[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 239 (Thursday, December 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75544-75545]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-29693]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-843]


Prestressed Concrete Steel Rail Tie Wire From Mexico: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of 
Final Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, formerly Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') preliminarily 
determines that prestressed concrete steel rail tie wire (``PC tie 
wire'') from Mexico is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United 
States at less than fair value (``LTFV''), as provided in section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''). The period 
of investigation (``POI'') is April 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013. 
The estimated weighted-average dumping margins of sales at LTFV are 
shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. The 
final determination will be issued 135 days after publication of this 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register.

DATES: Effective Date: December 12, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brandon Custard or Rebecca Trainor, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
1823 or (202) 482-4007, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is high carbon steel 
wire; stress relieved or low relaxation; indented or otherwise 
deformed; meeting at a minimum the physical, mechanical, and chemical 
requirements of the American Society of Testing Materials (``ASTM'') 
A881/A881M specification; regardless of shape, size or alloy element 
levels; suitable for use as prestressed tendons in concrete railroad 
ties (``PC tie wire''). High carbon steel is defined as steel that 
contains 0.6 percent or more of carbon by weight.
    PC tie wire is classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (``HTSUS'') subheading 7217.10.8045, but may also be 
classified under subheadings 7217.10.7000, 7217.10.8025, 7217.10.8030, 
7217.10.8090, 7217.10.9000, 7229.90.1000, 7229.90.5016, 7229.90.5031, 
7229.90.5051, 7229.90.9000, and 7312.10.3012. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the scope of the investigation is 
dispositive.\1\
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    \1\ Since the initiation of this investigation, based on 
interested party comments, we modified the scope to add language to 
and clarify the meaning of the phrase ``meeting at a minimum the 
American Society for Testing Materials (``ASTM'') A881/A881M 
specification,'' and to include two additional HTSUS numbers. For 
further discussion, see the memorandum entitled ``Scope Modification 
Requests,'' dated concurrently with this determination.
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Methodology

    The Department has conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Constructed export prices (``CEPs'') have been 
calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value 
(``NV'') has been calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Prestressed 
Concrete Steel Rail Tie Wire from Mexico,'' (``Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum'') from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to Paul Piquado, 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, dated concurrently 
with this determination and hereby adopted by this notice. The 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is made 
available to the public via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (``IA 
ACCESS''). IA ACCESS is available to registered users at https://iaaccess.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the Department's 
Central Records Unit, located at room 7046 of the main Department of 
Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum can be found at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. 
The signed and the electronic versions of the

[[Page 75545]]

Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Determination \2\
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    \2\ As explained in the memorandum from the Assistant Secretary 
for Enforcement and Compliance, the Department has exercised its 
discretion to toll deadlines for the duration of the closure of the 
Federal Government from October 1, through October 16, 2013. See 
Memorandum for the Record from Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of 
the Federal Government'' (October 18, 2013). Therefore, all 
deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 16 
days. If the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance 
with the Department's practice, the deadline will become the next 
business day. The revised deadline for the preliminary determination 
in this investigation is now December 5, 2013.
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    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter/manufacturer                       dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aceros Camesa S.A. de C.V...................................       27.88
All Others..................................................       27.88
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The ``All Others'' rate is based on the weighted-average dumping 
margin calculated for Aceros Camesa S.A. de C.V., the only company for 
which the Department calculated a rate.\3\
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    \3\ See section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    We will disclose the calculations performed to parties in this 
proceeding within five days of the date of publication of this notice 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the final verification report is issued in 
this proceeding and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\4\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding 
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the 
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.
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    \4\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce. All documents must be filed 
electronically using IA ACCESS. An electronically filed request must be 
received successfully in its entirety by IA ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\5\ Requests should contain the party's name, address, and 
telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues 
to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department 
intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a time and 
date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, 
time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Pursuant to a request from the respondent in this investigation, we 
are postponing the final determination and extending the provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not greater than six 
months. Accordingly, we will make our final determination no later than 
135 days after the date of publication of this preliminary 
determination, pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act.\6\
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    \6\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we are directing 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to suspend liquidation of 
all entries of PC tie wire from Mexico, as described in the scope of 
the investigation section of this notice, which are entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    We will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit \7\ equal to the 
weighted-average amount by which the NV exceeds CEP, as indicated in 
the chart above. These suspension of liquidation instructions will 
remain in effect until further notice.
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    \7\ See Modification of Regulations Regarding the Practice of 
Accepting Bonds During the Provisional Measures Period in 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042 
(October 3, 2011).
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International Trade Commission (``ITC'') Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
ITC of our preliminary affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. If 
our 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 our final determination whether these imports are 
materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: December 5, 2013.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Differential Pricing Analysis
2. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
3. Fair Value Comparisons
4. Product Comparisons
5. Constructed Export Price
6. Normal Value
    a. Home Market Viability
    b. Level of Trade
    c. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Constructed Value
7. Currency Conversion
8. Verification

[FR Doc. 2013-29693 Filed 12-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P