Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar From Algeria: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[A-721-001]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar From Algeria: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value</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 steel concrete reinforcing bar (rebar) from Algeria is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable December 19, 2025. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Anjali Mehindiratta, 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) 482-9127. </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 June 30, 2025. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> Due to the lapse in appropriations and Federal Government shutdown, on November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by 47 days. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> Additionally, due to a backlog of documents that were electronically filed via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) during the Federal Government shutdown, on November 24, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by an additional 21 days. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> Accordingly, the deadline for this preliminary determination is now January 20, 2026. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Algeria, Bulgaria, Egypt, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations,</E> 90 FR 27846 (June 30, 2025) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the Federal Government,” dated November 14, 2025. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Tolling of all Case Deadlines,” dated November 24, 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>4</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>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from Algeria,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigation</HD> The product covered by this investigation is rebar from Algeria. 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 preamble 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/> No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice.</E> Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice.</E> The complete description of the scope is provided in Appendix I to this notice. <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,</E> 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Methodology</HD> Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available to determine an estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Tosyali Iron Steel Industry Algeria SPA (Tosyali Algeria), the sole mandatory respondent in this investigation, because Tosyali Algeria withdrew its participation in this investigation. Furthermore, Commerce preliminarily determines that Tosyali Algeria failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to comply with a request for information and Commerce is using an adverse inference in selecting from facts otherwise available ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> applying adverse facts available (AFA) to this respondent, in accordance with section 776(b) of the Act). For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <HD SOURCE="HD1">All-Others Rate</HD> Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that, in a preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated weighted-average dumping margin for all-others exporters and producers not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and <E T="03">de minimis</E> margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for all exporters and producers individually examined are zero, <E T="03">de minimis</E> or determined based entirely on facts otherwise available, then Commerce may use any reasonable method to establish the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers or exporters. Commerce has preliminarily determined that the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Tosyali Algeria entirely under section 776 of the Act. Consequently, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, Commerce's normal practice under these circumstances has been to calculate the all-others rate as a simple average of the dumping margin(s) alleged in the petition. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of Germany,</E> 73 FR 21909, 21912 (April 23, 2008), unchanged in <E T="03">Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of Germany,</E> 73 FR 38986, 38987 (July 8, 2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2; <E T="03">see also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Raw Flexible Magnets from Taiwan,</E> 73 FR 39673, 39674 (July 10, 2008); <E T="03">Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances,</E> 78 FR 79670, 79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in <E T="03">Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances,</E> 79 FR 14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014). </FTNT> In the Petition, <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> the petitioner, Rebar Trade Action Coalition, alleged a single dumping margin for Algeria of 127.32 percent. <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> Therefore, consistent with our practice, for the all-others rate in this investigation, we preliminarily assign the dumping margin alleged in the Petition, which is 127.32 percent. <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,” dated June 4, 2025 (Petition), as revised in Petitioner's Letter, “Petitioner Response to the 2nd Supplemental Questionnaire Regarding Algeria Antidumping Duty Volume II of the Petition,” dated June 23, 2025, at Exhibit II-Supp2-4. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice,</E> 90 FR at 27846. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist: <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s25,9"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Exporter or producer</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Weighted- average dumping <ENT I="01">Tosyali Iron Steel Industry Algeria SPA</ENT> <ENT>* 127.32</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">All Others</ENT> <ENT>127.32</ENT> </ROW> <TNOTE>* Rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.</TNOTE> </GPOTABLE> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Suspension of Liquidation</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 entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 18k characters. 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