[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32864-32867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14695]



[[Page 32864]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-583-856]


Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Taiwan: 
Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry on 
the Antidumping Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that imports of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE), 
produced in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) using hot-
rolled steel (HRS) and/or cold-rolled steel (CRS) flat products 
manufactured in Taiwan, are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) 
order on CORE from Taiwan.

DATES: Applicable July 10, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shanah Lee and Peter Zukowski, 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) 482-6386 and (202) 482-0189, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Certain domestic interested parties, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, 
California Steel Industries, Nucor Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc., 
and United States Steel Corporation (collectively, the petitioners) 
filed an allegation \1\ that imports of CORE from Vietnam made from HRS 
and/or CRS sourced from Taiwan and exported to the United States as 
CORE from Vietnam are circumventing the Taiwan CORE Order.\2\ In their 
allegation, the petitioners requested that Commerce initiate an anti-
circumvention inquiry pursuant to section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.225(h), to determine whether 
the importation of the Taiwanese-origin HRS and/or CRS substrate for 
completing into CORE in Vietnam and subsequent sale of that CORE to the 
United States constitutes circumvention of the Taiwan CORE Order.
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    \1\ See Petitioners' letter, ``Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel 
Products from Taiwan: Request for Circumvention Ruling,'' dated June 
12, 2018.
    \2\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from India, 
Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and 
Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Determination for 
India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390 (July 25, 
2016) (Taiwan CORE Order).
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    On August 2, 2018, Commerce published the notice of initiation of 
anti-circumvention inquiry on imports of CORE from Vietnam.\3\ For a 
complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this 
inquiry, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ A list of topics 
included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix 
I 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 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 the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \3\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the 
Republic of Korea and Taiwan: Initiation of Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders, 83 
FR 37785 (August 2, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry of Certain 
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Taiwan,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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    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.\5\ If the new 
deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with Commerce's 
practice, the deadline will become the next business day.
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    \5\ 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 29, 2019. All deadlines in this segment have been extended 
by 40 days.
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are certain flat-rolled steel 
products, either clad, plated, or coated with corrosion-resistant 
metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-
based alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted, varnished, 
laminated, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in 
addition to the metallic coating. For a complete description of the 
scope of the order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry

    This anti-circumvention inquiry covers CORE produced in Vietnam 
from HRS and/or CRS substrate input manufactured in Taiwan and 
subsequently exported from Vietnam to the United States (merchandise 
under consideration). This preliminary ruling applies to all shipments 
of merchandise under consideration on or after the date of initiation 
of this inquiry. Importers and exporters of CORE produced in Vietnam 
using: (1) HRS manufactured in Vietnam or third countries, (2) CRS 
manufactured in Vietnam using HRS produced in Vietnam or third 
countries, or (3) CRS manufactured in third countries, must certify 
that the HRS and/or CRS processed into CORE in Vietnam did not 
originate in Taiwan, as provided for in the certifications attached to 
the Federal Register notice. Otherwise, their merchandise may be 
subject to antidumping duties if Commerce makes an affirmative final 
determination in this inquiry.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this anti-circumvention inquiry in 
accordance with section 781(b) of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-
market economy country, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the 
Act,\6\ Commerce has calculated the value of certain processing and 
merchandise using factors of production and market-economy values, as 
discussed in section 773(c) of the Act. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \6\ See, e.g., Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review, 81 FR 24797 (October 14, 2016) 
(unchanged in Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam: Final Results Antidumping Administrative 
Review; 2014-2015, 82 FR 18611 (April 20, 2017)).
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Preliminary Finding

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we 
preliminarily determine that CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS and/or 
CRS sourced from Taiwan is circumventing the Taiwan CORE Order. We 
therefore preliminarily determine that it is appropriate to include 
this merchandise within the Taiwan CORE Order and to instruct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend any

[[Page 32865]]

entries of CORE from Vietnam produced from HRS and/or CRS from Taiwan.

Suspension of Liquidation

    As stated above, Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative 
finding of circumvention of the Taiwan CORE Order by exports to the 
United States of CORE produced by any Vietnamese company from 
Taiwanese-origin HRS and/or CRS inputs. In accordance with 19 CFR 
351.225(l)(2), Commerce will direct CBP to suspend liquidation and to 
require a cash deposit of estimated duties on unliquidated entries of 
CORE produced in Vietnam, as appropriate, that were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after August 2, 2018, 
the date of initiation of the anti-circumvention inquiry. The 
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
    CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS and/or CRS that is not of 
Taiwanese-origin is not subject to this inquiry. Therefore, cash 
deposits are not required for such merchandise. However, CORE produced 
in Vietnam from HRS and/or CRS from China is subject to the AD/CVD 
orders on CORE from China,\7\ and CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS 
and/or CRS from Korea has preliminarily been found to be circumventing 
the AD/CVD orders on CORE from Korea.\8\ Imports of such merchandise 
are also subject to certification requirements and cash deposits may be 
required. If an importer imports CORE from Vietnam and claims that the 
CORE was not produced from HRS and/or CRS substrate manufactured in 
Taiwan, in order not to be subject to cash deposit requirements, the 
importer and exporter are required to meet the certification and 
documentation requirements described in Appendix II. Exporters of CORE 
produced from non-Taiwanese-origin HRS and/or CRS substrate must 
prepare and maintain an Exporter Certification and documentation 
supporting the Certification (see Appendix IV). In addition, importers 
of such CORE must prepare and maintain an Importer Certification (see 
Appendix III) as well as documentation supporting the Importer 
Certification. Besides the Importer Certification, the importer must 
also maintain a copy of the Exporter Certification (see Appendix IV) 
and relevant supporting documentation from the exporter of CORE who did 
not use the Taiwanese-origin HRS and/or CRS substrate.
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    \7\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention 
of the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders, 83 FR 23895 
(May 23, 2018) (CORE China Circumvention Final).
    \8\ See Federal Register notice, ``Certain Corrosion-Resistant 
Steel Products from Republic of Korea: Affirmative Preliminary 
Determination of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry on the Antidumping Duty 
and Countervailing Duty Orders,'' and accompanying Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum, dated concurrently with this notice.
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    In the situation where no certification is provided for an entry, 
and AD/CVD orders from three countries (China, Korea, or Taiwan) 
potentially apply to that entry, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to 
suspend the entry and collect cash deposits at the CORE China 
Circumvention Final rates (i.e., the AD rate established for the China-
wide entity (199.43 percent) and the CVD rate established for the China 
all-others rate (39.05 percent)).\9\ This is to prevent evasion, given 
that the CORE China Circumvention Final rates are higher than the AD 
and CVD rates established for CORE from Korea and Taiwan. In the 
situation where a certification is provided for the AD/CVD orders on 
CORE from China (stating that the merchandise was not produced from HRS 
and/or CRS from China), but no other certification is provided, then 
Commerce intends to instruct CBP to suspend the entry and collect cash 
deposits at the AD and CVD all-others rates (i.e., 8.31 percent and 
1.19 percent, respectively) applicable to the AD/CVD orders on CORE 
from Korea.\10\ This is to prevent evasion, given that the AD and CVD 
rates established for CORE from Korea are higher than the AD rate 
established for CORE from Taiwan.
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    \9\ See CORE China Circumvention Final, 83 FR at 23896.
    \10\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Flat Products from 
India, Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, 
and Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Duty Determination 
for India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390 (July 
25, 2016). The ``all-others rate'' was subsequently amended as the 
result to litigation. See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products 
from the Republic of Korea: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony 
with Final Determination of Investigation and Notice of Amended 
Final Results, 83 FR 39054 (August 8, 2018). See also Certain 
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from India, Italy, Republic of 
Korea, and the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty 
Order, 81 FR 48387 (July 25, 2016) (collectively, Korea CORE 
Orders).
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Verification

    As provided in 19 CFR 351.307, Commerce intends to verify 
information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the last final verification report is 
issued in this anti-circumvention inquiry, unless the Secretary alters 
the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\11\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this anti-
circumvention inquiry 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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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    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 by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.

International Trade Commission Notification

    Commerce, consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, has notified 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of this preliminary 
determination to include the merchandise subject to this anti-
circumvention inquiry within the Taiwan CORE Order. Pursuant to section 
781(e) of the Act, the ITC may request consultations concerning 
Commerce's proposed inclusion of the merchandise under consideration. 
If, after consultations, the ITC believes that a significant injury 
issue is presented by the proposed inclusion, it will have 60 days from 
the date of notification by Commerce to provide written advice.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(f).


[[Page 32866]]


    Dated: June 28, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
V. Period of Inquiry
VI. Surrogate Countries and Methodology for Valuing Inputs from 
Taiwan and Processing in Vietnam
VII. Statutory Framework
VIII. Use of Facts of Available with An Adverse Inference
IX. Statutory Analysis
X. Country-Wide Determination
XI. Certification for Not Using Taiwanese-Origin HRS and/or CRS
XII. Recommendation

Appendix II

Certification Requirements

    If an importer imports certain corrosion-resistant steel 
products (CORE) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and 
claims that the CORE was not produced from hot-rolled steel and/or 
cold-rolled steel substrate (substrate) manufactured in Taiwan, the 
importer is required to complete and maintain the importer 
certification attached hereto as Appendix III and all supporting 
documentation. Where the importer uses a broker to facilitate the 
entry process, it should obtain the entry number from the broker. 
Agents of the importer, such as brokers, however, are not permitted 
to make this certification on behalf of the importer.
    The exporter is required to complete and maintain the exporter 
certification, attached as Appendix IV, and is further required to 
provide the importer a copy of that certification and all supporting 
documentation.
    For shipments and/or entries on or after August 2, 2018 through 
July 18, 2019 for which certifications are required, importers and 
exporters should complete the required certification within 30 days 
of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
Accordingly, where appropriate, the relevant bullet in the 
certification should be edited to reflect that the certification was 
completed within the time frame specified above. For example, the 
bullet in the importer certification that reads: ``This 
certification was completed at or prior to the time of Entry,'' 
could be edited as follows: ``The imports referenced herein entered 
before July 19, 2019. This certification was completed on mm/dd/
yyyy, within 30 days of the Federal Register notice publication of 
the preliminary determination of circumvention.'' Similarly, the 
bullet in the exporter certification that reads, ``This 
certification was completed at or prior to the time of shipment,'' 
could be edited as follows: ``The shipments/products referenced 
herein shipped before July 19, 2019. This certification was 
completed on mm/dd/yyyy, within 30 days of the Federal Register 
notice publication of the preliminary determination of 
circumvention.'' For such entries/shipments, importers and exporters 
each have the option to complete a blanket certification covering 
multiple entries/shipments, individual certifications for each 
entry/shipment, or a combination thereof.
    For shipments and/or entries on or after July 19, 2019, for 
which certifications are required, importers should complete the 
required certification at or prior to the date of Entry and 
exporters should complete the required certification and provide it 
to the importer at or prior to the date of shipment.
    The importer and Vietnamese exporter are also required to 
maintain sufficient documentation supporting their certifications. 
The importer will not be required to submit the certifications or 
supporting documentation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
as part of the entry process at this time. However, the importer and 
the exporter will be required to present the certifications and 
supporting documentation, to Commerce and/or CBP, as applicable, 
upon request by the respective agency. Additionally, the claims made 
in the certifications and any supporting documentation are subject 
to verification by Commerce and/or CBP. The importer and exporter 
are required to maintain the certifications and supporting 
documentation for the later of (1) a period of five years from the 
date of entry or (2) a period of three years after the conclusion of 
any litigation in United States courts regarding such entries.
    In the situation where no certification is provided for an 
entry, and AD/CVD orders from three countries (China, Korea, or 
Taiwan) potentially apply to that entry, Commerce intends to 
instruct CBP to suspend the entry and collect cash deposits at the 
CORE China Circumvention Final rates (i.e., the AD rate established 
for the China-wide entity (199.43 percent) and the CVD rate 
established for China all-others rate (39.05 percent)).\12\ In the 
situation where a certification is provided for the AD/CVD orders on 
CORE from China (stating that the merchandise was not produced from 
HRS and/or CRS from China), but no other certification is provided, 
then Commerce intends to instruct CBP to suspend the entry and 
collect cash deposits at the AD and CVD all-others rates (i.e., 8.31 
percent and 1.19 percent, respectively) applicable to the AD/CVD 
orders on CORE from Korea.
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    \12\ See CORE China Circumvention Final, 83 FR at 23896.
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Appendix III

Importer Certification

    I hereby certify that:
     My name is {INSERT COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME HERE{time}  
and I am an official of {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the importation into the Customs territory of the United States of 
the corrosion-resistant steel products produced in Vietnam that 
entered under entry number(s) {INSERT ENTRY NUMBER(S){time}  and are 
covered by this certification. ``Direct personal knowledge'' refers 
to facts the certifying party is expected to have in its own 
records. For example, the importer should have ``direct personal 
knowledge'' of the importation of the product (e.g., the name of the 
exporter) in its records;
     I have personal knowledge of the facts regarding the 
production of the imported products covered by this certification. 
``Personal knowledge'' includes facts obtained from another party, 
(e.g., correspondence received by the importer (or exporter) from 
the producer regarding the source of the input used to produce the 
imported products);
     These corrosion-resistant steel products produced in 
Vietnam do not contain hot-rolled steel and/or cold-rolled steel 
substrate produced in Taiwan:
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain a copy of this certification 
and sufficient documentation supporting this certification (i.e., 
documents maintained in the normal course of business, or documents 
obtained by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, 
productions records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period 
of five years from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years 
after the conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts 
regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to provide this certification and 
supporting records, upon request, to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) and/or the Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain a copy of the exporter's 
certification for the later of (1) a period of five years from the 
date of entry or (2) a period of three years after the conclusion of 
any litigation in United States courts regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain and provide a copy of the 
exporter's certification and supporting records, upon request, to 
CBP and/or Commerce;
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation, are subject to verification by CBP 
and/or Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification and/or failure to substantiate the claims made herein 
will result in:
    [cir] Suspension of liquidation of all unliquidated entries (and 
entries for which liquidation has not become final) for which these 
requirements were not met and
    [cir] the requirement that the importer post applicable 
antidumping duty (AD) cash deposits equal to the rates as determined 
by Commerce;
     I understand that agents of the importer, such as 
brokers, are not permitted to make this certification;
     This certification was completed at or prior to the 
time of Entry; and
     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.


[[Page 32867]]


Signature--------------------------------------------------------------

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
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TITLE
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DATE

Appendix IV

Exporter Certification

    I hereby certify that:
     My name is {INSERT COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME HERE{time}  
and I am an official of {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the production and exportation of the corrosion-resistant steel 
products that were sold to the United States under invoice number(s) 
INSERT INVOICE NUMBER(S). ``Direct personal knowledge'' refers to 
facts the certifying party is expected to have in its own books and 
records. For example, an exporter should have ``direct personal 
knowledge'' of the producer's identity and location.
     These corrosion-resistant steel products produced in 
Vietnam do not contain hot-rolled steel and/or cold-rolled steel 
substrate produced in Taiwan:
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain a copy of this certification 
and sufficient documentation supporting this certification (i.e., 
documents maintained in the normal course of business, or documents 
obtained by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, 
productions records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period 
of five years from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years 
after the conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts 
regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  must provide this Exporter Certification to the U.S. 
importer by the time of shipment;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to provide a copy of this certification 
and supporting records, upon request, to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) and/or the Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation are subject to verification by CBP and/
or Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification and/or failure to substantiate the claims made herein 
will result in:
    [cir] Suspension of all unliquidated entries (and entries for 
which liquidation has not become final) for which these requirements 
were not met and
    [cir] the requirement that the importer post applicable 
antidumping duty (AD) cash deposits equal to the rates as determined 
by Commerce;
     This certification was completed at or prior to the 
time of shipment;
     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.

Signature--------------------------------------------------------------

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
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TITLE
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DATE

[FR Doc. 2019-14695 Filed 7-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P