[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63410-63412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17174]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-508-815]


Brass Rod From Israel: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters 
of brass rod from Israel. The period of investigation (POI) is January 
1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.

DATES: Applicable August 5, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Shaykin, 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) 482-2638.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 29, 2023, Commerce published its Preliminary 
Determination.\1\ In the Preliminary Determination, and in accordance 
with section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), 
and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce aligned the final countervailing 
duty (CVD) determination with the final antidumping duty 
determination.\2\ On October 12, 2023, Commerce tolled all deadlines 
for this investigation for a period of 90 days due to the outbreak of 
war in Israel and the consequent impacts on all parts of the 
country.\3\ On May 10, 2024, Commerce released its Post-Preliminary 
Decision.\4\ On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in 
this proceeding by seven days.\5\ The deadline for the final 
determination is now July 29, 2024.
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    \1\ See Brass Rod from Israel: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final 
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 88 FR 67236 
(September 29, 2023) (Preliminary Determination).
    \2\ Id., 88 FR at 67236.
    \3 \ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines in Countervailing 
Duty Investigation of Brass Rod from Israel,'' dated October 12, 
2023.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Post Preliminary Analysis,'' dated May 10, 
2024.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024., ``Tolling 
of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' 
dated July 22, 2024.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is made 
available to the public 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, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Final 
Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Brass Rod from Israel,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby 
adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is brass rod from Israel. 
For a complete description of this investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    During this investigation, Commerce received scope comments from 
parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum to 
address these comments and set aside a period for parties to address 
scope issues in scope-specific case and rebuttal briefs.\7\ We did not 
receive timely comments from any interested parties on the Preliminary 
Scope Decision Memorandum. Thus, we did not make any changes to the 
scope of the investigation from the scope published in the Preliminary 
Determination and included in Appendix I.\8\
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    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' 
dated September 25, 2023 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
    \8\ See Brass Rod from India: Final Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination, 88 FR 87407 (December 18, 2023); see also 
Preliminary Determination.
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, in May 2024, we 
verified the information submitted by Finkelstein and the Government of 
Israel (GOI) for use in our final determination. We used standard 
verification procedures, including an examination of relevant sales and 
accounting records, and original source documents provided by 
Finkelstein and the GOI.\9\
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    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Verification of the Questionnaire 
Responses of the Government of Israel,'' dated June 10, 2024; see 
also Memorandum, ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of 
Finkelstein Metals Ltd.,'' dated June 17, 2024.
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Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by 
interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum. For a list of the issues raised by interested 
parties and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see 
Appendix II to this notice.

Methodology

    Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section 
701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, 
Commerce determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial 
contribution by an ``authority'' that gives rise to a benefit to the 
recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\10\ For a full description 
of the methodology underlying our final determination, see the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum.
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    \10\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    We made certain changes to the countervailable subsidy rate 
calculations for Finkelstein.\11\ For a discussion of these changes, 
see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    \11\ See Memorandum, ``Final Determination Calculations for 
Finkelstein Metals Ltd.,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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All-Others Rate

    In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated an individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for the 
mandatory respondent, Finkelstein. Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act 
states that, for companies not individually investigated, Commerce will 
determine an all-others rate equal to the weighted-average 
countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and/or 
producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis 
countervailable subsidy rates, and any rates determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    We continue to calculate an individual estimated countervailable 
subsidy rate that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts 
otherwise

[[Page 63411]]

available. Therefore, we have applied the all-others rate as equal to 
the rate for Finkelstein, i.e., 1.89 percent ad valorem, as this is the 
only rate that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on the facts 
otherwise available.

Final Determination

    Commerce determines that the following estimated countervailable 
subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finkelstein Metals Ltd..................................            1.89
All Others..............................................            1.89
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Disclosure

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

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    As a result of our Preliminary Determination, and pursuant to 
sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce instructed U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits and 
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in 
the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on September 29, 2023, the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register . 
In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we issued instructions to 
CBP to discontinue the suspension of liquidation of subject merchandise 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, on or after January 27, 2024, but 
to continue the suspension of liquidation of all entries from September 
29, 2023, through January 26, 2024 for Finkelstein and all producers/
exporters not individually examined.
    Pursuant to section 706(a)of the Act, in the event of an 
affirmative injury determination by the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (ITC), we will issue a countervailing duty order, reinstate 
the suspension of liquidation, and require a cash deposit of estimated 
countervailing duties for such entries of subject merchandise in the 
amounts indicated above. Effective on the date of publication in the 
Federal Register of the ITC's final determination, Commerce will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated net 
countervailable subsidy rate or the estimated all others rate as 
follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the companies listed above will 
be equal to the company-specific estimated net countervailable subsidy 
rate determined in this final 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 net countervailable 
subsidy rate 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 net countervailable subsidy 
rate.
    Pursuant to section 705(c)(2) of the Act, if the ITC determines 
that material injury, or threat of material injury, does not exist, 
this proceeding will be terminated, and all estimated duties deposited 
or securities posted as a result of the suspension of liquidation will 
be refunded or canceled.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the ITC of its final affirmative determination that countervailable 
subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of brass rod 
from Israel. Because the final determination in this proceeding is 
affirmative, in accordance with section 705(b) of the Act, the ITC will 
make its final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the 
United States is materially injured, or threatened with material 
injury, by reason of imports of brass rod from Israel no later than 45 
days after our final determination. If the ITC determines that material 
injury or threat of material injury does not exist, this proceeding 
will be terminated and all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC 
determines that such injury does exist, Commerce will issue a 
countervailing duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further 
instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on all imports of the 
subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation, as discussed above in the ``Continuation of Suspension of 
Liquidation'' section. In addition, we are making available to the ITC 
all non-privileged and non-proprietary information in our files. We 
will allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary 
information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not 
disclose such information, either publicly or under administrative 
protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice will serve as the only reminder to parties subject to 
an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of 
proprietary information disclosed under APO, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of 
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO 
is a violation which is subject to sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination and this notice are issued and published 
pursuant to sections 705(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.210(c).

    Dated: July 29, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are brass rod and bar 
(brass rod), which is defined as leaded, low-lead, and no-lead solid 
brass made from alloys such as, but not limited to the following 
alloys classified under the Unified Numbering System (UNS) as 
C27450, C27451, C27460, C34500, C35000, C35300, C35330, C36000, 
C36300, C37000, C37700, C48500, C67300, C67600, and C69300, and 
their international equivalents.
    The brass rod subject to this investigation has an actual cross-
section or outside diameter greater than 0.25 inches but less than 
or equal to 12 inches. Brass rod cross-sections may be round, 
hexagonal, square, or octagonal shapes as well as special profiles 
(e.g., angles, shapes), including hollow profiles.
    Standard leaded brass rod covered by the scope contains, by 
weight, 57.0--65.0 percent copper; 0.5--3.0 percent lead; no more 
than 1.3 percent iron; and at least 15 percent zinc. No-lead or low-
lead brass rod covered by the scope contains by weight 59.0--76.0 
percent copper; 0--1.5 percent lead; no more than 0.35 percent iron; 
and at least 15 percent zinc. Brass rod may also include other 
chemical elements (e.g., nickel, phosphorous, silicon, tin, etc.).
    Brass rod may be in straight lengths or coils. Brass rod covered 
by this investigation may be finished or unfinished, and may or may 
not be heated, extruded, pickled, or cold-drawn. Brass rod may be 
produced in accordance with ASTM B16, ASTM B124, ASTM B981, ASTM 
B371, ASTM B453, ASTM B21, ASTM B138, and ASTM B927, but such 
conformity to an ASTM standard is not required for the merchandise 
to be included within the scope.

[[Page 63412]]

    Excluded from the scope of this investigation is brass ingot, 
which is a casting of unwrought metal unsuitable for conversion into 
brass rod without remelting, that contains, by weight, at least 57.0 
percent copper and 15.0 percent zinc.
    The merchandise covered by this investigation is currently 
classifiable under subheadings 7407.21.9000, 7407.21.7000, and 
7407.21.1500 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Products subject to the scope may also enter under HTSUS 
subheadings 7403.21.0000, 7407.21.3000, and 7407.21.5000. The HTSUS 
subheadings and UNS alloy designations are provided for convenience 
and customs purposes. The written description of the scope of the 
investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Subsidies Valuation
IV. Diversification of Israel's Economy
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Analysis of Programs
VII. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Whether Commerce Should Change the Benchmark Under 
the Land for Less-than-Adequate-Remuneration Program
    Comment 2: Whether the Provision of Natural Gas for LTAR Program 
Provides an Indirect Financial Contribution
    Comment 3: Whether Commerce Should Revise its Calculation of 
Benefits under the Provision of Brass Rod for More-Than-Adequate-
Remuneration Program
VIII. Recommendation

 [FR Doc. 2024-17174 Filed 8-2-24; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P