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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3173-3175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00581]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-853; C-201-854]

Standard Steel Welded Wire Mesh From Mexico: 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 Keysteel Corp., Mid-South Wire 
Company, National Wire LLC, Oklahoma Steel & Wire Co., and Wire Mesh 
Corp. (collectively, the requesters), the U.S. Department of Commerce 
(Commerce) is initiating a country-wide circumvention inquiry to 
determine whether standard steel welded wire mesh (wire mesh) from 
Mexico, which is completed in the United States from low-carbon steel 
wire produced in Mexico, is circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and 
countervailing duty (CVD) orders on wire mesh from Mexico.

DATES: Applicable January 14, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Nathan, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3834.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 5, 2024, pursuant to section 781(a) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.226(h), the requesters 
filed circumvention inquiry requests alleging that wire mesh completed 
in the United States using low-carbon steel wire manufactured in Mexico 
is circumventing the AD and CVD Orders \1\ on wire mesh from Mexico 
and, accordingly, should be included within the scope of the Orders.\2\ 
On November 29, 2024, Deacero S.A.P.I de C.V., a Mexican producer of 
wire mesh, and its subsidiary Deacero USA, Inc. (collectively, 
Deacero), filed comments

[[Page 3174]]

opposing the requesters' requests.\3\ On December 6, 2024, the 
requesters filed rebuttal comments to Deacero's November 29, 2024 
comments.\4\
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    \1\ See Standard Steel Welded Wire Mesh from Mexico: Antidumping 
Duty Order, 86 FR 43525 (August 9, 2021); see also Standard Steel 
Welded Wire Mesh from Mexico: Countervailing Duty Order, 86 FR 18940 
(April 12, 2021) (collectively, Orders).
    \2\ See Requesters' Letter, ``Petitioners' Request for 
Circumvention Ruling Pursuant to Section 781(a) of the Act,'' dated 
November 5, 2024 (Circumvention Request).
    \3\ See Deacero's Letter, ``Response in Opposition to Request 
for Anti-Circumvention Ruling,'' dated November 29, 2024.
    \4\ See Requesters' Letter, ``Petitioners' Reply to Deacero's 
Comments on Petitioners' Request for Circumvention Inquiry,'' dated 
December 6, 2024.
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    On December 4, 2024, we extended the deadline to initiate this 
circumvention inquiry by 30 days, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.226(d)(1).\5\
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Circumvention Inquiry 
Initiation Deadline,'' dated December 4, 2024.
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    On December 10, 2024, we issued a questionnaire to the 
requesters.\6\ Subsequently, on December 12, 2024, the requesters filed 
their response to our request for information.\7\
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    \6\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Supplemental Initiation 
Questionnaire,'' dated December 10, 2024 (Request for Information).
    \7\ See Requesters' Letter, ``Petitioners' Supplemental 
Questionnaire Response,'' dated December 12, 2024.
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Scope of the Orders

    The merchandise covered by the scope of the Orders is wire mesh 
from Mexico. For a complete description of the scope of Orders, see the 
Circumvention Initiation Checklist.\8\
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    \8\ For a complete description of the scope of the Orders, see 
Checklist, ``Standard Steel Welded Wire Mesh from Mexico Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Orders,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice (Circumvention Initiation Checklist).
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Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry

    This circumvention inquiry covers low-carbon steel wire produced in 
Mexico and further processed and completed in the United States into 
wire mesh from Mexico.

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 alleged 
circumvention pursuant to section 781(a) of the Act (i.e., merchandise 
completed or assembled in the United States).
    Section 781(a)(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 the United States. In 
conducting a circumvention inquiry, under section 781(a)(1) of the Act, 
Commerce relies on the following criteria: (A) merchandise sold in the 
United States is of the same class or kind as any merchandise that is 
the subject of an AD or CVD order; (B) such merchandise sold in the 
United States is completed or assembled in the United States from parts 
or components produced in the foreign country with respect to which 
such order or finding applies; (C) the process of assembly or 
completion in the United States is minor or insignificant; and (D) the 
value of the parts or components referred to in subparagraph (B) is a 
significant portion of the total value of the merchandise.
    In determining whether the process of assembly or completion in the 
United States is minor or insignificant under section 781(a)(1)(C) of 
the Act, section 781(a)(2) of the Act directs Commerce to consider: (A) 
the level of investment in the United States; (B) the level of research 
and development in the United States; (C) the nature of the production 
process in the United States; (D) the extent of production facilities 
in the United States; and (E) whether the value of the processing 
performed in the United States represents a small proportion of the 
value of the merchandise sold in the United States. However, no single 
factor, by itself, controls Commerce's determination of whether the 
process of assembly or completion in the United States is minor or 
insignificant.\9\ Accordingly, it is Commerce's practice to evaluate 
each of these five factors as they exist in the United States, and to 
reach an affirmative or negative circumvention determination based on 
the totality of the circumstances of the particular circumvention 
inquiry.\10\
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    \9\ See Statement of Administrative Action Accompanying the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act, H.R. Doc. No. 103-316, Vol. 1 (1994) 
(SAA), at 893.
    \10\ See Antidumping Duty Order on Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from 
the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 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 
25568 (April 11, 2024), and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum, unchanged in Antidumping Order on 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(a)(3) of the Act sets forth additional 
factors to consider in determining whether to include merchandise 
assembled or completed in the United States 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 parts or components is 
affiliated with the person who assembles or completes the merchandise 
sold in the United States from the parts or components produced in the 
foreign country with respect to which the order applies; and (C) 
whether imports into the United States of the parts or components 
products in such 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 circumvention 
inquiries of the Orders. For a full discussion of the basis for our 
decision to initiate these circumvention inquiries, see the 
Circumvention Initiation Checklist.\11\ As explained in the 
Circumvention Initiation Checklist, the information provided by the 
requesters warrants initiating these 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.\12\
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    \11\ See Circumvention Initiation Checklist.
    \12\ 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 
Mexico concerning their shipments to the United States and the origin 
of any imported low-carbon steel wire being further processed into 
merchandise subject to the Order.

[[Page 3175]]

Respondent Selection

    Commerce intends to base respondent selection on U.S. Customs and 
Border and Protection (CBP) data. Commerce intends to place CBP data on 
each record within five days of the publication of the initiation 
notice. 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 relevant 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 U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (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(a) of the Act, 
Commerce determines that the requesters' requests for this 
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 certain 
imports of low-carbon steel wire produced in Mexico and further 
processed and completed in the United States into wire mesh from 
Mexico, are 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.\13\ In accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(e)(2), 
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.
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    \13\ See Circumvention Initiation Checklist.
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    This notice is published in accordance with section 781(a) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.226(d)(1)(ii).

    Dated: January 6, 2025.
Steven Presing,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.
[FR Doc. 2025-00581 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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