[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20366-20367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08010]



[[Page 20366]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-351-843]


Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From Brazil: Amended 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: On March 7, 2016, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published the preliminary determination of sales at less than fair 
value (LTFV) in the antidumping investigation of certain cold-rolled 
steel flat products from Brazil.\1\ We are amending our Preliminary 
Determination to correct for a ministerial error with respect to the 
calculation of the dumping margin for mandatory respondent Companhia 
Siderurgica National (CSN). The correction to CSN's margin affects the 
dumping margin applicable, as adverse facts available, to Usinas 
Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais (Usiminas), as well as the dumping margin 
applicable to all other companies.
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    \1\ See Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Brazil: 
Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of 
Provisional Measures, 81 FR 11754 (March 7, 2016) (Preliminary 
Determination).

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DATES: Effective Date: March 7, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hermes Pinilla or Joseph Shuler, 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) 482-3477 or (202) 
482-1293, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 7, 2016, CSN timely filed an 
allegation that the Department made a significant ministerial error.\2\ 
After reviewing the allegation, we have determined that the Preliminary 
Determination included a significant ministerial error. Therefore, we 
have made changes, as described below, to the Preliminary 
Determination.
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    \2\ See CSN's March 7, 2016, submission.
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Scope of Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is cold-rolled steel from 
Brazil. For a full description of the scope of this investigation, see 
Preliminary Determination, at Appendix I.

Significant Ministerial Error

    A ministerial error is defined in 19 CFR 351.224(f) as ``an error 
in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical error 
resulting from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any 
other similar type of unintentional error which the Secretary considers 
ministerial.'' Further, 19 CFR 351.224(e) provides that the Department 
``will analyze any comments received and, if appropriate, correct any 
significant ministerial error by amending the preliminary 
determination.'' A significant ministerial error is defined as a 
ministerial error, the correction of which, singly or in combination 
with other errors, would result in: (1) A change of at least five 
absolute percentage points in, but not less than 25 percent of, the 
weighted-average dumping margin calculated in the original (erroneous) 
preliminary determination; or (2) a difference between a weighted-
average dumping margin of zero or de minimis and a weighted-average 
dumping margin of greater than de minimis or vice versa.\3\
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    \3\ See 19 CFR 351.224(g)(1) and (2).
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Ministerial Error Allegation

    CSN alleges that the Department committed a ministerial error by 
double-counting its processing cost when the Department revised CSN's 
cost of manufacturing. Specifically, CSN contends that in recalculating 
CSN's cost of manufacturing, the Department double counted its home 
market resellers' processing costs, which significantly overstated the 
derived costs for the foreign like product produced by CSN and its home 
market reseller. The Department reviewed CSN's reporting of processing 
costs and we agree with CSN that this is a ministerial error in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(f).\4\ Moreover, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.224(g)(1), this error is significant because the correction of the 
error results in a change of at least 5 absolute percentage points, but 
not less than 25 percent, of the weighted-average dumping margin from 
the Preliminary Determination. Therefore, we are correcting the error 
alleged by CSN, and we are amending our preliminary determination 
accordingly.
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    \4\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, from 
James Maeder, Senior Director, Office I, Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Operations, dated March 28, 2016.
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Amended Preliminary Determination

    We are amending the preliminary determination of sales at less than 
fair value for cold-rolled flat steel produts from Brazil to reflect 
the correction of a ministerial error made in the margin calculations 
of that determination. As a result of the correction of the ministerial 
error, we have also revised the dumping margins applicable to Usiminas 
\5\ and to all other companies. The revised dumping margins are as 
follows:
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    \5\ See Memorandum titled ``Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat 
Products from Brazil: Corroboration of a Rate Based on Adverse Facts 
Available,'' dated concurrently with this notice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/Producer                         margin
                                                               (percent)
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Companhia Siderurgica Nacional..............................       20.84
Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A. (Usiminas).........       35.43
All-Others..................................................       20.84
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Suspension of Liquidation

    The collection of cash deposits will be revised in accordance with 
sections 733(d) and (f) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224. Because the 
correction of the error for CSN results in a reduced cash deposit rate 
for all of the respondents, the revised rates calculated for CSN, 
Usiminas, and companies covered by the ``all others'' rate will be 
effective retroactively to March 7, 2016, the date of publication of 
the Preliminary Determination.
    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, adjusted 
where appropriate for export subsidies, as follows: (1) The rates for 
CSN and Usiminas, when adjusted for export subsidies, are 16.71 and 
31.61 percent, respectively; (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, less 
export subsidies; (3) the rate for all other producers or exporters 
when adjusted for export subsidies is 16.86 percent.\6\ These 
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
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    \6\ See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Cold-Rolled 
Steel Flat Products From Brazil: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination, 80 FR 79569 (Dec. 22, 2015) and the 
accompanying preliminary decision memorandum, dated December 15, 
2015; see also the All-Others Rate Memorandum, dated concurrently 
with this notice.

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[[Page 20367]]

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we are notifying the 
International Tade Commission (ITC) of our amended 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.

Notification to Interested Parties

    The Department intends to disclose calculations performed in 
connection with this amended preliminary determination within five days 
of the date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(e).

    Dated: April 1, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016-08010 Filed 4-6-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P