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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 26 (Monday, February 10, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9228-9231]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02378]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-351-863]

Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Brazil: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and 
Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to

[[Page 9229]]

producers and exporters of certain corrosion-resistant steel products 
(CORE) from Brazil during the period of investigation, January 1, 2023, 
through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable February 10, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sofia Pedrelli or Paul Senoyuit, 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) 482-4310 or (202) 
482-6206, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). On October 2, 
2024, Commerce published the notice of initiation of this 
countervailing duty (CVD) investigation.\1\ On November 14, 2024, 
Commerce postponed the preliminary determination until February 3, 
2025.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Brail, 
Canada, Mexico, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of 
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR 80204 (October 2, 2024) 
(Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Brazil, 
Canada, Mexico, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement 
of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty 
Investigations, 89 FR 89955 (November 14, 2024).
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    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.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain 
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Brazil,'' 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 CORE from Brazil. 
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\ the 
Initiation Notice 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. Commerce intends to issue its preliminary 
decision regarding comments concerning the scope of the less-than-fair-
value (LTFV) and CVD investigations in the preliminary determination of 
the companion LTFV investigations. We will incorporate the scope 
decisions from the LTFV investigations into the scope of the final CVD 
determination for this investigation after considering any relevant 
comments submitted in scope case and rebuttal briefs.\6\
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 80205.
    \6\ The deadline for interested parties to submit scope case and 
rebuttal briefs will be established in the preliminary scope 
decision memorandum.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a 
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives 
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\7\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \7\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Alignment

    In accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(4), Commerce is aligning the final CVD determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the concurrent LTFV 
investigation of CORE from Brazil, based on a request made by the 
petitioners.\8\ Consequently, the final CVD determination will be 
issued on the same date as the final LTFV determination, which is 
currently scheduled to be issued no later than June 17, 2025, unless 
postponed.\9\
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    \8\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Request to Align Countervailing 
Duty Investigation Final Determination with Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Final Determination,'' dated January 14, 2025. The 
petitioners are Steel Dynamics Inc., Nucor Corporation, United 
States Steel Corporation, Wheeling Nippon Steel, Inc., and the 
United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing Energy, 
Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, 
CLC.
    \9\ See Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Australia, 
Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, Taiwan, the 
Republic of T[uuml]rkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 90 FR 
8260 (January 28, 2025).
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All-Others Rate

    Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that, in the 
preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be 
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates 
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any 
rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely under section 776 of 
the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily found a de minimis 
rate for Usinas Sider[uacute]rgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. (Usiminas) 
\10\ and its cross-owned companies. Therefore, the only rate that is 
not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available is 
the rate calculated for Companhia Sider[uacute]rgica Nacional (CSN) and 
its cross-owned companies. Consequently, the rate calculated for CSN is 
also assigned as the rate for all other producers and exporters.
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    \10\ Commerce's Clarification Memorandum inadvertently 
misspelled Usinas Sider[uacute]rgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. as 
Usiminas Sider[uacute]rgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.. In this notice, 
we have correctly identified the respondent as Usinas 
Sider[uacute]rgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates exist:

[[Page 9230]]

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             Subsidy rate (percent ad
                 Company                             valorem)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Companhia Sider[uacute]rgica Nacional;    1.72.
 CSN Minera[ccedil][atilde]o S.A.;
 Companhia Energetica Chapeco; Companhia
 Estadual de Gera[ccedil][atilde]o de
 Energia El[eacute]trica.\11\.
Usinas Sider[uacute]gucas de Minas        0.33 (de minimis).
 Gerais S.A.; \12\
 Minera[ccedil][atilde]o Usiminas S.A.;
 Usiminas Mec[acirc]nica S.A; Unigal
 Ltda.; Ternium Brasil Ltda.
All Others..............................  1.72.
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Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of this notice in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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    \11\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross owned with 
CSN: CSN Minera[ccedil][atilde]o S.A.; Companhia Energetica Chapeco; 
and Companhia Estadual de Gera[ccedil][atilde]o de Energia 
El[eacute]trica. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 6.
    \12\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross owned with 
Usiminas: Minera[ccedil][atilde]o Usiminas S.A.; Usiminas 
Mec[acirc]nica S.A; Unigal Ltda.; Ternium Brasil Ltda. See 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 6-7.
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    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 
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (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 
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. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), 
Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates 
indicated above. Because the subsidy rate for Usiminas and its cross-
owned companies is de minimis, Commerce is directing CBP not to suspend 
liquidation of entries of the merchandise from these companies.

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

    All interested parties will have the opportunity to submit scope 
case and rebuttal briefs on the preliminary decision regarding the 
scope of the LTFV and CVD investigations. The deadlines to submit scope 
case and rebuttal briefs will be provided in the preliminary scope 
decision memorandum. For all scope case and rebuttal briefs, parties 
must file identical documents simultaneously on the records of the 
ongoing LTFV and CVD CORE investigations. No new factual information or 
business proprietary information may be included in either scope case 
or rebuttal briefs.
    Case briefs or other written comments, excluding scope 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. 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.\13\ Interested 
parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must 
submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of 
authorities.\14\
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    \13\ 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).
    \14\ See 19 351.309(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 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.\15\ 
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).\16\
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    \15\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \16\ 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 and 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.

U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the ITC of its 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 CORE from Brazil are materially 
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

[[Page 9231]]

    Dated: February 3, 2025.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain flat-
rolled steel products, either clad, plated, or coated with 
corrosion-resistant metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, 
aluminum-, nickel- or iron-based alloys, whether or not corrugated 
or painted, varnished, laminated, or coated with plastics or other 
non-metallic substances in addition to the metallic coating. The 
products covered include coils that have a width of 12.7 mm or 
greater, regardless of form of coil (e.g., in successively 
superimposed layers, spirally oscillating, etc.). The products 
covered also include products not in coils (e.g., in straight 
lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and a width that is 12.7 
mm or greater and that measures at least 10 times the thickness. The 
products covered also include products not in coils (e.g., in 
straight lengths) of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a width 
exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least twice the thickness. The 
products described above may be rectangular, square, circular, or 
other shape and include products of either rectangular or non-
rectangular cross-section where such cross-section is achieved 
subsequent to the rolling process, i.e., products which have been 
``worked after rolling'' (e.g., products which have been beveled or 
rounded at the edges).
    For purposes of the width and thickness requirements referenced 
above:
    (1) Where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is 
within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual 
measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions 
set forth above, and
    (2) where the width and thickness vary for a specific product 
(e.g., the thickness of certain products with non-rectangular cross-
section, the width of certain products with non-rectangular shape, 
etc.), the measurement at its greatest width or thickness applies.
    Steel products included in the scope of this investigation are 
products in which: (1) iron predominates, by weight, over each of 
the other contained elements; and (2) the carbon content is 2 
percent or less, by weight.
    Subject merchandise also includes corrosion-resistant steel that 
has been further processed in a third country, including but not 
limited to annealing, tempering, painting, varnishing, trimming, 
cutting, punching and/or slitting or any other processing that would 
not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the 
investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the in-
scope corrosion resistant steel.
    All products that meet the written physical description are 
within the scope of this investigation unless specifically excluded. 
The following products are outside of and/or specifically excluded 
from the scope of this investigation:
     Flat-rolled steel products either plated or coated with 
tin, lead, chromium, chromium oxides, both tin and lead (``terne 
plate'') or both chromium and chromium oxides (``tin free steel''), 
whether or not painted, varnished or coated with plastics or other 
non-metallic substances in addition to the metallic coating;
     Clad products in straight lengths of 4.7625 mm or more 
in composite thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 mm and 
measures at least twice the thickness;
     Certain clad stainless flat-rolled products, which are 
three-layered corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat-rolled products 
less than 4.75 mm in composite thickness that consist of a carbon 
steel flat-rolled product clad on both sides with stainless steel in 
a 20%-60%-20% ratio; and
    Also excluded from the scope of the antidumping duty 
investigation on corrosion resistant steel from Taiwan are any 
products covered by the existing antidumping duty order on 
corrosion-resistant steel from Taiwan. 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); Corrosion-Resistant Steel 
Products from Taiwan: Notice of Third Amended Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value Pursuant to Court Decision and Partial 
Exclusion from Antidumping Duty Order, 88 FR 58245 (August 25, 
2023).
    Also excluded from the scope of the antidumping duty 
investigation on corrosion-resistant steel from the United Arab 
Emirates and the antidumping duty and countervailing duty 
investigations on corrosion-resistant steel from the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam are any products covered by the existing 
antidumping and countervailing duty orders on corrosion-resistant 
steel from the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea 
and the antidumping duty order on corrosion-resistant steel from 
Taiwan. 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, Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China: 
Countervailing Duty Order, 81 FR 48387 (July 25, 2016). This 
exclusion does not apply to imports of corrosion-resistant steel 
that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption in 
the United States for which the relevant importer and exporter 
certifications have been completed and maintained and all other 
applicable certification requirements have been met such that the 
entry is entered into the United States as not subject to the 
antidumping and countervailing duty orders on corrosion-resistant 
steel from the People's Republic of China, the antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders on corrosion-resistant steel from the 
Republic of Korea, or the antidumping duty order on corrosion-
resistant steel from Taiwan.
    The products subject to the investigation are currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7210.30.0030, 7210.30.0060, 
7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030, 7210.49.0040, 7210.49.0045, 
7210.49.0091, 7210.49.0095, 7210.61.0000, 7210.69.0000, 
7210.70.6030, 7210.70.6060, 7210.70.6090, 7210.90.6000, 
7210.90.9000, 7212.20.0000, 7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090, 
7212.30.3000, 7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 
7212.50.0000, 7212.60.0000, 7225.91.0000, 7225.92.0000, 
7226.99.0110, and 7226.99.0130.
    The products subject to the investigation may also enter under 
the following HTSUS item numbers: 7210.90.1000, 7215.90.1000, 
7215.90.3000, 7215.90.5000, 7217.20.1500, 7217.30.1530, 
7217.30.1560, 7217.90.1000, 7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060, 
7217.90.5090, 7225.99.0090, 7226.99.0180, 7228.60.6000, 
7228.60.8000, and 7229.90.1000.
    The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes only. 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. Injury Test
IV. Subsidies Valuation Information
V. New Subsidy Allegations
VI. Analysis of Programs
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2025-02378 Filed 2-7-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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