[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50389-50391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23650]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-469-816]


Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Spain: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part

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 Spain 
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: Davina Friedmann or Chelsey 
Simonovich, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0698 or (202) 482-1979, 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 20, 
2017.\1\ On August 15, 2017, the Department postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
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 and the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 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 20, 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 (August 21, 2017).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Carbon 
and Alloy Wire from Spain'' 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 Spain. 
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 Determination'' (Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum), dated August 7, 2017.
    \7\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Affiliation and Collapsing

    In accordance with section 771(33)(F) of the Act, 19 CFR 
351.401(f), and the Department's practice,\8\ we are treating Global 
Steel Wire (GSW), CELSA Atlantic SA (CELSA Atlantic), Compania Espanola 
de Laminacion (CELSA Barcelona) (collectively, CELSA) as a single 
entity for the purposes of this preliminary determination.\9\
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    \8\ See, e.g., Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value: Coated Free Sheet Paper from Indonesia, 72 FR 60636 
(October 25, 2007), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum; 
Certain Coated Paper Suitable for High-Quality Print Graphics Using 
Sheet-Fed Presses from Indonesia: Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, 75 FR 59223 (September 27, 2010), and 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum, at 4 and Comment 6.
    \9\ For further discussion of this issue, see Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum; see also Memorandum entitled, ``Certain Carbon 
and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Spain: GSW, CELSA Atlantic, and CELSA 
Barcelona Affiliation and Collapsing Memorandum,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice; see also, Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum, at 4-5.
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. The Department has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Normal value (NV) is 
calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. Furthermore, 
pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, the Department has 
preliminarily relied upon adverse facts available for ArcelorMittal 
Espana S.A. (AME). For a full description of the

[[Page 50390]]

methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, 
the Department preliminarily finds that critical circumstances do not 
exist for CELSA and all-other companies, but do exist for AME. For a 
full description of the methodology and results of the Department's 
critical circumstances analysis, 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 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. In this investigation, the 
Department preliminarily assigned a rate based entirely on facts 
available to AME. Therefore, the only rate that is not zero, de 
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available is the rate 
calculated for CELSA. Consequently, the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin calculated for CELSA is the margin assigned to all-other 
producers and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Estimated weighted-
                  Exporter/producer                     average dumping
                                                       margin (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Global Steel Wire/CELSA Atlantic SA/Compania                       20.25
 Espanola de Laminacion.............................
ArcelorMittal Espana S.A............................               32.64
All-Others..........................................               20.25
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    The Department intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this 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 this 
notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, the Department intends 
to verify the information relied upon in making its final 
determination.

Public Comment

    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 last verification report is issued in 
this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\10\ 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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    \10\ 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 Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, the Department will 
notify the International Trade Commission (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

[[Page 50391]]

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.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Discussion of the Methodology
    A. Determination of the Comparison Methold
    B. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
VI. Date of Sale
VII. Product Comparisons
VIII. Export Price and Constructed Export Price Discussion of the 
Methodology
IX. Normal Value
    A. Home Market Viability
    B. Level of Trade
    C. Cost of Production (COP) Analysis
    1. Calculation of COP
    2. Test of Comparison Market Sales Prices
    3. Results of the COP Test
    D. Calculation of NV Based on Comparison Market Prices
X. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Facts Available
    A. Application of Facts Available
    B. Use of Adverse Inference
    C. Selection and Corroboration of the AFA Rate
XI. Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances
    A. Legal Framework
    B. Critical Circumstances Allegation
    C. Analysis
XII. Currency Conversion
XIII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2017-23650 Filed 10-30-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P