[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50394-50396]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23651]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-412-826]


Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod From the United Kingdom: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
and Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

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 the 
United Kingdom 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: Alice Maldonado, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4682.

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 
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 the 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 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 Antidumping Duty Investigation of Carbon and 
Alloy Steel Wire Rod from the United Kingdom'' 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 the 
United Kingdom. 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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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. The Department selected two respondents in this 
investigation, British Steel Limited (British Steel) and Longs Steel UK 
Limited (Longs Steel). British Steel submitted information on the 
record of this investigation demonstrating that it purchased Longs 
Steel during the POI. British Steel also submitted information 
supporting its claim that it operates essentially as a new company. 
After analyzing this information, the Department preliminarily finds 
that British Steel is not the successor-in-interest to Longs Steel. For 
further discussion, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the 
Successor-In-Interest Analysis Memo.\8\
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    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Carbon 
and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from the United Kingdom: Preliminary 
Successor-In-Interest Determination,'' dated concurrently with this 
preliminary determination.
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    With respect to British Steel, 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.

[[Page 50395]]

Furthermore, pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, the 
Department has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, 
with an adverse inference, for Longs Steel. For a full description of 
the 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 exist 
for British Steel, Longs Steel, and all other producers/exporters. 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)(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.
    In this investigation, the Department preliminarily assigned a rate 
based entirely on facts available to Longs Steel. Therefore, the only 
rate that is not zero, de minimis or based entirely on facts otherwise 
available is the rate calculated for British Steel. Consequently, the 
rate calculated for British Steel is also assigned as the rate for all-
other producers and exporters.

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
                    Exporter/producer                         average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Steel Limited...................................           41.96
Longs Steel Longs Steel UK Limited......................          147.63
All-Others..............................................           41.96
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of (a) 
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. The Department 
preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of 
subject merchandise produced or exported by British Steel, Longs Steel, 
and all other exporters. In accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the 
Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries 
of shipments of subject merchandise from the producer(s) or exporter(s) 
that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice. 
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

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.
    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).


[[Page 50396]]


    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. 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 of 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 may also 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 these proceedings 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. Successor-In-Interest
VI. Discussion of the Methodology
    A. Determination of Comparison Method
    B. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
VII. Date of Sale
VIII. Product Comparisons
IX. Export Price
X. 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
    E. Calculation of NV Based on Constructed Value
XI. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
    A. Application of Facts Available
    B. Use of Adverse Inference
    C. Selection and Corroboration of the AFA Rate
XII. Critical Circumstances
XIII. Currency Conversion
XIV. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2017-23651 Filed 10-30-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P