[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28959-28962]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12247]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-583-854]


Certain Steel Nails From Taiwan: Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) determines that 
imports of certain steel nails from Taiwan are being sold in the United 
States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 735 of 
the Tariff Act

[[Page 28960]]

of 1930, as amended (the Act). The final weighted-average dumping 
margins of sales at LTFV are listed below in the section entitled 
``Final Determination Margins.''

DATES: Effective Date: May 20, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Cho or Scott Hoefke, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
5075 or (202) 482-4947.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 29, 2014, the Department published in the Federal 
Register the preliminary determination in the LTFV investigation of 
Certain Steel Nails from Taiwan.\1\ In the Preliminary Determination, 
we postponed the final determination until no later than 135 days after 
the publication of the Preliminary Determination in accordance with 
section 735(a)(2)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(i) and invited 
parties to comment on our Preliminary Determination.
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    \1\ See Certain Steel Nails From Taiwan: Negative Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of 
Final Determination, 79 FR 78053, 78054 (December 29, 2014) 
(Preliminary Determination).
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    On the same day, we received timely-filed allegations from 
Respondents \2\ that the Department made ministerial errors in 
calculating their dumping margins in this proceeding.\3\ Also on 
December 29, 2014, we received allegations from Petitioner \4\ that the 
Department made significant ministerial errors in calculating the 
dumping margins for the Preliminary Determination.\5\ In addition, 
Petitioner requested a disclosure meeting.\6\ Subsequently, Respondents 
also requested to attend the disclosure meeting.\7\ On January 7, 2015, 
the Department held disclosure meetings with both parties.\8\
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    \2\ The mandatory respondents are PT Enterprise, Inc. (PT) and 
its affiliated manufacturer, Pro-Team Coil Nail Enterprise, Inc. 
(Proteam); and Quick Advance, Inc. (Quick Advance) and its 
affiliated manufacturer, Ko's Nail, Inc. (Ko) (collectively, 
Respondents).
    \3\ See Letter from Respondents, regarding ``PT Enterprise and 
Quick Advance, Request to Correct Clerical Errors in Preliminary 
Determination; Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Steel Nails 
from Taiwan,'' dated December 29, 2014 (Respondents Allegations 
Letter).
    \4\ The petitioner is Mid Continent Steel & Wire, Inc. 
(Petitioner).
    \5\ See Letter from Petitioner, regarding ``Certain Steel Nails 
from Taiwan: Allegations of Significant Ministerial Error and 
Request for Disclosure Meeting,'' dated December 29, 2014 
(Petitioner Allegations Letter).
    \6\ Id.
    \7\ See Letter from Respondents, regarding ``PT Enterprise and 
Quick Advance, Request to Attend Disclosure Meeting; Antidumping 
Duty Investigation of Certain Steel Nails from Taiwan,'' dated 
January 6, 2014.
    \8\ See Memoranda to the file from Scott Hoefke, ``Certain Steel 
Nails from Taiwan,'' regarding ex parte disclosure meetings with 
Petitioner and Respondents, dated January 8, 2014.
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    Between January 26, 2015, and February 6, 2015, the Department 
conducted verifications in Taiwan of the sales and cost information 
submitted by Quick Advance, Ko, PT and Proteam. In accordance with 19 
CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i), we invited parties to comment on our Preliminary 
Determination. On March 30, 2015, the Department released its 
Ministerial Error Allegation Memo.\9\ On March 31, 2015, Petitioner and 
Respondents submitted case briefs. Each of these parties submitted 
rebuttal briefs on April 9, 2015.
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    \9\ See the Department's March 20, 2015, Memorandum to Christian 
Marsh entitled, ``Ministerial Error Allegations in the Preliminary 
Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Steel 
Nails from Taiwan,'' (Ministerial Error Allegation Memo).
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Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation is April 1, 2013, through March 31, 
2014.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is certain steel nails 
from Taiwan. For a full description of the scope of the investigation, 
see Appendix I to this notice.
    Since the Preliminary Determination, several interested parties 
(i.e., IKEA Supply AG, The Home Depot, Target Corporation, and 
Petitioner) commented on the scope of these investigations. The 
Department reviewed these comments and made certain changes. For 
further discussion, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\10\ The 
scope in Appendix I reflects all modifications to the scope made by the 
Department for this final determination.
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    \10\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, from 
Abdelali Elouaradia, Office Director, Office VI, Enforcement and 
Compliance Operations, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Affirmative Final Determination in the Less than Fair Value 
Investigation of Certain Nails from Taiwan,'' dated concurrently 
with this determination and hereby adopted by this notice.
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, in January 2015 through 
February 2015, we conducted verification of the sales and cost 
information submitted by PT Enterprises, Inc. (PT) and its affiliated 
producer Pro-Team Coil Nail Enterprise, Inc. (Proteam), and Quick 
Advance, Inc. (Quick Advance) and its affiliated producer Ko's Nail, 
Inc. (Ko) for use in our final determination. We used standard 
verification procedures including an examination of relevant accounting 
and production records, and original source documents provided by PT 
and its affiliate, Proteam, and Quick Advance and its affiliate, 
Ko.\11\
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    \11\ See Quick Advance's February 26, 2015, Memorandum to the 
File entitled, ``Verification of the Sales Response of Quick 
Advance, Inc. and Ko's Nail, Inc. in the Investigation of Nails from 
Taiwan'' (Quick Advance's sales verification memo); PT's February 
26, 2015, Memorandum to the File entitled, ``Verification of the 
Sales Response of PT Enterprises, Inc. and Proteam Coil Nail 
Enterprises. Inc. in the Investigation of Nails from Taiwan'' (PT's 
sales verification memo); Memorandum from Gina K. Lee to Neal M. 
Halper entitled, ``Verification of the Cost Response of Quick 
Advance Inc. and Ko Nail Inc. in the Antidumping Duty Investigation 
of Certain Steel Nails from Taiwan, dated March 18, 2015 (Ko's Cost 
Verification Report); and also see Memorandum from Laurens Van 
Houten to Neal M. Halper entitled, ``Verification of the Cost 
Response of PT Enterprise Inc. in the Antidumping Duty Investigation 
of Certain Steel Nails from Taiwan,'' dated March 19, 2015 (PT's 
Cost Verification Report).
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in 
this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. 
A list of the issues raised is attached to this notice as Appendix II. 
The Issues and 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). 
ACCESS is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov; the 
memorandum 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 Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed 
directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov. The signed and electronic 
versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties, and minor corrections presented at verification, we made 
certain changes to Respondents' margin calculations since the 
Preliminary Determination. As a result of those changes, the Department 
is no longer making a negative determination of sales at less than fair 
value. For a discussion of these changes,

[[Page 28961]]

see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
    For Quick Advance:
     We used an updated sales and cost database submitted by 
Quick Advance which reflects minor corrections and findings from the 
sales and cost verifications.
     We revised the programing language to reflect the changes 
to constructed value (CV).
     We revised the calculation of CV.
     We added in lines of code to take into account quantity 
adjustments.
     We added credit expenses and inventory carrying cost 
incurred in Taiwan to account for expenses reported in Taiwanese 
dollars.
     We made changes to Quick Advance's reported cost data as 
set forth in the Quick Advance's Final Cost Memo.
    For PT:
     We used updated sale database by PT which reflect minor 
corrections presented during the verification of these companies.
     We revised the programing language to reflect the changes 
to CV.
     We revised the calculation of CV.
     We added in lines of code to take into account quantity 
adjustments.
     We made changes to PT's reported cost data as set forth in 
the PT's Final Cost Memo.

Final Determination

    The Department determines that the following weighted-average 
dumping margins exist for the period April 1, 2013, through March 31, 
2014:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Weighted-average
                 Exporter or producer                    dumping margin
                                                           (percent)
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Quick Advance Inc....................................               0.00
PT Enterprises Inc...................................               2.24
All Others...........................................               2.24
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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. The weighted-average margin for exporters and producers 
individually investigated that meets these criteria is that of PT. 
Therefore, the All-Others rate is the rate calculated for PT, as 
indicated in the ``Final Determination Margins'' section above.

Disclosure

    We will disclose to parties in this proceeding the calculations 
performed for this final determination within five days of the date of 
public announcement of our final determination, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.224(b).

Suspension of Liquidation

    Pursuant to sections 735(c)(1)(B) and (C) 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 Taiwan, 
except for those from Quick Advance, which are entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of 
the final determination. For Quick Advance and Ko, because their 
estimated weighted-average final dumping margins are zero, we are not 
directing CBP to suspend liquidation of entries of nails produced and 
exported by these companies. We will not instruct CBP to suspend 
liquidation of any entries of certain steel nails from as described in 
the ``Scope of the Investigation'' in Appendix I which are entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice. We will instruct CBP to require a cash 
deposit equal to the weighted-average amount by which normal value 
exceeds U.S. price, as follows: (1) The rate for PT will be the rate we 
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a 
firm identified in this investigation but the producer is, the rate 
will be the rate established for the producer of the subject 
merchandise; (3) the rate for all other producers or exporters will be 
2.24 percent. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain 
in effect until further notice.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of our final determination. 
As our final determination is affirmative, in accordance with section 
735(b)(3) of the Act, the ITC will determine within 75 days whether the 
domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or 
threatened with material injury, by reason of imports or sales (or the 
likelihood of sales) for importation of the subject merchandise. If the 
ITC determines that such injury exists, the Department will issue an 
antidumping duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further 
instruction by the Department, antidumping duties on all imports of the 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation.

Return or Destruction of Proprietary Information

    This notice will serve as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of the destruction of APO materials or conversion to 
judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with 
the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing this determination and notice in 
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: May 13, 2015.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations.

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.\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.
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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

[[Page 28962]]

types, in aggregate regardless of size, is less than 25. 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, unless otherwise excluded based on the other exclusions below.
    Also excluded from the scope are certain steel nails with a 
nominal shaft length of one inch or less that are (a) a component of 
an unassembled article, (b) the total number of nails is sixty (60) 
or less, and (c) the imported unassembled article falls into one of 
the following eight groupings: (1) Builders' joinery and carpentry 
of wood that are classifiable as windows, French-windows and their 
frames; (2) builders' joinery and carpentry of wood that are 
classifiable as doors and their frames and thresholds; (3) swivel 
seats with variable height adjustment; (4) seats that are 
convertible into beds (with the exception of those classifiable as 
garden seats or camping equipment); (5) seats of cane, osier, bamboo 
or similar materials; (6) other seats with wooden frames (with the 
exception of seats of a kind used for aircraft or motor vehicles); 
(7) furniture (other than seats) of wood (with the exception of i) 
medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture; and ii) barbers' 
chairs and similar chairs, having rotating as well as both reclining 
and elevating movements); or (8) furniture (other than seats) of 
materials other than wood, metal, or plastics (e.g., furniture of 
cane, osier, bamboo or similar materials). The aforementioned 
imported unassembled articles are currently classified under the 
following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheadings: 4418.10, 4418.20, 9401.30, 9401.40, 9401.51, 9401.59, 
9401.61, 9401.69, 9403.30, 9403.40, 9403.50, 9403.60, 9403.81 or 
9403.89.
    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 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 subheading 
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 or other 
HTSUS subheadings.
    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 Issues and Decision Memorandum

Case Issues:

I. Summary
II. General Issues
III. Background
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Scope Comments
VI. Discussion of the Issues
VII. Conclusion

General Issues

Comment 1: Taiwan Nails CV Profit and the Use of Financial 
Statements
Comment 2: The Department Should Rely on the Average-to-Average 
Methodology without Zeroing in the Final Determination
Comment 3: The Department Should Determine that Quick Advance and PT 
are Affiliated with Their Respective Largest U.S. Customers
Comment 4: Whether a Middleman Dumping Investigation is Warranted
Comment 5: The Department's Calculation of Constructed Value for PT 
and Quick Advance
Comment 6: The Department's Calculation of Surrogate Credit Expense 
Ratio
Comment 7: The Department's Calculation of Indirect and Direct 
Selling Expense Ratio to Categorize Chun Yu's Works & Co.'s Selling 
Expenses
Comment 8: The Department's Calculation of Indirect and Direct 
Selling Expense Ratio to Properly Account for OFCO's Selling 
Expenses
Comment 9: The Department's Treatment of PT's and Quick Advance's 
U.S. Prices for Commission/Compensation Paid to its Unaffiliated 
Taiwanese Selling Agent and Unaffiliated Taiwanese Trading Company

Issues Pertaining to PT and Proteam

Comment 10: The Department Should Assign Partial AFA to PT's 
Unreported Sales of Subject Merchandise
Comment 11: Transactions disregarded--Tolling Activities
Comment 12: Threading Costs
Comment 13: General and Administrative Expense

Issues Pertaining to Quick Advance and Ko

Comment 14: The Department Should Rely on Quick Advance/Ko's Section 
C Database Submitted After Verification
Comment 15: Ko's Raw Materials
Comment 16: Ko's Phosphate Coating Costs

[FR Doc. 2015-12247 Filed 5-19-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P