Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 13457-13463 [2025-04938]
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 55 / Monday, March 24, 2025 / Notices
incorporated in the trailer and being
insulated, possessing specific thermal
properties intended for use with selfcontained refrigeration systems. Flatbed (or
platform) trailers consist of load carrying
main frames and a solid, flat or stepped
loading deck or floor permanently
incorporated with and supported by frame
rails and cross members.
The finished and unfinished chassis
subject to these investigations are typically
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (HTSUS) at subheadings:
8716.39.0090 and 8716.90.5060. Imports of
finished and unfinished chassis may also
enter under HTSUS subheading
8716.90.5010. While the HTSUS subheadings
are provided for convenience and customs
purposes, the written description of the
merchandise under investigation is
dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2025–04942 Filed 3–21–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–201–865, A–549–854, A–552–849]
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies
Thereof From Mexico, Thailand, and
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES: Applicable March 18, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jun
Jack Zhao at (202) 482–1396 (Mexico),
Aleksandras Nakutis at (202) 482–3147
(Thailand), and Benito Ballesteros at
(202) 482–7425 (the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam (Vietnam)), AD/CVD
Operations, Enforcement and
Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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AGENCY:
The Petitions
On February 26, 2025, the U.S.
Department of Commerce (Commerce)
received antidumping duty (AD)
petitions concerning imports of certain
chassis and subassemblies thereof
(chassis) from Mexico, Thailand, and
Vietnam filed in proper form on behalf
of the U.S. Chassis Manufacturers
Coalition (the petitioner),1 the members
of which are domestic producers of
chassis.2 The AD Petitions were
1 The members of the U.S. Chassis Manufacturers
Coalition are Cheetah Chassis Corporation and
Stoughton Trailers, LLC.
2 See Petitioner’s Letter, ‘‘Petitions for the
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing
Duties,’’ dated February 26, 2025 (Petitions).
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accompanied by countervailing duty
(CVD) petitions concerning imports of
chassis from Mexico and Thailand.3
Between February 28 and March 11,
2025, Commerce requested
supplemental information pertaining to
certain aspects of the Petitions in
supplemental questionnaires.4 Between
March 4 and 11, 2025, the petitioner
filed timely responses to these requests
for additional information.5
In accordance with section 732(b) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act), the petitioner alleges that imports
of chassis from Mexico, Thailand, and
Vietnam are being, or are likely to be,
sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV) within the meaning of
section 731 of the Act, and that imports
of such products are materially injuring,
or threatening material injury to, the
chassis industry in the United States.
Consistent with section 732(b)(1) of the
Act, the Petitions were accompanied by
information reasonably available to the
petitioner to support its allegations.
Commerce finds that the petitioner
filed the Petitions on behalf of the
domestic industry because the
petitioner is an interested party, as
defined in section 771(9)(F) of the Act.6
Commerce also finds that the petitioner
demonstrated sufficient industry
support for the initiation of the
requested LTFV investigations.7
3 Id.
4 See Commerce’s Letters, ‘‘Supplemental
Questions,’’ dated February 28, 2025 (First General
Issues Questionnaire); see also Country-Specific
Supplemental Questionnaires: Mexico
Supplemental, Thailand Supplemental, and
Vietnam Supplemental, dated February 28, 2025;
Memorandum, ‘‘Phone Call with Counsel to the
Petitioner,’’ dated March 7, 2025; Memorandum,
‘‘Phone Call with Counsel to the Petitioner,’’ dated
March 7, 2025 (March 7, 2025, Scope
Memorandum); and Commerce’s Letter,
‘‘Supplemental Questions,’’ dated March 10, 2025.
5 See Petitioner’s Letters, ‘‘Petitioner Response to
1st Supplemental Questionnaire Regarding
Common Issues and Injury Volume I of the
Petition,’’ dated March 4, 2025 (First General Issues
Supplement); see also Country-Specific AD
Supplemental Responses: Mexico AD Supplement,
Thailand AD Supplement, and Vietnam AD
Supplement, dated March 4, 2025; Second Thailand
AD Supplement, dated March 10, 2025; ‘‘Petitioners
Response to 2nd Supplemental Questionnaire
Regarding Common Issues and Injury Volume I of
the Petition,’’ dated March 10, 2025 (Second
General Issues Supplement); and ‘‘Petitioner
Response to 3rd Supplemental Questionnaire
Regarding Common Issues and Injury Volume I of
the Petition,’’ dated March 11, 2025 (Third General
Issues Supplement). The petitioner also filed a
supplement correcting a clerical error and
providing a complete replacement of Exhibit I–13
of Volume I of the Petitions. See Petitioner’s Letter,
‘‘Supplement to Exhibit I–13 of Volume I General
Issues Petition,’’ dated February 27, 2025 (Revised
Exhibit I–13).
6 The members of the petitioning coalition are
interested parties under section 771(9)(C) of the
Act.
7 See section on ‘‘Determination of Industry
Support for the Petitions,’’ infra.
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Periods of Investigation
Because the Petitions were filed on
February 26, 2025, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.204(b)(1), the period of
investigation (POI) for the Mexico and
Thailand LTFV investigations is January
1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
Because Vietnam is a non-market
economy (NME) country, pursuant to 19
CFR 351.204(b)(1), the POI for the
Vietnam LTFV investigation is July 1,
2024, through December 31, 2024.
Scope of the Investigations
The products covered by these
investigations are chassis from Mexico,
Thailand, and Vietnam. For a full
description of the scope of these
investigations, see the appendix to this
notice.
Comments on the Scope of the
Investigations
On February 28 and March 7, 2025,
Commerce requested information and
clarification from the petitioner
regarding the proposed scope to ensure
that the scope language in the Petitions
is an accurate reflection of the products
for which the domestic industry is
seeking relief.8 On March 4 and 10,
2025, the petitioner provided
clarifications and revised the scope.9
The description of merchandise covered
by these investigations, as described in
the appendix to this notice, reflects
these clarifications.
As discussed in the Preamble to
Commerce’s regulations, we are setting
aside a period for interested parties to
raise issues regarding product coverage
(i.e., scope).10 Commerce will consider
all scope comments received from
interested parties and, if necessary, will
consult with interested parties prior to
the issuance of the preliminary
determinations. If scope comments
include factual information,11 all such
factual information should be limited to
public information. Commerce requests
that interested parties provide at the
beginning of their scope comments a
public executive summary for each
comment or issue raised in their
submission. Commerce further requests
that interested parties limit their public
executive summary of each comment or
issue to no more than 450 words, not
8 See First General Issues Questionnaire; see also
March 7, 2025, Scope Memorandum.
9 See First General Issues Supplement at 2–6 and
Exhibit I–Supp–4 through I–Supp–6; see also
Second General Issues Supplement at 1–8 and
Exhibits I–Supp2–1 and I–Supp2–2.
10 See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing
Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19,
1997) (Preamble); see also 19 CFR 351.312.
11 See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ‘‘factual
information’’).
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including citations. Commerce intends
to use the public executive summaries
as the basis of the comment summaries
included in the analysis of scope
comments. To facilitate preparation of
its questionnaires, Commerce requests
that scope comments be submitted by
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on April 7,
2025, which is 20 calendar days from
the signature date of this notice. Any
rebuttal comments, which may include
factual information, and should also be
limited to public information, must be
filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on April 17, 2025,
which is 10 calendar days from the
initial comment deadline.
Commerce requests that any factual
information that parties consider
relevant to the scope of these
investigations be submitted during that
period. However, if a party subsequently
finds that additional factual information
pertaining to the scope of the
investigations may be relevant, the party
must contact Commerce and request
permission to submit the additional
information. All scope comments must
be filed simultaneously on the records
of the concurrent LTFV and CVD
investigations.
Filing Requirements
All submissions to Commerce must be
filed electronically via Enforcement and
Compliance’s Antidumping Duty and
Countervailing Duty Centralized
Electronic Service System (ACCESS),
unless an exception applies.12 An
electronically filed document must be
received successfully in its entirety by
the time and date it is due.
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Comments on Product Characteristics
Commerce is providing interested
parties an opportunity to comment on
the appropriate physical characteristics
of chassis to be reported in response to
Commerce’s AD questionnaires. This
information will be used to identify the
key physical characteristics of the
subject merchandise in order to report
the relevant factors of production (FOP)
or cost of production (COP) accurately,
as well as to develop appropriate
product comparison criteria.
Interested parties may provide any
information or comments that they feel
are relevant to the development of an
12 See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures;
Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR
39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and
Compliance: Change of Electronic Filing System
Name, 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014) for details
of Commerce’s electronic filing requirements,
effective August 5, 2011. Information on using
ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/
help.aspx and a handbook can be found at https://
access.trade.gov/help/Handbook_on_Electronic_
Filing_Procedures.pdf.
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accurate list of physical characteristics.
Specifically, they may provide
comments as to which characteristics
are appropriate to use as: (1) general
product characteristics; and (2) product
comparison criteria. We note that it is
not always appropriate to use all
product characteristics as product
comparison criteria. We base product
comparison criteria on meaningful
commercial differences among products.
In other words, although there may be
some physical product characteristics
utilized by manufacturers to describe
chassis, it may be that only a select few
product characteristics take into account
commercially meaningful physical
characteristics. In addition, interested
parties may comment on the order in
which the physical characteristics
should be used in matching products.
Generally, Commerce attempts to list
the most important physical
characteristics first and the least
important characteristics last.
In order to consider the suggestions of
interested parties in developing and
issuing the AD questionnaires, all
product characteristics comments must
be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on April 7,
2025, which is 20 calendar days from
the signature date of this notice. Any
rebuttal comments must be filed by 5:00
p.m. ET on April 17, 2025, which is 10
calendar days from the initial comment
deadline. All comments and
submissions to Commerce must be filed
electronically using ACCESS, as
explained above, on the record of the
each of the LTFV investigations.
Determination of Industry Support for
the Petitions
Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires
that a petition be filed on behalf of the
domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A)
of the Act provides that a petition meets
this requirement if the domestic
producers or workers who support the
petition account for: (i) at least 25
percent of the total production of the
domestic like product; and (ii) more
than 50 percent of the production of the
domestic like product produced by that
portion of the industry expressing
support for, or opposition to, the
petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D)
of the Act provides that, if the petition
does not establish support of domestic
producers or workers accounting for
more than 50 percent of the total
production of the domestic like product,
Commerce shall: (i) poll the industry or
rely on other information in order to
determine if there is support for the
petition, as required by subparagraph
(A); or (ii) determine industry support
using a statistically valid sampling
method to poll the ‘‘industry.’’
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Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines
the ‘‘industry’’ as the producers as a
whole of a domestic like product. Thus,
to determine whether a petition has the
requisite industry support, the statute
directs Commerce to look to producers
and workers who produce the domestic
like product. The U.S. International
Trade Commission (ITC), which is
responsible for determining whether
‘‘the domestic industry’’ has been
injured, must also determine what
constitutes a domestic like product in
order to define the industry. While both
Commerce and the ITC must apply the
same statutory definition regarding the
domestic like product,13 they do so for
different purposes and pursuant to a
separate and distinct authority. In
addition, Commerce’s determination is
subject to limitations of time and
information. Although this may result in
different definitions of the like product,
such differences do not render the
decision of either agency contrary to
law.14
Section 771(10) of the Act defines the
domestic like product as ‘‘a product
which is like, or in the absence of like,
most similar in characteristics and uses
with, the article subject to an
investigation under this title.’’ Thus, the
reference point from which the
domestic like product analysis begins is
‘‘the article subject to an investigation’’
(i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to
be investigated, which normally will be
the scope as defined in the petition).
With regard to the domestic like
product, the petitioner does not offer a
definition of the domestic like product
distinct from the scope of the
investigations.15 Based on our analysis
of the information submitted on the
record, we have determined that
chassis, as defined in the scope,
constitute a single domestic like
product, and we have analyzed industry
support in terms of that domestic like
product.16
13 See
section 771(10) of the Act.
USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp.
2d 1, 8 (CIT 2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd.
v. United States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988),
aff’d 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
15 See Petitions at Volume I (pages 22–26 and
Exhibits I–3, I–17, and I–18); see also Third General
Issues Supplement at 1–4 and Exhibits I–Supp3–1
and I–Supp3–2.
16 For a discussion of the domestic like product
analysis as applied to these cases and information
regarding industry support, see Checklists,
‘‘Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation
Checklists: Certain Chassis and Subassemblies
Thereof from Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam,’’ dated concurrently with, and
hereby adopted by, this notice (Country-Specific
AD Initiation Checklists), at Attachment II, Analysis
of Industry Support for the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering Certain
Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico,
14 See
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In determining whether the petitioner
has standing under section 732(c)(4)(A)
of the Act, we considered the industry
support data contained in the Petitions
with reference to the domestic like
product as defined in the ‘‘Scope of the
Investigations,’’ in the appendix to this
notice. To establish industry support,
the petitioner provided the 2024
production of the domestic like product
for the supporters of the Petitions and
compared this to the estimated total
production of the domestic like product
for the entire domestic industry.17 We
relied on data provided by the petitioner
for purposes of measuring industry
support.18
Our review of the data provided in the
Petitions, the First General Issues
Supplement, and other information
readily available to Commerce indicates
that the petitioner has established
industry support for the Petitions.19
First, the Petitions established support
from domestic producers (or workers)
accounting for more than 50 percent of
the total production of the domestic like
product and, as such, Commerce is not
required to take further action in order
to evaluate industry support (e.g.,
polling).20 Second, the domestic
producers (or workers) have met the
statutory criteria for industry support
under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act
because the domestic producers (or
workers) who support the Petitions
account for at least 25 percent of the
total production of the domestic like
product.21 Finally, the domestic
producers (or workers) have met the
statutory criteria for industry support
under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act
because the domestic producers (or
workers) who support the Petitions
account for more than 50 percent of the
production of the domestic like product
produced by that portion of the industry
expressing support for, or opposition to,
the Petitions.22 Accordingly, Commerce
determines that the Petitions were filed
on behalf of the domestic industry
within the meaning of section 732(b)(1)
of the Act.23
Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Attachment II). These checklists are on file
electronically via ACCESS.
17 For further discussion, see Attachment II of the
Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
18 Id.
19 Id.
20 Id.; see also section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act.
21 See Attachment II of the Country-Specific AD
Initiation Checklists.
22 Id.
23 Id.
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Allegations and Evidence of Material
Injury and Causation
The petitioner alleges that the U.S.
industry producing the domestic like
product is being materially injured, or is
threatened with material injury, by
reason of the imports of the subject
merchandise sold at LTFV. In addition,
the petitioner alleges that subject
imports exceed the negligibility
threshold provided for under section
771(24)(A) of the Act.24
The petitioner contends that the
industry’s injured condition is
illustrated by a significant increase in
the volume of subject imports; reduced
market share; underselling and price
depression and/or suppression; lost
sales and revenues; declines in domestic
producers’ U.S. shipments, production,
and capacity utilization; decline in
employment variables; adverse impact
on financial performance; negative
impact on the existing development and
production efforts of the domestic
industry; and the magnitude of the
alleged dumping margins.25 We
assessed the allegations and supporting
evidence regarding material injury,
threat of material injury, causation, as
well as negligibility, and we have
determined that these allegations are
properly supported by adequate
evidence, and meet the statutory
requirements for initiation.26
Allegations of Sales at LTFV
The following is a description of the
allegations of sales at LTFV upon which
Commerce based its decision to initiate
LTFV investigations of imports of
chassis from Mexico, Thailand, and
Vietnam. The sources of data for the
deductions and adjustments relating to
U.S. price and normal value (NV) are
discussed in greater detail in the
Country-Specific AD Initiation
Checklists.
U.S. Price
For Mexico and Vietnam, the
petitioner based export price (EP) on
pricing information for chassis
produced in each country and sold or
offered for sale in the U.S. market
during the POI.27 For Thailand, because
the petitioner had reason to believe the
sale or sales offer was made through a
U.S. affiliate, the petitioner based
24 For further discussion, see Country-Specific
AD Initiation Checklists at Attachment III, Analysis
of Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and
Causation for the Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Petitions Covering Certain Chassis and
Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico, Thailand, and
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
25 Id.
26 Id.
27 See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
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13459
constructed export price (CEP) on
pricing information for chassis
produced in Thailand and sold or
offered for sale in the U.S. market
during the POI.28 For each country, the
petitioner made certain adjustments to
U.S. price to calculate a net ex-factory
U.S. price, where applicable.29
Normal Value 30
For Mexico, the petitioner based NV
on home market pricing information
obtained for chassis produced in and
sold or offered for sale in Mexico during
the POI.31
For Thailand, the petitioner stated
that it was unable to obtain home
market or third-country pricing
information for chassis in Thailand to
use as a basis for NV.32 Therefore, for
Thailand, the petitioner calculated NV
based on CV. For further discussion of
CV, see the section ‘‘Normal Value
Based on Constructed Value.’’
Commerce considers Vietnam to be an
NME country.33 In accordance with
section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any
determination that a foreign country is
an NME country shall remain in effect
until revoked by Commerce. Therefore,
we continue to treat Vietnam as an NME
country for purposes of the initiation of
this LTFV investigation. Accordingly,
we base NV on FOPs valued in a
surrogate market economy country in
accordance with section 773(c) of the
Act.
The petitioner claims that Indonesia
is an appropriate surrogate country for
Vietnam because it is a market economy
that is at a level of economic
development comparable to that of
Vietnam and is a significant producer of
comparable merchandise.34 The
petitioner provided publicly available
information from Indonesia to value all
FOPs.35 Based on the information
provided by the petitioner, we believe it
is appropriate to use Indonesia as a
surrogate country for Vietnam to value
all FOPs for initiation purposes.
28 See
Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
30 In accordance with section 773(b)(2) of the Act,
for the Mexico and Thailand LTFV investigations,
Commerce will request information necessary to
calculate the constructed value (CV) and COP to
determine whether there are reasonable grounds to
believe or suspect that sales of the foreign like
product have been made at prices that represent
less than the COP of the product.
31 See Mexico AD Initiation Checklist.
32 See Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
33 See, e.g., Raw Honey from the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 89 FR 64411
(August 7, 2024), and accompanying NME Analysis
Memorandum at 5.
34 See Vietnam AD Initiation Checklist.
35 Id.
29 See
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Interested parties will have the
opportunity to submit comments
regarding surrogate country selection
and, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an
opportunity to submit publicly available
information to value FOPs within 30
days before the scheduled date of the
preliminary determination.
Factors of Production
Because information regarding the
volume of inputs consumed by
Vietnamese producers/exporters was
not reasonably available, the petitioner
used the production experience and
product-specific consumption rates of a
U.S. producer of chassis as a surrogate
to value Vietnamese manufacturers’
FOPs.36 Additionally, for Vietnam, the
petitioner calculated factory overhead,
selling, general, and administrative
expenses (SG&A), and profit based on
the experience of an Indonesian
producer of comparable merchandise.37
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Normal Value Based on Constructed
Value
As noted above for Thailand, the
petitioner stated that it was unable to
obtain home market or third-country
prices for chassis to use as a basis for
NV. Therefore, for Thailand, the
petitioner calculated NV based on CV.38
Pursuant to section 773(e) of the Act,
the petitioner calculated CV as the sum
of the cost of manufacturing, SG&A
expenses, financial expenses, and
profit.39 For Thailand, in calculating the
cost of manufacturing, the petitioner
relied on the production experience and
input consumption rates of a U.S.
producer of chassis, valued using
publicly available information
applicable to Thailand.40 In calculating
SG&A expenses, financial expenses, and
profit ratios, the petitioner relied on the
2024 financial statements of a producer
of comparable merchandise domiciled
in Thailand.41
Fair Value Comparisons
Based on the data provided by the
petitioner, there is reason to believe that
imports Chassis from Mexico, Thailand,
and Vietnam are being, or are likely to
be, sold in the United States at LTFV.
Based on comparisons of EP or CEP to
NV in accordance with sections 772 and
773 of the Act, the estimated dumping
margins for chassis from each of the
countries covered by this initiation are
as follows: (1) Mexico—32.37 percent;
(2) Thailand—181.57 percent; (3) and
Vietnam—302.52 percent.42
Initiation of LTFV Investigations
Based upon the examination of the
Petitions and supplemental responses,
we find that they meet the requirements
of section 732 of the Act. Therefore, we
are initiating LTFV investigations to
determine whether imports of chassis
from Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the
United States at LTFV. In accordance
with section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and
19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless postponed,
we will make our preliminary
determinations no later than 140 days
after the date of these initiations.
Respondent Selection
Mexico and Thailand
In the Petitions, the petitioner
identified 13 companies in Mexico and
three companies in Thailand as
producers and/or exporters of chassis.43
Following standard practice in AD
investigations involving market
economy countries, Commerce would
normally select respondents based on
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) entry data for imports under the
appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (HTSUS)
subheading(s) listed in the ‘‘Scope of the
Investigations’’ in the Appendix.
However, for this investigation, the
main HTSUS subheadings under which
the subject merchandise would enter
(8716.39.0090 and 8716.90.5060) are
basket categories under which nonsubject merchandise may also enter.
Therefore, instead of relying on CBP
entry data in selecting respondents, we
intend to issue Q&V questionnaires to
each potential respondent for which
there is complete address information
on the record.
Commerce will also post the Q&V
questionnaires along with filing
instructions on Commerce’s website at
https://www.trade.gov/ec-adcvd-caseannouncements. Exporters/producers of
chassis from Mexico and Thailand that
do not receive Q&V questionnaires may
still submit a response to the Q&V
questionnaire and can obtain a copy of
the Q&V questionnaire from
Commerce’s website. Responses to the
Q&V questionnaire must be submitted
by the relevant producers/exporters no
later than 5:00 p.m. on April 1, 2025,
which is two weeks from the signature
date of this notice. An electronically
36 Id.
37 Id.
38 See
Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
39 Id.
40 Id.
41 Id.
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Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
Petitions at Volume I (page 17 and Exhibit
I–13); see also Revised Exhibit I–13; and First
General Issues Supplement at 1–2 and Exhibits I–
Supp–1 and I–Supp–17.
filed document must be received
successfully, in its entirety, by ACCESS
no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on the
deadline noted above.
Interested parties must submit
applications for disclosure under an
administrative protective order (APO) in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(b). As
stated above, instructions for filing such
applications may be found on
Commerce’s website at https://
www.trade.gov/administrativeprotective-orders.
Vietnam
In the Petitions, the petitioner
identified four companies in Vietnam as
producers and/or exporters of chassis.44
Our standard practice for respondent
selection in AD investigations involving
NME countries is to select respondents
based on Q&V questionnaires in cases
where Commerce has determined that
the number of companies is large, and
it cannot individually examine each
company based upon its resources.
Therefore, considering the number of
producers and/or exporters identified in
the Petitions, Commerce will solicit
Q&V information that can serve as a
basis for selecting exporters for
individual examination in the event that
Commerce determines that the number
is large and decides to limit the number
of respondents individually examined
pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the
Act. Because there are four Vietnamese
producers and/or exporters identified in
the Petitions, Commerce has determined
that it will issue Q&V questionnaires to
each potential respondent for which
there is complete address information
on the record.
Commerce will post the Q&V
questionnaires along with filing
instructions on Commerce’s website at
https://www.trade.gov/ec-adcvd-caseannouncements. Producers/exporters of
chassis from Vietnam that do not
receive Q&V questionnaires may still
submit a response to the Q&V
questionnaire and can obtain a copy of
the Q&V questionnaire from
Commerce’s website. Responses to the
Q&V questionnaire must be submitted
by the relevant Vietnamese producers/
exporters no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on
April 1, 2025, which is two weeks from
the signature date of this notice. All
Q&V questionnaire responses must be
filed electronically via ACCESS. An
electronically filed document must be
received successfully, in its entirety, by
42 See
43 See
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44 See Petitions at Volume I (page 27 and Exhibit
I–13); see also Revised Exhibit I–13; and First
General Issues Supplement at 1 and Exhibit I-Supp1.
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ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on
the deadline noted above.
Interested parties must submit
applications for disclosure under APO
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(b).
As stated above, instructions for filing
such applications may be found on
Commerce’s website at https://
www.trade.gov/administrativeprotective-orders.
Separate Rates
In order to obtain separate rate status
in an NME investigation, exporters and
producers must submit a separate rate
application. The specific requirements
for submitting a separate rate
application in an NME investigation are
outlined in detail in the application
itself, which is available on Commerce’s
website at https://access.trade.gov/
Resources/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. Note
that Commerce recently promulgated
new regulations pertaining to separate
rates, including the separate rate
application deadline and eligibility for
separate rate status, in 19 CFR
351.108.45 Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.108(d)(1), the separate rate
application will be due 21 days after
publication of this initiation notice.46
Exporters and producers must file a
timely separate rate application if they
want to be considered for individual
examination. In addition, pursuant to 19
CFR 351.108(e), exporters and
producers who submit a separate rate
application and have been selected as
mandatory respondents will be eligible
for consideration for separate rate status
only if they fully respond to all parts of
Commerce’s AD questionnaire and
participate in the LTFV proceeding as
mandatory respondents.47 Commerce
requires that companies from Vietnam
submit a response both to the Q&V
questionnaire and to the separate rate
application by the respective deadlines
to receive consideration for separate rate
status. Companies not filing a timely
Q&V questionnaire response will not
receive separate rate consideration.
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Use of Combination Rates
Commerce will calculate combination
rates for certain respondents that are
eligible for a separate rate in an NME
investigation. The Separate Rates and
Combination Rates Bulletin states:
{w}hile continuing the practice of assigning
separate rates only to exporters, all separate
rates that {Commerce} will now assign in its
NME investigation will be specific to those
45 See Regulations Enhancing the Administration
of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Trade
Remedy Laws, 89 FR 101694, 101759–60 (December
16, 2024).
46 See 19 CFR 351.108(d)(1).
47 See 19 CFR 351.108(e).
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producers that supplied the exporter during
the period of investigation. Note, however,
that one rate is calculated for the exporter
and all of the producers which supplied
subject merchandise to it during the period
of investigation. This practice applies both to
mandatory respondents receiving an
individually calculated separate rate as well
as the pool of non-investigated firms
receiving the {weighted average} of the
individually calculated rates. This practice is
referred to as the application of ‘‘combination
rates’’ because such rates apply to specific
combinations of exporters and one or more
producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to
an exporter will apply only to merchandise
both exported by the firm in question and
produced by a firm that supplied the exporter
during the period of investigation.48
Distribution of Copies of the Petitions
In accordance with section
732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.202(f), a copy of the public version
of the Petitions has been provided to the
governments of Mexico, Thailand, and
Vietnam via ACCESS. To the extent
practicable, we will attempt to provide
a copy of the public version of the
Petitions to each exporter named in the
Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR
351.203(c)(2).
ITC Notification
Commerce will notify the ITC of our
initiation, as required by section 732(d)
of the Act.
Preliminary Determinations by the ITC
The ITC will preliminarily determine,
within 45 days after the date on which
the Petitions were filed, whether there
is a reasonable indication that imports
of chassis from Mexico, Thailand, and/
or Vietnam are materially injuring, or
threatening material injury to, a U.S.
industry.49 A negative ITC
determination for any country will
result in the investigation being
terminated with respect to that
country.50 Otherwise, these LTFV
investigations will proceed according to
statutory and regulatory time limits.
Particular Market Situation Allegation
Section 773(e) of the Act addresses
the concept of particular market
situation (PMS) for purposes of CV,
stating that ‘‘if a particular market
situation exists such that the cost of
materials and fabrication or other
processing of any kind does not
48 See Enforcement and Compliance’s Policy
Bulletin No. 05.1, regarding, ‘‘Separate-Rates
Practice and Application of Combination Rates in
Antidumping Investigation involving NME
Countries,’’ (April 5, 2005), at 6 (emphasis added),
available on Commerce’s website at https://
access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
49 See section 733(a) of the Act.
50 Id.
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13461
accurately reflect the cost of production
in the ordinary course of trade, the
administering authority may use
another calculation methodology under
this subtitle or any other calculation
methodology.’’ When an interested
party submits a PMS allegation pursuant
to section 773(e) of the Act (i.e., a costbased PMS allegation), the submission
must be filed in accordance with the
requirements of 19 CFR 351.416(b), and
Commerce will respond to such a
submission consistent with 19 CFR
351.301(c)(2)(v). If Commerce finds that
a cost-based PMS exists under section
773(e) of the Act, then it will modify its
dumping calculations appropriately.
Neither section 773(e) of the Act, nor
19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(v), sets a deadline
for the submission of cost-based PMS
allegations and supporting factual
information. However, in order to
administer section 773(e) of the Act,
Commerce must receive PMS allegations
and supporting factual information with
enough time to consider the submission.
Thus, should an interested party wish to
submit a cost-based PMS allegation and
supporting new factual information
pursuant to section 773(e) of the Act, it
must do so no later than 20 days after
submission of a respondent’s initial
section D questionnaire response.
We note that a PMS allegation filed
pursuant to sections 773(a)(1)(B)(ii)(III)
or 773(a)(1)(C)(iii) of the Act (i.e., a
sales-based PMS allegation) must be
filed within 10 days of submission of a
respondent’s initial section B
questionnaire response, in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(i) and 19 CFR
351.404(c)(2).
Submission of Factual Information
Factual information is defined in 19
CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) evidence
submitted in response to questionnaires;
(ii) evidence submitted in support of
allegations; (iii) publicly available
information to value factors under 19
CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR
351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence placed on
the record by Commerce; and (v)
evidence other than factual information
described in (i)–(iv). Section 351.301(b)
of Commerce’s regulations requires any
party, when submitting factual
information, to specify under which
subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the
information is being submitted 51 and, if
the information is submitted to rebut,
clarify, or correct factual information
already on the record, to provide an
explanation identifying the information
already on the record that the factual
information seeks to rebut, clarify, or
51 See
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correct.52 Time limits for the
submission of factual information are
addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, which
provides specific time limits based on
the type of factual information being
submitted. Interested parties should
review the regulations prior to
submitting factual information in these
investigations.
Time Limits for Submission of Factual
Information in Response to
Questionnaires
Section 351.301(c) of Commerce’s
regulations states that during a
proceeding, Commerce may issue to any
person questionnaires, which includes
both and initial and supplemental
questionnaires. For all investigations
initiated after January 15, 2025, the
following time limits apply: 53
(i) Initial questionnaire responses are
due 30 days from the date of receipt of
such questionnaire. The time limit for
response to individual sections of the
questionnaire, if Commerce requests a
separate response to such sections, may
be less than the 30 days allotted for
response to the full questionnaire. In
general, the date of receipt will be
considered to be seven days from the
date on which the initial questionnaire
was transmitted.
(ii) Supplemental questionnaire
responses are due on the date specified
by Commerce.
(iii) A notification by an interested
party, under section 782(c)(1) of the Act,
of difficulties in submitting information
in response to a questionnaire issued by
Commerce is to be submitted in writing
within 14 days after the date of the
questionnaire or, if the questionnaire is
due in 14 days or less, within the time
specified by Commerce.
(iv) A respondent interested party
may request in writing that Commerce
conduct a questionnaire presentation.
Commerce may conduct a questionnaire
presentation if Commerce notifies the
government of the affected country and
that government does not object.
(v) Factual information submitted to
rebut, clarify, or correct questionnaire
responses. Within 14 days after an
initial questionnaire response and
within 10 days after a supplemental
questionnaire response has been filed
with Commerce, an interested party
other than the original submitter is
permitted one opportunity to submit
factual information to rebut, clarify, or
correct factual information contained in
the questionnaire response. Within
seven days of the filing of such rebuttal,
clarification, or correction to a
52 See
53 See
19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
19 CFR 351.301(c)(1)(i)–(v).
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questionnaire response, the original
submitter of the questionnaire response
is permitted one opportunity to submit
factual information to rebut, clarify, or
correct factual information submitted in
the interested party’s rebuttal,
clarification or correction. Commerce
will reject any untimely filed rebuttal,
clarification, or correction submission
and provide, to the extent practicable,
written notice stating the reasons for
rejection. If insufficient time remains
before the due date for the final
determination or final results of review,
Commerce may specify shorter
deadlines under this section.
Extensions of Time Limits
Parties may request an extension of
time limits before the expiration of a
time limit established under 19 CFR
351.301, or as otherwise specified by
Commerce. In general, an extension
request will be considered untimely if it
is filed after the expiration of the time
limit established under 19 CFR 351.301,
or as otherwise specified by
Commerce.54 For submissions that are
due from multiple parties
simultaneously, an extension request
will be considered untimely if it is filed
after 10:00 a.m. ET on the due date.
Under certain circumstances, Commerce
may elect to specify a different time
limit by which extension requests will
be considered untimely for submissions
which are due from multiple parties
simultaneously. In such a case, we will
inform parties in a letter or
memorandum of the deadline (including
a specified time) by which extension
requests must be filed to be considered
timely. An extension request must be
made in a separate, standalone
submission; under limited
circumstances we will grant untimely
filed requests for the extension of time
limits, where we determine, based on 19
CFR 351.302, that extraordinary
circumstances exist. Parties should
review Commerce’s regulations
concerning the extension of time limits
and the Time Limits Final Rule prior to
submitting factual information in these
investigations.55
Certification Requirements
Any party submitting factual
information in an AD or CVD
proceeding must certify to the accuracy
and completeness of that information.56
54 See
19 CFR 351.301; see also Extension of Time
Limits; Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 20,
2013) (Time Limits Final Rule), available at https://
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/201322853.htm.
55 See 19 CFR 351.302; see also, e.g., Time Limits
Final Rule.
56 See section 782(b) of the Act.
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Parties must use the certification
formats provided in 19 CFR
351.303(g).57 Commerce intends to
reject factual submissions if the
submitting party does not comply with
the applicable certification
requirements.
Notification to Interested Parties
Interested parties must submit
applications for disclosure under APO
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305.
Parties wishing to participate in these
investigations should ensure that they
meet the requirements of 19 CFR
351.103(d) (e.g., by filing the required
letter of appearance). Note that
Commerce has amended certain of its
requirements pertaining to the service of
documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).58
This notice is issued and published
pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) and 777(i)
of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).
Dated: March 18, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and
Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive
functions and duties of the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
Scope of the Investigations
The merchandise covered by these
investigations consists of chassis and
subassemblies thereof, whether finished or
unfinished, whether assembled or
unassembled, whether coated or uncoated,
regardless of the number of axles, for carriage
of containers, or other payloads (including
self-supporting payloads) for road, marine
roll-on/roll-off (RORO) and/or rail transport.
Chassis are typically, but are not limited to,
rectangular framed trailers with a suspension
and axle system, wheels and tires, brakes, a
lighting and electrical system, a coupling for
towing behind a truck tractor, and a locking
system or systems to secure the shipping
container or containers to the chassis using
twistlocks, slide pins or similar attachment
devices to engage the corner fittings on the
container or other payload.
Subject merchandise includes, but is not
limited to, the following subassemblies:
• Chassis frames, or sections of chassis
frames, including kingpin assemblies,
bolsters consisting of transverse beams with
locking or support mechanisms, goosenecks,
drop assemblies, extension mechanisms and/
or rear impact guards;
• Running gear assemblies or axle
assemblies for connection to the chassis
frame, whether fixed in nature or capable of
57 See Certification of Factual Information to
Import Administration During Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July
17, 2013) (Final Rule). Additional information
regarding the Final Rule is available at https://
access.trade.gov/Resources/filing/.
58 See Administrative Protective Order, Service,
and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069
(September 29, 2023).
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sliding fore and aft or lifting up and lowering
down, which may or may not include
suspension(s) (mechanical or pneumatic),
wheel end components, slack adjusters,
dressed axles, brake chambers, locking pins,
and tires and wheels; and
• Assemblies that connect to the chassis
frame or a section of the chassis frame, such
as but not limited to, pintle hooks or B-trains
(which include a fifth wheel), which are
capable of connecting a chassis to a converter
dolly or another chassis.
Importation of any of these subassemblies,
whether assembled or unassembled,
constitutes an unfinished chassis for
purposes of these investigations.
Subject merchandise also includes chassis,
whether finished or unfinished, entered with
components such as, but not limited to: hub
and drum assemblies, brake assemblies
(either drum or disc), bare axles, brake
chambers, suspensions and suspension
components, wheel end components, landing
gear legs, spoke or disc wheels, tires, brake
control systems, electrical harnesses and
lighting systems.
Processing of finished and unfinished
chassis and components such as trimming,
cutting, grinding, notching, punching,
drilling, painting, coating, staining, finishing,
assembly, or any other processing either in
the country of manufacture of the in-scope
product or in a third country does not
remove the product from the scope. Inclusion
of other components not identified as
comprising the finished or unfinished chassis
does not remove the product from the scope.
Individual components entered and sold
by themselves are not subject to the
investigations, but components entered with
a finished or unfinished chassis are subject
merchandise. A finished chassis is ultimately
comprised of several different types of
subassemblies. Within each subassembly
there are numerous components that
comprise a given subassembly.
This scope excludes dry van trailers,
refrigerated van trailers and flatbed trailers.
Dry van trailers are trailers with a wholly
enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed
sides, nose, floor and roof, with articulated
panels (doors) across the rear and
occasionally at selected places on the sides,
with the cargo space being permanently
incorporated in the trailer itself. Refrigerated
van trailers are trailers with a wholly
enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed
sides, nose, floor and roof, with articulated
panels (doors) across the rear and
occasionally at selected places on the sides,
with the cargo space being permanently
incorporated in the trailer and being
insulated, possessing specific thermal
properties intended for use with selfcontained refrigeration systems. Flatbed (or
platform) trailers consist of load carrying
main frames and a solid, flat or stepped
loading deck or floor permanently
incorporated with and supported by frame
rails and cross members.
The finished and unfinished chassis
subject to these investigations are typically
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (HTSUS) at subheadings:
8716.39.0090 and 8716.90.5060. Imports of
finished and unfinished chassis may also
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13463
enter under HTSUS subheading
8716.90.5010. While the HTSUS subheadings
are provided for convenience and customs
purposes, the written description of the
merchandise under investigation is
dispositive.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
[FR Doc. 2025–04938 Filed 3–21–25; 8:45 am]
Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to
Specified Activities; Taking Marine
Mammals Incidental to the Alaska
Department of Transportation and
Public Facilities Angoon Ferry
Terminal Modification Project in
Angoon, Alaska
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RTID 0648–XE746]
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; proposed incidental
harassment authorization; request for
comments on proposed authorization
and possible renewal.
AGENCY:
[RTID 0648–XE769]
Fisheries of the US Caribbean;
Southeast Data, Assessment, and
Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting;
Cancellation
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
AGENCY:
Notice of cancellation; SEDAR
101 Data Workshop for Highly
Migratory Species (HMS) Sandbar
Sharks.
ACTION:
The SEDAR 101 assessment
process of HMS sandbar sharks will
consist of a Data Workshop, an
Assessment Workshop and a Center for
Independent Experts (CIE) Desk Review.
See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
SUMMARY:
The SEDAR 101 Data Workshop
was scheduled for May 12–16, 2025.
DATES:
ADDRESSES:
Meeting address: The meeting was to
be held at the Northeast Fishery Science
Center Narraganset Laboratory, 28
Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI 02882.
SEDAR address: 4055 Faber Place
Drive, Suite 201, North Charleston, SC
29405.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emily Ott, SEDAR Coordinator; (843)
302–8434; email: Emily.Ott@safmc.net.
The
meeting notice published on March 18,
2025 (90 FR 12528). This announces
that the meeting is cancelled and will be
rescheduled at a later date.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: March 19, 2025.
Rey Israel Marquez,
Acting Deputy Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025–04958 Filed 3–21–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
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NMFS has received a request
from the Alaska Department of
Transportation and Public Facilities
(ADOT&PF) for authorization to take
marine mammals incidental to Angoon
Ferry Terminal Modification Project in
Angoon, Alaska. Pursuant to the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS
is requesting comments on its proposal
to issue an incidental harassment
authorization (IHA) to incidentally take
marine mammals during the specified
activities. NMFS is also requesting
comments on a possible one-time, 1year renewal that could be issued under
certain circumstances and if all
requirements are met, as described in
Request for Public Comments at the end
of this notice. NMFS will consider
public comments prior to making any
final decision on the issuance of the
requested MMPA authorization and
agency responses will be summarized in
the final notice of our decision.
DATES: Comments and information must
be received no later than April 23, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
addressed to Jolie Harrison, Chief,
Permits and Conservation Division,
Office of Protected Resources, National
Marine Fisheries Service and should be
submitted via email to ITP.davis@
noaa.gov. Electronic copies of the
application and supporting documents,
as well as a list of the references cited
in this document, may be obtained
online at: https://
www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/
marine-mammal-protection/incidentaltake-authorizations-constructionactivities. In case of problems accessing
these documents, please call the contact
listed below.
Instructions: NMFS is not responsible
for comments sent by any other method,
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 55 (Monday, March 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13457-13463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04938]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-201-865, A-549-854, A-552-849]
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From Mexico, Thailand,
and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES: Applicable March 18, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jun Jack Zhao at (202) 482-1396
(Mexico), Aleksandras Nakutis at (202) 482-3147 (Thailand), and Benito
Ballesteros at (202) 482-7425 (the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Vietnam)), AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Petitions
On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce)
received antidumping duty (AD) petitions concerning imports of certain
chassis and subassemblies thereof (chassis) from Mexico, Thailand, and
Vietnam filed in proper form on behalf of the U.S. Chassis
Manufacturers Coalition (the petitioner),\1\ the members of which are
domestic producers of chassis.\2\ The AD Petitions were accompanied by
countervailing duty (CVD) petitions concerning imports of chassis from
Mexico and Thailand.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The members of the U.S. Chassis Manufacturers Coalition are
Cheetah Chassis Corporation and Stoughton Trailers, LLC.
\2\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitions for the Imposition of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated February 26, 2025
(Petitions).
\3\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Between February 28 and March 11, 2025, Commerce requested
supplemental information pertaining to certain aspects of the Petitions
in supplemental questionnaires.\4\ Between March 4 and 11, 2025, the
petitioner filed timely responses to these requests for additional
information.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Supplemental Questions,'' dated
February 28, 2025 (First General Issues Questionnaire); see also
Country-Specific Supplemental Questionnaires: Mexico Supplemental,
Thailand Supplemental, and Vietnam Supplemental, dated February 28,
2025; Memorandum, ``Phone Call with Counsel to the Petitioner,''
dated March 7, 2025; Memorandum, ``Phone Call with Counsel to the
Petitioner,'' dated March 7, 2025 (March 7, 2025, Scope Memorandum);
and Commerce's Letter, ``Supplemental Questions,'' dated March 10,
2025.
\5\ See Petitioner's Letters, ``Petitioner Response to 1st
Supplemental Questionnaire Regarding Common Issues and Injury Volume
I of the Petition,'' dated March 4, 2025 (First General Issues
Supplement); see also Country-Specific AD Supplemental Responses:
Mexico AD Supplement, Thailand AD Supplement, and Vietnam AD
Supplement, dated March 4, 2025; Second Thailand AD Supplement,
dated March 10, 2025; ``Petitioners Response to 2nd Supplemental
Questionnaire Regarding Common Issues and Injury Volume I of the
Petition,'' dated March 10, 2025 (Second General Issues Supplement);
and ``Petitioner Response to 3rd Supplemental Questionnaire
Regarding Common Issues and Injury Volume I of the Petition,'' dated
March 11, 2025 (Third General Issues Supplement). The petitioner
also filed a supplement correcting a clerical error and providing a
complete replacement of Exhibit I-13 of Volume I of the Petitions.
See Petitioner's Letter, ``Supplement to Exhibit I-13 of Volume I
General Issues Petition,'' dated February 27, 2025 (Revised Exhibit
I-13).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act), the petitioner alleges that imports of chassis from
Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam are being, or are likely to be, sold in
the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) within the meaning of
section 731 of the Act, and that imports of such products are
materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the chassis
industry in the United States. Consistent with section 732(b)(1) of the
Act, the Petitions were accompanied by information reasonably available
to the petitioner to support its allegations.
Commerce finds that the petitioner filed the Petitions on behalf of
the domestic industry because the petitioner is an interested party, as
defined in section 771(9)(F) of the Act.\6\ Commerce also finds that
the petitioner demonstrated sufficient industry support for the
initiation of the requested LTFV investigations.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ The members of the petitioning coalition are interested
parties under section 771(9)(C) of the Act.
\7\ See section on ``Determination of Industry Support for the
Petitions,'' infra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Periods of Investigation
Because the Petitions were filed on February 26, 2025, pursuant to
19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the period of investigation (POI) for the Mexico
and Thailand LTFV investigations is January 1, 2024, through December
31, 2024. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy (NME) country,
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the POI for the Vietnam LTFV
investigation is July 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
Scope of the Investigations
The products covered by these investigations are chassis from
Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam. For a full description of the scope of
these investigations, see the appendix to this notice.
Comments on the Scope of the Investigations
On February 28 and March 7, 2025, Commerce requested information
and clarification from the petitioner regarding the proposed scope to
ensure that the scope language in the Petitions is an accurate
reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is seeking
relief.\8\ On March 4 and 10, 2025, the petitioner provided
clarifications and revised the scope.\9\ The description of merchandise
covered by these investigations, as described in the appendix to this
notice, reflects these clarifications.
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\8\ See First General Issues Questionnaire; see also March 7,
2025, Scope Memorandum.
\9\ See First General Issues Supplement at 2-6 and Exhibit I-
Supp-4 through I-Supp-6; see also Second General Issues Supplement
at 1-8 and Exhibits I-Supp2-1 and I-Supp2-2.
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As discussed in the Preamble to Commerce's regulations, we are
setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues regarding
product coverage (i.e., scope).\10\ Commerce will consider all scope
comments received from interested parties and, if necessary, will
consult with interested parties prior to the issuance of the
preliminary determinations. If scope comments include factual
information,\11\ all such factual information should be limited to
public information. Commerce requests that interested parties provide
at the beginning of their scope comments a public executive summary for
each comment or issue raised in their submission. Commerce further
requests that interested parties limit their public executive summary
of each comment or issue to no more than 450 words, not
[[Page 13458]]
including citations. Commerce intends to use the public executive
summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in the
analysis of scope comments. To facilitate preparation of its
questionnaires, Commerce requests that scope comments be submitted by
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on April 7, 2025, which is 20 calendar days
from the signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments, which
may include factual information, and should also be limited to public
information, must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on April 17, 2025, which is
10 calendar days from the initial comment deadline.
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\10\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble); see also 19 CFR
351.312.
\11\ See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ``factual
information'').
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Commerce requests that any factual information that parties
consider relevant to the scope of these investigations be submitted
during that period. However, if a party subsequently finds that
additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the
investigations may be relevant, the party must contact Commerce and
request permission to submit the additional information. All scope
comments must be filed simultaneously on the records of the concurrent
LTFV and CVD investigations.
Filing Requirements
All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically via
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS), unless an exception
applies.\12\ An electronically filed document must be received
successfully in its entirety by the time and date it is due.
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\12\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and
Compliance: Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046
(November 20, 2014) for details of Commerce's electronic filing
requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on using ACCESS
can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook
can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook_on_Electronic_Filing_Procedures.pdf.
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Comments on Product Characteristics
Commerce is providing interested parties an opportunity to comment
on the appropriate physical characteristics of chassis to be reported
in response to Commerce's AD questionnaires. This information will be
used to identify the key physical characteristics of the subject
merchandise in order to report the relevant factors of production (FOP)
or cost of production (COP) accurately, as well as to develop
appropriate product comparison criteria.
Interested parties may provide any information or comments that
they feel are relevant to the development of an accurate list of
physical characteristics. Specifically, they may provide comments as to
which characteristics are appropriate to use as: (1) general product
characteristics; and (2) product comparison criteria. We note that it
is not always appropriate to use all product characteristics as product
comparison criteria. We base product comparison criteria on meaningful
commercial differences among products. In other words, although there
may be some physical product characteristics utilized by manufacturers
to describe chassis, it may be that only a select few product
characteristics take into account commercially meaningful physical
characteristics. In addition, interested parties may comment on the
order in which the physical characteristics should be used in matching
products. Generally, Commerce attempts to list the most important
physical characteristics first and the least important characteristics
last.
In order to consider the suggestions of interested parties in
developing and issuing the AD questionnaires, all product
characteristics comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on April 7,
2025, which is 20 calendar days from the signature date of this notice.
Any rebuttal comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on April 17, 2025,
which is 10 calendar days from the initial comment deadline. All
comments and submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically using
ACCESS, as explained above, on the record of the each of the LTFV
investigations.
Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions
Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act
provides that a petition meets this requirement if the domestic
producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) at least
25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and
(ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support
for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of
the Act provides that, if the petition does not establish support of
domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of
the total production of the domestic like product, Commerce shall: (i)
poll the industry or rely on other information in order to determine if
there is support for the petition, as required by subparagraph (A); or
(ii) determine industry support using a statistically valid sampling
method to poll the ``industry.''
Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute
directs Commerce to look to producers and workers who produce the
domestic like product. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC),
which is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry''
has been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like
product in order to define the industry. While both Commerce and the
ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic
like product,\13\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a
separate and distinct authority. In addition, Commerce's determination
is subject to limitations of time and information. Although this may
result in different definitions of the like product, such differences
do not render the decision of either agency contrary to law.\14\
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\13\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
\14\ See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT
2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 688 F.
Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
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Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation
under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which the domestic
like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to an
investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the
petition).
With regard to the domestic like product, the petitioner does not
offer a definition of the domestic like product distinct from the scope
of the investigations.\15\ Based on our analysis of the information
submitted on the record, we have determined that chassis, as defined in
the scope, constitute a single domestic like product, and we have
analyzed industry support in terms of that domestic like product.\16\
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\15\ See Petitions at Volume I (pages 22-26 and Exhibits I-3, I-
17, and I-18); see also Third General Issues Supplement at 1-4 and
Exhibits I-Supp3-1 and I-Supp3-2.
\16\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis as
applied to these cases and information regarding industry support,
see Checklists, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation
Checklists: Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico,
Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Country-
Specific AD Initiation Checklists), at Attachment II, Analysis of
Industry Support for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Petitions Covering Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from
Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Attachment
II). These checklists are on file electronically via ACCESS.
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[[Page 13459]]
In determining whether the petitioner has standing under section
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered the industry support data
contained in the Petitions with reference to the domestic like product
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' in the appendix to
this notice. To establish industry support, the petitioner provided the
2024 production of the domestic like product for the supporters of the
Petitions and compared this to the estimated total production of the
domestic like product for the entire domestic industry.\17\ We relied
on data provided by the petitioner for purposes of measuring industry
support.\18\
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\17\ For further discussion, see Attachment II of the Country-
Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
\18\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, the First General
Issues Supplement, and other information readily available to Commerce
indicates that the petitioner has established industry support for the
Petitions.\19\ First, the Petitions established support from domestic
producers (or workers) accounting for more than 50 percent of the total
production of the domestic like product and, as such, Commerce is not
required to take further action in order to evaluate industry support
(e.g., polling).\20\ Second, the domestic producers (or workers) have
met the statutory criteria for industry support under section
732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act because the domestic producers (or workers)
who support the Petitions account for at least 25 percent of the total
production of the domestic like product.\21\ Finally, the domestic
producers (or workers) have met the statutory criteria for industry
support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act because the domestic
producers (or workers) who support the Petitions account for more than
50 percent of the production of the domestic like product produced by
that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to,
the Petitions.\22\ Accordingly, Commerce determines that the Petitions
were filed on behalf of the domestic industry within the meaning of
section 732(b)(1) of the Act.\23\
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\19\ Id.
\20\ Id.; see also section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act.
\21\ See Attachment II of the Country-Specific AD Initiation
Checklists.
\22\ Id.
\23\ Id.
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Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation
The petitioner alleges that the U.S. industry producing the
domestic like product is being materially injured, or is threatened
with material injury, by reason of the imports of the subject
merchandise sold at LTFV. In addition, the petitioner alleges that
subject imports exceed the negligibility threshold provided for under
section 771(24)(A) of the Act.\24\
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\24\ For further discussion, see Country-Specific AD Initiation
Checklists at Attachment III, Analysis of Allegations and Evidence
of Material Injury and Causation for the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering Certain Chassis and
Subassemblies Thereof from Mexico, Thailand, and the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The petitioner contends that the industry's injured condition is
illustrated by a significant increase in the volume of subject imports;
reduced market share; underselling and price depression and/or
suppression; lost sales and revenues; declines in domestic producers'
U.S. shipments, production, and capacity utilization; decline in
employment variables; adverse impact on financial performance; negative
impact on the existing development and production efforts of the
domestic industry; and the magnitude of the alleged dumping
margins.\25\ We assessed the allegations and supporting evidence
regarding material injury, threat of material injury, causation, as
well as negligibility, and we have determined that these allegations
are properly supported by adequate evidence, and meet the statutory
requirements for initiation.\26\
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\25\ Id.
\26\ Id.
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Allegations of Sales at LTFV
The following is a description of the allegations of sales at LTFV
upon which Commerce based its decision to initiate LTFV investigations
of imports of chassis from Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam. The sources
of data for the deductions and adjustments relating to U.S. price and
normal value (NV) are discussed in greater detail in the Country-
Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
U.S. Price
For Mexico and Vietnam, the petitioner based export price (EP) on
pricing information for chassis produced in each country and sold or
offered for sale in the U.S. market during the POI.\27\ For Thailand,
because the petitioner had reason to believe the sale or sales offer
was made through a U.S. affiliate, the petitioner based constructed
export price (CEP) on pricing information for chassis produced in
Thailand and sold or offered for sale in the U.S. market during the
POI.\28\ For each country, the petitioner made certain adjustments to
U.S. price to calculate a net ex-factory U.S. price, where
applicable.\29\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
\28\ See Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
\29\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Normal Value 30
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ In accordance with section 773(b)(2) of the Act, for the
Mexico and Thailand LTFV investigations, Commerce will request
information necessary to calculate the constructed value (CV) and
COP to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe or
suspect that sales of the foreign like product have been made at
prices that represent less than the COP of the product.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Mexico, the petitioner based NV on home market pricing
information obtained for chassis produced in and sold or offered for
sale in Mexico during the POI.\31\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\31\ See Mexico AD Initiation Checklist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Thailand, the petitioner stated that it was unable to obtain
home market or third-country pricing information for chassis in
Thailand to use as a basis for NV.\32\ Therefore, for Thailand, the
petitioner calculated NV based on CV. For further discussion of CV, see
the section ``Normal Value Based on Constructed Value.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\32\ See Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
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Commerce considers Vietnam to be an NME country.\33\ In accordance
with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any determination that a foreign
country is an NME country shall remain in effect until revoked by
Commerce. Therefore, we continue to treat Vietnam as an NME country for
purposes of the initiation of this LTFV investigation. Accordingly, we
base NV on FOPs valued in a surrogate market economy country in
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.
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\33\ See, e.g., Raw Honey from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances
Review, 89 FR 64411 (August 7, 2024), and accompanying NME Analysis
Memorandum at 5.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The petitioner claims that Indonesia is an appropriate surrogate
country for Vietnam because it is a market economy that is at a level
of economic development comparable to that of Vietnam and is a
significant producer of comparable merchandise.\34\ The petitioner
provided publicly available information from Indonesia to value all
FOPs.\35\ Based on the information provided by the petitioner, we
believe it is appropriate to use Indonesia as a surrogate country for
Vietnam to value all FOPs for initiation purposes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\ See Vietnam AD Initiation Checklist.
\35\ Id.
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[[Page 13460]]
Interested parties will have the opportunity to submit comments
regarding surrogate country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an opportunity to submit publicly
available information to value FOPs within 30 days before the scheduled
date of the preliminary determination.
Factors of Production
Because information regarding the volume of inputs consumed by
Vietnamese producers/exporters was not reasonably available, the
petitioner used the production experience and product-specific
consumption rates of a U.S. producer of chassis as a surrogate to value
Vietnamese manufacturers' FOPs.\36\ Additionally, for Vietnam, the
petitioner calculated factory overhead, selling, general, and
administrative expenses (SG&A), and profit based on the experience of
an Indonesian producer of comparable merchandise.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\ Id.
\37\ Id.
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Normal Value Based on Constructed Value
As noted above for Thailand, the petitioner stated that it was
unable to obtain home market or third-country prices for chassis to use
as a basis for NV. Therefore, for Thailand, the petitioner calculated
NV based on CV.\38\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\38\ See Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pursuant to section 773(e) of the Act, the petitioner calculated CV
as the sum of the cost of manufacturing, SG&A expenses, financial
expenses, and profit.\39\ For Thailand, in calculating the cost of
manufacturing, the petitioner relied on the production experience and
input consumption rates of a U.S. producer of chassis, valued using
publicly available information applicable to Thailand.\40\ In
calculating SG&A expenses, financial expenses, and profit ratios, the
petitioner relied on the 2024 financial statements of a producer of
comparable merchandise domiciled in Thailand.\41\
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\39\ Id.
\40\ Id.
\41\ Id.
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Fair Value Comparisons
Based on the data provided by the petitioner, there is reason to
believe that imports Chassis from Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at LTFV. Based on
comparisons of EP or CEP to NV in accordance with sections 772 and 773
of the Act, the estimated dumping margins for chassis from each of the
countries covered by this initiation are as follows: (1) Mexico--32.37
percent; (2) Thailand--181.57 percent; (3) and Vietnam--302.52
percent.\42\
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\42\ See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists.
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Initiation of LTFV Investigations
Based upon the examination of the Petitions and supplemental
responses, we find that they meet the requirements of section 732 of
the Act. Therefore, we are initiating LTFV investigations to determine
whether imports of chassis from Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at LTFV. In
accordance with section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.205(b)(1), unless postponed, we will make our preliminary
determinations no later than 140 days after the date of these
initiations.
Respondent Selection
Mexico and Thailand
In the Petitions, the petitioner identified 13 companies in Mexico
and three companies in Thailand as producers and/or exporters of
chassis.\43\ Following standard practice in AD investigations involving
market economy countries, Commerce would normally select respondents
based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) entry data for
imports under the appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS) subheading(s) listed in the ``Scope of the
Investigations'' in the Appendix. However, for this investigation, the
main HTSUS subheadings under which the subject merchandise would enter
(8716.39.0090 and 8716.90.5060) are basket categories under which non-
subject merchandise may also enter. Therefore, instead of relying on
CBP entry data in selecting respondents, we intend to issue Q&V
questionnaires to each potential respondent for which there is complete
address information on the record.
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\43\ See Petitions at Volume I (page 17 and Exhibit I-13); see
also Revised Exhibit I-13; and First General Issues Supplement at 1-
2 and Exhibits I-Supp-1 and I-Supp-17.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce will also post the Q&V questionnaires along with filing
instructions on Commerce's website at https://www.trade.gov/ec-adcvd-case-announcements. Exporters/producers of chassis from Mexico and
Thailand that do not receive Q&V questionnaires may still submit a
response to the Q&V questionnaire and can obtain a copy of the Q&V
questionnaire from Commerce's website. Responses to the Q&V
questionnaire must be submitted by the relevant producers/exporters no
later than 5:00 p.m. on April 1, 2025, which is two weeks from the
signature date of this notice. An electronically filed document must be
received successfully, in its entirety, by ACCESS no later than 5:00
p.m. ET on the deadline noted above.
Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under an
administrative protective order (APO) in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(b). As stated above, instructions for filing such applications
may be found on Commerce's website at https://www.trade.gov/administrative-protective-orders.
Vietnam
In the Petitions, the petitioner identified four companies in
Vietnam as producers and/or exporters of chassis.\44\ Our standard
practice for respondent selection in AD investigations involving NME
countries is to select respondents based on Q&V questionnaires in cases
where Commerce has determined that the number of companies is large,
and it cannot individually examine each company based upon its
resources. Therefore, considering the number of producers and/or
exporters identified in the Petitions, Commerce will solicit Q&V
information that can serve as a basis for selecting exporters for
individual examination in the event that Commerce determines that the
number is large and decides to limit the number of respondents
individually examined pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act.
Because there are four Vietnamese producers and/or exporters identified
in the Petitions, Commerce has determined that it will issue Q&V
questionnaires to each potential respondent for which there is complete
address information on the record.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\44\ See Petitions at Volume I (page 27 and Exhibit I-13); see
also Revised Exhibit I-13; and First General Issues Supplement at 1
and Exhibit I-Supp-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce will post the Q&V questionnaires along with filing
instructions on Commerce's website at https://www.trade.gov/ec-adcvd-case-announcements. Producers/exporters of chassis from Vietnam that do
not receive Q&V questionnaires may still submit a response to the Q&V
questionnaire and can obtain a copy of the Q&V questionnaire from
Commerce's website. Responses to the Q&V questionnaire must be
submitted by the relevant Vietnamese producers/exporters no later than
5:00 p.m. ET on April 1, 2025, which is two weeks from the signature
date of this notice. All Q&V questionnaire responses must be filed
electronically via ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be
received successfully, in its entirety, by
[[Page 13461]]
ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on the deadline noted above.
Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(b). As stated above, instructions
for filing such applications may be found on Commerce's website at
https://www.trade.gov/administrative-protective-orders.
Separate Rates
In order to obtain separate rate status in an NME investigation,
exporters and producers must submit a separate rate application. The
specific requirements for submitting a separate rate application in an
NME investigation are outlined in detail in the application itself,
which is available on Commerce's website at https://access.trade.gov/Resources/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. Note that Commerce recently
promulgated new regulations pertaining to separate rates, including the
separate rate application deadline and eligibility for separate rate
status, in 19 CFR 351.108.\45\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.108(d)(1), the
separate rate application will be due 21 days after publication of this
initiation notice.\46\ Exporters and producers must file a timely
separate rate application if they want to be considered for individual
examination. In addition, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.108(e), exporters and
producers who submit a separate rate application and have been selected
as mandatory respondents will be eligible for consideration for
separate rate status only if they fully respond to all parts of
Commerce's AD questionnaire and participate in the LTFV proceeding as
mandatory respondents.\47\ Commerce requires that companies from
Vietnam submit a response both to the Q&V questionnaire and to the
separate rate application by the respective deadlines to receive
consideration for separate rate status. Companies not filing a timely
Q&V questionnaire response will not receive separate rate
consideration.
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\45\ See Regulations Enhancing the Administration of the
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Trade Remedy Laws, 89 FR 101694,
101759-60 (December 16, 2024).
\46\ See 19 CFR 351.108(d)(1).
\47\ See 19 CFR 351.108(e).
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Use of Combination Rates
Commerce will calculate combination rates for certain respondents
that are eligible for a separate rate in an NME investigation. The
Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin states:
{w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates
only to exporters, all separate rates that {Commerce{time} will now
assign in its NME investigation will be specific to those producers
that supplied the exporter during the period of investigation. Note,
however, that one rate is calculated for the exporter and all of the
producers which supplied subject merchandise to it during the period
of investigation. This practice applies both to mandatory
respondents receiving an individually calculated separate rate as
well as the pool of non-investigated firms receiving the {weighted
average{time} of the individually calculated rates. This practice
is referred to as the application of ``combination rates'' because
such rates apply to specific combinations of exporters and one or
more producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to an exporter will
apply only to merchandise both exported by the firm in question and
produced by a firm that supplied the exporter during the period of
investigation.\48\
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\48\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1,
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination
Rates in Antidumping Investigation involving NME Countries,'' (April
5, 2005), at 6 (emphasis added), available on Commerce's website at
https://access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Distribution of Copies of the Petitions
In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.202(f), a copy of the public version of the Petitions has been
provided to the governments of Mexico, Thailand, and Vietnam via
ACCESS. To the extent practicable, we will attempt to provide a copy of
the public version of the Petitions to each exporter named in the
Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR 351.203(c)(2).
ITC Notification
Commerce will notify the ITC of our initiation, as required by
section 732(d) of the Act.
Preliminary Determinations by the ITC
The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date
on which the Petitions were filed, whether there is a reasonable
indication that imports of chassis from Mexico, Thailand, and/or
Vietnam are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, a
U.S. industry.\49\ A negative ITC determination for any country will
result in the investigation being terminated with respect to that
country.\50\ Otherwise, these LTFV investigations will proceed
according to statutory and regulatory time limits.
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\49\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
\50\ Id.
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Particular Market Situation Allegation
Section 773(e) of the Act addresses the concept of particular
market situation (PMS) for purposes of CV, stating that ``if a
particular market situation exists such that the cost of materials and
fabrication or other processing of any kind does not accurately reflect
the cost of production in the ordinary course of trade, the
administering authority may use another calculation methodology under
this subtitle or any other calculation methodology.'' When an
interested party submits a PMS allegation pursuant to section 773(e) of
the Act (i.e., a cost-based PMS allegation), the submission must be
filed in accordance with the requirements of 19 CFR 351.416(b), and
Commerce will respond to such a submission consistent with 19 CFR
351.301(c)(2)(v). If Commerce finds that a cost-based PMS exists under
section 773(e) of the Act, then it will modify its dumping calculations
appropriately.
Neither section 773(e) of the Act, nor 19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(v),
sets a deadline for the submission of cost-based PMS allegations and
supporting factual information. However, in order to administer section
773(e) of the Act, Commerce must receive PMS allegations and supporting
factual information with enough time to consider the submission. Thus,
should an interested party wish to submit a cost-based PMS allegation
and supporting new factual information pursuant to section 773(e) of
the Act, it must do so no later than 20 days after submission of a
respondent's initial section D questionnaire response.
We note that a PMS allegation filed pursuant to sections
773(a)(1)(B)(ii)(III) or 773(a)(1)(C)(iii) of the Act (i.e., a sales-
based PMS allegation) must be filed within 10 days of submission of a
respondent's initial section B questionnaire response, in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(i) and 19 CFR 351.404(c)(2).
Submission of Factual Information
Factual information is defined in 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i)
evidence submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence
submitted in support of allegations; (iii) publicly available
information to value factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence
placed on the record by Commerce; and (v) evidence other than factual
information described in (i)-(iv). Section 351.301(b) of Commerce's
regulations requires any party, when submitting factual information, to
specify under which subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information
is being submitted \51\ and, if the information is submitted to rebut,
clarify, or correct factual information already on the record, to
provide an explanation identifying the information already on the
record that the factual information seeks to rebut, clarify, or
[[Page 13462]]
correct.\52\ Time limits for the submission of factual information are
addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, which provides specific time limits based
on the type of factual information being submitted. Interested parties
should review the regulations prior to submitting factual information
in these investigations.
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\51\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
\52\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
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Time Limits for Submission of Factual Information in Response to
Questionnaires
Section 351.301(c) of Commerce's regulations states that during a
proceeding, Commerce may issue to any person questionnaires, which
includes both and initial and supplemental questionnaires. For all
investigations initiated after January 15, 2025, the following time
limits apply: \53\
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\53\ See 19 CFR 351.301(c)(1)(i)-(v).
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(i) Initial questionnaire responses are due 30 days from the date
of receipt of such questionnaire. The time limit for response to
individual sections of the questionnaire, if Commerce requests a
separate response to such sections, may be less than the 30 days
allotted for response to the full questionnaire. In general, the date
of receipt will be considered to be seven days from the date on which
the initial questionnaire was transmitted.
(ii) Supplemental questionnaire responses are due on the date
specified by Commerce.
(iii) A notification by an interested party, under section
782(c)(1) of the Act, of difficulties in submitting information in
response to a questionnaire issued by Commerce is to be submitted in
writing within 14 days after the date of the questionnaire or, if the
questionnaire is due in 14 days or less, within the time specified by
Commerce.
(iv) A respondent interested party may request in writing that
Commerce conduct a questionnaire presentation. Commerce may conduct a
questionnaire presentation if Commerce notifies the government of the
affected country and that government does not object.
(v) Factual information submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct
questionnaire responses. Within 14 days after an initial questionnaire
response and within 10 days after a supplemental questionnaire response
has been filed with Commerce, an interested party other than the
original submitter is permitted one opportunity to submit factual
information to rebut, clarify, or correct factual information contained
in the questionnaire response. Within seven days of the filing of such
rebuttal, clarification, or correction to a questionnaire response, the
original submitter of the questionnaire response is permitted one
opportunity to submit factual information to rebut, clarify, or correct
factual information submitted in the interested party's rebuttal,
clarification or correction. Commerce will reject any untimely filed
rebuttal, clarification, or correction submission and provide, to the
extent practicable, written notice stating the reasons for rejection.
If insufficient time remains before the due date for the final
determination or final results of review, Commerce may specify shorter
deadlines under this section.
Extensions of Time Limits
Parties may request an extension of time limits before the
expiration of a time limit established under 19 CFR 351.301, or as
otherwise specified by Commerce. In general, an extension request will
be considered untimely if it is filed after the expiration of the time
limit established under 19 CFR 351.301, or as otherwise specified by
Commerce.\54\ For submissions that are due from multiple parties
simultaneously, an extension request will be considered untimely if it
is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET on the due date. Under certain
circumstances, Commerce may elect to specify a different time limit by
which extension requests will be considered untimely for submissions
which are due from multiple parties simultaneously. In such a case, we
will inform parties in a letter or memorandum of the deadline
(including a specified time) by which extension requests must be filed
to be considered timely. An extension request must be made in a
separate, standalone submission; under limited circumstances we will
grant untimely filed requests for the extension of time limits, where
we determine, based on 19 CFR 351.302, that extraordinary circumstances
exist. Parties should review Commerce's regulations concerning the
extension of time limits and the Time Limits Final Rule prior to
submitting factual information in these investigations.\55\
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\54\ See 19 CFR 351.301; see also Extension of Time Limits;
Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 20, 2013) (Time Limits Final
Rule), available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm.
\55\ See 19 CFR 351.302; see also, e.g., Time Limits Final Rule.
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Certification Requirements
Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\56\
Parties must use the certification formats provided in 19 CFR
351.303(g).\57\ Commerce intends to reject factual submissions if the
submitting party does not comply with the applicable certification
requirements.
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\56\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
\57\ See Certification of Factual Information to Import
Administration During Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (Final Rule). Additional
information regarding the Final Rule is available at https://access.trade.gov/Resources/filing/.
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Notification to Interested Parties
Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Parties wishing to participate
in these investigations should ensure that they meet the requirements
of 19 CFR 351.103(d) (e.g., by filing the required letter of
appearance). Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements
pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\58\
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\58\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR
67069 (September 29, 2023).
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This notice is issued and published pursuant to sections 732(c)(2)
and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).
Dated: March 18, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
Scope of the Investigations
The merchandise covered by these investigations consists of
chassis and subassemblies thereof, whether finished or unfinished,
whether assembled or unassembled, whether coated or uncoated,
regardless of the number of axles, for carriage of containers, or
other payloads (including self-supporting payloads) for road, marine
roll-on/roll-off (RORO) and/or rail transport. Chassis are
typically, but are not limited to, rectangular framed trailers with
a suspension and axle system, wheels and tires, brakes, a lighting
and electrical system, a coupling for towing behind a truck tractor,
and a locking system or systems to secure the shipping container or
containers to the chassis using twistlocks, slide pins or similar
attachment devices to engage the corner fittings on the container or
other payload.
Subject merchandise includes, but is not limited to, the
following subassemblies:
Chassis frames, or sections of chassis frames,
including kingpin assemblies, bolsters consisting of transverse
beams with locking or support mechanisms, goosenecks, drop
assemblies, extension mechanisms and/or rear impact guards;
Running gear assemblies or axle assemblies for
connection to the chassis frame, whether fixed in nature or capable
of
[[Page 13463]]
sliding fore and aft or lifting up and lowering down, which may or
may not include suspension(s) (mechanical or pneumatic), wheel end
components, slack adjusters, dressed axles, brake chambers, locking
pins, and tires and wheels; and
Assemblies that connect to the chassis frame or a
section of the chassis frame, such as but not limited to, pintle
hooks or B-trains (which include a fifth wheel), which are capable
of connecting a chassis to a converter dolly or another chassis.
Importation of any of these subassemblies, whether assembled or
unassembled, constitutes an unfinished chassis for purposes of these
investigations.
Subject merchandise also includes chassis, whether finished or
unfinished, entered with components such as, but not limited to: hub
and drum assemblies, brake assemblies (either drum or disc), bare
axles, brake chambers, suspensions and suspension components, wheel
end components, landing gear legs, spoke or disc wheels, tires,
brake control systems, electrical harnesses and lighting systems.
Processing of finished and unfinished chassis and components
such as trimming, cutting, grinding, notching, punching, drilling,
painting, coating, staining, finishing, assembly, or any other
processing either in the country of manufacture of the in-scope
product or in a third country does not remove the product from the
scope. Inclusion of other components not identified as comprising
the finished or unfinished chassis does not remove the product from
the scope.
Individual components entered and sold by themselves are not
subject to the investigations, but components entered with a
finished or unfinished chassis are subject merchandise. A finished
chassis is ultimately comprised of several different types of
subassemblies. Within each subassembly there are numerous components
that comprise a given subassembly.
This scope excludes dry van trailers, refrigerated van trailers
and flatbed trailers. Dry van trailers are trailers with a wholly
enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed sides, nose, floor and roof,
with articulated panels (doors) across the rear and occasionally at
selected places on the sides, with the cargo space being permanently
incorporated in the trailer itself. Refrigerated van trailers are
trailers with a wholly enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed
sides, nose, floor and roof, with articulated panels (doors) across
the rear and occasionally at selected places on the sides, with the
cargo space being permanently incorporated in the trailer and being
insulated, possessing specific thermal properties intended for use
with self-contained refrigeration systems. Flatbed (or platform)
trailers consist of load carrying main frames and a solid, flat or
stepped loading deck or floor permanently incorporated with and
supported by frame rails and cross members.
The finished and unfinished chassis subject to these
investigations are typically classified in the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheadings: 8716.39.0090
and 8716.90.5060. Imports of finished and unfinished chassis may
also enter under HTSUS subheading 8716.90.5010. While the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the merchandise under investigation is
dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2025-04938 Filed 3-21-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
