[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37988-37990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16652]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-580-883]
Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of
Korea: Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review;
2016-2017
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending the final
results of the administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order
on certain hot-rolled steel flat products (hot-rolled steel) from the
Republic of Korea (Korea) to correct ministerial errors.
DATES: Applicable August 5, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Justin Neuman, AD/CVD Operations,
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0486.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 9, 2019, Commerce published the final results of the first
administrative review of the AD order on hot-rolled steel from
Korea.\1\ On July 1, 2019, both ArcelorMittal USA LLC (the petitioner)
and POSCO timely filed ministerial error allegations.\2\ On July 8,
2019, POSCO and the petitioner filed comments rebutting each other's
ministerial error allegations.\3\
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\1\ See Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the Republic
of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review;
2016-2017, 84 FR 32720 (July 9, 2019).
\2\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat
Products from the Republic of Korea--Petitioner's Ministerial Error
Allegation Regarding POSCO's Margin Calculation in the Final
Results,'' dated July 1, 2019; see also POSCO's Letter, ``Certain
Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the Republic of Korea, Case No.
A-580-883: POSCO's Ministerial Error Allegation,'' dated July 1,
2019.
\3\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat
Products from the Republic of Korea--Petitioner's Response to
POSCO's Ministerial Error Allegation,'' dated July 8, 2019; see also
POSCO's Letter, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the
Republic of Korea, Case No. A-580-883: POSCO Response to
Petitioner's Ministerial Error Allegation,'' dated July 8, 2019.
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[[Page 37989]]
Legal Framework
A ministerial error, as defined in section 751(h) of the Tariff Act
of 1930, as amended (the Act), includes ``errors in addition,
subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical errors resulting
from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any other type
of unintentional error which the administering authority considers
ministerial.'' \4\ With respect to final results of administrative
reviews, 19 CFR 351.224(e) provides that Commerce ``will analyze any
comments received and, if appropriate, correct any ministerial error by
amending . . . the final results of review. . . .''
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\4\ See 19 CFR 351.224(f).
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Ministerial Errors
According to the petitioner, Commerce committed an inadvertent
error within the meaning of section 735(e) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.224(f) with respect to its calculation of total cost of
manufacturing by excluding the conversion cost variable. In the formula
used to calculate POSCO's total cost of manufacturing, the exclusion of
the conversion cost variable resulted in POSCO's total cost of
manufacturing being understated. Accordingly, we have determined, in
accordance with section 751(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f), that
an unintentional ministerial error was made in the Final Results.
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce is amending the Final Results
to reflect the correction of this ministerial error. Specifically, we
have recalculated POSCO's total cost of manufacturing by including the
missing variable.
The petitioner also alleged that Commerce inadvertently omitted
certain freight expenses that should be used to cap freight revenues in
the home market. In the Final Results, we inadvertently limited the
freight expenses to inland freight--plant/warehouse to customer, while
excluding inland freight--plant to warehouse and warehousing.
Accordingly, we have determined, in accordance with section 751(h) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f), that an unintentional ministerial error
was made in the Final Results. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce
is amending the Final Results to reflect the correction of this
ministerial error. Specifically, we have recalculated POSCO's home
market freight expenses to include all inland freight, as well as
warehousing, in the formula used to cap POSCO's home market freight
revenues.
Finally, POSCO alleges that Commerce made an inadvertent error in
not including an income adjustment in the calculation of POSCO's
general and administrative (G&A) expense ratio. Accordingly, we have
determined, in accordance with section 751(h) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.224(f), that an unintentional ministerial error was made in the
Final Results. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce is amending the
Final Results to reflect the correction of this ministerial error.
Specifically, we have recalculated POSCO's G&A expense ratio to include
the missing income adjustment.
The revised calculation to correct the errors describe above
changes the cash deposit rate for POSCO from 10.11 percent to 11.10
percent. In addition, because POSCO's dumping margin was used in the
calculation of the rate for non-examined companies in the Final
Results, our corrections to POSCO's calculation results in an
adjustment to the rate for non-examined companies as well, to 8.27
percent. For a detailed discussion of these ministerial errors, as well
as Commerce's analysis of the ministerial error allegations, see the
Ministerial Error Memorandum.\5\
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\5\ See Memorandum, ``Ministerial Error Memorandum for the Final
Results of the 2016-2017 Administrative Review of the Antidumping
Duty Order on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the
Republic of Korea,'' dated concurrently with this notice
(Ministerial Error Memorandum).
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Amended Final Results of the Review
We are assigning the following weighted-average dumping margins to
the firms listed below for the period March 22, 2016 through September
30, 2017:
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Amended final
dumping
Producer or exporter margins
(percent)
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POSCO/POSCO Daewoo Co., Ltd............................. 11.10
Non-examined companies \6\.............................. 8.27
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Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculation performed for these amended
final results in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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\6\ The non-examined companies subject to this review are:
Daewoo International Corp.; Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd.; Dongkuk
Industries Co., Ltd.; Marubeni-Itochu Steel Korea; Soon Hong Trading
Co.; and Sungjin Co.
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Assessment Rate
Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b),
Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject
merchandise in accordance with the amended final results of this
review.
Where the respondent reported reliable entered values, we
calculated importer- (or customer-) specific ad valorem rates by
aggregating the dumping margins calculated for all U.S. sales to each
importer (or customer) and dividing this amount by the total entered
value of the sales to each importer (or customer).\7\ Where Commerce
calculated a weighted-average dumping margin by dividing the total
amount of dumping for reviewed sales to that party by the total sales
quantity associated with those transactions, Commerce will direct CBP
to assess importer- (or customer-) specific assessment rates based on
the resulting per-unit rates.\8\ Where an importer- (or customer-)
specific ad valorem or per-unit rate is greater than de minimis (i.e.,
0.50 percent), Commerce will instruct CBP to collect the appropriate
duties at the time of liquidation.\9\ Where an importer- (or customer-)
specific ad valorem or per-unit rate is zero or de minimis, Commerce
will instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to
antidumping duties.\10\
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\7\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
\8\ Id.
\9\ Id.
\10\ See 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
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For the companies which were not selected for individual review, we
will assign an assessment rate based on the average of the cash deposit
rates calculated for Hyundai Steel Company (Hyundai Steel) and POSCO.
The amended final results of this review shall be the basis for the
assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by
the amended final results of this review and for future deposits of
estimated duties, where applicable.\11\
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\11\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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Consistent with Commerce's assessment practice, for entries of
subject merchandise during the POR produced by Hyundai Steel and POSCO,
or the non-examined companies for which the producer did not know that
its merchandise was destined for the United States, we will instruct
CBP to liquidate unreviewed entries at the all-others rate if there is
no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the
transaction.\12\
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\12\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties,
68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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[[Page 37990]]
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective
retroactively, as appropriate, for all shipments of subject merchandise
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July
9, 2019, the date of publication of the Final Results of this
administrative review, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act:
(1) The cash deposit rate for the companies listed in these amended
final results will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin
established in the amended final results of this review; (2) for
merchandise exported by producers or exporters not covered in this
review but covered in a prior segment of the proceeding, the cash
deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published
for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in which
they were reviewed; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this
review or the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation but
the producer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for
the most recently completed segment of this proceeding for the producer
of the subject merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other
producers or exporters will continue to be 5.55 percent,\13\ the all-
others rate established in the LTFV investigation. These cash deposit
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further
notice.
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\13\ See Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Australia,
Brazil, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, the Republic
of Turkey, and the United Kingdom: Amended Final Affirmative
Antidumping Determinations for Australia, the Republic of Korea, and
the Republic of Turkey and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 67962
(October 3, 2016).
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Notification to Importers
This notice serves as a final reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in the presumption that reimbursement of
antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double
antidumping duties.
Administrative Protective Order
This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written
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 sanctionable
violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
These amended final results and notice are issued and published in
accordance with sections 751(h) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.224(e).
Dated: July 29, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-16652 Filed 8-2-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P