Brass Rod From India: Countervailing Duty Order

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing a countervailing duty order on brass rod from India.

DATES:

Applicable February 13, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dusten Hom or Mary Kolberg, 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) 482–5075 or (202) 482–1785, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In accordance with section 705(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), on December 18, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register its affirmative final determination in the countervailing duty investigation of brass rod from India. On February 1, 2024, the ITC notified Commerce of its final affirmative determination that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of subsidized imports of brass rod from India, within the meaning of sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 702(d) of the Act.

Scope of the Order

The product covered by this order is brass rod from India. For a complete description of the scope of this order, see the appendix to this notice.

Countervailing Duty Order

On February 1, 2024, in accordance with sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 705(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports of brass rod from India. Therefore, in accordance with 705(c)(2) and 706 of the Act, Commerce is issuing this countervailing duty order. Because the ITC determined that imports of brass rod from India are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from India entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption are subject to the assessment of countervailing duties.

Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on all relevant entries of brass rod from India. Countervailing duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of brass rod from India which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after September 29, 2023, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination , but will not be assessed on entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional measures period and before publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination, as further described in the “Provisional Measures” section below.

Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits

In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce will instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation of all relevant entries of brass rod from India, effective on the date of publication of the ITC's final determination in the Federal Register. These instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.

Commerce also intends, pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, to instruct CBP to require cash deposits equal to the amounts as indicated below. Accordingly, effective on the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register , CBP will require, at the same time as importers would deposit estimated normal customs duties on the subject merchandise, a cash deposit for each entry of subject merchandise equal to the subsidy rates listed below. The all-others rate applies to all producers or exporters not specifically listed below, as appropriate.

Provisional Measures

Section 703(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation instructions issued pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect for more than four months. Commerce published its Preliminary Determination on September 29, 2023. Therefore, the provisional measures period, beginning on the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination, ended on January 27, 2024. Pursuant to section 707(b) of the Act, the collection of cash deposits at the rates listed above will begin on the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination.

Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to liquidate without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated entries of brass rod from India entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after January 27, 2024, the date on which the provisional measures expired, through the day preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register .

Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service List

On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the Final Rule in the Federal Register . On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published the Procedural Guidance in the Federal Register . The Final Rule and Procedural Guidance provide that Commerce will maintain an annual inquiry service list for each order or suspended investigation, and any interested party submitting a scope ruling application or request for circumvention inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request on the persons on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as well as any companion order covering the same merchandise from the same country of origin.

In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at https://access.trade.gov/ , within five business days of publication of the notice of the order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in ACCESS, under each case number, and under a specific segment type called “AISL-Annual Inquiry Service List.”

Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the annual inquiry service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30 days after the date of publication of the order. For ease of administration, Commerce requests that law firms with more than one attorney representing interested parties in an order designate a lead attorney to be included on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce will finalize the annual inquiry service list within five business days thereafter. As mentioned in the Procedural Guidance, the new annual inquiry service list will be in place until the following year, when the Opportunity Notice for the anniversary month of the order is published.

Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the ACCESS website at https://access.trade.gov.

Special Instructions for Petitioners and Foreign Governments

In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, “after an initial request and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry service list in the years that follow.” Accordingly, as stated above, the petitioner and the Government of India should submit its initial entry of appearance after publication of this notice in order to appear in the first annual inquiry service list for this order. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(n)(3), the petitioner and the Government of India will not need to resubmit their entries of appearance each year to continue to be included on the annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioner and the Government of India are responsible for making amendments to their entries of appearance during the annual update to the annual inquiry service list in accordance with the procedures described above.

Notification to Interested Parties

This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect to brass rod from India pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act. Interested parties can find a list of duty orders currently in effect at https://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.

This CVD order is published in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

Appendix

Scope of the Order

The merchandise covered by this order are brass rod and bar (brass rod), which is defined as leaded, low-lead, and no-lead solid brass made from alloys such as, but not limited to the following alloys classified under the Unified Numbering System (UNS) as C27450, C27451, C27460, C34500, C35000, C35300, C35330, C36000, C36300, C37000, C37700, C48500, C67300, C67600, and C69300, and their international equivalents.

The brass rod subject to this order has an actual cross-section or outside diameter greater than 0.25 inches but less than or equal to 12 inches. Brass rod cross-sections may be round, hexagonal, square, or octagonal shapes as well as special profiles ( e.g., angles, shapes), including hollow profiles.

Standard leaded brass rod covered by the scope contains, by weight, 57.0–65.0 percent copper; 0.5–3.0 percent lead; no more than 1.3 percent iron; and at least 15 percent zinc. No-lead or low-lead brass rod covered by the scope contains by weight 59.0–76.0 percent copper; 0–1.5 percent lead; no more than 0.35 percent iron; and at least 15 percent zinc. Brass rod may also include other chemical elements ( e.g., nickel, phosphorous, silicon, tin, etc.).

Brass rod may be in straight lengths or coils. Brass rod covered by this order may be finished or unfinished, and may or may not be heated, extruded, pickled, or cold-drawn. Brass rod may be produced in accordance with ASTM B16, ASTM B124, ASTM B981, ASTM B371, ASTM B453, ASTM B21, ASTM B138, and ASTM B927, but such conformity to an ASTM standard is not required for the merchandise to be included within the scope.

Excluded from the scope of this order is brass ingot, which is a casting of unwrought metal unsuitable for conversion into brass rod without remelting, that contains, by weight, at least 57.0 percent copper and 15.0 percent zinc.

The merchandise covered by this order is currently classifiable under subheadings 7407.21.9000, 7407.21.7000, and 7407.21.1500 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Products subject to the scope may also enter under HTSUS subheadings 7403.21.0000, 7407.21.3000, and 7407.21.5000. The HTSUS subheadings and UNS alloy designations are provided for convenience and customs purposes. The written description of the scope of the order is dispositive.