[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 222 (Monday, November 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63613-63615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-24854]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-880]


Heavy Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From 
the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review; 2017-2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that the producers/exporters subject to this administrative review made 
sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV). Interested 
parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results of review.

DATES: Applicable November 18, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alice Maldonado or Whitley Herndon, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4682 or (202) 
482-6274, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On November 15, 2018, based on timely requests for review, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), we initiated an administrative 
review on heavy walled rectangular welded carbon steel pipes and tubes 
from Korea.\1\ This review covers 21 producers and exporters of the 
subject merchandise. Commerce selected Dong-A Steel Company (DOSCO), 
HiSteel Co., Ltd (HiSteel), and Kukje Steel Co., Ltd. (Kukje Steel) for 
individual examination. DOSCO informed Commerce that it did not intend 
to respond to the questionnaire or participate as a mandatory 
respondent in this administrative review. The producers and/or 
exporters not selected for individual examination are listed in the 
``Preliminary Results of the Review'' section of this notice.
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 57411 (November 15, 2018).
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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 28, 2019.\2\ On June 10, 2019, 
Commerce extended the preliminary results of this review by 117 days, 
until November 6, 2019.\3\ For a complete description of the events 
that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.
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    \2\ 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.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Heavy Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon 
Steel Pipes and Tubes from the Republic of Korea: Extension of 
Deadline for Preliminary Results of the 2nd Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review,'' dated June 10, 2019.
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order are certain heavy walled 
rectangular welded steel pipes and tubes from the Republic of Korea 
(Korea). Products subject to the order are currently classified under 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) item number 
7306.61.1000. Subject merchandise may also be classified under 
7306.61.3000.

[[Page 63614]]

Although the HTSUS numbers and ASTM specification are provided for 
convenience and for customs purposes, the written product description 
remains dispositive.\4\
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    \4\ For a full description of the scope of the order, see 
Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the 
2017-2018 Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on 
Heavy Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from 
Korea,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) and (2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). 
Export price is calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. 
NV is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 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 https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed 
and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is attached as an Appendix to this notice.

Adverse Facts Available

    Because mandatory respondent DOSCO failed to respond to Commerce's 
questionnaire, we preliminarily determine to apply facts otherwise 
available with adverse inferences (AFA) to this respondent, in 
accordance with sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.308. 
For further discussion, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that the 
following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the respondents 
for the period September 1, 2017 through August 31, 2018:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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Dong-A Steel Company........................................       53.80
HiSteel Co., Ltd............................................       40.40
Kukje Steel Co., Ltd........................................       51.27
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    Review-Specific Average Rate Applicable to the Following Companies: 
\5\
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    \5\ This rate is based on the rates for the respondents that 
were selected for individual review, excluding rates that are zero, 
de minimis or based entirely on facts available. See section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ahshin Pipe & Tube Company..................................       43.91
Bookook Steel Co., Ltd......................................       43.91
Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd.......................................       43.91
Ganungol Industries Co. Ltd.................................       43.91
Hanjin Steel Pipe...........................................       43.91
Husteel Co., Ltd............................................       43.91
Hyosung Corporation.........................................       43.91
Hyundai Steel Co............................................       43.91
Hyundai Steel Pipe Company..................................       43.91
K Steel Co. Ltd.............................................       43.91
Miju Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd...........................       43.91
NEXTEEL Co., Ltd............................................       43.91
POSCO DAEWOO................................................       43.91
Sam Kang Industrial Co., Ltd................................       43.91
Sam Kang Industries Co., Ltd................................       43.91
Samson Controls Ltd., Co....................................       43.91
SeAH Steel Corporation......................................       43.91
Yujin Steel Industry Co. Ltd................................       43.91
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in 
connection with these preliminary results to interested parties within 
five days after the date of publication of this notice.\6\ Interested 
parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than 30 days after 
the date of publication of this notice.\7\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to 
issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later than five days 
after the time limit for filing case briefs.\8\ Parties who submit case 
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding 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.\9\ Case and rebuttal 
briefs should be filed using ACCESS.\10\
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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
filed electronically via ACCESS within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice.\11\ Hearing requests should contain: (1) 
The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. Issues raised 
in the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If a 
request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the time and 
date for the hearing to be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.\12\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    An electronically-filed document must be received successfully in 
its entirety by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established 
deadline.
    Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative 
review, including the results of its analysis of issues raised in any 
written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication 
of this notice, unless otherwise extended.\13\
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    \13\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
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Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of the administrative review, Commerce shall 
determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries.\14\
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), where HiSteel and Kukje Steel 
reported the entered value of their U.S. sales, we calculated importer-
specific ad valorem duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the 
total amount of dumping calculated for the examined sales to the total 
entered value of the sales for which entered value was reported. Where 
either the respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de 
minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), or an importer-
specific rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate 
the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.
    For the companies which were not selected for individual review, we 
will assign an assessment rate based on the average \15\ of the cash 
deposit rates calculated for HiSteel and Kukje Steel, excluding any 
which are zero or de minimis or determined entirely based on adverse 
facts available. Because

[[Page 63615]]

DOSCO withdrew its participation from this review and reported no 
information to Commerce for this POR, we will instruct CBP to apply an 
assessment rate to all entries it produced and/or exported equal to the 
dumping margin of 53.80 percent, as indicated above. The final results 
of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping 
duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this 
review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.
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    \15\ This rate was calculated as discussed in footnote 5, above.
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    Commerce's ``automatic assessment'' will apply to entries of 
subject merchandise during the POR produced by companies included in 
these final results of review for which the reviewed companies did not 
know that the merchandise they sold to the intermediary (e.g., a 
reseller, trading company, or exporter) was destined for the United 
States. In such instances, 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.\16\
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    \16\ 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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    We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after 
publication of the final results of this review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date 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 exporters 
listed above will be equal to the weighted- average dumping margin 
established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is 
less than 0.50 percent and therefore de minimis within the meaning of 
19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; 
(2) for companies not participating in this review, the cash deposit 
rate will continue to be the company-specific cash deposit rate 
published for the most recently completed segment; (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, then the cash deposit 
rate will be the cash deposit rate established for the most recently 
completed segment for the producer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash 
deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will continue to be 
3.24 percent, the all-others rate established in the LTFV 
investigation.\17\ These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.
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    \17\ See Heavy Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and 
Tubes from the Republic of Korea, Mexico, and the Republic of 
Turkey: Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 62865, 62866 (September 13, 
2016).
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Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary 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 review period. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: November 6, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Companies Not Selected for Individual Examination
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
VII. Currency Conversion
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-24854 Filed 11-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P