Notice2026-04946
Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar From Bulgaria: 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
March 13, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Bulgaria is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12351-12353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04946]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-487-002]
Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar From Bulgaria: 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 steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Bulgaria is
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2024,
through March 31, 2025. Interested parties are invited to comment on
this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable March 13, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hermes Pinilla, AD/CVD Operations,
Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3477.
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 June 30,
2025.\1\ Due to the lapse in appropriations and Federal Government
shutdown, on November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in
administrative proceedings by 47 days.\2\ Additionally, due to a
backlog of documents that were electronically filed via Enforcement and
Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic
Service System (ACCESS) during the Federal Government shutdown, on
November 24, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative
proceedings by an additional 21 days.\3\ On January 8, 2026, Commerce
postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until
March 9, 2026.\4\
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\1\ See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Algeria, Bulgaria,
Egypt, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 90 FR 27846 (June 30, 2025)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the
Federal Government,'' dated November 14, 2025.
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of all Case Deadlines,'' dated
November 24, 2025.
\4\ See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Bulgaria, Egypt, and
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 91 FR 696
(January 8, 2026).
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\5\ 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 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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\5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Steel
Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Bulgaria,'' dated concurrently with,
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of these Investigations
The product covered by this investigations is rebar from Bulgaria.
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see
Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\6\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\7\ No interested party
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice. Therefore, 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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\6\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\7\ See Initiation Notice, 90 FR at 27846.
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[[Page 12352]]
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Normal value is calculated
in accordance with section 773 of the Act.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(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
or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under
section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce has preliminarily calculated an
individually estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Promet Steel
JSC (Promet), the only individually examined exporter/producer in this
investigation, of 52.80 percent. Because the only individually
calculated dumping margin is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on
facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average dumping
margin calculated for Promet is the margin assigned to all other
producers and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Promet Steel JSC............................................ 52.80
All Others.................................................. 52.80
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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 respondent listed above will be equal
to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margins
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 margins 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.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties its calculations
and analysis performed in connection with this preliminary
determination within five days of the public announcement or, if there
is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication
of this notice in 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 the 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 last verification report is issued in
this investigation.\8\ 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.\9\ Interested parties who submit case 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) (APO and Service Final Rule).
\10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iii), we
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
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).\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 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
(1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of
participants, and whether any participant is a foreign national; and
(3) 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 the date, time, and location of the
hearing two days before the scheduled date.
All briefs and hearing requests must be filed electronically using
ACCESS.\13\ An electronically filed document must be received
successfully in its entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the
established deadline.
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\13\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
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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
[[Page 12353]]
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. 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 January 7, 2026, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Promet requested
that Commerce postpone the final determination and that the provisional
measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\14\ 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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\14\ See Promet's Letter, ``Request to Extend Final
Determination,'' dated January 7, 2026.
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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. 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 these imports are materially injuring, or
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This preliminary 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: March 9, 2026.
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 subject to this investigation is steel concrete
reinforcing bar imported in either straight length or coil form
(rebar) regardless of metallurgy, length, diameter, or grade or lack
thereof.
The subject merchandise includes rebar that has been further
processed in the subject countries or a third country, including but
not limited to cutting, grinding, galvanizing, painting, coating, or
any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise
from the scope of these investigations if performed in the country
of manufacture of the rebar.
Specifically excluded are plain rounds (i.e., nondeformed or
smooth rebar).
The subject merchandise is classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) primarily under item numbers
7213.10.0000, 7214.20.0000, and 7228.30.8010. The subject
merchandise may also enter under other HTSUS numbers including
7221.00.0017, 7221.00.0018, 7221.00.0030, 7221.00.0045,
7222.11.0001, 7222.11.0057, 7222.11.0059, 7222.30.0001,
7227.20.0080, 7227.90.6030, 7227.90.6035, 7227.90.6040,
7228.20.1000, and 7228.60.6000. HTSUS numbers are provided for
convenience and customs purposes; however, the written description
of the scope remains dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2026-04946 Filed 3-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 13, 2026.
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