[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56816-56817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24807]



[[Page 56816]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-077]


Large Diameter Welded Pipe 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 large diameter welded pipe 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 November 14, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Greenberg at (202) 482-0652 or 
Ryan Mullen at (202) 482-5260, AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and 
Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 27, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
Preliminary Determination of sales at LTFV of large diameter welded 
pipe from China and invited interested parties to comment.\1\ We only 
received comments from the petitioners,\2\ who agreed with our 
preliminary determination to apply total adverse facts available (AFA) 
to the China-wide entity.\3\ Accordingly, we made no changes to the 
Preliminary Determination.
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    \1\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
83 FR 43644 (August 27, 2018) (Preliminary Determination) and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ The petitioners are 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.
    \3\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Case Brief,'' dated September 26, 
2018.
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Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation is July 1, 2017 through December 31, 
2017.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is large diameter welded 
pipe from China. For a full description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' at the Appendix 
to this notice.

Scope Comments

    During the course of this investigation and the concurrent 
antidumping duty investigations of large diameter welded pipe from 
Canada, Greece, India, Korea and Turkey, and the concurrent 
countervailing duty investigations of large diameter welded pipe from 
China, India, Korea and Turkey, Commerce received scope comments from 
interested parties. We issued a Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum 
\4\ to address these comments. Further, in the Preliminary 
Determination, we set aside a period of time for parties to address 
scope issues in scope case and rebuttal briefs. No interested parties 
submitted scope comments in case or rebuttal briefs. Therefore, for 
this final determination, the scope of this investigation remains 
unchanged from that published in the Preliminary Determination.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for the 
Preliminary Determinations,'' dated June 19, 2018 (Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum).
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Use of Adverse Facts Available

    We continue to find the companies which did not respond to our 
requests for information to be part of the China-wide entity. Further, 
we found these companies, which comprise part of the China-wide entity, 
failed to provide necessary information, withheld requested 
information, significantly impeded this investigation, and did not 
cooperate in submitting the requested Q&V information, as detailed in 
the Preliminary Determination and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\5\ Accordingly, we have applied facts otherwise available, 
with an adverse inference, in accordance with sections 776(a)-(b) of 
the Act.\6\
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    \5\ See Preliminary Determination, 83 FR at 43644; see also 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 4-5.
    \6\ Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 5-6.
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China-Wide Rate

    In selecting the AFA rate for the China-wide entity, Commerce's 
practice is to select a rate that is sufficiently adverse to ensure 
that the uncooperative party does not obtain a more favorable result by 
failing to cooperate than if it had fully cooperated. Specifically, it 
is Commerce's practice to select, as an AFA rate, the higher of: (a) 
The highest dumping margin alleged in the petition; or, (b) the highest 
calculated dumping margin of any respondent in the investigation. As 
AFA, Commerce has assigned to the China-wide entity the rate of 132.63 
percent, which is the highest dumping margin alleged in the 
Petition.\7\
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    \7\ 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); see also 
Petitioners' Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of 
Korea, and the Republic of Turkey: Petition for Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated January 17, 2018 
(Petition); see also Petitioners' Letter, ``Response to the 
Department's January 23, 2018, Supplemental Questions Regarding 
Volume VIII of the Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duties,'' dated January 25, 2018, at Exhibit AD-CN-
Supp-3.
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice, Commerce stated that it would calculate 
producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that are 
eligible for a separate rate in this investigation.\8\ Because Commerce 
continues to use facts otherwise available with an adverse inference in 
determining the rate for the China-wide entity and there were no 
respondents that demonstrated eligibility for a separate rate in this 
investigation, Commerce did not calculate producer/exporter combination 
rates for specific companies.
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    \8\ 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).
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Final Determination

    The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter or producer                        dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
China-wide entity...........................................      132.63
                                                                 percent
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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 large diameter 
welded pipe from China, as described in the Appendix to this notice, 
which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after August 27, the date of publication in the Federal Register of the 
affirmative Preliminary Determination.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require

[[Page 56817]]

a cash deposit for such entries of merchandise equal to the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as 
follows: (1) The rate for the exporters listed in the chart above will 
be the rate we have determined in this final determination; (2) for all 
Chinese exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their 
own rate, the cash-deposit rate will be the China-wide rate; and (3) 
for all non-Chinese exporters of subject merchandise which have not 
received their own rate, the cash-deposit rate will be the rate 
applicable to the Chinese exporter/producer combination that supplied 
that non-Chinese exporter. These suspension-of-liquidation instructions 
will remain in effect until further notice. Additionally, Commerce is 
making no adjustments for export subsidies to the antidumping cash 
deposit rate in this investigation because we have made no findings in 
the companion countervailing duty investigation that any of the 
programs are export subsidies.

Disclosure

    The estimated weighted-average dumping margin assigned to the 
China-wide entity in this investigation is based on AFA. As the margin 
is based on the rate calculated in the Petition, and because we made no 
changes to this margin since the Preliminary Determination, there are 
no calculations to disclose for this final determination.

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 large diameter welded pipe, 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 parties subject to an 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of propriety information disclosed under APO 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). 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: November 5, 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 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.

[FR Doc. 2018-24807 Filed 11-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P