[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 11 (Thursday, January 16, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2702-2705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00646]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-844]


Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar From Mexico: Preliminary Results 
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that Deacero S.A.P.I de C.V. (Deacero) and Grupo Simec made sales of 
subject merchandise at less than normal value during the November 1, 
2017 through October 31, 2018 period of review (POR). We invite 
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable January 16, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Moore (Deacero) or George 
McMahon (Grupo Simec), 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) 482-3692 or (202) 482-1167, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On November 6, 2014, Commerce published the antidumping duty order 
on steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Mexico in the Federal 
Register.\1\ On February 6, 2019, pursuant to section 751(a)(1) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce initiated an 
administrative review of the Order.\2\
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    \1\ See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Mexico: Antidumping 
Duty Order, 79 FR 65925 (November 6, 2014) (Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 2159 (February 6, 2019) (Initiation 
Notice).

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[[Page 2703]]

    Commerce initiated this administrative review covering the 
following companies: AceroMex S.A., Aceros Especiales Simec Tlaxcala, 
S.A. de C.V. (AEST), Arcelor Mittal, ArcelorMittal Celaya, 
ArcelorMittal Cordoba S.A. de C.V., ArcelorMittal Lazaro Cardenas S.A. 
de C.V., Cia Siderurgica De California, S.A. de C.V., Compania 
Siderurgica de California, S.A. de C.V., DE ACERO SA. DE CV., Deacero, 
S.A.P.I. de C.V, Grupo Simec, Grupo Villacero S.A. de C.V., Industrias 
CH, Orge S.A. de C.V. (Orge), Siderurgica Tultitlan S.A. de C.V., Simec 
International 6 S.A. de C.V. (Simec 6), Talleres y Aceros, S.A. de 
C.V., and Ternium Mexico, S.A. de C.V. On March 1, 2019, we limited the 
number of respondents selected for individual examination in this 
administrative review to Deacero and Grupo Simec.\3\ We did not select 
the remaining companies \4\ for individual examination, and these 
companies remain subject to this administrative review.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of 
Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Mexico; 2017-2018, Selection of 
Respondents for Individual Examination,'' dated March 1, 2019.
    \4\ We previously collapsed, or found affiliated, 5 of the 18 
firms listed in the Initiation Notice (i.e., AEST, Grupo Simec, 
Industrias CH, Orge, and Simec 6) into the single entity ``Grupo 
Simec.'' Commerce has collapsed several additional companies into 
the single entity, ``Grupo Simec'' which are identified in the rates 
section below. Furthermore, the petitioner requested a review of 
DEACERO SA. DE CV. and Deacero S.A.P.I. CV. However, in the original 
investigation, DEACERO SA. DE CV.'s name was changed to Deacero 
S.A.P.I. CV. Therefore, consistent with the legal name change stated 
in the LTFV Preliminary Determination of the original investigation, 
we are treating the predecessor company name and Deacero's current 
name as one and the same. See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar From 
Mexico: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, and 
Postponement of Final Determination, 79 FR 22802 (April 24, 2014) 
(LTFV Preliminary Determination).
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    Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by 
the partial federal government closure from December 22, 2018 through 
the resumption of operations on January 28, 2019.\5\ On July 16, 2019, 
we extended the deadline for the preliminary results to January 9, 
2020.\6\ For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\7\ 
A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included as the appendix to this notice.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Partial Shutdown 
of the Federal Government,'' dated January 28, 2019. All deadlines 
in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 40 days. If 
the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with 
Commerce's practice, the deadline will become the next business day.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from 
Mexico: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018,'' dated July 16, 2019.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Steel Concrete 
Reinforcing Bar from Mexico, 2017-2018,'' dated concurrently with, 
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    Imports covered by the order are shipments of steel concrete 
reinforcing bar imported in either straight length or coil form (rebar) 
regardless of metallurgy, length, diameter, or grade. The merchandise 
subject to review is currently classifiable under items 7213.10.0000, 
7214.20.0000, and 7228.30.8010. The subject merchandise may also enter 
under other Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
numbers including 7215.90.1000, 7215.90.5000, 7221.00.0017, 
7221.00.0018, 7221.00.0030, 7221.00.0045, 7222.11.0001, 7222.11.0057, 
7222.11.0059, 7222.30.0001, 7227.20.0080, 7227.90.6085, 7228.20.1000, 
and 7228.60.6000. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
merchandise subject to the order is dispositive. For a full description 
of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(2) of the Act. Constructed export price was 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 preliminary results, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum. 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, and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room 
B-8024 of the main Commerce building. In addition, a complete version 
of the Preliminary Decision memorandum can be accessed directly at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed and electronic 
versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is attached as the appendix to this notice.

Rate for Non-Selected Companies

    Generally, when calculating margins for non-selected respondents, 
Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act for guidance, which 
provides instructions for calculating the all-others margin in an 
investigation. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that when 
calculating the all-others margin, Commerce will exclude any zero and 
de minimis weighted-average dumping margins, as well as any weighted-
average dumping margins based on total facts available. Accordingly, 
Commerce's usual practice has been to average the margins for selected 
respondents, excluding margins that are zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts available.
    In this review, we calculated a weighted-average dumping margin of 
7.25 percent for Deacero and 6.74 percent for Grupo Simec. In 
accordance with section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, Commerce assigned the 
weighted-average of these two calculated weighted-average dumping 
margins, 7.11 percent, to the 11 non-selected companies in these 
preliminary results. The rate calculated for the 11 non-selected 
companies is a weighted-average percentage margin which is calculated 
based on the publicly ranged U.S. values of the two reviewed companies 
with an affirmative antidumping duty margin.\8\
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    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from 
Mexico: Margin for Respondents Not Selected for Individual 
Examination,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Preliminary Results of the Review

    We preliminarily determine the following weighted-average dumping 
margins exist for the POR:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Weighted-average
               Producer and/or exporter                  dumping margin
                                                           (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deacero S.A.P.I de C.V...............................               7.25

[[Page 2704]]

 
Grupo Simec (Simec International 6 S.A. de C.V., Orge               6.75
 S.A. de C.V., Aceros Especiales Simec Tlaxcala, S.A.
 de C.V., Fundiciones de Acero Estructurales, S.A. de
 C.V., Operadora de Perfiles Sigosa, S.A. de C.V.,
 Simec International, S.A. de C.V., Simec
 International 7, S.A. de C.V., Grupo Chant, S.A.P.I.
 de C.V., and Sider[uacute]rgicos Noroeste, S.A. de
 C.V.) \9\...........................................
AceroMex S.A.........................................               7.11
Arcelor Mittal.......................................               7.11
ArcelorMittal Celaya.................................               7.11
ArcelorMittal Cordoba S.A. de C.V....................               7.11
ArcelorMittal Lazaro Cardenas S.A. de C.V............               7.11
Cia Siderurgica De California, S.A. de C.V...........               7.11
Compania Siderurgica de California, S.A. de C.V \10\.               7.11
Grupo Villacero S.A. de C.V..........................               7.11
Siderurgica Tultitlan S.A. de C.V....................               7.11
Talleres y Aceros, S.A. de C.V.......................               7.11
Ternium Mexico, S.A. de C.V..........................               7.11
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Assessment Rate

    Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on 
all appropriate entries covered by this review. If the weighted-average 
dumping margin for Deacero or Grupo Simec is not zero or de minimis 
(i.e., less than 0.5 percent), we will calculate importer-specific ad 
valorem antidumping duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the 
total amount of dumping calculated for each importer's examined sales 
to the total entered value of those same sales in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.212(b)(1).\11\ If the weighted-average dumping margin for 
Deacero or Grupo Simec is zero or de minimis in the final results, or 
an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis in the final 
results, we will instruct CBP not to assess antidumping duties on any 
of their entries in accordance with the Final Modification for 
Reviews.\12\
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    \9\ In the 2014-2015 Review, Commerce collapsed Orge S.A. de 
C.V. (Orge), Compania Siderurgica del Pacifico S.A. de C.V. 
(Siderurgica Pacifico), Grupo Chant S.A.P.I. de C.V. (Chant), RRLC 
S.A.P.I. de C.V. (RRLC), Siderurgica del Occidente y Pacifico S.A. 
de C.V. (Siderurgica Occidente), Simec International 6 S.A. de C.V. 
(Simec 6), Simec International 7 S.A. de C.V. (Simec 7), and Simec 
International 9 S.A. de C.V (Simec 9) into the single entity ``Grupo 
Simec.'' See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Mexico: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2014-2015, 82 FR 
27233 (June 14, 2017) (2014-2015 Review). In the 2016-2017 Review, 
Commerce collapsed AEST, Fundiciones de Acero Estructurales, S.A. de 
C.V. (FUNACE), Perfiles Comerciales Sigosa, S.A. de C.V. (Perfiles), 
and Operadora into the single entity ``Grupo Simec,'' which included 
Simec 6 and Orge. See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Mexico: 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016-
2017, 83 FR 63622 (December 11, 2018), and Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum at 5; unchanged in Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from 
Mexico: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2016-2017, 84 FR 35599 (July 24, 2019) (2016-2017 Review).
    In this administrative review, Commerce is preliminarily 
collapsing Sider[uacute]rgicos Noroeste, S.A. de C.V. and Simec 
International with Simec 6, Orge, AEST, FUNACE, Operadora, Simec 7, 
and Chant in the single entity, ``Grupo Simec.'' Consistent with the 
2016-2017 Review, we find that Industrias CH is affiliated with 
Grupo Simec but Commerce is not collapsing the company into the 
single entity because it is not involved in the production or sale 
of subject merchandise. See Grupo Simec Affiliation and Collapsing 
Memorandum, dated concurrently with this notice.
    \10\ In the Initiation Notice, Commerce inadvertently 
transcribed the requested company name as ``Compafiia Siderurgica de 
California, S.A. de C.V.'' The correct spelling of this company name 
is listed in this rate table.
    \11\ 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) (Final Modification for 
Reviews).
    \12\ Id., 77 FR at 8102.
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    In accordance with Commerce's assessment practice, for entries of 
subject merchandise during the POR produced by each respondent for 
which it did not know that its merchandise was destined for the United 
States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed entries at the 
all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) 
involved in the transaction.
    We intend to issue instructions to CBP 15 days after publication of 
the final results of this review.

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 subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication of the final 
results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for respondents 
noted above will be the rate established in the final results of this 
administrative review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent 
and, therefore, de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(I), 
in which case the cash deposit rate 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; (3) if the 
exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the 
original investigation, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate 
will be the rate established for the most recently completed segment of 
this proceeding for the producer of the subject merchandise; and (4) 
the cash deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will 
continue to be 20.58 percent, the all-others rate established in the 
less-than-fair-value investigation.\13\ These cash deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.
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    \13\ See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Mexico: Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative 
Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 54967 (September 15, 
2014).
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Disclosure

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed in these 
preliminary results to parties in this proceeding within five days of 
the date of publication of this notice.\14\
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(ii), interested parties may submit 
case briefs not later than 30 days after the date of publication of 
this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed no later than five days after the date for filing 
case

[[Page 2705]]

briefs.\15\ However, Commerce intends to conduct verification of the 
questionnaire responses submitted by Grupo Simec after the preliminary 
results. Thus, Commerce will subsequently notify parties of the case 
brief and rebuttal brief deadlines. Parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are encouraged to submit with each 
argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the 
argument; and (3) a table of authorities.\16\ All briefs must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be 
received successfully in its entirety by the established deadline.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), and 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, within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) The party's 
name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; 
and (3) a list of 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.
    We intend to issue the final results of this administrative review, 
including the results of our analysis of the issues raised in any 
written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication 
of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Notification to Importers

    This notice 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 increase the 
subsequent assessment of the 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, and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

    Dated: January 9, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
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. Margin for Companies Not Selected for Individual Examination
V. Affiliation and Collapsing
VI. Discussion of the Methodology
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2020-00646 Filed 1-15-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P