[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7154-7161]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03305]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-122-863, A-484-803, A-533-881, A-570-077, A-580-897, A-489-833]


Large Diameter Welded Pipe From Canada, Greece, India, the 
People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of 
Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

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


DATES: Applicable February 9, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Pulongbarit at (202) 482-4031 
(Canada); Brittany Bauer at (202) 482-3860 (Greece); Jaron Moore at 
(202) 482-3640 (India); Kabir Archuletta at (202) 482-8024 (the 
People's Republic of China (China)); Jesus Saenz at (202) 482-8184 (the 
Republic of Korea (Korea)); and Rebecca Janz at (202) 482-2972 (the 
Republic of Turkey (Turkey)); AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and 
Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Petitions

    On January 17, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
received antidumping duty (AD) Petitions concerning imports of large 
diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from Canada, China, Greece, India, 
Korea, and Turkey, filed in proper form on behalf of American Cast Iron 
Pipe Company, Berg Steel Pipe Corp., Dura-Bond Industries, Skyline 
Steel, and Stupp Corporation (collectively, the petitioners).\1\ The AD 
Petitions were accompanied by countervailing duty (CVD) Petitions 
concerning imports of welded pipe from China, India, Korea, and Turkey. 
The petitioners are domestic producers of welded pipe.\2\
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    \1\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
Canada, Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic 
of Korea, and the Republic of Turkey: Petitions for the Imposition 
of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated January 17, 2018 
(the Petitions).
    \2\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2.
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    Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by 
the closure of the Federal Government from January 20 through 22, 2018. 
If the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with 
Commerce's practice, the deadline will become the next business day. 
The revised deadline for the initiation of these investigations is now 
February 9, 2018.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum for The Record from Christian Marsh, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of 
the Federal Government'' (Tolling Memorandum), dated January 23, 
2018. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been 
extended by 3 days.
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    On January 23, 24, 29, 30, and February 6, 2018, Commerce requested 
supplemental information pertaining to certain areas of the 
Petitions.\4\ The

[[Page 7155]]

petitioners filed responses to these requests on January 25, 26, 29, 
and 30, and February 1, 5, and 6, 2018.\5\ Also on February 5, 2018, 
the petitioners submitted certain revisions to the scope.\6\
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    \4\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
Canada, Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic 
of Korea, and the Republic of Turkey and Countervailing Duties on 
Imports from India, the Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, 
and the Republic of Turkey: Supplemental Questions,'' (General 
Issues Supplemental Questionnaire); ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
{Canada{time} {sic{time} : Supplemental Questions;'' ``Petition for 
the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter 
Welded Pipe from the People's Republic of China: Supplemental 
Questions;'' ``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on 
Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Greece: Supplemental 
Questions;'' and ``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties 
on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Turkey: Supplemental 
Questions.'' All of these documents are dated January 23, 2018. See 
also Commerce's Letters, ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
India: Supplemental Questions;'' and ``Petition for the Imposition 
of Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
the Republic of Korea: Supplemental Questions,'' both dated January 
24, 2018. See also Commerce's Letter, ``Petition for the Imposition 
of Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
the People's Republic of China: Supplemental Questions,'' dated 
January 29, 2018. See also ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
Greece: Additional Questions;'' ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
India: Additional Questions;'' ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
Korea: Additional Questions;'' and ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
Turkey: Additional Questions.'' These documents are all dated 
January 30, 2018. See also Commerce's Memorandum to the File, 
``Telephone Call with Petitioner's Counsel Regarding U.S. Price 
Calculation,'' dated February 6, 2018.
    \5\ See Petitioners' Letters, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
Canada, Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic 
of Korea and the Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's 
January 23, 2018 Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume VIII of the 
Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duties,'' dated January 25, 2018 (China AD Supplement). See also 
Petitioners' Letters, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 23, 
2018 Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume I of the Petition for 
the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (General 
Issues Supplement); ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 23, 
2018 Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume II of the Petition for 
the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Canada AD 
Supplement); ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, 
India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the 
Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 23, 2018 
Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume III of the Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Greece AD 
Supplement); and ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, 
India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the 
Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 23, 2018 
Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume X of the Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Turkey AD 
Supplement). All of these documents are dated January 26, 2018. See 
also Petitioners' Letters, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 24, 
2018 Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume IV of the Petition for 
the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (India AD 
Supplement); and ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, 
India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the 
Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 24, 2018 
Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume VI of the Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Korea AD 
Supplement), both dated January 29, 2018. See also Petitioners' 
Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, the 
People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the Republic 
of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 29, 2018 
Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume VIII of the Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated January 
29, 2018 (Second China AD Supplement). See also Petitioners' 
Letters, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, 
the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the 
Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 30, 2018 
Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume III of the Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties;'' ``Large 
Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Turkey: 
Response to the Department's January 30, 2018 Additional Questions 
Regarding Volume IV of the Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Second India AD 
Supplement); ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, 
India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the 
Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 30, 2018 
Additional Questions Regarding Volume VI of the Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Second Korea 
AD Supplement); and ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of Turkey: Response to the Department's January 30, 
2018 Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume X of the Petition for 
the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Second 
Turkey AD Supplement). All of these documents are dated February 1, 
2018. See also Petitioners' Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe 
from Greece: Supplement to the Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (Second Greece AD 
Supplement), dated February 5, 2018. See also Petitioners' Letters, 
``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, the 
People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the Republic 
of Turkey: Submission of Declaration regarding Vol. III of the 
Petition on Antidumping and Countervailing Duties;'' and ``Large 
Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Turkey: 
Clarification of Vol. IV India Dumping Margin,'' (Third India AD 
Supplement). Both of these documents are dated February 6, 2018.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Large Diameter Welded Pipe 
from Canada, Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the 
Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Turkey: Phone Call with 
Counsel to the Petitioners,'' dated February 1, 2018; see also 
Petitioners' Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of Turkey: Petition Supplement on Scope and 
Industry Support,'' dated February 5, 2018 (Scope and Industry 
Support Supplement).
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    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), the petitioners allege that imports of welded pipe 
from Canada, China, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value within 
the meaning of section 731 of the Act, and that such imports are 
materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the domestic 
industry producing welded pipe in the United States. Consistent with 
section 732(b)(1) of the Act, the Petitions are accompanied by 
information reasonably available to the petitioners supporting their 
allegations.
    Commerce finds that the petitioners filed the Petitions on behalf 
of the domestic industry because the petitioners are interested parties 
as defined in section 771(9)(C) of the Act. Commerce also finds that 
the petitioners demonstrated sufficient industry support with respect 
to the initiation of the AD investigations that the petitioners are 
requesting.\7\
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    \7\ See the ``Determination of Industry Support for the 
Petitions'' section, infra.
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Periods of Investigation

    Because the Petitions were filed on January 17, 2018, pursuant to 
19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the period of investigation (POI) for the Canada, 
Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey investigations is January 1, 2017, 
through December 31, 2017. Because China is a non-market economy (NME) 
country, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the POI for the China 
investigation is July 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017.

Scope of the Investigations

    The product covered by these investigations is welded pipe from 
Canada, China, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey. For a full description 
of the scope of these investigations, see the Appendix to this notice.

Scope Comments

    During our review of the Petitions, Commerce issued questions to, 
and received responses from, the petitioners pertaining to the proposed 
scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petitions is an accurate 
reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is seeking 
relief.\8\ As a result of these exchanges, the scope of the Petitions 
was modified to clarify the description of merchandise covered by the 
Petitions. The description of the merchandise covered by this 
initiation, as described in the Appendix to this notice, reflects these 
clarifications.
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    \8\ See General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire, at 4-5.
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    As discussed in the preamble to Commerce's regulations, we are 
setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues regarding 
product coverage (scope).\9\ Commerce will consider all comments 
received from interested parties and, if necessary, will consult with 
interested parties prior to the issuance of the preliminary 
determinations. If scope comments include factual information,\10\ all 
such factual information should be limited to public information. To 
facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, Commerce requests that 
all interested parties submit such comments by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time 
(ET) on March 1, 2018, which is 20 calendar days from the signature 
date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments, which may include factual 
information, must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 12, 2018, which is 
the next business day after 10

[[Page 7156]]

calendar days from the initial comments deadline.\11\
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    \9\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ``factual 
information'').
    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b).
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    Commerce requests that any factual information parties consider 
relevant to the scope of the investigations be submitted during this 
period. However, if a party subsequently finds that additional factual 
information pertaining to the scope of the investigations may be 
relevant, the party may contact Commerce and request permission to 
submit the additional information. All such submissions must be filed 
on the records of each of the concurrent AD and CVD investigations.

Filing Requirements

    All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically using 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).\12\ An electronically 
filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the 
time and date it is due. Documents exempted from the electronic 
submission requirements must be filed manually (i.e., in paper form) 
with Enforcement and Compliance's APO/Dockets Unit, Room 18022, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20230, and stamped with the date and time of receipt by the applicable 
deadlines.
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    \12\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 
Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046 
(November 20, 2014) for details of Commerce's electronic filing 
requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on help using 
ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a 
handbook can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20Filling%20Procedures.pdf.
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Comments on Product Characteristics for AD Questionnaires

    Commerce will provide interested parties an opportunity to comment 
on the appropriate physical characteristics of welded pipe to be 
reported in response to Commerce's AD questionnaires. This information 
will be used to identify the key physical characteristics of the 
merchandise under consideration in order to report the relevant costs 
of production accurately as well as to develop appropriate product-
comparison criteria.
    Interested parties may provide any information or comments that 
they feel are relevant to the development of an accurate list of 
physical characteristics. Specifically, they may provide comments as to 
which characteristics are appropriate to use as: (1) General product 
characteristics, and (2) product-comparison criteria. We note that it 
is not always appropriate to use all product characteristics as 
product-comparison criteria. We base product-comparison criteria on 
meaningful commercial differences among products. In other words, 
although there may be some physical product characteristics utilized by 
manufacturers to describe welded pipe, it may be that only a select few 
product characteristics take into account commercially meaningful 
physical characteristics. In addition, interested parties may comment 
on the order in which the physical characteristics should be used in 
matching products. Generally, Commerce attempts to list the most 
important physical characteristics first and the least important 
characteristics last.
    In order to consider the suggestions of interested parties in 
developing and issuing the AD questionnaires, all product 
characteristics comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 1, 
2018. Any rebuttal comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 12, 
2018. All comments and submissions to Commerce must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS, as explained above, on the records of the 
Canada, China, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey less-than-fair-value 
investigations.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on 
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act 
provides that a petition meets this requirement if the domestic 
producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) At least 
25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and 
(ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like 
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support 
for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of 
the Act provides that, if the petition does not establish support of 
domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product, Commerce shall: (i) 
Poll the industry or rely on other information in order to determine if 
there is support for the petition, as required by subparagraph (A); or 
(ii) determine industry support using a statistically valid sampling 
method to poll the ``industry.''
    Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the 
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine 
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute 
directs Commerce to look to producers and workers who produce the 
domestic like product. The International Trade Commission (ITC), which 
is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry'' has 
been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like 
product in order to define the industry. While both Commerce and the 
ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic 
like product,\13\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a 
separate and distinct authority. In addition, Commerce's determination 
is subject to limitations of time and information. Although this may 
result in different definitions of the like product, such differences 
do not render the decision of either agency contrary to law.\14\
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    \13\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
    \14\ See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT 
2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 688 F. 
Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
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    Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a 
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation 
under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which the domestic 
like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to an 
investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be 
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the 
petition).
    With regard to the domestic like product, the petitioners do not 
offer a definition of the domestic like product distinct from the scope 
of the Petitions.\15\ Based on our analysis of the information 
submitted on the record, we have determined that welded pipe, as 
defined in the scope, constitutes a single domestic like product, and 
we have analyzed industry support in terms of that domestic like 
product.\16\
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    \15\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 15; see also General 
Issues Supplement, at 7-10.
    \16\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis as 
applied to these cases and information regarding industry support, 
see Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Large 
Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada (Canada AD Initiation Checklist), 
at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation 
Checklist: Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Greece (Greece AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
India (India AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping 
Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Large Diameter Welded Pipe 
from the People's Republic of China (China AD Initiation Checklist), 
at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation 
Checklist: Large Diameter Welded Pipe from the Republic of Korea 
(Korea AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; and Antidumping 
Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Large Diameter Welded Pipe 
from the Republic of Turkey (Turkey AD Initiation Checklist), at 
Attachment II. These checklists are dated concurrently with this 
notice and on file electronically via ACCESS. Access to documents 
filed via ACCESS is also available in the Central Records Unit, Room 
B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building.

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[[Page 7157]]

    In determining whether the petitioners have standing under section 
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered the industry support data 
contained in the Petitions with reference to the domestic like product 
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' in the Appendix to 
this notice. The petitioners provided their own 2017 shipments of the 
domestic like product and 2017 shipments by supporters of the 
petitions.\17\ The petitioners compared the total quantity of these 
shipments to the estimated total shipments of the domestic like product 
for the entire domestic industry.\18\ The petitioners explained that 
they relied on shipment data because production data for the entire 
domestic industry are not available.\19\ In addition, the petitioners 
provided a comparison of their own production and shipment data to 
demonstrate that shipments are a reasonable proxy for data on 
production of welded pipe.\20\ We relied on data the petitioners 
provided for purposes of measuring industry support.\21\
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    \17\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 4 and Exhibit I-4; see 
also letter from the petitioners to Commerce dated January 31, 2018, 
``Supplement to the Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duties: Industry Support'' (Industry Support 
Supplement), at 2-3 and Exhibit I-Supp2-1; see also Scope and 
Industry Support Supplement, at Exhibit I-Supp3-3.
    \18\ Id.
    \19\ See Industry Support Supplement, at 3.
    \20\ Id. at 3 and Exhibits I-Supp-2-1 and I-Supp2-2.
    \21\ Id. For further discussion, see Attachment II of the Canada 
AD Initiation Checklist, China AD Initiation Checklist, Greece AD 
Initiation Checklist, India AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD 
Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation Checklist.
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    Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, General Issues 
Supplement, Industry Support Supplement, Scope and Industry Support 
Supplement, and other information readily available to Commerce 
indicates that the petitioners have established industry support for 
the Petitions.\22\ First, the Petitions established support from 
domestic producers (or workers) accounting for more than 50 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product and, as such, 
Commerce is not required to take further action in order to evaluate 
industry support (e.g., polling).\23\ Second, the domestic producers 
(or workers) have met the statutory criteria for industry support under 
section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act because the domestic producers (or 
workers) who support the Petitions account for at least 25 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product.\24\ Finally, the 
domestic producers (or workers) have met the statutory criteria for 
industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act because the 
domestic producers (or workers) who support the Petitions account for 
more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like product 
produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or 
opposition to, the Petitions.\25\ Accordingly, Commerce determines that 
the Petitions were filed on behalf of the domestic industry within the 
meaning of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.
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    \22\ Id.
    \23\ Id.; see also section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act.
    \24\ See Attachment II of the Canada AD Initiation Checklist, 
China AD Initiation Checklist, Greece AD Initiation Checklist, India 
AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey 
AD Initiation Checklist.
    \25\ Id.
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    Commerce finds that the petitioners filed the Petitions on behalf 
of the domestic industry because they are interested parties as defined 
in section 771(9)(C) of the Act, and they have demonstrated sufficient 
industry support with respect to the AD investigations that they are 
requesting that Commerce initiate.\26\
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    \26\ Id.
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    In letters dated January 25, January 29, and February 5, 2018, 
Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. and Borusan Istikbal 
Ticaret T.A.S. (collectively, Borusan), a Turkish producer and 
exporter, submitted comments on industry support.\27\ The petitioners 
responded to these comments in the Scope and Industry Support 
Supplement, dated February 5, 2018. For further discussion of these 
comments, see Attachment II of the Canada AD Initiation Checklist, 
China AD Initiation Checklist, Greece AD Initiation Checklist, India AD 
Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD 
Initiation Checklist.
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    \27\ See letter from Borusan to Commerce dated January 25, 2018, 
``Comments on Industry Support,'' letter from Borusan to Commerce 
dated January 29, 2018, ``Additional Comments on Industry Support,'' 
and letter from Borusan to Commerce dated February 5, 2018, 
``Additional Comments on Industry Support.''
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Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation

    The petitioners allege that the U.S. industry producing the 
domestic like product is being materially injured, or is threatened 
with material injury, by reason of the imports of the subject 
merchandise sold at less than normal value (NV). In addition, the 
petitioners allege that subject imports exceed the negligibility 
threshold provided for under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.\28\
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    \28\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 26-27 and Exhibit I-11; 
see also General Issues Supplement, at 15-18 and Exhibits I-Supp-10 
and I-Supp-11.
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    The petitioners contend that the industry's injured condition is 
illustrated by a significant volume of subject imports; reduced market 
share; underselling and price depression or suppression; lost sales and 
revenues; and a negative impact on the domestic industry's U.S. 
shipments, capacity utilization, production, and financial 
performance.\29\ We have assessed the allegations and supporting 
evidence regarding material injury, threat of material injury, and 
causation, and we have determined that these allegations are properly 
supported by adequate evidence, and meet the statutory requirements for 
initiation.\30\
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    \29\ Id., at 13-15, 18-43 and Exhibits I-5 and I-8 through I-18; 
see also General Issues Supplement, at 1, 15-18 and Exhibits I-Supp-
1, I-Supp-2, I-Supp-10 and I-Supp-11.
    \30\ See Canada AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III, 
Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and 
Causation for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 
Covering Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, the 
People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic 
of Turkey (Attachment III); see also China AD Initiation Checklist, 
at Attachment III; see also Greece AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment III; see also India AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment III; see also Korea AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment III; see also Turkey AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment III.
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Allegations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

    The following is a description of the allegations of sales at less 
than fair value upon which Commerce based its decision to initiate AD 
investigations of imports of welded pipe from Canada, China, Greece, 
India, Korea, and Turkey. The sources of data for the deductions and 
adjustments relating to U.S. price and NV are discussed in greater 
detail in the country-specific initiation checklists.

Export Price

    For Korea and Turkey, the petitioners based export price (EP) on 
price quotes for sales of welded pipe produced in, and exported from, 
those countries and offered for sale in the United States.\31\ For 
China, the petitioners based EP on the average unit values (AUVs) of 
publicly available import data.\32\ For China, the petitioners also 
used data regarding sales exported by a Chinese producer of welded pipe 
to support EP.\33\ For Canada and India, the

[[Page 7158]]

petitioners based EP on sales offers for welded pipe produced in, and 
exported from, those countries, valued using AUVs of publicly available 
import data.\34\ Where applicable, the petitioners made deductions from 
U.S. price for movement and other expenses, consistent with the terms 
of sale.\35\
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    \31\ See Korea and Turkey AD Initiation Checklists.
    \32\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \33\ Id.
    \34\ See Canada and India AD Initiation Checklists.
    \35\ See Canada, China, India, Korea, and Turkey Initiation 
Checklists.
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Constructed Export Price

    For Greece, because the petitioners had reason to believe the sale 
was made through a U.S. affiliate, petitioners based constructed export 
price (CEP) on an offer for sale of welded pipe produced in, and 
exported from, Greece and offered for sale in the United States.\36\ 
The petitioners made deductions from U.S. price for movement expenses 
consistent with the delivery terms.\37\ Where applicable, the 
petitioners also deducted CEP selling expenses from U.S. price.\38\
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    \36\ See Greece Initiation Checklist.
    \37\ Id.
    \38\ Id.
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Normal Value

    For Canada, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey, the petitioners were 
unable to obtain reliable information relating to the prices charged 
for welded pipe in Canada, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey, or any 
third country market.\39\ Because home market and third country prices 
were not reasonably available, the petitioners calculated NV based on 
constructed value (CV). For further discussion of CV, see the section 
``Normal Value Based on Constructed Value'' below.\40\
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    \39\ See Canada, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey AD Initiation 
Checklists.
    \40\ In accordance with section 505(a) of the Trade Preferences 
Extension Act of 2015, amending section 773(b)(2) of the Act, for 
this investigation, Commerce will request information necessary to 
calculate the CV and cost of production (COP) to determine whether 
there are reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that sales of the 
foreign like product have been made at prices that represent less 
than the COP of the product. Commerce no longer requires a COP 
allegation to conduct this analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With respect to China, Commerce considers China to be an NME 
country.\41\ In accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any 
determination that a foreign country is an NME country shall remain in 
effect until revoked by Commerce. Therefore, we continue to treat China 
as an NME country for purposes of the initiation of this investigation. 
Accordingly, NV in China is appropriately based on factors of 
production (FOPs) valued in a surrogate market economy country, in 
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.\42\ In the course of this 
investigation, all parties, and the public, will have the opportunity 
to provide relevant information related to the granting of separate 
rates to individual exporters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ See Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Aluminum Foil 
from the People's Republic of China: Affirmative Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value and Postponement of 
Final Determination, 82 FR 50858, 50861 (November 2, 2017), and 
accompanying decision memorandum, China's Status as a Non-Market 
Economy.
    \42\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
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    The petitioners claim that Thailand is an appropriate surrogate 
country for China because it is a market economy country that is at a 
level of economic development comparable to that of China and it is a 
significant producer of comparable merchandise that is home to several 
producers of welded pipe.\43\ The petitioners provided publicly-
available information from Thailand to value all FOPs.\44\ However, the 
petitioners relied upon the financial statements of Ternium, S.A., a 
Mexican producer of welded pipe, to value financial ratios because: (1) 
Mexico is also a country found by Commerce to be economically 
comparable to China; and (2) all of the Thai producers of welded pipe 
that the petitioners identified are either privately held and do not 
publish publicly-available financial statements or do publish financial 
statements but those statements indicate that the companies operated at 
a loss during the POI.\45\ Therefore, based on the information provided 
by the petitioners, we determine that it is appropriate to use Thailand 
as the primary surrogate country, but rely on the financial statements 
of a Mexican producer of welded pipe to value financial ratios, for 
initiation purposes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \43\ See Volume VIII of the Petitions, at 10-11.
    \44\ See Volume VIII of the Petitions, at 14-18 and Exhibit AD-
CN-16; see also the petitioners January 25, 2018, Response to the 
Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume VIII of the Petition (China 
Supplemental Response).
    \45\ See Volume VIII of the Petitions at 18-19 and Exhibit AD-
CN-21.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Interested parties will have the opportunity to submit comments 
regarding surrogate country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an opportunity to submit publicly 
available information to value FOPs within 30 days before the scheduled 
date of the preliminary determination.

Factors of Production

    Because information regarding the volume of inputs consumed by 
Chinese producers/exporters was not reasonably available, the 
petitioners used the product-specific consumption rates of a U.S. 
welded pipe producer to estimate the Chinese manufacturers' FOPs.\46\ 
The petitioners valued the estimated FOPs using surrogate values from 
Thailand, as noted above.\47\ The petitioners used the average POI 
exchange rate to convert the data to U.S. dollars.\48\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \46\ See Volume VIII of the Petitions at 11-12; China AD 
Supplement at Exhibit AD-CN-Supp-4.
    \47\ See Volume VIII of the Petitions at 18-19 and Exhibit AD-
CN-21.
    \48\ See Volume VIII of the Petitions at 15-16 and Exhibit AD-
CN-14; China AD Supplement at Exhibit AD-CN-Supp-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normal Value Based on Constructed Value

    As noted above, the petitioners were unable to obtain information 
relating to the prices charged for welded pipe in Canada, Greece, 
India, Korea, and Turkey, or any third country market; accordingly, the 
petitioner based NV on CV.\49\ Pursuant to section 773(e) of the Act, 
CV consists of the cost of manufacturing (COM), selling, general, and 
administrative (SG&A) expenses, financial expenses, packing expenses, 
and profit. For Canada, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey, the 
petitioners calculated the COM based on the input factors of production 
and usage rates from a U.S. producer of welded pipe. The input factors 
of production were valued using publicly available data on costs 
specific to Canada, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey, during the 
proposed POI.\50\ Specifically, the prices for raw materials, reclaimed 
steel scrap, and packing inputs were valued using publicly available 
import and domestic price data for Canada, Greece, India, Korea, and 
Turkey.\51\ Labor and energy costs were valued using publicly available 
sources for Canada, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey.\52\ The 
petitioners calculated factory overhead, SG&A, and profit for Canada, 
Greece, India, and Turkey based on the average ratios found in the 
experience of a producer of welded pipe products or of comparable 
merchandise from each of these countries.\53\ Because the petitioners 
were not able to ascertain the fixed overhead rate of a Korean producer 
of welded pipe, the petitioners, conservatively, omitted fixed overhead 
costs in the calculation of COM for Korea.\54\ The petitioners 
calculated SG&A and profit for Korea based on the average ratios found 
in the

[[Page 7159]]

experience of a Korean producer of welded pipe products.\55\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \49\ See Canada AD Initiation Checklist; Greece AD Initiation 
Checklist; India AD Initiation Checklist; Korea AD Initiation 
Checklist; and Turkey AD Initiation Checklist.
    \50\ Id.
    \51\ Id.
    \52\ Id.
    \53\ Id.
    \54\ See Korea AD Initiation Checklist.
    \55\ Id.
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Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by the petitioners, there is reason to 
believe that imports of welded pipe from Canada, China, Greece, India, 
Korea, and Turkey are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United 
States at less than fair value. Based on comparisons of EP, or CEP, to 
NV in accordance with sections 772 and 773 of the Act, the estimated 
dumping margins for welded pipe for each of the countries covered by 
this initiation are as follows: (1) Canada--50.89 percent; \56\ (2) 
China--120.84--132.63 percent; \57\ (3) Greece--41.04 percent; \58\ (4) 
India--37.94 percent; \59\ (5) Korea--16.18 and 20.39 percent; \60\ and 
(6) Turkey--66.09 percent.\61\
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    \56\ See Canada AD Initiation Checklist.
    \57\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \58\ See Greece AD Initiation Checklist.
    \59\ See India AD Initiation Checklist.
    \60\ See Korea AD Initiation Checklist.
    \61\ See Turkey AD Initiation Checklist.
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Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

    Based upon the examination of the AD Petitions, we find that the 
Petitions meet the requirements of section 732 of the Act. Therefore, 
we are initiating AD investigations to determine whether imports of 
welded pipe from Canada, China, Greece, India, Korea, and Turkey are 
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value. In accordance with section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(b)(1), unless postponed, we will make our preliminary 
determinations no later than 140 days after the date of this 
initiation.
    Under the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, numerous 
amendments to the AD and CVD laws were made.\62\ The 2015 law does not 
specify dates of application for those amendments. On August 6, 2015, 
Commerce published an interpretative rule, in which it announced the 
applicability dates for each amendment to the Act, except for 
amendments contained in section 771(7) of the Act, which relate to 
determinations of material injury by the ITC.\63\ The amendments to 
sections 771(15), 773, 776, and 782 of the Act are applicable to all 
determinations made on or after August 6, 2015, and, therefore, apply 
to these AD investigations.\64\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \62\ See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, Public Law 
114-27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015).
    \63\ See Dates of Application of Amendments to the Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Laws Made by the Trade Preferences Extension 
Act of 2015, 80 FR 46793 (August 6, 2015).
    \64\ Id. at 46794-95. The 2015 amendments may be found at 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1295/text/pl.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Respondent Selection

    The petitioners named six companies in Canada,\65\ 26 companies in 
India,\66\ 28 companies in Korea,\67\ and 13 companies in Turkey,\68\ 
as producers/exporters of welded pipe. Following standard practice in 
AD investigations involving market economy countries, in the event 
Commerce determines that the number of companies is large and it cannot 
individually examine each company based upon Commerce's resources, 
where appropriate, Commerce intends to select respondents based on U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for U.S. imports under the 
appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States numbers 
listed with the scope in the Appendix, below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \65\ See Volume I of the Petitions at Exhibit I-3.
    \66\ Id.
    \67\ Id.
    \68\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    On February 1, 2018 (for Canada), February 2, 2018 (for India), 
February 5, 2018 (for Korea), and February 6 (for Turkey), Commerce 
released CBP data under Administrative Protective Order (APO) to all 
parties with access to information protected by APO and indicated that 
interested parties wishing to comment regarding the CBP data and 
respondent selection must do so within three business days of the 
publication date of the notice of initiation of these AD 
investigations.\69\ Commerce will not accept rebuttal comments 
regarding the CBP data or respondent selection.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \69\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Large Diameter Welded Line Pipe 
Antidumping Duty Petition: Release of Customs Data from U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection;'' ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from India 
Antidumping Duty Petition: Release of Customs Data from U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection;'' ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from the 
Republic of Korea Antidumping Duty Petition: Release of Customs Data 
from U.S. Customs and Border Protection;'' and ``Large Diameter 
Welded Pipe from Turkey Antidumping Duty Petition: Release of 
Customs Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.'' These 
documents are dated February 1, 2, 5, and 6, 2018, respectively.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Although Commerce normally relies on the number of producers/
exporters identified in the petition and/or import data from CBP to 
determine whether to select a limited number of producers/exporters for 
individual examination in AD investigations, the petitioners identified 
only one company as a producer/exporter of welded pipe in Greece: 
Corinth Pipeworks S.A. (Corinth).\70\ We currently know of no 
additional producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration from 
Greece, and the petitioners provided information from an independent 
third-party source as support.\71\ Accordingly, Commerce intends to 
examine Corinth, the only known producer/exporter in the investigation 
for Greece.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \70\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at Exhibit I-3; Volume III 
of the Petitions, at 3; and Greece AD Supplement, at 2-3.
    \71\ See Volume III of the Petitions, at Exhibit AD-GR-3; and 
Greece AD Supplement, at Exhibit AD-GR-Supp-2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With respect to China, the petitioners named 157 producers/
exporters as accounting for the majority of exports of welded pipe to 
the United States from China.\72\ After considering the large number of 
producers and exporters identified in the Petition, and considering the 
resources that must be utilized by Commerce to mail quantity and value 
(Q&V) questionnaires to all of these companies, Commerce has determined 
that we do not have sufficient administrative resources to mail Q&V 
questionnaires to all 157 identified producers and exporters. 
Therefore, Commerce has determined to limit the number of Q&V 
questionnaires it will send out to exporters and producers based on CBP 
data for imports meeting the description of the scope of the 
investigation. Accordingly, Commerce will send Q&V questionnaires based 
on the producers and exporters that are identified in the Petition and 
that also appear in the CBP data. On February 1, 2018, Commerce 
released CBP data under APO to all parties with access to information 
protected by APO and indicated that interested parties wishing to 
comment on the CBP data must do so within three business days of the 
publication date of the notice of initiation of this investigation.\73\ 
We further stated that we will not accept rebuttal comments.\74\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \72\ See General Issues Supplement, at Exhibit I-Supp-4.
    \73\ See Commerce's Memorandum to the File, ``Releasing U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection Data,'' dated February 1, 2018.
    \74\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, Commerce will post the Q&V questionnaire along with 
filing instructions on the Enforcement and Compliance website at http://www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp. In accordance with our standard 
practice for respondent selection in AD cases involving NME countries, 
we intend to base respondent selection on the responses to the Q&V 
questionnaire that we receive.
    Producers/exporters of welded pipe from China that do not receive 
Q&V questionnaires by mail may still submit

[[Page 7160]]

a response to the Q&V questionnaire and can obtain a copy of the Q&V 
questionnaire from Enforcement & Compliance's website. The Q&V response 
must be submitted by the relevant Chinese exporters/producers no later 
than 5:00 p.m. ET on February 23, 2018. All Q&V responses must be filed 
electronically via ACCESS.

Separate Rates

    In order to obtain separate-rate status in an NME investigation, 
exporters and producers must submit a separate-rate application.\75\ 
The specific requirements for submitting a separate-rate application in 
the China investigation are outlined in detail in the application 
itself, which is available on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. The separate-rate 
application will be due 30 days after publication of this initiation 
notice.\76\ Exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate 
application and have been selected as mandatory respondents will be 
eligible for consideration for separate-rate status only if they 
respond to all parts of Commerce's AD questionnaire as mandatory 
respondents. Commerce requires that companies from China submit a 
response to both the Q&V questionnaire and the separate-rate 
application by the respective deadlines in order to receive 
consideration for separate-rate status. Companies not filing a timely 
Q&V response will not receive separate-rate consideration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \75\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and 
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigation 
involving Non-Market Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf (Policy Bulletin 
05.1).
    \76\ Although in past investigations this deadline was 60 days, 
consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a), which states that ``the Secretary 
may request any person to submit factual information at any time 
during a proceeding,'' this deadline is now 30 days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use of Combination Rates

    Commerce will calculate combination rates for certain respondents 
that are eligible for a separate rate in an NME investigation. The 
Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin states:

{w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates 
only to exporters, all separate rates that the Department will now 
assign in its NME Investigation will be specific to those producers 
that supplied the exporter during the period of investigation. Note, 
however, that one rate is calculated for the exporter and all of the 
producers which supplied subject merchandise to it during the period 
of investigation. This practice applies both to mandatory 
respondents receiving an individually calculated separate rate as 
well as the pool of non-investigated firms receiving the weighted-
average of the individually calculated rates. This practice is 
referred to as the application of ``combination rates'' because such 
rates apply to specific combinations of exporters and one or more 
producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to an exporter will apply 
only to merchandise both exported by the firm in question and 
produced by a firm that supplied the exporter during the period of 
investigation.\77\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \77\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Distribution of Copies of the Petitions

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A)(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.202(f), copies of the public version of the Petitions have been 
provided to the governments of Canada, China, Greece, India, Korea, and 
Turkey via ACCESS. To the extent practicable, we will attempt to 
provide a copy of the public version of the Petitions to each exporter 
named in the Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR 351.203(c)(2).

ITC Notification

    We will notify the ITC of our initiation, as required by section 
732(d) of the Act.

Preliminary Determinations by the ITC

    The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date 
on which the Petitions were filed, whether there is a reasonable 
indication that imports of welded pipe from Canada, China, Greece, 
India, Korea, and/or Turkey are materially injuring or threatening 
material injury to a U.S. industry. A negative ITC determination for 
any country will result in the investigation being terminated with 
respect to that country.\78\ Otherwise, the investigations will proceed 
according to statutory and regulatory time limits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \78\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Submission of Factual Information

    Factual information is defined in 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) 
Evidence submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence 
submitted in support of allegations; (iii) publicly available 
information to value factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence 
placed on the record by Commerce; and (v) evidence other than factual 
information described in (i)-(iv). 19 CFR 351.301(b) requires any 
party, when submitting factual information, to specify under which 
subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information is being submitted 
\79\ and, if the information is submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct 
factual information already on the record, to provide an explanation 
identifying the information already on the record that the factual 
information seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct.\80\ Time limits for 
the submission of factual information are addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, 
which provides specific time limits based on the type of factual 
information being submitted. Interested parties should review the 
regulations prior to submitting factual information in these 
investigations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \79\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
    \80\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extensions of Time Limits

    Parties may request an extension of time limits before the 
expiration of a time limit established under 19 CFR 351.301, or as 
otherwise specified by the Secretary. In general, an extension request 
will be considered untimely if it is filed after the expiration of the 
time limit established under 19 CFR 351.301. For submissions that are 
due from multiple parties simultaneously, an extension request will be 
considered untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET on the due date. 
Under certain circumstances, we may elect to specify a different time 
limit by which extension requests will be considered untimely for 
submissions which are due from multiple parties simultaneously. In such 
a case, we will inform parties in the letter or memorandum setting 
forth the deadline (including a specified time) by which extension 
requests must be filed to be considered timely. An extension request 
must be made in a separate, stand-alone submission; under limited 
circumstances we will grant untimely-filed requests for the extension 
of time limits. Parties should review Extension of Time Limits; Final 
Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 20, 2013), available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm, prior to 
submitting factual information in these investigations.

Certification Requirements

    Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding 
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\81\ 
Parties must use the certification formats provided in 19 CFR 
351.303(g).\82\ Commerce intends to reject factual submissions if the 
submitting party does not comply with the applicable revised 
certification requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \81\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \82\ See also Certification of Factual Information to Import 
Administration During Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (Final Rule). Answers to 
frequently asked questions regarding the Final Rule are available at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.

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[[Page 7161]]

Notification to Interested Parties

    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On January 22, 2008, Commerce 
published Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Documents 
Submission Procedures; APO Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January 22, 2008). 
Parties wishing to participate in these investigations should ensure 
that they meet the requirements of these procedures (e.g., the filing 
of letters of appearance as discussed at 19 CFR 351.103(d)).
    This notice is issued and published pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) 
and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).

    Dated: February 9, 2018.
James Maeder,
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations, performing the duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations.

Appendix--Scope of the Investigations

    The merchandise covered by these investigations is welded carbon 
and alloy steel pipe, more than 406.4 mm (16 inches) in nominal 
outside diameter (large diameter welded pipe), regardless of wall 
thickness, length, surface finish, grade, end finish, or stenciling. 
Large diameter welded pipe may be used to transport oil, gas, 
slurry, steam, or other fluids, liquids, or gases. It may also be 
used for structural purposes, including, but not limited to, piling. 
Specifically, not included is large diameter welded pipe produced 
only to specifications of the American Water Works Association 
(AWWA) for water and sewage pipe.
    Large diameter welded pipe used to transport oil, gas, or 
natural gas liquids is normally produced to the American Petroleum 
Institute (API) specification 5L. Large diameter welded pipe may 
also be produced to American Society for Testing and Materials 
(ASTM) standards A500, A252, or A53, or other relevant domestic 
specifications, grades and/or standards. Large diameter welded pipe 
can be produced to comparable foreign specifications, grades and/or 
standards or to proprietary specifications, grades and/or standards, 
or can be non-graded material. All pipe meeting the physical 
description set forth above is covered by the scope of these 
investigations, whether or not produced according to a particular 
standard.
    Subject merchandise also includes large diameter welded pipe 
that has been further processed in a third country, including but 
not limited to coating, painting, notching, beveling, cutting, 
punching, welding, or any other processing that would not otherwise 
remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigations if 
performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope large 
diameter welded pipe.
    Excluded from the scope are any products covered by the existing 
antidumping duty orders on welded line pipe from the Republic of 
Korea, welded line pipe from the Republic of Turkey, and welded ASTM 
A-312 stainless steel pipe from Korea, as well as any products 
covered by the existing countervailing duty order on welded line 
pipe from Turkey. See Welded Line Pipe from the Republic of Korea 
and the Republic of Turkey: Antidumping Duty Orders, 80 FR 75056 
(December 1, 2015); Welded ASTM A-312 Stainless Steel Pipe from 
South Korea: Antidumping Duty Order, 57 FR 62300 (December 30, 
1992); and Welded Line Pipe from the Republic of Turkey: 
Countervailing Duty Order, 80 FR 75054 (December 1, 2015).
    The large diameter welded pipe that is subject to these 
investigations is currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under subheadings 
7305.11.1030, 7305.11.1060, 7305.11.5000, 7305.12.1030, 
7305.12.1060, 7305.12.5000, 7305.19.1030, 7305.19.1060, 
7305.19.5000, 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6010, 7305.31.6090, 7305.39.1000 
and 7305.39.5000. While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of these investigations is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2018-03305 Filed 2-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P