[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68402-68405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27043]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-588-874]


Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From Japan: Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and 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

[[Page 68403]]

that Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) and Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., 
Ltd. (Tokyo Steel), producers and exporters of hot-rolled steel flat 
products (hot-rolled steel) from Japan, did not sell subject 
merchandise in the United States at prices below normal value during 
the period of review (POR) October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. 
In addition, Commerce preliminarily determines that Honda Trading 
Canada, Inc. (Honda) had no shipments during the POR. We invite 
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable December 16, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myrna Lobo or Jack Zhao, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2371 or (202) 482-1396, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping 
duty order on hot-rolled steel from Japan in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\1\ Commerce 
initiated this administrative review on December 11, 2018 covering 25 
producers and/or exporters.\2\ We selected NSC and Tokyo Steel as 
mandatory respondents.\3\ On January 28, 2019, 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.\4\ On July 29, 2019, we extended the 
deadline for the preliminary results of this review until November 8, 
2019.\5\ On October 22, 2019, we extended the deadline for the 
preliminary results of this review until December 10, 2019.\6\ For a 
detailed description of the events that followed the initiation of this 
review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\7\
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    \1\ 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) (Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 63615 (December 11, 2018).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection for the 2017-2018 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Certain Hot-Rolled Steel 
Flat Products from Japan,'' dated March 11, 2019.
    \4\ 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.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products 
from Japan: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review--2017-2018,'' dated July 29, 
2019.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products 
from Japan: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review--2017-2018,'' dated October 
22, 2019.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain Hot-
Rolled Steel Flat Products from Japan; 2017-2018,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by the order is hot-rolled steel from 
Japan. For a complete description of the scope of the order, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\8\
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    \8\ Id.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance 
with section 751(a) of the Act. Constructed export price and export 
price were calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal 
value 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. A list of topics discussed in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as an appendix 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 to 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 Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. A list 
of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
attached as an appendix to this notice. The signed Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    Among the companies under review, Honda properly filed a statement 
reporting that it had made no shipments of subject merchandise to the 
United States during the POR. Commerce issued an instruction to the 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) asking for any entry activity 
regarding Honda, and is awaiting CBP's response.\9\ Based on the 
certification submitted by Honda and our analysis of CBP information on 
the record, we preliminarily determine that Honda had no shipments 
during the POR.\10\ Consistent with its practice, Commerce finds that 
it is not appropriate to preliminarily rescind the review with respect 
to Honda, but rather to complete the review and issue appropriate 
instructions to CBP based on the final results of this review.
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    \9\ See No Shipment Inquiry to CBP, dated December 9, 2019.
    \10\ See Honda's Letter, ``Administrative Review of Certain Hot-
Rolled Steel Flat Products from Japan: Honda Trading Canada, Inc.'s 
No Shipment Certification,'' dated December 20, 2018.
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Rate for Non-Examined Companies

    The statute and Commerce's regulations do not address the 
establishment of a rate to be applied to companies not selected for 
individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. 
Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which 
provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a market 
economy investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for 
companies which were not selected for individual examination in an 
administrative review. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-
others rate is normally ``an amount equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero 
or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely {on the 
basis of facts available{time} .''
    In this review, we have preliminarily calculated weighted-average 
dumping margins for NSC and Tokyo Steel that are zero. Accordingly, we 
have preliminarily assigned to the companies not individually examined 
a margin of 0.00 percent.

Preliminary Results

    We preliminarily determine the following weighted-average dumping 
margins for the period October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018:

[[Page 68404]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Weighted-average
                 Exporter/producer                      dumping margin
                                                          (percent)
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Nippon Steel Corporation/Nippon Steel Nisshin Co.,                 0.00
 Ltd./Nippon Steel Trading Corporation \11\........
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd.................                0.00
Hanwa Co., Ltd.....................................                0.00
Higuchi Manufacturing America, LLC.................                0.00
Higuchi Seisakusho Co., Ltd........................                0.00
Hitachi Metals, Ltd................................                0.00
JFE Steel Corporation/JFE Shoji Trade Corporation                  0.00
 \12\..............................................
JFE Shoji Trade America............................                0.00
JFE Shoji Trade Corporation........................                0.00
Kanematsu Corporation..............................                0.00
Kobe Steel, Ltd....................................                0.00
Metal One Corporation..............................                0.00
Mitsui & Co., Ltd..................................                0.00
Miyama Industry Co., Ltd...........................                0.00
Nakagawa Special Steel Inc.........................                0.00
Nippon Steel & Sumikin Logistics Co., Ltd..........                0.00
Okaya & Co. Ltd....................................                0.00
Panasonic Corporation..............................                0.00
Saint-Gobain K.K...................................                0.00
Shinsho Corporation................................                0.00
Sumitomo Corporation...............................                0.00
Suzukaku Corporation...............................                0.00
Toyota Tsusho Corporation Nagoya...................                0.00
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Assessment Rates
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    \11\ In a recently completed changed circumstances review, we 
found that NSC, Nippon Steel Nisshin Co., Ltd. (Nippon Nisshin), and 
Nippon Steel Trading Corporation (NSTC) are affiliated companies 
that should be treated as a single entity and as the successor-in-
interest to Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC), 
Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. (Nisshin Steel), and Nippon Steel & Sumikin 
Bussan Corporation (NSSBC), respectively. See Certain Hot-Rolled 
Steel Flat Products from Japan: Notice of Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 84 FR 46713 
(September 5, 2019). In the absence of record information indicating 
that Commerce should reevaluate this determination, we are treating 
these companies as a single entity for purposes of this 
administrative review.
    \12\ We collapsed JFE Shoji Trade Corporation with JFE Steel 
Corporation in the underlying investigation. See Certain Hot-Rolled 
Steel Flat Products from Japan: Preliminary Determination of Sales 
at Less than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination, 81 
FR 15222 (March 22, 2016), and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum at 8-9.
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    Upon completion of the administrative review, Commerce shall 
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries. For any individually examined respondent whose weighted-
average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 
percent) in the final results of this review and the respondent 
reported reliable entered values, we will calculate importer-specific 
ad valorem assessment rates for the merchandise based on the ratio of 
the total amount of dumping calculated for the examined sales made 
during the POR to each importer and the total entered value of those 
same sales, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). If the respondent 
has not reported reliable entered values, we will calculate a per-unit 
assessment rate for each importer by dividing the total amount of 
dumping calculated for the examined sales made to that importer by the 
total sales quantity associated with those transactions. Where an 
importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis in 
the final results of review, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the 
appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2). If a respondent's weighted-average dumping 
margin is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, we will 
instruct CBP not to assess duties on any of its entries in accordance 
with the Final Modification for Reviews, i.e., ``{w{time} here the 
weighted-average margin of dumping for the exporter is determined to be 
zero or de minimis, no antidumping duties will be assessed.'' \13\
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    \13\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8102 (February 14, 
2012) (Final Modification for Reviews).
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    For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by NSC 
and Tokyo Steel for which the producer did not know its merchandise was 
destined for the United States, or for any respondent for which we have 
a final determination of no shipments, we will instruct CBP to 
liquidate unreviewed entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate 
for the intermediate company (or companies) involved in the 
transaction.\14\
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    \14\ 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 upon 
publication of the notice of final results of this administrative 
review for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The 
cash deposit rate for each specific company listed above will be that 
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 previously investigated companies not participating in this 
review, the cash deposit will continue to be the company-specific rate 
published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in 
which the company participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm 
covered in this review, or the underlying investigation, but the 
manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
established for the most recent segment for the manufacturer of the 
merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other

[[Page 68405]]

manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 5.58 percent, the all-
others rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation.\15\ 
These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
further notice.
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    \15\ See Order.
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed for these 
preliminary results of review to interested parties within five days of 
the date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b). Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may 
submit case briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication 
of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, the content of which is limited to 
issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later than five days 
after the date for filing case briefs.\16\ 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.\17\ Case and rebuttal 
briefs should be filed using ACCESS \18\ and must be served on 
interested parties.\19\ Executive summaries should be limited to five 
pages total, including footnotes.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \18\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
    \19\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
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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, 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.\20\ 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.\21\ Parties 
should confirm the date, time, and location of the hearing two days 
before the scheduled date.
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    \20\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \21\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    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.\22\
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    \22\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; and 19 CFR 351.213(h).
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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 POR. 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: December 10, 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. Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
V. Use of Facts Available and Adverse Facts Available
VI. Rates for Non-Examined Companies
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-27043 Filed 12-13-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P