83900 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 

1See Brass Rod from Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, 

the Republic of Korea, and South Africa: Initiation 

of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 88 FR 

33575 (May 24, 2023) (Initiation Notice). 

2See Brass Rod from Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, 

the Republic of Korea, and South Africa: 

Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the 

Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 88 FR 62054 

(September 8, 2023). 

3See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales 

at Less Than Fair Value in the Investigation of Brass 

Rod from India,’’ dated concurrently with, and 

hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum). 

4See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 

Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). 

5See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 33576. 

Respondents may submit their data 

via internet or a mailed or faxed form. 

Some respondents choose to report over 

the phone or to send proprietary files 

containing permit information in lieu of 

returning the form. 

The survey universe is comprised of 

approximately 20,000 local governments 

that issue building permits. Due to 

resource availability and the time 

required to complete the data review 

and analysis, the Census Bureau collects 

data from a selection of permit-issuing 

jurisdictions monthly, and the 

remainder of the jurisdictions annually. 

We collect this information monthly for 

about approximately 8,600 permitissuing jurisdictions. We also collect 

this information annually for about 

11,400 permit-issuing jurisdictions. 

III. Data 

OMB Control Numbers: 0607–0094, 

0607–0350. 

Form Numbers: C–404, C–411. 

Type of Review: Regular submission, 

request for a revision of a currently 

approved collection. 

Affected Public: State and local 

governments. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

C–404—20,000; C–411—3,150. 

Estimated Time Per Response: C– 

404—8 minutes for monthly 

respondents who report via internet, 

mail, or faxing the form, 23 minutes for 

annual respondents who report via 

internet, mail or faxing the form, and 3 

minutes for monthly and annual 

respondents who report by telephone or 

send electronic files or printouts. C– 

411—15 minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: C–404—17,229 hours; C–411— 

788 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0. (This is not the cost of 

respondents’ time, but the indirect costs 

respondents may incur for such things 

as purchases of specialized software or 

hardware needed to report, or 

expenditures for accounting or records 

maintenance services required 

specifically by the collection.) 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C. 131 

and 182. 

IV. Request for Comments 

We are soliciting public comments to 

permit the Department/Bureau to: (a) 

Evaluate whether the proposed 

information collection is necessary for 

the proper functions of the Department, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the 

accuracy of our estimate of the time and 

cost burden for this proposed collection, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; and (d) Minimize the 

reporting burden on those who are to 

respond, including the use of automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Comments that you submit in 

response to this notice are a matter of 

public record. We will include, or 

summarize, each comment in our 

request to OMB to approve this ICR. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you may ask us in your comment 

to withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of 

the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, 

Commerce Department. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26473 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–07–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–533–915] 

Brass Rod From India: Preliminary 

Affirmative Determination of Sales at 

Less Than Fair Value, Postponement 

of Final Determination, and Extension 

of Provisional Measures 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 

determines that brass rod from India is 

being, or likely to be, sold in the United 

States at less than fair value (LTFV). The 

period of investigation is April 1, 2022, 

through March 31, 2023. Interested 

parties are invited to comment on this 

preliminary determination. 

DATES: Applicable December 1, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher Williams or Allison 

Hollander, AD/CVD Operations, Office 

I, Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–5166 or 

(202) 482–2805, respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This preliminary determination is 

made in accordance with section 733(b) 

of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 

(the Act). Commerce published the 

notice of initiation of this LTFV 

investigation on May 24, 2023.1 On 

September 8, 2023, Commerce 

postponed the preliminary 

determination of this investigation, and 

the revised deadline is now November 

24, 2023.2

For a complete description of the 

events that followed the initiation of 

this investigation, see the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics 

included in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum is included as Appendix 

II 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 https://

access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete 

version of the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum can be accessed directly 

at https://access.trade.gov/public/ 

FRNoticesListLayout.aspx. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The product covered by this 

investigation is brass rod from India. For 

a complete description of the scope of 

this investigation, see Appendix I. 

Scope Comments 

In accordance with the preamble to 

Commerce’s regulations,4 in the 

Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a 

period of time for parties to raise issues 

regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).5

Certain interested parties commented on 

the scope of the investigation as it 

appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a 

summary of the product coverage 

comments and rebuttal responses 

submitted to the record for this 

investigation and accompanying 

discussion and analysis of all comments 

timely received, see the Preliminary 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 83901 

6See Memorandum, ‘‘Preliminary Scope Decision 

Memorandum,’’ dated September 25, 2023 

(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum). 

7Case briefs, other written comments, and 

rebuttal briefs submitted by parties in response to 

this preliminary LTFV determination should not 

include scope-related issues. See Preliminary Scope 

Decision Memorandum, and ‘‘Public Comment’’ 

section of this notice. 

8With two respondents under examination, 

Commerce normally calculates (A) a weightedaverage of the estimated weighted-average dumping 

margins calculated for the examined respondents; 

(B) a simple average of the estimated weightedaverage dumping margins calculated for the 

examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average 

of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 

calculated for the examined respondents using each 

company’s publicly-ranged U.S. sales values for the 

merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 

compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate 

closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all 

other producers and exporters. See Ball Bearings 

and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, 

Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of 

Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Final 

Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, and 

Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53662 

(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and 

Decision Memorandum at Comment 1; see also 

Memorandum, ‘‘All Others Rate,’’ dated 

concurrently with this notice. 

9See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative 

Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 

88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 2023). 

10See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2). 

Scope Decision Memorandum.6 As 

discussed in the Preliminary Scope 

Decision Memorandum, Commerce 

preliminarily modified, in one respect, 

the scope language that appeared in the 

Initiation Notice. The scope in 

Appendix I reflects the modification. 

In the Preliminary Scope Decision 

Memorandum, Commerce established 

the deadline for parties to submit scope 

case and rebuttal briefs.7 Commerce 

intends to issue a final scope decision 

with the final determination in the 

concurrent countervailing duty 

investigation of brass rod from India, 

currently due on December 11, 2023. 

Methodology 

Commerce is conducting this 

investigation in accordance with section 

731 of the Act. Commerce calculated 

export prices in accordance with section 

772(a) of the Act. Normal value is 

calculated in accordance with section 

773 of the Act. For a full description of 

the methodology underlying the 

preliminary determination, see the 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 

All-Others Rate 

Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 

735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in 

the preliminary determination 

Commerce shall determine an estimated 

all-others rate for all exporters and 

producers not individually examined. 

This rate shall be an amount equal to 

the weighted average of the estimated 

weighted-average dumping margins 

established for exporters and producers 

individually investigated, excluding any 

zero and de minimis margins, and any 

margins determined entirely under 

section 776 of the Act. 

Commerce calculated individual 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margins for Rajhans Metals Pvt Ltd 

(Rajhans) and Shree Extrusions Limited 

(Shree), the two mandatory respondents, 

that are not zero, de minimis, or based 

entirely on facts otherwise available. 

Because the individually calculated 

dumping margins are not zero, de 

minimis, or based entirely on facts 

otherwise available, Commerce 

calculated the all-others rate using a 

weighted average of the estimated 

weighted-average dumping margins 

calculated for the examined respondents 

using each company’s publicly-ranged 

U.S. sales values for the merchandise 

under consideration, pursuant to 

735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.8

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated weightedaverage dumping margins exist: 

Exporter/producer 

Estimated 

weightedaverage 

dumping 

margin 

(percent) 

Adjusted 

cash 

deposit 

rate 

(percent) 

Rajhans Metals Pvt 

Ltd ..................... 9.41 6.42 

Shree Extrusions 

Limited ............... 10.95 7.96 

All Others .............. 9.52 6.53 

Suspension of Liquidation 

In accordance with section 733(d)(2) 

of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 

suspend liquidation of entries of subject 

merchandise, as described in Appendix 

I, entered, or withdrawn from 

warehouse, for consumption on or after 

the date of publication of this notice in 

the Federal Register. 

Further, pursuant to section 

733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP 

to require a cash deposit equal to the 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margin or the estimated all-others rate, 

as follows: (1) the cash deposit rates for 

the respondents listed above will be 

equal to the company-specific estimated 

weighted-average dumping margins 

calculated in this preliminary 

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 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margin 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 allothers estimated weighted-average 

dumping margin. 

Commerce normally adjusts cash 

deposits for estimated antidumping 

duties by the amount of export subsidies 

countervailed in a companion CVD 

investigation, when CVD provisional 

measures are in effect. Accordingly, 

where Commerce preliminarily made an 

affirmative determination for 

countervailable export subsidies, 

Commerce has offset the estimated 

weighted-average dumping margin by 

the appropriate export subsidy rate. Any 

such adjusted cash deposit rate may be 

found in the ‘‘Preliminary 

Determination’’ section above. 

Should provisional measures in the 

companion CVD investigation expire 

prior to the expiration of provisional 

measures in this LTFV investigation, 

Commerce will direct CBP to begin 

collecting estimated antidumping duty 

cash deposits unadjusted for 

countervailed export subsidies at the 

time that the provisional CVD measures 

expire. 

Disclosure 

Commerce intends to disclose its 

calculations and analysis performed to 

interested parties in this preliminary 

determination within five days of any 

public announcement or, if there is no 

public announcement, within five days 

of the date of publication of this notice 

in the Federal Register, in accordance 

with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 

Verification 

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the 

Act, Commerce intends to verify the 

information relied upon in making its 

final determination. 

Public Comment 

Case briefs or other written comments 

on non-scope issues may be submitted 

to the Assistant Secretary for 

Enforcement and Compliance no later 

than seven days after the date on which 

the last verification report is issued in 

this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, 

limited to issues raised in the case 

briefs, may be filed not later than five 

days after the date for filing case briefs.9

Interested parties who submit case 

briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 

proceeding must submit: (1) a table of 

contents listing each issue; and (2) a 

table of authorities.10 As provided under 

19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 

proceedings we have encouraged 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
83902 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 

11We use the term ‘‘issue’’ here to describe an 

argument that Commerce would normally address 

in a comment of the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum. 

12See Administrative Protective Order, Service, 

and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final Rule, 88 FR 

67069 (September 29, 2023). 

13See 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2). 

14See Rajhans’ Letter, ‘‘Request to Postpone the 

Final Determination,’’ dated October 31, 2023. 

15See 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii). 

interested parties to provide an 

executive summary of their brief that 

should be limited to five pages total, 

including footnotes. In this 

investigation, we instead request that 

interested parties provide at the 

beginning of their briefs a public, 

executive summary for each issue raised 

in their briefs.11 Further, we request that 

interested parties limit their executive 

summary of each issue to no more than 

450 words, not including citations. We 

intend to use the executive summaries 

as the basis of the comment summaries 

included in the issues and decision 

memorandum that will accompany the 

final determination in this investigation. 

We request that interested parties 

include footnotes for relevant citations 

in the executive summary of each issue. 

Note that Commerce has amended 

certain of its requirements pertaining to 

the service of documents in 19 CFR 

351.303(f).12

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), 

interested parties who wish to request a 

hearing, limited to issues raised in the 

case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a 

written request to the Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, within 30 days after the date 

of publication of this notice in the 

Federal Register. Requests should 

contain the party’s name, address, and 

telephone number, the number of 

participants, whether any participant is 

a foreign national, and a list of the 

issues to be discussed. If a request for 

a hearing is made, Commerce intends to 

hold the hearing at a time and date to 

be determined. Parties should confirm 

by telephone the date, time, and 

location of the hearing two days before 

the scheduled date. 

Postponement of Final Determination 

and Extension of Provisional Measures 

Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides 

that a final determination may be 

postponed until not later than 135 days 

after the date of the publication of the 

preliminary determination in the 

Federal Register if, in the event of an 

affirmative preliminary determination, a 

request for such postponement is made 

by exporters who account for a 

significant proportion of exports of the 

subject merchandise, or in the event of 

a negative preliminary determination, a 

request for such postponement is made 

by the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) 

of Commerce’s regulations requires that 

a request by an exporter for 

postponement of the final determination 

be accompanied by a request for 

extension of provisional measures from 

a four-month period to a period not 

more than six months in duration.13

On October 31, 2023, pursuant to 19 

CFR 351.210(e), Rajhans requested that 

Commerce postpone the final 

determination and that provisional 

measures be extended to a period not to 

exceed six months.14

In accordance with section 

735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.210(b)(2)(ii), because (1) the 

preliminary determination is 

affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter 

accounts for a significant proportion of 

exports of the subject merchandise; and 

(3) no compelling reasons for denial 

exist, Commerce is postponing the final 

determination and extending the 

provisional measures from a four-month 

period to a period not greater than six 

months. Accordingly, Commerce will 

make its final determination no later 

than 135 days after the date of 

publication of this preliminary 

determination in the Federal Register, 

pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the 

Act.15

U.S. International Trade Commission 

Notification 

In accordance with section 733(f) of 

the Act, Commerce will notify the U.S. 

International Trade Commission (ITC) of 

its preliminary determination. If the 

final determination is affirmative, the 

ITC will determine before the later of 

120 days after the date of this 

preliminary determination or 45 days 

after the final determination whether 

these imports of brass rod from India are 

materially injuring, or threaten material 

injury to, the U.S. industry. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This preliminary determination is 

issued and published in accordance 

with sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the 

Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c). 

Dated: November 24, 2023. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy 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 crosssections 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. 

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 Sections in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Period of Investigation 

IV. Scope of Investigation 

V. Discussion of the Methodology 

VI. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rate for 

Export Subsidies 

VII. Currency Conversion 

VIII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–26414 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 


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