Aluminum Extrusions: Prelim CV Cash Deposit Rates Take Effect for 4 Countries

Commerce calculated zero percent CVD rates for three exporters: Indal Aluminum in its investigation on Indonesia; Aluminio Texcoco in its investigation on Mexico; and Sistem Aluminyum in its investigation on Turkey. These three companies will not be subject to suspension of liquidation or cash deposit requirements under those respective investigations until further notice. If Commerce continues to set zero rates for Indal Aluminum, Aluminio Texcoco or Sistem Aluminiyum (or any other exporters) in its final determination, any merchandise both produced and exported by these companies will be exempt from any CVD order issued in connection with this investigation. Suspension of liquidation may still apply for AD purposes should Commerce find dumping for these three companies in its upcoming preliminary AD determinations.

Commerce is also conducting AD investigations on aluminum extrusions from China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam. The agency's preliminary AD duty investigations are due May 1.

New Exclusions Added to Scope of AD/CVD Investigations

In these preliminary CVD determinations, Commerce is amending the scope of all of its ongoing AD/CVD investigations on aluminum extrusions to add several new exclusions. The agency said all parties agree that six products shouldn't be covered by the AD/CVD investigations: fully assembled solar panels; fully assembled off-grid solar charging modules; aluminum and copper wires produced through a casting process; stationary bicycles and rowing machines that enter unassembled as a packaged combination of parts to be assembled; shower hooks and other articles made from cast aluminum, even where such cast aluminum is made from re-melted aluminum that had previously been extruded; and precision non-electrically conductive coated buss bars and precision drawn aluminum tubing.

Commerce will add "fully assembled solar panels" and "fully assembled off-grid solar charging modules" to the list of excluded products in paragraph 11 of the scope. On the other hand, cast aluminum and copper wires, unassembled stationary bicycles and rowing machines and cast aluminum shower hooks and similar articles are already excluded by the existing language of the scope, it said.

For precision non-electrically conductive coated buss bars and precision drawn aluminum tubing, Commerce is adding the following two paragraphs to the scope of the AD/CVD investigations:

"Also excluded from the scope are extruded drawn solid profiles made from an aluminum alloy with the Aluminum Association series designation commencing with the number 1, 3, or 6 (or proprietary equivalents or other certifying body equivalents), including variants on individual alloying elements not to circumvent the other Aluminum Association series designations, which meet each of the following characteristics: (1) solid cross sectional area greater than 62.4 mm2 and less than 906 mm2, (2) minimum electrical conductivity of 58% of the international annealed copper standard (IACS) or maximum resistivity of 2.97 μΩ/cm, (3) a uniformly applied non-electrically conductive temperature-resistant coating coextruded over characteristic (1) of either polyamide, cross-linked polyethylene, or silicone rubber material which meets the following standards: (a) Vicat A temperature threshold of > 140 degrees Celsius, (b) flammability requirements of UL 94V-0, and (c) a minimum coating thickness of 0.10 mm and maximum coating thickness of 2.0 mm, with a maximum thickness tolerance of +/- 0.20 mm, (4) characteristic 3 may or may not be encapsulated with a 'Precision Drawn Tubing', wall thicknesses less than 1.2mm, which is mechanically fixed in place, and (5) packaged in straight lengths, bent or formed and/or attached to hardware.

"Also excluded from the scope are extruded tubing and drawn over a ID plug and through a OD die made from an aluminum alloy with the Aluminum Association series designation commencing with the number 3, 5, or 6 (or proprietary equivalents or other certifying body equivalents), including variants on individual alloying elements not to circumvent the other Aluminum Association series designations, which meet each of the following characteristics: (1) an outside mean diameter no greater than 30 mm with a tolerance less than or equal to +/- 0.10 mm, (2) uniform wall thickness no greater than 2.7 mm with wall tolerances less than or equal to +/- 0.1 mm, (3) may be coated with materials, including zinc, such that the coating material weight is no less than 3 g/m2 and no greater than 30 g/m2, and (4) packaged in continuous coils, straight lengths, bent or formed."

CV Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements

Commerce will instruct CBP to suspend liquidation for all entries of subject merchandise from China, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 11. It will require CV duty cash deposits at the following rates:

China

Indonesia

Mexico

Turkey

(The period of investigation is 01/01/22 - 12/31/22. See Commerce's notice for more information, including the scope, suspension of liquidation, etc. See 2310300050 for a summary of the initiation of these CV duty investigations, including deadlines and scope information.)