The United States Department of Commerce has released its preliminary findings in the administrative review of antidumping duties on certain steel nails imported from Taiwan. This review, covering the period from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, is part of an ongoing effort to ensure fair trade practices in the steel nail market.
The investigation focused on several Taiwanese companies, with Cyuan Hong Enterprise Co., Hsieh Shun Iron Wire Mfg. Co. Ltd., Qi Ding Enterprise Co. Ltd., and Yeong Ming Steel Iron Co., Ltd. being selected as mandatory respondents. These companies were chosen based on their import volumes during the review period. However, all four failed to respond to the Department of Commerce's requests for information, leading to the application of adverse facts available in determining their dumping margins.
As a result of their non-cooperation, Commerce has preliminarily assigned these four companies a dumping margin of 78.17%, which is the highest rate applied in any segment of this proceeding. This high rate reflects the Department's stance on non-compliance and serves as a deterrent to future non-cooperation.
For companies not individually examined in this review, Commerce has preliminarily assigned a rate of 26.28%. This rate is based on the most recently calculated all-others weighted-average dumping margin from the 2021-2022 administrative review of the same antidumping duty order. The decision to use this rate stems from the fact that all individually examined companies in the current review received rates based entirely on adverse facts available.
The review also addressed several companies claiming to have made no shipments or no reviewable sales during the period of review. Notably, Wiresmith Industrial Co., Ltd. and Concord International Engineering & Trading Co., Ltd. provided evidence supporting their claims of no reviewable sales. Commerce preliminarily determined that these companies were not the first parties in the transaction chain to have knowledge that the subject merchandise was destined for the United States, and thus had no reviewable sales during the period.
Furthermore, Commerce has partially rescinded the review for 144 companies that had no entries of subject merchandise during the review period. This decision aligns with the Department's practice of rescinding reviews when there are no reviewable entries for which liquidation is suspended.
The preliminary results of this review carry significant implications for the Taiwanese steel nail industry and its access to the U.S. market. If finalized, these rates will determine the cash deposits required for imports of steel nails from Taiwan, potentially affecting pricing strategies and market competitiveness for the affected companies.
Interested parties have been invited to comment on these preliminary results, with case briefs due within 30 days of the publication of the notice. The Department of Commerce is expected to issue its final results within 120 days, barring any extensions.
