[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 99 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29426-29428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11902]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-872]


Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From the Republic of Korea: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Negative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, and 
Postponement of Final Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) preliminarily 
determines that non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) from the Republic 
of Korea (Korea) is being sold, 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 (POI) is July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013. The 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins are listed in the 
``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. Interested 
parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective May 22, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dmitry Vladimirov, 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-
0665.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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'' 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 Oersteds) along (i.e., 
parallel to) the rolling direction of the sheet (i.e., B800 
value). NOES contains by weight more than 1.00 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 has a surface oxide 
coating, to which an insulation coating may be applied.
    NOES is subject to this investigation whether it is fully processed 
(i.e., fully annealed to develop final magnetic properties) or semi-
processed (i.e., finished to final thickness and physical form but not 
fully annealed to develop final magnetic properties). 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 ASTM, JIS, and IEC specifications 
noted immediately above.
    NOES is sometimes referred to as cold-rolled non-oriented (CRNO), 
non-grain oriented (NGO), non-oriented (NO), or cold-rolled non-grain 
oriented (CRNGO) electrical steel. These terms are interchangeable.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are flat-rolled 
products not in coils that, prior to importation into the United 
States, have been cut to a shape and undergone all punching, coating, 
or other operations necessary for classification in Chapter 85 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) as a part 
(i.e., lamination) for use in a device such as a motor, generator, or 
transformer.
    The subject merchandise is provided for in subheadings 
7225.19.0000, 7226.19.1000, and 7226.19.9000 of the 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.

Scope Comments

    For a complete discussion of scope comments received from 
interested parties and changes the Department made to the scope of the 
investigation, see Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\1\ The ``Scope of 
Investigation'' section above reflects all changes.
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    \1\ See the ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation 
of Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the Republic of Korea,'' from 
Gary Taverman, Senior Advisor, Enforcement and Compliance, to Ronald 
K. Lorentzen Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, dated concurrently with this determination and hereby 
adopted by this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Postponement of the Preliminary Determination

    On February 28, 2014, AK Steel Corporation (the petitioner) made a 
timely request for a 50-day postponement of the preliminary 
determinations for this and the other concurrent NOES LTFV 
investigations, pursuant to section 733(c)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(b)(2) and (e).\2\ On March 5, 2014, we published our notice of 
postponement of the preliminary determination by 50 days in accordance 
with sections 733(c)(1)(A) and (2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(f).\3\ 
As a result of the postponement and aforementioned tolling, the revised 
deadline for the preliminary determination of this investigation is now 
May 15, 2014.
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    \2\ See letter from the petitioner to the Secretary of Commerce, 
``Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People's Republic of China, 
Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden and Taiwan: Request 
for Postponement of the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated February 
28, 2014.
    \3\ See Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People's Republic 
of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden and Taiwan: 
Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of Antidumping Duty 
Investigations, 79 FR 13987 (March 12, 2014).
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Methodology

    The Department conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Export price is calculated in accordance with 
section 772 of the Act. Normal value is calculated in accordance with 
section 773 of the Act. For a full description of

[[Page 29427]]

the methodology underlying our determination, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is attached in an Appendix to this notice. 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 it 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.
    As explained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we determined 
that the mandatory respondents selected for individual examination in 
this investigation, POSCO and Daewoo International Corporation, 
constitute a single entity.

Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    On March 6, 2014, the petitioner filed a timely critical 
circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act 
and19 CFR 351.206(c)(1). We preliminarily determine that critical 
circumstances do not exist for imports of NOES from Korea. For a full 
description of the methodology and results of our analysis, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Weighted-average
              Producer or exporter                    dumping margin
                                                        (percent)
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POSCO/Daewoo International Corporation.........                    6.91%
All Others.....................................                    6.91%
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All Others Rate

    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 rates that are zero, 
de minimis or determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. The 
``All Others'' rate is based on the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin calculated for POSCO/Daewoo International Corporation, the only 
entity 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 will disclose the calculations performed to parties in this 
proceeding within five days after 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. 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. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2), rebuttal briefs may 
respond only to arguments raised in case briefs and should identify the 
arguments to which it is responding. Interested parties who wish to 
comment on the preliminary determination must file briefs 
electronically using IA ACCESS.\6\ An electronically filed document 
must be received successfully in its entirety by the Department's 
electronic records system, IA ACCESS, by 5 p.m. on the date the 
document is due.
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    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).
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    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing, or to participate 
if one is requested, must submit a written request using IA ACCESS 
within 30 days after publication of this preliminary determination in 
the Federal Register.\7\ An electronically filed hearing request must 
be received successfully in its entirety by IA ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\8\ Hearing 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 hearing request is submitted, 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 will be notified of 
the date, time, and location of any hearing.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c)
    \8\ Id.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we will instruct 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all 
entries of NOES from Korea 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) 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 normal value exceeds export price, as 
indicated in the chart above, as follows: \9\ (1) The rate for the 
mandatory respondent listed above will be equal to the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin that we determine in this preliminary 
determination; (2) if the exporter is not a mandatory respondent 
identified above in this investigation, but the producer is, the rate 
will be equal to the specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
established for the producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the 
rate for all other producers or exporters will be the all others rate 
established in this preliminary determination. The

[[Page 29428]]

suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
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    \9\ 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 POSCO/Daewoo International Corporation 
and in accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii) and (e), in this investigation, we are postponing the 
final determination.\10\ 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 and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2). Further, POSCO/Daewoo International 
Corporation 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 period not to exceed six 
months. The suspension of liquidation described above will be extended 
accordingly.
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    \10\ See letter from POSCO to the Secretary of Commerce, ``Non-
Oriented Electrical Steel from Korea: Request to Postpone the Final 
Determination'' dated January 28, 2014.
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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. 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 NOES from 
Korea 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.

Notification to Interested Parties

    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: May 15, 2014.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

1. Summary
2. Background
3. Period of Investigation
4. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
5. Scope Comments
6. Scope of the Investigation
7. Selection of Respondents
8. Critical Circumstances
9. Affiliation and Single Entity
10. Methodology
    a. Fair Value Comparisons
    b. Determination of Comparison Method
    c. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
    d. Product Comparisons
    e. Date of Sale
    f. U.S. Price
    g. Duty Drawback
    h. Normal Value
    i. Overrun Sales--Sales Outside the Ordinary Course of Trade
    ii. Home Market Viability
    iii. Level of Trade
    iv. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Home Market Prices
    i. Transactions Between Affiliated Parties
    j. Cost of Production
    i. Calculation of Cost of Production
    ii. Test of Home Market Sale Prices
    iii. Results of the Sales-Below-Cost Test
11. Currency Conversion
12. Verification
13. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2014-11902 Filed 5-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P