2023-24583. Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Mexico: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that sales of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod (wire rod) from Mexico were made at less than normal value during the period of review (POR), October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Applicable November 7, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Laurel LaCivita or Matthew Palmer, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone] or (202) 482–1678, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 29, 2002, Commerce published the antidumping duty order on wire rod from Mexico in the Federal Register .^[1] On October 3, 2022, we published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the Order.^[2] On December 5, 2022, pursuant to section 751(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce initiated an administrative review of the Order  ^[3] on wire rod from Mexico covering the following five exporters/producers: ArcelorMittal Mexico S.A. de C.V. (AMM); Deacero S.A.P.I. de C.V. (Deacero); Grupo Villacero S.A. de C.V. (Villacero); Talleres y Aceros S.A. de C.V. (Talleres y Aceros); and Ternium Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Ternium). On June 14, 2023, Commerce extended the deadline for the preliminary results to October 31, 2023.^[4]

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[5] A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as an appendix 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 https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/​public/​FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Scope of the Order

The merchandise subject to the Order is wire rod, in coils, of approximately round cross section, 5.00 mm or more, but less than 19.00 mm, in solid cross-sectional diameter. The subject merchandise is classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) primarily under the subheadings: 7213.91.3000, 7213.91.3010, 7213.91.3011, 7213.91.3015, 7213.91.3020, 7213.91.3090, 7213.91.3091, 7213.91.3092, 7213.91.3093, 7213.91.4500, 7213.91.4510, 7213.91.4590, 7213.91.6000, 7213.91.6010, 7213.91.6090, 7213.99.0030, 7213.99.0031, 7213.99.0038, 7213.99.0090, 7227.20.0000, 7227.20.0010, 7227.20.0020, 7227.20.0030, 7227.20.0080, 7227.20.0090, 7227.20.0095, 7227.90.6010, 7227.90.6020, 7227.90.6030, 7227.90.6035, 7227.90.6050, 7227.90.6051, 7227.90.6053, 7227.90.6058, 7227.90.6059, 7227.90.6080, and 7227.90.6085. The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes only; the written product description remains dispositive.

A full description of the scope of the Order is contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price and constructed export price were calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value was calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Rate for Non-Selected Companies

For the rate for companies not selected for individual examination in an administrative review, generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-others rate is normally “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 {on the basis of facts available}.” Accordingly, Commerce's practice in administrative reviews has been to average the weighted-average dumping margins for the companies selected for individual examination in the administrative review, excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available.^[6] For these preliminary results, we calculated a zero percent weighted-average dumping margin for AMM and a weighted-average dumping margin for Deacero that is above de minimis and not based entirely on facts available. Therefore, consistent with our practice, we have assigned the companies not selected for individual examination ( i.e., Villacero, Talleres y Aceros, and Ternium) the weighted-average dumping margin calculated for Deacero.

Preliminary Results of Review

As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the POR:

Producer/exporter	Weighted- average dumping margin (percent)
ArcelorMittal Mexico S.A. de C.V	0.00
Deacero S.A.P.I. de C.V./Deacero USA, Inc	0.70
Grupo Villacero S.A. de C.V	0.70
Talleres y Aceros S.A. de C.V	0.70
Ternium Mexico S.A. de C.V	0.70

Disclosure and Public Comment

Commerce will disclose to parties to this proceeding the calculations performed in reaching the preliminary results within five days of the date of publication of these preliminary results.^[7]

Case briefs may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the submission of such case briefs and written comments at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later than five days after the date for filing case briefs.^[8] Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are requested to submit with the argument: (1) a statement of the issue, (2) a summary of the argument, and (3) a table of authorities.^[9] All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).^[10]

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, using Enforcement and Compliance's ACCESS system within 30 days of publication of this notice.^[11] Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, we will inform parties of the scheduled date for the hearing at a time and location to be determined.^[12] Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing.

Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), Commerce will issue the final results of this administrative review, including the results of our analysis of the issues raised by the parties in their case briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Verification

On March 15, 2023, Commercial Metals Company (CMC) and Nucor Corporation (Nucor), domestic interested parties, requested that Commerce conduct verification of the information submitted in AMM and Deacero's responses.^[13] Accordingly, as provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify Deacero's information that will be relied upon in determining the final results of review.

Assessment Rates

Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review. For any individually examined respondents whose weighted-average dumping margin is above de minimis ( i.e., 0.50 percent), we will calculate importer-specific ad valorem antidumping duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's examined sales to the total entered value of those same sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).^[14] If the respondent has not reported entered values, we will calculate a per-unit assessment rate for each importer by dividing the total amount of dumping calculated for the examined sales made to that importer by the total quantity associated with those sales. We will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review when the importer-specific assessment rate calculated in the final results of this review is above de minimis ( i.e., 0.50 percent). Where either the respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.

In accordance with Commerce's “automatic assessment” practice, for entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by each respondent which did not know that its merchandise was destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate entries not reviewed at the all-others rate of 20.11 percent ^[15] if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.

For the companies which were not selected for individual review ( i.e., Villacero, Talleres y Aceros, and Ternium), we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties at an ad valorem rate equal to the weighted-average dumping margin determined for the non-examined companies in the final results of this review. The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.^[16]

Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 41 days after the date of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal Register , in accordance with 19 CFR 356.8(a).

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the notice of final results of administrative review for all shipments of wire rod from Mexico entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results, as provided by section 751(a)(2) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the firms listed above will be equal to the dumping margins established in the final results of this review, except if the ultimate rates are de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rates will be zero; (2) for merchandise exported by producers or exporters not covered in this administrative review but covered in a prior segment of the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in which the producer or exporter participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original less-than-fair-value investigation but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recently completed segment of the proceeding for the producer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will continue to be 20.11 percent, the all-others rate established in the antidumping duty investigation.^[17] These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

Dated: October 31, 2023.

Lisa W. Wang,

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary

II. Background

III. Scope of the Order

IV. Whether Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference Is Appropriate

V. Rate for Respondents Not Selected for Individual Examination

VI. Discussion of Methodology

VII. Currency Conversion

VIII. Recommendation

Footnotes

1.   See Notice of Antidumping Duty Orders: Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ukraine,67 FR 65945 (October 29, 2002) ( Order).

2.   See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List,87 FR 59775 (October 3, 2022).

3.   See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews,87 FR 74404, 74406 (December 5, 2022).

4.   See Memorandum, “Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,” dated June 14, 2023.

5.   See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Mexico; 2021–2022,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

6.   See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews and Rescission of Reviews in Part,73 FR 52823, 52824 (September 11, 2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 16.

7.   See19 CFR 351.224(b).

8.   See19 CFR 351.309(d).

9.   See19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).

10.   See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final Rule,88 FR 67069 (September 29, 2023).

11.   See19 CFR 351.310(c).

12.   See19 CFR 351.310.

13.   See CMC/Nucor's Letter, “Request for Verification,” dated March 15, 2023.

14.  In these preliminary results, Commerce applied the assessment rate calculation method adopted in Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings; Final Modification,77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012).

15.   See Order, 67 FR at 65947.

16.   See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.

17.   See Order, 67 FR at 65947.