[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 57 (Tuesday, March 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16295-16296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06565]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-873]


Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From the Republic of Korea: 
Preliminary Negative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary 
Negative Critical Circumstances Determination, and Alignment of Final 
Countervailing Duty Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, formerly Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that de minimis countervailable subsidies are being provided 
to producers/exporters of non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) from the 
Republic of Korea (Korea). The period of investigation is January 1, 
2012, through December 31, 2012. Interested parties are invited to 
comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: March 25, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Morris or Thomas Schauer, AD/
CVD Operations, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
1779 and (202) 482-0410, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Alignment of Final Countervailing Duty (CVD) Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty (AD) Determination

    On the same day the Department initiated this CVD investigation, 
the Department also initiated AD investigations of NOES from Korea and 
several other countries.\1\ The CVD investigation and the AD 
investigations cover the same merchandise. On March 11, 2014, in 
accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), alignment of the final CVD determination with the final AD 
determination of NOES from Korea was requested by AK Steel Corporation 
(Petitioner). Therefore, in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), we are aligning the final CVD 
determination with the final AD determination. Consequently, the final 
CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD 
determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than 
July 29, 2014, unless postponed.
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    \1\ See Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From the People's Republic 
of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan: 
Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations, 78 FR 69041 (November 
18, 2013).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to this investigation consists of NOES, 
which includes cold-rolled, flat-rolled, alloy steel products, whether 
or not in coils, regardless of width, having an actual thickness of 
0.20 mm or more, in which the core loss is substantially equal in any 
direction of magnetization in the plane of the material. For a complete 
description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix 1 to this 
notice.

Methodology

    The Department is conducting this CVD investigation in accordance 
with section 701 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\2\ 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.
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    \2\ See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to 
Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, 
regarding ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in 
the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Non-Oriented Electrical 
Steel from the Republic of Korea'' dated concurrently with this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Critical Circumstances

    On February 25, 2014, Petitioner alleged that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to imports of NOES from Korea. In 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.206(c)(2)(i), because Petitioner submitted a 
critical circumstances allegation more than 20 days before the 
scheduled date of the preliminary determination, the Department must 
issue a preliminary critical circumstances determination not later than 
the date of the preliminary determination.\3\
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    \3\ See, e.g., Change in Policy Regarding Timing of Issuance of 
Critical Circumstances Determinations, 63 FR 55364 (October 15, 
1998).
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    We preliminarily determine that critical circumstances do not exist 
with respect to POSCO, Daewoo International Corporation (DWI), and all 
other producers/exporters. For a full discussion of our preliminary 
critical circumstances determination, see the ``Critical 
Circumstances'' section of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    For the reasons explained in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum,\4\ DWI and POSCO have been found preliminarily to be cross-
owned under the Department's regulations, and are therefore being 
investigated as one entity which has received a combined subsidy rate. 
Thus, in accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we have 
calculated an estimated countervailable subsidy rate for POSCO/DWI. 
Further, because POSCO/DWI is the only entity for which a rate has been 
calculated, we are also assigning that rate to all other producers and 
exporters of NOES from Korea.\5\
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    \4\ See ``Subsidies Valuation--Attribution of Subsidies.''
    \5\ See Section 703(d)(1)(A) of the Act.
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    We preliminarily determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be:

[[Page 16296]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
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POSCO; Daewoo International Corporation.....................       *0.59
All Others..................................................      *0.59
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Percent (de minimis).

    Because we have preliminarily determined that the CVD rates in this 
investigation are de minimis, we will not direct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection to suspend liquidation of entries of subject 
merchandise.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department intends to disclose to interested parties the 
calculations performed in connection with this preliminary 
determination within five days of announcement of its public 
announcement.\6\ Interested parties may submit case and rebuttal 
briefs, as well as request a hearing.\7\ For a schedule of the 
deadlines for filing case briefs, rebuttal briefs, and hearing 
requests, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)-(d), 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act.

     Dated: March 18, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix 1

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to this investigation consists of non-
oriented electrical steel (NOES), which includes cold-rolled, flat-
rolled, alloy steel products, whether or not in coils, regardless of 
width, having an actual thickness of 0.20 mm or more, in which the 
core loss is substantially equal in any direction of magnetization 
in the plane of the material. The term ``substantially equal'' in 
the prior sentence means that the cross grain direction of core loss 
is no more than 1.5 times the straight grain direction (i.e., the 
rolling direction) of core loss. NOES has a magnetic permeability 
that does not exceed 1.65 Tesla when tested at a field of 800 A/m 
(equivalent to 10 Oesteds) along (i.e., parallel to) the rolling 
direction of the sheet (i.e., B800 value). NOES contains by weight 
at least 1.25 percent of silicon but less than 3.5 percent of 
silicon, not more than 0.08 percent of carbon, and not more than 1.5 
percent of aluminum.
    NOES is subject to this investigation whether it is fully 
processed (fully annealed to develop final magnetic properties) or 
semi-processed (finished to final thickness and physical form but 
not fully annealed to develop final magnetic properties); whether or 
not it is coated (e.g., with enamel, varnish, natural oxide surface, 
chemically treated or phosphate surface, or other non-metallic 
materials). Fully processed NOES is typically made to the 
requirements of ASTM specification A 677, Japanese Industrial 
Standards (JIS) specification C 2552, and/or International 
Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) specification 60404-8-4. Semi-
processed NOES is typically made to the requirements of ASTM 
specification A 683. However, the scope of this investigation is not 
limited to merchandise meeting the specifications noted above.
    NOES is sometimes referred to as cold-rolled non-oriented 
electrical steel (CRNO), non-grain oriented (NGO), non-oriented 
(NO), or cold-rolled non-grain oriented (CRNGO). These terms are 
interchangeable.
    The subject merchandise is provided for in subheadings 
7225.19.0000, 7226.19.1000, and 7226.19.9000 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Subject merchandise 
may also be entered under subheadings 7225.50.8085, 7225.99.0090, 
7226.92.5000, 7226.92.7050, 7226.92.8050, 7226.99.0180 of the HTSUS. 
Although HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix 2

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Summary
2. Background
3. Critical Circumstances
4. Scope Comments
5. Scope of the Investigation
6. Injury Test
7. Subsidies Valuation
8. Analysis of Programs
9. ITC Notification
10. Disclosure and Public Comment
11. Verification
12. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2014-06565 Filed 3-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P