[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30087-30089]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09922]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-428-849]


Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet From Germany: Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2020-2022

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that the producers/exporters subject to this administrative 
review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV) 
during the period of review (POR) (October 15, 2020, through March 31, 
2022). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results of the review.

DATES: Applicable May 10, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Drew Jackson or Jonathan Hill, 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) 482-4406 or (202) 482-3518, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 14, 2022, Commerce initiated an administrative review of 
the antidumping duty order \1\ on common alloy aluminum sheet from 
Germany covering the above-referenced POR.\2\ For a complete 
description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, 
see the accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ On December 
15, 2022, Commerce extended the deadline for issuing the preliminary 
results of this review from January 3, 2023, to April 28, 2023.\4\
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    \1\ See Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Bahrain, Brazil, 
Croatia, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Oman, Romania, 
Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, and the Republic of 
Turkey: Antidumping Duty Orders, 86 FR 22139 (April 27, 2021) 
(Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 42144 (July 14, 2022) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary 
Results of the 2020-2022 Administrative Review of the Antidumping 
Duty Order on Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Germany,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2020-2022 Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' 
dated December 15, 2022.
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this Order 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 Order includes both 
not clad aluminum sheet, as well as multi-alloy, clad aluminum sheet. 
For a full description of the scope of the Order, see Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Results of Successor-in-Interest Analysis

    Commerce initiated this administrative review with respect to four 
companies, including Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH (HARP) and 
Speira GmbH (Speira).\5\ Speira reported that during the POR, ``HARP 
assumed new ownership and took on the name of Speira GmbH.'' \6\ We 
have analyzed record information regarding changes in HARP's 
management, manufacturing facilities, customers, and suppliers, and 
preliminarily determine that Speira is the successor-in-interest to 
HARP. Accordingly, we have treated HARP and Speira as the same company 
in our analyses in this review. See the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
for further information. Should our preliminary successor-in-interest 
determination remain unchanged in the final results of review, we will 
instruct CBP to apply the assessment rates that we calculated for 
Speira to POR entries of subject merchandise from both Speira and HARP.
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    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum (citing Speira's Letter, 
``Section A Response,'' dated September 30, 2022, at 1).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). We 
calculated export and constructed export prices and NV for the two 
mandatory respondents, Novelis Deutschland GmbH (Novelis) and Speira 
(formerly known HARP), in accordance with sections 772 and 773 of the 
Act, respectively.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our decisions,

[[Page 30088]]

see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of the sections in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as an appendix 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 http://access.trade.gov. In 
addition, the Preliminary Decision Memorandum may be accessed directly 
at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Margin for the Non-Individually Examined Company

    The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address what weighted-
average dumping margin to apply to companies not selected for 
individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. 
Generally, when calculating weighted-average dumping 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 rate in an investigation.
    Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that Commerce will base 
the all-others rate in an investigation on the weighted average of the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the 
individually examined respondents, excluding rates that are zero, de 
minimis, or based entirely on facts available. Where the weighted-
average dumping margin for each of the individually examined companies 
is zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available, section 
735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that Commerce may use ``any reasonable 
method to establish the estimated all-others rate for exporters and 
producers not individually investigated, including averaging the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins determined for the exporters 
and producers individually investigated.''
    Because Commerce preliminarily calculated weighted-average dumping 
margins for Novelis and Speira that are not zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts available, we have preliminarily assigned Constellium 
Rolled Products Singen GmbH & Co. KG., the sole company under review 
that was not selected for individual examination, a weighted-average 
dumping margin equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-
average dumping margins calculated for Novelis and HARP/Speira, 
weighted by the mandatory respondents' publicly ranged total sales 
values, consistent with the guidance in section 735(c)(5)(A) of the 
Act.\7\ For additional information, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Administrative Review of the Antidumping 
Duty Order on Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Germany: Calculation 
of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin for the Company Not Selected 
for Individual Examination,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Preliminary Results of Review

    We are assigning the following weighted-average dumping margins to 
the companies listed below for the period October 15, 2020, through 
March 31, 2022:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Weighted-average
                Producer or exporter                    dumping margin
                                                           (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Novelis Deutschland GmbH............................               17.80
Hydro Aluminium Rolled Products GmbH/Speira GmbH....               18.70
Review-Specific Rate Applicable to the Following Non-
 Examined Company:
    Constellium Rolled Products Singen GmbH & Co. KG               18.10
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Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations that it performed for 
these preliminary results of review under Administrative Protective 
Order to parties to the proceeding within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b).

Public Comment

    Interested parties may comment on the preliminary results of this 
review by submitting case briefs to Commerce no later than 30 days 
after the date of publication of these preliminary results of review in 
the Federal Register.8 Interested parties may also file 
rebuttal briefs with Commerce no later than seven days after case 
briefs are due. Interested parties should only respond to arguments 
raised in case briefs in their rebuttal briefs.\9\ Parties who submit 
case or rebuttal briefs are requested to submit with each brief a table 
of contents, a summary of the arguments, not to exceed five pages, and 
a table of authorities.\10\
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing regarding issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, Requests for a hearing should contain: (1) 
the requesting party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the 
number of individuals from the requesting party that will attend the 
hearing and whether any individuals are foreign nationals; and (3) a 
list of the issues the party intends to discuss at the hearing. Oral 
arguments at the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the case 
and rebuttal briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce will 
announce the date and time of the hearing. Parties should confirm the 
date and time of the hearing two days before the scheduled hearing 
date.
    All submissions must be filed electronically via ACCESS. An 
electronically filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice.\11\ Note that Commerce has 
temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents 
containing business proprietary information, until further notice.\12\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \12\ 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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Final Results of Review

    Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative 
review, which will include the results of its analysis of issues raised 
in any briefs, within 120 days of publication of these preliminary 
results of review in the Federal Register, pursuant to section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, unless extended.

[[Page 30089]]

Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of the administrative review, Commerce shall 
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries covered by this review.\13\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b).
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    For the company that was not selected for individual examination, 
we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties at an ad valorem rate 
equal to the weighted-average dumping margin determined in the final 
results of review.
    For individually examined respondents whose weighted-average 
dumping margin is not zero or de minimis, we will calculate importer-
specific assessment rates in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). 
Where the respondent reported reliable entered values, we intend to 
calculate importer-specific ad valorem assessment rates by dividing the 
total amount of dumping calculated for all reviewed U.S. sales to the 
importer by the total entered value of the merchandise sold to the 
importer.\14\ Where the respondent did not report entered values, we 
will calculate importer-specific assessment rates by dividing the total 
amount of dumping calculated for all reviewed U.S. sales to the 
importer by the total quantity of those sales. We also will calculate 
an estimated ad valorem importer-specific assessment rate to determine 
whether the per-unit assessment rate is de minimis; however, we will 
use the per-unit assessment rate where entered values were not 
reported.\15\
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \15\ Id.
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    Where an importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is not zero 
or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to collect the appropriate duties 
at the time of liquidation. Where either the respondent's ad valorem 
weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer-
specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis,16 
we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without 
regard to antidumping duties.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
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    Commerce's ``automatic assessment'' practice will apply to entries 
of subject merchandise during the POR produced or exported by the 
examined companies for which the examined companies did not know that 
the merchandise they sold was destined for the United States. In such 
instances, 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.\17\
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    \17\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier 
than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this 
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the 
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will 
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties 
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 
90 days of publication).
    The final results of this review shall be the basis for the 
assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by 
the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated 
duties, where applicable.\18\
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    \18\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be in effect for all 
shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of the notice of 
the final results of this administrative review in the Federal 
Register, as provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the 
cash deposit rate for the exporters listed above will be equal to the 
weighted-average dumping margin established in the final results of 
this review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent, and, 
therefore, de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in 
which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for previously 
reviewed or investigated companies not participating in this review, 
the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate 
published for the most recently-completed segment of this proceeding in 
which the company was reviewed; (3) if the exporter is not a firm 
covered in this review or a previous segment of this proceeding, but 
the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
established in the most recently completed segment for the producer of 
the subject merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other 
producers or exporters will continue to be 49.40 percent, the all-
others rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation.\19\
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    \19\ See Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Germany: Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 86 FR 13318 (March 
8, 2021).
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    These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect 
until further notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding 
the reimbursement of antidumping duties and/or countervailing 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 and/or 
countervailing duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double 
antidumping duties and/or antidumping duties increased by the amount of 
the countervailing duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results of review 
in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(l) of the Act, and 19 
CFR 351.213 and 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: April 28, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Successor-in-Interest Analysis
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2023-09922 Filed 5-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P