[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 190 (Monday, October 1, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59892-59893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24110]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-830]


Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Mexico: Affirmative 
Final Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On December 20, 2011, the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) published in the Federal Register its notice of affirmative 
preliminary determination of circumvention.\1\ We gave interested 
parties an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Determination, and 
received briefs and rebuttal briefs from interested parties. After 
evaluating the comments submitted by parties, we find no basis for 
altering the Department's preliminary findings. Accordingly, pursuant 
to section 781(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 
19 CFR 351.225(i), we continue to determine that shipments of wire rod 
with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm by Deacero S.A. de C.V 
(Deacero) constitutes merchandise altered in form or appearance in such 
minor respects that it should be included within the scope of the order 
on wire rod from Mexico. Further, we continue to determine that Ternium 
Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Ternium) is not covered by this affirmative anti-
circumvention inquiry because information on the record indicates that 
Ternium has not shipped wire rod with diameters of 4.75 mm to 5.0 mm.
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    \1\ See Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Mexico: 
Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Circumvention of the 
Antidumping Duty Order, 76 FR 78882 (December 20, 2011) (Preliminary 
Determination).

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DATES: Effective Date: October 1, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric B. Greynolds, Program Manager, or 
Jolanta Lawska, Trade Analyst, Office 3, Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-6071 or (202) 482-8362, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On June 8, 2011, the Department initiated a circumvention inquiry 
into whether Deacero and Ternium shipped wire rod with an actual 
diameter measuring 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm in a manner that constitutes 
merchandise altered in form or appearance in such minor respects that 
it should be included within the scope.\2\ On December 20, 2011, the 
Department published its notice of affirmative preliminary 
determination of circumvention.\3\ The Department determined that wire 
rod with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm produced in Mexico 
and exported to the United States by Deacero is circumventing the 
antidumping duty order on wire rod from Mexico. The Department also 
directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 
liquidation of entries of such merchandise and require case deposits on 
said entries.\4\
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    \2\ See Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Mexico: 
Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry of Antidumping Duty Order, 
76 FR 33218 (June 8, 2011) (Initiation). The Department is using 
slightly different wording in this Federal Register notice from the 
wording in the initiation notice and Preliminary Determination to 
clarify that Deacero's shipments of 4.75 mm wire rod are covered by 
this circumvention inquiry.
    \3\ See Preliminary Determination.
    \4\ See Id., 76 FR at 78884.
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    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.225(f)(3), interested parties were 
invited to submit comments on the Preliminary Determination. On January 
12, 2012, Deacero submitted a case brief. On January 23, 2012, 
ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Gerdau Ameristeel U.S. Inc, Rocky Mountain 
Steel, and Members of the Wire Rod Producers Coalition (collectively, 
the Coalition) and Nucor Corporation (Nucor) submitted rebuttal briefs. 
The Department considered these submissions for the final determination 
of this circumvention inquiry. No party requested a hearing.

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise subject to this order is carbon and certain alloy 
steel wire rod. The product is currently classified under the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) item numbers 
7213.91.3010, 7213.91.3090, 7213.91.4510, 7213.91.4590, 7213.91.6010, 
7213.91.6090, 7213.99.0031, 7213.99.0038, 7213.99.0090, 7227.20.0010, 
7227.20.0020, 7227.20.0090, 7227.20.0095, 7227.90.6051, 7227.90.6053, 
7227.90.6058, and 7227.90.6059. Although the HTS numbers are provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the written product description, 
available in Notice of Antidumping Duty Orders: Carbon and Certain 
Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, and 
Trinidad and Tobago, and Ukraine, 67 FR 65945 (October 29, 2002), 
remains dispositive.

[[Page 59893]]

Scope of the Circumvention Inquiry

    The merchandise subject to this circumvention inquiry consists of 
wire rod with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm. This 
merchandise, produced by Deacero, entered the United States under 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification 7213.91.3093.

Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention

    The Department conducted this circumvention inquiry in accordance 
with section 781(c) of the Act, which deals with minor alterations of 
merchandise. The Department explained in the Preliminary Determination 
the criteria typically used by the Department to make determinations in 
such inquiries (i.e., the overall physical characteristics of the 
merchandise, the expectations of the ultimate users, the use of the 
merchandise, the channels of marketing, and the cost of any 
modification relative to the total value of the imported products). See 
Preliminary Determination, 76 FR at 78884.
    In the Preliminary Determination, the Department found that wire 
rod with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.0 mm and subject wire rod 
are indistinguishable in any meaningful sense in terms of overall 
physical characteristics of the merchandise. Our preliminary analysis 
indicated that other physical characteristics, such as tensile 
strength, ductility, and chemical content (which determines product 
grade), do not vary by diameter. In addition, we preliminarily 
determined that the 0.25 mm difference between the wire rod products at 
issue and subject wire rod do not alter the expectations of the 
ultimate users, the use of the merchandise, and the channels of 
marketing in any meaningful way. We further determined that the costs 
incurred to produce wire rod with a 0.25 mm smaller diameter are not 
significant. Accordingly, pursuant to section 781(c) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.225(i) we preliminarily determined that shipments of wire rod 
with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm by Deacero constitutes 
merchandise altered in form or appearance in such minor respects that 
it should be included within the scope of the order on wire rod from 
Mexico.
    The Department has analyzed the comments submitted by interested 
parties in the accompanying issues and decision memorandum. See the 
Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to Paul Piquado, 
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, ``Final Results of Minor 
Alteration Circumvention Inquiry on Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire 
Rod with an Actual Diameter of 4.75 Millimeters (mm) to 5.00 mm,'' a 
proprietary document dated concurrently with this notice of which the 
public version, as well as all other public documents and public 
versions of documents filed on the record of this proceeding, is 
available electronically via Import Administration's Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS). 
Access to IA ACCESS is available to registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov and in the Central Records Unit, room 7046 of the 
main Department of Commerce building. In addition, the public version 
of the memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at http://www.trade.gov/ia/. The signed memorandum and the electronic versions of 
the memorandum are identical in content.
    In these final results, the Department continues to find that wire 
rod with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm produced in Mexico 
and exported to the United States by Deacero is circumventing the 
antidumping duty order on wire rod from Mexico. Therefore, the 
Department finds that it is appropriate to consider that shipments of 
wire rod with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm produced in 
Mexico and exported to the United States by Deacero constitutes 
merchandise altered in form or appearance in such minor respects that 
it should be included within the scope of the order on wire rod from 
Mexico.
    This affirmative finding applies solely to Deacero because 
information supplied by Ternium indicates that it did not produce or 
sell merchandise subject to this circumvention inquiry.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 351.225(l)(3) of the Department's 
regulations, we are directing CBP to continue to suspend liquidation of 
wire rod with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm produced and/or 
exported by Deacero that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after June 8, 2011, the publication date of the 
Initiation in the Federal Register. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(l)(2), 
we are also instructing CBP to continue to require a cash deposit of 
estimated duties equal to the all others rate of 20.11 percent ad 
valorem for each unliquidated entry of wire rod with an actual diameter 
of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after June 8, 2011.\5\
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    \5\ Deacero has never been individually examined by the 
Department during the history of the Order. For this reason 
Deacero's shipments of subject merchandise are subject to the all 
others rate.
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Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective orders (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3), which 
continues to govern business proprietary information in this segment of 
the proceeding. Timely written notification of the return/destruction 
of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO 
is a violation which is subject to sanction.
    This affirmative final circumvention determination is in accordance 
with section 781(c) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225.

    Dated: September 24, 2012.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix--List of Comments and Issues in the Decision Memorandum

Comment 1: Whether Initiation of a Minor Alteration Inquiry is 
Contingent Upon Whether the Products at Issue Existed Prior to the 
Investigation
Comment 2: Whether the Products at Issue Were Commercially Available 
Prior to the Investigation
Comment 3: Whether the Department Should Perform the Minor Alteration 
Five-Prong Analysis by Comparing 4.75 mm Wire Rod to All Wire Rod 
Listed in the Scope
Comment 4: First Prong of the Minor Alteration Analysis--Physical 
Characteristics
Comment 5: Second Prong of the Minor Alteration Analysis--Expectations 
of the Ultimate Users
Comment 6: Third Prong of the Minor Alteration--End Use of Products at 
Issue
Comment 7: Fourth Prong of the Minor Alteration Analysis--Channels of 
Trade and Advertising
Comment 8: Fifth Prong of the Minor Alteration Analysis--Cost of Any 
Modification Relative to the Total Value of the Products at Issue

[FR Doc. 2012-24110 Filed 9-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P