Certain Brake Drums From the Republic of Türkiye: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[C-489-854]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Certain Brake Drums From the Republic of Türkiye: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain brake drums (brake drums) from the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye). The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable December 3, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Charles Doss or Samuel Brummitt, 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) 482-4474 or (202) 482-7851, respectively. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> 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 countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on July 17, 2024. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On September 6, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until November 25, 2024. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Certain Brake Drums from the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Türkiye: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 58106 (July 17, 2024) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See Certain Brake Drums from the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Türkiye: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 72827 (September 6, 2024). </FTNT> For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> 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 <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov.</E> In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.</E> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Brake Drums from the Republic of Türkiye,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigation</HD> The products covered by this investigation are brake drums from Türkiye. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, <E T="03">see</E> Appendix I. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope Comments</HD> In accordance with the <E T="03">Preamble</E> to Commerce's regulations, <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> the <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage, ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> scope). <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice.</E> Commerce intends to issue its preliminary decision regarding comments concerning the scope of the antidumping (AD) and CVD investigations in the preliminary determinations of the companion AD investigations. 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. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,</E> 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) ( <E T="03">Preamble</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice,</E> 89 FR at 58106. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>  The deadline for interested parties to submit scope case and rebuttal briefs will be established in the preliminary scope decision memorandum. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Methodology</HD> 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, <E T="03">i.e.,</E> a financial contribution by an “authority” that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminarily determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 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. </FTNT> Commerce notes that, in making its findings, it relied, in part, on facts available and, because it finds that one or more entities did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, it drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available. <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> For further information, <E T="03">see</E> the “Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences” section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Alignment</HD> 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 concurrent AD investigation of brake drums from Türkiye based on a request made by the petitioner. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than April 8, 2025 unless postponed. <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Request to Align Final Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Determinations,” dated November 7, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>   <E T="03">See Certain Brake Drums from the Republic of Türkiye and the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations,</E> 89 FR 91675 (November 20, 2024). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">All-Others Rate</HD> 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. Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act states that for companies not individually investigated, Commerce will determine an “all-others” rate equal to the weighted average countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and <E T="03">de minimis</E> countervailable subsidy rates, and any rates determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. If the rates established for all exporters and producers individually investigated are zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or determined entirely under facts available, Commerce may use any reasonable method to establish an all-others rate. <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>12</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> sections 705(c)(5)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Act. </FTNT> In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily calculated an individual countervailable subsidy rate for EKU Fren ve Dok. San. A.S. (EKU) that is <E T="03">de minimis.</E> Further, Commerce has preliminarily determined Akkus Dokum San.Ve Tic.Ltd.Sti's, Buyuk Eker Bijon Sanayi Ve Ticaret's, and Genk Otomotiv San.Dis Tic.Ltd.Sti.'s rates entirely under facts available with an adverse inference pursuant to section 776 of the Act. Therefore, in accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, we are preliminarily applying a simple average of the subsidy rates calculated for Akkus Dokum San.Ve Tic.Ltd.Sti, Buyuk Eker Bijon Sanayi Ve Ticaret, Genk Otomotiv San.Dis Tic.Ltd.Sti., and EKU as the all-others rate. <SU>13</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>13</SU>   <E T="03">See, e.g.,</E> <E T="03">Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from Taiwan: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination,</E> 79 FR 71602 (October 14, 2014), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 11. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist: <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s150,xs80"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Company</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Subsidy rate (percent <E T ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 20k characters. 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