[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11744-11747]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-05007]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-412-824]


Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the United Kingdom: 
Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that certain cold-rolled steel flat products (cold-rolled 
steel) from the United Kingdom 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 (POI) is July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015. 
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: March 7, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Schauer, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0410.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Department published the notice of initiation of this 
investigation on August 24, 2015.\1\ 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.\2\ A

[[Page 11745]]

list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included as Appendix II to this notice. 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 B8024 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 Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From Brazil, the 
People's Republic of China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the 
Netherlands, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom: 
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 80 FR 51198 
(August 24, 2015) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ 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 Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat 
Products from the United Kingdom'' (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum), dated concurrently with this notice.
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    As explained in the memorandum from the Acting Assistant Secretary 
for Enforcement and Compliance, the Department has exercised its 
discretion to toll all administrative deadlines due to the recent 
closure of the Federal Government. All deadlines in this segment of the 
proceeding have been extended by four business days. The revised 
deadline for the preliminary determination of this investigation is now 
February 29, 2016.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum to the Record from Ron Lorentzen, Acting A/S 
for Enforcement & Compliance, regarding ``Tolling of Administrative 
Deadlines As a Result of the Government Closure During Snowstorm 
Jonas,'' dated January 27, 2016.
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is cold-rolled steel from 
the United Kingdom. For a full description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to the Department's regulations, 
\4\ the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to 
raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain 
interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice, as well as additional language 
proposed by the Department. For a summary of the product coverage 
comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this 
preliminary determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of 
all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum.\6\ The Department is preliminarily not modifying the scope 
language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296, 
27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 80 FR at 51199.
    \6\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, 
``Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Products From Brazil, the People's 
Republic of China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian 
Federation, and the United Kingdom: Scope Comments Decision 
Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated concurrently 
with this preliminary determination.
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Export prices have been calculated in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Constructed export prices 
have been calculated in accordance with section 772(b) 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

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in 
the preliminary determination the Department shall determine an 
estimated all-others rate for all exporters and producers not 
individually investigated, which 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.\7\ Therefore, we preliminary 
calculated the all-others rate based on a weighted-average of the 
dumping margins calculated for the mandatory respondents using each 
company's publicly-ranged values for the merchandise under 
consideration.\8\
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    \7\ 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).
    \8\ See Memorandum to the File, From Thomas Schauer, Senior 
International Trade Compliance Analyst, ``Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the 
United Kingdom: Calculation of All-Others Rate,'' dated concurrently 
with this preliminary determination.
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Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         margin
                                                               (percent)
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Caparo Precision Strip, Ltd.................................        5.79
Tata Steel UK Ltd...........................................       31.39
All-Others..................................................       28.03
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we will direct 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all 
entries of cold-rolled steel from the United Kingdom 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), 
the Department will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the 
weighted-average amount by which the NV exceeds U.S. price as indicated 
in the chart above. These suspension of liquidation instructions will 
remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to 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). 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.\9\ 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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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filings requirements).

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[[Page 11746]]

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing 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 Time, within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice.\10\ 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, 1401 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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    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Verification

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

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 
petitioners. 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.
    On February 22, 2016, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(b) and (e), Tata 
Steel UK Ltd. requested that, contingent upon an affirmative 
preliminary determination of sales at LTFV for the respondents, the 
Department postpone the final determination and that provisional 
measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\11\
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    \11\ See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from Tata Steel UK 
Ltd., ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Cold-Rolled Steel 
Flat Products From the United Kingdom: Request for Postponement of 
Final Determination'' (February 22, 2016).
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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;\12\ 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.\13\
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    \12\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, from 
Minoo Hatten, Program Manager, for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations, Office I, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the United Kingdom: 
Respondent Selection,'' dated September 14, 2015.
    \13\ 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 are notifying 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: February 29, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain cold-
rolled (cold-reduced), flat-rolled steel products, whether or not 
annealed, painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-
metallic substances. The products covered do not include those that 
are clad, plated, or coated with metal. The products covered include 
coils that have a width or other lateral measurement (``width'') of 
12.7 mm or greater, regardless of form of coil (e.g., in 
successively superimposed layers, spirally oscillating, etc.). The 
products covered also include products not in coils (e.g., in 
straight lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and a width that 
is 12.7 mm or greater and that measures at least 10 times the 
thickness. The products covered also include products not in coils 
(e.g., in straight lengths) of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a 
width exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least twice the thickness. 
The products described above may be rectangular, square, circular, 
or other shape and include products of either rectangular or non-
rectangular cross-section where such cross-section is achieved 
subsequent to the rolling process, i.e., products which have been 
``worked after rolling'' (e.g., products which have been beveled or 
rounded at the edges). For purposes of the width and thickness 
requirements referenced above:
    (1) Where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is 
within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual 
measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions 
set forth above, and
    (2) where the width and thickness vary for a specific product 
(e.g., the thickness of certain products with non-rectangular cross-
section, the width of certain products with non-rectangular shape, 
etc.), the measurement at its greatest width or thickness applies.
    Steel products included in the scope of this investigation are 
products in which: (1) Iron predominates, by weight, over each of 
the other contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent or 
less, by weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below exceeds 
the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:

 2.50 percent of manganese, or
 3.30 percent of silicon, or
 1.50 percent of copper, or
 1.50 percent of aluminum, or
 1.25 percent of chromium, or
 0.30 percent of cobalt, or
 0.40 percent of lead, or
 2.00 percent of nickel, or
 0.30 percent of tungsten (also called wolfram), or
 0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
 0.10 percent of niobium (also called columbium), or
 0.30 percent of vanadium, or
 0.30 percent of zirconium

    Unless specifically excluded, products are included in this 
scope regardless of levels of boron and titanium.
    For example, specifically included in this scope are vacuum 
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-
free (IF)) steels, high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, motor 
lamination steels, Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS), and Ultra 
High Strength Steels (UHSS). IF steels are recognized as low carbon 
steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as titanium and/
or niobium added to stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA 
steels are recognized as steels with micro-alloying levels of 
elements such as chromium, copper, niobium, titanium, vanadium, and 
molybdenum. Motor lamination steels contain micro-alloying levels of 
elements such as silicon and aluminum. AHSS and UHSS are considered 
high tensile strength and high elongation steels, although AHSS and 
UHSS are covered whether or not they are high tensile strength or 
high elongation steels.
    Subject merchandise includes cold-rolled steel that has been 
further processed in a

[[Page 11747]]

third country, including but not limited to annealing, tempering, 
painting, varnishing, trimming, cutting, punching, and/or slitting, 
or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the 
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the 
country of manufacture of the cold-rolled steel.
    All products that meet the written physical description, and in 
which the chemistry quantities do not exceed any one of the noted 
element levels listed above, are within the scope of this 
investigation unless specifically excluded. The following products 
are outside of and/or specifically excluded from the scope of this 
investigation:

 Ball bearing steels; \14\
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    \14\ Ball bearing steels are defined as steels which contain, in 
addition to iron, each of the following elements by weight in the 
amount specified: (i) Not less than 0.95 nor more than 1.13 percent 
of carbon; (ii) not less than 0.22 nor more than 0.48 percent of 
manganese; (iii) none, or not more than 0.03 percent of sulfur; (iv) 
none, or not more than 0.03 percent of phosphorus; (v) not less than 
0.18 nor more than 0.37 percent of silicon; (vi) not less than 1.25 
nor more than 1.65 percent of chromium; (vii) none, or not more than 
0.28 percent of nickel; (viii) none, or not more than 0.38 percent 
of copper; and (ix) none, or not more than 0.09 percent of 
molybdenum.
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 Tool steels; \15\
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    \15\ Tool steels are defined as steels which contain the 
following combinations of elements in the quantity by weight 
respectively indicated: (i) More than 1.2 percent carbon and more 
than 10.5 percent chromium; or (ii) not less than 0.3 percent carbon 
and 1.25 percent or more but less than 10.5 percent chromium; or 
(iii) not less than 0.85 percent carbon and 1 percent to 1.8 
percent, inclusive, manganese; or (iv) 0.9 percent to 1.2 percent, 
inclusive, chromium and 0.9 percent to 1.4 percent, inclusive, 
molybdenum; or (v) not less than 0.5 percent carbon and not less 
than 3.5 percent molybdenum; or (vi) not less than 0.5 percent 
carbon and not less than 5.5 percent tungsten.
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 Silico-manganese steel; \16\
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    \16\ Silico-manganese steel is defined as steels containing by 
weight: (i) Not more than 0.7 percent of carbon; (ii) 0.5 percent or 
more but not more than 1.9 percent of manganese, and (iii) 0.6 
percent or more but not more than 2.3 percent of silicon.
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 Grain-oriented electrical steels (GOES) as defined in the 
final determination of the U.S. Department of Commerce in Grain-
Oriented Electrical Steel From Germany, Japan, and Poland.\17\
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    \17\ See Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel From Germany, Japan, 
and Poland: Final Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value 
and Certain Final Affirmative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances, 79 FR 42,501, 42,503 (Dep't of Commerce, July 22, 
2014). This determination defines grain-oriented electrical steel as 
``a flat-rolled alloy steel product containing by weight at least 
0.6 percent but not more than 6 percent of silicon, not more than 
0.08 percent of carbon, not more than 1.0 percent of aluminum, and 
no other element in an amount that would give the steel the 
characteristics of another alloy steel, in coils or in straight 
lengths.''
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 Non-Oriented Electrical Steels (NOES), as defined in the 
antidumping orders issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce in Non-
Oriented Electrical Steel From the People's Republic of China, 
Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan.\18\
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    \18\ See Non-Oriented Electrical Steel From the People's 
Republic of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, 
and Taiwan: Antidumping Duty Orders, 79 FR 71,741, 71,741-42 (Dep't 
of Commerce, Dec. 3, 2014). The orders define NOES as ``cold-rolled, 
flat-rolled, alloy steel products, whether or not in coils, 
regardless of width, having an actual thickness of 0.20 mm or more, 
in which the core loss is substantially equal in any direction of 
magnetization in the plane of the material. The term `substantially 
equal' means that the cross grain direction of core loss is no more 
than 1.5 times the straight grain direction (i.e., the rolling 
direction) of core loss. NOES has a magnetic permeability that does 
not exceed 1.65 Tesla when tested at a field of 800 A/m (equivalent 
to 10 Oersteds) along (i.e., parallel to) the rolling direction of 
the sheet (i.e., B800 value). NOES contains by weight more than 1.00 
percent of silicon but less than 3.5 percent of silicon, not more 
than 0.08 percent of carbon, and not more than 1.5 percent of 
aluminum. NOES has a surface oxide coating, to which an insulation 
coating may be applied.''

    The products subject to this investigation are currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7209.15.0000, 7209.16.0030, 
7209.16.0060, 7209.16.0070, 7209.16.0091, 7209.17.0030, 
7209.17.0060, 7209.17.0070, 7209.17.0091, 7209.18.1530, 
7209.18.1560, 7209.18.2510, 7209.18.2520, 7209.18.2580, 
7209.18.6020, 7209.18.6090, 7209.25.0000, 7209.26.0000, 
7209.27.0000, 7209.28.0000, 7209.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 
7211.23.1500, 7211.23.2000, 7211.23.3000, 7211.23.4500, 
7211.23.6030, 7211.23.6060, 7211.23.6090, 7211.29.2030, 
7211.29.2090, 7211.29.4500, 7211.29.6030, 7211.29.6080, 
7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7225.50.6000, 
7225.50.8080, 7225.99.0090, 7226.92.5000, 7226.92.7050, and 
7226.92.8050. The products subject to the investigation may also 
enter under the following HTSUS numbers: 7210.90.9000, 7212.50.0000, 
7215.10.0010, 7215.10.0080, 7215.50.0016, 7215.50.0018, 
7215.50.0020, 7215.50.0061, 7215.50.0063, 7215.50.0065, 
7215.50.0090, 7215.90.5000, 7217.10.1000, 7217.10.2000, 
7217.10.3000, 7217.10.7000, 7217.90.1000, 7217.90.5030, 
7217.90.5060, 7217.90.5090, 7225.19.0000, 7226.19.1000, 
7226.19.9000, 7226.99.0180, 7228.50.5015, 7228.50.5040, 
7228.50.5070, 7228.60.8000, and 7229.90.1000.
    The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and 
U.S. Customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of 
the investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. All-Others Rate
VI. Successor-in-Interest
VII. Discussion of Methodology
    A. Determination of the Comparison Method
    B. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
VIII. Date of Sale
IX. Product Comparisons
X. Export Price and Constructed Export Price
XI. Normal Value
    A. Comparison Market Viability
    B. Affiliated Party Transactions and Arm's-Length Test
    C. Level of Trade
    D. Cost of Production 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
XII. Currency Conversion
XIII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2016-05007 Filed 3-4-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P