[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16641-16643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-06449]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-580-878, C-580-879]
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the Republic of
Korea: Initiation of Circumvention Inquiry on the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Orders
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to requests from Nucor Corporation and Steel
Dynamics, Inc. (collectively, the requesters), the U.S. Department of
Commerce (Commerce) is initiating a country-wide circumvention inquiry
to determine whether Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products (CORE)
from the Republic of Korea (Korea), completed in Thailand using
components produced in Korea, are circumventing the antidumping (AD)
and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on CORE from Korea.
DATES: Applicable April 2, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Noah Wetzel or Henry Wolfe, AD/CVD
Operations, Office VIII Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7466 or (202) 482-0574,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 26, 2026, pursuant to section 781(b) of the Tariff Act
of 1930, as amended (the Act) and 19 CFR 351.226(a) and (c), the
requesters filed a circumvention inquiry request alleging that CORE
completed in Thailand using components manufactured in Korea is
circumventing the AD and CVD orders on CORE from Korea \1\ and,
accordingly,
[[Page 16642]]
should be included within the scope of the Orders.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from India,
Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and
Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Determination for
India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390 (July 25,
2016); see also Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from
India, Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea,
and Taiwan: Notice of Correction to the Antidumping Duty Orders, 81
FR 58475 (August 25, 2016); and Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel
Products from India, Italy, Republic of Korea and the People's
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 81 FR 48387, (July 25,
2016) (Orders).
\2\ See Requesters' Letter, ``Request for Circumvention Ruling
Pursuant to Section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930,'' dated
February 26, 2026.
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Scope of the Orders
The merchandise covered by the scope of the Orders is CORE from
Korea. For a complete description of the scope of the Orders, see the
Circumvention Initiation Checklist.\3\
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\3\ See Checklist, ``Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products
from the Republic of Korea Order,'' dated concurrently with, and
hereby adopted by, this notice (Circumvention Initiation Checklist)
at Attachment 1.
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Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry
This circumvention inquiry covers CORE completed in Thailand using
Korean-origin components that is subsequently exported from Thailand to
the United States.
Initiation of Circumvention Inquiry
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 requesters allege
circumvention exists pursuant to section 781(b) of the Act (i.e.,
merchandise completed or assembled in other foreign countries).
Section 781(b)(1) of the Act provides that Commerce may find
circumvention of an 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 or 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 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 the
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
the 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 the
foreign country is minor or insignificant.\4\ Accordingly, it is
Commerce's practice to evaluate each of these five factors as they
exist in the foreign country, and to reach an affirmative or negative
circumvention determination based on the totality of the circumstances
of the particular circumvention inquiry.\5\
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\4\ See Statement of Administrative Action Accompanying the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act, H.R. Doc. No. 103-316, Vol. 1 (1994)
(SAA), at 893.
\5\ See, e.g., Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Circumvention
with Respect to R- 410B, R-407G, and a Certain Custom Blend from the
People's Republic of China, 89 FR 56848 (July 11, 2024).
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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 which resulted in
the issuance of such order.
Analysis
Based on our analysis of the requesters' circumvention request,
Commerce determines that the requesters have satisfied the criteria
under 19 CFR 351.226(c) to warrant the initiation of a circumvention
inquiry of the Orders. Thus, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(d)(1)(iii), we
are initiating the requested circumvention inquiry. For a full
discussion of the basis for our decision to initiate the circumvention
inquiry, see the Circumvention Initiation Checklist.\6\ As explained in
the Circumvention Initiation Checklist, the information provided by the
requester warrants initiating this circumvention inquiry on a country-
wide basis. Commerce has taken this approach in prior circumvention
inquiries, where the facts warranted initiation on a country-wide
basis.\7\
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\6\ See Circumvention Initiation Checklist.
\7\ See, 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) (stating at initiation that Commerce would evaluate the
extent to which a country-wide finding applicable to all exports
might be warranted); 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) (stating at
initiation that Commerce would evaluate the extent to which a
country-wide finding applicable to all exports might be warranted).
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Consistent with the approach in the prior circumvention inquiries
that were initiated on a country-wide basis, Commerce intends to issue
a questionnaire to solicit information from producers and exporters in
Thailand concerning their production of CORE and their shipments
thereof to the United States.
Respondent Selection
Commerce intends to base respondent selection on U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) data. Commerce intends to place the CBP data on
the record of this proceeding within five days of the 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
[[Page 16643]]
should be submitted within seven days after placement of the CBP data
on the record of the inquiry.
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 partial or total 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 the
initiation of this circumvention inquiry and direct CBP to continue the
suspension of liquidation of entries of products subject to the
circumvention inquiry that were already subject to the suspension of
liquidation under the Orders, and to apply the cash deposit rate that
would be applicable if the product was determined to be covered by the
scope of the Orders. Should Commerce issue preliminary or final
circumvention determinations, Commerce will follow the suspension of
liquidation rules under 19 CFR 351.226(l)(2)-(4).
Notification to Interested Parties
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(d) and section 781(b) of the Act,
Commerce determines that the requesters' request for a circumvention
inquiry satisfies the requirements of 19 CFR 351.226(c). Accordingly,
Commerce is notifying all interested parties of the initiation of this
circumvention inquiry to determine whether CORE from Thailand using
components manufactured in Korea is circumventing the Orders. In
addition, we have included a description of the products that are the
subject of this inquiry, and an explanation of the reasons for
Commerce's decision to initiate this inquiry as provided above and in
the accompanying Circumvention Initiation Checklist.\8\
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\8\ See Circumvention Initiation Checklist.
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In accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(e)(1), Commerce intends to issue
its preliminary circumvention determination within 150 days from the
date of publication of the notice of initiation of a circumvention
inquiry in the Federal Register. Furthermore, in accordance with
section 781(f) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(e)(2), unless the
circumvention inquiry is rescinded, in whole or in part, or extended,
Commerce intends to issue its final determination within 300 days from
the date of publication of the notice of initiation of the
circumvention inquiry in the Federal Register.
This notice is published in accordance with section 781(b) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.226(d)(1)(iii).
Dated: March 30, 2026.
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. 2026-06449 Filed 4-1-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P