[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8830-8833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03139]



[[Page 8830]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-026; C-570-027]


Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the People's 
Republic of China: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of 
Circumvention Involving Costa Rica

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that imports of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) 
completed in Costa Rica, using hot-rolled steel (HRS) and/or cold-
rolled steel (CRS) flat products manufactured in the People's Republic 
of China (China), are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) and 
countervailing duty (CVD) orders on CORE from China.

DATES: Applicable February 18, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ariela Garvett, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3609.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 12, 2019, Commerce self-initiated country-wide anti-
circumvention inquiries of the China CORE Orders \1\ covering Chinese-
origin HRS and/or CRS exported to various countries, including Costa 
Rica, for completion into CORE and subsequently exported to the United 
States.\2\ In the Initiation Notice, Commerce initiated the instant 
anti-circumvention inquiries based on available information and an 
analysis pursuant to section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.225(h), to determine whether the 
importation of the Chinese-origin HRS or CRS substrate for completion 
into CORE in Costa Rica and subsequent exportation of that CORE to the 
United States constitutes circumvention of the China CORE Orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Flat Products from 
India, Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, 
and Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Duty Determination 
for India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390 (July 
25, 2016); see also Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from 
India, Italy, Republic of Korea, and the People's Republic of China: 
Countervailing Duty Order, 81 FR 48387 (July 25, 2016) 
(collectively, China CORE Orders).
    \2\ The notice of initiation subsequently published in the 
Federal Register on August 21, 2019. See Corrosion-Resistant Steel 
Products from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Anti-
Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing 
Duty Orders, 84 FR 43585 (August 21, 2019) (Initiation Notice) and 
accompanying Memorandum, ``Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel 
Products from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Anti-
Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing 
Duty Orders,'' dated August 12, 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For a complete description of the record developed since the 
initiation of these inquiries, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix I 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Decision Memorandum for the 
Anti-Circumvention Inquiries Involving Costa Rica of the Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Orders on Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel 
Products from the People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by these orders are certain flat-rolled steel 
products, either clad, plated, or coated with corrosion-resistant 
metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-
based alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted, varnished, 
laminated, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in 
addition to the metallic coating. For a complete description of the 
scope of the orders, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiries

    These anti-circumvention inquiries cover CORE completed in Costa 
Rica from HRS or CRS substrate input manufactured in China and 
subsequently exported from Costa Rica to the United States (merchandise 
subject to these inquiries).

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting these anti-circumvention inquiries in 
accordance with section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(h). 
Because an interested party (i.e., Metas A.) did not cooperate to the 
best of its abilities in responding to Commerce's requests for 
information, we have based parts of our preliminary determination on 
the facts available, with adverse inferences, pursuant to sections 
776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology 
underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Finding

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we 
preliminarily determine that CORE completed in Costa Rica from HRS and/
or CRS substrate sourced from China is circumventing the China CORE 
Orders. We therefore preliminarily determine that it is appropriate to 
include this merchandise within the China CORE Orders and to instruct 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of any 
entries of CORE from Costa Rica produced from HRS and/or CRS from 
China.

Suspension of Liquidation

    As stated above, Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative 
determination that imports of CORE completed in Costa Rica, using HRS 
and/or CRS flat products manufactured in China, are circumventing the 
China CORE Orders. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.225(l)(2), Commerce 
will direct CBP to suspend liquidation and to require a cash deposit of 
estimated duties on unliquidated entries of CORE produced in Costa 
Rica, as appropriate, that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after August 12, 2019, the date of initiation of 
the anti-circumvention inquiries. The suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
    CORE produced in Costa Rica from HRS and/or CRS that is not of 
Chinese origin is not subject to these inquiries. However, imports of 
such merchandise are subject to certification requirements, and cash 
deposits may be required if the certification requirements are not 
satisfied. Accordingly, if an importer imports CORE from Costa Rica and 
claims that the CORE was not produced from HRS and/or CRS substrate 
manufactured in China, the importer and exporter are required to meet 
the certification and documentation requirements described in 
Appendices II, III, and IV, in order for cash deposits

[[Page 8831]]

pursuant to the China CORE Orders not to be required.
    In the situation where no certification is provided for an entry, 
and AD/CVD orders from China therefore potentially apply to that entry, 
Commerce intends to instruct CBP to suspend liquidation of the entry 
and collect cash deposits at the rates applicable to the China CORE 
Orders (i.e., the AD rate established for the China-wide entity (199.43 
percent) and the CVD rate established for the China all-others rate 
(39.05 percent)).\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See China CORE Orders, 81 FR at 48389 and 48393.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following company is not 
eligible for the certification process: Metas A. Additionally, 
exporters are not eligible to certify shipments of merchandise produced 
by Metas A. Further, importers of CORE from Costa Rica that is produced 
and/or exported by this ineligible company are similarly ineligible for 
the certification process with regard to those imports.

Verification

    As provided in 19 CFR 351.307, Commerce intends to verify 
information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the final verification report is issued in 
these anti-circumvention inquiries, unless the Secretary alters the 
time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, 
may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for 
case briefs.\5\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties 
who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in these anti-circumvention 
inquiries 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.

International Trade Commission Notification

    Commerce, consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, has notified 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of this preliminary 
determination to include the merchandise subject to these anti-
circumvention inquiries within the China CORE Orders. Pursuant to 
section 781(e) of the Act, the ITC may request consultations concerning 
Commerce's proposed inclusion of the merchandise subject to these 
inquiries. If, after consultations, the ITC believes that a significant 
injury issue is presented by the proposed inclusion, it will have 60 
days from the date of notification by Commerce to provide written 
advice.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(f).

    Dated: February 7, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Orders
IV. Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiries
V. Period of Inquiries
VI. Surrogate Countries and Methodology for Valuing Inputs from 
China
VII. Statutory Framework
VIII. Use of Facts of Available with an Adverse Inference
IX. Anti-Circumvention Determination
X. Country-Wide Determination
XI. Certification for Not Using Chinese-Origin HRS and/or CRS
XII. Verification
XIII. Recommendation

Appendix II

Certification Requirements

    If an importer imports certain corrosion-resistant steel 
products (CORE) from Costa Rica and claims that the CORE was not 
produced from hot-rolled steel and/or cold-rolled steel substrate 
(substrate) manufactured in the People's Republic of China (China), 
the importer is required to complete and maintain the importer 
certification attached hereto as Appendix IV and all supporting 
documentation. Where the importer uses a broker to facilitate the 
entry process, it should obtain the entry number from the broker. 
Agents of the importer, such as brokers, however, are not permitted 
to make this certification on behalf of the importer.
    The exporter is required to complete and maintain the exporter 
certification, attached as Appendix III, and is further required to 
provide the importer a copy of that certification and all supporting 
documentation.
    For shipments and/or entries on or after August 12, 2019 through 
March 7, 2020, for which certifications are required, importers and 
exporters should complete the required certification within 30 days 
of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
Accordingly, where appropriate, the relevant bullet in the 
certification should be edited to reflect that the certification was 
completed within the time frame specified above. For example, the 
bullet in the importer certification that reads: ``This 
certification was completed at or prior to the time of Entry,'' 
could be edited as follows: ``The imports referenced herein entered 
before March 8, 2020. This certification was completed on mm/dd/
yyyy, within 30 days of the Federal Register notice publication of 
the preliminary determination of circumvention.'' Similarly, the 
bullet in the exporter certification that reads, ``This 
certification was completed at or prior to the time of shipment,'' 
could be edited as follows: ``The shipments/products referenced 
herein shipped before March 8, 2020. This certification was 
completed on mm/dd/yyyy, within 30 days of the Federal Register 
notice publication of the preliminary determination of 
circumvention. For such entries/shipments, importers and exporters 
each have the option to complete a blanket certification covering 
multiple entries/shipments, individual certifications for each 
entry/shipment, or a combination thereof.
    For shipments and/or entries on or after March 8, 2020, for 
which certifications are required, importers should complete the 
required certification at or prior to the date of Entry and 
exporters should complete the required certification and provide it 
to the importer at or prior to the date of shipment.
    The importer and Costa Rican exporter are also required to 
maintain sufficient documentation supporting their certifications. 
The importer will not be required to submit the certifications or 
supporting documentation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
as part of the entry process at this time. However, the importer and 
the exporter will be required to present the certifications and 
supporting documentation, to Commerce and/or CBP, as applicable, 
upon request by the respective agency. Additionally, the claims made 
in the certifications and any supporting documentation are subject 
to verification by Commerce and/or CBP. The importer and exporter 
are required to maintain the certifications (the importer must 
retain both certifications) and supporting documentation for the 
later of: (1) A period of five years from the date of entry or (2) a 
period of three years

[[Page 8832]]

after the conclusion of any litigation in United States courts 
regarding such entries.
    In the situation where no certification is provided for an 
entry, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to suspend liquidation of 
the entry and collect cash deposits at the rate applicable to the 
CORE China Orders (i.e., the AD rate established for the China-wide 
entity (199.43 percent) and the CVD rate established for China all-
others rate (39.05 percent)).

Appendix III

Exporter Certification

    I hereby certify that:
     My name is {COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME{time}  and I am an 
official of {NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} , located at {ADDRESS 
OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the production and exportation of the corrosion resistant steel 
products identified below. ``Direct personal knowledge'' refers to 
facts the certifying party is expected to have in its own books and 
records. For example, an exporter should have direct personal 
knowledge of the producer's identity and location.
     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were produced by {NAME OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} , 
located at {ADDRESS OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} ; for each additional 
company, repeat: {NAME OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} , located at 
{ADDRESS OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} 
     The corrosion resistant steel products produced in 
Costa Rica were not manufactured using hot-rolled steel and/or cold-
rolled steel substrate from China;
     This certification applies to the following sales:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Invoice line item
          Producer                 Invoice No.               No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------

     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were sold to {NAME OF U.S. CUSTOMER{time} , located at 
{ADDRESS OF U.S. CUSTOMER{time} .
     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were shipped to {NAME OF PARTY TO WHOM MERCHANDISE WAS 
SHIPPED{time} , located at {ADDRESS OF SHIPMENT{time} .
     I understand that {NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time}  is 
required to maintain a copy of this certification and sufficient 
documentation supporting this certification (i.e., documents 
maintained in the normal course of business, or documents obtained 
by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, production 
records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period of five years 
from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years after the 
conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts regarding 
such entries;
     I understand that {NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time}  
must provide a copy of this Exporter Certification to the U.S. 
importer by the time of shipment;
     I understand that {NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time}  is 
required to provide a copy of this certification and supporting 
records, upon request, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
and/or the Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation, are subject to verification by CBP 
and/or Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification, and/or failure to substantiate the claims made 
herein, and/or failure to allow CBP and/or Commerce to verify the 
claims made herein, may result in a de facto determination that all 
sales to which this certification applies are within the scope of 
the antidumping/countervailing duty order on corrosion resistant 
steel products from China. I understand that such finding will 
result in:
    [cir] Suspension of all unliquidated entries (and entries for 
which liquidation has not become final) for which these requirements 
were not met; and
    [cir] the requirement that the importer post applicable 
antidumping duty and/or countervailing duty cash deposits (as 
appropriate) equal to the rates as determined by Commerce;
    [cir] the revocation of {NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} 's 
privilege to certify future exports of corrosion resistant steel 
products from Costa Rica as not manufactured using hot-rolled steel 
and/or cold-rolled steel substrate from China.
     This certification was completed at or prior to the 
time of shipment; and
     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.

Signature

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
TITLE
DATE

Appendix IV

Importer Certification

    I hereby certify that:
     My name is {IMPORTING COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME{time}  
and I am an official of {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time} , located 
at {ADDRESS OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time} .
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the importation into the Customs territory of the United States of 
the corrosion resistant steel products produced in Costa Rica that 
entered under entry number(s), identified below, and which are 
covered by this certification. ``Direct personal knowledge'' refers 
to facts the certifying party is expected to have in its own 
records. For example, the importer should have direct personal 
knowledge of the importation of the product (e.g., the name of the 
exporter) in its records;
     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were exported by {NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} , 
located at {ADDRESS OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} .
    If the importer is acting on behalf of the first U.S. customer, 
complete this paragraph:
     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were imported by {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  on 
behalf of {NAME OF U.S. CUSTOMER{time} , located at {ADDRESS OF U.S. 
CUSTOMER{time} .
     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were shipped to {NAME OF PARTY TO WHOM MERCHANDISE WAS 
FIRST SHIPPED IN THE UNITED STATES{time} , located at {ADDRESS OF 
SHIPMENT{time} .
     I have personal knowledge of the facts regarding the 
production of the corrosion resistant steel products identified 
below. ``Personal knowledge'' includes facts obtained from another 
party, (e.g., correspondence received by the importer (or exporter) 
from the producer regarding the country of manufacture of the 
imported products);
     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were produced by {NAME OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} , 
located at {ADDRESS OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} ; for each additional 
company, repeat: {NAME OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} , located at 
{ADDRESS OF PRODUCING COMPANY{time} .
     The corrosion resistant steel products covered by this 
certification were not manufactured using hot-rolled steel and/or 
cold-rolled steel substrate from China.
     This certification applies to the following entries:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Entry summary line                       Invoice line item
            Producer               Entry summary No.       item No.           Invoice No.             No.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 8833]]

     I understand that {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  is 
required to maintain a copy of this certification and sufficient 
documentation supporting this certification (i.e., documents 
maintained in the normal course of business, or documents obtained 
by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, production 
records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period of five years 
from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years after the 
conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts regarding 
such entries;
     I understand that {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  is 
required to provide this certification and supporting records, upon 
request, to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and/or the 
Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  is 
required to maintain a copy of the exporter's certification 
(attesting to the production and/or export of the imported 
merchandise identified above), and any supporting records provided 
by the exporter to the importer, for the later of (1) a period of 
five years from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years 
after the conclusion of any litigation in United States courts 
regarding such entries;
     I understand that {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  is 
required to maintain and, upon request, provide a copy of the 
exporter's certification and any supporting records provided by the 
exporter to the importer, to CBP and/or Commerce;
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation, are subject to verification by CBP 
and/or Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certifications, and/or failure to substantiate the claims made 
herein, and/or failure to allow CBP and/or Commerce to verify the 
claims made herein, may result in a de facto determination that all 
entries to which this certification applies are within the scope of 
the antidumping/countervailing duty order on corrosion resistant 
steel products from China. I understand that such finding will 
result in:
    [cir] Suspension of liquidation of all unliquidated entries (and 
entries for which liquidation has not become final) for which these 
requirements were not met; and;
    [cir] the requirement that the importer post applicable 
antidumping duty and/or countervailing duty cash deposits (as 
appropriate) equal to the rates determined by Commerce;
    the revocation of {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time} 's privilege 
to certify future imports of corrosion resistant steel products from 
Costa Rica as not manufactured using hot-rolled steel and/or cold-
rolled steel substrate from China.
     I understand that agents of the importer, such as 
brokers, are not permitted to make this certification;
     This certification was completed at or prior to the 
time of Entry; and
     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.

Signature

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
TITLE
DATE

[FR Doc. 2020-03139 Filed 2-14-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P