[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 73 (Monday, April 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16293-16296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07853]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-441-801]


Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy Steel 
From Switzerland: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain 
cold-drawn mechanical tubing of carbon and alloy steel (cold-drawn 
mechanical tubing) from Switzerland is being, or is likely to be, sold 
in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The final 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins of sales at LTFV are listed 
below in the section entitled ``Final Determination.'' The period of 
investigation (POI) is April 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017.

DATES: Applicable April 16, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel LaCivita, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4243.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On November 22, 2017, Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination of sales at LTFV of cold-drawn mechanical tubing from 
Switzerland,\1\ and on January 3, 2018, we published an Amended 
Preliminary Determination.\2\ The petitioners in this investigation are 
ArcelorMittal Tubular Products, Michigan Seamless Tube, LLC, Plymouth 
Tube Co. USA, PTC Alliance Corp., Webco Industries, Inc. and Zekelman 
Industries, Inc. (collectively, the petitioners). The mandatory 
respondents in this investigation are Benteler Rothrist AG (Benteler 
Rothrist) and Mubea Pr[auml]zisionsstahlrohr AG (MPST) and Mubea Inc. 
(collectively, Mubea). A complete summary of the events that occurred 
since Commerce published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a 
full discussion of the issues raised by parties for this final 
determination, may be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\3\
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    \1\ See Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing from Switzerland: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value and Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of 
Provisional Measures, 82 FR 55571 (November 22, 2017) (Preliminary 
Determination) and accompanying memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum 
for the Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation of Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy 
Steel from Switzerland'' (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). See also 
Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy Steel from 
Switzerland: Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value, 82 FR 346 (January 3, 2018) (Amended Preliminary 
Determination); Memorandum, ``Analysis Memorandum for the Amended 
Preliminary Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy Steel (Cold 
Drawn Mechanical Tubing) from Switzerland: Benteler Rothrist AG 
(Benteler Rothrist),'' dated December 21, 2017 (Benteler Rothrist's 
Ministerial Error Memorandum); and, Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and 
Alloy Steel from Switzerland: Ministerial Error Allegations in the 
Preliminary Determination,'' dated December 21, 2017 (Mubea's 
Ministerial Error Memorandum).
    \2\ See Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy 
Steel from Switzerland: Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales 
at Less Than Fair Value, 82 FR 346 (January 3, 2018) (Amended 
Preliminary Determination); Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and 
Alloy Steel from Switzerland: Ministerial Error Allegations in the 
Preliminary Determination,'' dated December 21, 2017 (Ministerial 
Error Memorandum).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain 
Cold-Drawn Mechanical Tubing of Carbon and Alloy Steel from 
Switzerland of Switzerland,'' dated concurrently with this 
determination and hereby adopted by this notice (Issues and Decision 
Memorandum).
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    The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is 
available electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). 
Access is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov and 
to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B-8024 of Commerce's 
main building. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and electronic version 
are identical in content.

[[Page 16294]]

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is cold-drawn mechanical 
tubing from Switzerland. Commerce did not receive any scope comments 
subsequent to the Preliminary Determination and, therefore, the scope 
has not been updated since the Preliminary Determination. See Appendix 
I of this notice.

Period of Investigation

    The POI is April 1, 2016, through March 31, 2017.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), Commerce verified the sales and cost data reported by 
Benteler Rothrist and Mubea for use in our final determination. We used 
standard verification procedures, including an examination of relevant 
accounting and production records, and original source documents 
provided by the respondents.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case briefs and rebuttal briefs submitted 
by interested parties in this proceeding are discussed in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues raised by parties and 
responded to by Commerce in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is 
attached at Appendix II.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of the comments received and our findings at 
verification, we made certain changes to the margin calculations for 
AKP and LG Chem since the Preliminary Determination. These changes are 
discussed in the ``Margin Calculations'' section of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, Commerce 
calculated a dumping margin for the individually investigated 
exporters/producers of the subject merchandise. Consistent with 
sections 735(c)(1)(B)(i)(II) and 735(c)(5) of the Act, Commerce also 
calculated an estimated ``all-others'' rate for exporters and producers 
not individually investigated. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides 
that the ``all-others'' rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted 
average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established 
for individually investigated exporters and producers, excluding any 
margins that are zero or de minimis or any margins determined entirely 
under section 776 of the Act. We calculated the all-others rate using a 
weighted average of the dumping margins calculated for the mandatory 
respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the 
merchandise under consideration, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of 
the Act, as referenced in the ``Final Determination'' section below.\4\
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    \4\ See memorandum to the file, ``Certain Cold-Drawn Mechanical 
Tubing of Carbon and Alloy Steel from Switzerland from the Republic 
of Switzerland: Calculation of All--Others' Rate in the Final 
Determination,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Final Determination Margins

    The weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                    Exporter/producer                         margins
                                                             (percent)
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Benteler Rothrist AG (Benteler Rothrist)................           12.50
Mubea Pr[auml]zisionsstahlrohr AG (MPST)................           30.48
All-Others..............................................           13.55
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    We will disclose the calculations performed within five days of any 
public announcement of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue the 
suspension of liquidation of all appropriate entries of cold-drawn 
mechanical tubing from Switzerland, as described in Appendix I of this 
notice, which were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after November 22, 2017, the date of publication of 
the Preliminary Determination of this investigation in the Federal 
Register. Further, Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit 
equal to the estimated amount by which the normal value exceeds the 
U.S. price as shown above.
    In accordance with section 733(e)(2) of the Act, for this final 
determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of cold-drawn 
mechanical tubing from Switzerland, as described in the Appendix I to 
this notice, produced or exported by LDC and ``all other'' exporters 
and producers not individually examined, which were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after November 22, 
2017, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination of this 
investigation in the Federal Register.
    Furthermore, pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.210(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit 
for such entries of merchandise equal to the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: (1) The 
cash deposit rate for the respondents listed above will be equal to the 
respondent-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a 
respondent identified above but the producer is, then the cash deposit 
rate will be equal to the respondent-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject 
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and 
exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this 
proceeding is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the 
Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the 
domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or 
threatened with material injury, by reason of imports, or sales (or the 
likelihood of sales) for importation of cold-drawn mechanical tubing 
from Switzerland no later than 45 days after our final determination. 
If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury 
does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and all cash deposits 
will be refunded. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, 
Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order directing CBP to assess, 
upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on all imports 
of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance

[[Page 16295]]

with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely notification of the return or 
destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order 
is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the 
terms of an APO is a violation subject to sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing this determination and notice in 
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(c).

    Dated: April 9, 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 scope of this investigation covers cold-drawn mechanical 
tubing of carbon and alloy steel (cold-drawn mechanical tubing) of 
circular cross-section, 304.8 mm or more in length, in actual 
outside diameters less than 331 mm, and regardless of wall 
thickness, surface finish, end finish or industry specification. The 
subject cold-drawn mechanical tubing is a tubular product with a 
circular cross-sectional shape that has been cold-drawn or otherwise 
cold-finished after the initial tube formation in a manner that 
involves a change in the diameter or wall thickness of the tubing, 
or both. The subject cold-drawn mechanical tubing may be produced 
from either welded (e.g., electric resistance welded, continuous 
welded, etc.) or seamless (e.g., pierced, pilgered or extruded, 
etc.) carbon or alloy steel tubular products. It may also be heat 
treated after cold working. Such heat treatments may include, but 
are not limited to, annealing, normalizing, quenching and tempering, 
stress relieving or finish annealing. Typical cold-drawing methods 
for subject merchandise include, but are not limited to, drawing 
over mandrel, rod drawing, plug drawing, sink drawing and similar 
processes that involve reducing the outside diameter of the tubing 
with a die or similar device, whether or not controlling the inside 
diameter of the tubing with an internal support device such as a 
mandrel, rod, plug or similar device. Other cold-finishing 
operations that may be used to produce subject merchandise include 
cold-rolling and cold-sizing the tubing.
    Subject cold-drawn mechanical tubing is typically certified to 
meet industry specifications for cold-drawn tubing including but not 
limited to:
    (1) American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or 
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) specifications ASTM 
A-512, ASTM A-513 Type 3 (ASME SA513 Type 3), ASTM A-513 Type 4 
(ASME SA513 Type 4), ASTM A-513 Type 5 (ASME SA513 Type 5), ASTM A-
513 Type 6 (ASME SA513 Type 6), ASTM A-519 (cold-finished);
    (2) SAE International (Society of Automotive Engineers) 
specifications SAE J524, SAE J525, SAE J2833, SAE J2614, SAE J2467, 
SAE J2435, SAE J2613;
    (3) Aerospace Material Specification (AMS) AMS T-6736 (AMS 
6736), AMS 6371, AMS 5050, AMS 5075, AMS 5062, AMS 6360, AMS 6361, 
AMS 6362, AMS 6371, AMS 6372, AMS 6374, AMS 6381, AMS 6415;
    (4) United States Military Standards (MIL) MIL-T-5066 and MIL-T-
6736;
    (5) foreign standards equivalent to one of the previously listed 
ASTM, ASME, SAE, AMS or MIL specifications including but not limited 
to:
    (a) German Institute for Standardization (DIN) specifications 
DIN 2391-2, DIN 2393-2, DIN 2394-2);
    (b) European Standards (EN) EN 10305-1, EN 10305-2, EN 10305-4, 
EN 10305-6 and European national variations on those standards 
(e.g., British Standard (BS EN), Irish Standard (IS EN) and German 
Standard (DIN EN) variations, etc.);
    (c) Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) JIS G 3441 and JIS G 
3445; and
    (6) proprietary standards that are based on one of the above-
listed standards.
    The subject cold-drawn mechanical tubing may also be dual or 
multiple certified to more than one standard. Pipe that is multiple 
certified as cold-drawn mechanical tubing and to other 
specifications not covered by this scope, is also covered by the 
scope of this investigation when it meets the physical description 
set forth above.
    Steel products included in the scope of this investigation are 
products in which: (1) Iron predominates, by weight, over each of 
the other contained elements; and (2) the carbon content is 2 
percent or less by weight.
    For purposes of this scope, the place of cold-drawing determines 
the country of origin of the subject merchandise. Subject 
merchandise that is subject to minor working in a third country that 
occurs after drawing in one of the subject countries including, but 
not limited to, heat treatment, cutting to length, straightening, 
nondestruction testing, deburring or chamfering, remains within the 
scope of the investigation.
    All products that meet the written physical description are 
within the scope of this investigation unless specifically excluded 
or covered by the scope of an existing order. Merchandise that meets 
the physical description of cold-drawn mechanical tubing above is 
within the scope of the investigations even if it is also dual or 
multiple certified to an otherwise excluded specification listed 
below. The following products are outside of, and/or specifically 
excluded from, the scope of this investigation:
    (1) cold-drawn stainless steel tubing, containing 10.5 percent 
or more of chromium by weight and not more than 1.2 percent of 
carbon by weight;
    (2) products certified to one or more of the ASTM, ASME or 
American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications listed below:
     ASTM A-53;
     ASTM A-106;
     ASTM A-179 (ASME SA 179);
     ASTM A-192 (ASME SA 192);
     ASTM A-209 (ASME SA 209);
     ASTM A-210 (ASME SA 210);
     ASTM A-213 (ASME SA 213);
     ASTM A-334 (ASME SA 334);
     ASTM A-423 (ASME SA 423);
     ASTM A-498;
     ASTM A-496 (ASME SA 496);
     ASTM A-199;
     ASTM A-500;
     ASTM A-556;
     ASTM A-565;
     API 5L; and
     API 5CT

except that any cold-drawn tubing product certified to one of the 
above excluded specifications will not be excluded from the scope if 
it is also dual- or multiple-certified to any other specification 
that otherwise would fall within the scope of this investigation.
    The products subject to the investigations are currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.31.3000, 7304.31.6050, 
7304.51.1000, 7304.51.5005, 7304.51.5060, 7306.30.5015, 
7306.30.5020, 7306.50.5030. Subject merchandise may also enter under 
numbers 7306.30.1000 and 7306.50.1000. The HTSUS subheadings above 
are provided for convenience and customs purposes only. The written 
description of the scope of the investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: The Inclusion of Sample Sales in Benteler Rothrist's 
Margin Calculation
    Comment 2: Identification of Missing Information for Certain of 
Benteler Rothrist's U.S. and Comparison Market Sales
    Comment 3: Use of the Average-to-Average Methodology for 
Benteler Rothrist's Margin Calculation
    Comment 4: Margin Offsets for Section 232 Duties
    Comment 5: Mubea's Reported Date of Sale in the Third-Country
    Comment 6: Application of AFA to Mubea for the Cohen's d Test 
Due to Inaccurate Reporting of Customer Locations
    Comment 7: Commerce Should Calculate the Margin Based on 
Transfer Prices From MPST in Switzerland to Mubea, Inc. in the 
United States
    Comment 8: Mubea's Startup Adjustment for the U.S. Further 
Manufacturing Operations
    Comment 9: Calculation of Mubea, Inc.'s General and 
Administrative Expense for Further Manufacturing in the United 
States
    Comment 10: Unreconciled Difference in Reconciliation Between 
Financial Records and the Reported Cost Database for Mubea
    Comment 11: Revisions and Minor Corrections to Mubea's Response

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VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2018-07853 Filed 4-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P