[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 190 (Friday, October 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60723-60725]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-24719]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-838]


Seamless Refined Copper Pipe and Tube From Mexico: Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has 
determined that imports of seamless refined copper pipe and tube 
(``copper pipe and tube'') from Mexico are being, or are likely to be, 
sold in the United States at less than fair value (``LTFV''), as 
provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the 
Act''). The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are listed in the 
``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.

DATES: Effective Date: October 1, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy Zhang or George McMahon, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 3, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
1168 or (202) 482-1167, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 12, 2010, the Department published in the Federal Register 
its preliminary determination on copper pipe and tube from Mexico. See 
Seamless Refined Copper Pipe and Tube from Mexico: Notice of 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination, 75 FR 26726 (May 12, 2010) 
(``Preliminary Determination).\1\ We selected the following companies 
for individual examination: IUSA S.A. de C.V. (``IUSA'') and Nacional 
de Cobre, S.A. de C.V. (``Nacobre'').
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    \1\ On May 28, 2010, the Department also published in the 
Federal Register, Seamless Refined Copper Pipe and Tube From Mexico: 
Correction to Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value 75 FR 29990 (May 28, 2010) and Postponement of Final 
Determination to correct the Scope section of the Preliminary 
Determination.
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    See Preliminary Determination, 75 FR at 26726.
    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we conducted sales and 
cost verifications of the questionnaire responses submitted by IUSA and 
Nacobre. We used standard verification procedures, including 
examination of relevant accounting and production records, as well as 
original source documents provided by IUSA and Nacobre.\2\ All 
verification reports are on file and available in the Central Records 
Unit (``CRU''), Room 7046, of the main Department of Commerce building.
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    \2\ See Memorandum to the File titled ``Verification of the 
Sales Response of IUSA S.A. de C.V. (``IUSA'') and its affiliates 
(``IUSA'') in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Seamless Refined 
Copper Pipe and Tube from Mexico, dated July 21, 2010'' 
``Verification of the Cost Response of IUSA, S.A. de C.V. in the 
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Seamless Refined Copper Pipe and 
Tube from Mexico, dated July 19, 2010'' ``Verification of the Sales 
Response of Nacobre, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates (``Nacobre'') 
in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Seamless Refined Copper 
Pipe and Tube from Mexico,'' dated July 21, 2010, and ``Verification 
of the Cost Response of Nacobre, S.A. de C.V. and its affiliates 
(``Nacobre'') in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Seamless 
Refined Copper Pipe and Tube from Mexico,'' dated July 22, 2010.
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    On July 23, 2010 and July 26, 2010, respectively, IUSA and Nacobre, 
submitted sales and cost databases with revisions that reflect the 
minor corrections presented during their respective verifications.\3\ 
IUSA, Nacobre, and the petitioners \4\ filed their case briefs with the 
Department on August 4, 2010, and rebuttal briefs on August 10, 2010. 
At the petitioners' request, we held a hearing on August 12, 2010.
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    \3\ See IUSA's July 23, 2010, and Nacobre's July 26, 2010, 
submission of the sales and cost databases.
    \4\ The petitioners in this investigation are Cerro Flow 
Products, Inc., KobeWieland Copper Products, LLC, Mueller Copper 
Tube Products, Inc., and Mueller Copper Tube Company, Inc. 
(collectively, ``petitioners'').
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    We used IUSA's July 23, 2010, and Nacobre's July 26, 2010, sales 
and cost databases to calculate IUSA's and Nacobre's antidumping duty 
margin. No parties have objected to the use of these databases.
    On September 13, 2010, the Department placed a memorandum on the 
record of this case regarding a recent ex parte meeting in which 
Francisco J. S[aacute]nchez, Under Secretary for International Trade 
Administration met with Mr. Carlos Peralta, President and Director 
General of IUSA. The Department invited interested parties to comment 
on this memorandum by September 17, 2010; however, no comments were 
received.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation (``POI'') is July 1, 2008, to June 30, 
2009. This period corresponds to the four most recent fiscal quarters 
prior to the month of the filing of the petition. See 19 CFR 
351.204(b)(1).

Scope of Investigation

    For the purpose of this investigation, the products covered are all 
seamless circular refined copper pipes and tubes, including redraw 
hollows, greater than or equal to 6 inches (152.4 mm) in length and 
measuring less than 12.130 inches (308.102 mm) (actual) in outside 
diameter (``OD''), regardless of wall thickness, bore (e.g., smooth, 
enhanced with inner grooves or ridges), manufacturing process (e.g., 
hot finished, cold-drawn, annealed), outer surface (e.g., plain or 
enhanced with grooves, ridges, fins, or gills), end finish (e.g., plain 
end, swaged end, flared end, expanded end, crimped end, threaded), 
coating (e.g., plastic, paint), insulation, attachments (e.g., plain, 
capped, plugged, with compression or other fitting), or physical 
configuration (e.g., straight, coiled, bent, wound on spools).
    The scope of this investigation covers, but is not limited to, 
seamless refined copper pipe and tube produced or comparable to the 
American Society for Testing and Materials (``ASTM'') ASTM-B42, ASTM-
B68, ASTM-B75, ASTM-B88, ASTM-B88M, ASTM-B188, ASTM-B251, ASTM-B251M, 
ASTM-B280, ASTM-B302, ASTM-B306, ASTM-359, ASTM-B743, ASTM-B819, and 
ASTM-B903 specifications and meeting the physical parameters described 
therein. Also included within the scope of this investigation are all 
sets of covered products, including ``line sets'' of seamless refined 
copper tubes (with or without fittings or insulation) suitable for 
connecting an outdoor air conditioner or heat pump to an indoor 
evaporator unit. The phrase ``all sets of covered products'' denotes 
any combination of items put up for sale that is comprised of 
merchandise subject to the scope.
    ``Refined copper'' is defined as: (1) Metal containing at least 
99.85 percent by weight of copper; or (2) metal containing at least 
97.5 percent by weight of copper, provided that the

[[Page 60724]]

content by weight of any other element does not exceed the following 
limits:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Limiting
                                                              content
                         Element                            percent by
                                                              weight
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ag--Silver..............................................            0.25
As--Arsenic.............................................            0.5
Cd--Cadmium.............................................            1.3
Cr--Chromium............................................            1.4
Mg--Magnesium...........................................            0.8
Pb--Lead................................................            1.5
S--Sulfur...............................................            0.7
Sn--Tin.................................................            0.8
Te--Tellurium...........................................            0.8
Zn--Zinc................................................            1.0
Zr--Zirconium...........................................            0.3
Other elements (each)...................................            0.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are all seamless 
circular hollows of refined copper less than 12 inches in length whose 
OD (actual) exceeds its length. The products subject to this 
investigation are currently classifiable under subheadings 7411.10.1030 
and 7411.10.1090 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(``HTSUS''). Products subject to this investigation may also enter 
under HTSUS subheadings 7407.10.1500, 7419.99.5050, 8415.90.8065, and 
8415.90.8085. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope 
of this investigation is dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this antidumping duty investigation are addressed in the ``Issues and 
Decision Memorandum for the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Seamless 
Refined Copper Pipe and Tube from Mexico'' (``Decision Memorandum'') 
from Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Operations, Susan H. Kuhbach, to Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration Ronald K. Lorentzen, dated 
September 24, 2010, which is hereby adopted by this notice. A list of 
the issues which parties have raised and to which we have responded, 
all of which are in the Decision Memorandum, is attached to this notice 
as an appendix. Parties can find a complete discussion of all issues 
raised in this investigation and the corresponding recommendations in 
the Decision Memorandum which is on file in the CRU of the main 
Department of Commerce building, Room 7046, and is accessible on the 
Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/index.html. The paper copy and 
electronic version of the Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of the comments received and our findings at 
verification, we have made certain changes to the margin calculations 
for IUSA and Nacobre based on the sales and cost verifications.\5\
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    \5\ For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum and memorandum titled, ``Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value in the Antidumping Duty Investigation 
of Seamless Refined Copper Pipe and Tube from Mexico--Sales Analysis 
Memorandum for IUSA'' (``IUSA Sales Analysis Memo''); ``Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value in the Antidumping 
Duty Investigation of Seamless Refined Copper Pipe and Tube from 
Mexico--Sales Analysis Memorandum for Nacobre'' (``Nacobre Sales 
Analysis Memo''); ``Cost of Production and Constructed Value 
Calculation Adjustments for the Final Determination--IUSA'' (``IUSA 
Cost Analysis Memo''); and ``Cost of Production and Constructed 
Value Calculation Adjustments for the Final Determination--Nacobre'' 
(``Nacobre Cost Analysis Memo''), dated September 24, 2010.
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Cost of Production

    As explained in the Preliminary Determination, we conducted an 
investigation concerning sales at prices below the cost of production 
in the home market. We found that, for certain specific products, more 
than 20 percent of IUSA and Nacobre's home market sales were at prices 
less than the cost of production and, in addition, such sales did not 
provide for the recovery of costs within a reasonable period of time. 
Therefore, we disregarded these sales and used the remaining sales as 
the basis for determining normal value in accordance with section 
773(b)(1) of the Act. Based on this test, for this final determination 
we have disregarded below-cost sales by IUSA and Nacobre.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will instruct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to continue to suspend 
liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise from Mexico entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 12, 2010, 
the date of the publication of the Preliminary Determination. We will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal 
to the weighted-average margin, as indicated below, as follows: (1) The 
rates for IUSA and Nacobre will be the rates we have determined in this 
final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a firm identified in 
this investigation but the producer is, the rate will be the rate 
established for the producer of the subject merchandise; (3) the rate 
for all other producers or exporters will be 28.16 percent as discussed 
in the ``All-Others Rate''' section below. These suspension-of-
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Final Determination

    The final antidumping duty margins are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                  Manufacturer/exporter                   average margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
IUSA S.A. de C.V........................................           24.89
Nacional de Cobre, S.A. de C.V..........................           31.43
All Others..............................................           28.16
------------------------------------------------------------------------

All-Others Rate

    Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated ``All 
Others'' rate shall be 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 under section 776 
of the Act. IUSA and Nacobre are the only respondents in this 
investigation for which the Department has calculated a company-
specific rate that is not zero or de minimis. Therefore, because there 
are only two relevant weighted-average dumping margins for this final 
determination and because using a weighted average risks disclosure of 
business proprietary information, the ``all others'' rate is a simple-
average of these two values, which is 28.16 percent.\6\
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    \6\ See Steel Wire Garment Hangers from the People's Republic of 
China: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 73 FR 
47587, 47591 (August 14, 2008).
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Disclosure

    The Department will disclose the calculations performed in 
connection with this final determination within five days of the date 
of publication of this notice to parties in this proceeding. See 19 CFR 
351.224(b).

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (``ITC'') of our final determination. As 
our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine within 
45 days whether imports of the subject merchandise are causing material 
injury or threat of material injury to an industry in the United 
States. If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of injury 
does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and all securities 
posted will be refunded or canceled. If the ITC

[[Page 60725]]

determines that such injury does exist, we will issue an antidumping 
duty order directing CBP to assess antidumping duties on all imports of 
the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation.

Destruction of Proprietary Information

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective orders (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO as explained in the APO itself. See 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 
written notification of the destruction of APO materials or conversion 
to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply 
with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    We are issuing and publishing this determination and notice in 
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: September 24, 2010.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix

List of Issues in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

Comment 1: Comments Regarding the Investigation
Comment 2: Alternative Cost Averaging Methodology
Comment 3: Cost Recovery Test
Comment 4: Model Matching Hierarchy
Comment 5: Nacobre's U.S. Date of Sale
Comment 6: Treatment of Nacobre's General and Administrative Expense 
Ratio
Comment 7: Nacobre's Weight Basis
Comment 8: Treatment of the Negative Value of Certain U.S. Expense 
Variables for IUSA
Comment 9: Treatment of Early Payment Discounts for IUSA's Home 
Market Sales
Comment 10: IUSA's Packing Costs
Comment 11: Further Manufactured Line Sets
Comment 12: ``All Others'' Rate

[FR Doc. 2010-24719 Filed 9-30-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P