[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60178-60180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27307]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-063]


Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment 
of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) preliminarily 
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of cast iron soil pipe fittings (soil pipe 
fittings) from the People's Republic of China (PRC). The period of 
investigation is January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.

DATES: Applicable December 19, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis McClure or Jinny Ahn, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-5973 or 202-482-
0339, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The Department 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on August 8, 
2017.\1\ On September 2, 2017, the Department postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
December 11, 2017.\2\ For a

[[Page 60179]]

complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this 
investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ A list of 
topics discussed 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 
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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The 
signed and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings from the People's Republic 
of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 82 FR 
37048 (August 8, 2017) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings from the People's Republic 
of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 82 FR 44160 (September 21, 2017).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings from the 
People's Republic of China,'' 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 cast iron soil pipe 
fittings from the PRC. 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\ No parties 
submitted comments with regard to the scope of this investigation.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 82 FR at 37049.
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, the Department preliminarily determines that there is 
a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that 
confers a benefit on the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\6\
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    \6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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    The Department notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in 
part, on facts available and, because it finds that one or more 
respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond to the 
Department's requests for information, it drew an adverse inference 
where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise 
available.\7\ For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise 
Available and Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), the Department 
is aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the 
final determination in the companion AD investigation of cast iron soil 
pipe fittings based on a request made by the petitioner.\8\ 
Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same 
date as the final antidumping duty determination, which is currently 
scheduled to be issued no later than April 24, 2018, unless postponed.
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    \8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings from 
the People's Republic of China: Request to Align the Final 
Determinations,'' dated November 16, 2017. The petitioner in this 
investigation is the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute, a trade 
association whose members are all domestic producers of soil pipe 
fittings. The individual members of the Cast Iron Soil Pipe 
Institute are AB&I Foundry, Charlotte Pipe & Foundry, and Tyler 
Pipe. See Initiation Notice, 82 FR at 37048.
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All-Others Rate

    Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the 
preliminary determination, the Department shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate 
shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated 
subsidy rates established for those companies individually examined, 
excluding any zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely 
under section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, the Department calculated individual 
estimated countervailable subsidy rates for Shanxi Xuanshi Industrial 
Group Co., Ltd. and Wor-Biz International Trading Co., Ltd. (Anhui) 
that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise 
available. The Department calculated the all-others' rate using a 
weighted average of the individual estimated subsidy rates calculated 
for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged 
values for the merchandise under consideration.\9\
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    \9\ See Memorandum regarding: Calculation of the All-Others Rate 
for the Preliminary Determination, dated December 11, 2017.
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Preliminary Determination

    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Producer/exporter                        (percent)
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Shanxi Xuanshi Industrial Group Co., Ltd................            8.66
Shijiazhuang Chengmei Import & Export Co., Ltd..........          102.31
Wor-Biz International Trading Co., Ltd. (Anhui).........           12.72
All-Others..............................................           10.37
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (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 
the scope of the investigation entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), the 
Department will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the 
rates indicated above.

Disclosure

    The Department intends to disclose its calculations and analysis to 
interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days 
of its public announcement, or if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date 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

[[Page 60180]]

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.
    Parties are reminded that briefs and hearing requests are to be 
filed electronically using ACCESS and that electronically filed 
documents must be received successfully in their entirety by 5 p.m. 
Eastern Time on the due date.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, the Department will 
notify the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. 
If the Department's final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
make its final determination before the later of 120 days after the 
date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the 
Department's final determination.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: December 11, 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 merchandise covered by this investigation is cast iron soil 
pipe fittings, finished and unfinished, regardless of industry or 
proprietary specifications, and regardless of size. Cast iron soil 
pipe fittings are nonmalleable iron castings of various designs and 
sizes, including, but not limited to, bends, tees, wyes, traps, 
drains, and other common or special fittings, with or without side 
inlets.
    Cast iron soil pipe fittings are classified into two major 
types--hubless and hub and spigot. Hubless cast iron soil pipe 
fittings are manufactured without a hub, generally in compliance 
with Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (CISPI) specification 301 and/or 
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification 
A888. Hub and spigot pipe fittings have hubs into which the spigot 
(plain end) of the pipe or fitting is inserted. Cast iron soil pipe 
fittings are generally distinguished from other types of 
nonmalleable cast iron fittings by the manner in which they are 
connected to cast iron soil pipe and other fittings.
    The subject imports are normally classified in subheading 
7307.11.0045 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS): Cast fittings of nonmalleable cast iron for cast iron soil 
pipe. The HTSUS subheading and specifications are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes only; the written description of 
the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. New Subsidy Allegations
V. Alignment
VI. Injury Test
VII. Application of the CVD Law to Imports From the PRC
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IX. Subsidies Valuation
X. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
XI. Analysis of Programs
XII. Calculation of the All-Others Rate
XIII. ITC Notification
XIV. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2017-27307 Filed 12-18-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P