AD: China Magnesium Metal

Scope of the Investigation: The products covered by this investigation are primary and secondary alloy magnesium metal, regardless of chemistry, raw material source, form, shape, or size. Magnesium is a metal or alloy containing by weight primarily the element magnesium. Primary magnesium is produced by decomposing raw materials into magnesium metal. Secondary magnesium is produced by recycling magnesium-based scrap into magnesium metal. The magnesium covered by this investigation includes blends of primary and secondary magnesium.

The subject merchandise includes the following alloy magnesium metal products made from primary and/or secondary magnesium including, without limitation, magnesium cast into ingots, slabs, rounds, billets, and other shapes, and magnesium ground, chipped, crushed, or machined into raspings, granules, turnings, chips, powder, briquettes, and other shapes: Products that contain 50% or greater, but less than 99.8%, magnesium, by weight, and that have been entered into the U.S. as conforming to an "ASTM Specification for Magnesium Alloy" ¹ and thus are outside the scope of the existing AD orders on magnesium from China (generally referred to as "alloy" magnesium).

¹ The meaning of this term is the same as that used by the American Society for Testing and Materials in its Annual Book of ASTM Standards: Volume 01.02 Aluminum and Magnesium Alloys.

HTS Subheadings for the Investigation: The merchandise subject to this investigation is classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) 8104.19.00 and 8104.30.00. Although the HTS items are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) purposes, the written description is dispositive.

Exclusions from the Investigation: The scope of this investigation excludes: (1) All forms of pure magnesium, including chemical combinations of magnesium and other material(s) in which the pure magnesium content is 50% or greater, but less than 99.8%, by weight, that do not conform to an "ASTM Specification for Magnesium Alloy" ²; (2) magnesium that is in liquid or molten form; and (3) mixtures containing 90% or less magnesium in granular or powder form by weight and one or more of certain non-magnesium granular materials to make magnesium-based reagent mixtures, including lime, calcium metal, calcium silicon, calcium carbide, calcium carbonate, carbon, slag coagulants, fluorspar, nephaline syenite, feldspar, alumina (Al203), calcium aluminate, soda ash, hydrocarbons, graphite, coke, silicon, rare earth metals/mischmetal, cryolite, silica/fly ash, magnesium oxide, periclase, ferroalloys, dolomite lime, and colemanite. ³

² This material is already covered by existing AD duty orders.

³ This third exclusion for magnesium-based reagent mixtures is based on the exclusion for reagent mixtures in the 2000-2001 investigations of magnesium from China, Israel, and Russia. These mixtures are not magnesium alloys, because they are not chemically combined in liquid form and cast into the same ingot.

- preliminary AD duty determination due no later than 140 days after 03/18/04

- preliminary International Trade Commission (ITC) injury determination due by 04/12/04

ITA notice (FR Pub 03/25/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-6717.pdf