[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10656-10659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-04164]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 731-TA-308-310 and 520-521 (Fourth Review)]


Carbon Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From Brazil, China, Japan, 
Taiwan, and Thailand; Institution of Five-Year Reviews

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted 
reviews pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930 (``the Act''), as amended, 
to determine whether revocation of the antidumping duty orders on 
carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, 
and Thailand would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of 
material injury. Pursuant to the Act, interested parties are requested 
to respond to this notice by submitting the information specified below 
to the Commission; \1\ to be assured of consideration, the deadline for 
responses is March 31, 2016. Comments on the adequacy of responses may 
be filed with the Commission by May 13, 2016.
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    \1\ No response to this request for information is required if a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number is not 
displayed; the OMB number is 3117-0016/USITC No. 16-5-351, 
expiration date June 30, 2017. Public reporting burden for the 
request is estimated to average 15 hours per response. Please send 
comments regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the 
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20436.

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DATES: Effective: March 1, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193), Office of 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information 
on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-
1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special 
assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the 
Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning 
the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server 
(http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this proceeding may be 
viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background.--On December 12, 1986, the Department of Commerce 
(``Commerce'') issued antidumping duty orders on imports of carbon 
steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Brazil and Taiwan (51 FR 45152). On 
February 10, 1987, Commerce issued an antidumping duty order on imports 
of carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Japan (52 FR 4167). On 
July 6, 1992, Commerce issued antidumping duty orders on imports of 
carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from China and Thailand (57 FR 
29702). Following the first five-year reviews by Commerce and the 
Commission, effective January 6, 2000, Commerce issued a notice of the 
continuation of the antidumping duty orders on imports of carbon steel 
butt-weld pipe fittings from Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand 
(65 FR 753). Following second five-year reviews by Commerce and the 
Commission, effective November 21, 2005, Commerce issued a notice of 
the continuation of the antidumping duty orders on imports of carbon 
steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Brazil, China, Japan, Taiwan, and 
Thailand (70 FR 70059). Following the third five-year reviews by 
Commerce and the Commission, effective April 15, 2011, Commerce issued 
a notice of the continuation of the antidumping duty

[[Page 10657]]

orders on imports of carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings from Brazil, 
China, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand (73 FR 21331). The Commission is now 
conducting fourth reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of the Act, as 
amended (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)), to determine whether revocation of the 
orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of 
material injury to the domestic industry within a reasonably 
foreseeable time. Provisions concerning the conduct of this proceeding 
may be found in the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure at 19 
CFR parts 201, Subparts A and B and 19 CFR part 207, subparts A and F. 
The Commission will assess the adequacy of interested party responses 
to this notice of institution to determine whether to conduct full or 
expedited reviews. The Commission's determinations in any expedited 
reviews will be based on the facts available, which may include 
information provided in response to this notice.
    Definitions.--The following definitions apply to these reviews:
    (1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is 
within the scope of the five-year reviews, as defined by the Department 
of Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Countries in these reviews are Brazil, China, 
Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand.
    (3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product 
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original 
determinations, its expedited first five-year review determinations, 
its full second five-year review determinations, and its expedited 
third five-year review determinations, the Commission defined the 
Domestic Like Product as all carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings 
corresponding to Commerce's scope.
    (4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the 
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of 
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total 
domestic production of the product. In its original determinations, its 
expedited first five-year review determinations, and its full second 
five-year review determinations, the Commission defined a single 
Domestic Industry: Producers of finished and unfinished carbon steel 
butt-weld pipe fittings having an inside diameter of less than 14 
inches, including integrated producers, converters, and combination 
producers which perform both integrated production and conversion. One 
Commissioner defined the Domestic Industry differently in the original 
determinations concerning Brazil, Japan, and Taiwan. In the original 
determinations concerning China and Thailand, the Commission excluded 
two domestic producers, Tube Line and Weldbend, from the Domestic 
Industry under the related parties provision. In its expedited first 
five-year review determinations, the Commission once again excluded 
Tube Line from the Domestic Industry under the related parties 
provision but found that Weldbend was no longer a related party 
eligible for exclusion. Certain Commissioners did not exclude Tube Line 
from the Domestic Industry in the expedited first five-year reviews. In 
the full second five-year review determinations, the Commission 
determined that appropriate circumstances did not exist for excluding 
any domestic producer from the Domestic Industry as a related party. In 
its expedited third five-year review determinations, the Commission 
defined a single Domestic Industry consisting of all domestic producers 
of carbon steel butt-weld pipe fittings.
    (5) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or 
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject 
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or 
through its selling agent.
    Participation in the proceeding and public service list.--Persons, 
including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the 
merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the proceeding as parties must 
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as 
provided in section 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later 
than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names 
and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties 
to the proceeding.
    Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission 
five-year reviews are advised that they may appear in a review even if 
they participated personally and substantially in the corresponding 
underlying original investigation or an earlier review of the same 
underlying investigation. The Commission's designated agency ethics 
official has advised that a five-year review is not the same particular 
matter as the underlying original investigation, and a five-year review 
is not the same particular matter as an earlier review of the same 
underlying investigation for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 207, the post 
employment statute for Federal employees, and Commission rule 201.15(b) 
(19 CFR 201.15(b)), 79 FR 3246 (Jan. 17, 2014), 73 FR 24609 (May 5, 
2008). Consequently, former employees are not required to seek 
Commission approval to appear in a review under Commission rule 19 CFR 
201.15, even if the corresponding underlying original investigation or 
an earlier review of the same underlying investigation was pending when 
they were Commission employees. For further ethics advice on this 
matter, contact Carol McCue Verratti, Deputy Agency Ethics Official, at 
202-205-3088.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and APO service list.--
Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary 
will make BPI submitted in this proceeding available to authorized 
applicants under the APO issued in the proceeding, provided that the 
application is made no later than 21 days after publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants must represent 
interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to 
the proceeding. A separate service list will be maintained by the 
Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Certification.--Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission's 
rules, any person submitting information to the Commission in 
connection with this proceeding must certify that the information is 
accurate and complete to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In 
making the certification, the submitter will be deemed to consent, 
unless otherwise specified, for the Commission, its employees, and 
contract personnel to use the information provided in any other reviews 
or investigations of the same or comparable products which the 
Commission conducts under Title VII of the Act, or in internal audits 
and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the 
Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3.
    Written submissions.--Pursuant to section 207.61 of the 
Commission's rules, each interested party response to this notice must 
provide the information specified below. The deadline for filing such 
responses is March 31, 2016. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the 
Commission's rules, eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule 
207.62(b)(1)) may also file comments concerning the adequacy of 
responses to the notice of institution and whether the Commission 
should conduct expedited

[[Page 10658]]

or full reviews. The deadline for filing such comments is May 13, 2016. 
All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 
201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain BPI must 
also conform with the requirements of sections 201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 
of the Commission's rules. The Commission's Handbook on 
E[hyphen]Filing, available on the Commission's Web site at http://edis.usitc.gov, elaborates upon the Commission's rules with respect to 
electronic filing. Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 
207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the 
proceeding must be served on all other parties to the proceeding (as 
identified by either the public or APO service list as appropriate), 
and a certificate of service must accompany the document (if you are 
not a party to the proceeding you do not need to serve your response).
    Inability to provide requested information.--Pursuant to section 
207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any interested party that cannot 
furnish the information requested by this notice in the requested form 
and manner shall notify the Commission at the earliest possible time, 
provide a full explanation of why it cannot provide the requested 
information, and indicate alternative forms in which it can provide 
equivalent information. If an interested party does not provide this 
notification (or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the 
notification inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to 
this notice, the Commission may take an adverse inference against the 
party pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677e(b)) in 
making its determinations in the reviews.
    Information To Be Provided in Response to This Notice of 
Institution: If you are a domestic producer, union/worker group, or 
trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more 
than one Subject Country; or produce Subject Merchandise in more than 
one Subject Country, you may file a single response. If you do so, 
please ensure that your response to each question includes the 
information requested for each pertinent Subject Country. As used 
below, the term ``firm'' includes any related firms.
    (1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World 
Wide Web address) and name, telephone number, fax number, and Email 
address of the certifying official.
    (2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is a U.S. 
producer of the Domestic Like Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a 
U.S. importer of the Subject Merchandise, a foreign producer or 
exporter of the Subject Merchandise, a U.S. or foreign trade or 
business association, or another interested party (including an 
explanation). If you are a union/worker group or trade/business 
association, identify the firms in which your workers are employed or 
which are members of your association.
    (3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to 
participate in this proceeding by providing information requested by 
the Commission.
    (4) A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the 
antidumping duty orders on the Domestic Industry in general and/or your 
firm/entity specifically. In your response, please discuss the various 
factors specified in section 752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675a(a)) 
including the likely volume of subject imports, likely price effects of 
subject imports, and likely impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on 
the Domestic Industry.
    (5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of 
the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related parties and the 
nature of the relationship as defined in section 771(4)(B) of the Act 
(19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
    (6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of 
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in 
each Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries after 2009.
    (7) A list of 3-5 leading purchasers in the U.S. market for the 
Domestic Like Product and the Subject Merchandise (including street 
address, World Wide Web address, and the name, telephone number, fax 
number, and Email address of a responsible official at each firm).
    (8) A list of known sources of information on national or regional 
prices for the Domestic Like Product or the Subject Merchandise in the 
U.S. or other markets.
    (9) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product, 
provide the following information on your firm's operations on that 
product during calendar year 2015, except as noted (report quantity 
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you 
are a union/worker group or trade/business association, provide the 
information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers 
are employed/which are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product 
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm to produce the Domestic Like 
Product (i.e., the level of production that your establishment(s) could 
reasonably have expected to attain during the year, assuming normal 
operating conditions (using equipment and machinery in place and ready 
to operate), normal operating levels (hours per week/weeks per year), 
time for downtime, maintenance, repair, and cleanup, and a typical or 
representative product mix);
    (c) the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the 
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s);
    (d) the quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s); 
and
    (e) the value of (i) net sales, (ii) cost of goods sold (COGS), 
(iii) gross profit, (iv) selling, general and administrative (SG&A) 
expenses, and (v) operating income of the Domestic Like Product 
produced in your U.S. plant(s) (include both U.S. and export commercial 
sales, internal consumption, and company transfers) for your most 
recently completed fiscal year (identify the date on which your fiscal 
year ends).
    (10) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of 
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from any Subject Country, 
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that 
product during calendar year 2015 (report quantity data in pounds and 
value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/business association, 
provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are 
members of your association.
    (a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including 
antidumping duties) of U.S. imports and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise from each 
Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') imports;
    (b) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
duties) of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject Merchandise imported 
from each Subject Country; and
    (c) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
duties) of U.S. internal consumption/company transfers of Subject 
Merchandise imported from each Subject Country.
    (11) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business 
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in any 
Subject Country, provide the following information on your firm's(s') 
operations on that

[[Page 10659]]

product during calendar year 2015 (report quantity data in pounds and 
value data in U.S. dollars, landed and duty-paid at the U.S. port but 
not including antidumping duties). If you are a trade/business 
association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the 
firms which are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in each Subject 
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm(s) to produce the Subject 
Merchandise in each Subject Country (i.e., the level of production that 
your establishment(s) could reasonably have expected to attain during 
the year, assuming normal operating conditions (using equipment and 
machinery in place and ready to operate), normal operating levels 
(hours per week/weeks per year), time for downtime, maintenance, 
repair, and cleanup, and a typical or representative product mix); and
    (c) the quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United 
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise 
from each Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') exports.
    (12) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand 
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have 
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject 
Merchandise in each Subject Country after 2009, and significant 
changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a reasonably 
foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include technology; 
production methods; development efforts; ability to increase production 
(including the shift of production facilities used for other products 
and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs into production); 
and factors related to the ability to shift supply among different 
national markets (including barriers to importation in foreign markets 
or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions to consider 
include end uses and applications; the existence and availability of 
substitute products; and the level of competition among the Domestic 
Like Product produced in the United States, Subject Merchandise 
produced in each Subject Country, and such merchandise from other 
countries.
    (13) (Optional) A statement of whether you agree with the above 
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you 
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why 
and provide alternative definitions.

    Authority: This proceeding is being conducted under authority of 
Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published 
pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: February 23, 2016.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2016-04164 Filed 2-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P