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AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of aluminum extrusions from Ecuador are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023.
DATES:
Applicable October 3, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephanie Trejo or Elizabeth Bremer, AD/CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4390 or (202) 482-4987, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 7, 2024, Commerce published in the Federal Register its preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of aluminum extrusions from Ecuador, in which it also postponed the final determination until September 19, 2024. We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination. On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. The deadline for the final determination of this investigation is now September 26, 2024.
See Aluminum Extrusions from Ecuador: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 89 FR 38053 (May 7, 2024) ( Preliminary Determination ), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
See Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024.
A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value in the Investigation of Aluminum Extrusions from Ecuador,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is aluminum extrusions from Ecuador. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope comments from interested parties. Commerce issued Preliminary Scope Decision Memoranda to address these comments and set aside a period of time for parties to address scope issues in scope-specific case and rebuttal briefs. Between May 22, 2024, and June 24, 2024, Commerce received post-preliminary determination scope comments from interested parties regarding numerous products and scope-related issues. Between July 20, 2024, and August 19, 2024, Commerce received scope case and rebuttal briefs from numerous interested parties. We made changes to the scope of the investigation from the scope published in the Preliminary Determination, as noted in Appendix I.
See Memorandum, “Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,” dated March 4, 2024, and Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum II,” dated May 1, 2024 (collectively Preliminary Scope Decision Memoranda).
See Memorandum, “Final Scope Decision Memorandum,” dated concurrently with this notice.
Verification
Commerce conducted a virtual verification of the sales and cost information submitted by Corporación Ecuatoriana de Aluminio S.A. CEDAL's (CEDAL Latacunga) and CEDAL Durán S.A.'s (CEDAL Durán) (collectively, CEDAL) and FISA Fundiciones Industriales S.A.'s (FISA) for use in our final determination, consistent with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). We used standard verification procedures, including an examination of relevant sales and accounting records, and original source documents provided by CEDAL and FISA.
See Memorandum, “Verification of the Sales Response of Corporación Ecuatoriana de Aluminio S.A. CEDAL and CEDAL Durán S.A. in the Antidumping Investigation of Aluminum Extrusions from Ecuador,” dated July 22, 2024; Memorandum, “Verification of the Cost Response of Corporacion Ecuatoriana de Aluminio S.A. CEDAL and its subsidiary CEDAL Durán S.A. in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Aluminum Extrusions from Ecuador,” dated July 31, 2024; Memorandum, “Verification of the Sales Response of FISA Fundiciones Industriales S.A. in the Antidumping Investigation of Aluminum Extrusions from Ecuador,” dated July 22, 2024; and Memorandum, “Verification of the Cost Response of FISA Fundiciones Industriales S.A. in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Aluminum Extrusions from Ecuador,” dated August 7, 2024.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is attached to this notice as Appendix II.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on a review of the record and comments received from interested parties regarding our Preliminary Determination, we made certain changes to CEDAL's and FISA's preliminary weighted-average dumping margin calculations. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for individually investigated exporters and producers, excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the Act, i.e., facts otherwise available.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margins for CEDAL and FISA that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the merchandise under consideration.
See Memorandum, “All-Others Rate Calculation,” dated concurrently with this notice. With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sales values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part,75 FR 53661, 53662 (September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 1. As complete publicly ranged sales data were available, Commerce based the all others rate on the publicly ranged sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data, see the All Others Rate Calculation Memorandum.
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist:
| Exporter/producer | Weighted- average dumping margin (percent) |
|---|---|
| CEDAL Durán S.A./Corporación Ecuatoriana de Aluminio S.A. CEDAL | 51.02 |
| FISA Fundiciones Industriales S.A. | 12.50 |
| All Others | 18.50 |
In the Preliminary Determination, Commerce determined that CEDAL Durán and Corporación Ecuatoriana de Aluminio S.A. CEDAL are a single entity. See the Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 38054. Our decision is unchanged in the final determination.