[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29168-29170]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13253]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-549-839]
Steel Propane Cylinders From Thailand: 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 steel
propane cylinders from Thailand are being, or are likely to be, sold in
the United States at less than fair value (LTFV).
DATES: Applicable June 21, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cindy Robinson or Stephanie Moore, AD/
CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3797 or (202)
482-3692, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 27, 2018, Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination of sales at LTFV of steel propane cylinders from
Thailand.\1\ On June 3, 2019, a public hearing was held at Commerce. A
complete summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published
the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the
issues raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\
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\1\ See Steel Propane Cylinders from Thailand: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Postponement of Final Determination, 83 FR 66678 (December 27, 2018)
(Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for Final
Affirmative Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Steel Propane Cylinders from Thailand,'' dated concurrently with,
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is
available 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 B-8024 of Commerce's
main building. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum can be accessed at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and electronic version
are identical in content.
Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by
the partial federal government closure from December 22, 2018 through
the resumption of operations on January 29, 2019.\3\ If the new
deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with Commerce's
practice, the deadline will become the next business day. The revised
deadline for the final determination of this investigation is now June
17, 2019.
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\3\ See Memorandum to the Record from 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, ``Deadlines
Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated
January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding
have been extended by 40 days.
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Period of Investigation (POI)
The POI is April 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018.
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is steel propane
cylinders from Thailand. For a complete discussion of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I of this notice.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation and the concurrent
countervailing duty (CVD) investigation, Commerce received scope
comments from interested parties. Certain interested parties commented
on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum,\4\ which was
[[Page 29169]]
issued concurrently with the Preliminary Determination. We did not
receive any scope comments after the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum; therefore, the preliminary scope determination remains
unchanged in the final determination.
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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Steel Propane Cylinders from the People's
Republic of China (China) and Thailand: Scope Decision Memorandum
for the Preliminary Antidumping Duty (AD) and Countervailing Duty
(CVD) Determinations,'' dated December 18, 2018 (Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum).
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Verification
As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), Commerce verified the sales and cost data reported by
Sahamitr Pressure Container Public Company Limited (SMPC) for use in
our final determination. We used standard verification procedures,
including an examination of relevant accounting and production records,
and original source documents provided by the respondent.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case briefs and rebuttal briefs submitted
by interested parties in this proceeding are discussed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues raised by parties and
responded to by Commerce are in the Issues and Decision Memorandum,
attached at Appendix II.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our analysis of the comments received and our findings at
verification, we made certain changes to the margin calculations for
SMPC since the Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of these
changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for all-other producers and exporters
not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
individually investigated exporters and producers, excluding any
margins that are zero or de minimis or any margins determined entirely
under section 776 of the Act. SMPC is the only respondent for which
Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-average dumping margin that
is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise
available. Therefore, for purposes of determining the ``all-others''
rate, and pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, we are using the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated for SMPC, as
referenced in the ``Final Determination'' section below.
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following weighted-average dumping
margins exist for the period April 1, 2017 through March 31, 2018:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer margins
(percent)
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Sahamitr Pressure Container Public Company Limited.......... 10.77
All Others.................................................. 10.77
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Disclosure
We will disclose the calculations performed within five days of
public announcement of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue the
suspension of liquidation of all appropriate entries of steel propane
cylinders from Thailand, as described in Appendix I of this notice,
which were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after December 27, 2018, the date of publication of the Preliminary
Determination of this investigation in the Federal Register.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require 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
cash deposit rate for the respondent listed above will be equal to the
respondent-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin
determined in this final 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 respondent-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. These suspension of liquidation instructions will
remain in effect until further notice.
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 the final determination in this
proceeding 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 steel propane cylinders from
Thailand no later than 45 days after our final determination. If the
ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury does
not exist, the proceeding will be terminated, and all cash deposits
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.
Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely notification of the
return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the
regulations and the terms of an APO is a violation subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing this determination and notice in
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(c).
Dated: June 17, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is steel cylinders
for compressed or liquefied propane or other gases (steel propane
cylinders) meeting the requirements of, or produced to meet the
requirements of, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)
Specifications 4B, 4BA, or 4BW, or Transport Canada Specification
4BM, 4BAM, or 4BWM, or United Nations pressure receptacle standard
ISO 4706 and otherwise meeting the description provided below. The
scope includes steel propane cylinders regardless of whether they
have been certified to these
[[Page 29170]]
specifications before importation. Steel propane cylinders range
from 2.5 pound nominal gas capacity (approximate 6 pound water
capacity and approximate 4-6 pound tare weight) to 42 pound nominal
gas capacity (approximate 100 pound water capacity and approximate
28-32 pound tare weight). Steel propane cylinders have two or fewer
ports and may be imported assembled or unassembled (i.e., welded or
brazed before or after importation), with or without all components
(including collars, valves, gauges, tanks, foot rings, and overfill
prevention devices), and coated or uncoated. Also included within
the scope are drawn cylinder halves, unfinished propane cylinders,
collars, and foot rings for steel propane cylinders.
An ``unfinished'' or ``unassembled'' propane cylinder includes
drawn cylinder halves that have not been welded into a cylinder,
cylinders that have not had flanges welded into the port hole(s),
cylinders that are otherwise complete but have not had collars or
foot rings welded to them, otherwise complete cylinders without a
valve assembly attached, and cylinders that are otherwise complete
except for testing, certification, and/or marking.
This investigation also covers steel propane cylinders that
meet, are produced to meet, or are certified as meeting, other U.S.
or Canadian government, international, or industry standards
(including, for example, American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME), or American National Standard Institute (ANSI)), if they
also meet, are produced to meet, or are certified as meeting USDOT
Specification 4B, 4BA, or 4BW, or Transport Canada Specification
4BM, 4BAM, or 4BWM, or a United Nations pressure receptacle standard
ISO 4706.
Subject merchandise also includes steel propane cylinders that
have been further processed in a third country, including but not
limited to, attachment of collars, foot rings, or handles by welding
or brazing, heat treatment, painting, testing, certification, 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 steel propane cylinders.
Specifically excluded are seamless steel propane cylinders and
propane cylinders made from stainless steel (i.e., steel containing
at least 10.5 percent chromium by weight and less than 1.2 percent
carbon by weight), aluminum, or composite fiber material. Composite
fiber material is material consisting of the mechanical combination
of two components: Fiber (typically glass, carbon, or aramid
(synthetic polymer)) and a matrix material (typically polymer resin,
ceramic, or metallic).
The merchandise subject to this investigation is properly
classified under statistical reporting numbers 7311.00.0060 and
7311.00.0090 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS statistical reporting numbers are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the merchandise is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Nominal Gas Capacity (CAPACITY) vs. Sahamitr Pressure
Container Public Company Limited's (SMPC's) Water-Converted Gas
Capacity
Comment 2: Zinc Coating as a Separate Product Characteristic
Comment 3: Tare Weight Basis
Comment 4: Numeric Coding for Product Characteristics VALVE and
VALVETYPE
Comment 5: Identity of Certain U.S. Customers for Differential
Pricing Analysis
Comment 6: Deletion of a U.S. Sale and All Sales With a CAPACITY
Code of 250
Comment 7: Whether Commerce Should Apply Adverse Facts Available
(AFA) for SMPC's Home Market Credit Expenses
Comment 8: Whether SMPC's Method for Reporting its Cost Data
Warrants Application of Total AFA
Comment 8(a): Whether SMPC Withheld Information Regarding the
Availability of a Certain Production Metric Used to Allocate
Conversion Costs and Relied Instead on Data from 2010
Comment 8(b): Whether SMPC Failed to Report Control Number
(CONNUM)-Specific Costs
Comment 9: Whether SMPC's Manufacturing Costs are Understated
Comment 10: SMPC's Scrap Offset
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2019-13253 Filed 6-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P