[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50336-50338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-21732]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-533-878]


Stainless Steel Flanges From India: Countervailing Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on the affirmative final determinations by the 
Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade 
Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing a countervailing duty order (CVD) 
on stainless steel flanges from India.

DATES: Applicable October 5, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Mullen or Chelsey Simonovich, AD/
CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401

[[Page 50337]]

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5260 
or (202) 482-1979, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(c), on August 16, 2018, Commerce 
published its affirmative final determination that countervailable 
subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of stainless 
steel flanges from India.\1\
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    \1\ See Stainless Steel Flanges from India: Final Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Affirmative 
Determination of Critical Circumstances, 83 FR 40748 (August 16, 
2018) (Final Determination) and the accompanying Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.
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    On September 28, 2018, the ITC notified Commerce of its final 
affirmative determination, pursuant to section 705(d) of the Act, that 
an industry in the United States is materially injured within the 
meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, by reason of subsidized 
imports of subject merchandise from India.\2\ Further, the ITC 
determined that critical circumstances do not exist with respect to 
imports of stainless steel flanges from India.
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    \2\ See Letter to Gary Taverman, Acting Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance, from David S. Johanson, 
Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission, regarding 
Stainless Steel Flanges from India (September 28, 2018) (ITC 
Letter).
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this order is stainless steel flanges from 
India. For a complete description of the scope of this order, see the 
Appendix to this notice.

Countervailing Duty Order

    As stated above, on September 28, 2018, in accordance with sections 
705(b)(1)A(i) and 705(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its 
final determination in this investigation, in which it found that an 
industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of 
imports of stainless steel flanges from India.\3\ Therefore, in 
accordance with section 705(c)(2) of the Act, Commerce is issuing this 
countervailing duty order. Because the ITC determined that imports of 
stainless steel flanges from India are materially injuring a U.S. 
industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from India, entered 
or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject to assessment 
of countervailing duties.
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    \3\ See ITC Letter.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce 
will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon 
further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties for all relevant 
entries of stainless steel flanges from India. Countervailing duties 
will be assessed on unliquidated entries of stainless steel flanges 
from India entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or 
after January 23, 2018, the date of publication of the Preliminary 
Determination.\4\
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    \4\ See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Stainless Steel 
Flanges from India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination, Preliminary Affirmative and Alignment of Final 
Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 83 CFR 3118 
(January 23, 2018) (Preliminary Determination) and the accompanying 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. However, as described further 
below, countervailing duties will not be assessed on merchandise 
entered, or withdrawn for consumption, during the period of time 
between the expiration of provisional measures and the publication 
of the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal Register.
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Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce will instruct 
CBP to suspend liquidation on all relevant entries of stainless steel 
flanges from India, as further described below. These instructions 
suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further notice. 
Commerce will also instruct CBP to require cash deposits equal to the 
amounts as indicated below. Accordingly, effective on the date of 
publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination, CBP 
will require, at the same time as importers would normally deposit 
estimated duties on this subject merchandise, a cash deposit equal to 
the subsidy rates listed below.\5\ The all-others rate applies to all 
producers or exporters not specifically listed below, as appropriate.
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    \5\ See section 706(a)(3) of the Act.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bebitz Flanges Works Private Limited........................      256.16
Echjay Forgings Private Limited.............................        4.92
All Others..................................................        4.92
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Provisional Measures

    Section 703(d) of the Act states that instructions issued pursuant 
to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect 
for more than four months. In the underlying investigations, Commerce 
published the Preliminary Determination on January 23, 2018. As such, 
the four-month period beginning on the date of publication of the 
Preliminary Determination ended on May 22, 2018. Furthermore, section 
707(b) of the Act states that definitive duties are to begin on the 
date of the publication of the ITC's final injury determination.
    Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act and our 
practice, we instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation 
and to liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated 
entries of stainless steel flanges from India entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption, on or after May 22, 2018, the date the 
provisional measures expired, until and through the day preceding the 
date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the 
Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will resume on the date of 
publication of the ITC's final determination in the Federal Register.

Critical Circumstances

    With regard to the ITC's negative critical circumstances 
determination on imports of stainless steel flanges from India, we will 
instruct CBP to lift suspension and to refund any cash deposits made to 
secure the payment of estimated countervailing duties with respect to 
entries of the subject merchandise ordered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after October 25, 2017 (i.e., 90 days 
prior to the date of the publication of the Preliminary Determination), 
but before January 23, 2018 (i.e., the date of publication of the 
Preliminary Determination).

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect 
to stainless steel flanges from India pursuant to section 706(a) of the 
Act. Interested parties can find a list of countervailing duty orders 
currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    This order is issued and published in accordance with section 
706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    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

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are certain forged stainless 
steel flanges, whether unfinished, semi-finished, or finished 
(certain forged stainless steel flanges). Certain forged stainless 
steel flanges are generally manufactured to, but not limited to, the 
material specification of ASTM/ASME A/SA182 or comparable domestic 
or foreign specifications. Certain forged stainless steel

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flanges are made in various grades such as, but not limited to, 304, 
304L, 316, and 316L (or combinations thereof). The term ``stainless 
steel'' used in this scope refers to an alloy steel containing, by 
actual weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5 percent or 
more of chromium, with or without other elements. Unfinished 
stainless steel flanges possess the approximate shape of finished 
stainless steel flanges and have not yet been machined to final 
specification after the initial forging or like operations. These 
machining processes may include, but are not limited to, boring, 
facing, spot facing, drilling, tapering, threading, beveling, 
heating, or compressing. Semi-finished stainless steel flanges are 
unfinished stainless steel flanges that have undergone some 
machining processes. The scope includes six general types of 
flanges. They are: (1) Weld neck, generally used in butt-weld line 
connection; (2) threaded, generally used for threaded line 
connections; (3) slip-on, generally used to slide over pipe; (4) lap 
joint, generally used with stub-ends/butt-weld line connections; (5) 
socket weld, generally used to fit pipe into a machine recession; 
and (6) blind, generally used to seal off a line. The sizes and 
descriptions of the flanges within the scope include all pressure 
classes of ASME B16.5 and range from one-half inch to twenty-four 
inches nominal pipe size. Specifically excluded from the scope of 
this order are cast stainless steel flanges. Cast stainless steel 
flanges generally are manufactured to specification ASTM A351.
    The country of origin for certain forged stainless steel 
flanges, whether unfinished, semi-finished, or finished is the 
country where the flange was forged. Subject merchandise includes 
stainless steel flanges as defined above that have been further 
processed in a third country. The processing includes, but is not 
limited to, boring, facing, spot facing, drilling, tapering, 
threading, beveling, heating, or compressing, and/or any other 
processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the 
scope of the order if performed in the country of manufacture of the 
stainless steel flanges.
    Merchandise subject to the order is typically imported under 
headings 7307.21.1000 and 7307.21.5000 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTS). While HTS subheadings and ASTM 
specifications are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the scope is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2018-21732 Filed 10-4-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P