Notice2025-18885
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 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
September 29, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain chassis and subassemblies thereof (chassis) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is July 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 186 (Monday, September 29, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 186 (Monday, September 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46561-46564]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18885]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-552-849]
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam: 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 certain chassis and subassemblies thereof (chassis)
from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV).
The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2024, through December 31,
2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable September 29, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Beuley or Benito
Ballesteros, AD/CVD Operations, Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
[[Page 46562]]
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3269 or (202) 482-7425, 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 March 24,
2025.\1\ On July 18, 2025, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation until September 24, 2025.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico,
Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 90 FR 13457 (March 24, 2025)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico,
Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of
Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair Value
Investigations, 90 FR 33920 (July 18, 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 included 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 Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam,'' 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
Vietnam. 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 the scope in Appendix I to this
notice.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\5\ See Initiation Notice.
\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 July 28, 2025
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export price in
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-
market economy (NME), within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act,
Commerce has calculated normal value (NV) in accordance with section
773(c) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying
Commerce's preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice,\7\ Commerce stated that it would
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin
05.1 describes this practice.\8\
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\7\ See Initiation Notice, 90 FR at 13461.
\8\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1,
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on
Commerce's website at <a href="https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf">https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
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Separate Rate Companies and the Vietnam-Wide Entity
In this investigation, Commerce received two separate rate
applications, from Thaco Special Vehicles Manufacturing Limited Company
and Thaco Industries Trailers and Heavy Steel Structures Manufacturing
Limited Liability Company (collectively, Thaco \9\), and we are
preliminarily granting a separate rate to Thaco. In calculating the
rate for non-individually examined separate rate respondents in an NME
LTFV investigation, Commerce normally looks to section 735(c)(5)(A) of
the Act, which pertains to the calculation of the all-others rate in a
market economy LTFV investigation, for guidance. Pursuant to section
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, normally this rate shall be an amount equal to
the weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins
established for those companies individually examined, excluding zero
and de minimis estimated weighted-average dumping margins and any
estimated weighted-average dumping margins based entirely under section
776 of the Act.
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\9\ We preliminarily determine that Thaco Special Vehicles
Manufacturing Limited Company and Thaco Industries Trailers and
Heavy Steel Structures Manufacturing Limited Liability Company
should be collapsed and treated as a single entity. See Preliminary
Decision Memorandum at 5-6.
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Thaco is the only respondent that Commerce individually examined in
this investigation, and Commerce preliminarily calculated an estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for Thaco that is not zero, de minimis,
or based entirely on facts available. Accordingly, while there are no
separate rate respondents in this investigation, because we
preliminarily find that the Vietnam-wide entity cooperated in this
investigation, we preliminarily assigned the estimated weighted-average
dumping margin calculated for Thaco to the Vietnam-wide entity.\10\
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\10\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at the section,
``Separate Rates,'' for further discussion.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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Estimated
weighted- average
Producer Exporter dumping margin
(percent)
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Thaco Special Vehicles Thaco Special 511.16
Manufacturing Limited Vehicles
Company; Thaco Industries Manufacturing
Trailers and Heavy Steel Limited Company;
Structures Manufacturing Thaco Industries
Limited Liability Company. Trailers and Heavy
Steel Structures
Manufacturing
Limited Liability
Company.
[[Page 46563]]
Vietnam-wide Entity........... ..................... 511.16
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Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation
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 weighted average
amount by which NV exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above
as follows: (1) for the producer/exporter combination listed in the
table above, the cash deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin listed for that combination in the table; (2)
for all combinations of Vietnamese producers/exporters of merchandise
under consideration that have not established eligibility for their own
separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin established for the Vietnam-wide
entity; and (3) for all third-county exporters of the merchandise under
consideration not listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is
the cash deposit rate applicable to the Vietnam producer/exporter
combination (or the Vietnam-wide entity) that supplied that third-
country exporter. These suspension of liquidation instructions will
remain in effect until further notice.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations
performed in connection with this preliminary determination within five
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement,
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register, accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce
will address such allegations in the final determination together with
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify information relied upon in making its final determination.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven
days after the date on which the final verification report is issued in
this investigation.\11\ A timeline for the submission of case briefs
and written comments will be notified to interested parties at a later
date. 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.\12\ 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.\13\
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\11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for
general filing requirements).
\12\ 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).
\13\ 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.\14\
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).\15\
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\14\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\15\ 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, 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 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. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), Commerce requires
that requests by respondents 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 September 17, 2025, pursuant to section 735(a)(2)(B) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.210(e), Thaco requested that Commerce postpone the final
[[Page 46564]]
determination and that provisional measures be extended to a period not
to exceed six months.\16\ 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.
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\16\ See Thaco's Letter, ``Request to Extend Final
Determination,'' dated September 17, 2025.
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its preliminary determination of sales at LTFV. 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 the subject
merchandise are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to,
the U.S. industry.
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: September 24, 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. Period of Investigation
IV. Affiliation and Single Entity Treatment
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-18885 Filed 9-26-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 29, 2025.
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