[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 12 (Friday, January 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3245-3246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-00800]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 701-TA-498 and 731-TA-1213-1214 (Final)]


Certain Steel Threaded Rod From India and Thailand; Scheduling of 
the Final Phase of Countervailing Duty and Antidumping Investigations.

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of the 
final phase of antidumping and countervailing duty investigation Nos. 
701-TA-498 and 731-TA-1213-1214 (Final) under sections 705(b) and 
731(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b) and 1673d(b)) (the 
Act) to determine whether an industry in the United States is 
materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the 
establishment of an industry in the United States is materially 
retarded, by reason of imports from India and Thailand of certain steel 
threaded rod, provided for primarily in subheading 7318.15.50 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States,\1\ that are alleged to 
be sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) and 
subsidized by the Government of India.
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    \1\ For purposes of these investigations, the Department of 
Commerce has defined the subject merchandise as: ``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 these investigations 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 these investigations 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 these investigations 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.''
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    For further information concerning the conduct of this phase of the 
investigations, hearing procedures, and rules of general application, 
consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, 
subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A and C 
(19 CFR part 207).

DATES: Effective December 31, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathanael Comly (202-205-3174) or 
Michelle Breaux (202-205-2781), Office of Investigations, U.S. 
International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. 
Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this matter by 
contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. Persons with 
mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access 
to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-
205-2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be 
obtained by accessing its internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The 
public record for these investigations may be viewed on the 
Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background.--The final phase of these investigations is being 
scheduled as a result of affirmative preliminary determinations by the 
Department of Commerce that certain benefits which constitute subsidies 
within the meaning of section 703 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1671b) are 
being provided to manufacturers, producers, or exporters in India of 
certain steel threaded rod, and that such products from India and 
Thailand are being sold in the United

[[Page 3246]]

States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 733 of the 
Act (19 U.S.C. 1673b).\2\ The investigations were requested in a 
petition filed on June 27, 2013, by All America Threaded Products Inc., 
Denver, Colorado; Bay Standard Manufacturing Inc., Brentwood, 
California; and Vulcan Threaded Products Inc., Pelham, Alabama.
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    \2\ In addition to making its preliminary affirmative 
countervailing duty determination on certain steel threaded rod from 
India, the Department of Commerce simultaneously announced the 
alignment of the final countervailing duty determination with the 
final determination in the companion antidumping duty investigation 
(India). Thus, the Department of Commerce's final countervailing 
duty will be issued on the same date as the final antidumping 
determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued on April 
28, 2014. 78 FR 76815.
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    Participation in the investigations and public service list.--
Persons, including industrial users of the subject merchandise and, if 
the merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the final phase of these 
investigations as parties must file an entry of appearance with the 
Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section 201.11 of the 
Commission's rules, no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date 
specified in this notice. A party that filed a notice of appearance 
during the preliminary phase of the investigations need not file an 
additional notice of appearance during this final phase. The Secretary 
will maintain a public service list containing the names and addresses 
of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the 
investigations.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and BPI service list.--
Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary 
will make BPI gathered in the final phase of these investigations 
available to authorized applicants under the APO issued in the 
investigations, provided that the application is made no later than 21 
days prior to the hearing date specified in this notice. Authorized 
applicants must represent interested parties, as defined by 19 U.S.C. 
1677(9), who are parties to the investigations. A party granted access 
to BPI in the preliminary phase of the investigations need not reapply 
for such access. A separate service list will be maintained by the 
Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Staff report.--The prehearing staff report in the final phase of 
these investigations will be placed in the nonpublic record on March 7, 
2014, and a public version will be issued thereafter, pursuant to 
section 207.22 of the Commission's rules.
    Hearing.--The Commission will hold a hearing in connection with the 
final phase of these investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on March 20, 
2014, at the U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Requests to 
appear at the hearing should be filed in writing with the Secretary to 
the Commission on or before March 14, 2014. A nonparty who has 
testimony that may aid the Commission's deliberations may request 
permission to present a short statement at the hearing. All parties and 
nonparties desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral 
presentations should attend a prehearing conference to be held at 9:30 
a.m. on March 18, 2014, at the U.S. International Trade Commission 
Building. Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the 
public hearing are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2), 201.13(f), and 
207.24 of the Commission's rules. Parties must submit any request to 
present a portion of their hearing testimony in camera no later than 7 
business days prior to the date of the hearing.
    Written submissions.--Each party who is an interested party shall 
submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. Prehearing briefs must 
conform with the provisions of section 207.23 of the Commission's 
rules; the deadline for filing is March 14, 2014. Parties may also file 
written testimony in connection with their presentation at the hearing, 
as provided in section 207.24 of the Commission's rules, and 
posthearing briefs, which must conform with the provisions of section 
207.25 of the Commission's rules. The deadline for filing posthearing 
briefs is March 27, 2014. In addition, any person who has not entered 
an appearance as a party to the investigations may submit a written 
statement of information pertinent to the subject of the 
investigations, including statements of support or opposition to the 
petition, on or before March 27, 2014. On April 10, 2014, the 
Commission will make available to parties all information on which they 
have not had an opportunity to comment. Parties may submit final 
comments on this information on or before April 14, 2014, but such 
final comments must not contain new factual information and must 
otherwise comply with section 207.30 of the Commission's rules. 
Finally, on May 2, 2014, parties may submit supplemental final comments 
addressing only Commerce's final antidumping and countervailing duty 
determinations regarding imports from India. These supplemental final 
comments may not contain new factual information and may not exceed 
five (5) pages in length. All written submissions must conform with the 
provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions 
that contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of sections 
201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's 
Handbook on E-Filing, available on the Commission's Web site at http://edis.usitc.gov, elaborates upon the Commission's rules with respect to 
electronic filing.
    Additional written submissions to the Commission, including 
requests pursuant to section 201.12 of the Commission's rules, shall 
not be accepted unless good cause is shown for accepting such 
submissions, or unless the submission is pursuant to a specific request 
by a Commissioner or Commission staff.
    In accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's 
rules, each document filed by a party to the investigations must be 
served on all other parties to the investigations (as identified by 
either the public or BPI service list), and a certificate of service 
must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for 
filing without a certificate of service.

    Authority: These investigations are being conducted under 
authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is 
published pursuant to section 207.21 of the Commission's rules.

    Issued: January 13, 2014.

    By order of the Commission.
Lisa R. Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2014-00800 Filed 1-16-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P