[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61605-61606]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24379]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-873]


Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From the Republic of Korea: Final 
Negative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Negative Critical 
Circumstances Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) 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.

DATES: Effective Date: October 14, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Morris or Thomas Schauer, AD/
CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, 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.

Background

    The petitioner in this investigation is AK Steel Corporation 
(Petitioner). This investigation covers 29 government programs. In 
addition to the Government of Korea (GOK), the respondents in this 
investigation are POSCO and Daewoo International Corporation (DWI).

Case History

    The following events have occurred since the Department published 
the Preliminary Determination on March 25, 2014.\1\
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    \1\ See 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, 79 FR 16295 (March 25, 2014) 
(Preliminary Determination).
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    On May 8, 2014, the Department issued a post-preliminary analysis 
memorandum.\2\ The Department conducted verification of the GOK, POSCO, 
and DWI's questionnaire responses from May 13, through May 23, 2014, 
and issued verification reports on June 24, 2014. The GOK submitted a 
case brief on July 8, 2014. No other party submitted a case or rebuttal 
brief.
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    \2\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Post-Preliminary Analysis in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation: Non-Oriented Electrical Steel 
from the Republic of Korea (Korea)'' (May 8, 2014).
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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 I to this 
notice.

Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    The subsidy programs under investigation and the issues raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in this investigation are 
discussed in the Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Non-
Oriented Electrical Steel from the Republic of Korea'' (Issues and 
Decision Memorandum),\3\ which is hereby adopted by this notice. A list 
of subsidy programs and the issues that parties have raised, and to 
which we responded in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, is attached 
to this notice as Appendix II. The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a 
public document and is on file electronically via IA ACCESS. In 
addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly on the Internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and the 
electronic version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical 
in content.
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    \3\ Public versions of all business proprietary documents and 
all public documents are on file electronically via Enforcement and 
Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized 
Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS). Access to IA ACCESS is 
available to registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov and in 
the Department's Central Records Unit, room 7046 of the main 
Department of Commerce building.
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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), we issued a negative 
preliminary critical circumstances determination not later than the 
date of the preliminary determination. For this is final determination, 
since we do not find that POSCO benefitted from any subsidies 
inconsistent with the World Trade Organization Agreement on Subsidies 
and Countervailing Measures,\4\ we have not analyzed whether there were 
massive imports of the subject merchandise over a relatively short 
period. Accordingly, pursuant section 705(a)(2) of the Act, we do not 
find that critical circumstances exist with regard to imports of NOES 
from Korea.
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    \4\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum at ``Programs Determined 
to be Countervailable.''
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Final Determination

    As discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, we attributed 
the benefit from subsidies to DWI to the combined sales of DWI and 
POSCO (less inter-company sales). In accordance with section 
705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), we 
calculated a de minimis rate for POSCO/DWI.
    We determine the total estimated net countervailable subsidy rates 
to be:

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                Company                           Subsidy rate
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POSCO and Daewoo International          0.65 percent (ad valorem).
 Corporation.
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    Consistent with section 705(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department has 
not calculated an all-others rate because it has not reached an 
affirmative final determination. Because the estimated subsidy margins 
for the examined companies are de minimis, we are not directing U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of entries of NOES 
from Korea.

United States International Trade Commission (USITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we notified the USITC 
of our final determination. As our final determination is negative, 
this proceeding is terminated.

[[Page 61606]]

Return or Destruction of Proprietary Information

    This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion 
to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply 
with the regulations and terms of an APO is a violation that is subject 
to sanction.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: October 6, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

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.

Appendix II

List of Comments and Issues in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Subsidies Valuation Analysis of Programs
V. Analysis of Programs
VI. Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1 Minor Corrections at the Verification of the 
Government of Korea
    Comment 2 Regional Specificity and the Restriction of Special 
Taxation Act (RSTA) Article 26
    Comment 3 The Use of Corporate Tax Returns in De Facto 
Specificity Analysis for RSTA Tax Deduction Programs
    Comment 4 Analyzing the Number of Recipients of Certain RSTA Tax 
Programs Based on Average Life Span of Purchased Assets
    Comment 5 Analyzing RSTA Articles 10(1)(1), 10(1)(2), and 
10(1)(3) as One Program
    Comment 6 The Number of RSTA Tax Incentives Recipients and 
``Limited''
    Comment 7 The Korea Export-Import Bank as an ``Authority''
    Comment 8 Support for Acquisitions of Foreign Mines Program and 
De Jure Specificity
    Comment 9 Loans from the Korean Resources Corporation and the 
Korea National Oil Corporation and De Jure Specificity
    Comment 10 The Financial Contribution of DWI's Debt Workout
    Comment 11 DWI's Debt to the Korea Export Insurance Corporation
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2014-24379 Filed 10-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P