such as trimming, cutting, grinding, notching, punching, drilling,
painting, coating, staining, finishing, assembly, or any other
processing either in the country of manufacture of the in-scope
product or in a third country does not remove the product from the
scope. Inclusion of other components not identified as comprising
the finished or unfinished chassis does not remove the product from
the scope.
Individual components entered and sold by themselves are not
subject to the investigation, but components entered with a finished
or unfinished chassis are subject merchandise. A finished chassis is
ultimately comprised of several different types of subassemblies.
Within each subassembly there are numerous components that comprise
a given subassembly.
This scope excludes dry van trailers, refrigerated van trailers
and flatbed trailers. Dry van trailers are trailers with a wholly
enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed sides, nose, floor and roof,
with articulated panels (doors) across the rear and occasionally at
selected places on the sides, with the cargo space being permanently
incorporated in the trailer itself. Refrigerated van trailers are
trailers with a wholly enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed
sides, nose, floor and roof, with articulated panels (doors) across
the rear and occasionally at selected places on the sides, with the
cargo space being permanently incorporated in the trailer and being
insulated, possessing specific thermal properties intended for use
with self-contained refrigeration systems. Flatbed (or platform)
trailers consist of load carrying main frames and a solid, flat or
stepped loading deck or floor permanently incorporated with and
supported by frame rails and cross members.
The finished and unfinished chassis subject to this
investigation are typically classified in the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheadings: 8716.39.0090
and 8716.90.5060. Imports of finished and unfinished chassis may
also enter under HTSUS subheading 8716.90.5010. While the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the merchandise under investigation is
dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Diversification of Mexico's Economy
V. Use Of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VI. Analysis of Programs
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-14638 Filed 7-31-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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