[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50375-50377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23648]



[[Page 50375]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-823-816]


Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Ukraine: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that carbon and alloy steel wire rod (wire rod) from Ukraine 
is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than 
fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 
2016, through December 31, 2016.

DATES: Applicable October 31, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia Hancock, Annathea Cook, or 
Courtney Canales, AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and 
Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; 
telephone: (202) 482-1394, (202) 482-0250, or (202) 482-4997, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The Department 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 26, 
2017.\1\ On August 21, 2017, the Department postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
until October 24, 2017.\2\ For a complete description of the events 
that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\3\ A 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 accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
and the electronic version are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Belarus, Italy, the 
Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, the 
Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and United 
Kingdom: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 82 FR 
19207 (April 26, 2017) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Italy, the Republic 
of Korea, the Republic of South Africa, Spain, the Republic of 
Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 82 FR 
39564 (April 26, 2017).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Carbon 
and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Ukraine'' dated concurrently with, and 
hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are wire rod from 
Ukraine. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see 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. For a summary of the product coverage comments 
and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this investigation, 
and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely 
received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ Since the 
issuance of the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, certain parties 
submitted scope case briefs or scope rebuttal briefs.\7\ The Department 
will issue a final scope decision on the records of the wire rod 
investigations after considering those comments submitted in scope case 
and rebuttal briefs.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from 
Belarus, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, South 
Africa, Spain, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab 
Emirates, and the United Kingdom: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum 
for the Preliminary Determinations,'' (Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum) dated August 7, 2017.
    \7\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
the Department has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, 
with adverse inferences for ArcelorMittal Steel Kryvyi Rih (AMKR) and 
Public Joint Stock Company Yenakiieve Iron And Steel Works 
(Yenakiieve). The Department has preliminarily determined that Duferco 
S.A. (Duferco) was not the first in the supply chain to have knowledge 
that subject merchandise was destined for the U.S. and as such, has 
been deselected as a respondent in this proceeding. For further 
discussion, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(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 examined. This rate 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. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) 
of the Act, if the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
established for all exporters and producers individually examined are 
zero, de minimis or determined based entirely on facts otherwise 
available, the Department may use any reasonable method to establish 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for all-other producers 
or exporters.
    The Department has preliminarily determined the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin for each of the individually examined 
respondents under section 776 of the Act. Consequently, pursuant to 
section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, the Department's normal practice under 
these circumstances has been to calculate the ``all-others'' rate as a 
simple average of the alleged dumping margins from the petition.\8\
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    \8\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of 
Germany, 73 FR 21909, 21912 (April 23, 2008), unchanged in Notice of 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite 
from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 38986, 38987 (July 8, 
2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2; 
see also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Raw Flexible Magnets from Taiwan, 73 FR 39673, 39674 (July 
10, 2008); Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 78 FR 79670, 
79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in Steel Threaded Rod from 
Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 
14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014).

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[[Page 50376]]

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ArcelorMittal Steel Kryvyi Rih..............................       44.03
Public Joint Stock Company Yenakiieve Iron And Steel Works..       44.03
All-Others..................................................       34.98
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, the Department 
will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 
liquidation of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix 
I, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
Further, 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 estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated 
all-others rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the 
respondents listed above will be equal to the company-specific 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins determined in this 
preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is not a respondent 
identified above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will 
be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for that producer of the subject merchandise; and 
(3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters will be 
equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average dumping margin.

Disclosure

    Normally, the Department discloses to interested parties the 
calculations performed in connection with a preliminary determination 
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the notice 
of preliminary determination in the Federal Register, in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because the Department preliminarily 
applied AFA to the individually examined companies, AMKR and 
Yenakiieve, in this investigation, in accordance with section 776 of 
the Act, and the applied AFA rate is based solely on the petition, 
there are no calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not 
provide information requested by the Department, and the Department 
preliminarily determines that each has been uncooperative, we will not 
conduct verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 50 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination, 
unless the Secretary alters the time limit. 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 investigation 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 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, 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.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
the Department will issue the final determination within 75 days after 
the date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, the Department 
will make its final determination no later than 75 days after the 
signature date of this preliminary determination.

International Trade Commission

    In accordance with section 773(f) of the Act, the Department will 
notify the International Trade Comission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the 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 the final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    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: October 24, 2017.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain hot-
rolled products of carbon steel and alloy steel, in coils, of 
approximately round cross section, less than 19.00 mm in actual 
solid cross-sectional diameter. Specifically excluded are steel 
products possessing the above-noted physical characteristics and 
meeting the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
definitions for (a) stainless steel; (b) tool steel; (c) high-nickel 
steel; (d) ball bearing steel; or (e) concrete reinforcing bars and 
rods. Also excluded are free cutting steel (also known as free 
machining steel) products (i.e., products that contain by weight one 
or more of the following elements: 0.1 percent or more of lead, 0.05 
percent or more of bismuth, 0.08 percent or more of sulfur, more 
than 0.04 percent of phosphorous, more than 0.05 percent of 
selenium, or more than 0.01 percent of tellurium). All products 
meeting the physical description of subject merchandise that are not 
specifically excluded are included in this scope.
    The products under investigation are currently classifiable 
under subheadings 7213.91.3011, 7213.91.3015, 7213.91.3020, 
7213.91.3093; 7213.91.4500, 7213.91.6000, 7213.99.0030, 
7227.20.0030, 7227.20.0080, 7227.90.6010, 7227.90.6020, 
7227.90.6030, and 7227.90.6035 of the HTSUS. Products entered under 
subheadings 7213.99.0090 and 7227.90.6090 of the HTSUS also may be 
included in this scope if they meet the physical description of 
subject merchandise above. Although the HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope of this proceeding is dispositive.

[[Page 50377]]

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
VI. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inference
    A. Legal Standard
    B. Application of Facts Available with Adverse Inference for 
AMKR
    C. Application of Facts Available with Adverse Inference for 
Yenakiieve
    D. Selection and Corroboration of AFA Rate
    E. All-Others Rate
VIII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2017-23648 Filed 10-30-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P