[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10495-10497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04088]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-583-850]


Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Taiwan: Affirmative 
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 certain oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Taiwan 
are being, or are 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 is July 1, 
2012, through June 30, 2013. The estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' 
section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Schauer or Hermes Pinilla, AD/
CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0410 or (202) 482-3477, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain oil country 
tubular goods (OCTG), which are hollow steel products of circular 
cross-section, including oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other 
than cast iron) or steel (both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or 
welded, regardless of end finish (e.g., whether or not plain end, 
threaded, or threaded and coupled) whether or not conforming to 
American Petroleum Institute (API) or non-API specifications, whether 
finished (including limited service OCTG products) or unfinished 
(including green tubes and limited service OCTG products), whether or 
not thread protectors are attached. The scope of the investigation also 
covers OCTG coupling stock.
    Excluded from the scope of the investigation are: casing or tubing 
containing 10.5 percent or more by

[[Page 10496]]

weight of chromium; drill pipe; unattached couplings; and unattached 
thread protectors.
    The merchandise subject to the investigation is currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.10.10, 7304.29.10.20, 
7304.29.10.30, 7304.29.10.40, 7304.29.10.50, 7304.29.10.60, 
7304.29.10.80, 7304.29.20.10, 7304.29.20.20, 7304.29.20.30, 
7304.29.20.40, 7304.29.20.50, 7304.29.20.60, 7304.29.20.80, 
7304.29.31.10, 7304.29.31.20, 7304.29.31.30, 7304.29.31.40, 
7304.29.31.50, 7304.29.31.60, 7304.29.31.80, 7304.29.41.10, 
7304.29.41.20, 7304.29.41.30, 7304.29.41.40, 7304.29.41.50, 
7304.29.41.60, 7304.29.41.80, 7304.29.50.15, 7304.29.50.30, 
7304.29.50.45, 7304.29.50.60, 7304.29.50.75, 7304.29.61.15, 
7304.29.61.30, 7304.29.61.45, 7304.29.61.60, 7304.29.61.75, 
7305.20.20.00, 7305.20.40.00, 7305.20.60.00, 7305.20.80.00, 
7306.29.10.30, 7306.29.10.90, 7306.29.20.00, 7306.29.31.00, 
7306.29.41.00, 7306.29.60.10, 7306.29.60.50, 7306.29.81.10, and 
7306.29.81.50.
    The merchandise subject to the investigation may also enter under 
the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.00.24, 7304.39.00.28, 
7304.39.00.32, 7304.39.00.36, 7304.39.00.40, 7304.39.00.44, 
7304.39.00.48, 7304.39.00.52, 7304.39.00.56, 7304.39.00.62, 
7304.39.00.68, 7304.39.00.72, 7304.39.00.76, 7304.39.00.80, 
7304.59.60.00, 7304.59.80.15, 7304.59.80.20, 7304.59.80.25, 
7304.59.80.30, 7304.59.80.35, 7304.59.80.40, 7304.59.80.45, 
7304.59.80.50, 7304.59.80.55, 7304.59.80.60, 7304.59.80.65, 
7304.59.80.70, 7304.59.80.80, 7305.31.40.00, 7305.31.60.90, 
7306.30.50.55, 7306.30.50.90, 7306.50.50.50, and 7306.50.50.70.
    The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the 
investigation is dispositive.

Scope Comments

    On August 12, 2013, WSP Pipe Co., Ltd. (the sole mandatory 
respondent in the concurrent OCTG from Thailand antidumping duty 
investigation) submitted scope comments to the Department regarding 
``pierced billets'' and asked that the Department determine that such 
merchandise was outside of the scope of this and other OCTG 
investigations. The petitioners filed rebuttal comments on August 22, 
2013. As a result of our analysis of the scope comments, we have not 
made any modifications to the scope of the investigations. For more 
information, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\1\
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    \1\ See the ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Oil 
Country Tubular Goods from Taiwan,'' 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 (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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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.\2\ 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.\3\ The revised deadline for the preliminary determination 
of this investigation is now February 14, 2014.
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    \2\ 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).
    \3\ 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). Due 
to the closure of the Federal Government on February 13, 2014, the 
Department completed this determination on the next business day 
(i.e., February 14, 2014). Id.
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Methodology

    The Department has conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Export price has been calculated in accordance 
with section 772 of the Act. Normal value has been calculated in 
accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum. 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 Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Determination

    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Weighted-average
                Exporter/Manufacturer                  dumping margin %
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chung Hung Steel Corp...............................                0.00
Tension Steel Industries Co., Ltd...................                2.65
All Others..........................................                2.65
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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. The ``All Others'' rate is based on the weighted-average 
dumping margin calculated for Tension Steel Industries Co., Ltd., the 
only company for which the Department calculated a rate that was not de 
minimis.\4\
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    \4\ 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

[[Page 10497]]

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.\5\ 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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    \5\ 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.\6\ 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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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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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 OCTG from Taiwan 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, except for those produced and exported by Chung Hung 
Steel Corp. Because the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for 
Chung Hung Steel Corp. is zero, we are not directing CBP to suspend 
liquidation of entries of the merchandise it produced and exported.
    We will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the 
weighted-average amount by which the normal value exceeds export price, 
as indicated in the chart above.\7\ 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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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Pursuant to requests from Chung Hung Steel Corp. and Tension Steel 
Industries Co., Ltd., in this investigation, we are postponing the 
final determination. Accordingly, we will issue 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.\8\ 
Further, Chung Hung Steel Corp. and Tension Steel Industries Co., Ltd., 
requested to extend the application of the provisional measures 
prescribed under section 733(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), 
from a four-month period to a six-month period. The suspension of 
liquidation described above will be extended accordingly.
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    \8\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) and (e).
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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. 
Because the preliminary 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 OCTG from Taiwan before the later of 
120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days 
after our final determination. Because we are postponing the deadline 
for our final determination to 135 days from the date of publication of 
this preliminary determination, as discussed above, the ITC will make 
its final determination no later than 45 days after our final 
determination.
    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: February 14, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

 Summary
 Background
 Period of Investigation
 Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of 
Provisional Measures
 Scope of the Investigation
 Scope Comments
 Selection of Respondents
 Discussion of Methodology
 Fair Value Comparisons
    A. Determination of Comparison Method
    B. Results of the DP Analysis
 Product Comparisons
 Alleged Affiliation
 Date of Sale
 U.S. Price
 Normal Value
    1. Home-Market Viability and Comparison-Market Selection
    2. Level of Trade
    3. Calculation of Normal Value based on Comparison Market Prices
    4. Calculation of Normal Value based on Constructed Value
 Cost of Production
    1. Calculation of Cost of Production
    2. Test of Third Country Sales Prices
    3. Results of the COP Test
 Currency Conversion
 Verification
 Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2014-04088 Filed 2-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P