[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 126 (Friday, June 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30693-30695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13566]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-898]


Large Diameter Welded Pipe From the Republic of Korea: 
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 large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from the Republic 
of Korea (Korea) for the period of investigation of January 1, 2017, 
through December 31, 2017. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable June 29, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Ayache, Irene Gorelik, or 
Robert Palmer, 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) 482-2623, (202) 482-6905, or (202) 482-9068, 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). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on February 
20, 2018.\1\ On April 2, 2018, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
June 19, 2018.\2\ For a complete description of the events that 
followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\3\ 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 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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    \1\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from India, the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of 
Turkey: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 83 FR 7148 
(February 20, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from India, the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of 
Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 83 FR 13946 (April 2, 2018).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from the Republic of Korea,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is welded pipe from 
Korea. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ 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.\6\ Commerce is 
preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. See revised scope in Appendix I. Interested parties 
will have the opportunity to submit case and rebuttal briefs on the 
preliminary scope determinations. We will notify parties of the due 
dates for these briefs at a later time.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of 
Korea, and the Republic of Turkey: Scope Comments Decision 
Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated concurrently 
with this notice (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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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.\7\
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    \7\ 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.\8\ 
For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 
Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \8\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment

    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 welded pipe from Korea 
based on a request made by American Cast Iron Pipe Company, Berg Steel 
Pipe Corp./Berg Spiral Pipe Corp, Dura-Bond Industries, Skyline Steel, 
Stupp Corporation, Greens Bayou Pipe Mill, LP, JSW Steel (USA) Inc., 
and Trinity Products LLC (collectively, the petitioners).\9\ 
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 November 5, 2018, unless postponed.
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    \9\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
the Republic of Korea: Request to Align Countervailing Duty 
Investigation Final Determination with Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Final Determination,'' dated June 5, 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, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually investigated. This rate 
shall be an

[[Page 30694]]

amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates 
established for those companies individually investigated, excluding 
any zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily found de minimis 
rates for Husteel Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Steel Company. Therefore, the 
only rate that is not zero, de minimis or based entirely on facts 
otherwise available is the rate calculated for SeAH Steel Corporation. 
Consequently, the rate calculated for SeAH Steel Corporation is also 
assigned as the rate for all-other producers and exporters.

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Husteel Co., Ltd............................................        0.01
Hyundai Steel Company \10\..................................        0.44
SeAH Steel Corporation \11\.................................        3.31
All-Others Rate.............................................        3.31
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Suspension of Liquidation
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    \10\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with 
Hyundai Steel Company: Hyundai Corporation.
    \11\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with 
SeAH Steel Corporation: ESAB SeAH Corporation.
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    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, as appropriate. Because the subsidy rates for the 
Husteel Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Steel Company are zero or de minimis, 
Commerce will direct CBP not to suspend liquidation of entries of the 
merchandise from these companies.

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 publication of the notice 
of preliminary determination in the Federal Register, 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 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 preliminary 
determination. Pursuant to section 705(b)(2) of the Act, if the final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its final injury 
determination before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the 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: June 19, 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 welded carbon 
and alloy steel pipe (including stainless 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 this 
investigation, 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 investigation if 
performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope large 
diameter welded pipe.
    The large diameter welded pipe that is subject to this 
investigation 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 this investigation is dispositive.

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Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
V. Subsidies Valuation
VI. Analysis of Programs
VII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2018-13566 Filed 6-28-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P