Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[A-552-849]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures</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 certain chassis and subassemblies thereof (chassis) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable September 29, 2025. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Elizabeth Beuley or Benito Ballesteros, AD/CVD Operations, Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3269 or (202) 482-7425, respectively. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> 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 on March 24, 2025. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On July 18, 2025, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until September 24, 2025. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations,</E> 90 FR 13457 (March 24, 2025) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair Value Investigations,</E> 90 FR 33920 (July 18, 2025). </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>3</SU> <FTREF/> 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 <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>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” 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 chassis from Vietnam. 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>4</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>5</SU> <FTREF/> Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice.</E> For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this preliminary determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice. See</E> the scope in Appendix I to this notice. <FTNT> <SU>4</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>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice.</E> </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Less Than Fair Value and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,” dated July 28, 2025 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Methodology</HD> Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export price in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy (NME), within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, Commerce has calculated normal value (NV) in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Combination Rates</HD> In the <E T="03">Initiation Notice,</E> <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> 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. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice,</E> 90 FR at 13461. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 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 <E T="03">https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Separate Rate Companies and the Vietnam-Wide Entity</HD> In this investigation, Commerce received two separate rate applications, from Thaco Special Vehicles Manufacturing Limited Company and Thaco Industries Trailers and Heavy Steel Structures Manufacturing Limited Liability Company (collectively, Thaco  <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> ), and we are preliminarily granting a separate rate to Thaco. 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 <E T="03">de minimis</E> estimated weighted-average dumping margins and any estimated weighted-average dumping margins based entirely under section 776 of the Act. <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>  We preliminarily determine that Thaco Special Vehicles Manufacturing Limited Company and Thaco Industries Trailers and Heavy Steel Structures Manufacturing Limited Liability Company should be collapsed and treated as a single entity. <E T="03">See</E> Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 5-6. </FTNT> Thaco is the only respondent that Commerce individually examined in this investigation, and Commerce preliminarily calculated an estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Thaco that is not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely on facts available. Accordingly, while there are no separate rate respondents in this investigation, because we preliminarily find that the Vietnam-wide entity cooperated in this investigation, we preliminarily assigned the estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated for Thaco to the Vietnam-wide entity. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Preliminary Decision Memorandum at the section, “Separate Rates,” for further discussion. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist: <GPOTABLE COLS="3" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s100,r100,15"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Producer</CHED> <CHED H="1">Exporter</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Estimated weighted- average dumping margin <ENT I="01">Thaco Special Vehicles Manufacturing Limited Company; Thaco Industries Trailers and Heavy Steel Structures Manufacturing Limited Liability Company</ENT> <ENT>Thaco Special Vehicles Manufacturing Limited Company; Thaco Industries Trailers and Heavy Steel Structures Manufacturing Limited Liability Company</ENT> <ENT>511.16</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Vietnam-wide Entity</ENT> <ENT/> <ENT>511.16</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements</HD> 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 Appendix I, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> . 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