[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 206 (Thursday, October 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57005-57008]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23214]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-094]


Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From the People's Republic of 
China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final 
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) determines that 
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters 
of refillable stainless steel kegs (kegs) from the People's Republic of 
China (China). For information on the estimated subsidy rates, see the 
``Final Determination'' section of this notice.

DATES: Applicable October 24, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nicholas Czajkowski, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-1395.

Background

    Commerce published the Preliminary Determination on April 5, 
2019.\1\ A 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\ The Issues and Decision

[[Page 57006]]

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 http://access.trade.gov, and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Commerce 
building. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and the electronic 
version are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination, 84 FR 13634 (April 5, 2019) 
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum (PDM).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of 
Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from the People's Republic of 
China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Period of Investigation

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

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are kegs from China. For 
a full description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix I.

Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    The subsidy programs under investigation and the issues raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in this investigation are 
discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues 
raised by parties, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum, is attached to this notice at Appendix II.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), in April 2019, Commerce verified the subsidy information 
reported by Ningbo Master International Trade Co., Ltd. (Ningbo 
Master). We used standard verification procedures, including an 
examination of relevant accounting and production records, and original 
source documents provided by Ningbo Master.

Use of Adverse Facts Available

    In making this final determination, Commerce relied, in part, on 
facts available and, because the Government of China (GOC) and a 
respondent company did not act to the best of their abilities in 
responding to Commerce's requests for information, we drew an adverse 
inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise 
available, pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For further 
information, see the section ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 
Adverse Inferences'' in the accompanying Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of our findings at verification and the 
comments received, we have made certain changes to the subsidy rate 
calculations. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.

Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part

    Commerce preliminarily determined that critical circumstances 
existed with respect to imports of kegs from China for the 19 companies 
to which we are applying Adverse Facts Available (AFA) because they did 
not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests 
for information, but that critical circumstances did not exist for 
Ningbo Master or from all other producers/exporters of subject 
merchandise.\3\ We invited parties to provide comments on this 
determination. However, no parties submitted comments regarding our 
preliminary critical circumstances finding. Therefore, for this final 
determination, we continue to find that critical circumstances exist 
with respect to subject merchandise produced or exported by the 19 AFA 
companies but not with respect to Ningbo Master or to all other 
producers/exporters.
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    \3\ See Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination, in Part, 
of Critical Circumstances in the Countervailing Duty Investigation, 
84 FR 25748 (June 4, 2019) (Critical Circumstances Preliminary 
Determination).
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All-Others Rate

    In accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, for 
companies not individually examined, we apply an all-others rate, which 
is normally calculated by weighting the subsidy rates of the mandatory 
respondents by those companies' exports of the subject merchandise to 
the United States. Under section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the all-
others rate should exclude zero and de minimis rates or any rates based 
entirely on facts otherwise available pursuant to section 776 of the 
Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce is assigning rates based entirely 
on AFA for the second mandatory respondent Penglai Jinfu Stainless 
Steel Products (Penglai Jinfu) and 18 companies that failed to respond 
to our quantity and value (Q&V) questionnaire.\4\ Commerce calculated 
an individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for Ningbo Master 
International Trade Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Master) and its cross-owned 
affiliates Tomorrow Industrial Limited (Tomorrow Industrial), Ningbo 
Major Draft Beer Equipment Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Major), and Zhejiang Major 
Technology Co., Ltd. (Major Technology). Because the only individually 
calculated rate is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts 
otherwise available, we are assigning the rate calculated for Ningbo 
Master to all other producers and exporters.
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    \4\ Commerce issued Q&V questionnaires to 20 companies. The 18 
companies that did not respond to our Q&V questionnaire are: 
Equipmentines (Dalian) E[hyphen]Commerce Co., Ltd.; Jinan HaoLu 
Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd.; NDL Keg Qingdao Inc.; Ningbo Direct 
Import & Export Co., Ltd.; Ningbo Hefeng Container Manufacture Co., 
Ltd.; Ningbo Hefeng Kitchen Utensils Manufacture Co., Ltd.; Ningbo 
HGM Food Machinery Co., Ltd.; Ningbo Jiangbei Bei Fu Industry and 
Trade Co., Ltd.; Ningbo Sanfino Import & Export Co., Ltd.; Ningbo 
Shimaotong International Co., Ltd.; Ningbo Sunburst International 
Trading Co., Ltd.; Orient Equipment (Taizhou) Co., Ltd.; Qingdao 
Henka Precision Technology Co., Ltd.; Shandong Tiantai Beer 
Equipment; Sino Dragon Trading International; Wenzhou Deli Machinery 
Equipment Co.; Wuxi Taihu Lamps and Lanterns Co., Ltd.; and Yantai 
Trano New Material Co., Ltd.
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Final Determination

    We determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Net subsidy
                         Company                               rate
                                                             (percent)
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Equipmentines (Dalian) E[hyphen]Commerce Co., Ltd.......          145.23
Jinan HaoLu Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd................          145.23
NDL Keg Qingdao Inc.....................................          145.23
Ningbo Direct Import & Export Co., Ltd..................          145.23
Ningbo Hefeng Container Manufacture Co., Ltd............          145.23
Ningbo Hefeng Kitchen Utensils Manufacture Co., Ltd.....          145.23
Ningbo HGM Food Machinery Co., Ltd......................          145.23
Ningbo Jiangbei Bei Fu Industry and Trade Co., Ltd......          145.23

[[Page 57007]]

 
Ningbo Master International Trade Co., Ltd..............           16.21
Ningbo Sanfino Import & Export Co., Ltd.................          145.23
Ningbo Shimaotong International Co., Ltd................          145.23
Ningbo Sunburst International Trading Co., Ltd..........          145.23
Orient Equipment (Taizhou) Co., Ltd.....................          145.23
Penglai Jinfu Stainless Steel Products..................          145.23
Qingdao Henka Precision Technology Co., Ltd.............          145.23
Shandong Tiantai Beer Equipment.........................          145.23
Sino Dragon Trading International.......................          145.23
Wenzhou Deli Machinery Equipment Co.....................          145.23
Wuxi Taihu Lamps and Lanterns Co., Ltd..................          145.23
Yantai Trano New Material Co., Ltd......................          145.23
All Others..............................................           16.21
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Disclosure

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties in this 
proceeding within five days after public announcement of the final 
determination or, if there is no public announcement, within five days 
of the date of publication of the notice of final determination in the 
Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Suspension of Liquidation

    As a result of our Preliminary Determination and pursuant to 
section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of kegs from 
China, that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption 
on or after April 5, 2019, the date of the publication of the 
Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register. Further, as a result 
of our Critical Circumstances Preliminary Determination, we instructed 
CBP to suspend liquidation of all entries of kegs from China, that were 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
January 5, 2019 through April 4, 2019 (90 days prior to the date of the 
publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register 
through the day prior to the date of the publication of the Preliminary 
Determination) from the 19 AFA companies. In accordance with section 
703(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to discontinue the suspension of 
liquidation for CVD purposes for subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, on or after August 3, 2019. If the U.S. 
International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final affirmative injury 
determination, we will issue a CVD order and will reinstate the 
suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of the Act and will 
require a cash deposit of estimated CVDs for such entries of subject 
merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If the ITC determines that 
material injury, or threat of material injury, does not exist, this 
proceeding will be terminated, and all estimated duties deposited or 
securities posted as a result of the suspension of liquidation will be 
refunded or canceled.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our final affirmative CVD determination. 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 of 
subject merchandise from China no later than 45 days after our final 
determination. If the ITC determines that such injury does not exist, 
this proceeding will be terminated, and all securities posted will be 
refunded or canceled. If the ITC determines that such injury does 
exist, Commerce will issue a countervailing duty order directing CBP to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing 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 Order

    This notice will serve as a reminder to the parties subject to 
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 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: October 17, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation are kegs, vessels, 
or containers with bodies that are approximately cylindrical in 
shape, 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, with or without other elements), and that are compatible 
with a ``D Sankey'' extractor (refillable stainless steel kegs) with 
a nominal liquid volume capacity of 10 liters or more, regardless of 
the type of finish, gauge, thickness, or grade of stainless steel, 
and whether or not covered by or encased in other materials. 
Refillable stainless steel kegs may be imported assembled or 
unassembled, with or without all components (including spears, 
couplers or taps, necks, collars, and valves), and be filled or 
unfilled.
    ``Unassembled'' or ``unfinished'' refillable stainless steel 
kegs include drawn stainless steel cylinders that have been welded 
to form the body of the keg and attached to an upper (top) chime 
and/or lower (bottom) chime. Unassembled refillable stainless steel 
kegs may or may not be welded to a neck, may or may not have a valve 
assembly attached, and may be otherwise complete except for testing, 
certification, and/or marking.
    Subject merchandise also includes refillable stainless steel 
kegs that have been further processed in a third country, including 
but not limited to, attachment of necks, collars, spears or valves, 
heat treatment, pickling, passivation, 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

[[Page 57008]]

manufacture of the in-scope refillable stainless steel keg.
    Specifically excluded are the following:
    (1) Vessels or containers that are not approximately cylindrical 
in nature (e.g., box, ``hopper'' or ``cone'' shaped vessels);
    (2) stainless steel kegs, vessels, or containers that have 
either a ``ball lock'' valve system or a ``pin lock'' valve system 
(commonly known as ``Cornelius,'' ``corny'' or ``ball lock'' kegs);
    (3) necks, spears, couplers or taps, collars, and valves that 
are not imported with the subject merchandise; and
    (4) stainless steel kegs that are filled with beer, wine, or 
other liquid and that are designated by the Commissioner of Customs 
as Instruments of International Traffic within the meaning of 
section 332(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.
    The merchandise covered by this investigation are currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under subheadings 7310.10.0010, 7310.10.0050, 7310.29.0025, 
and 7310.29.0050.
    These HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes; the written description of the scope of this investigation 
is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Final Determination of Critical Circumstances
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Subsidies Valuation
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1: Whether to Apply AFA to Find Producers of Stainless 
Steel Coil to be ``Authorities''
    Comment 2: Whether to Apply AFA to Find the Provision of 
Stainless Steel Coil to be Specific
    Comment 3: Whether to Apply AFA to Find the Chinese Stainless 
Steel Coil Market Distorted
    Comment 4: Whether to Use Data from the American Metal Market 
for Calculating Stainless Steel Coil Benchmarks
    Comment 5: Whether to Include Import Duties in Calculating the 
Stainless Steel Coil Benchmark
    Comment 6: Whether Commerce Should Use Coaster Freight Rates 
from Metal Expert
    Comment 7: Whether to Apply AFA to the Provision of Electricity 
for LTAR
    Comment 8: Whether Commerce Should Include Electricity Purchase 
from a Private Enterprise in the Benefit Calculation for the 
Provision of Electricity for LTAR Program
    Comment 9: Whether Commerce Errored in the Benefit Calculation 
for the Provision of Electricity for LTAR Program
    Comment 10: Whether Commerce Properly Determined that the 
Provision of Policy Loans is Specific
X. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-23214 Filed 10-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P