[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 203 (Friday, October 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53030-53032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22843]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-830]


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

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines

[[Page 53031]]

that imports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod (wire rod) with 
actual diameters less than 4.75 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero 
S.A.P.I. de C.V (Deacero) are circumventing the antidumping duty order 
on wire rod from Mexico.

DATES: Applicable October 19, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel Brummitt, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7851.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On August 31, 2001, Co-Steel Raritan, Inc., GS Industries, Keystone 
Consolidated, Industries, Inc., and North Star Steel Texas, Inc. filed 
a petition seeking imposition of antidumping duties on imports of wire 
rod from Mexico.\1\ Following the completion of investigations and 
affirmative final determinations by Commerce and the U.S. International 
Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce issued an antidumping order on wire 
rod from Mexico (Order).\2\ On October 1, 2012, pursuant to section 
781(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce 
determined that wire rod with an actual diameter of 4.75 mm to 5.00 mm 
produced and/or exported to the United States by Deacero constituted 
merchandise altered in form or appearance in such minor respects that 
it should be included within the scope of the Order.\3\ On October 27, 
2017, Nucor Corporation (a domestic interested party) (Nucor) filed a 
circumvention ruling request to determine whether wire rod with an 
actual diameter less than 4.75 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero 
to the United States is circumventing the Order.\4\ On February 7, 
2018, pursuant to section 781(c) of the Act, Commerce initiated an 
anti-circumvention inquiry on wire rod with actual diameters that are 
less than 4.75 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero.\5\ For a 
complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this 
inquiry, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\6\ A list of topics 
included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included at the 
Appendix to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum 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, 
and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main 
Commerce building. In addition, a complete public version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations: 
Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Brazil, Canada, Egypt, 
Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Moldova, South Africa, Trinidad and 
Tobago, Ukraine, and Venezuela, 66 FR 50164 (October 2, 2001).
    \2\ 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).
    \3\ See Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Mexico: 
Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping 
Duty Order, 77 FR 59892 (October 1, 2012) (Final Circumvention 
Determination) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum; see 
also Deacero S.A. de C.V. v. United States, 817 F.3d 1332 (Fed. Cir. 
2016) (affirming the Final Circumvention Determination).
    \4\ See Nucor's Letter, ``Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire 
Rod from Mexico: Request for Circumvention Ruling,'' dated October 
27, 2018.
    \5\ See Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Mexico: 
Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry of Antidumping Duty Order, 
83 FR 5405 (February 7, 2018).
    \6\ See Affirmative Preliminary Decision Memorandum of 
Circumvention Concerning Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod 
from Mexico, dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the Order are wire rod of approximately 
round cross section, 5.00 mm or more, but less than 19.00 mm, in solid 
cross-sectional diameter. For a complete description of the scope of 
the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry

    The products covered by this inquiry are wire rod with an actual 
diameter less than 4.75 mm and that are produced and/or exported to the 
United States by Deacero.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this anti-circumvention inquiry in 
accordance with section 781(c) of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Determination

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we 
preliminarily determine, pursuant to section 781(c) of the Act, that 
wire rod with an actual diameter less than 4.75 mm produced and/or 
exported by Deacero, constitutes merchandise ``altered in form or 
appearance in minor respects'' that should be considered subject to the 
Order. Therefore, we preliminarily determine that it is appropriate to 
include this merchandise within the class or kind of merchandise 
subject to the Order and to instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) to suspend any entries of wire rod with an actual diameter less 
than 4.75 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero.

Suspension of Liquidation

    As stated above, Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative 
finding of circumvention of the Order with respect to wire rod with an 
actual diameter less than 4.75 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero. 
In accordance with section 19 CFR 351.225(l)(2), Commerce will direct 
CBP to suspend liquidation of entries of wire rod with an actual 
diameter less than 4.75 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero that 
were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
February 7, 2018, the date of initiation of the anti-circumvention 
inquiry. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(1)(2), we will also instruct CBP to 
require a cash deposit of estimated duties equal to 12.56 percent ad 
valorem for each unliquidated entry of wire rod with an actual diameter 
less than 4.75 mm produced and/or exported by Deacero that was entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after February 7, 
2018.\7\ The suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in 
effect until further notice.
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    \7\ See Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Mexico: 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final 
Determination of No Shipments; 2015-2016, 83 FR 16832 (April 17, 
2018) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum; Carbon and 
Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Mexico: Notice of Correction to 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final 
Determination of No Shipments; 2015-2016, 83 FR 19223 (May 2, 2018).
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Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 21 
days after the publication of this preliminary determination in the 
Federal Register, unless the Secretary alters the time limit. Rebuttal 
briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no 
later than seven days after the deadline date for case briefs.\8\ 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case 
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this anti-circumvention inquiry are 
encouraged

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to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief 
summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 21 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 781(c) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(f).

    Dated: October 15, 2018.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy 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. Statutory and Regulatory Framework
V. Prior Anti-Circumvention Determination
VI. Parameters of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
VII. Arguments from Interested Parties
VIII. Analysis
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2018-22843 Filed 10-18-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P