[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 158 (Friday, August 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49634-49636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-17845]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-351-855]
Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet 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 Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and
exporters of common alloy aluminum sheet (aluminum sheet) from Brazil
for the period of investigation January 1, 2019 through December 31,
2019. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable August 14, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Hall-Eastman, Samuel
Brummitt, or Benjamin Smith, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement
and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
(202) 482-1468; (202) 482-7851; or (202) 482-2181 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). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 7,
2020.\1\ On May 19, 2020, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now
August 7, 2020.\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 http://access.trade.gov. In
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can
be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed
and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are
identical in content.
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\1\ See Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Bahrain, Brazil, India,
and the Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Countervailing Duty
Investigations, 85 FR 19449 (April 7, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Bahrain, Brazil, India,
and the Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary
Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations, 85 FR
29930 (May 19, 2020).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Brazil,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is aluminum sheet 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\ we
set aside a period of time, as stated in the Initiation Notice, for
parties to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ We
received several comments concerning the scope of the antidumping duty
(AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of aluminum sheet as
it appeared in the Initiation Notice. We are currently evaluating the
scope comments filed by the interested parties. We intend to issue our
preliminary decision regarding the scope of the AD and CVD
investigations in the preliminary determinations of the companion AD
investigations, the deadline for which is October 6, 2020.\6\ We will
incorporate the scope decisions from the AD investigations into the
scope of the final CVD determination for this investigation after
considering any relevant comments submitted in scope case and rebuttal
briefs.\7\
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\5\ See Initiation Notice, 85 FR at 19450.
\6\ See Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Bahrain, Brazil,
Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Republic
of Korea, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain,
Taiwan, and the Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 85 FR
45576, 45577 (July 29, 2020).
\7\ 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.\8\ In making these findings, Commerce relied, in part, on
facts available. For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise
Available and Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
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\8\ 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
As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 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 companion AD investigation of common alloy
aluminum sheet from Brazil based on a request made by the Aluminum
Association Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet Trade Enforcement Working Group
and its Individual Members, Aleris Rolled Products, Inc., Arconic,
Inc., Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC, JW Aluminum Company,
Novelis Corporation, and Texarkana Aluminum, Inc. (collectively, the
petitioners).\9\ Consequently, the final CVD determination will be
issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is
currently scheduled for no later than December 21, 2020, unless
postponed.
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\9\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Countervailing Duty
Investigations of Common Alloy Aluminum Sheet from Bahrain, Brazil,
India, and the Republic of Turkey--Petitioners' Request to Align
Final Countervailing Duty Determinations with the Companion
Antidumping Duty Final Determinations,'' dated July 17, 2020.
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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
[[Page 49635]]
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 zero and de minimis rates and any
rates based entirely under section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily found a de minimis
rate for Novelis do Brasil Ltda. (Novelis). Therefore, the only rate
that is not zero, de minimis or based entirely on facts otherwise
available is the rate calculated for Companhia Brasileira de
Alum[iacute]nio (CBA). Consequently, the rate calculated for CBA is
also assigned as the rate for all other producers and exporters.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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Subsidy rate
Company ad valorem
(percent)
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Companhia Brasileira de Alum[iacute]nio (CBA) \10\...... 1.32
Novelis do Brasil Ltda. (Novelis) \11\.................. 0.76
All Others.............................................. 1.32
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(de minimis).
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 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 Novelis Brasil is de
minimis, Commerce is directing CBP not to suspend liquidation of
entries of the merchandise produced and exported by Novelis Brasil.
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\10\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with
CBA: Votorantim S.A. and its holding company; Votorantim
Comercializadora de Energia Ltda.; CBA Machadinho
Gera[ccedil][atilde]o de Energia Ltda.; and CBA Energia
Participa[ccedil][otilde]es S.A.
\11\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following company to be cross-owned with
Novelis: Novelis Inc.
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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).
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 case and
rebuttal briefs on the preliminary scope determination. The deadline to
submit these comments will be established in the preliminary scope
decision memorandum. Scope rebuttal briefs (which are limited to issues
raised in the scope briefs) may be submitted no later than seven days
after the deadline for the scope briefs. These deadlines apply to the
AD and CVD aluminum sheet investigations, regardless of the deadlines
of the preliminary determinations in the AD investigations. For all
scope briefs and rebuttals thereto, parties must file identical
documents simultaneously on the records of all the ongoing AD and CVD
aluminum sheet investigations. No new factual information or business
proprietary information may be included in either scope briefs or
rebuttal scope briefs.
Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope matters 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 case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days
after the deadline date for case briefs.\12\ Commerce has modified
certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business
proprietary information until further notice.\13\ Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal
briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each
argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the
argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements); and Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service
Requirements Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020)
(Temporary Rule).
\13\ See Temporary Rule; see also Temporary Rule Modifying AD/
CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective
Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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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.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the International Trade Commission (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.
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).
Dated: August 7, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is aluminum common
alloy sheet (aluminum sheet), which is a flat-rolled aluminum
product having a thickness of 6.3 mm or less, but greater than 0.2
mm, in coils or cut-to-length, regardless of width. Aluminum sheet
within the scope of this investigation includes both not clad
aluminum sheet, as well as multi-alloy, clad aluminum sheet. With
respect to not clad aluminum sheet, aluminum sheet is manufactured
from a 1XXX-, 3XXX-, or 5XXX-series alloy as designated by the
Aluminum Association. With respect to multi-alloy, clad aluminum
sheet, aluminum sheet is produced from a 3XXX-series core, to which
cladding layers are applied to either one or both sides of the core.
Aluminum sheet may be made to ASTM specification B209-14--but
can also be made to other specifications. Regardless of
specification, however, all aluminum sheet meeting the scope
description is included in the scope. Subject merchandise includes
aluminum sheet that has been further processed in a third country,
including but
[[Page 49636]]
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 this
investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the
aluminum sheet.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation is aluminum can
stock, which is suitable for use in the manufacture of aluminum
beverage cans, lids of such cans, or tabs used to open such cans.
Aluminum can stock is produced to gauges that range from 0.200 mm to
0.292 mm, and has an H-19, H-41, H-48, or H-391 temper. In addition,
aluminum can stock has a lubricant applied to the flat surfaces of
the can stock to facilitate its Start Printed Page 2159 movement
through machines used in the manufacture of beverage cans. Aluminum
can stock is properly classified under HTSUS subheadings
7606.12.3045 and 7606.12.3055.
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 for the above.
Aluminum sheet is currently classifiable under HTSUS subheadings
7606.11.3060, 7606.1l 6000, 7606.12.3096, 7606.12.6000,
7606.91.3095, 7606.9.6095, 7606.92.3035, and 7606.92.6095. Further,
merchandise that falls within the scope of this investigation may
also be entered into the United States under HTSUS subheadings
7606.11.3030, 7606.12.3015, 7606.12.3025, 7606.12.3035,
7606.12.3091, 7606.91.3055, 7606.91.6055, 7606.92.3025,
7606.92.6055, 7607.11.9090. Although the HTSUS subheadings are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Subsidies Valuation
VI. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
VII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Calculation of All-Others Rate
X. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2020-17845 Filed 8-13-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P