[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68398-68400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27030]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-549-817]
Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products From Thailand:
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2017-2018
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that there were no shipments of subject merchandise during the period
of review (POR) November 1, 2017 through October 31, 2018. We invite
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable December 16, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chelsey Simonovich, AD/CVD Operations,
Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1979.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 1, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register a
notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the order
on certain hot-rolled carbon steel flat products (hot-rolled steel)
from Thailand for the POR.\1\ On November 30, 2018, Commerce received a
request for administrative review covering imports of hot-rolled steel
from Thailand, which was filed in proper form by Steel Dynamics and
SSAB Enterprises (collectively, the petitioners).\2\ Commerce published
the notice of initiation of this administrative review on February 6,
2019, covering the two companies for which we received a request for
review.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative
Review, 83 FR 54912 (November 1, 2018).
\2\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel
Flat Products from Thailand: Request for Administrative Review,''
dated November 30, 2018.
\3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 2160 (February 6, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On February 27, 2019, Commerce received a notification of no
shipments from Sahaviriya Steel Industries Public Co., Ltd.
(Sahaviriya) and G Steel Public Company Ltd. (G Steel).\4\ On March 5,
2019, Commerce published a memorandum informing interested parties that
we had made an inquiry to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with
regard to entries of subject merchandise for the purposes of potential
respondent selection. The results indicated that there were no
shipments of subject merchandise from Thailand as country of origin or
country of export by G Steel or Sahaviriya into the United States
during the POR.\5\ On March 20, 2019, Commerce made inquiries to CBP
informing CBP that Commerce's records indicated no shipments from G
Steel and Sahaviriya and requested that any CBP import officers aware
of entries inform Commerce within ten days.\6\ We received no
notifications from CBP.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See Sahaviriya and G Steel's Letter, ``Certain Hot-Rolled
Carbon Steel Flat Products from Thailand: Notice of No Shipments for
Sahaviriya Steel Industries and G Steel Public Company (11//01/17-
10/31/18),'' dated February 27, 2019.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat
Products from Thailand: Placement on the Record of Results of
Inquiry to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for 2017-2018 Period
of Review,'' dated March 5, 2019 (CBP Memo).
\6\ See CBP Message 9079310, ``No shipments inquiry for certain
hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from Thailand produced and/or
exported by G Steel Public Company Ltd. (A-549-817),'' and CBP
Message 9079311, ``No shipments inquiry for certain hot-rolled
carbon steel flat products from Thailand produced and/or exported by
Sahaviriya Steel Industries Public Co., Ltd. (A-549-817),'' both
dated March 20, 2019 (CBP Message 9079311 and CBP Message 9079311,
respectively).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.\7\ On September 10,
2019, Commerce further extended the time limit for completion of the
preliminary results of the review to no later than December 10,
2019.\8\ This preliminary determination is made in accordance with
section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See Memorandum, ``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. If
the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with
Commerce's practice, the deadline will become the next business day.
\8\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat
Products from Thailand: Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated September
10, 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of the Order
The product covered by the order is hot-rolled steel from Thailand.
For a complete description of the scope of the order, see the appendix
to this notice.
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
Based on record evidence, we preliminarily determine that G Steel
and Sahaviriya had no shipments of subject merchandise during the POR.
With respect to G Steel and Sahaviriya, CBP stated that it did not find
any shipments of subject merchandise from these two companies during
the POR.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See CBP Memo; see also CBP Message 9079310; and CBP Message
9079311.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Consistent with our practice, we find that it is not appropriate to
rescind the review with respect to G Steel and Sahaviriya, but rather
to complete the review and issue appropriate instructions to CBP based
on the final results of this review.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See, e.g., Magnesium Metal from the Russian Federation:
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 75 FR
26922, 26923 (May 13, 2010), unchanged in Magnesium Metal from the
Russian Federation: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 75 FR 56989 (September 17, 2010).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Public Comment
Interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than
30 days after the date of publication of this notice.\11\ Rebuttal
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not
later than five days after the date for filing case briefs.\12\
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically via
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) and must also be served
on interested parties.\13\ 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. An
electronically filed document must be received successfully
[[Page 68399]]
in its entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the date that the document
is due.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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, filed electronically via
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS. An electronically filed
request must be received successfully in its entirety by 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time within 30 days of the date of publication of this
notice.\14\ Requests should contain: (1) The party's name, address and
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of
issues parties intend to discuss. Issues raised in the hearing will be
limited to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs. 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 date and time to be determined.\15\ Parties
should confirm the date, time, and location of the hearing two days
before the scheduled date.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
\15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative
review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in
any case or rebuttal briefs, no later than 120 days after the date of
publication of this notice, unless extended.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; and 19 CFR 351.213(h).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assessment Rates
If we continue to find in the final results that G Steel and
Sahaviriya had no shipments of subject merchandise, for entries of
subject merchandise during the POR produced by G Steel and Sahaviriya
for which these companies did not know that the merchandise was
destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate these
entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate
company(ies) involved in the transaction.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ For a full discussion of this clarification, see
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of
Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We intend to issue instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of
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 rates for G Steel and
Sahaviriya will remain unchanged from the rate assigned to them in the
most recently completed review of those companies; (2) for merchandise
exported by manufacturers 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; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered
in this review, a prior review, or the original investigation, but the
manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate
established for the most recently completed segment for the
manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all
other manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 4.44 percent, the
all-others rate established in the less-than-fair-value
investigation.\18\ These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall
remain in effect until further notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value; Certain Hot Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from
Thailand, 66 FR 49623 (September 28, 2001).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 may result in the 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 and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: December 10, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
SCOPE OF THE ORDER
For purposes of the Order, the products covered are certain hot-
rolled carbon steel flat products of a rectangular shape, of a width
of 0.5 inch or greater, neither clad, plated, nor coated with metal
and whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or
other non-metallic substances, in coils (whether or not in
successively superimposed layers), regardless of thickness, and in
straight lengths of a thickness of less than 4.75 mm and of a width
measuring at least 10 times the thickness. Universal mill plate
(i.e., flat-rolled products rolled on four faces or in a closed box
pass, of a width exceeding 150 mm, but not exceeding 1250 mm, and of
a thickness of not less than 4.0 mm, not in coils and without
patterns in relief) of a thickness not less than 4.0 mm is not
included within the scope of the order.
Specifically included within the scope of the order are vacuum
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-
free (IF)) steels, high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, and the
substrate for motor lamination steels. IF steels are recognized as
low carbon steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as
titanium or niobium (also commonly referred to as columbium), or
both, added to stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels
are recognized as steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such
as chromium, copper, niobium, vanadium, and molybdenum. The
substrate for motor lamination steels contains micro-alloying levels
of elements such as silicon and aluminum.
Steel products to be included in the scope of the order,
regardless of definitions in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTS), are products in which: (i) Iron predominates,
by weight, over each of the other contained elements; (ii) the
carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and (iii) none of
the elements listed below exceeds the quantity, by weight,
respectively indicated:
1.80 percent of manganese,
or 2.25 percent of silicon,
or 1.00 percent of copper,
or 0.50 percent of aluminum,
or 1.25 percent of chromium,
or 0.30 percent of cobalt,
or 0.40 percent of lead,
or 1.25 percent of nickel,
or 0.30 percent of tungsten,
or 0.10 percent of molybdenum,
or 0.10 percent of niobium,
or 0.15 percent of vanadium,
or 0.15 percent of zirconium.
All products that meet the physical and chemical description
provided above are within the scope of the order unless otherwise
excluded. The following products, by way of example, are outside or
specifically excluded from the scope of the order:
--Alloy hot-rolled steel products in which at least one of the
chemical elements exceeds those listed above (including, e.g., ASTM
specifications A543, A387, A514, A517, A506).
--Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)/American Iron and Steel
Institute (AISI) grades of series 2300 and higher.
--Ball bearings steels, as defined in the HTS.
--Tool steels, as defined in the HTS.
--Silico-manganese (as defined in the HTS) or silicon electrical
steel with a silicon level exceeding 2.25 percent.
--ASTM specifications A710 and A736.
--USS Abrasion-resistant steels (USS AR 400, USS AR 500).
--All products (proprietary or otherwise) based on an alloy ASTM
specification
[[Page 68400]]
(sample specifications: ASTM A506, A507).
--Non-rectangular shapes, not in coils, which are the result of
having been processed by cutting or stamping and which have assumed
the character of articles or products classified outside chapter 72
of the HTS.
The merchandise subject to the order is classified in the HTS at
subheadings: 7208.10.15.00, 7208.10.30.00, 7208.10.60.00,
7208.25.30.00, 7208.25.60.00, 7208.26.00.30, 7208.26.00.60,
7208.27.00.30, 7208.27.00.60, 7208.36.00.30, 7208.36.00.60,
7208.37.00.30, 7208.37.00.60, 7208.38.00.15, 7208.38.00.30,
7208.38.00.90, 7208.39.00.15, 7208.39.00.30, 7208.39.00.90,
7208.40.60.30, 7208.40.60.60, 7208.53.00.00, 7208.54.00.00,
7208.90.00.00, 7211.14.00.90, 7211.19.15.00, 7211.19.20.00,
7211.19.30.00, 7211.19.45.00, 7211.19.60.00, 7211.19.75.30,
7211.19.75.60, and 7211.19.75.90. Certain hot-rolled flat-rolled
carbon steel flat products covered by the order, including: Vacuum
degassed fully stabilized; high strength low alloy; and the
substrate for motor lamination steel may also enter under the
following tariff numbers: 7225.11.00.00, 7225.19.00.00,
7225.30.30.50, 7225.30.70.00, 7225.40.70.00, 7225.99.00.90,
7226.11.10.00, 7226.11.90.30, 7226.11.90.60, 7226.19.10.00,
7226.19.90.00, 7226.91.50.00, 7226.91.70.00, 7226.91.80.00, and
7226.99.01.80. Subject merchandise may also enter under
7210.70.30.00, 7210.90.90.00, 7211.14.00.30, 7212.40.10.00,
7212.40.50.00, and 7212.50.00.00. Although the HTS subheadings are
provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes, the written
description of the merchandise under the order is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2019-27030 Filed 12-13-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P