[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 48 (Thursday, March 13, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11943-11944]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04006]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-967, C-570-968]
Aluminum Extrusions From the People's Republic of China: Notice
of Amended Final Scope Rulings Pursuant to Court Decision
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On October 8, 2024, in the consolidated appeal of Worldwide
Door Components, Inc., v. United States, Endura Products, INC., Court
No. 2023-1532 and Columbia Aluminum Products, LLC, v. United States,
Endura Products, INC., Court No. 2023-1534 (collectively, Worldwide
Federal Circuit), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
(Federal Circuit) reversed the U.S. Court of International Trade's
(CIT) Second Remand Order, and sustained the non-protested portions of
Commerce's First Remand Redeterminations. The Federal Circuit also
vacated the CIT's subsequent opinions and orders in this case following
the Second Remand Order. In the First Remand Redeterminations, Commerce
continued to find that certain door thresholds imported by Worldwide
Door Components, Inc. (Worldwide) and Columbia Aluminum Products, Inc.
(Columbia) are within the scope of the antidumping (AD) and
countervailing duty (CVD) orders on aluminum extrusions from the
People's Republic of China (China). The CIT originally sustained
Commerce's Third Remand Redeterminations finding the products in
question outside the scope of the Orders under respectful protest, and
on December 29, 2022, Commerce published a notice of court decisions
not in harmony with its final scope ruling and notice of amended final
scope ruling. However, consistent with the Federal Circuit's decision
reversing and vacating the CIT's opinion and order, Commerce is now
amending the final scope rulings, as they were represented in the
Amended Final Scope Rulings, to find that the Worldwide and Columbia
door thresholds at issue are subject to the Orders.
DATES: Applicable January 7, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erin Kearney, AD/CVD Operations,
Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0167.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 19, 2018, Commerce issued its Final Scope Rulings \1\
that certain door thresholds imported by Worldwide and Columbia fall
within the scope of the Orders.\2\ Worldwide and Columbia appealed
Commerce's Final Scope Ruling. On December 23, 2020, pursuant to the
CIT's first remand orders in Worldwide I and Columbia I,\3\ Commerce
issued its First Remand Redeterminations, in which Commerce continued
to find that Worldwide's and Columbia's door thresholds were
subassemblies included in the scope of the Orders and, therefore,
failed to satisfy the requirements for the finished merchandise
exclusion.\4\
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\1\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Order
on Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic of China: Final
Scope Rulings on Worldwide Door Components Inc., MJB Wood Group,
Inc. and Columbia Door Thresholds,'' dated December 19, 2018 (Final
Scope Rulings).
\2\ See Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic of China:
Antidumping Duty Order, 76 FR 30650 (May 26, 2011); and Aluminum
Extrusions from the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty
Order, 76 FR 30653 (May 26, 2011) (collectively, the Orders).
\3\ See Worldwide Door Components, Inc. v. United States, 466 F.
Supp. 3d 1370 (CIT 2020) (Worldwide I); and Columbia Aluminum
Products, LLC v. United States, 470 F. Supp. 3d 1353 (CIT 2020)
(Columbia I).
\4\ See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court
Remand, Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic of China,
Worldwide Door Components, Inc. v. United States, Court No. 19-
00012, Slip Op. 20-128 (CIT August 27, 2020), dated December 23,
2020, available at https://access.trade.gov/resources/remands/20-128.pdf; Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court Remand,
Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic of China, Columbia
Aluminum Products, LLC v. United States, Court No. 19-00013, Slip
Op. 20-129 (CIT August 27, 2020), dated December 23, 2020, available
at https://access.trade.gov/resources/remands/20-129.pdf
(collectively, First Remand Redeterminations).
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In Worldwide II and Columbia II, the CIT determined that Commerce
impermissibly based its analysis in the First Remand Redeterminations
on inferences that were contradicted or unsupported by other
information on the record.\5\ The CIT directed Commerce to reconsider
whether Worldwide's and
[[Page 11944]]
Columbia's door thresholds required cutting or machining prior to
incorporation into another product, and to determine whether
Worldwide's and Columbia's door thresholds qualified for the finished
merchandise exclusion.\6\ On December 13, 2021, Commerce issued its
Second Remand Redeterminations, in which Commerce determined that
Worldwide's and Columbia's door thresholds were excluded from the
Orders as finished merchandise.\7\
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\5\ See Worldwide Door Components, Inc. v. United States, 537 F.
Supp. 3d 1403, 1404-05, 1408-09 (CIT 2021) (Worldwide II); and
Columbia Aluminum Products, LLC v. United States, 536 F. Supp. 3d
1346 (CIT 2021) (Columbia II).
\6\ See Worldwide II, 537 F. Supp. 3d at 1404-05, 1414; and
Columbia II, 536 F. Supp. 3d at 1354.
\7\ See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court
Remand, Worldwide Door Components, Inc. v. United States, Court No.
19-00012, Slip Op. 21-115 (CIT September 14, 2021), dated December
13, 2021, available at https://access.trade.gov/resources/remands/21-115.pdf; Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court
Remand, Columbia Aluminum Products, LLC. v. United States, Court No.
19-00013, Slip Op. 21-116 (CIT September 14, 2021), dated December
13, 2021, available at https://access.trade.gov/resources/remands/21-116.pdf (collectively, Second Remand Redeterminations).
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In Worldwide III and Columbia III, the CIT held that Commerce's
Second Remand Redeterminations misconstrued aspects of the CIT's
decision in Worldwide II and Columbia II and were not submitted in a
form the CIT could sustain upon judicial review.\8\ The CIT directed
Commerce to issue a new determination, in a form that would go into
effect if sustained upon judicial review, determining whether the
extruded aluminum components of Worldwide's and Columbia's door
thresholds are within the scope of the Orders.\9\
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\8\ See Worldwide III, 589 F. Supp. 3d 1185, 1192-95 (CIT 2022);
and Columbia III, 587 F. Supp. 3d 1375, 1382-85 (CIT 2022).
\9\ See Worldwide III, 589 F. Supp. 3d at 1195; and Columbia
III, 587 F. Supp. 3d at 1385.
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In the Third Remand Redeterminations, Commerce continued to find,
in accordance with the CIT's holdings, that Worldwide's and Columbia's
door thresholds are outside the scope of the Orders based on the
finished merchandise exclusion; Commerce also provided further
explanation for the basis of that finding and clarified that Commerce
did not intend to issue any other scope ruling or other agency
determination subsequent to the CIT's order.\10\ The CIT subsequently
sustained Commerce's remand redeterminations in Worldwide IV and
Columbia IV.\11\ On December 29, 2022, Commerce published a notice of
court decisions not in harmony with its final scope ruling and notice
of amended final scope ruling.\12\
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\10\ See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court
Remand, Worldwide Door Components, Inc. v. United States, Court No.
19-00012, Slip Op. 22-91 (CIT August 10, 2022), dated September 8,
2022, available at https://access.trade.gov/resources/remands//22-91.pdf; and Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court
Remand, Columbia Aluminum Products, LLC. v. United States, Court No.
19-00013, Slip Op. 22-92 (CIT August 10, 2022), dated September 8,
2022, available at https://access.trade.gov/resources/remands/22-92.pdf (collectively, Third Remand Redeterminations).
\11\ See Worldwide Door Components, Inc. v. United States, 606
F. Supp. 3d 1363 (CIT 2022) (Worldwide IV); Columbia Aluminum
Products, LLC v. United States, 607 F. Supp. 3d 1275 (CIT 2022)
(Columbia IV).
\12\ See Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic of
China: Notice of Court Decisions Not in Harmony With Final Scope
Ruling and Notice of Amended Final Scope Rulings Pursuant to Court
Decisions, 87 FR 80160 (December 29, 2022) (First Amended Final
Scope Rulings).
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On October 8, 2024, the Federal Circuit reversed and the CIT and
sustained the non-protested portions of Commerce's First Remand
Redeterminations and vacated the CIT's subsequent opinions and
orders.\13\ The Federal Circuit held that Commerce's finding in the
First Remand Redeterminations that the Worldwide and Columbia door
thresholds at issue are subassemblies covered by the scope of the
Orders is supported by substantial evidence.\14\
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\13\ See Worldwide Door Components, Inc. v. United States, 119
F.4th 959, 972 (Fed. Cir. 2024) (Worldwide Federal Circuit).
\14\ Id.
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Second Amended Final Scope Ruling
Because there is now a final and conclusive court decision
reinstating Commerce's scope rulings in the First Remand
Redeterminations, we are amending the First Amended Final Scope Rulings
with respect to Worldwide and Columbia's door thresholds.\15\ In
accordance with the Federal Circuit's decision in Worldwide Federal
Circuit, the Worldwide and Columbia door thresholds at issue in the
Final Scope Rulings are subject to the Orders.
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\15\ See First Amended Final Scope Rulings.
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Accordingly, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend liquidation of Worldwide and
Columbia's door thresholds until appropriate liquidation instructions
are sent. As of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal
Register, the cash deposit rate for entries of Worldwide and Columbia's
door thresholds will be the applicable cash deposit rate of the
exporters of the merchandise from China to the United States.
Notification to Interested Parties
This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections
516A(c)(1) and (e)(1), and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended.
Dated: March 7, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2025-04006 Filed 3-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P