Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 83913 

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 in the 

Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Brass Rod 

from Mexico,’’ dated concurrently with, and hereby 

adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum). 

4See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 

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

5See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 33576. 

6See Memorandum, ‘‘Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigations of Brass Rod from Brazil, India, 

Israel, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, and South 

Africa and Countervailing Duty Investigations of 

Brass Rod from India, Israel, and the Republic of 

Korea: 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. 

Appendix II 

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Period of Investigation 

IV. Application of Facts Available and Use of 

Adverse Inference 

V. Scope of Investigation 

VI. Discussion of the Methodology 

VII. Currency Conversion 

VIII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–26413 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–201–858] 

Brass Rod From Mexico: 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 Mexico 

is being, or is 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: 

Frank Schmitt or Jacob Waddell, 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) 482–4880 and (202) 482–1369, 

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 investigation 

on May 24, 2023.1 On September 8, 

2023, Commerce postponed the 

preliminary determination of this 

investigation until 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 

discussed 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 Mexico. 

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 of this 

investigation and accompanying 

discussion and analysis of all comments 

timely received, see the Preliminary 

Scope Decision Memorandum.6 As 

discussed in the Preliminary Scope 

Decision Memorandum, Commerce 

preliminarily modified, in one respect, 

the scope language as it appeared in the 

Initiation Notice. See the revised scope 

in Appendix I to this notice. 

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 

along 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 

constructed export prices in accordance 

with section 772(b) of the Act. Normal 

value is calculated in accordance with 

section 773 of the Act. In addition, 

Commerce has preliminarily relied 

upon adverse facts available under 

sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act in 

determining the weighted-average 

dumping margin for Aleamex S.A. de 

C.V. (Aleamex). 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. 

In this investigation, Commerce 

preliminarily assigned to Aleamex a rate 

based entirely on facts available. 

Therefore, the only rate that is not zero, 

de minimis or based entirely on facts 

otherwise available is the rate calculated 

for Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V. 

(IUSA). Consequently, the rate 

calculated for IUSA is also assigned as 

the rate for all other producers and 

exporters. 

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated weightedaverage dumping margins exist: 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
83914 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 

8See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 

351.303 (for general filing requirements). 

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). 

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 IUSA’s Letter, ‘‘IUSA Extension Request for 

Final Determination,’’ dated October 30, 2023. 

14See 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii). 

Exporter/producer 

Weightedaverage 

dumping 

margin 

(percent) 

Industrias Unidas S.A. de C.V ... 4.31 

Aleamex S.A. de C.V ................. 29.43 

All Others .................................... 4.31 

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 rate for 

the respondents listed above will be 

equal to the company-specific estimated 

weighted-average dumping margin 

determined 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. These suspension of 

liquidation instructions will remain in 

effect until further notice. 

Disclosure 

Commerce intends to disclose the 

calculations performed in connection 

with this preliminary determination to 

interested parties 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 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.8 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 

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 exporters for postponement 

of the final determination be 

accompanied by a request for extension 

of provisional measures from a fourmonth period to a period not more than 

six months in duration. 

On October 30, 2023, pursuant to 19 

CFR 351.210(e), IUSA requested that 

Commerce postpone the final 

determination and that provisional 

measures be extended to a period not to 

exceed six months.13 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.14

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 

imports of brass rod from Mexico are 

materially injuring, or threaten material 

injury to, the U.S. industry. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 230 / Friday, December 1, 2023 / Notices 83915 

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 the Republic of Korea,’’ 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. 

6See Memorandum, ‘‘Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigations of Brass Rod from Brazil, India, 

Israel, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, and South 

Africa and Countervailing Duty Investigations of 

Brass Rod from India, Israel, and the Republic of 

Korea: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,’’ 

dated September 25, 2023 (Preliminary Scope 

Decision Memorandum). 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This 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 Topics Discussed in the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Period of Investigation 

IV. Scope of the Investigation 

V. Application of Facts Available and Use of 

Adverse Inference 

VI. Affiliation 

VII. Discussion of the Methodology 

VIII. Currency Conversion 

IX. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–26416 Filed 11–30–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–580–916] 

Brass Rod From the Republic of 

Korea: 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 the 

Republic of Korea (Korea) is being, or 

likely to be, sold in the United States at 

less than fair value (LTFV). The period 

of investigation (POI) 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: 

Krisha Hill or Drew Jackson, 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) 482–4037 or (202) 482–4406, 

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 investigation 

on May 24, 2023.1 On September 8, 

2023, Commerce postponed the 

preliminary determination of this 

investigation until 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 Korea. 

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 

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 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1