[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 161 (Tuesday, August 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51143-51145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-20329]
[[Page 51143]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-967, C-570-968]
Aluminum Extrusions From the People's Republic of China:
Initiation of Changed Circumstances Reviews and Consideration of
Revocation of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders in Part
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to a request by 3M Company (3M), a U.S. importer
of certain rectangular wire, the Department of Commerce (the
Department) is initiating changed circumstances reviews of the
antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing (CVD) duty orders on aluminum
extrusions from the People's Republic of China. Interested parties are
invited to comment on this notice of initiation.
DATES: Effective Date: August 20, 2013.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Terpstra, AD/CVD Operations,
Office 8, Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-3965.
Background
On May 26, 2011, the Department published in the Federal Register
the AD and CVD orders on aluminum extrusions from the PRC.\1\
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\1\ See Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic of China:
Antidumping Duty Order, 76 FR 30650 (May 26, 2011) and Aluminum
Extrusions From the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty
Order, 76 FR 30653 (May 26, 2011) (together, the Orders).
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On June 20, 2013, the Department received a request on behalf of 3M
for changed circumstances reviews to revoke, in part, the Orders with
respect to certain rectangular wire imported by 3M. In its request, 3M
attached a letter submitted on behalf of the Aluminum Extrusion Fair
Trade Committee (AEFTC), the petitioners in the less-than-fair-value
and CVD investigations, and the Aluminum Extrusion Council (AEC), in
which representatives of the AEFTC and AEC stated that they do not
oppose the partial revocation of the Orders with respect to the
specific product identified in 3M's changed circumstances review
requests. Further, 3M requested that the Department expedite the review
by combining the notice of initiation of the changed circumstances
reviews and the preliminary results of the reviews pursuant to 19 CFR
351.221(c)(3)(ii). On July 2, 2013, 3M filed a letter containing a
clarification from the AEFTC and AEC in which they stated that they do
not oppose revocation of the Orders with regard to certain rectangular
wire, regardless of whether 3M or another party is the importer. We did
not receive comments from any other party.
Scope of the Orders
The merchandise covered by these Orders is aluminum extrusions
which are shapes and forms, produced by an extrusion process, made from
aluminum alloys having metallic elements corresponding to the alloy
series designations published by The Aluminum Association commencing
with the numbers 1, 3, and 6 (or proprietary equivalents or other
certifying body equivalents). Specifically, the subject merchandise
made from aluminum alloy with an Aluminum Association series
designation commencing with the number 1 contains not less than 99
percent aluminum by weight. The subject merchandise made from aluminum
alloy with an Aluminum Association series designation commencing with
the number 3 contains manganese as the major alloying element, with
manganese accounting for not more than 3.0 percent of total materials
by weight. The subject merchandise is made from an aluminum alloy with
an Aluminum Association series designation commencing with the number 6
contains magnesium and silicon as the major alloying elements, with
magnesium accounting for at least 0.1 percent but not more than 2.0
percent of total materials by weight, and silicon accounting for at
least 0.1 percent but not more than 3.0 percent of total materials by
weight. The subject aluminum extrusions are properly identified by a
four-digit alloy series without either a decimal point or leading
letter. Illustrative examples from among the approximately 160
registered alloys that may characterize the subject merchandise are as
follows: 1350, 3003, and 6060.
Aluminum extrusions are produced and imported in a wide variety of
shapes and forms, including, but not limited to, hollow profiles, other
solid profiles, pipes, tubes, bars, and rods. Aluminum extrusions that
are drawn subsequent to extrusion (drawn aluminum) are also included in
the scope.
Aluminum extrusions are produced and imported with a variety of
finishes (both coatings and surface treatments), and types of
fabrication. The types of coatings and treatments applied to subject
aluminum extrusions include, but are not limited to, extrusions that
are mill finished (i.e., without any coating or further finishing),
brushed, buffed, polished, anodized (including bright-dip anodized),
liquid painted, or powder coated. Aluminum extrusions may also be
fabricated, i.e., prepared for assembly. Such operations would include,
but are not limited to, extrusions that are cut-to-length, machined,
drilled, punched, notched, bent, stretched, knurled, swedged, mitered,
chamfered, threaded, and spun. The subject merchandise includes
aluminum extrusions that are finished (coated, painted, etc.),
fabricated, or any combination thereof.
Subject aluminum extrusions may be described at the time of
importation as parts for final finished products that are assembled
after importation, including, but not limited to, window frames, door
frames, solar panels, curtain walls, or furniture. Such parts that
otherwise meet the definition of aluminum extrusions are included in
the scope. The scope includes the aluminum extrusion components that
are attached (e.g., by welding or fasteners) to form subassemblies,
i.e., partially assembled merchandise unless imported as part of the
finished goods `kit' defined further below. The scope does not include
the non-aluminum extrusion components of subassemblies or subject kits.
Subject extrusions may be identified with reference to their end
use, such as fence posts, electrical conduits, door thresholds, carpet
trim, or heat sinks (that do not meet the finished heat sink
exclusionary language below). Such goods are subject merchandise if
they otherwise meet the scope definition, regardless of whether they
are ready for use at the time of importation.
The following aluminum extrusion products are excluded: aluminum
extrusions made from aluminum alloy with an Aluminum Association series
designations commencing with the number 2 and containing in excess of
1.5 percent copper by weight; aluminum extrusions made from aluminum
alloy with an Aluminum Association series designation commencing with
the number 5 and containing in excess of 1.0 percent magnesium by
weight; and aluminum extrusions made from aluminum alloy with an
Aluminum Association series designation commencing with the number 7
and containing in excess of 2.0 percent zinc by weight.
The scope also excludes finished merchandise containing aluminum
extrusions as parts that are fully and permanently assembled and
completed
[[Page 51144]]
at the time of entry, such as finished windows with glass, doors with
glass or vinyl, picture frames with glass pane and backing material,
and solar panels. The scope also excludes finished goods containing
aluminum extrusions that are entered unassembled in a ``finished goods
kit.'' A finished goods kit is understood to mean a packaged
combination of parts that contains, at the time of importation, all of
the necessary parts to fully assemble a final finished good and
requires no further finishing or fabrication, such as cutting or
punching, and is assembled `as is' into a finished product. An imported
product will not be considered a `finished goods kit' and therefore
excluded from the scope of the investigation merely by including
fasteners such as screws, bolts, etc. in the packaging with an aluminum
extrusion product.
The scope also excludes aluminum alloy sheet or plates produced by
other than the extrusion process, such as aluminum products produced by
a method of casting. Cast aluminum products are properly identified by
four digits with a decimal point between the third and fourth digit. A
letter may also precede the four digits. The following Aluminum
Association designations are representative of aluminum alloys for
casting: 208.0, 295.0, 308.0, 355.0, C355.0, 356.0, A356.0, A357.0,
360.0, 366.0, 380.0, A380.0, 413.0, 443.0, 514.0, 518.1, and 712.0. The
scope also excludes pure, unwrought aluminum in any form.
The scope also excludes collapsible tubular containers composed of
metallic elements corresponding to alloy code 1080A as designated by
the Aluminum Association where the tubular container (excluding the
nozzle) meets each of the following dimensional characteristics: (1)
length of 37 millimeters (mm) or 62 mm, (2) outer diameter of 11.0 mm
or 12.7 mm, and (3) wall thickness not exceeding 0.13 mm.
Also excluded from the scope of these Orders are finished heat
sinks. Finished heat sinks are fabricated heat sinks made from aluminum
extrusions the design and production of which are organized around
meeting certain specified thermal performance requirements and which
have been fully, albeit not necessarily individually, tested to comply
with such requirements.
Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under the
following categories of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS): 7604.21.0000, 7604.29.1000, 7604.29.3010, 7604.29.3050,
7604.29.5030, 7604.29.5060, 7608.20.0030, and 7608.20.0090. The subject
merchandise entered as parts of other aluminum products may be
classifiable under the following additional Chapter 76 subheadings:
7610.10, 7610.90, 7615.19, 7615.20, and 7616.99 as well as under other
HTSUS chapters. In addition, fin evaporator coils may be classifiable
under HTSUS numbers: 8418.99.80.50 and 8418.99.80.60.
Additional subject products may be classifiable under the following
HTS categories: 7615.19.10, 7615.19.30, 7615.19.50, 7615.19.70,
7615.19.90, 7616.99.10, 7616.99.50, 8302.10.3000, 8302.10.6030,
8302.10.6060, 8302.10.6090, 8302.30.3010, 8302.30.3060, 8302.41.3000,
8302.41.6015, 8302.41.6045, 8302.41.6050, 8302.41.6080, 8302.42.3010,
8302.42.3015, 8302.42.3065, 8302.49.6035, 8302.49.6045, 8302.49.6055,
8302.49.6085, 8302.50.0000, 8302.60.9000, 8306.30.0000, 8419.90.1000,
8479.89.98, 8479.90.94, 8513.90.20, 9403.10.00, 9403.20.00,
9403.90.1040, 9403.90.1050, 9403.90.1085, 9403.90.2540, 9403.90.2580,
9403.90.4005, 9403.90.4010, 9403.90.4060, 9403.90.5005, 9403.90.5010,
9403.90.5080, 9403.90.6005, 9403.90.6010, 9403.90.6080, 9403.90.7005,
9403.90.7010, 9403.90.7080, 9403.90.8010, 9403.90.8015, 9403.90.8020,
9403.90.8030, 9403.90.8041, 9403.90.8051, 9403.90.8061, 9506.11.4080,
9506.51.4000, 9506.51.6000, 9506.59.4040, 9506.70.2090, 9506.91.0010,
9506.91.0020, 9506.91.0030, 9506.99.0510, 9506.99.0520, 9506.99.0530,
9506.99.1500, 9506.99.2000, 9506.99.2580, 9506.99.2800, 9506.99.6080,
9507.30.2000, 9507.30.4000, 9507.30.6000, and 9507.90.6000.
While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs
purposes, the written description of the scope of these Orders is
dispositive.
Initiation of Changed Circumstances Reviews and Consideration of
Revocation of the Orders in Part
Pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), the Department will conduct a changed circumstances review
upon receipt of a request from an interested party which shows changed
circumstances sufficient to warrant a review of an order.\2\ Section
782(h)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i) provide that the
Department may revoke an order (in whole or in part) if it determines
that producers accounting for substantially all of the production of
the domestic like product have expressed a lack of interest in the
order, in whole or in part. In addition, in the event the Department
determines that expedited action is warranted, 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii)
permits the Department to combine the notices of initiation and
preliminary results.
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\2\ See also 19 CFR 351.216.
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In its administrative practice, the Department has interpreted
``substantially all'' to represent producers accounting for at least 85
percent of the total U.S. production of the domestic like product
covered by the order.\3\
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\3\ See, e.g., Certain Cased Pencils From the Peoples' Republic
of China: Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping duty
Changed Circumstances Review, and Intent To Revoke Order in Part, 77
FR 42276 (July 18, 2012) (Pencils), unchanged in Certain Cased
Pencils From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, and Determination To
Revoke Order, in Part, 77 FR 53176 (August 31, 2012).
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In the letter attached to 3M's June 20, 2013, submission, the AEC
states that it represents the ``vast majority of U.S. domestic aluminum
extrusions producers.'' Based on the information provided by AEC in
3M's submissions, the Department has determined that there exist
changed circumstances sufficient to warrant review of the Orders.\4\
However, because the statement provided by AEC in 3M's submission does
not indicate whether AEC accounts for substantially all of domestic
aluminum extrusion production, we are not combining this notice of
initiation with a preliminary determination pursuant to 19 CFR
351.221(c)(3)(ii). Interested parties are, therefore, requested to
address the issue of domestic industry support of this partial
revocation of the Orders in their comments. This notice of initiation
will accord all interested parties an opportunity to address these
proposed partial revocations.
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\4\ See section 751(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d).
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Accordingly, we are notifying the public that we are considering a
request to revoke the Orders, in part, with respect to certain
rectangular wire.
Public Comment
Interested parties are invited to provide comment or additional
factual information regarding these changed circumstance reviews,
including comments concerning industry support. Submissions may be
submitted no later than 14 days after the date of publication of this
notice. Responses to
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those submissions may be filed no later than 10 days thereafter in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(1). All submissions must be filed
electronically using Import Administration's AD and CVD Centralized
Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS).\5\ An electronically filed
document must be received successfully in its entirety by the
Department's electronic records system, IA ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern
Time of the deadlines set forth in this notice.
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\5\ See, generally, 19 CFR 351.303.
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The Department will issue the preliminary results of these changed
circumstances reviews, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3), which
will set forth the factual and legal conclusions upon which are
preliminary results are based, and a description of any action proposed
based on those results. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(ii),
interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on the
preliminary results of the review. In accordance with 19 CFR
351.216(e), the Department will issue the final results of its AD
changed circumstance review within 270 days after the date on which the
review is initiated.
This initiation is published in accordance with sections 751(b)(1)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(b) and 351.221(b)(1).
Dated: August 14, 2013.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2013-20329 Filed 8-19-13; 8:45 am]
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