[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23895-23898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11028]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-026, C-570-027]


Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the People's 
Republic of China: Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention of 
the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports 
of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE), produced in the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) using carbon hot-rolled steel 
(HRS) or cold-rolled steel (CRS) flat products manufactured in the 
People's Republic of China (China), are circumventing the antidumping 
duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on CORE from China.

DATES: Applicable May 23, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Decker or Mark Hoadley, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0196 or (202) 482-3148, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 11, 2017, Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination \1\ of circumvention of the CORE Orders.\2\ A 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

[[Page 23896]]

Memorandum.\3\ The Issues and 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 it is available to all parties in the Central 
Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Commerce building. In addition, a 
complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed 
directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and 
electronic versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical 
in content.
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    \1\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the 
People's Republic of China: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of 
Anti-Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and 
Countervailing Duty Orders, 82 FR 58170 (December 11, 2017) 
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
    \2\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Flat Products from 
India, Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, 
and Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Duty Determination 
for India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390 (July 
25, 2016), and Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from 
India, Italy, Republic of Korea, and the People's Republic of China: 
Countervailing Duty Order, 81 FR 48387 (July 25, 2016) 
(collectively, CORE Orders).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for Anti-
Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing 
Duty Orders on Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the 
People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby 
adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by these orders are certain flat-rolled steel 
products, either clad, plated, or coated with corrosion-resistant 
metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-
based alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted, varnished, 
laminated, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in 
addition to the metallic coating. For a complete description of the 
scope of the orders, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiries

    These anti-circumvention inquiries cover CORE produced in Vietnam 
using HRS or CRS substrate manufactured in China and subsequently 
exported from Vietnam to the United States (inquiry merchandise). These 
rulings apply to all shipments of inquiry merchandise on or after the 
date of the initiation of these inquiries. Importers and exporters of 
CORE produced in Vietnam using (1) HRS manufactured in Vietnam or third 
countries, (2) CRS manufactured in Vietnam using HRS produced in 
Vietnam or third countries, or (3) CRS manufactured in third countries, 
must certify that the HRS or CRS processed into CORE in Vietnam did not 
originate in China, as provided for in the certifications attached to 
this Federal Register notice. Otherwise, their merchandise may be 
subject to antidumping and countervailing duties.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting these anti-circumvention inquiries in 
accordance with section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act). Because Vietnam and China \4\ are non-market economy 
countries, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, Commerce 
calculated the value of certain processing and merchandise using 
factors of production and market economy values, as discussed in 
section 773(c) of the Act. Because Vietnam and China are non-market 
economy countries, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, in 
the Preliminary Determination Commerce calculated the value of certain 
processing and merchandise using factors of production and market 
economy values, as discussed in section 773(c) of the Act. See 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum for a full description of the 
methodology. We have continued to apply this methodology for our final 
determination. For further information, see Comment 6 of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
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    \4\ 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) (citing 
Memorandum to Gary Taverman, ``China's Status as a Non-Market 
Economy,'' dated October 26, 2017), unchanged in Certain Aluminum 
Foil from the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 83 FR 9282 (March 5, 2018); see also 
Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review, 81 FR 24797 (October 14, 2016) (unchanged in Certain Oil 
Country Tubular Goods from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2014-2015, 82 FR 
18611 (April 20, 2017)).
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in 
these inquiries are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A 
list of the issues raised is attached to this notice as Appendix I.
    Based on our analysis of the comments received and our findings at 
verification, we made certain changes to our value of processing 
calculation since the Preliminary Determination. These changes are 
discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Final Affirmative Determination of Circumvention

    We determine that CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS or CRS 
substrate manufactured in China is circumventing the CORE Orders. We, 
therefore, find it appropriate to determine that this merchandise falls 
within the CORE Orders and to instruct U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend liquidation of any entries of 
CORE from Vietnam produced using HRS or CRS substrate manufactured in 
China.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    As stated above, Commerce has made an affirmative determination of 
circumvention of the CORE Orders by exports to the United States of 
CORE produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin HRS or CRS substrate. 
This circumvention finding applies to CORE produced by any Vietnamese 
company using Chinese-origin HRS or CRS substrate. In accordance with 
19 CFR 351.225(l)(3), Commerce will direct CBP to continue to suspend 
liquidation and to require a cash deposit of estimated duties on 
unliquidated entries of CORE produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin 
HRS or CRS substrate that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after November 4, 2016, the date of initiation of 
these anti-circumvention inquiries.
    The suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice. Commerce will instruct CBP to require AD cash 
deposits equal to the rate established for the China-wide entity 
(199.43 percent) and CVD cash deposits equal to the rate established 
for the China all-others rate (39.05 percent). In the underlying AD and 
CVD investigations, Commerce relied on the rates calculated for the 
sole cooperative respondent in each investigation to determine the 
China-wide rate of 199.43 percent in the AD investigation and the all-
others rate of 39.05 percent in the CVD investigation. The rates are 
thus based on the cost and sales data and subsidy benefits of Chinese 
producers.
    CORE produced in Vietnam using HRS or CRS substrate that is not of 
Chinese-origin is not subject to these inquiries. Therefore, cash 
deposits are not required for such merchandise. If an importer imports 
CORE from Vietnam and it claims that the CORE was not produced using 
HRS or CRS substrate manufactured in China, in order not to be subject 
to cash deposit requirements, the importer and exporter are required to 
meet the certification and documentation requirements described in 
Appendix II. Exporters of CORE produced in Vietnam using non-Chinese-
origin HRS or CRS substrate must prepare and maintain an Exporter 
Certification and documentation supporting the Exporter Certification 
(see Appendix IV). In addition, importers of such CORE must prepare and 
maintain an Importer Certification (see Appendix III) as well as 
documentation supporting the Importer Certification. Besides the 
Importer

[[Page 23897]]

Certification, the importer must also maintain a copy of an Exporter 
Certification (see Appendix IV) and relevant supporting documentation 
from its exporter of CORE produced using non-Chinese-origin HRS or CRS 
substrate.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice will serve as the only reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of return/destruction or 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 sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    These determinations are issued and published in accordance with 
section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(f).

    Dated: May 16, 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

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Orders
IV. Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiries
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Statutory Framework
VII. Statutory Analysis
VIII. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Section 781(B) Anti-Circumvention Inquiry When 
Commerce Has Made Previous Substantial Transformation Findings
    Comment 2: The Scopes of the Orders Do Not Cover Merchandise 
Further Processed in a Third Country
    Comment 3: A Country-Wide Determination Is Not Justified
    Comment 4: Certification Requirements
    Comment 5: Statutory Criteria Benchmarked to HRS or CRS 
Production in China
    Comment 6: Assembly or Completion in Vietnam and Value of 
Processing Performed in Vietnam (Including Use of SV Methodology)
    Comment 7: ``Pattern of Trade and Sourcing'' and ``Increased 
Imports'' Findings
    Comment 8: Energy
    Comment 9: Unit Values for Hot-Rolled and Cold-Rolled Steel 
Inputs
    Comment 10: TDA's Labor
    Comment 11: TDA's Byproducts
    Comment 12: Affiliation With Suppliers
IX. Recommendation

Appendix II

Certification Requirements

    If an importer imports certain corrosion-resistant steel 
products (CORE) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and 
claims that the CORE was not produced using hot-rolled or cold-
rolled steel substrate (substrate) manufactured in the People's 
Republic of China (China), the importer is required to complete and 
maintain the importer certification attached as Appendix III. The 
importer is further required to maintain a copy of the exporter 
certification, discussed below. The importer certification must be 
completed, signed, and dated at the time of filing of the entry 
summary for the relevant importation. Where the importer uses a 
broker to facilitate the entry process, it should obtain the entry 
number from the broker. Agents of the importer, such as brokers, 
however, are not permitted to make this certification.
    The exporter is required to complete and maintain the exporter 
certification, attached as Appendix IV, and is further required to 
provide the importer a copy of that certification. The exporter 
certification must be completed, signed, and dated before or at the 
time of shipment of the relevant entries. The exporter certification 
should be completed by the party selling the merchandise 
manufactured in Vietnam to the United States, which is not 
necessarily the producer of the product.
    The importer and third-country exporter are also required to 
maintain sufficient documentation (as indicated in the 
certifications) supporting their certifications.
    The importer will not be required to submit the certifications 
or supporting documentation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) as part of the entry process. However, the importer and the 
exporter will be required to present the certifications and 
supporting documentation, to the U.S. Department of Commerce 
(Commerce) and/or CBP, as applicable, upon request by the respective 
agency. Additionally, the claims made in the certifications and any 
supporting documentation are subject to verification by Commerce 
and/or CBP. The importer and exporter are required to maintain the 
certifications and supporting documentation for the later of (1) a 
period of five years from the date of entry or (2) a period of three 
years after the conclusion of any litigation in United States courts 
regarding such entries. If it is determined that the certification 
and/or documentation requirements in a certification have not been 
met, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to suspend, under the China 
CORE orders A-570-026 and C-570-027, all unliquidated entries for 
which these requirements were not met and require the importer to 
post applicable antidumping duty (AD) and/or countervailing duty 
(CVD) cash deposits equal to the rates as determined by Commerce. 
Entries suspended under A-570-026 and C-570-027 will be liquidated 
pursuant to applicable administrative reviews of the China orders or 
through the automatic liquidation process.
    For CORE produced in Vietnam using Chinese hot-rolled or cold-
rolled substrate, Commerce has established the following third-
country case numbers in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE): 
A-552-994 and C-552-995.
    For entries suspended pursuant to the Preliminary Determination 
of these anti-circumvention inquiries that were (1) shipped and/or 
(2) entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during the 
period November 4, 2016, through December 10, 2017, the day 
preceding publication of the preliminary determination in the 
Federal Register, which are claimed to be produced using non-Chinese 
HRS or CRS substrate, Commerce permitted importer and exporter 
certifications to be completed for a limited period following the 
Preliminary Determination.\5\ Specifically, Commerce required 
completion of the importer and exporter certifications within 45 
days of publication of the Preliminary Determination Federal 
Register notice. Likewise, for such merchandise, the exporter was 
required to provide the importer a copy of the exporter 
certification within 45 days of the Preliminary Determination 
publication.
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    \5\ See Commerce Memorandum, ``Clarification of Certification 
Requirements Pursuant to Preliminary Affirmative Anti-circumvention 
Rulings and Extension of 30-Day Deadline for Pre-Preliminary 
Determination Shipments,'' dated January 9, 2018, at 2-3.
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    For unliquidated entries (and entries for which liquidation has 
not become final) of merchandise entered as type 01 entries that 
were (1) shipped and/or (2) entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption during the period November 4, 2016, through December 
10, 2017, the day preceding publication of the preliminary 
determination in the Federal Register, produced from Chinese 
substrate, importers should file a Post Summary Correction with CBP, 
in accordance with CBP's regulations, regarding possible conversion 
of such entries from type 1 to type 3 entries and report those type 
3 entries using the third-country case numbers A-552-994 and C-552-
995. Accordingly, the importer also should pay cash deposits on 
those entries consistent with the regulations governing post summary 
corrections that require payment of additional duties.
    For merchandise (1) shipped and/or (2) entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption during the period November 4, 2016, 
through December 10, 2017, the day preceding publication of the 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register, for which 
certifications are required, importers and exporters each had the 
option to complete a blanket certification covering multiple 
entries, individual certifications for each entry, or a combination 
thereof.\6\ The importer certifications, and copies of the exporter 
certifications, should be maintained by the importer and provided to 
CBP or Commerce upon request by the respective agency.

    \6\ Id.
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Appendix III

Importer Certification

    I hereby certify that:

[[Page 23898]]

     My name is {INSERT COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME{time}  and I 
am an official of {IMPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
     This certification pertains to {INSERT ENTRY NUMBER(S), 
ENTRY LINE NUMBER(S), AND PRODUCT CODE(S) REFERENCED ON ENTRY 
SUMMARY{time} ;
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the importation into the Customs territory of the United States of 
the corrosion-resistant steel products produced in the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) that entered under entry number(s) 
{INSERT ENTRY NUMBER(S){time}  and are covered by this 
certification. ``Direct personal knowledge'' for purposes of this 
certification refers to facts in records maintained by the importing 
company in the normal course of its business. The importer should 
have ``direct personal knowledge'' of the importation of the product 
(e.g., the name of the exporter) in its records;
     I have personal knowledge of the facts regarding the 
production of the imported products covered by this certification. 
``Personal knowledge'' for purposes of this certification includes 
facts obtained from another party (e.g., correspondence received by 
the importer (or exporter) from the producer regarding the source of 
the substrate used to produce the imported products);
     The corrosion-resistant steel products produced in 
Vietnam that are covered by this certification do not contain hot-
rolled or cold-rolled steel substrate produced in the People's 
Republic of China;
     I understand that {INSERT IMPORTING COMPANY NAME{time}  
is required to maintain a copy of this certification and sufficient 
documentation supporting this certification (i.e., documents 
maintained in the normal course of business, or documents obtained 
by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, productions 
records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period of five years 
from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years after the 
conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts regarding 
such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT IMPORTING COMPANY NAME{time}  
is required to provide this certification and supporting records, 
upon request, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and/or the 
Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that {INSERT IMPORTING COMPANY NAME{time}  
is required to maintain a copy of the Exporter's Certification for 
the later of (1) a period of five years from the date of entry or 
(2) a period of three years after the conclusion of any litigation 
in United States courts regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT IMPORTING COMPANY NAME{time}  
is required to maintain and provide a copy of the Exporter's 
Certification and supporting records, upon request, to CBP and/or 
the Department;
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation, are subject to verification by CBP 
and/or Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification and/or failure to substantiate the claims made herein 
will result in:
    [cir] Suspension of liquidation of all unliquidated entries (and 
entries for which liquidation has not become final) for which these 
requirements were not met, and
    [cir] the requirement that the importer post applicable 
antidumping duty (AD) and/or countervailing duty (CVD) cash deposits 
(as appropriate) equal to the rates determined by Commerce;
     I understand that agents of the importer, such as 
brokers, are not permitted to make this certification;
     This certification was completed at the time of filing 
the entry summary for the relevant importation;
     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.

Signature
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NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
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TITLE
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DATE

Appendix IV

Exporter Certification

    I hereby certify that:
     My name is {INSERT COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME HERE{time}  
and I am an official of {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
     This certification pertains to {INSERT INVOICE 
NUMBER(S) TO U.S. CUSTOMERS AND PRODUCT CODE(S) REFERENCED ON 
INVOICE{time} ;
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the production and exportation of the corrosion-resistant steel 
products from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) that 
shipped pursuant to {INSERT INVOICE NUMBER(S) TO U.S. 
CUSTOMERS{time}  and are covered by this certification. ``Direct 
personal knowledge'' for purposes of this certification refers to 
facts in records maintained by the exporting company in the normal 
course of its business. For example, an exporter should have 
``direct personal knowledge'' of the producer's identity and 
location.
     The corrosion-resistant steel products produced in 
Vietnam that are covered by this certification do not contain hot-
rolled or cold-rolled steel substrate produced in the People's 
Republic of China.
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain a copy of this certification 
and sufficient documentation supporting this certification (i.e., 
documents maintained in the normal course of business, or documents 
obtained by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, 
productions records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period 
of five years from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years 
after the conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts 
regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  must provide this Exporter Certification to the U.S. 
importer before or at the time of shipment;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to provide a copy of this certification 
and supporting records, upon request, to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) and/or the Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation are subject to verification by CBP and/
or the Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification and/or failure to substantiate the claims made herein 
will result in:
    [cir] Suspension of all unliquidated entries (and entries for 
which liquidation has not become final) for which these requirements 
were not met, and
    [cir] the requirement that the importer post applicable 
antidumping duty (AD) and/or countervailing duty (CVD) cash deposits 
(as appropriate) equal to the rates as determined by the Department;
     This certification was completed before or at the time 
of shipment of the relevant entries;
     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.

Signature
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NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
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TITLE
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DATE

[FR Doc. 2018-11028 Filed 5-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P