[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 99 (Friday, May 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29620-29622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-12523]



[[Page 29620]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-876]


Welded Line Pipe From the Republic of Korea: 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 welded line pipe from the Republic of Korea (Korea) is 
being, or is 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 (POI) is October 1, 
2013, through September 30, 2014. The estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the ``Preliminary 
Determination'' section of this notice. Interested parties are invited 
to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective date: May 22, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Goldberger or Katherine Johnson, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4136 or (202) 482-4929, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department initiated this investigation on November 5, 2014. 
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation 
of this investigation, see the memorandum that is dated concurrently 
with this determination and hereby adopted by this notice.\1\ 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). 
ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov, 
and 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 found at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.
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    \1\ See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to 
Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, 
``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the 
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Welded Line Pipe from the Republic 
of Korea,'' (Preliminary Decision Memorandum), dated concurrently 
with this notice.
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Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of the investigation covers welded line pipe, which is 
carbon and alloy steel pipe of a kind used for oil and gas pipelines, 
not more than 24 inches in nominal outside diameter. For a complete 
description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the 
investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.\2\ For 
discussion of those comments, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \2\ See Welded Line Pipe from the Republic of Korea and the 
Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 79 FR 68213 (November 14, 2014) (Initiation Notice).
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. There are two respondents participating in this 
investigation, Hyundai HYSCO (HYSCO) and SeAH Steel Corporation (SeAH). 
Export price (EP) and constructed export price (CEP) are calculated in 
accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value (NV) is calculated 
in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Consistent with sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5) of the Act, 
the Department also calculated an estimated all-others rate. Section 
735(c)(5)(B) 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 and de minimis 
margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the 
Act.
    In this investigation, we calculated weighted-average dumping 
margins for both mandatory respondents that are above de minimis and 
which are not based on total facts available. However, because there 
are only two relevant weighted-average dumping margins for these 
preliminary results, using a weighted-average of these two rates risks 
disclosure of business proprietary data. Therefore, the Department 
assigned a margin to the all-others rate companies based on the simple 
average of the two mandatory respondents' rates.\3\
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    \3\ With two respondents, we would normally calculate (A) a 
weighted-average of the dumping margins calculated for the mandatory 
respondents; (B) a simple average of the dumping margins calculated 
for the mandatory respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the 
dumping margins calculated for the mandatory respondents using each 
company's publicly-ranged values for the merchandise under 
consideration. We would compare (B) and (C) to (A) and select the 
rate closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all other 
companies. See Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof From France, Germany, 
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 
(September 1, 2010). In this case, however, we do not have complete 
publicly ranged quantities for SeAH on the record to properly 
conduct this comparison. Therefore, we are using a simple-average of 
the dumping margins calculated for the mandatory respondents as the 
all-other's rate for this preliminary determination, and we intend 
to ask SeAH to provide a complete publicly ranged summary of its 
U.S. sales quantities for consideration in the final determination.
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Preliminary Determination

    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter/manufacturer                       dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hyundai HYSCO...............................................        2.52
SeAH Steel Corporation......................................        2.67
All Others..................................................        2.60
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 welded line pipe from Korea, as described in the scope of 
the investigation section 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.
    In accordance with 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 the U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above. Our 
longstanding practice, where the product under investigation is also 
subject to a concurrent countervailing duty investigation, is to 
subtract the amount of countervailing duty determined to constitute an 
export subsidy from the amount by which NV exceeds U.S.

[[Page 29621]]

price.\4\ In this case, although the product under investigation is 
also subject to a countervailing duty investigation, the Department 
preliminarily found no countervailing duty determined to constitute an 
export subsidy.\5\ Therefore, we have not offset the cash deposit rates 
shown above for purposes of this preliminary determination.
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    \4\ See, e.g., Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 From India, 69 FR 
67306, 67307 (November 17, 2004); and Notice of Final Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Negative Critical Circumstances 
Determination: Bottom Mount Combination Refrigerator-Freezers From 
the Republic of Korea, 77 FR 17413 (March 26, 2012).
    \5\ See Welded Line Pipe From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary 
Negative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final 
Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 80 FR 14907 
(March 20, 2015), and accompanying Decision Memorandum.
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Disclosure

    We will disclose the calculations performed to interested parties 
in this proceeding within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we intend to verify 
information relied upon in making our final determination.

Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination. 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, and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues 
raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after 
the deadline date for case briefs.\6\ 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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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
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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.\7\ 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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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) requires that requests by 
respondents for postponement of a final antidumping determination be 
accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from a 
four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.
    Certain of the petitioners \8\ requested that, in the event of a 
negative preliminary determination, the Department postpone its final 
determination to 135 days after the date of publication of the 
preliminary determination.\9\ In addition, both HYSCO and SeAH 
requested that, in the event of an affirmative preliminary 
determination in this investigation, the Department postpone its final 
determination and 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 period not to exceed six 
months.\10\
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    \8\ These companies include American Cast Iron Pipe Company, 
Energex Tube, a division of JMC Steel Group, Northwest Pipe Company, 
Stupp Corporation, a division of Stupp Bros., Inc., Tex-Tube 
Company, TMK IPSCO, and Welspun Tubular LLC USA (collectively, the 
petitioners).
    \9\ See Letter from the petitioners, ``Line Pipe From Korea: 
Contingent Request for Postponement of Final Determination,'' dated 
April 23, 2015.
    \10\ See Letter from HYSCO, ``Welded Line Pipe from Korea: 
Request to Postpone the Final Determination,'' dated May 7, 2015; 
and Letter from SeAH, ``Antidumping Investigation of Welded Line 
Pipe from Korea-Request to Extend Deadline for Final 
Determination,'' dated May 8, 2015.
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    In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because (1) our preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, we are postponing the final determination and 
extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period 
not greater than six months. Accordingly, we will make our final 
determination no later than 135 days after the date of publication of 
this preliminary determination, pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the 
Act.\11\
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    \11\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
ITC of our affirmative preliminary determination of sales at LTFV. If 
our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before 
the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination 
or 45 days after our final determination whether these imports are 
materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
    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: May 14, 2015.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is circular welded 
carbon and alloy steel (other than stainless steel) pipe of a kind 
used for oil or gas pipelines (welded line pipe), not more than 24 
inches in nominal outside diameter, regardless of wall thickness, 
length, surface finish, end finish, or stenciling. Welded line pipe 
is normally produced to the American Petroleum Institute (API) 
specification 5L, but can be produced to comparable foreign 
specifications, to proprietary grades, or can be non-graded 
material. All pipe meeting the physical description set forth above, 
including multiple-stenciled pipe with an API or comparable foreign 
specification line pipe stencil is covered by the scope of this 
investigation.
    The welded line pipe that is subject to this investigation is 
currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS) under subheadings 7305.11.1030, 7305.11.5000, 
7305.12.1030, 7305.12.5000, 7305.19.1030, 7305.19.5000, 
7306.19.1010, 7306.19.1050, 7306.19.5110, and 7306.19.5150. The 
subject merchandise may also enter in HTSUS 7305.11.1060 and 
7305.12.1060. While the HTSUS subheadings

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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. Summary
2. Background
3. Period of Investigation
4. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
5. Scope Comments
6. Discussion of Methodology
    a. Determination of the Comparison Method
    b. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
7. Date of Sale
8. Product Comparisons
9. Export Price and Constructed Export Price
10. Normal Value
    a. Comparison Market Viability
    b. Affiliated-Party Transactions and Arm's-Length Test
    c. Level of Trade
    d. Cost of Production (COP) Analysis
    1. Calculation of COP
    2. Test of Comparison Market Sales Prices
    3. Results of the COP Test
    e. Calculation of NV Based on Comparison Market Prices
    f. Calculation of NV Based on CV
11. Currency Conversion
12. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2015-12523 Filed 5-21-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P