[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79670-79672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31341]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-549-831]


Steel Threaded Rod From Thailand: Preliminary Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative Preliminary Determination 
of Critical Circumstances

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, formerly Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the ``Department'') preliminarily 
determines that steel threaded rod from Thailand 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 listed in the ``Preliminary Determination'' 
section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: December 31, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raquel Silva or Laurel LaCivita, AD/
CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
6475 or (202) 482-4243.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is steel threaded 
rod. Steel threaded rod is certain threaded rod, bar, or studs, of 
carbon quality steel, having a solid, circular cross section, of any 
diameter, in any straight length, that have been forged, turned, cold-
drawn, cold-rolled, machine straightened, or otherwise cold-finished, 
and into which threaded grooves have been applied. In addition, the 
steel threaded rod, bar, or studs subject to this investigation are 
non-headed and threaded along greater than 25 percent of their total 
length. A variety of finishes or coatings, such as plain oil finish as 
a temporary rust protectant, zinc coating (i.e., galvanized, whether by 
electroplating or hot-dipping), paint, and other similar finishes and 
coatings, may be applied to the merchandise. For a complete description 
of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix 1 to this notice.

Tolling of Deadlines for Preliminary Determination

    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.\1\ 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.\2\ The revised deadline for the preliminary determination 
of this investigation is now December 20, 2013.
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    \1\ 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).
    \2\ See Notice of Clarification: Application of ``Next Business 
Day'' Rule for Administrative Determination Deadlines Pursuant to 
the Tariff Act of 1930, As Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2005).
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Methodology

    The Department has conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Because the only selected mandatory respondent, 
Tycoons Worldwide Group (Thailand) Public Co., Ltd. (``Tycoons''), 
failed to respond to the Department's questionnaire, we have 
preliminarily determined to apply adverse facts available to this 
respondent, in accordance with section 776 if the Act and 19 CFR 
351.308. The critical circumstances allegation has been analyzed in 
accordance with section 733(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Memorandum to Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance from Christian 
Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations entitled ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Steel Threaded 
Rod from Thailand,'' dated concurrently with and hereby adopted by this 
notice

[[Page 79671]]

(``Preliminary Decision Memorandum''). The Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (``IA ACCESS''). IA ACCESS is 
available to registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov, and is 
available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room 7046 of the 
main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version 
of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the 
internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    On November 22, 2013, Petitioners \3\ filed a timely critical 
circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 773(e)(1) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.206(c)(1), alleging that critical circumstances exist with 
respect to imports of the merchandise under consideration.\4\ In 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.206(c)(2)(i), when a critical circumstances 
allegation is submitted more than 20 days before the scheduled date of 
the preliminary determination, the Department must issue a preliminary 
finding whether there is a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that 
critical circumstances exist no later than the date of the preliminary 
determination. We have conducted an analysis of critical circumstances 
in accordance with section 733(c) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, and 
have preliminarily determined that: (1) Importers knew or should have 
known that the exporter was selling the merchandise under consideration 
at LTFV and that there was likely to be material injury in accordance 
with section 733(e)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act; and (2) imports of the 
subject merchandise have been massive over a relatively short period in 
accordance with section 733(e)(1)(B) of the Act. For a full description 
of the methodology and results of our analysis, please see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \3\ The petition was filed by All America Threaded Products 
Inc., Bay Standard Manufacturing Inc., and Vulcan Threaded Products 
Inc. (``Petitioners'').
    \4\ See letter from Petitioners, ``Antidumping Investigation of 
Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Petitioners' Allegation of 
Critical Circumstances,'' date November 22, 2013.
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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. Tycoons is the only company being individually examined in 
this investigation, but its margin was determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act. In cases where no weighted-average dumping 
margins besides zero de minimis, or determined entirely under section 
776 of the Act have been established for individually investigated 
entities, the Department averages the margins calculated by the 
Petitioner in the petition and applies the result to all other entities 
not individually examined.\5\
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    \5\ See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of 
Germany, 73 FR 21909 (April 23, 2008); unchanged in Notice of Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from 
the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 38986 (July 8, 2008).
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Preliminary Determination

    We preliminary determine the weighted-average dumping margins are 
as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                    Producer or exporter                       dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tycoons Worldwide Group (Thailand) Public Co., Ltd.........        74.90
All Others.................................................        68.41
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Disclosure

    The Department intends to disclose to parties the calculations 
performed in connection with this preliminary determination within five 
days of the date of publication of this notice.\6\
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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on the preliminary 
determination. Interested parties may submit case briefs to the 
Department no later 30 days after the date of publication of the 
preliminary determination.\7\ Rebuttal briefs, the content of which is 
limited to the issues raised in the case briefs, must be filed within 
five days from the deadline date for the submission of case briefs.\8\ 
A list of authorities used, a table of contents, and an executive 
summary of issues should accompany any briefs submitted to the 
Department.\9\ Executive summaries should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. Interested parties who wish to comment on 
the preliminary determination must file briefs electronically using IA 
ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received successfully 
in its entirety by the Department's electronic records system, IA 
ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the date the document is 
due.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1) and 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2).
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    In accordance with section 774 of the Act, the Department will hold 
a hearing, if timely requested, to afford interested parties an 
opportunity to comment on arguments raised in case or rebuttal briefs, 
provided that such a hearing is requested by an interested party.\10\ 
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, 
filed electronically using IA ACCESS, as noted above. An electronically 
filed request must be received successfully in its entirety by the 
Department's electronic records system, IA ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\11\ Requests should contain the following information: (1) The 
party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed.\12\ If a 
request for a hearing is made, we will inform parties of the scheduled 
date for the hearing which will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230.\13\ Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing.
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    \10\ See also 19 CFR 351.310.
    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \12\ See id.
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we normally will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to suspend 
liquidation of all entries of steel threaded rod from Thailand, as 
described in the ``Scope of the Investigation'' section, entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. However, because we 
have preliminarily found critical circumstances exist with regard to

[[Page 79672]]

exports by Tycoons and All Others, we will instruct CBP to suspend 
liquidation of covered entries entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption up to 90 days prior to the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register.\14\
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    \14\ See section 733(e)(2) of the Act.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), the Department will instruct CBP to 
require a cash deposit \15\ equal to the preliminary weighted-average 
amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the 
chart above, as follows: (1) The rate for the firm listed above will be 
the rate we have determined in this preliminary 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 68.41 percent. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \15\ 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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U.S. International Trade Commission (``ITC'') Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our preliminary affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. If 
our final determination in this proceeding is affirmative, section 
735(b)(2) of the Act requires that the ITC make its final determination 
as to whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially 
injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of 
steel threaded rod from Thailand before the later of 120 days after the 
date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after our final 
determination.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: December 20, 2013.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is steel threaded 
rod. Steel threaded rod is certain threaded rod, bar, or studs, of 
carbon quality steel, having a solid, circular cross section, of any 
diameter, in any straight length, that have been forged, turned, 
cold-drawn, cold-rolled, machine straightened, or otherwise cold-
finished, and into which threaded grooves have been applied. In 
addition, the steel threaded rod, bar, or studs subject to this 
investigation are nonheaded and threaded along greater than 25 
percent of their total length. A variety of finishes or coatings, 
such as plain oil finish as a temporary rust protectant, zinc 
coating (i.e., galvanized, whether by electroplating or hot-
dipping), paint, and other similar finishes and coatings, may be 
applied to the merchandise.
    Included in the scope of this investigation are steel threaded 
rod, bar, or studs, in which: (1) Iron predominates, by weight, over 
each of the other contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 
percent or less, by weight; and (3) none of the elements listed 
below exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:
 1.80 percent of manganese, or
 1.50 percent of silicon, or
 1.00 percent of copper, or
 0.50 percent of aluminum, or
 1.25 percent of chromium, or
 0.30 percent of cobalt, or
 0.40 percent of lead, or
 1.25 percent of nickel, or
 0.30 percent of tungsten, or
 0.012 percent of boron, or
 0.10 percent of molybdenum, or
 0.10 percent of niobium, or
 0.41 percent of titanium, or
 0.15 percent of vanadium, or
 0.15 percent of zirconium.
    Steel threaded rod is currently classifiable under subheadings 
7318.15.5051, 7318.15.5056, 7318.15.5090 and 7318.15.2095 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS''). 
Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is 
dispositive.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are: (a) Threaded 
rod, bar, or studs which are threaded only on one or both ends and 
the threading covers 25 percent or less of the total length; and (b) 
threaded rod, bar, or studs made to American Society for Testing and 
Materials (``ASTM'') A193 Grade B7, ASTM A193 Grade B7M, ASTM A193 
Grade B16, and ASTM A320 Grade L7.

Appendix II

    List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
1. Background
2. Scope of the Investigation
3. Respondent Selection
4. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Facts Available
5. All Others Rate
6. Critical Circumstances
7. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2013-31341 Filed 12-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P