[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78058-78061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30431]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-552-818]


Certain Steel Nails From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

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

DATES: Effective Date: December 29, 2014.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that certain steel nails from the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United 
States at less than fair value, as provided in section 733(b) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The period of investigation 
is October 1, 2013, through March 31, 2014. The estimated weighted-
average dumping margins are shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' 
section of this notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination. The Department intends to issue the 
final determination 135 days after publication of this preliminary 
determination in the Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edythe Artman or Dena Crossland, 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-
3931 and (202) 482-3362, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department published the notice of initiation of this 
investigation on June 25, 2014.\1\ Pursuant to section 733(c)(1)(A) of 
the Act, the Department postponed this preliminary LTFV determination 
42 days until December 17, 2014.\2\
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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: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 79 FR 36019 (June 25, 2014) (Initation 
Notice). On the same day, the Department initiated a countervailing 
duty investigation of certain steel nails from Vietnam. 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: Initiation of Countervailing Duty 
Investigations, 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: Postponement of Preliminary Determination of Antidumping 
Duty Investigations, 79 FR 63082 (October 22, 2014).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain steel nails 
from Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of the 
investigation, see Appendix I to this notice.

Scope Comments

    Several interested parties (i.e., IKEA Supply AG and IKEA 
Distributions Services Inc. (collectively IKEA), Target Corporation, 
and The Home Depot) submitted comments to the Department on the scope 
of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice, and Mid 
Continent Steel & Wire, Inc. (Petitioner) submitted rebuttal comments. 
For discussion of those comments and rebuttal comments, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum to Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, from Christian Marsh, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination 
of the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Steel Nails 
from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated concurrently with 
this determination and hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the 
topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum appears in 
Appendix II, below.
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Methodology

    The Department conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. We calculated export prices in accordance with 
section 772 of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy within 
the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, we calculated normal value 
in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ 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 (ACCESS).\5\ 
ACCESS is available to guest and registered users at http://access.trade.gov and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room 
7046 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, parties 
can obtain a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 
http://trade.gov/enforcement/frn/index.html. The signed and electronic 
versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content.
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    \4\ Id.
    \5\ On November 24, 2014, Enforcement and Compliance changed the 
name of the Import Administration Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS) Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System 
(ACCESS). The Web site location was changed from http://iaaccess.trade.gov to http://access.trade.gov. The Final Rule 
changing the references to the Regulations can be found at: 79 FR 
69046 (November 20, 2014).
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Use of Facts Available

    For the Vietnam-wide entity, we applied facts otherwise available 
with an adverse inference, pursuant to section 776(a)(1) and (b) of the 
Act. For a detailed discussion of this finding, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum at section ``The Vietnam-wide Entity.''
    For Region Industries Co., Ltd., we applied facts otherwise 
available, pursuant to section 776(a)(1) of the Act, for factor input 
information for a toller who performed electroplating on subject 
merchandise but did not respond to Region Industries' request for input 
information. For a detailed discussion of this finding, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum at section ``Facts Available for Region 
Industries.''

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that it would 
calculate combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a 
separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 05.1 describes 
this practice.\6\
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    \6\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on 
the Department's Web site at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination

    In accordance with section 733(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the 
Department calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margins for 
the individually investigated exporters

[[Page 78059]]

and producers of subject merchandise, listed below. The Department 
preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins exist for these individually investigated exporters and 
producers exist for the period October 1, 2013, through March 31, 2014:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
             Exporter                     Producer            dumping
                                                              margin
                                                           (percentage)
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Region International Co., Ltd.....  Region Industries             103.88
                                     Co., Ltd.
United Nail Products Co., Ltd.....  United Nail Products           93.42
                                     Co., Ltd.
Kosteel Vina Limited Company......  Kosteel Vina Limited           98.65
                                     Company.
Vietnam-Wide Entity *.............  ....................          323.99
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, the Vietnam-wide
  entity includes the following exporters/producers: Cong Ty Tnhh Cong
  Nghe Nhua A Chau, Kim Tin Group, Megastar Co., Ltd. and Simone
  Accessories Collection.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, the Department intends 
to verify the information submitted by Region International Co., Ltd., 
and its affiliated producer, Region Industries Co., Ltd. and United 
Nail Products Co., Ltd. prior to making a final determination in this 
investigation.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department intends to disclose the calculations performed for 
this preliminary determination to parties within five days of 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 via ACCESS no later 
than no later than seven days after the date on which the final 
verification report is issued in this proceeding \7\ and rebuttal 
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, must be submitted 
via ACCESS no later than five days after the deadline for filing case 
briefs.\8\ 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.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, or to participate in a hearing if one is requested, 
must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance. An electronically filed request must be 
submitted via ACCESS within 30 days after the date of publication of 
this notice. Electronically filed case briefs/written comments and 
hearing requests must be received successfully in their entirety by the 
Department's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time. Hearing requests should contain: (1) The party's name, 
address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants in the 
hearing; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed at the hearing. 
If a request for a hearing is made, 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 should confirm by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing, two days before the scheduled date.
    All documents submitted to ACCESS must be received successfully in 
their entirety by no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day in 
which the document is due.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act, Region Industries Co., 
Ltd. and United Nail Products Co., Ltd. requested that, in the event of 
an affirmative preliminary determination in this investigation, the 
Department postpone its final determination and extend provisional 
measures from four months to six months.\9\ Additionally, Region 
Industries Co., Ltd. and United Nail Products Co., Ltd. agreed 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 six-month period. Pursuant to requests from Region 
Industries Co., Ltd. and United Nail Products Co., Ltd. and in 
accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii) and (e)(2),we will make our final determination no 
later than 135 days after the publication of this preliminary 
determination. The suspension of liquidation described below will be 
extended accordingly.
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    \9\ See Letter from Region Industries Co., Ltd. and United Nail 
Products Co., Ltd., ``Certain Steel Nails from Vietnam; Extension 
Request for Final Results,'' dated December 9, 2014.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, the Department 
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 
liquidation of all entries of certain steel nails from Vietnam, as 
described in the scope of the investigation in Attachment 1 of this 
notice, which are 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 \10\ equal to the estimated 
weighted-average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. price, 
adjusted where appropriate for export subsidies \11\ and estimated 
domestic subsidy pass-through,\12\ as follows: (1) The cash deposit 
rates for the exporter/producer combinations listed in the table above 
will be the rate identified for that combination in the table; (2) for 
all combinations of Vietnamese exporters/producers of merchandise under 
consideration that have not received their own separate rate above, the 
cash-deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate established for the 
Vietnam-wide entity, 323.99 percent; and (3) for all non-Vietnamese 
exporters

[[Page 78060]]

of merchandise under consideration which have not received their own 
separate rate above, the cash-deposit rate will be the cash deposit 
rate applicable to the Vietnamese exporter/producer combination that 
supplied that non-Vietnamese exporter. These suspension of liquidation 
and cash deposit instructions will remain in effect until further 
notice.
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    \10\ 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).
    \11\ See section 772(c)(1)(C) of the Act. Unlike in 
administrative reviews, the Department calculates the adjustment for 
export subsidies in investigations not in the margin calculation 
program, but in the cash deposit instructions issued to CBP. See 
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, and 
Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain Lined 
Paper Products from India, 71 FR 45012 (August 8, 2006), and 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 1.
    \12\ See section 777A(f) of the Act. For further discussion, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum at the section, ``Section 
777A(f) of the Act.''
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    Furthermore, as stated above and consistent with our practice, we 
will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the amount by 
which normal value exceeds the export price or constructed export 
price, less the amount of the countervailing duty rate determined to be 
attributable to an export subsidy. With regard to Region Industries 
Co., Ltd., export subsidies constitute 8.34 percent \13\ of Region 
Industries Co., Ltd.'s preliminarily calculated countervailing duty 
rate in the companion countervailing duty investigation. Therefore, we 
will offset Region Industries Co., Ltd.'s antidumping duty cash deposit 
rate by the countervailing duty rate attributable to export subsidies 
(i.e., 8.34 percent) to calculate its preliminary cash deposit rate for 
this LTFV investigation. We have not adjusted the preliminary cash 
deposit rate for United Nail Products Co., Ltd. for export subsidies 
because the amount of its preliminary calculated countervailing duty 
rate in the companion countervailing duty investigation attributable to 
export subsidies is de minimis.\14\ With respect to the separate rate 
company which was not individually investigated, we have adjusted its 
antidumping duty cash deposit rate to account for export subsidies 
because this company is currently subject to the countervailing duty 
rate calculated for ``All Others'' in the preliminary determination of 
the companion countervailing duty investigation, and we did include 
export subsidies (i.e., 8.34 percent) in the calculation of that 
countervailing duty rate.\15\ Accordingly, we have adjusted the 
antidumping duty cash deposit rate for the separate rate company. With 
respect to the Vietnam-wide entity, we find that an export-subsidy 
adjustment is warranted because an export subsidy amount (i.e., 8.34 
percent) was included in a countervailing duty rate to which Vietnam-
wide entries are currently subject. Accordingly, we have also adjusted 
the antidumping duty cash deposit rate for the Vietnam-wide entity.
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    \13\ See Certain Steel Nails From the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination 
and Alignment of Final Countervailing Duty Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination, 79 FR 65184 (November 3, 2014), and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 20.
    \14\ See id.
    \15\ See id. at 65185.
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    We are not adjusting the preliminary determination rates for 
estimated domestic subsidy pass-through because we have no basis upon 
which to make such an adjustment.\16\
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    \16\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at the section, 
``Section 777A(f) of the Act.''
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our preliminary affirmative 
determination of sales at less than fair value. 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 
certain steel nails from Vietnam 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 the publication of this 
determination, as described immediately above, the ITC will make its 
final determination no later than 45 days after our final 
determination.
    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: December 17, 2014.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain steel 
nails having a nominal shaft length not exceeding 12 inches.\17\ 
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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    \17\ 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 II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Background

[[Page 78061]]

2. Period of Investigation
3. Scope of Investigation
4. Scope Comments
5. Respondent Selection
6. Discussion of the Methodology
    a. Non-Market Economy Country
    b. Separate Rates Determination
    c. The Vietnam-Wide Entity
    d. Single-Entity Treatment
    e. Facts Available
    f. Surrogate Country
    g. Surrogate Value Comments
    h. Combination Rates
    i. Date of Sale
    j. Normal Value
    k. Factor Valuation Methodology
    l. Comparisons to Normal Value
    m. Currency Conversion
7. Verification
8. Section 777A(f) of the Act
9. U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
10. Disclosure and Public Comment
11. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2014-30431 Filed 12-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P