[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50339-50341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21729]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-067]


Forged Steel Fittings From the People's Republic of China: 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 imports 
of forged steel fittings from the People's Republic of China (China) 
are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than 
fair value (LTFV).

DATES: Applicable October 5, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Johnson at (202) 482-4929 or 
Irene Gorelik at (202) 482-6905, AD/CVD Operations, Office VIII, 
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 17, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
Preliminary Determination and invited interested parties to comment.\1\ 
A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the 
Preliminary Determination may be found in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum that is dated concurrently with this determination and 
hereby adopted by this notice.\2\
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    \1\ See Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of 
China: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of 
Provisional Measures, 82 FR 22948 (May 17, 2018) (Preliminary 
Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation of Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of 
China'' (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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    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 
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 Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Issues and Decision 
Memorandum and the electronic version are identical in content.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation is April 1, 2017, through September 30, 
2017.

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are forged steel 
fittings from China. For a full description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' at Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    During the course of this investigation and the concurrent 
investigations of forged steel fittings from China (CVD), Italy and 
Taiwan, Commerce received numerous scope comments from interested 
parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum \3\ 
and a Second Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum \4\ to address these 
comments. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttals 
submitted to the records of this investigation and the concurrent 
investigations of forged steel fittings from China (CVD), Italy and 
Taiwan for consideration in the final determinations, and our 
accompanying discussion and analysis of them, see the Final Scope 
Decision Memorandum, issued on July 23, 2018, concurrent with the final 
determination in the LTFV investigation of forged steel fittings from 
Taiwan.\5\ See Appendix I for the final scope of the investigation.
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    \3\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Scope Comments Decision 
Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated March 7, 2018 
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
    \4\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Second Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum,'' dated May 7, 2018 (Second Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum).
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Forged Steel Fittings from China, Italy 
and Taiwan: Final Scope Determination Decision Memorandum,'' dated 
July 23, 2018 (Final Scope Decision Memorandum); see also, 
Memorandum to the File, ``Placing Carbon Steel Butt Weld Pipe 
Fitting Scope Information Ruling on the Record,'' dated September 
19, 2018.
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs that were 
submitted by parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum accompanying this notice. A list of the issues 
addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is attached to this 
notice at Appendix II.
    For the final determination Commerce continues to rely upon facts 
otherwise available, with adverse inferences (AFA), for the China-wide 
entity, including the single entity comprising Jiangsu Haida Pipe 
Fittings Group Company Ltd., Haida Pipe Co., Ltd., and Yancheng L&W 
International Co., Ltd. (collectively, Haida), pursuant to sections 
776(a) and (b) of the Act.

Separate Rates

    For the final determination, we continue to find that 15 exporters 
are entitled to a separate rate, as noted below. In the Preliminary 
Determination, we assigned, as the separate rate, the margin calculated 
for Both-Well (Taizhou) Steel Fittings Co., Ltd. (Both-Well), the sole 
mandatory respondent for which we preliminarily calculated an estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin, consistent with our practice.\6\ For 
the final determination, we continue to assign the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin calculated for Both-

[[Page 50340]]

Well to the exporters that are entitled to a separate rate.
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    \6\ See Preliminary Determination, 82 FR at 22949-22950, and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 15-16.
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China-Wide Entity

    For the final determination, we continue to find that the China-
wide entity, which includes certain Chinese exporters and/or producers 
that did not respond to Commerce's requests for information, failed to 
provide necessary information, failed to provide information in a 
timely manner, and significantly impeded this proceeding by not 
submitting the requested information. We also continue to find that the 
China-wide entity failed to cooperate. As a result, we continue to 
determine for the China-wide entity an estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin on the basis of AFA pursuant to section 776(b) of the 
Act. In the Preliminary Determination, Commerce based the AFA rate for 
the China-wide entity on the petition margin of 142.72 percent.\7\ For 
this final determination, we continue to rely on AFA in determining the 
rate for the China-wide entity and, as AFA, we continue to select the 
petition margin of 142.72 percent as the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin for the China-wide entity (including Haida), as 
corroborated in the Preliminary Determination.
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    \7\ Id. at 22950 and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum at 21.
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\8\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\9\
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    \8\ See Initiation Notice, 82 FR at 50618.
    \9\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination Rates in 
Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy Countries'' 
(April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on Commerce's 
website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Final Determination

    The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as 
follows:
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    \10\ The China-wide entity includes: (1) Beijing Better Products 
International Ltd.; (2) Dalian Newshow Pipeline Industry Co.; (3) 
G&T Industry Holding Ltd.; (4) Shanxi Baolongda Forging Company 
Ltd.; (5) Shaanxi Fenry Flanges and Fittings Co., Ltd.; (6) Shenzhen 
Front Valve Co., Ltd.; (7) Qingdao Eathu Casting and Forging Co., 
Ltd.; (8) Gaoyou Huaxing Petroleum Pipe Manufacture Co., Ltd.; and 
(9) the single entity comprising Jiangsu Haida Pipe Fittings Group 
Company Ltd., its affiliated producer Haida Pipe Co., Ltd., and its 
affiliated reseller Yancheng L&W International Co., Ltd.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
            Exporter                     Producer             average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Both-Well (Taizhou) Steel        Both-Well (Taizhou)                8.00
 Fittings Co., Ltd.               Steel Fittings Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Dalian Guangming Pipe Fittings   Yancheng Jiuwei Pipe               8.00
 Co., Ltd.                        Fittings Co., Ltd.
Dalian Guangming Pipe Fittings   Yancheng Manda Pipe                8.00
 Co., Ltd.                        Industry Co., Ltd.
Dalian Guangming Pipe Fittings   Yancheng Haohui Pipe               8.00
 Co., Ltd.                        Fittings Co., Ltd.
Dalian Guangming Pipe Fittings   Jiangsu Haida Pipe                 8.00
 Co., Ltd.                        Fittings Group Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Eaton Hydraulics (Ningbo) Co.,   Eaton Hydraulics                   8.00
 Ltd.                             (Ningbo) Co., Ltd.
Eaton Hydraulics (Luzhou) Co.,   Eaton Hydraulics                   8.00
 Ltd.                             (Luzhou) Co., Ltd.
Eaton Hydraulics (Luzhou) Co.,   Luzhou City Chengrun               8.00
 Ltd.                             Mechanics Co., Ltd.
Eaton Hydraulics (Luzhou) Co.,   Eaton Hydraulics                   8.00
 Ltd.                             (Ningbo) Co., Ltd.
Jiangsu Forged Pipe Fittings     Jiangsu Forged Pipe                8.00
 Co., Ltd.                        Fittings Co., Ltd.
Jinan Mech Piping Technology     Jinan Mech Piping                  8.00
 Co., Ltd.                        Technology Co., Ltd.
Jining Dingguan Precision Parts  Jining Dingguan                    8.00
 Manufacturing Co., Ltd.          Precision Parts
                                  Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Lianfa Stainless Steel Pipes &   Lianfa Stainless Steel             8.00
 Valves (Qingyun) Co., Ltd.       Pipes & Valves
                                  (Qingyun) Co., Ltd.
Ningbo Long Teng Metal           Ningbo Long Teng Metal             8.00
 Manufacturing Co., Ltd.          Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Ningbo Save Technology Co., Ltd  Ningbo Save Technology             8.00
                                  Co., Ltd.
Q.C. Witness International Co.,  Ningbo HongTe                      8.00
 Ltd.                             Industrial Co., Ltd.
Q.C. Witness International Co.,  Cixi Baicheng Hardware             8.00
 Ltd.                             Tools, Ltd.
Qingdao Bestflow Industrial      Yancheng Boyue Tube                8.00
 Co., Ltd.                        Co., Ltd.
Xin Yi International Trade Co.,  Yancheng Jiuwei Pipe               8.00
 Limited.                         Fittings Co., Ltd.
Xin Yi International Trade Co.,  Yancheng Manda Pipe                8.00
 Limited.                         Industry Co., Ltd.
Xin Yi International Trade Co.,  Yancheng Haohui Pipe               8.00
 Limited.                         Fittings Co., Ltd.
Xin Yi International Trade Co.,  Jiangsu Haida Pipe                 8.00
 Limited.                         Fittings Group Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Xin Yi International Trade Co.,  Yingkou Guangming                  8.00
 Limited.                         Pipeline Industry Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Xin Yi International Trade Co.,  Shanghai Lon Au                    8.00
 Limited.                         Stainless Steel
                                  Materials Co., Ltd.
Yingkou Guangming Pipeline       Yingkou Guangming                  8.00
 Industry Co., Ltd.               Pipeline Industry Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Yingkou Guangming Pipeline       Yancheng Jiuwei Pipe               8.00
 Industry Co., Ltd.               Fittings Co., Ltd.
Yingkou Guangming Pipeline       Yancheng Manda Pipe                8.00
 Industry Co., Ltd.               Industry Co., Ltd.
Yingkou Guangming Pipeline       Yancheng Haohui Pipe               8.00
 Industry Co., Ltd.               Fittings Co., Ltd.
Yingkou Guangming Pipeline       Jiangsu Haida Pipe                 8.00
 Industry Co., Ltd.               Fittings Group Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Yuyao Wanlei Pipe Fitting        Yuyao Wanlei Pipe                  8.00
 Manufacturing Co., Ltd.          Fitting Manufacturing
                                  Co., Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 China-Wide Entity \10\                           142.72
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, for this final 
determination, we will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
to continue to suspend liquidation of all entries of forged steel 
fittings from China, as described in Appendix I of this notice, which 
are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
May 17, 2018, the date of publication in the Federal Register of the 
affirmative Preliminary Determination. 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 weighted average amount by 
which normal value exceeds U.S. price, as

[[Page 50341]]

indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) For the producer/exporter 
combinations listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is equal 
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed for that 
combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of Chinese 
producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that have not 
established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash deposit 
rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-county 
exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the table 
above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable to the 
Chinese producer/exporter combination (or the China-wide entity) that 
supplied that third-country exporter. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with this final determination within five days 
of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of the notice of final 
determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).

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 Commerce's final determination 
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 forged steel fittings, no later than 45 days 
after this final determination. If the ITC determines that such injury 
does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all cash 
deposits posted 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, as discussed above in the 
``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice will serve as a reminder to the parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of propriety information disclosed under APO 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely written notification of 
return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial 
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the 
regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

    Dated: October 1, 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 carbon and 
alloy forged steel fittings, whether unfinished (commonly known as 
blanks or rough forgings) or finished. Such fittings are made in a 
variety of shapes including, but not limited to, elbows, tees, 
crosses, laterals, couplings, reducers, caps, plugs, bushings, 
unions, and outlets. Forged steel fittings are covered regardless of 
end finish, whether threaded, socket-weld or other end connections.
    While these fittings are generally manufactured to 
specifications ASME B16.11, MSS SP-79, MSS SP-83, MSS SP-97, ASTM 
A105, ASTM A350 and ASTM A182, the scope is not limited to fittings 
made to these specifications.
    The term forged is an industry term used to describe a class of 
products included in applicable standards, and does not reference an 
exclusive manufacturing process. Forged steel fittings are not 
manufactured from casting. Pursuant to the applicable 
specifications, subject fittings may also be machined from bar stock 
or machined from seamless pipe and tube.
    All types of fittings are included in the scope regardless of 
nominal pipe size (which may or may not be expressed in inches of 
nominal pipe size), pressure rating (usually, but not necessarily 
expressed in pounds of pressure/PSI, e.g., 2,000 or 2M; 3,000 or 3M; 
6,000 or 6M; 9,000 or 9M), wall thickness, and whether or not heat 
treated.
    Excluded from this scope are all fittings entirely made of 
stainless steel. Also excluded are flanges, butt weld fittings, butt 
weld outlets, nipples, and all fittings that have a maximum pressure 
rating of 300 pounds of pressure/PSI or less.
    Also excluded are fittings certified or made to the following 
standards, so long as the fittings are not also manufactured to the 
specifications of ASME B16.11, MSS SP-79, MSS SP-83, MSS SP-97, ASTM 
A105, ASTM A350 and ASTM A182:

 American Petroleum Institute (API) 5CT, API 5L, or API 11B
 Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) J476, SAE J514, SAE 
J516, SAE J517, SAE J518, SAE J1026, SAE J1231, SAE J1453, SAE 
J1926, J2044 or SAE AS 35411
 Underwriter's Laboratories (UL) certified electrical 
conduit fittings
 ASTM A153, A536, A576, or A865
 Casing Conductor Connectors 16-42 inches in diameter made 
to proprietary specifications
 Military Specification (MIL) MIL-C-4109F and MIL-F-3541
 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 
ISO6150-B

    To be excluded from the scope, products must have the 
appropriate standard or pressure markings and/or be accompanied by 
documentation showing product compliance to the applicable standard 
or pressure, e.g., ``API 5CT'' mark and/or a mill certification 
report.
    Subject carbon and alloy forged steel fittings are normally 
entered under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) 7307.99.1000, 7307.99.3000, 7307.99.5045, and 7307.99.5060. 
They also may be entered under HTSUS 7307.92.3010, 7307.92.3030, 
7307.92.9000, and 7326.19.0010. The HTSUS subheadings and 
specifications are provided for convenience and customs purposes; 
the written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Changes from the Preliminary Determination
IV. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Application of the Special Rule for Multinational 
Corporations (MNC Rule) to the Calculation for Both-Well
    Comment 2: Surrogate Country Selection
    Comment 3: Exclusion of Import Data With Quantities of Zero
    Comment 4: Conversion of GTA Data from FOB to CIF Basis
    Comment 5: Assignment of Total Adverse Facts Available to Haida
    Comment 6: Correction of Ministerial Error
V. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2018-21729 Filed 10-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P