[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10489-10491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04102]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-517-804]


Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Saudi Arabia: 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 Saudi 
Arabia 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 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. The final determination will be issued 135 days 
after publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal 
Register. We invite interested parties to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Rhoads, 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-
0123.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope Comments

    On August 12, 2013, WSP Pipe Co., Ltd. (the sole mandatory 
respondent in the concurrent antidumping duty investigation on OCTG 
from Thailand) submitted scope comments to the Department regarding 
certain ``pierced billets'' and asked that the Department determine 
that such merchandise was outside of the scope of this and other OCTG 
investigations. Petitioners filed rebuttal comments on August 22, 2013. 
We have not made any modifications to the scope of the investigation. 
For more information, see the ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Oil 
Country Tubular Goods from Saudi Arabia,'' from Christian Marsh, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, to Paul Piquado, 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, dated concurrently 
with this determination and hereby adopted by this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).

Tolling of Deadlines for Preliminary Determination

    As explained in the memorandum from the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, the Department 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 February 14, 2014.\3\
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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).
    \3\ 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 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 the Preliminary

[[Page 10490]]

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
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Duferco SA..................................................        2.92
All Others..................................................        2.92
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Duferco SA, the only company for which 
the Department calculated a rate.\4\
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    \4\ See section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to 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.\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; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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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 Saudi Arabia 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.
    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.\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 a request from the respondent in this investigation, we 
are postponing the final determination and extending provisional 
measures from four to 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.\8\
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    \8\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we notified the ITC 
of our preliminary 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: February 14, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for 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.

[[Page 10491]]

    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. Scope of the Investigation
2. Affiliation
3. Postponement of Preliminary Determination
4. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
5. Discussion of Methodology
    a. Home Market Viability
    b. Affiliated Party Transactions and Arm's-Length Test
    c. Cost of Production
    d. Constructed Value
    e. Constructed Export Price
    f. Level of Trade/CEP Offset
    g. Determination of Comparison Method
    h. Currency Conversion
6. Verification

[FR Doc. 2014-04102 Filed 2-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P