[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11170-11172]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05154]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-068]


Forged Steel 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 (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and 
exporters of forged steel fittings from the People's Republic of China 
(China). The period of investigation is January 1, 2016, through 
December 31, 2016.

DATES: Applicable March 14, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Smith or Janae Martin, 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) 482-1766 or (202) 
482-0238, 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 November 1, 
2017.\1\ On December 1, 2017, the Department postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation by no later than 130 days after the 
date on which Commerce initiated this investigation.\2\
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    \1\ See Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of 
China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 82 FR 50623 
(November 1, 2017) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of 
China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination of Countervailing 
Duty Investigation, 82 FR 59584 (December 15, 2017).
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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 nonbusiness day, in accordance with 
Commerce's practice, the deadline will become the next business day. 
The revised deadline for the publication of the preliminary 
determination of this investigation is now March 7, 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,'' dated January 23, 2018. All deadlines in 
this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 3 days.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\4\ 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

[[Page 11171]]

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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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Forged 
Steel 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 forged steel 
fittings from China. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\6\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice.
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    For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal 
responses submitted to the record for this preliminary determination, 
and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely 
received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\7\ The 
Department is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared 
in the Initiation Notice.\8\ As stated in the Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum, all interested parties are invited to comment on 
the proposed modifications no later than March 19, 2018; rebuttal 
comments are due no later than March 26, 2018. Such comments must be 
filed via ACCESS on the records of this countervailing duty 
investigation and the concurrent antidumping duty investigations of 
forged steel fittings from China, Italy and Taiwan.
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    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Forged Steel Fittings from China, 
Italy, and Taiwan: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for the 
Preliminary Determinations,'' dated concurrently with this notice 
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
    \8\ See Appendix I.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a 
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives 
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\9\
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    \9\ 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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    Commerce 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 Commerce's 
requests for information, it drew an adverse inference where 
appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.\10\ 
For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 
Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \10\ 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), Commerce is 
aligning the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping 
duty (AD) investigation of forged steel fittings from China based on a 
request made by the petitioners.\11\ Consequently, the final CVD 
determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD 
determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than 
July 23, 2018, unless postponed.
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    \11\ See Letter from the petitioners, ``Forged Steel Fittings 
from the People's Republic of China: Request for Alignment,'' dated 
January 10, 2018.
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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.
    The Department calculated an individual estimated countervailable 
subsidy rate for Both-Well (Taizhou) Steel Fittings, Co., Ltd. (Both-
Well), the only individually examined exporter/producer in this 
investigation. Because the only individually calculated rate is not 
zero, de minimis, or based entirely under section 776 of the Act, the 
estimated weighted-average rate calculated for Both-Well is the rate 
assigned to all-other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 
705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act.

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
                                                               (percent)
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Both-Well (Taizhou) Steel Fittings, Co., Ltd................       13.79
All-Others..................................................       13.79
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, 
Commerce 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'' section 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), 
Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates 
indicated above.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed 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, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in 
this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\12\ 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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    \12\ 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

[[Page 11172]]

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, Commerce 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.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If the 
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 Commerce'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: March 7, 2018.
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 carbon and 
alloy forged steel fittings, whether unfinished (commonly known as 
blanks or rough forgings) or finished. Such fittings are made in a 
variety of shapes including, but not limited to, elbows, tees, 
crosses, laterals, couplings, reducers, caps, plugs, bushings and 
unions. Forged steel fittings are covered regardless of end finish, 
whether threaded, socket-weld or other end connections.
    While these fittings are generally manufactured to 
specifications ASME B16.11, MSS SP-79, and MSS SP-83, ASTM A105, 
ASTM A350 and ASTM A182, the scope is not limited to fittings made 
to these specifications.
    The term forged is an industry term used to describe a class of 
products included in applicable standards, and does not reference an 
exclusive manufacturing process. Forged steel fittings are not 
manufactured from casting. Pursuant to the applicable 
specifications, subject fittings may also be machined from bar stock 
or machined from seamless pipe and tube.
    All types of fittings are included in the scope regardless of 
nominal pipe size (which may or may not be expressed in inches of 
nominal pipe size), pressure rating (usually, but not necessarily 
expressed in pounds of pressure, e.g., 2,000 or 2M; 3,000 or 3M; 
6,000 or 6M; 9,000 or 9M), wall thickness, and whether or not heat 
treated.
    Excluded from this scope are all fittings entirely made of 
stainless steel. Also excluded are flanges, butt weld fittings, and 
nipples.
    Also excluded are fittings certified to the following standards 
and specifications, so long as the fittings are not also 
manufactured to the specifications of ASME B16.11, MSS SP-79, and 
MSS SP-83, ASTM A105, ASTM A350 and ASTM A182:

 American Petroleum Institute (API) 5CT, API 5L, or API 11B
 Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) J476, SAE J514, SAE 
J516, SAE J517, SAE J518, SAE J1026, SAE J1231, SAE J1453, SAE J1926 
or J2044
 Underwriter's Laboratories (UL) certified electrical 
conduit fittings
 ASTM A153, A536, A576, or A865
 Casing Conductor Connectors 16-42 inches in diameter made 
to proprietary specifications

    To be excluded from the scope, products must have the 
appropriate standard markings and/or be accompanied by documentation 
showing product compliance to the applicable standard, e.g., ``API 
5CT'' mark and/or a mill certification report.
    Subject carbon and alloy forged steel fittings are normally 
entered under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) 7307.99.1000, 7307.99.3000, 7307.99.5045, and 7307.99.5060. 
They also may be entered under HTSUS 7307.92.3010, 7307.92.3030, 
7307.92.9000, and 7326.19.0010. The HTSUS subheadings and 
specifications are provided for convenience and customs purposes; 
the written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Alignment
VI. Injury Test
VII. Application of the CVD Law to Imports From China
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IX. Subsidies Valuation
X. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
XI. Analysis of Programs
XII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2018-05154 Filed 3-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P