[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 166 (Monday, August 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43651-43653]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18486]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-897]


Large Diameter Welded Pipe From the Republic of Korea: 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from the Republic of 
Korea (Korea) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States 
at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is 
January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017. Interested parties are 
invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable August 27, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sergio Balbontin, or Jesus Saenz, 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) 482-6478 or (202) 
482-8184, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(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 June 8, 2018, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
August 20, 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 included 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 https://access.trade.gov, 
and 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 Canada, Greece, India, 
the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the 
Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 83 FR 7154 (February 20, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, 
the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the 
Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in 
the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 83 FR 27953 (June 15, 
2018).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 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 to this notice.

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. For a summary of the product coverage comments 
and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this investigation, 
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 the revised scope in Appendix I.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \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 June 19, 2018 
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Constructed export prices 
have been calculated in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. 
Normal value is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. 
Furthermore, pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce 
has preliminarily relied

[[Page 43652]]

upon facts otherwise available, with adverse inferences, for Samkang 
M&T Co., Ltd (SKMT) for its failure to cooperate in this investigation. 
For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that 
in the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero 
and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act. In this investigation, Commerce calculated 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins for SeAH Steel Corporation 
(SeAH) and Hyundai RB Co., Ltd. (Hyundai RB) that are not zero, de 
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce 
calculated the all-others' rate as the weighted-average of these 
margins, using the respondents' publicly-ranged sales data.\7\
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    \7\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a 
simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average 
of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the 
examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sales 
values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See 
Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, 
and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 
(September 1, 2010). As a result of this comparison, Commerce based 
the all-others rate on the weighted-average of the preliminary 
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents using the 
publicly-ranged sales data. For a complete analysis of the data, see 
the All-Others' Rate Calculation Memorandum, dated August 20, 2018.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
                    Exporter/producer                         average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Hyundai RB Co., Ltd.....................................           14.97
SeAH Steel Corporation..................................           22.21
Samkang M&T Co., Ltd....................................           22.21
All-Others..............................................           20.13
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(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 Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant 
to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit 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 company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins determined in this preliminary 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 company-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.
    Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping 
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. Accordingly, in cases where Commerce preliminarily makes an 
affirmative determination for countervailable export subsidies, 
Commerce offsets the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the 
appropriate CVD rate. However, we made no adjustment to the weighted-
average dumping margin for cash deposit purposes in this case because 
we found no measurable export subsidies in the companion CVD 
proceeding.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 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 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 regarding non-scope issues 
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.\8\ 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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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1) and (2); see also 19 CFR 351.303 
(for general filing requirements).
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    Additionally, case briefs regarding scope issues may be submitted 
within 10 days after the date of this notice in the Federal Register. 
Rebuttal briefs regarding scope issues, limited to those issues in the 
scope case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the 
deadline date for scope case briefs. All scope case and rebuttal briefs 
must be filed identically on the records of this investigation and the 
concurrent LTFV and CVD investigations of welded pipe.
    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 the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

[[Page 43653]]

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination. The final determination 
may be postponed if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary 
determination, exporters, who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of subject merchandise, request a postponement, or, in the 
event of a negative preliminary determination, petitioners request a 
postponement. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations requires 
that a request by exporters for postponement of the final determination 
be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from 
a four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.
    On August 1 and 3, 2015, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Hyundai RB 
and SeAH, respectively, requested that Commerce postpone the final 
determination and that provisional measures be extended to a period not 
to exceed six months.\9\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary 
determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for 
a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) 
no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the 
final determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-
month period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, 
Commerce will make its final determination no later than 135 days after 
the date of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \9\ See Hyundai RB's Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
the Republic of Korea: Request to Extend the Deadline for the Final 
Determination,'' dated August 1, 2018; and SeAH's Letter, 
``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from 
Korea--Request for Extension of Final Determination,'' dated August 
3, 2018.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: August 20, 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.
    Excluded from the scope are any products covered by the existing 
antidumping duty order on welded line pipe from the Republic of 
Korea. See Welded Line Pipe from the Republic of Korea and the 
Republic of Turkey: Antidumping Duty Orders, 80 FR 75056 (December 
1, 2015). Also excluded from the scope are any products covered by 
the existing antidumping order on welded ASTM A-312 stainless steel 
pipe from Korea. See Welded ASTM A-312 Stainless Steel Pipe from 
South Korea: Antidumping Duty Order, 57 FR 62300 (December 30, 
1992).
    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.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inferences
    A. Application of Facts Available
    B. Use of Adverse Inference
    C. Preliminary Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins Based 
on AFA
    D. Selection and Corroboration of the AFA Rate
VI. Discussion of the Methodology
    A. Comparisons to Fair Value
    B. Determination of Comparison Method
    C. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
VII. Date of Sale
VIII. Product Comparisons
IX. Export Price and Constructed Export Price
X. Normal Value
    A. Particular Market Situation
    1. Petitioners' Allegation
    2. Analysis
    B. Home Market Viability and Selection of Comparison Market
    C. Affiliated-Party Transactions and Arm's-Length Test
    D. Affiliation
    E. Level of Trade
    F. Cost of Production Analysis
    1. Calculation of COP
    2. Test of Comparison Market Sales Prices
    3. Results of the COP Test
    G. Calculation of NV Based on Comparison Market Prices
XI. Currency Conversion
XII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2018-18486 Filed 8-24-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P