[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78051-78053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30432]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-874]


Certain Steel Nails From the Republic of Korea: Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') preliminarily 
determines that certain steel nails (``nails'') from the Republic of 
Korea (``Korea'') are being, or are 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 is April 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. We 
intend to issue the final determination 135 days after publication of 
this preliminary determination in the Federal Register.

DATES: Effective Date: December 29, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jamie Blair-Walker or Drew Jackson, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
2615 or (202) 482-4406, 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 
by 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) (``Initiation 
Notice'').
    \2\ See Certain Steel Nails from the Republic of Korea, 
Malaysia, Taiwan, 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 product covered by this investigation is certain steel nails 
from Korea. For a full description of the scope of the investigation, 
see Appendix I to this notice.\3\
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    \3\ The scope language has not changed from that in the 
Initiation Notice.
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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.\4\
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    \4\ See memorandum to Ronald K. Lorentzen, ``Decision Memorandum 
for the Preliminary Determination in the Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Certain Steel Nails from the Republic of Korea,'' 
(``Preliminary Decision Memorandum'') dated concurrently with 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. Export price (``EP'') and constructed export 
price (``CEP'') have been calculated in accordance with section 772 of 
the Act. Normal value (``NV'') has been calculated in accordance with 
section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 
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 
(ACCESS).\5\ ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov, and is

[[Page 78052]]

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.
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    \5\ On November 24, 2014, Enforcement and Compliance changed the 
name of the Import Administration AD and CVD Centralized Electronic 
Service System (``IA ACCESS'') to AD and CVD Centralized Electronic 
Service System (``ACCESS''). The Web site location was changed from 
http://iaaccess.trade.gov to http://access.trade.gov. See 
Enforcement and Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 
79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014).
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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 any zero or de 
minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 
of the Act. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for all 
exporters and producers individually examined are zero, de minimis or 
determined based entirely under section 776 of the Act, the Department 
may use any reasonable method to establish the estimated dumping margin 
for all other producers or exporters.
    Because we individually examined two companies in this 
investigation, basing the estimated dumping margin for the companies 
not individually examined on a weighted-average of the dumping margins 
for the two individually examined companies risks disclosure of 
business proprietary information (``BPI''). Therefore, we calculated 
both a weighted-average of the dumping margins calculated for the two 
mandatory respondents using public values for their sales of subject 
merchandise and a simple average of these two dumping margins, and 
selected, as the separate rate, the average that provides a more 
accurate proxy for the weighted-average margin of both companies 
calculated using BPI. For further discussion of this calculation, see 
memorandum entitled ``Calculation of the All Others Rate for the 
Preliminary Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
Certain Steel Nails from the Republic of Korea,'' dated concurrently 
with this notice.

Preliminary Determination

    In accordance with section 733(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the 
Department calculated weighted-average dumping margins for the 
following individually investigated exporters or producers of subject 
merchandise: Daejin Steel \6\ and Jinheung Steel. The Department 
preliminarily determines that the following weighted-average dumping 
margins exist during the period April 1, 2013, through March 31, 2014:
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    \6\ On July 28, 2014, the Department selected Daejin Steel Co. 
Ltd. as a mandatory respondent. On August 4, 2014, Daejin Steel 
informed the Department that the correct name of the company is 
simply Daejin Steel.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                  Producer or exporter                    dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Daejin Steel............................................           12.38
Jinheung Steel Corporation..............................            2.13
All Others..............................................            7.26
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to 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 submitting case briefs.\7\ 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); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce. All documents must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed request must be 
received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\8\ 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 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.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, the Department intends 
to verify the information submitted by Daejin Steel and Jinheung Steel 
and its affiliates prior to making a final determination in this 
investigation.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act, Petitioner, Daejin Steel, 
and Jinheung Steel requested that the Department postpone the final 
determination. Additionally, Daejin Steel and Jinheung Steel 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 six-month period. Pursuant to requests from Petitioner, 
Daejin Steel, and Jinheung Steel 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 date 
of publication of this preliminary determination. \9\ The suspension of 
liquidation described below will be extended accordingly.\10\
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    \9\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) and (e); see also Letter from 
Daejin Steel to the Department, regarding ``Certain Steel Nails from 
the Republic of Korea; Extension Request for Final Results,'' dated 
December 9, 2014; Letter from Jinheung Steel to the Department, 
regarding ``Antidumping Investigation of Certain Steel Nails from 
Korea--Extension Request,'' dated December 9, 2014; see also Letter 
from Petitioner to the Department, regarding ``Certain Steel Nails 
from the Republic of Korea: Extension Request of Final 
Determination,'' dated December 10, 2014.
    \10\ Id.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we are directing 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to suspend liquidation of 
all entries of nails 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)(1)(B) 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 NV exceeds EP, or CEP as indicated in the 
chart above.\11\ These

[[Page 78053]]

suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
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    \11\ 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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U.S. International Trade Commission (``ITC'') Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
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 nails 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.
    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 Investigation

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

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Postponement of Preliminary Determination
V. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
VI. Scope of the Investigation
VII. Scope Comment
VIII. Respondent Selection
IX. Discussion of Methodology
    A. Fair Value Comparisons
    (1) Determination of the Comparison Method
    (2) Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
X. Product Comparisons
XI. Date of Sale
XII. Affiliation
XIII. Export Price/Constructed Export Price
XIV. Normal Value
    Daejin Steel
    A. Comparison-Market Viability
    B. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Constructed Value
    Jinheung Steel
    A. Home Market Viability
    B. Affiliated Party Transactions and Arm's-Length Test
    C. Level of Trade
    D. Cost of Production
    E. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Comparison Market Prices
XV. Currency Conversion
XVI. U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
XVII. Disclosure and Public Comment
XVIII. Verification
XIX. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2014-30432 Filed 12-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P