[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32788-32789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15040]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-967; C-570-968]


Aluminum Extrusions From the People's Republic of China: Notice 
of Second Amended Final Scope Ruling Pursuant to Court Decision

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On March 28, 2017, the Court of Appeals for the Federal 
Circuit (Federal Circuit) reversed the Court of International Trade 
(CIT) and sustained the Department of Commerce's (Department) original 
scope ruling in which it found that Meridian Products LLC's (Meridian) 
refrigerator/freezer trim kits did not satisfy the finished goods kit 
exclusion under the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) 
orders covering aluminum extrusions from the People's Republic of China 
(PRC). The Department is therefore issuing a second amended final scope 
ruling.

DATES: Effective July 18, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Terpstra, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-
3965.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 17, 2012, the Department issued its Final Scope Ruling 
on Refrigerator Trim Kits in which it determined that the refrigerator/
freezer trim kits imported by Meridian did not meet the scope 
exclusions for ``finished merchandise'' and ``finished goods kits.'' 
\1\ In particular, the Department held that, because the trim kits at 
issue consisted of pieces of aluminum extrusions plus fasteners and 
extraneous materials, they did not meet either scope exclusion. 
Therefore, the Department found the products at issue to be within the 
scope of the Orders.\2\
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    \1\ The finished goods kit exclusion states: ``A finished goods 
kits is understood to mean a packaged combination of parts that 
contains, at the time of importation, all of the necessary parts to 
fully assemble a final finished good and requires no further 
finishing or fabrication, such as cutting or punching, and is 
assembled `as is' into a finished product.'' The scope further 
states that, ``{a{time} n imported product will not be considered a 
`finished goods kit'' and therefore excluded from the scope of the 
investigation merely by including fasteners such as screws, bolts, 
etc. in the packaging with an aluminum extrusion product.''
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Final Scope Ruling on Certain 
Refrigerator/Freezer Trim Kits, dated December 17, 2012 (Final Scope 
Ruling on Refrigerator Trim Kits) at 11. See also Aluminum 
Extrusions from the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty 
Order, 76 FR 30650 (May 26, 2011) and Aluminum Extrusions from the 
People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 76 FR 30653 
(May 26, 2011) (Orders).
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    As discussed in detail in the Third Remand Results,\3\ the CIT 
remanded the Final Scope Ruling on Refrigerator Trim Kits three 
times.\4\ In Meridian IV,\5\ the CIT held that the Department's long-
standing recognition of a ``fasteners'' exception to the ``finished 
goods kit'' exclusion in the scope was unreasonable, finding that ``the 
inclusion of `fasteners' or `extraneous materials' is not determinative 
when qualifying a kit consistent of multiple parts which otherwise 
meets the exclusionary requirements, as a `finished goods kit.' '' \6\ 
Additionally, the CIT explained that there is nothing in the scope 
language that indicates that the parts of a finished goods kit cannot 
consist entirely of aluminum extrusions.\7\ The CIT explained that ``to 
qualify as a `finished goods kit', a kit must contain every part 
required to assemble the final finished good, and it logically follows 
that if a kit is imported with all of the parts necessary to fully 
assemble the kit into its final finished form, then obviously (and 
necessarily) some of those `parts' may be fasteners.'' \8\
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    \3\ See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court 
Remand, Meridian Products, LLC v. United States, Court No. 13-00018, 
Slip. Op. 15-67 (Oct. 29, 2015) (Third Remand Results).
    \4\ See Third Remand Results at 6-10.
    \5\ See Meridian Products, LLC v. United States, Court No. 13-
00018, Slip. Op. 15-67 (Oct. 29, 2015) (Meridian IV).
    \6\ See Meridian IV, Slip Op. 15-67 at 12-13.
    \7\ Id.
    \8\ Id., at 14 (emphasis omitted).

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[[Page 32789]]

    In the Third Remand Results, the Department found, in accordance 
with the Court's instructions in Meridian IV, under respectful protest, 
that Meridian's trim kits are excluded from the scope of the Orders as 
finished goods kits because at the time of importation, the kits 
contained all the parts necessary to assemble a final finished good--a 
complete trim kit.\9\ In Meridian V,\10\ the Court sustained the Third 
Remand Results in its entirety.\11\ Subsequently, the Department 
published a First Amended Final Scope Ruling in which the Department 
found that Meridian's refrigerator/freezer trim kits are not covered by 
the scope of the Orders.\12\ Consistent with the decision of the 
Federal Circuit in Timken,\13\ as clarified by Diamond Sawblades,\14\ 
the First Amended Final Scope Ruling additionally provided notice to 
the public of the CIT's final judgment in Meridian V not in harmony 
with the Department's Final Scope Ruling on Refrigerator Trim Kits and 
of the continuation of the suspension of liquidation of the trim kits 
at issue pending a final and conclusive court decision, if 
appealed.\15\
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    \9\ See Third Remand Results at 14.
    \10\ See Meridian LLC v. United States, Court No. 13-00018, Slip 
Op. 16-5 (CIT January 20, 2016) (Meridian V).
    \11\ See Meridian V, Slip Op. 16-5 at 4.
    \12\ See Aluminum Extrusions From the People's Republic of 
China: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With Final Scope 
Ruling and Notice of Amended Final Scope Ruling Pursuant to Court 
Decision, 81 FR 7749 (February 16, 2016) (First Amended Final Scope 
Ruling).
    \13\ See Timken Co. v. United States, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 
1990) (Timken).
    \14\ See Diamond Sawblades Mfrs. Coalition v. United States, 626 
F.3d 1374 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (Diamond Sawblades).
    \15\ See First Amended Final Scope Ruling, 81 FR at 7749-7750.
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    On March 28, 2017, the Federal Circuit reversed the CIT and 
sustained the Department's original scope ruling in which it found that 
Meridian's refrigerator/freezer trim kits did not satisfy the finished 
goods kit exclusion under the Orders. In Meridian VI,\16\ the Federal 
Circuit found that the plain language of the exclusion language, when 
appropriately read as a whole, supported the Department's 
interpretation. The Federal Circuit further held that the Department's 
prior scope rulings, one of the 19 CFR 351.225(k)(1) sources, further 
supported the Department's interpretation. Finally, the Federal Circuit 
looked to other aspects of the scope language, including the similar 
finished merchandise exclusion, which supported the division of 
products into two categories: (1) Products which contained only 
aluminum extrusions and fasteners (not excluded); and (C2) products 
which incorporated non-aluminum extrusion components beyond fasteners 
(excluded).\17\
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    \16\ See Meridian Prods., LLC v. United States, 851 F.3d 1375 
(Fed. Cir. Mar. 28, 2017) (Meridian VI).
    \17\ Id., at 1383-85.
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Second Amended Final Scope Ruling

    Because there is now a final and conclusive court decision which 
reinstates the Department's original scope ruling, we are amending the 
First Amended Final Scope Ruling with respect to Meridian's 
refrigerator/freezer trim kits. Based on the Federal Circuit's holding 
in Meridian VI, Meridian's refrigerator/freezer trim kits are subject 
to the Orders.
    Accordingly, the Department will instruct Customs and Border 
Protection to continue to suspend liquidation of Meridian's 
refrigerator/freezer trim kits until appropriate liquidation 
instructions are sent. As of the date of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register, the cash deposit rate for entries of Meridian's 
refrigerator/freezer trim kits entries will be the applicable cash 
deposit rate of the exporters of the merchandise from the PRC to the 
United States.
    This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections 
516A(c)(1) and (e)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

    Dated: July 11, 2017.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2017-15040 Filed 7-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P