SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 22, 2025, based on timely requests for review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), we initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain steel nails (steel nails) from Sultanate of Oman (Oman).^[1] On September 22, 2025, we selected Oman Fasteners for individual examination as the sole mandatory respondent in this review.^[2]

Due to the lapse in appropriations and Federal Government shutdown, on November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by 47 days.^[3] Additionally, due to a backlog of documents that were electronically filed via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) during the Federal Government shutdown, on November 24, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by an additional 21 days.^[4] On May 20, 2026, Commerce extended the deadline for the preliminary results of this administrative review by 113 days.^[5] On September 29, 2026, Commerce further extended the deadline for the preliminary results for an additional 7 days.^[6] The deadline for the preliminary results is now October 7, 2026.

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, See the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[7] A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as Appendix I to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via ACCESS, which is available to registered users at access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed at access.trade.gov/​frnotices.

Scope of the Order

The merchandise subject to the Order is steel nails from Oman. For a complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Intent To Rescind Administrative Review, In Part

It is Commerce's practice to rescind an administrative review of a duty order, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there are no reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which liquidation is suspended. Normally, upon completion of an administrative review, the suspended entries are liquidated at the AD assessment rate calculated for the POR.^[8] Therefore, for an administrative review of a company to be conducted, there must be a reviewable, suspended entry that Commerce can instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate at the AD assessment rate calculated for the POR.^[9]

According to the CBP import data on the record, the companies listed in Appendix II subject to this review did not have reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which liquidation is suspended.^[10] Accordingly, in the absence of reviewable, suspended entries of subject merchandise during the POR, we intend to rescind this administrative review with respect to these companies listed in Appendix II, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price is calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. NV is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment of a rate to be applied to companies not selected for individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a market economy investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for companies which were not selected for individual examination in an administrative review. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-others rate is normally “an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely {on the basis of facts available}.”

Rate for Non-Examined Company

The SAA provides Commerce with additional guidance as to what the agency should do when the only margins calculated for individually-investigated exporters are zero/ de minimis and/or determined entirely through facts available:

In such situations, Commerce may use any reasonable method to calculate the all others rate. The expected method in such cases will be to weight-average the zero and de minimis margins and margins determined pursuant to the facts available, provided that volume data is available. However, if this method is not feasible, or if it results in an average that would not be reasonably reflective of potential dumping margins for non-investigated exporters or producers, Commerce may use other reasonable methods.^[11]

In this review, we preliminary calculated a dumping margin of zero percent for Oman Fasteners, the sole respondent individually examined. Therefore, there is no non-zero weighted-average dumping margin established for exporters and producers individually examined in this POR. Further, Oman Fasteners the only producer and/or exporter with a history of individual examination in this Order, and the non-individually examined respondent under review, Gulf Nails LLC, has no history of individual review. Given the lack of history of review of applicable rates for firms other than Oman Nails, Commerce determines it is feasible and appropriate to look to other reasonable methods to determine ( printed page 65530) the applicable rate for non-selected respondents. The only rate established for exporters or producers in the history of the Order which is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on adverse facts available is the 9.10 percent rate calculated for Oman Fasteners and assigned as the all-others rate in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation.^[12] We find use of this rate to reflect the most reasonable method to approximate the exporting experience of the non-reviewed respondent, as it reflects the rate established for respondents with no prior history of individual review. Accordingly, we have selected the 9.10 percent rate calculated for Oman Fasteners and assigned to all other producers and exporters in the LTFV investigation as the rate applicable to the non-individually examined respondent in this review.

Preliminary Results of Review

As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the following estimated weighted-average dumping margin exists for the period July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025:

Disclosure

Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis performed to interested parties for these preliminary results within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register , in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Public Comment

Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), we have modified the deadline for interested parties to submit case briefs to Commerce to no later than 21 days after the date of the publication of this notice.^[13] 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.^[14] Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this review must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.^[15] All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline.

As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iii), we request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.^[16] Further, we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the final results in this administrative review. We request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the public 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).^[17]

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants, and whether any participant is a foreign national; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. Oral presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce will inform parties of the scheduled date for the hearing.^[18]

Assessment Rates

Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), Commerce will determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise in accordance with the final results of this review.

If Oman Fasteners weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis ( i.e., less than 0.50 percent) in the final results of this review, Commerce intends to calculate importer-specific assessment rates on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for each importer's examined sales to the total entered value of those sales. Where we do not have entered values for all U.S. sales to a particular importer, we will calculate an importer-specific, per-unit assessment rate on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's examined sales to the total quantity of those sales.^[19] To determine whether an importer-specific, per-unit assessment rate is de minimis, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2), we also will calculate an importer-specific ad valorem ratio based on estimated entered values. If Oman Fasteners' weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis or where an importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.^[20]

In accordance with Commerce's “automatic assessment” practice, for entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by Oman Fasteners for which it did not know that the merchandise was destined for the United States, we intend to instruct CBP to liquidate those entries at the all-others rate calculated in the LTFV investigation if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.^[21]

For the companies which were not selected for individual review, we will assign an assessment rate based on the review-specific rate, calculated as noted in the “Rate for Non-Individually Examined Companies” section, above. The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.^[22]

If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP ( printed page 65531) not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired ( i.e., within 90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following deposit requirements will be effective for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the company{ies} listed above will be that established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent and, therefore, de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for previously investigated or reviewed companies not covered by this review, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific cash deposit rate published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in which the company participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, or the LTFV investigation, but the manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent segment for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 9.10 percent, the all-others rate established in the LTFV investigation.^[23] These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results of review in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary

II. Background

III. Scope of the Order

IV. Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, in Part

V. Discussion of the Methodology

VI. Currency Conversion

VII. Recommendation

Appendix II

Companies With No Reviewable Entries

1. Al Ansari Teqmark LLC

2. Al Kiyumi Global LLC

3. Al Sarah Building Materials LLC

4. Buraimi Iron & Steel, LLC

5. CL Synergy (Pvt) Ltd.

6. Diamond Foil Trading LLC

7. Gulf Nails Manufacturing, LLC

8. Gulf Steel Manufacturers, LLC

9. Modern Factory for Metal Products

10. Muscat Industrial Company, LLC

11. Muscat Nails Factory Golden Asset Trade, LLC

12. Oman Ocean Trading LLC

13. Omega Global Uluslararasi Tasimacilik Ticaret Ltd. Sti

14. Platinum Fasteners

15. WWL Indian Private Ltd.

91 FR 65528