[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 62 (Monday, April 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16160-16162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06488]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-042]


Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip From the People's Republic of 
China: Antidumping Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on the affirmative final determinations by the 
Department of Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade 
Commission (ITC), the Department is issuing an antidumping duty order 
on stainless

[[Page 16161]]

steel sheet and strip from the People's Republic of China.

DATES: Effective April 3, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Wallace; AD/CVD Operations, 
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-6251.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(c), on February 8, 
2017, the Department published its final determination in the less-
than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation, including the determination of 
critical circumstances, with respect to imports of stainless steel 
sheet and strip (stainless sheet and strip) from the People's Republic 
of China (PRC).\1\ On March 24, 2017, pursuant to section 735(d) of the 
Act, the ITC notified the Department of its final determination that an 
industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of LTFV 
imports of subject merchandise from the PRC within the meaning of 
section 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, and its determination that critical 
circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of subject 
merchandise from the PRC.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Antidumping Duty Investigation of Stainless Steel Sheet 
and Strip from the People's Republic of China: Final Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination 
of Critical Circumstances 82 FR 9716 (February 8, 2017).
    \2\ See Letter to Ronald Lorentzen, Acting Assistant Secretary 
of Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance, from Rhonda K. 
Schmidtlein, Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission, 
regarding stainless steel sheet and strip from the People's Republic 
of China (March 24, 2017). See also Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip 
from China, Investigation Nos. 701-TA-557 and 731-TA-1312 (Final), 
USITC Publication 4676 (March 2017).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this order is stainless sheet and strip. For 
a complete description of the scope of the order, see Appendix I.

Antidumping Duty Order

    As stated above, on March 24, 2017, in accordance with sections 
735(b)(1)(A)(i) and 735(d) of the Act, the ITC notified the Department 
of its final determination in its investigation, in which it found that 
the industry in the United States producing stainless sheet and strip 
is materially injured by reason of imports of stainless sheet and strip 
from the PRC, and that critical circumstances do not exist with respect 
to imports of subject merchandise from the PRC that are subject to the 
Department's affirmative critical circumstances findings. Therefore, in 
accordance with section 735(c)(2) of the Act, we are publishing this 
antidumping duty order.
    As a result of the ITC's final determination, in accordance with 
section 736(a) of the Act, the Department will direct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further instruction by the 
Department, antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the normal 
value of the merchandise exceeds the export price (or constructed 
export price) of the merchandise adjusted for certain countervailable 
(CVD) subsidies, for all relevant entries of stainless sheet and strip. 
Antidumping duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of 
stainless sheet and strip from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after September 19, 2016, the date on 
which the Department published its preliminary less-than-fair-value 
determination in the Federal Register,\3\ but will not include entries 
occurring after the expiration of the provisional measures period and 
before publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination 
as further described below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip from the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Critical Circumstances, 81 FR 64135 (September 19, 2016) (AD 
Preliminary Determination).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Provisional Measures

    Section 733(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation 
pursuant to a preliminary determination may not remain in effect for 
more than four months except where exporters representing a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise request the Department 
to extend that four-month period to no more than six months. At the 
request of mandatory respondent, Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co., 
Ltd. (Taigang), who accounts for a significant proportion of stainless 
sheet and strip from the PRC, we extended the four-month period to no 
more than six months in this case.\4\ The Department published the AD 
Preliminary Determination for this investigation on September 19, 2016. 
Therefore, the six-month period beginning on the date of publication of 
the preliminary determination ended on March 18, 2017. Furthermore, 
section 737(b) of the Act states that definitive duties are to begin on 
the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Stainless Steel Sheet and Strip from the People's 
Republic of China: Postponement of Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value Investigation, 81 FR 72776 (October 21, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Therefore, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Act and our 
practice, we will instruct CBP to terminate the suspension of 
liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, 
unliquidated entries of stainless sheet and strip from the PRC, 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 
18, 2017, the date the provisional measures expired, until and through 
the day preceding the date of the ITC's final injury determination in 
the Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will resume on the date 
of publication of the ITC's final determination in the Federal 
Register.

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department 
will direct CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation on all 
relevant entries of stainless sheet and strip from the PRC. These 
instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further 
notice.
    The Department will also instruct CBP to require cash deposits 
equal to the amount as indicated below, which are adjusted for certain 
countervailable subsidies, as described below. Accordingly, effective 
on the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury 
determinations, CBP will require, at the same time as importers would 
normally deposit estimated duties on this subject merchandise, a cash 
deposit equal to the cash deposit rates listed below.\5\ The relevant 
PRC-wide entity rates apply to all producers or exporters not 
specifically listed. For the purpose of determining cash deposit rates, 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins for imports of subject 
merchandise from the PRC have been adjusted, as appropriate, for export 
subsidies found in the final determination of the countervailing duty 
investigation of this merchandise imported from the PRC.\6\ In 
addition, the estimated weighted-average dumping margins were also 
adjusted, where appropriate, for estimated domestic subsidy pass-
through.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See section 736(a)(3) of the Act.
    \6\ See section 772(c)(1)(C) of the Act.
    \7\ See section 777A(f) of the Act.

[[Page 16162]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Weighted-
                                                                                      average      Cash deposit
                   Exporter                                 Producer                  dumping           (%)
                                                                                    margin (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taiyuan Ridetaixing Precision Stainless Steel   Taiyuan Ridetaixing Precision              63.86           45.26
 Incorporated Co., Ltd.                          Stainless Steel Incorporated
                                                 Co., Ltd.
Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd..  Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless              63.86           45.26
                                                 Steel Co., Ltd.
PRC-Wide Entity...............................  PRC-Wide Entity.................           76.64           58.04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Critical Circumstances

    With regard to the ITC's negative critical circumstances 
determination on imports of stainless sheet and strip from the PRC, we 
will instruct CBP to lift suspension and to refund any cash deposits 
made to secure the payment of estimated antidumping duties with respect 
to entries of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after June 21, 2016 (i.e., 90 days 
prior to the date of the publication of the AD Preliminary 
Determination), but before September 19, 2016 (i.e., the date of 
publication of the AD Preliminary Determination).

Notifications to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to 
stainless sheet and strip from the PRC, pursuant to section 736(a) of 
the Act. Interested parties can find a list of antidumping duty orders 
currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    This order is issued and published in accordance with section 
736(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: March 28, 2017.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Attachment I--Scope of the Orders

    The merchandise covered by this order is stainless steel sheet 
and strip, whether in coils or straight lengths. Stainless steel is 
an alloy steel containing, by weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon 
and 10.5 percent or more of chromium, with or without other 
elements. The subject sheet and strip is a flat-rolled product with 
a width that is greater than 9.5 mm and with a thickness of 0.3048 
mm and greater but less than 4.75 mm, and that is annealed or 
otherwise heat treated, and pickled or otherwise descaled. The 
subject sheet and strip may also be further processed (e.g., cold-
rolled, annealed, tempered, polished, aluminized, coated, painted, 
varnished, trimmed, cut, punched, or slit, etc.) provided that it 
maintains the specific dimensions of sheet and strip set forth above 
following such processing. The products described include products 
regardless of 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.
    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 order 
unless specifically excluded.
    Subject merchandise includes stainless steel sheet and strip 
that has been further processed in a third country, including but 
not limited to cold-rolling, annealing, tempering, polishing, 
aluminizing, coating, painting, varnishing, trimming, cutting, 
punching, and/or slitting, or any other processing that would not 
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the order if 
performed in the country of manufacture of the stainless steel sheet 
and strip.
    Excluded from the scope of this order are the following: (1) 
Sheet and strip that is not annealed or otherwise heat treated and 
not pickled or otherwise descaled; (2) plate (i.e., flat-rolled 
stainless steel products of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more); and (3) 
flat wire (i.e., cold-rolled sections, with a mill edge, rectangular 
in shape, of a width of not more than 9.5 mm).
    The products under order are currently classifiable under 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 
7219.13.0031, 7219.13.0051, 7219.13.0071, 7219.13.0081, 
7219.14.0030, 7219.14.0065, 7219.14.0090, 7219.23.0030, 
7219.23.0060, 7219.24.0030, 7219.24.0060, 7219.32.0005, 
7219.32.0020, 7219.32.0025, 7219.32.0035, 7219.32.0036, 
7219.32.0038, 7219.32.0042, 7219.32.0044, 7219.32.0045, 
7219.32.0060, 7219.33.0005, 7219.33.0020, 7219.33.0025, 
7219.33.0035, 7219.33.0036, 7219.33.0038, 7219.33.0042, 
7219.33.0044, 7219.33.0045, 7219.33.0070, 7219.33.0080, 
7219.34.0005, 7219.34.0020, 7219.34.0025, 7219.34.0030, 
7219.34.0035, 7219.34.0050, 7219.35.0005, 7219.35.0015, 
7219.35.0030, 7219.35.0035, 7219.35.0050, 7219.90.0010, 
7219.90.0020, 7219.90.0025, 7219.90.0060, 7219.90.0080, 
7220.12.1000, 7220.12.5000, 7220.20.1010, 7220.20.1015, 
7220.20.1060, 7220.20.1080, 7220.20.6005, 7220.20.6010, 
7220.20.6015, 7220.20.6060, 7220.20.6080, 7220.20.7005, 
7220.20.7010, 7220.20.7015, 7220.20.7060, 7220.20.7080, 
7220.90.0010, 7220.90.0015, 7220.90.0060, and 7220.90.0080. Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope of this proceeding is 
dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2017-06488 Filed 3-31-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P