[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1318-1321]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-31995]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-821-809]


Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From the Russian 
Federation: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review; 2014-2015

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on hot-rolled 
carbon steel flat products (hot-rolled steel) from the Russian 
Federation (Russia). The period of review (POR) is December 19, 2014, 
through November 30, 2015. The review covers one producer/exporter of 
the subject merchandise, Severstal PAO and Severstal Export 
(collectively, Severstal). We preliminarily determine that sales of 
subject merchandise by Severstal were made at less than normal value 
during the POR. Interested parties are invited to comment on these 
preliminary results.

DATES: Effective January 5, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: John Drury or Madeline Heeren, 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-
0195 or (202) 482-9179, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department published the notice of initiation of this review on 
February 9, 2016.\1\ Pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act), the Department extended these 
preliminary results by 106 days until December 16, 2016.\2\ The 
Department then extended the preliminary results by an additional 14 
days until December 31, 2016.\3\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 81 FR 6832 (February 9, 2016) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, 
entitled ``Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from the 
Russian Federation: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2014/2015,'' dated August 
17, 2016.
    \3\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, 
entitled ``Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from the 
Russian Federation: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2014/2015,'' dated December 
16, 2016.
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    For a description of the events that occurred prior, and 
subsequent, to the initiation of this review, see the memorandum dated 
concurrently with and hereby adopted by this notice \4\ and Appendix I 
of 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 to ACCESS is available to registered users at 
http://access.trade.gov and is available 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 accessed directly on the Internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. A list of topics discussed in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as an Appendix to this 
notice. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic 
versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content.
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    \4\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations 
entitled: ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of 
Review of Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from the 
Russian Federation'' (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this order is hot-rolled steel from Russia. 
The full text of the scope of the order is contained in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    The Department is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(2) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology and 
rationale underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

Application of Facts Available and Adverse Facts Available

    We preliminarily determine that the only respondent being 
individually reviewed, Severstal, failed to cooperate to the best of 
its ability in participating in the review, warranting the

[[Page 1319]]

application of facts otherwise available with adverse inferences, 
pursuant to section 776(a)-(b) of the Act. For a full description of 
the rationale underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily determine that, for the period December 19, 2014, 
through November 30, 2015, the following weighted -average dumping 
margin exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                     Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Severstal PAO and Severstal Export (collectively,                184.56
 Severstal)................................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department will disclose to parties to the proceeding any 
calculations performed in connection with these preliminary results of 
review within five days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\5\ Interested parties may submit case briefs to the Department 
in response to these preliminary results no later than 30 days after 
the publication of these preliminary results.\6\ Rebuttal briefs, the 
content of which is limited to the issues raised in the case briefs, 
must be filed within five days from the deadline date for the 
submission of case briefs.\7\
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    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1) and (2).
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    Parties who submit arguments in this proceeding are requested to 
submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief 
summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.\8\ Executive 
summaries should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. 
Case and rebuttal briefs should be filed using ACCESS.\9\ In order to 
be properly filed, ACCESS must successfully receive an electronically-
filed document in its entirety by 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Case and 
rebuttal briefs must be served on interested parties.\10\
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2).
    \9\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
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    Within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice, 
interested parties may request a public hearing on arguments raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs.\11\ Unless the Department specifies 
otherwise, the hearing, if requested, will be held two days after the 
date for submission of rebuttal briefs.\12\ Written argument and 
hearing requests should be electronically submitted to the Department 
via ACCESS.\13\ The Department's electronic records system, ACCESS, 
must successfully receive an electronically-filed document in its 
entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice.\14\ Requests should contain: (1) 
The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. Issues raised 
in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the respective case 
briefs. Parties will be notified of the time and location of the 
hearing.
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d)(1).
    \13\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    The Department intends to publish the final results of this 
administrative review, including the results of its analysis of issues 
addressed in any case or rebuttal brief, no later than 120 days after 
publication of the preliminary results, unless extended.\15\
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    \15\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; 19 CFR 351.213(h).
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Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of this administrative review, the Department shall 
determine, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries.\16\ If Severstal's 
weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis in the final 
results of this review, we will calculate importer-specific assessment 
rates on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of antidumping 
duties calculated for an importer's examined sales and the total 
entered value of such sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). If 
Severstal's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis in 
the final results of review, we will instruct CBP not to assess duties 
on any of its entries in accordance with the Final Modification for 
Reviews, i.e., ``{w{time} here the weighted-average margin of dumping 
for the exporter is determined to be zero or de minimis, no antidumping 
duties will be assessed.'' \17\ The final results of this review shall 
be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of 
merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future 
deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \17\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8102 (February 14, 
2012) (Final Modification for Reviews).
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    We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after 
publication of the final results of this review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this administrative review for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for Severstal will 
be that established in the final results of this administrative review; 
(2) for previously reviewed or investigated companies not listed above, 
the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate 
published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm 
covered in this review, a prior review, or in the investigation but the 
manufacturer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for 
the most recent period for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) 
the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers or exporters will 
continue to be the all-others rate of 184.56 percent, which is the all-
others rate established in the investigation.\18\ These cash deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.
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    \18\ See Termination of the Suspension Agreement on Hot-Rolled 
Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products from the Russian 
Federation, Rescission of 2013-2014 Administrative Review, and 
Issuance of Antidumping Duty Order, 79 FR 77455 (December 24, 2014).
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Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in the Department's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.


[[Page 1320]]


    Dated: December 27, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    For the purposes of this Administrative Review, ``hot-rolled 
steel'' means certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-quality steel 
products of a rectangular shape, of a width of 0.5 inch or greater, 
neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal and whether or not 
painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic 
substances, in coils (whether or not in successively superimposed 
layers) regardless of thickness, and in straight lengths, of a 
thickness less than 4.75 mm and of a width measuring at least 10 
times the thickness.
    Universal mill plate (i.e., flat-rolled products rolled on four 
faces or in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 mm but not 
exceeding 1250 mm and of a thickness of not less than 4 mm, not in 
coils and without patterns in relief) of a thickness not less than 
4.0 mm is not included within the scope of this administrative 
review.
    Specifically included in this scope are vacuum degassed, fully 
stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free (``IF'')) 
steels, high strength low alloy (``HSLA'') steels, and the substrate 
for motor lamination steels. 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. The substrate for motor lamination steels contains 
micro-alloying levels of elements such as silicon and aluminum.
    Steel products to be included in the scope of this 
administrative review, regardless of Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (``HTSUS'') definitions, 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: 1.80 percent of manganese, or 1.50 
percent of silicon, or 1.00 percent of copper, or 0.50 percent of 
aluminum, or 1.25 percent of chromium, or 0.30 percent of cobalt, or 
0.40 percent of lead, or 1.25 percent of nickel, or 0.30 percent of 
tungsten, or 0.012 percent of boron, or 0.10 percent of molybdenum, 
or 0.10 percent of niobium, or 0.41 percent of titanium, or 0.15 
percent of vanadium, or 0.15 percent of zirconium.
    All products that meet the physical and chemical description 
provided above are within the scope of this order unless otherwise 
excluded. The following products, by way of example, are outside 
and/or specifically excluded from the scope of this order:

--Alloy hot-rolled steel products in which at least one of the 
chemical elements exceeds those listed above (including e.g., ASTM 
specifications A543, A387, A514, A517, and A506).
--SAE/AISI grades of series 2300 and higher.
--Ball bearing steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
--Tool steels, as defined in the HTSUS.
--Silica-manganese (as defined in the HTSUS) or silicon electrical 
steel with a silicon level exceeding 1.50 percent.
--ASTM specifications A710 and A736.
--USS Abrasion-resistant steels (USS AR 400, USS AR 500).
--Hot-rolled steel coil which meets the following chemical, physical 
and mechanical specifications:

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         C                  Mn                  P                  S                  Si                 Cr                 Cu                 Ni
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      0.10-0.14%           0.90% Max         0.025% Max         0.005% Max         0.30-0.50%         0.50-0.70%         0.20-0.40%          0.20% Max
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    Width = 44.80 inches maximum; Thickness = 0.063--0.198 inches;
    Yield Strength = 50,000 ksi minimum; Tensile Strength = 70,000-
88,000 psi.

--Hot-rolled steel coil which meets the following chemical, physical 
and mechanical specifications:

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         C                  Mn                  P                  S                  Si                 Cr                 Cu                 Ni
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      0.10-0.16%         0.70%-0.90%         0.025% Max         0.006% Max         0.30-0.50%         0.50-0.70%          0.25% Max          0.20% Max
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              Mo
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       0.21% Max
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    Width = 44.80 inches maximum; Thickness = 0.350 inches maximum;
    Yield Strength = 80,000 ksi minimum; Tensile Strength = 105,000 
psi Aim.

--Hot-rolled steel coil which meets the following chemical, physical 
and mechanical specifications:

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         C                  Mn                  P                  S                  Si                 Cr                 Cu                 Ni
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      0.10-0.14%          1.30-1.80%         0.025% Max         0.005% Max         0.30-0.50%         0.50-0.70%         0.20-0.70%          0.20% Max
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          V(wt.)                    Cb
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       0.10% Max           0.08% Max
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    Width = 44.80 inches maximum; Thickness = 0.350 inches maximum;
    Yield Strength = 80,000 ksi minimum; Tensile Strength = 105,000 
psi Aim.

--Hot-rolled steel coil which meets the following chemical, physical 
and mechanical specifications:

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         C                  Mn                  P                  S                  Si                 Cr                 Cu                 Ni
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       0.15% Max           1.40% Max         0.025% Max         0.010% Max          0.50% Max          1.00% Max          0.50% Max           .20% Max
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              Nb                    Ca               Al
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      0.005% Max             Treated         0.01-0.07%
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[[Page 1321]]

    Width = 39.37 inches; Thickness = 0.181 inches maximum; Yield 
Strength = 70,000 psi minimum for thicknesses <= 0.148 inches and 
65,000 psi minimum for thicknesses > 0.148 inches; Tensile Strength 
= 80,000 psi minimum.
    Hot-rolled dual phase steel, phase-hardened, primarily with a 
ferritic-martensitic microstructure, contains 0.9 percent up to and 
including 1.5 percent silicon by weight, further characterized by 
either (i) tensile strength between 540 N/mm\2\ and 640 N/mm\2\ and 
an elongation percentage >= 26 percent for thicknesses of 2 mm and 
above, or (ii) a tensile strength between 590 N/mm\2\ and 690 N/
mm\2\ and an elongation percentage >= 25 percent for thicknesses of 
2mm and above.
    Hot-rolled bearing quality steel, SAE grade 1050, in coils, with 
an inclusion rating of 1.0 maximum per ASTM E 45, Method A, with 
excellent surface quality and chemistry restrictions as follows: 
0.012 percent maximum phosphorus, 0.015 percent maximum sulfur, and 
0.20 percent maximum residuals including 0.15 percent maximum 
chromium.
    Grade ASTM A570-50 hot-rolled steel sheet in coils or cut 
lengths, width of 74 inches (nominal, within ASTM tolerances), 
thickness of 11 gauge (0.119 inches nominal), mill edge and skin 
passed, with a minimum copper content of 0.20 percent.
    The covered merchandise is classified in the HTSUS at 
subheadings: 7208.10.15.00,
    7208.10.30.00, 7208.10.60.00, 7208.25.30.00, 7208.25.60.00, 
7208.26.00.30, 7208.26.00.60, 7208.27.00.30, 7208.27.00.60, 
7208.36.00.30, 7208.36.00.60, 7208.37.00.30, 7208.37.00.60, 
7208.38.00.15, 7208.38.00.30, 7208.38.00.90, 7208.39.00.15, 
7208.39.00.30, 7208.39.00.90, 7208.40.60.30, 7208.40.60.60, 
7208.53.00.00, 7208.54.00.00, 7208.90.00.00, 7210.70.30.00, 
7210.90.90.00, 7211.14.00.30, 7211.14.00.90, 7211.19.15.00, 
7211.19.20.00, 7211.19.30.00, 7211.19.45.00, 7211.19.60.00, 
7211.19.75.30, 7211.19.75.60, 7211.19.75.90, 7212.40.10.00, 
7212.40.50.00, 7212.50.00.00. Certain hot-rolled flat-rolled carbon-
quality steel covered include: Vacuum degassed, fully stabilized; 
high strength low alloy; and the substrate for motor lamination 
steel may also enter under the following tariff numbers: 
7225.11.00.00, 7225.19.00.00, 7225.30.30.50, 7225.30.70.00, 
7225.40.70.00, 7225.99.00.90, 7226.11.10.00, 7226.11.90.30, 
7226.11.90.60, 7226.19.10.00, 7226.19.90.00, 7226.91.50.00, 
7226.91.70.00, 7226.91.80.00, and 7226.99.01.80. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the 
written description of the covered merchandise is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Adverse Facts Available.

[FR Doc. 2016-31995 Filed 1-4-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P