[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 133 (Friday, July 11, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40143-40145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16253]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 701-TA-506-508 and 731-TA-1238-1243 (Final)]


Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, 
Sweden, and Taiwan; Scheduling of the final phase of countervailing 
duty and antidumping duty investigations

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of the 
final phase of antidumping and countervailing duty investigation Nos. 
701-TA-506-508 and 731-TA-1238-1243 (Final) under sections 705(b) and 
731(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b) and 1673d(b)) (the 
Act) to determine whether an industry in the United States is 
materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the 
establishment of an industry in the United States is materially 
retarded, by reason of imports from China, Germany, Japan, Korea, 
Sweden, and Taiwan of non-oriented electrical steel, provided for in 
subheading 7225.19.00 and 7226.19.10, and 7226.19.90 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States,\1\ that are sold in the
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    \1\ For purposes of these investigations, the Department of 
Commerce has defined the subject merchandise as ``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 these investigations 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 these investigations 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 these investigations 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.''

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[[Page 40144]]

    United States at less than fair value and by reason of imports of 
non-oriented electrical steel that are subsidized by the Governments of 
China, Korea, and Taiwan.\2\
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    \2\ The Department of Commerce has preliminarily determined that 
countervailing subsidies are not being provided to producers and 
exporters of non-oriented electrical steel from the Government of 
Korea.
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    For further information concerning the conduct of this phase of the 
investigations, hearing procedures, and rules of general application, 
consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, 
subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A and C 
(19 CFR part 207).

DATES:  Effective Date: Thursday, July 2, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Petronzio (202-205-3176), 
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need 
special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact 
the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its 
internet server (http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for these 
investigations may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket 
(EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background. The final phase of these investigations is being 
scheduled as a result of affirmative preliminary determinations by the 
Department of Commerce that certain benefits which constitute subsidies 
within the meaning of section 703 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1671b) are 
being provided to manufacturers, producers, or exporters in China and 
Taiwan of non-oriented electrical steel, and that such products from 
China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan are being sold in the 
United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 733 
of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673b).\3\ The investigations were requested in a 
petition filed on September 30, 2013 by AK Steel Corp., West Chester, 
Ohio.
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    \3\ In addition to making its preliminary countervailing duty 
determinations on non-oriented electrical steel from China, Korea, 
and Taiwan, the Department of Commerce simultaneously announced the 
alignment of the final countervailing duty determinations with its 
final determinations in the companion antidumping duty 
investigations.
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    Although the Department of Commerce has preliminarily determined 
that imports of non-oriented electrical steel from Korea are not being 
and are not likely to be subsidized by the Government of Korea, for the 
purposes of efficiency the Commission hereby waives rule 207.21(b) \4\ 
so that the final phase of the investigation may proceed concurrently 
in the event that Commerce makes a final affirmative determination with 
respect to such imports.
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    \4\ Section 207.21(b) of the Commission's rules provides that, 
where the Department of Commerce has issued a negative preliminary 
determination, the Commission will publish a Final Phase Notice of 
Scheduling upon receipt of an affirmative final determination from 
Commerce.
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    Participation in the investigations and public service list. 
Persons, including industrial users of the subject merchandise and, if 
the merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the final phase of these 
investigations as parties must file an entry of appearance with the 
Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section 201.11 of the 
Commission's rules, no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date 
specified in this notice. A party that filed a notice of appearance 
during the preliminary phase of the investigations need not file an 
additional notice of appearance during this final phase. The Secretary 
will maintain a public service list containing the names and addresses 
of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the 
investigations.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and BPI service list. Pursuant 
to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make 
BPI gathered in the final phase of these investigations available to 
authorized applicants under the APO issued in the investigations, 
provided that the application is made no later than 21 days prior to 
the hearing date specified in this notice. Authorized applicants must 
represent interested parties, as defined by 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are 
parties to the investigations. A party granted access to BPI in the 
preliminary phase of the investigations need not reapply for such 
access. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for 
those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Staff report. The prehearing staff report in the final phase of 
these investigations will be placed in the nonpublic record on Tuesday, 
September 23, 2014, and a public version will be issued thereafter, 
pursuant to section 207.22 of the Commission's rules.
    Hearing. The Commission will hold a hearing in connection with the 
final phase of these investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on 
Wednesday, October 8, 2014, at the U.S. International Trade Commission 
Building. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed in writing 
with the Secretary to the Commission on or before Thursday, October 2, 
2014. A nonparty who has testimony that may aid the Commission's 
deliberations may request permission to present a short statement at 
the hearing. All parties and nonparties desiring to appear at the 
hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing 
conference to be held at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, October 6, 2014, at the 
U.S. International Trade Commission Building. Oral testimony and 
written materials to be submitted at the public hearing are governed by 
sections 201.6(b)(2), 201.13(f), and 207.24 of the Commission's rules. 
Parties must submit any request to present a portion of their hearing 
testimony in camera no later than 7 business days prior to the date of 
the hearing.
    Written submissions. Each party who is an interested party shall 
submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. Prehearing briefs must 
conform with the

[[Page 40145]]

provisions of section 207.23 of the Commission's rules; the deadline 
for filing is Tuesday, September 30, 2014. Parties may also file 
written testimony in connection with their presentation at the hearing, 
as provided in section 207.24 of the Commission's rules, and 
posthearing briefs, which must conform with the provisions of section 
207.25 of the Commission's rules. The deadline for filing posthearing 
briefs is Thursday, October 16, 2014. In addition, any person who has 
not entered an appearance as a party to the investigations may submit a 
written statement of information pertinent to the subject of the 
investigations, including statements of support or opposition to the 
petition, on or before Thursday, October 16, 2014. On Wednesday, 
October 29, 2014, the Commission will make available to parties all 
information on which they have not had an opportunity to comment. 
Parties may submit final comments on this information on or before 
Friday, October 31, 2014, but such final comments must not contain new 
factual information and must otherwise comply with section 207.30 of 
the Commission's rules. All written submissions must conform with the 
provisions of section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions 
that contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of sections 
201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's 
Handbook on E-Filing, available on the Commission's Web site at http://edis.usitc.gov, elaborates upon the Commission's rules with respect to 
electronic filing.
    Additional written submissions to the Commission, including 
requests pursuant to section 201.12 of the Commission's rules, shall 
not be accepted unless good cause is shown for accepting such 
submissions, or unless the submission is pursuant to a specific request 
by a Commissioner or Commission staff.
    In accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's 
rules, each document filed by a party to the investigations must be 
served on all other parties to the investigations (as identified by 
either the public or BPI service list), and a certificate of service 
must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for 
filing without a certificate of service.

    Authority: These investigations are being conducted under 
authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is 
published pursuant to section 207.21 of the Commission's rules.

     Issued: July 8, 2014.

    By order of the Commission.
Jennifer D. Rohrbach,
Supervisory Attorney.
[FR Doc. 2014-16253 Filed 7-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P