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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 18 (Wednesday, January 29, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8383-8386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01891]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-174]

Certain Brake Drums From the People's Republic of China: 
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 certain brake drums from the People's Republic of China 
(China) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is 
October 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited 
to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable January 29, 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

    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 in the Federal 
Register on July 17, 2024.\1\ On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain 
deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days.\2\ On 
November 20, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of 
this investigation until January 23, 2025.\3\
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    \1\ See Certain Brake Drums from the People's Republic of China 
and the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 89 FR 58116 (July 17, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
    \3\ See Certain Brake Drums from the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye 
and the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 89 FR 
91675 (November 20, 2024).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\4\ 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.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain 
Brake Drums from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are brake drums from

[[Page 8384]]

China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ in 
the Initiation Notice, Commerce set aside a period of time for parties 
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ 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.\7\ As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice. In the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum, Commerce established the deadline for parties to submit 
scope case and rebuttal briefs.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 58117.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations and 
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain Brake Drums from the 
People's Republic of China and the Republic of T[uuml]rkiye: 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently with 
this preliminary determination (Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated constructed export 
prices in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Because China is a 
non-market economy (NME), within the meaning of section 771(18) of the 
Act, Commerce has calculated normal value in accordance with section 
773(c) of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of 
the Act, Commerce preliminarily has relied upon facts otherwise 
available, with adverse inferences, for the China-wide entity. For a 
full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\8\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\9\
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    \8\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 58120.
    \9\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on 
Commerce's website at https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Separate Rates

    We have preliminarily granted a separate rate to certain companies 
that we did not select for individual examination.\10\ In calculating 
the rate for non-individually examined separate rate respondents in an 
NME LTFV investigation, Commerce normally looks to section 735(c)(5)(A) 
of the Act, which pertains to the calculation of the all-others rate in 
a market economy LTFV investigation, for guidance. Pursuant to section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, normally this rate shall be an amount equal to 
the weighted-average of the estimated weighted average dumping margins 
established for those companies individually examined, excluding zero 
and de minimis dumping margins, and any dumping margins based entirely 
under section 776 of the Act. Commerce calculated an individual 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Shandong ConMet 
Mechanical Co., Ltd. (Shandong ConMet) that is not zero, de minimis, or 
based entirely on facts otherwise available. Thus, the weighted-average 
dumping margin calculated for Shandong ConMet is the margin assigned to 
the non-examined, separate rate companies in this investigation. See 
the table below in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this 
notice.
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    \10\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

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                                                                                              Cash deposit rate
                                                                          Weighted- average     (adjusted for
                 Producer                            Exporter              dumping margin      subsidy offsets)
                                                                              (percent)           (percent)
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Shandong ConMet Mechanical Co., Ltd......  Shandong ConMet Mechanical                109.64               109.64
                                            Co., Ltd.
Liaoning Hechuang CV Parts MFG Co........  Liaoning Hechuang CV Parts                109.64               109.64
                                            MFG Co.
Hebei OE Auto Spare Parts Co., Ltd.......  Ningbo Qingchen                           109.64               109.64
                                            International Trade Co.,
                                            Ltd.
Longyao County Yiheng Auto Parts Co., Ltd  Qingdao Jasmine                           109.64               109.64
                                            International Trade Co.,
                                            Ltd.
Shandong Lingang Nonferrous Metals Co.,    Qingdao Tordon Brake Co.,                 109.64               109.64
 Ltd.                                       Ltd.
Qiqihar Beimo Auto Parts Manufacturing     Qiqihar Beimo Auto Parts                  109.64               109.64
 Co., Ltd.                                  Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Shandong Lingang Nonferrous Metals Co.,    Shandong Haoxin Co., Ltd....              109.64               109.64
 Ltd.
Shandong Hongma Engineering Machinery      Shandong Hongma Engineering               109.64               109.64
 Co., Ltd.                                  Machinery Co., Ltd.
Longyao Gucheng Automobile Parts Factory.  Shandong North Autotech Co.,              109.64               109.64
                                            Ltd.
Shandong Longji Machinery Co., Ltd.......  Shanghai Winsun Auto Parts                109.64               109.64
                                            Co., Ltd.
China-Wide Entity........................  ............................            * 160.79               150.25
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* This rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.

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).
    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if 
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial 
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent 
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete 
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR 
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce 
will address such allegations in the final determination together with

[[Page 8385]]

issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.

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 subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation 
section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, 
as discussed below. 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 weighted average amount by which normal value 
exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) for 
the producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the cash 
deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of 
Chinese producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that 
have not established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-
country exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the 
table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable 
to the Chinese producer/exporter combination (or the China-wide entity) 
that supplied that third-country exporter.
    To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic 
subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce has made a preliminary 
affirmative determination for domestic subsidy pass-through or export 
subsidies, Commerce has offset the calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margin by the appropriate rate(s). Any such adjusted 
rates may be found in the chart of estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins 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 cash 
deposits at a rate equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins calculated in this preliminary determination unadjusted for the 
export subsidies at the time the CVD provisional measures expire.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written non-scope-related comments 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.\11\ 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.\12\ 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.\13\
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    \11\ Case and rebuttal briefs submitted in response to this 
preliminary determination should not include scope-related issues. 
See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \12\ See 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) (APO and Service Final Rule).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    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 briefs 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.\14\ 
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).\15\
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    \14\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \15\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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    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. 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 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 petitioners. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), Commerce requires 
that requests by respondents for postponement of a final antidumping 
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.
    On December 11, 2024, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Shandong 
ConMet requested that, in the event of an affirmative preliminary 
determination, Commerce postpone the final determination and that 
provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six 
months.\16\ 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

[[Page 8386]]

months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination no 
later than 135 days after the date of publication of this preliminary 
determination.
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    \16\ See Shandong ConMet's Letter, ``Request for Postponement of 
Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures,'' dated 
December 11, 2024.
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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 of sales at LTFV. 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 the subject merchandise are materially 
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

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: January 23, 2025.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain brake 
drums made of gray cast iron, whether finished or unfinished, with 
an actual or nominal inside diameter of 14.75 inches or more but not 
over 16.6 inches, weighing more than 50 pounds. Unfinished brake 
drums are those which have undergone some turning or machining but 
are not ready for installation. Subject brake drums are included 
within the scope whether imported individually or with non-subject 
merchandise (for example, a hub), whether assembled or unassembled, 
or if joined with non-subject merchandise. When a subject drum is 
imported together with non-subject merchandise, such as, but not 
limited to, a drum-hub assembly, only the subject drum is covered by 
the scope.
    Subject merchandise also includes finished and unfinished brake 
drums that are further processed in a third country or in the United 
States, including, but not limited to, assembly or any other 
processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the 
scope of this investigation if performed in the country of 
manufacture of the subject brake drums. The inclusion, attachment, 
joining, or assembly of non-subject merchandise with subject drums 
either in the country of manufacture of the subject drum or in a 
third country does not remove the subject drum from the scope. 
Specifically excluded is merchandise covered by the scope of the 
antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain chassis and 
subassemblies thereof from the People's Republic of China. See 
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic 
of China: Antidumping Duty Order, 86 FR 36093 (July 8, 2021) and 
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic 
of China: Countervailing Duty Order and Amended Final Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, 86 FR 24844 (May 10, 2021).
    The scope also excludes composite brake drums that contain more 
than 38 percent steel by weight.
    The merchandise covered by this investigation is classifiable 
under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheading 8708.30.5020. The merchandise covered by this 
investigation may be classifiable under HTSUS subheading 
8708.30.5090 when entered as part of an assembly. Subject 
merchandise may also enter under HTSUS subheading 8716.90.5060. 
Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise covered 
by this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Adjustment Under Section 777A(F) of the Act
VI. Adjustment to Cash Deposit Rate for Export Subsidies
VII. Currency Conversion
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2025-01891 Filed 1-28-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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