[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 212 (Monday, November 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65178-65179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26071]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-523-809]


Certain Steel Nails From the Sultanate of Oman: Preliminary 
Negative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final 
Countervailing Duty Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 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 certain steel nails (nails) from the 
Sultanate of Oman (Oman). The period of investigation is January 1, 
2013, through December 31, 2013. Interested parties are invited to 
comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: November 3, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dana Mermelstein or Trisha Tran, 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-
1391 and (202) 482-4852, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 25, 2014, the Department initiated 
this countervailing duty (CVD) investigation.\1\ On the same day, the 
Department also initiated an antidumping duty (AD) investigation of 
nails from Oman.\2\ On August 7, in response to a request from the 
Petitioner, Mid-Continent Steel & Wire, Inc., the Department postponed 
the preliminary determinations in the CVD investigations.
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    \1\ See Certain Steel Nails From India, the Republic of Korea, 
Malaysia, the Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, the Republic of Turkey, and 
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 79 FR 36014 (June 25, 2014).
    \2\ See Certain Steel Nails From the Republic of Korea, 
Malaysia, the Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, and the Socialist Republic 
of Vietnam: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations, 79 FR 
36019 (June 25, 2014).
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Alignment of Final Countervailing Duty (CVD) Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty (AD) Determination

    In accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act) and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), and based on Petitioner's 
request, we are aligning the final CVD determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the companion AD 
investigation of nails from Oman. 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 
March 2, 2015, unless postponed.

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain steel nails. 
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.\3\ 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/index.html. The signed Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \3\ 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 Certain Steel Nails from 
Oman,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum). For a list of topics discussed in 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, see Appendix 2 to this notice.
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    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated a CVD rate for Oman Fasteners LLC, the only individually 
investigated producer/exporter of the subject merchandise.

Preliminary Determination

    We preliminarily determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Company                            Subsidy rate
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Oman Fasteners LLC.....................  0.25 percent (de minimis).\4\
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[[Page 65179]]

    Consistent with section 703(d) of the Act, the Department has not 
calculated an all-others rate because it has not reached an affirmative 
preliminarily determination. Because the estimated subsidy rate for the 
examined company is de minimis, we will not direct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection to suspend liquidation of entries of subject 
merchandise from Oman.
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    \4\ In accordance with 703(b)(4) of the Act, we are disregarding 
de minimis subsidies for the purposes of this preliminary 
determination.
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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 its public announcement.\5\ 
Interested parties may submit case and rebuttal briefs,\6\ and 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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    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c) and (d).
    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.510.
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    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: October 27, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix 1

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain steel 
nails having a nominal shaft length not exceeding 12 inches.\8\ 
Certain steel nails include, but are not limited to, nails made from 
round wire and nails that are cut from flat-rolled steel. Certain 
steel nails may be of one piece construction or constructed of two 
or more pieces. Certain steel nails may be produced from any type of 
steel, and may have any type of surface finish, head type, shank, 
point type and shaft diameter. Finishes include, but are not limited 
to, coating in vinyl, zinc (galvanized, including but not limited to 
electroplating or hot dipping one or more times), phosphate, cement, 
and paint. Certain steel nails may have one or more surface 
finishes. Head styles include, but are not limited to, flat, 
projection, cupped, oval, brad, headless, double, countersunk, and 
sinker. Shank styles include, but are not limited to, smooth, 
barbed, screw threaded, ring shank and fluted. Screw-threaded nails 
subject to this proceeding are driven using direct force and not by 
turning the nail using a tool that engages with the head. Point 
styles include, but are not limited to, diamond, needle, chisel and 
blunt or no point. Certain steel nails may be sold in bulk, or they 
may be collated in any manner using any material. If packaged in 
combination with one or more non-subject articles, certain steel 
nails remain subject merchandise if the total number of nails of all 
types, in aggregate regardless of size, is equal to or greater than 
25.
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    \8\ The shaft length of certain steel nails with flat heads or 
parallel shoulders under the head shall be measured from under the 
head or shoulder to the tip of the point. The shaft length of all 
other certain steel nails shall be measured overall.
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    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are certain steel 
nails packaged in combination with one or more non-subject articles, 
if the total number of nails of all types, in aggregate regardless 
of size, is less than 25.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are steel 
nails that meet the specifications of Type I, Style 20 nails as 
identified in Tables 29 through 33 of ASTM Standard F1667 (2013 
revision).
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are nails 
suitable for use in powder-actuated hand tools, whether or not 
threaded, which are currently classified under Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'') subheadings 7317.00.20.00 
and 7317.00.30.00.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are nails 
having a case hardness greater than or equal to 50 on the Rockwell 
Hardness C scale (``HRC''), a carbon content greater than or equal 
to 0.5 percent, a round head, a secondary reduced-diameter raised 
head section, a centered shank, and a smooth symmetrical point, 
suitable for use in gas-actuated hand tools.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are 
corrugated nails. A corrugated nail is made up of a small strip of 
corrugated steel with sharp points on one side.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are thumb 
tacks, which are currently classified under HTSUS 7317.00.10.00.
    Certain steel nails subject to this investigation are currently 
classified under HTSUS subheadings 7317.00.55.02, 7317.00.55.03, 
7317.00.55.05, 7317.00.55.07, 7317.00.55.08, 7317.00.55.11, 
7317.00.55.18, 7317.00.55.19, 7317.00.55.20, 7317.00.55.30, 
7317.00.55.40, 7317.00.55.50, 7317.00.55.60, 7317.00.55.70, 
7317.00.55.80, 7317.00.55.90, 7317.00.65.30, 7317.00.65.60 and 
7317.00.75.00. Certain steel nails subject to this investigation 
also may be classified under HTSUS subheading 8206.00.00.00.
    While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this 
investigation is dispositive.

Appendix 2

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Alignment
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Injury Test
VII. Subsidies Valuation
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Calculation of the All Others Rate
X. United States International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
XI. Disclosure and Public Comment
XII. Verification
XIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2014-26071 Filed 10-31-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P