[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 153 (Tuesday, August 12, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38723-38725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15246]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 153 / Tuesday, August 12, 2025 /
Notices
[[Page 38723]]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-918, A-552-812, C-552-813]
Steel Wire Garment Hangers From the People's Republic of China
and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Circumvention
Inquiries of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to a request from a domestic interested party, M&B
Metal Products Co., Inc. (the requester), the U.S. Department of
Commerce (Commerce) is initiating country-wide circumvention inquiries
to determine whether imports of steel wire garment hangers (hangers)
completed in Cambodia using components manufactured in the People's
Republic of China (China) or the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Vietnam) are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) order on hangers
from China, or the AD and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on hangers
from Vietnam.
DATES: Applicable August 12, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Samuel Frost, AD/CVD Operations,
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-8180.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 17, 2024, pursuant to section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.226(i), the requester filed
circumvention inquiry requests alleging that hangers completed in
Cambodia using: (1) steel wire and/or (2) steel wire and paper
accessories, produced in China or Vietnam are circumventing the AD
order on hangers from China or the AD and CVD orders on steel hangers
from Vietnam,\1\ and accordingly, should be covered by the scope of the
China Order and the scope of the Vietnam Orders.\2\ On July 17, 2024,
Commerce extended the deadline to initiate this circumvention inquiry
by 15 days in accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(d)(1).\3\
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\1\ See Requester's Letter, ``Circumvention Inquiry Request,''
dated June 17, 2024 (Circumvention Request).
\2\ See Notice of Antidumping Duty Order: Steel Wire Garment
Hangers from the People's Republic of China, 73 FR 58111 (October 6,
2008) (China Order); see also Steel Wire Garment Hangers from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Order, 78 FR 8105
(February 5, 2013); and Certain Steel Wire Garment Hangers from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Countervailing Duty Order, 78 FR 8107
(February 5, 2013) (collectively, Vietnam Orders).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Time to Determine Whether to
Initiate Circumvention Inquiry,'' dated July 17, 2024.
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On August 1, 2024, January 10, 2025, and February 19, 2025 Commerce
issued supplemental questionnaires to the requester.\4\ On December 10,
2024, January 23, 2025, and July 7, 2025, the requester responded to
Commerce's supplemental requests for information, respectively.\5\
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(d)(1), the 30-day time period for Commerce
to determine whether to accept or reject the request and whether to
initiate or not initiate a circumvention inquiry began on July 7, 2025.
We received no comments on these requests.
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\4\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Supplemental Questionnaire,''
dated August 1, 2024, ``Second Supplemental Questionnaire,'' dated
January 10, 2025, and ``Third Supplemental Questionnaire,'' dated
February 19, 2025.
\5\ See Requester's Letters, ``Response to Supplemental
Questionnaire,'' dated December 10, 2024, ``Response to Second
Supplemental Questionnaire,'' dated January 23, 2025, and ``Response
to Third Supplemental Questionnaire,'' dated July 7, 2025.
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Scope of the Orders
The merchandise covered by the scope of the China Order and the
Vietnam Orders is hangers from China and Vietnam, respectively. For a
complete description of the scope of the China Order and the Vietnam
Orders, see the Circumvention Initiation Checklists.\6\
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\6\ See Checklists, ``Steel Wire Garment Hangers from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Circumvention Initiation Checklist''
and ``Steel Wire Garment Hangers from the People's Republic of
China: Circumvention Initiation Checklist,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (collectively,
Circumvention Initiation Checklists).
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Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiries
These circumvention inquiries cover hangers completed in Cambodia
using: (1) steel wire and/or (2) steel wire and paper accessories
produced in China or Vietnam that are then subsequently exported from
Cambodia to the United States.
Initiation of Circumvention Inquiries
Section 351.226(d) of Commerce's regulations states that if
Commerce determines that a request for a circumvention inquiry
satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 351.226(c), then Commerce ``will
accept the request and initiate a circumvention inquiry.'' Section
351.226(c)(1) of Commerce's regulations, in turn, requires that each
circumvention inquiry request allege ``that the elements necessary for
a circumvention determination under section 781 of the Act exist'' and
be ``accompanied by information reasonably available to the interested
party supporting these allegations.'' The requester alleged
circumvention pursuant to section 781(b) of the Act, which pertains to
merchandise completed or assembled in other foreign countries.
Section 781(b)(1) of the Act provides that Commerce may find
circumvention of an AD or CVD order when merchandise of the same class
or kind subject to the order is completed or assembled in a foreign
country other than the country to which the order applies. In
conducting a circumvention inquiry under section 781(b)(1) of the Act,
Commerce relies on the following criteria: (A) merchandise imported
into the United States is of the same class or kind as any merchandise
produced in a foreign country that is the subject of an AD or CVD
order; (B) before importation into the United States, such imported
merchandise is completed or assembled in another foreign country from
merchandise which is subject to the order or is produced in the foreign
country that is subject to the order; (C) the process of assembly or
completion in the foreign country referred to in section (B) is minor
or insignificant; (D) the value of the merchandise produced in the
foreign country to which the AD or CVD order applies is a significant
[[Page 38724]]
portion of the total value of the merchandise exported to the United
States; and (E) the administering authority determines that action is
appropriate to prevent evasion of such order.
In determining whether the process of assembly or completion in a
foreign country is minor or insignificant under section 781(b)(1)(C) of
the Act, section 781(b)(2) of the Act directs Commerce to consider: (A)
the level of investment in the foreign country; (B) the level of
research and development in the foreign country; (C) the nature of the
production process in the foreign country; (D) the extent of production
facilities in the foreign country and (E) whether or not the value of
processing performed in the foreign country represents a small
proportion of the value of the merchandise imported into the United
States. However, no single factor, by itself, controls Commerce's
determination of whether the process of assembly or completion in a
third country is minor or insignificant.\7\ Accordingly, Commerce will
evaluate each of these five factors, depending on the totality of the
circumstances of the particular circumvention inquiry.\8\
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\7\ See Statement of Administrative Action Accompanying the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act, H.R. Doc. No. 103-316, Vol. 1 (1994),
at 893.
\8\ See, e.g., Uncovered Innerspring Units from the People's
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Circumvention
of the Antidumping Duty Order, 83 FR 65626 (December 21, 2018), and
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at 4; see also, e.g.,
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the Republic of
Korea and Taiwan: Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiries on the
Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders, 83 FR 37785 (August
2, 2018); Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from the People's
Republic of China: Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry on the
Antidumping Duty Order, 82 FR 40556, 40560 (August 25, 2017); and
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the People's
Republic of China: Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiries on the
Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders, 81 FR 79454, 79458
(November 14, 2016).
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In addition, section 781(b)(3) of the Act sets forth additional
factors to consider in determining whether to include merchandise
assembled or completed in a foreign country within the scope of an AD
or CVD order. Specifically, Commerce shall take into account such
factors as: (A) the pattern of trade, including sourcing patterns; (B)
whether the manufacturer or exporter of the merchandise that was
shipped to the foreign country is affiliated with the person who, in
the foreign country, uses the merchandise to complete or assemble the
merchandise which is subsequently imported into the United States; and
(C) whether imports of the merchandise into the foreign country have
increased after the initiation of the investigation that resulted in
the issuance of such order.
Analysis
Based on our analysis of the requester's circumvention inquiry
requests and supplemental questionnaire responses, we determine that
the requester has satisfied the criteria under 19 CFR 351.226(c) to
warrant the initiation of these circumvention inquiries. Therefore,
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(d)(1)(iii), we are initiating the requested
circumvention inquiries. For a full discussion of the basis for our
decision to initiate these circumvention inquiries, see the
Circumvention Initiation Checklists. As confirmed in the Circumvention
Initiation Checklists, Commerce found that the information provided by
the requester warrants initiating the circumvention inquiries on a
country-wide basis. Commerce has taken this approach in prior
circumvention inquiries, where the facts warranted initiation on a
country-wide basis.\9\
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\9\ See, e.g., Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's
Republic of China: Initiation of Circumvention Inquiry on the
Antidumping Duty Order, 88 FR 74150 (October 30, 2023).
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Consistent with the approach in the prior circumvention inquiries
that we initiated on a country-wide basis, Commerce intends to issue
questionnaires to solicit information from producers and exporters in
Cambodia concerning their shipments of hangers made from Chinese-origin
or Vietnamese-origin steel wire and paper accessories to the United
States.
Respondent Selection
Commerce intends to begin its respondent selection process using
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Commerce intends to
place the CBP data on each record \10\ within five days of publication
of this initiation notice, which will be available on Enforcement and
Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic
Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at
https://access.trade.gov. Comments regarding the CBP data and
respondent selection should be submitted within seven days after
placement of the CBP data on the record of the inquiry. Contingent upon
comments received, Commerce intends to issue quantity and value
questionnaires (Q&V) to the largest exporters in the CBP data
requesting the Q&V of hangers produced using Chinese or Vietnamese
steel wire and paper accessories that were exported to the United
States.
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\10\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(m)(2), ``{Commerce{time} will
initiate and conduct a single inquiry with respect to the product at
issue for both {the AD and CVD{time} orders only on the record of
the antidumping duty proceeding.'' Accordingly, with respect to the
Vietnam Orders, all ACCESS filings shall be only placed on the AD
record.
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Commerce intends to establish a schedule for questionnaire
responses after respondent selection. A company's failure to completely
respond to Commerce's requests for information may result in the
application of facts available, pursuant to section 776(a) of the Act,
which may include adverse inferences, pursuant to section 776(b) of the
Act.
Suspension of Liquidation
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(l)(1), Commerce will notify CBP of these
initiations and direct CBP to continue the suspension of liquidation of
entries of products subject to the circumvention inquiries that were
already subject to the suspension of liquidation under the China Order
and the Vietnam Orders, and to apply the cash deposit rates that would
be applicable if the products were determined to be covered by the
scope of the China Order and the Vietnam Orders.
Should Commerce issue affirmative preliminary or final
circumvention determinations, Commerce will follow the suspension of
liquidation rules under 19 CFR 351.226(l)(2)-(4). In the event that
Commerce issues affirmative preliminary or final circumvention
determinations that the inquiry merchandise is circumventing either the
China Order or the Vietnam Orders, Commerce will instruct CBP to
continue the suspension of liquidation of previously suspended entries
and to collect the applicable cash deposit for estimated AD and/or CVD
duties. Commerce will also instruct CBP to begin the suspension of
liquidation and application of cash deposits for any unliquidated
entries not yet suspended, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption, on or after the date of publication of the notice of
initiation of the circumvention inquiries pursuant to paragraphs
(l)(2)(ii) and (l)(3)(ii). In addition, pursuant to paragraphs
(l)(2)(iii)(A) and (l)(3)(iii)(A), Commerce may instruct CBP to begin
the suspension of liquidation and application of cash deposits for any
unliquidated entries not yet suspended, entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption, prior to the date of initiation of the
circumvention inquiries, but not for such entries prior to November 4,
2021, the effective date
[[Page 38725]]
of these provisions in the Final Rule.\11\ These rules will not affect
CBP's authority to take any additional action with respect to the
suspension of liquidation or related measures for these entries, as
stated in 19 CFR 351.226(l)(5).
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\11\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement
of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300, 52345
(September 20, 2021) (Final Rule).
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Notification to Interested Parties
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(d) and section 781(b) of the Act,
Commerce determines that the request for circumvention inquiries
satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 351.226(c). Accordingly, Commerce
is notifying all interested parties of the initiation of these
circumvention inquiries to determine whether hangers completed in
Cambodia using (1) steel wire and/or (2) steel wire and paper
accessories from China or Vietnam, and exported from Cambodia are
circumventing the China Order or the Vietnam Orders. In addition, we
have included a description of the products that are subject to these
inquiries and an explanation of Commerce's decision to initiate the
inquiries as provided in the accompanying Circumvention Initiation
Checklists.\12\
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\12\ See Circumvention Initiation Checklists.
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In accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(e)(1), unless the circumvention
inquiries are rescinded, in whole or in part, or extended, Commerce
intends to issue its preliminary circumvention determinations no later
than 150 days from the date of publication of this notice of initiation
of these circumvention inquiries in the Federal Register. Furthermore,
in accordance with section 781(f) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(e)(2),
unless the circumvention inquiries are rescinded, in whole or in part,
or extended, Commerce intends to issue its final determinations within
300 days from the date of publication of this notice of initiation of
the circumvention inquiries in the Federal Register.
This notice is published in accordance with section 781(b) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.226(d)(1)(ii).
Dated: August 6, 2025.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2025-15246 Filed 8-11-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P