The US Department of Commerce has partially revoked antidumping and countervailing duty orders on common alloy aluminium sheet, clarifying the exclusion for certain aluminium can stock.

The decision, effective 24 September, applies to separate orders covering China and 16 other countries: Bahrain, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Oman, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey.

Aluminium can stock suitable for manufacturing beverage cans, can ends and opening tabs was already excluded from the scope of the orders when it met specified product requirements. Commerce has revised the scope language to clarify that the written description of qualifying can stock is decisive, regardless of its classification under the Harmonised Tariff Schedule of the United States.

The exclusion applies to can stock meeting specified requirements for gauge, temper and surface lubrication.

For the China orders, Commerce added H-39 temper to the can stock exclusion, aligning the exclusion language with that of the orders covering the other countries.

The decision follows changed circumstances reviews requested by members of the US aluminium industry. Commerce said the companies supporting the requests accounted for more than 85% of the domestic industry. It received no comments opposing its preliminary findings.

The industry representatives said their intention had always been for can stock meeting the written description of the exclusion to be excluded from the orders, regardless of its tariff classification.

The partial revocation will apply retroactively to qualifying entries that have not yet been liquidated, dating back to the applicable dates on which suspension of liquidation began.

Commerce will instruct US Customs and Border Protection to liquidate qualifying entries without regard to the relevant antidumping and countervailing duties and refund any estimated duties on those entries.

The department said it intends to issue the instructions within 15 days of publication of the final results.

The wider antidumping and countervailing duty orders covering common alloy aluminium sheet remain in place.