[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 200 (Thursday, October 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65386-65389]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22819]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-428-849]


Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet From Germany: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final 
Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that common alloy aluminum sheet (aluminum sheet) from Germany is 
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is January 1, 2019 through 
December 31, 2019. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable October 15, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Hill or Thomas Hanna, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3518 or (202) 482-0835, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 7, 
2020.\1\ On July 29, 2020, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
October 6, 2020.\2\ For a complete description of the events that 
followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics

[[Page 65387]]

included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix 
II to this notice. 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. In addition, a complete 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 Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet From Bahrain, Brazil, 
Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Republic 
of Korea, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, 
Taiwan and the Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 85 FR 19445 (April 7, 2020) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Bahrain, Brazil, 
Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Republic 
of Korea, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, 
Taiwan, and the Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 85 FR 
45576 (July 29, 2020).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Common 
Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Germany,'' dated concurrently with, and 
hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are aluminum sheet from 
Germany. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments 
and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this preliminary 
determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments 
timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared 
in the Initiation Notice. See the revised scope in Appendix I to this 
notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Bahrain, 
Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, 
Republic of Korea, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, 
Spain, Taiwan, and Turkey: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for 
the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Constructed export prices 
have been calculated in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. 
Normal value (NV) is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the 
Act. Furthermore, pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with 
adverse inferences, for Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH (HARP). 
For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in 
the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted-average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding rates that 
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the 
Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily assigned a rate based 
entirely on facts available to HARP. Therefore, the only rate that is 
not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available is 
the rate calculated for Novelis Deutschland GmbH (Novelis). 
Consequently, the rate calculated for Novelis is also assigned as the 
rate for all other producers and exporters.

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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    \7\ See Memorandum ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Germany: Preliminary Determination 
Analysis Memorandum for Novelis Deutschland GmbH,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter or producer                        dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH........................      352.71
Novelis Deutschland GmbH....................................   \7\ 51.18
All Others..................................................       51.18
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant 
to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: 
(1) The cash deposit rate for the respondents listed in the table above 
will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins determined in this preliminary determination; (2) if 
the exporter is not a respondent identified above, but the producer is, 
then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that producer 
of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other 
producers and exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    Commerce is currently unable to conduct on-site verification of the 
information relied upon in making its final determination in this 
investigation. Accordingly, we intend to take additional steps in lieu 
of on-site verification. Commerce will notify interested parties of any 
additional documentation or information required.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. A timeline for the 
submission of case briefs and written comments on non-scope issues will 
be announced at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised 
in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the 
deadline for case briefs.\8\ The deadlines for submitting case and 
rebuttal briefs on scope issues are in the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum.\9\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of 
its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary

[[Page 65388]]

information, until further notice.\10\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) 
and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 
investigation 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.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \9\ See Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.
    \10\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and Temporary Rule 
Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of 
Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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    During the course of this investigation, Commerce collected 
information from Novelis and HARP relating to the single entity 
treatment of affiliated producers, as well as the single entity 
treatment of each mandatory respondent with Aluminum Norf GmbH 
(AluNorf), consistent with 19 CFR 351.401(f).\11\ Interested parties 
are invited to comment on the application of the criteria in 19 CFR 
351.401(f) to Novelis, HARP, and AluNorf, and to Novelis and HARP 
individually with AluNorf in their case briefs.
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    \11\ See, e.g., Novelis's Letter, ``Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet 
from Germany: Novelis Deutschland's GmbH's Section A Supplemental 
Questionnaire Response,'' dated August 5, 2020 at 8-14; see also 
HARP's Letter, ``Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Germany; Section A 
Supplemental Response,'' dated August 13, 2020 at 1-6.
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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 30 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 a time and date to be 
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date and time of 
the hearing two days before the scheduled date of the hearing.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations 
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    On September 16 and 18, 2020, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), HARP 
and Novelis, respectively, requested that Commerce postpone the final 
determination and that provisional measures be extended to a period not 
to exceed six months.\12\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary 
determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for 
a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) 
no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the 
final determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-
month period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, 
Commerce will make its final determination no later than 135 days after 
the date of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \12\ See Harp's Letter, ``Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from 
Germany; Request to Extend Final Determination,'' dated September 
16, 2020; and Novelis's Letter, ``Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from 
Germany: Novelis Deutschland's Request for Postponement of Final 
Antidumping Determination,'' dated September 18, 2020.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: October 6, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are common alloy 
aluminum sheet, which is a flat-rolled aluminum product having a 
thickness of 6.3 mm or less, but greater than 0.2 mm, in coils or 
cut-to-length, regardless of width. Common alloy sheet within the 
scope of this investigation includes both not clad aluminum sheet, 
as well as multi-alloy, clad aluminum sheet. With respect to not 
clad aluminum sheet, common alloy sheet is manufactured from a 1XXX-
, 3XXX-, or 5XXX-series alloy as designated by the Aluminum 
Association. With respect to multi-alloy, clad aluminum sheet, 
common alloy sheet is produced from a 3XXX-series core, to which 
cladding layers are applied to either one or both sides of the core. 
The use of a proprietary alloy or non-proprietary alloy that is not 
specifically registered by the Aluminum Association as a discrete 
1XXX-, 3XXX-, or 5XXX-series alloy, but that otherwise has a 
chemistry that is consistent with these designations, does not 
remove an otherwise in-scope product from the scope.
    Common alloy sheet may be made to ASTM specification B209-14 but 
can also be made to other specifications. Regardless of 
specification, however, all common alloy sheet meeting the scope 
description is included in the scope. Subject merchandise includes 
common alloy sheet that has been further processed in a third 
country, including but not limited to annealing, tempering, 
painting, varnishing, trimming, cutting, punching, and/or slitting, 
or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the 
merchandise from the scope of this investigation if performed in the 
country of manufacture of the common alloy sheet.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation is aluminum can 
stock, which is suitable for use in the manufacture of aluminum 
beverage cans, lids of such cans, or tabs used to open such cans. 
Aluminum can stock is produced to gauges that range from 0.200 mm to 
0.292 mm, and has an H-19, H-41, H-48, H-39, or H-391 temper. In 
addition, aluminum can stock has a lubricant applied to the flat 
surfaces of the can stock to facilitate its movement through 
machines used in the manufacture of beverage cans. Aluminum can 
stock is properly classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS) subheadings 7606.12.3045 and 7606.12.3055.
    Where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is 
within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual 
measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions 
set for the above.
    Common alloy sheet is currently classifiable under HTSUS 
subheadings 7606.11.3060, 7606.11.6000, 7606.12.3096, 7606.12.6000, 
7606.91.3095, 7606.91.6095, 7606.92.3035, and 7606.92.6095. Further, 
merchandise that falls within the scope of this investigation may 
also be entered into

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the United States under HTSUS subheadings 7606.11.3030, 
7606.12.3015, 7606.12.3025, 7606.12.3035, 7606.12.3091, 
7606.91.3055, 7606.91.6055, 7606.92.3025, 7606.92.6055, 
7607.11.9090. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Scope Comments
VI. Applications of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2020-22819 Filed 10-14-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P