[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10482-10484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04101]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-823-815]


Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Ukraine: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Negative Preliminary 
Determination of Critical Circumstances, 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 Ukraine 
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. We intend to issue the final 
determination 135 days after publication of this preliminary 
determination in the Federal Register.

DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Lindgren, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3870.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is 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. For a complete

[[Page 10483]]

description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    On August 12, 2013, WSP Pipe Co., Ltd. (the sole mandatory 
respondent in the concurrent antidumping duty OCTG from Thailand 
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.\1\ Petitioners \2\ filed rebuttal comments on August 
22, 2013. We have not made any modifications to the scope of the 
investigations. For more information, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\
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    \1\ See Letter from WSP Pipe Co., Ltd. Regarding ``Comments on 
Scope of Investigations: Antidumping Duty Investigations of Oil 
Country Tubular Goods From India, Korea, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, 
Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam; Countervailing Duty 
Investigation of Oil Country Tubular Goods from India and Turkey,'' 
dated August 12, 2013 at 2.
    \2\ United States Steel Corporation, Vallourec Star L.P., TMK 
IPSCO, Energex Tube (a division of JMC Steel Group), Northwest Pipe 
Company, Tejas Tubular Products, Welded Tube USA Inc., Boomerang 
Tube LLC, and Maverick Tube Corporation (collectively, petitioners).
    \3\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance ``Decision Memorandum for 
the Preliminary Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation 
of Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Ukraine'', 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.\4\ 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.\5\ The revised deadline for the preliminary determination 
of this investigation is now February 14, 2014.\6\
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    \4\ See Memorandum for the Record from Paul Piquado, Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by 
the Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated October 18, 2013.
    \5\ 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).
    \6\ 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 conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). 
Constructed export price (CEP) has 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 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 Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    On December 18, 2013, petitioners filed a timely critical 
circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 733(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.\7\ Based on 
our analysis, we preliminarily determine that there is not a reasonable 
basis to believe or suspect that critical circumstances exist with 
respect to OCTG from Ukraine. For a full description of the methodology 
and results of our analysis, please see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ See Letter to the Department from Petitioners regarding 
``Amendment to Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties: 
Oil Country Tubular Goods from Ukraine,'' dated December 18, 2013.
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Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interpipe Europe S.A.; Interpipe Ukraine LLC; PJSC Interpipe        5.31
 Niznedneprovsky Tube Rolling Pipe (aka Interpipe NTRP); LLC
 Interpipe Niko Tube \8\....................................
All Others..................................................        5.31
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Interpipe, the sole mandatory respondent 
in the investigation.\9\
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    \8\ The Department preliminarily determines that Interpipe 
Europe S.A.; Interpipe Ukraine LLC; PJSC Interpipe Niznedneprovsky 
Tube Rolling Pipe (aka Interpipe NTRP); LLC Interpipe Niko Tube; 
North American Interpipe, Inc. (collectively, Interpipe) are 
affiliated and should be considered a single entity. For a more 
detailed discussion on the Department's analysis regarding 
affiliation and treatment of Interpipe Europe S.A. and certain 
affiliated companies as a single entity, see Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum at ``Affiliation and Single Entity.'' As North American 
Interpipe is the U.S.-based importer, it is excluded from the 
Exporter/Producer table above.
    \9\ 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.\10\ 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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    \10\ 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

[[Page 10484]]

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.\11\ 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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    \11\ 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 Ukraine 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.
    Pursuant to section 733(d)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), we 
will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the weighted-
average amount by which the NV exceeds CEP, as indicated in the chart 
above.\12\ These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in 
effect until further notice.
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    \12\ 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 a request from Interpipe, the respondent in this 
investigation, we are postponing the final determination. 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.\13\ Further, Interpipe 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. Suspension of liquidation will be 
extended accordingly.
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    \13\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our preliminary affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. If our final determination 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 Ukraine 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 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 Secretaryfor Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

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 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.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Postponement of Preliminary Determination
2. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
3. Scope of the Investigation
4. Scope Comments
5. Affiliation and Single Entity
6. Fair Value Comparisons
7. Product Comparison
8. Determination of Comparison Method
9. Constructed Export Price
10. Normal Value
    a. Home Market Viability
    b. Level of Trade
    c. Cost of Production
    d. Constructed Value
    e. Price-to-CV Comparison
    f. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Comparison Market Prices
    g. Re-Export Sales
11. Date of Sale
12. Currency Conversion
13. Critical Circumstances
14. Verification

[FR Doc. 2014-04101 Filed 2-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P