[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23891-23894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-11029]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-029, C-570-030]


Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat 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 cold-rolled steel flat products (CRS), produced in the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) using carbon hot-rolled steel 
(HRS) manufactured in the People's Republic of China (China), are 
circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) 
orders on CRS from China.

DATES: Applicable May 23, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tyler Weinhold or John Drury, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1121 or (202) 482-0195, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On December 11, 2017, Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination \1\ of circumvention of the CRS 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 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat 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 58178 (December 11, 2017) 
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
    \2\ See Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Japan and 
the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 45955 
(July 14, 2016) (CRS AD Order), and Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat 
Products from the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty 
Order, 81 FR 45960 (July 14, 2016) (CRS CVD Order) (collectively, 
CRS Orders).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for Anti-
Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing 
Duty Orders on Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the 
People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby 
adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by these orders are certain cold-rolled (cold-
reduced), flat-rolled steel products, whether or not annealed, painted, 
varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances. 
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 CRS produced in Vietnam 
using HRS 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 CRS 
produced in Vietnam using HRS manufactured in Vietnam or third 
countries must certify that the HRS processed into CRS 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

[[Page 23892]]

since the Preliminary Determination. These changes are discussed in the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Final Affirmative Determination of Circumvention

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

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    As stated above, Commerce has made an affirmative determination of 
circumvention of the CRS Orders by exports to the United States of CRS 
produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin HRS substrate. This 
circumvention finding applies to CRS produced by any Vietnamese company 
using Chinese-origin HRS 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 CRS produced in Vietnam using Chinese-origin 
HRS 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 
(199.76 percent) and CVD cash deposits equal to the rate established 
for China all-others rate (256.44 percent). In the underlying AD and 
CVD investigations, there were no cooperating respondents and, 
accordingly, all producers/exporters, as appropriate, of subject 
merchandise received the same AD rate of 199.76 and CVD rate of 256.44.
    CRS produced in Vietnam using HRS 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 CRS from 
Vietnam and it claims that the CRS was not produced using HRS 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 CRS produced in Vietnam using non-Chinese origin HRS 
substrate must prepare and maintain an Exporter Certification and 
documentation supporting the Exporter Certification (see Appendix IV). 
In addition, importers of such CRS must prepare and maintain an 
Importer Certification (see Appendix III) as well as documentation 
supporting the Importer Certification. In addition to the Importer 
Certification, the importer must also maintain a copy of an Exporter 
Certification (see Appendix IV) and relevant supporting documentation 
from its exporter of CRS produced using non-Chinese-origin HRS 
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. Statutory Framework
VI. Statutory Analysis
VII. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
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 Further 
Processed Merchandise in a Third Country
    Comment 3: Country-Wide Determination is Not Justified
    Comment 4: Certification Requirements
    Comment 5: Statutory Criteria Benchmarked to HRS 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: Application of AFA for VNSteel PFS
IX. Recommendation

Appendix II--Certification Requirements

    If an importer imports certain cold rolled steel products (CRS) 
from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and claims that the 
CRS was not produced using hot-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 
CRS orders A-570-029 and C-570-030, all unliquidated entries for 
which these

[[Page 23893]]

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-570-029 and C-570-030 will be liquidated pursuant 
to applicable administrative reviews of the China orders or through 
the automatic liquidation process.
    For CRS produced in Vietnam using Chinese hot-rolled substrate, 
Commerce has established the following third-country case numbers in 
the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE): A-552-996 and C-552-997.
    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 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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-552-996 and C-552-
997. 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\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix III--Importer Certification

    I hereby certify that:
     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 cold-rolled 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 cold-rolled steel products produced in Vietnam that 
are covered by this certification do not contain hot-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
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

TITLE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 cold-rolled 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 cold-rolled steel products produced in Vietnam that 
are covered by this certification do not contain hot-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

[[Page 23894]]

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
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

TITLE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DATE

[FR Doc. 2018-11029 Filed 5-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P