90 FR 63 pgs. 14602-14605 - Overhead Door Counterbalance Torsion Springs From India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 63Pages: 14602 - 14605
Pages: 14602, 14603, 14604, 14605Docket number: [C-533-937]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-05759 Filed 4-2-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Commerce Department
Sub Agency: International Trade Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-533-937]
Overhead Door Counterbalance Torsion Springs From India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of overhead door counterbalance torsion springs (overhead door springs) from India. The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES:
Applicable April 3, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Zachary Shaykin, 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) 482-2638.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
[top] This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on November 25, 2024. 1 On January 2, 2025, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now March 28, 2025. 2 For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of
Footnotes:
1 See Overhead Door Counterbalance Torsion Springs from the People's Republic of China and India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR 92901 (November 25, 2024) ( Initiation Notice ).
2 See Overhead Door Counterbalance Torsion Springs from India and the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations, 90 FR 84 (January 2, 2025).
3 See Memorandum, "Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Overhead Door Counterbalance Torsion Springs from India," dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are overhead door springs from India. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations, 4 the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage, ( i.e., scope). 5 Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.
Footnotes:
4 See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
5 See Initiation Notice.
For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this preliminary determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum. 6 Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.
Footnotes:
6 See Memorandum, "Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Overhead Door Counterbalance Torsion Springs from the People's Republic of China and India: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum," dated concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an "authority" that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific. 7
Footnotes:
7 See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, on facts available and finds that one or more respondents and also (in certain instances) the Government of India did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information. Consequently, Commerce has drawn an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available. 8 For further information, see the "Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences" section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Footnotes:
8 See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
Alignment
As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the final determination in the companion less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation of overhead door springs from India based on a request made by the petitioners. 9 Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final LTFV determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than August 11, 2025, unless postponed.
Footnotes:
9 See Petitioners' Letter, "Countervailing Duty Investigations of Overhead Door Counterbalance Torsion Springs from the People's Republic of China and India-Petitioners' Request to Align Final Countervailing Duty Determinations with the Companion Antidumping Duty Final Determinations," dated March 4, 2025.
All-Others Rate
Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates established for those companies individually examined, excluding any zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section 776 of the Act.
Commerce preliminarily calculated an individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for Alcomex Springs Pvt Ltd. (Alcomex), the only individually examined exporter/producer in this investigation. Because the only individually calculated rate is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average rate calculated for Alcomex is the rate assigned to all other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:
| Company | Subsidy rate (percent ad valorem ) |
|---|---|
| Alcomex Springs Pvt Ltd | 2.66 |
| Asha Spring and Engineering & Spring Company | *?164.60 |
| Balaji Springs Pvt. Ltd | *?164.60 |
| Modern Engineering & Spring Company | *?164.60 |
| Reliable Springs Ltd | *?164.60 |
| All Others | 2.66 |
| *?Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences. | |
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register . Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates indicated above.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR 351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce will address such allegations in the final determination together with issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.
Verification
[top] As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify the
Public Comment
All interested parties are invited to comment on Commerce's Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum in scope case and scope rebuttal briefs. The deadline for interested parties to submit scope case briefs is 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on April 30, 2025. Scope rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the scope case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline for the scope case briefs, i.e., 5 p.m. ET on May 5, 2025. Such comments must be filed via ACCESS on the records of the China and India CVD investigations and the concurrent LTFV investigations of overhead door springs from China and India.
Case briefs or other written comments, excluding scope comments, may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing case briefs. 10 Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities. 11
Footnotes:
10 See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 2023) ( APO and Service Final Rule ).
11 See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. In this investigation, we instead request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs. 12 Further, we request that interested parties limit their executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the final determination in this investigation. We request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f). 13
Footnotes:
12 We use the term "issue" here to describe an argument that Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
13 See APO and Service Final Rule.
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, (2) whether any participant is a foreign national, and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a date and time to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination whether imports of overhead door springs from India are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: March 28, 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 I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is helically-wound, overhead door counterbalance torsion steel springs (overhead door counterbalance torsion springs) and any cones, plugs or other similar fittings for mounting and creating torque in the spring (herein collectively referred to as cones) attached to or entered with and invoiced with the subject overhead door counterbalance torsion springs. Overhead door counterbalance torsion springs are helical steel springs with tightly wound coils that store and release mechanical energy by winding and unwinding along the spring's axis by an angle, using torque to create a lifting force in the counterbalance assembly typically used to raise and lower overhead doors, including garage doors, industrial rolling doors, warehouse doors, trailer doors, and other overhead doors, gates, grates, or similar devices. The merchandise covered by this investigation covers all overhead door counterbalance torsion springs with a coil inside diameter of 15.8 millimeters (mm) or more but not exceeding 304.8 mm (measured across the diameter from inner edge to inner edge); a wire diameter of 2.5 mm to 20.4 mm; a length of 127 mm or more; and regardless of the following characteristics:
• wire type (including, but not limited to, oil-tempered wire, hard-drawn wire, music wire, galvanized or other coated wire);
• wire cross-sectional shape ( e.g., round, square, or other shapes);
• coating ( e.g., uncoated, oil- or water-based coatings, lubricant coatings, zinc, aluminum, zinc-aluminum, paint or plastic coating, etc.);
• winding orientation (left-hand or right-hand wind direction);
• end type (including, but not limited to, looped, double looped, clipped, long length, mini warehouse, Barcol, Crawford, Kinnear, Wagner, rolling steel or barrel ends); and
• whether the overhead door counterbalance torsion springs are fitted with hardware, including but not limited to fasteners, clips, and cones (winding or stationary cones).
For purposes of the diameters referenced above, where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions set forth above.
The steel torsion springs included in the scope of this investigation are produced from steel in which: (1) iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other contained elements; and (2) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight.
Subject merchandise includes cones attached to or entered with and invoiced with the subject overhead door counterbalance torsion springs. Such cones, which are typically cast aluminum, aluminum alloy or steel (but may be made from other materials) are made to mount the subject springs to the overhead door counterbalance system and create and maintain torque in the spring. Cones or other similar fittings that are not attached to the subject springs or are not entered with and invoiced with the subject springs are not included within the scope unless entered as parts of kits as described below.
[top] Subject merchandise also includes all subject overhead door counterbalance torsion springs and cones or other similar fittings for mounting and tensioning the spring entered as a part of overhead door kits, overhead door mounting or assembly kits, or as a part of a spring-operated motor assembly or as a part of a spring winder assembly kit for torsion springs. When counterbalance torsion springs and cones or other similar fittings for attaching and tensioning the torsion spring are entered as a part of such kits, only the
• leaf springs (slender arc-shaped length of spring steel of a rectangular cross-section);
• disc springs (conical springs consisting of a convex disc with the outer edge working against the center of the disc);
• extension springs (close-wound round helical wire springs that store and release energy by resisting the external pulling forces applied to the spring's ends in the direction of its length);
• compression springs (helical coiled springs with open wound active coils (such open winding is also known as pitch) that are designed to compress under load or force); and
• spiral springs (torsion springs wound as concentric spirals such as a clock spring or mainspring).
The products subject to this investigation are currently classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 7320.20.5020, 7320.20.5045 and 7320.20.5060. They may also be classified under HTSUS subheading 8412.90.9085 if entered as parts of spring-operated motors. They may also be classified in HTSUS subheading 8412.80.1000 (spring-operated motors) if entered as part of a spring counterweight assembly for an overhead door. They may also be classified in HTSUS subheading 7308.90.9590, a basket category that includes metal garage doors entered with mounting accessories or assemblies.
Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Injury Test
V. Diversification of India's Economy
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Subsidies Valuation
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-05759 Filed 4-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P