[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 882-885]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00103]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-112]


Certain Collated Steel Staples From the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, 
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain collated steel staples (collated staples) from the 
People's Republic of China (China) are being, or are likely to be, sold 
in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The

[[Page 883]]

period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2018 through March 31, 
2019.

DATES: Applicable January 8, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sergio Balbontin or William Horn, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6478, or (202) 
482-4868, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on July 3, 
2019.\1\ On October 29, 2019, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation, and the revised deadline is now 
January 2, 2020.\2\ For a complete description of the events that 
followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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 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 http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan: Initiation of 
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 84 FR 12587 (July 3, 2019) 
(Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's 
Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the 
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 84 FR 57845 (October 29, 2019).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Collated Steel Staples from the 
People's Republic of China: Decision Memorandum for Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is collated staples from 
China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (scope).\5\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice.\6\ Based on our preliminary analysis of these 
comments, we have not made any changes to the scope of the 
investigation. For a summary of the product coverage comments and 
responses submitted to the record for this preliminary determination, 
and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely 
received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\7\
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Peace Industries Ltd.'s Letter, ``Certain Collated Steel 
Staples from Korea, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan: 
Scope Comments,'' dated July 16, 2019; see also BeA Fasteners USA, 
Inc.'s (BeA) Letter, ``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Investigations on Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan: Scope 
Comments,'' dated July 16, 2019; Petitioner's Letter, ``Certain 
Collated Steel Staples from the People's Republic of China: Response 
to Scope Comments,'' dated August 2, 2019; BeA's Letter, 
``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations on Certain 
Collated Steel Staples From the People's Republic of China, the 
Republic of Korea, and Taiwan: Supplemental Scope Comments,'' dated 
October 11, 2019; and Petitioner's Letter, ``Certain Collated Steel 
Staples from the People's Republic of China: Response to BeA's 
Supplemental Scope Comments,'' dated October 17, 2019.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value and Countervailing 
Duty Investigations of Certain Collated Steel Staples from the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' 
dated November 7, 2019 (Preliminary Scope Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Because China is a non-
market economy, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, 
Commerce has calculated normal value (NV) in accordance with section 
773(c) of the Act. In addition, pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of 
the Act, Commerce preliminarily has relied on facts otherwise 
available, with adverse inferences, for Tianjin Jinxinshenglong Metal 
Products Co., Ltd. (Tianjin JXSL) and the China-wide entity. For a full 
description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\8\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\9\
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    \8\ See Initiation Notice, 84 FR at 12590-91.
    \9\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' dated April 5, 2005 (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available 
on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In the Preliminary Critical Circumstances Determination, Commerce 
determined that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of 
collated staples from China for Tianjin Hweschun Fasteners 
Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Tianjin Hweschun) and all other producers/
exporters except for Tianjin JXSL.\10\ We are revising our preliminary 
critical circumstances finding and now find that critical circumstances 
also exist with respect to imports by Tianjin JSXL and all other 
producers/exporters of collated staples from China.\11\ For a full 
description of the methodology and results of Commerce's analysis, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \10\ See Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determinations of 
Critical Circumstances in the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Investigations, 84 FR 59353 (November 4, 2019) (Preliminary Critical 
Circumstances Determination) see also Memorandum, ``Certain Collated 
Steel Staples from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 
Massive Imports Analysis,'' dated October 31, 2019.
    \11\ See, e.g., Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determinations of Sales 
at Less Than Fair Value and Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 29421 
(December 6, 2013), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
at ``Critical Circumstances'', unchanged in Non-Oriented Electrical 
Steel from Germany, Japan, the People's Republic of China, and 
Sweden: Final Affirmative Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value and Final Affirmative Determinations of Critical 
Circumstances, in Part, 79 FR 61609 (October 14, 2014).
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Preliminary Determination

    In this proceeding, Commerce calculated an above-de minimis rate 
that is not based entirely on facts available for Tianjin Hweschun, and 
thus, consistent with our practice, we assigned the rate calculated for 
Tianjin Hweschun as the rate for non-individually examined companies 
that have preliminarily qualified for a separate rate. See the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Commerce preliminarily determines that 
the

[[Page 884]]

following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist:

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                                                                                     Estimated
                                                                                     weighted-     Cash deposit
                                                                                      average     rate (adjusted
                   Producer                                 Exporter                  dumping       for subsidy
                                                                                      margin         offsets)
                                                                                     (percent)       (percent)
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Tianjin Hweschun Fasteners Manufacturing Co.,   Tianjin Hweschun Fasteners                301.64           291.1
 Ltd.                                            Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Tianjin Jin Xin Sheng Long Metal Products Co.,  Tianjin Jin Xin Sheng Long Metal          301.64           291.1
 Ltd.                                            Products Co., Ltd.
China Staple (Tianjin) Co., Ltd...............  China Staple (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.          301.64           291.1
Shanghai Yueda Nails Co., Ltd.................  Shanghai Yueda Nails Co., Ltd...          301.64           291.1
Shijiazhuang Shuangming Trade Co., Ltd........  Shijiazhuang Shuangming Trade             301.64           291.1
                                                 Co., Ltd.
Tianjin Jinyifeng Hardware Co., Ltd...........  Tianjin Jinyifeng Hardware Co.,           301.64           291.1
                                                 Ltd.
Unicorn Fasteners Co., Ltd....................  Unicorn Fasteners Co., Ltd......          301.64           291.1
Zhejiang Best Nails Industrial Co., Ltd.......  Zhejiang Best Nails Industrial            301.64           291.1
                                                 Co., Ltd.
                                                                                 -------------------------------
China-Wide Entity.............................  ................................          301.64      \12\ 291.1
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Suspension of Liquidation
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    \12\ See Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination, 84 FR 61021 (November 12, 2019) and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise as described in Appendix I that are 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as 
discussed below.
    Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the estimated weighted-average amount by which NV exceeds U.S. 
price, as indicated in the chart above, as follows: (1) For the 
producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the cash 
deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of 
Chinese producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that 
have not established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-
county exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the 
table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable 
to the Chinese producer/exporter combination (or the China-wide entity) 
that supplied that third-country exporter.
    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of (a) 
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the date on which the notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily 
finds that critical circumstances exist for all imports of subject 
merchandise from China. In accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the 
Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries 
from all exporters and producers of the subject merchandise from China 
that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice.
    To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic 
subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. Accordingly, Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative 
determination for an export subsidy adjustment. However, Commerce has 
not made a preliminary affirmative determination for a domestic subsidy 
pass-through adjustment in this investigation.\13\ Commerce has offset 
the calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the 
appropriate rate(s). Any such adjusted rates may be found in the chart 
of estimated weighted-average dumping margins in the ``Preliminary 
Determination'' section above.
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    \13\ See sections, ``Adjustment Under Section 777A(F) of the 
Act'' and ``Adjustment to Cash Deposit Rate for Export Subsidies'' 
in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation 
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV 
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting cash 
deposits at a rate equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins calculated in this preliminary determination unadjusted for 
export subsidies at the time the CVD provisional measures expire.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with this preliminary determination within five 
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs, or other written comments not pertaining to scope 
issues, may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the last 
final verification report is issued in this investigation. Rebuttal 
briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no 
later than five days after

[[Page 885]]

the deadline date for case briefs.\14\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) 
and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 
investigation 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.
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Additionally, case briefs regarding scope issues may be submitted 
within ten days after the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. Rebuttal briefs regarding scope issues, limited to 
those issues in the scope case briefs, may be submitted no later than 
five days after the deadline for scope case briefs. All scope case and 
rebuttal briefs must be filed identically on the records of this 
investigation and the concurrent CVD investigation of collated staples.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. 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 time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioners. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), Commerce requires 
that requests by respondents for postponement of a final antidumping 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Tianjin JXSL, Kyocera Senco 
Industrial Tools, Inc. (the petitioner), and Tianjin Hweschun requested 
that Commerce postpone the final determination. Additionally, Tianjin 
JXSL and Tianjin Hweschun requested that provisional measures be 
extended to a period not to exceed six months.\15\ In accordance with 
section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: 
(1) The preliminary determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting 
exporters account for a significant proportion of exports of the 
subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling reasons for denial exist, 
Commerce is postponing the final determination and extending the 
provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not greater 
than six months. Accordingly, Commerce's final determination will be 
issued no later than 135 days after the date of publication of this 
preliminary determination.
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    \15\ See Tianjin JXSL's Letter, ``Collated Steel Staples from 
the People's Republic of China: Conditional Request for Extension of 
Final Determination,'' dated December 6, 2019; see also Petitioner's 
Letter, ``Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's Republic 
of China: Request for Postponement of the Final Determination,'' 
dated December 10, 2019; and Tianjin Hweschun's Letter, ``Certain 
Collated Steel Staples from China: Request to Fully Extend the Final 
Determination,'' dated December 12, 2019.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination of sales at LTFV. If the final determination is 
affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after 
the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final 
determination whether these imports of the subject merchandise are 
materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: January 2, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretar for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by the scope of this investigation is 
certain collated steel staples. Certain collated steel staples 
subject to this investigation are made from steel wire having a 
nominal diameter from 0.0355 inch to 0.0830 inch, inclusive, and 
have a nominal leg length from 0.25 inch to 3.0 inches, inclusive, 
and a nominal crown width from 0.187 inch to 1.125 inch, inclusive. 
Certain collated steel staples may be manufactured from any type of 
steel, and are included in the scope of this investigation 
regardless of whether they are uncoated or coated, and regardless of 
the type or number of coatings, including but not limited to 
coatings to inhibit corrosion.
    Certain collated steel staples may be collated using any 
material or combination of materials, including but not limited to 
adhesive, glue, and adhesive film or adhesive or paper tape.
    Certain collated steel staples are generally made to American 
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification ASTM F1667-
18a, but can also be made to other specifications.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are any carton-
closing staples covered by the scope of the existing antidumping 
duty order on Carton-Closing Staples from the People's Republic of 
China. See Carton-Closing Staples from the People's Republic of 
China: Antidumping Duty Order, 83 FR 20792 (May 8, 2018). Certain 
collated steel staples subject to this investigation are currently 
classifiable under subheading 8305.20.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). While the HTSUS subheading 
and ASTM specification are provided for convenience and for customs 
purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
V. Scope Comments
VI. Scope of the Investigation
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Adjustment Under Section 777(A)(f) of the Act
X. Critical Circumstances
XI. Adjustment for Countervailable Export Subsidies
XII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2020-00103 Filed 1-7-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P