[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69357-69360]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27229]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-821-802]


Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium 
From the Russian Federation: Preliminary Results of 2017-2018 
Administrative Review and Postponement of Final Results

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an 
administrative review of the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation (the Agreement). 
We preliminarily find that the State Atomic Energy Corporation 
``ROSATOM'' (ROSATOM), its affiliates TENEX, Joint-Stock Company 
(TENEX) and TENEX-USA, Incorporated (TENEX-USA), and TENEX's 
unaffiliated resellers, Centrus Energy Corp. and United States

[[Page 69358]]

Enrichment Corporation (collectively, Centrus) and Nukem, Inc. (Nukem), 
are in compliance with the Agreement.

DATES:  Applicable December 18, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or Jill Buckles, 
Bilateral Agreements Unit, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0162 or (202) 
482-6230, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On October 16, 1992, Commerce signed an agreement with the Russian 
Federation's Ministry for Atomic Energy (MINATOM), the predecessor to 
ROSATOM, under section 734(l) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), suspending the antidumping duty investigation on uranium 
from the Russian Federation.\1\ There have been five amendments to the 
Agreement, the most recent of which was signed on February 1, 2008.\2\ 
Section 8118 of the Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and 
Continuing Appropriations Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. 2297h et seq. 
(2008) (Domenici Amendment) established import limitations through 2020 
that in large part mirror the export limits instituted in the 2008 
amendment to the Agreement. On February 2, 2010, Commerce issued its 
Statement of Administrative Intent (SAI) which provided implementation 
guidance related to the 2008 amendment.
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    \1\ See Antidumping; Uranium from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, 
Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan; Suspension of 
Investigations and Amendment of Preliminary Determinations, 57 FR 
49220, 49235 (October 30, 1992) (1992 Suspension Agreement).
    \2\ See Amendment to Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, 59 FR 15373 
(April 1, 1994) (1994 Amendment); Amendments to the Agreement 
Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian 
Federation, 61 FR 56665 (November 4, 1996) (1996 Amendments); 
Amendment to Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on 
Uranium from the Russian Federation, 62 FR 37879 (July 15, 1997) 
(1997 Amendment); and Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the 
Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from the Russian Federation, 73 
FR 7705 (February 11, 2008) (2008 Amendment).
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    On October 1, 2018, Commerce notified interested parties of the 
opportunity to request an administrative review of the Agreement.\3\ On 
October 26, 2016, domestic interested party Louisiana Energy Services 
LLC (LES) submitted a request for an administrative review of the 
Agreement. On December 11, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal 
Register a notice initiating an administrative review of the 
Agreement.\4\ The period of review (POR) is October 1, 2017 through 
September 30, 2018. On April 24, 2019, Commerce issued questionnaires 
to ROSATOM, TENEX, and any other affiliated or unaffiliated exporters 
and resellers, as applicable. For a complete description of the events 
that followed the initiation of this administrative review, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ 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 Department of Commerce building. In 
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \3\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review, 83 FR 49358 (October 1, 2018).
    \4\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 63615 (December 11, 2018).
    \5\ See Memorandum to Jeffrey I. Kessler, Assistant Secretary 
for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Decision Memorandum for the 
Preliminary Results of the 2017-2018 Administrative Review of the 
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Investigation on Uranium from 
the Russian Federation,'' dated concurrently with and adopted by 
this notice.
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Scope of Review

    The product covered by this Agreement is natural uranium in the 
form of uranium ores and concentrates; natural uranium metal and 
natural uranium compounds; alloys, dispersions (including cermets), 
ceramic products, and mixtures containing natural uranium or natural 
uranium compounds; uranium enriched in U\235\ and its compounds; 
alloys, dispersions (including cermets), ceramic products, and mixtures 
containing uranium enriched in U\235\ or compounds of uranium enriched 
in U\235\; and any other forms of uranium within the same class or 
kind.
    Imports of uranium ores and concentrates, natural uranium 
compounds, and all forms of enriched uranium are currently classifiable 
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheadings: 2612.10.00, 2844.10.20, 2844.20.00, respectively. Imports 
of natural uranium metal and forms of natural uranium other than 
compounds are currently classifiable under HTSUS subheadings: 
2844.10.10 and 2844.10.50. HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and Customs purposes. The written description of the scope 
of this proceeding is dispositive. A full description of the scope of 
the order is contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology and Preliminary Results

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(C) of the Act, which specifies that Commerce shall ``review 
the current status of, and compliance with, any agreement by reason of 
which an investigation was suspended.'' In this case, Commerce and 
MINATOM (the predecessor to ROSATOM) signed the Agreement on October 
16, 1992, which was subsequently amended on March 11, 1994, October 3, 
1996, May 7, 1997, and February 1, 2008. Section 734(l) provides that 
Commerce may suspend an investigation upon acceptance of an agreement 
with a non-market-economy country \6\ to restrict the volume of imports 
into the United States, if Commerce determines that such an agreement 
is in the public interest, effective monitoring is practicable, and the 
agreement ``will prevent the suppression or undercutting of price 
levels of domestic products by imports of the merchandise under 
investigation.''
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    \6\ Because Commerce determined that the Russian Federation was 
a non-market economy at the time the Agreement was signed, the 
Agreement was entered into under section 734(l) of the Act, which 
applies to non-market-economy countries.
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    After reviewing the information submitted in initial and 
supplemental questionnaire responses and related new factual 
information and comments from interested parties in this administrative 
review, we preliminarily find ROSATOM, TENEX, TENEX-USA, Centrus, and 
Nukem to be in compliance with the terms of the Agreement and the SAI 
during the POR. Commerce reviewed the export certificates, invoices, 
contracts, contract amendments, shipment approval request 
documentation, Commerce contract and shipment approval memoranda, 
Master Export Schedules, and other information contained in 
questionnaire responses submitted on the record of the administrative 
review by the respondents for completeness and compliance. In 
particular, we examined compliance with the Agreement's Section IV.B.1 
and IV.H export limits, with Sections IV.E, V.C,

[[Page 69359]]

V.F, VII.D, Appendix 2, and Appendix 3 of the Agreement, with the 
requirements of the SAI, and with Commerce's returned feed 
certification requirements. Based on our review of the record evidence, 
we preliminarily found no evidence of non-compliance by respondents, as 
applicable, with regard to Sections IV.B.1, IV.H, IV.E, V.C, VII.D, 
Appendix 2, and Appendix 3 of the Agreement and with regard to the 
returned feed certification requirements. Regarding the Section V.F and 
SAI contract and contract amendment approval requirements, we reviewed 
information on the record and preliminarily found respondents to be in 
compliance during the POR. However, we requested clarifying information 
from TENEX with regard to certain contracts, contract amendments, and 
side letters applicable to sales and exports during the POR in a 
supplemental questionnaire, the response for which will be due to 
Commerce after these preliminary results. In addition, Commerce intends 
to issue a supplemental questionnaire to Centrus, the response for 
which will also be due after these preliminary results. As these 
responses, and any interested party submissions of rebuttal new factual 
information, will be received after issuance of these preliminary 
results, we intend to continue our examination of compliance in a post-
preliminary analysis.
    A review of information in initial and supplemental questionnaire 
responses also shows that effective monitoring of the Agreement is 
practicable. The Agreement and subsequent SAI guidance provide numerous 
tools for Commerce to effectively monitor compliance with the export 
limits, both under Section IV.B.1 (domestic consumption) and Section 
IV.H (re-export), for Russian Uranium Products. As discussed above, 
Commerce has preliminarily found respondents to be in compliance with 
not only the contract, contract amendment, and shipment approval 
requirements of Sections V.C and V.F and the SAI but also the reporting 
requirements in Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 of the Agreement and the SAI. 
The structure of the Agreement, combined with the requirements of the 
SAI and Commerce's contract, contract amendment, and shipment approval 
memoranda, provide Commerce with the necessary tools to monitor 
compliance with the Agreement and establish corresponding procedures, 
such as the reporting requirements in Appendix 3 for example, that 
ensure ROSATOM and its affiliates will restrict their sales and exports 
in compliance with the Agreement's export limits. Therefore, we 
preliminarily find that the Agreement continues to meet the statutory 
requirement, pursuant to section 734(d)(2) of the Act, of being able to 
be effectively monitored.
    Regarding the statutory requirements of sections 734(d)(1) and 
734(l)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce finds that it requires additional 
time and information in order to complete its examination of whether 
the Agreement continues to meet these statutory requirements, 
particularly since interested parties still have the opportunity to 
submit new factual information and comments on information and 
supplemental questionnaire responses received, and still to be 
received, on the record. In light of interested parties' comments to 
date, the voluminous information on the record of this administrative 
review and from the previous administrative review still under 
consideration, and the complex nature of the statutory requirements, 
i.e., that the Agreement prevent price suppression or undercutting and 
be in the public interest, Commerce needs more time to examine related 
new factual information and comments received, and to be received, from 
interested parties on the broader issues related to whether the 
Agreement remains in the public interest and whether it continues to 
prevent price suppression and undercutting. Therefore, we intend to 
continue our examination after the issuance of these preliminary 
results in order to reach a full preliminary determination on whether 
the Agreement has been complied with during the POR and whether the 
Agreement continues to meet the statutory requirements set forth in 
section 734(l) of the Act. Commerce intends to issue a post-preliminary 
analysis as soon as practicable. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    As discussed above, Commerce needs additional information and 
additional time to review the information received before making a 
definitive preliminary finding. Therefore, we intend to issue a post-
preliminary analysis on these issues as soon as practicable. The 
comment period on these preliminary results as well as the post-
preliminary analysis will be stated with the release of the post-
preliminary analysis. At that time, interested parties will have the 
opportunity to submit case and rebuttal briefs.
    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 
ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received successfully 
in its entirety by Commerce's electronic records system ACCESS, by 5:00 
p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice. 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 
those raised in the respective case 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.\7\
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Postponement of Final Results

    Section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, requires Commerce to complete the 
final results of an administrative review within 120 days after the 
date on which the preliminary results are published. If it is not 
practicable to complete the review within this time period, section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2) allow Commerce to 
extend the time limit for the final results to a maximum of 180 days 
after the date on which the preliminary results are published.
    We determine that it is not practicable to complete the final 
results of this administrative review within 120 days from the date of 
publication of these preliminary results. Commerce requires additional 
time to analyze supplemental questionnaire responses and submissions of 
factual information, complete our examination, issue our post-
preliminary analysis, potentially conduct verification of questionnaire 
responses, and allow for case briefs and rebuttal briefs on our 
preliminary and post-preliminary results. Accordingly, Commerce is 
extending the deadline for the final results of this administrative 
review by 60 days. The final results of the review will now be due no 
later than 180 days from the date of publication of these preliminary 
results.
    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results of review 
in accordance with sections 751(a)(l) and 777(i)(l) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.213.


[[Page 69360]]


    Dated: December 10, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-27229 Filed 12-17-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P