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Notice2026-19372

Certain Brake Drums From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders

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Published
September 22, 2026

Issuing agencies

Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that imports of compacted graphite iron (CGI) brake drums, from the People's Republic of China (China), constitute later-developed merchandise that is circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on certain brake drums (brake drums) from China. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60082-60084]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19372]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-174, C-570-175]


Certain Brake Drums From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Circumvention of the 
Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that imports of compacted graphite iron (CGI) brake drums, 
from the People's Republic of China (China), constitute later-developed 
merchandise that is circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and 
countervailing duty (CVD) orders on certain brake drums (brake drums) 
from China. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable September 22, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Walter Schaub at (202) 482-0907 or 
Cassie Graham at (202) 482-2159, Office of Policy, Enforcement and 
Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 12, 2025, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
AD and CVD orders on brake drums from China.\1\ On January 27, 2026, in 
response to a request from Webb Wheel Products, Inc. (Webb, a domestic 
interested party), Commerce initiated a country-wide circumvention 
inquiry pursuant to section 781(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), to determine whether imports of CGI brake drums from 
China constitute later-developed merchandise that is circumventing the 
Orders and, accordingly, should be covered by the scope of the 
Orders.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Brake Drums from the People's Republic of China 
and the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye: Antidumping Duty Orders, 90 FR 
38730 (August 12, 2025) (AD Order); see also Certain Brake Drums 
from the People's Republic of China and the Republic of 
T[uuml]rkiye: Countervailing Duty Orders, 90 FR 38753 (August 12, 
2025) (CVD Order) (collectively, Orders).
    \2\ See Certain Brake Drums from the People's Republic of China: 
Initiation of Circumvention Inquiry on the Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Orders, 91 FR 3435 (January 27, 2026) 
(Initiation Notice), and accompanying Initiation Checklist, 
``Certain Brake Drums from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
January 22, 2026 (Initiation Checklist)
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    On April 20, 2026, Commerce selected, in alphabetical order: (1) 
CAIEC Trailer Master Co., Ltd. (CAIEC Trailer); (2) Kara CVS Inc. 
(Kara); and (3) Trailer MASTER CVS INC (Trailer Master), as mandatory 
respondents in this circumvention inquiry.\3\ On May 13, 2026, Commerce 
extended the deadline to issue its preliminary determination by 60 
days.\4\ On July 30, 2026, Commerce extended the deadline to issue its 
preliminary determination by an additional 23 days.\5\ Accordingly, the 
deadline for this preliminary

[[Page 60083]]

determination is now September 17, 2026.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated April 20, 
2026 (Respondent Selection Memorandum).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for the 
Circumvention Inquiry Preliminary Determination,'' dated May 13, 
2026.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Circumvention Inquiry,'' dated July 30, 2026.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this circumvention inquiry, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\6\ 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/frnotices">https://access.trade.gov/frnotices</a>.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Decision Memorandum in the 
Circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing 
Duty Orders on Certain Brake Drums from the People's Republic of 
China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Orders

    The merchandise covered by these Orders 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. For a full description of the 
scope of the Orders, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\7\
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    \7\ Id. at 4.
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    Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry
    The circumvention inquiry covers CGI brake drums with an actual or 
nominal inside diameter of 14.75 inches or more but not over 16.6 
inches, weighing more than 50 pounds, that are produced in China and 
exported to the United States, including, for example, model number 
M328D557 produced by PanAsia CVS (HK) Limited (inquiry merchandise).

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this circumvention inquiry in accordance 
with section 781(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(k). For a complete 
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of 
topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as 
the appendix to this notice.

Preliminary Circumvention Determination

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce 
preliminarily determines that CGI brake drums from China constitute 
later-developed merchandise that is circumventing the Orders on a 
country-wide basis. As a result, in accordance with section 781(d) of 
the Act, we preliminarily determine that this merchandise should be 
included within the scope of the Orders. See the ``Suspension of 
Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements'' section below for details 
regarding suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements.

Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements

    Based on the preliminary affirmative country-wide determination of 
circumvention, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(l)(2), Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
on unliquidated entries of CGI brake drums from China that were 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after 
January 27, 2026, the date of publication of the Initiation Notice.\8\ 
Commerce also intends to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits for 
estimated antidumping and countervailing duties at the rates applicable 
to the AD and CVD Orders on brake drums from China (i.e., the AD cash 
deposit rate established for the China-wide entity (150.25 percent) \9\ 
and the CVD cash deposit rate established for all-others (11.94 
percent)).\10\ For companies with their own company-specific rate under 
the Orders, the cash deposit rate will be the company-specific rate.
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    \8\ See Initiation Notice.
    \9\ See AD Order, 90 FR at 38731.
    \10\ See CVD Order, 90 FR at 38753
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    These suspension of liquidation requirements and cash deposit 
requirements will remain in effect until further notice.

Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(f)(4), case briefs or other written 
comments should be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 
and Compliance no later than 14 days after the date of the publication 
of this notice.\11\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline 
for case briefs.\12\ Parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this 
proceeding are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) a statement 
of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\13\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(f)(4).
    \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 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), we 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 proceeding. 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 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 in the 
Federal Register, filed electronically via ACCESS. Hearing 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. Issues raised 
in the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the respective 
comments.\16\ If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to 
hold the hearing at a date and time to be determined and will notify 
the parties through ACCESS.\17\ Parties should confirm the date, time, 
and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    All submissions, including affirmative and rebuttal comments, as 
well as hearing requests, should be filed using ACCESS. An 
electronically-filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established 
deadline.

U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    Consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, Commerce will notify the 
ITC of this preliminary determination to

[[Page 60084]]

include the merchandise subject to this circumvention inquiry within 
the Orders. Pursuant to section 781(e) of the Act, the ITC may request 
consultations concerning Commerce's proposed inclusion of the inquiry 
merchandise. If, after consultations, the ITC believes that a 
significant injury issue is presented by the proposed inclusion, it 
will have 60 days from the date of notification by Commerce to provide 
written advice.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
section 781(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(g)(1).

    Dated: September 17, 2026.
Steven Presing,
Executive Director for Policy and Negotiations.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Orders
IV. Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry
V. Period of Circumvention Inquiry
VI. Statutory and Regulatory Framework
VII. Comments and Analysis
VIII. Country-Wide Affirmative Determination of Circumvention
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2026-19372 Filed 9-21-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on September 22, 2026.

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.