[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 65 (Friday, April 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18917-18920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07044]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-489-502]


Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes From the Republic of 
Turkey: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review and Partial Rescission; Calendar Year 2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that exporters/producers of circular welded carbon steel pipes and 
tubes from the Republic of Turkey (Turkey) received countervailable 
subsidies during the period of review (POR), January 1, 2018 through 
December 31, 2018, that were de minimis.

DATES: Applicable April 3, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jolanta Lawska, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance,

[[Page 18918]]

International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
8362.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On March 7, 1986, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
countervailing duty order on circular welded carbon steel pipes and 
tubes from Turkey.\1\ On May 29, 2019, Commerce published a notice of 
initiation of an administrative review of the Order covering 35 
companies.\2\ On August 15, 2019, Commerce selected Borusan Companies 
for individual examination as the sole mandatory respondent in this 
administrative review.\3\ On November 12, 2019, Commerce extended the 
due date of the preliminary results of this administrative review until 
March 27, 2020.\4\
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    \1\ See Countervailing Duty Order; Certain Welded Carbon Steel 
Pipe and Tube Products from Turkey, 51 FR 7984 (March 7, 1986) 
(Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 24743, 24748 (May 29, 2019).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Selection of Respondents for Individual 
Examination,'' dated August 15, 2019.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and 
Tubes from Turkey: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review,'' dated November 12, 
2019.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ 
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included at the 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 is available to 
registered users at https://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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review: Certain 
Welded Carbon Steel Pipe and Tube Products from Turkey; 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 circular welded carbon 
steel pipes and tubes from Turkey. For a complete description of the 
scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each 
of the subsidy programs found to be countervailable, we preliminarily 
determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an 
``authority'' that confers a benefit to the recipient, and that the 
subsidy is specific.\6\ For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our conclusions, see the accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part and Non-Shipment Claims

    On June 7, 20, and 25, 2019, Tos[ccedil]elik Profil ve Sac 
End[uuml]strisi A.S., Tosyali Dis Ticaret A.S., Toscelik Metal Ticaret 
A.[Scedil]. (collectively, Tos[ccedil]elik),\7\ HDM Celik Boru Sanayi 
ve Ticaret A.S. (Celik),\8\ and [Ccedil]imta[scedil] Boru Imalatlari ve 
Ticaret Ltd. Sirketi ([Ccedil]imta[scedil]) timely submitted no 
shipment certifications.\9\ Because no evidence on the record 
contradicts these certifications, we are rescinding this administrative 
review with regard to Toscelik, Celik and Cimtas in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.213(d)(3).\10\
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    \7\ See Tos[ccedil]elik's Letter, ``Circular Pipe from Turkey; 
Tos[ccedil]elik No-Shipments Letter,'' dated June 7, 2019.
    \8\ See Celik's Letter, ``Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and 
Tubes (C-489-502) Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (1/1/18-
12/31/18),'' dated June 20, 2019.
    \9\ See Cimtas' Letter, ``Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and 
Tubes (C-489-502) Countervailing Duty Administrative Review (1/1/18-
12/31/18),'' dated June 25, 2019.
    \10\ See Memorandum, ``Results of Customs and Border Protection 
Query Results,'' dated June 19, 2019; see also Memorandum, ``Second 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Query Results,'' dated July 26, 
2019 (CBP Query Memorandum); and Memorandum, ``No-shipment inquiry 
with Respect to Various Companies During the Period 01/01/2018 
through 12/31/2018,'' dated March 27, 2020 (No Shipment Memorandum 
for Various Companies).
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    Additionally, on June 28, 2019, the Borusan Companies \11\ 
submitted a letter to Commerce timely certifying that affiliates 
Borusan Istikbal Ticaret T.A.S. (Borusan Istikbal), Borusan Birlesik 
Boru Fabrikalari San ve Tic. (Borusan Birlesik), Borusan Gemlik Boru 
Tesisleri A.S. (Borusan Gemlik), Borusan Ihracat Ithalat ve Dagitim 
A.S. (Borusan Ihracat), Tubeco Pipe and Steel Corporation (Tubeco), and 
Borusan Lojistik Dagitim Depolama Tasimacilik ve Ticaret A.S (Borusan 
Lojistik) had no entries, exports, or sales of subject merchandise into 
the United States during the POR.\12\ Because no evidence on the record 
contradicts these certifications, we are rescinding the administrative 
review with regard to Borusan Birlesik, Borusan Gemlik, Borusan 
Ihracat, Tubeco, and Borusan Lojistik in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.213(d)(3).\13\ We are not rescinding the review for Istikbal 
because we preliminarily determine that it is part of the cross-owned 
entity referred to as the Borusan Companies, the mandatory respondent 
in this review.
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    \11\ The Borusan Companies consist of Borusan Holding A.S. (also 
referred to as Borusan Holding), Borusan Mannesmann Yatirim Holding, 
Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Borusan), and 
Borusan Istikbal Ticaret T.A.S. (Istikbal) (collectively, the 
Borusan Companies).
    \12\ See Borusan's Letter, ``Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pines 
and Tubes from Turkey. Case No. C-489-502: No Shipment Letter,'' 
dated June 28, 2019.
    \13\ See No Shipment Memorandum for Various Companies.
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    On June 7 and June 11, 2019, respectively, Cayirova Boru Sanayi ve 
Ticaret A.S., Yucel Boru ve Profil Endustrisi A.S., and Yucelboru 
Ihracat Ithalat ve Pazarlama A.S. (collectively, the Yucel Companies) 
and Erbosan Erciyas Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Erbosan) timely filed 
no shipments certifications.\14\ However, the results of the queries 
Commerce performed on the trade database maintained by U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) indicated that shipments produced and/or 
exported by the Yucel Companies and Erbosan entered the United States 
during the POR.\15\ In comments filed on the record, the Yucel 
Companies argued that Commerce should not conclude that it had 
reviewable entries during the POR.\16\ In response to the Yucel 
Companies' comments, we explained that ``Commerce's practice in 
{countervailing duty{time}  proceedings is to conduct reviews based on 
merchandise that is `produced and/or exported' to the United States'' 
and Commerce need not consider ``whether the Yucel Companies

[[Page 18919]]

had knowledge of the shipments or whether the merchandise was shipped 
directly from Tukey.'' \17\ Thus, consistent with the Respondent 
Selection Memorandum, we preliminarily determine that subject 
merchandise produced and/or exported by the Yucel Companies entered the 
United States during the POR and, therefore, we are not rescinding the 
review with regard to the Yucel Companies. Similarly, because Erbosan 
did not contest the results of queries we performed on CBP's trade 
database, we preliminarily determine that subject merchandise produced 
and/or exported by Erbosan entered the United States during the POR 
and, therefore, we are not rescinding the review with regard to 
Erbosan.
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    \14\ See Yucel's Letter, ``Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipe and 
Tube from Turkey: Yucel No Shipment Letter,'' dated June 7, 2019; 
see also Erbosan's Letter, ``No Shipment Certification of Erbosan 
Erciyas Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Erbosan) in the 2018 
Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty Order Involving 
Certain Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipe from Turkey,'' dated June 
11, 2019.
    \15\ See CBP Query Memorandum.
    \16\ See Yucel's Letters, ``Y[uuml]cel reply comments re: 
Independence Tube's comments on CBP data,'' dated June 30, 2019; and 
``Y[uuml]cel comments on second CBP release,'' dated July 30, 2019.
    \17\ See Respondent Selection Memorandum, at 4.
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Rate for Non-Selected Companies Under Review

    The Act and Commerce's regulations do not directly address the 
establishment of rates to be applied to companies not selected for 
individual examination where Commerce limited its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(e)(2) of the Act. 
However, Commerce normally determines the rates for non-selected 
companies in reviews in a manner that is consistent with section 
705(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the 
all-others rate in an investigation. We also note that section 
777A(e)(2) of the Act provides that ``{t{time} he individual 
countervailable subsidy rates determined under subparagraph (A) shall 
be used to determine the all-others rate under section 705(c)(5) {of 
the Act{time} .'' Section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that for 
companies not investigated, in general, we will determine an all-others 
rate by using the weighted-average countervailable subsidy rates 
established for each of the companies individually investigated, 
excluding zero and de minimis rates or any rates based solely on the 
facts available. However, we preliminarily determine that the sole 
mandatory respondent in this review, the Borusan Companies, received 
countervailable subsidies that are de minimis. Therefore, in these 
preliminary results, we are applying the net subsidy rate calculated 
for the Borusan Companies to those firms subject to review that were 
not selected for individual examination.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we calculated an 
individual subsidy rate for the Borusan Companies. For the period 
January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, we preliminarily determine 
that the following net subsidy rates for the producers/exporters under 
review to be as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Net subsidy rate
                       Company                           (% de minimis)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borusan Holding A.S. (also referred to as Borusan                   0.37
 Holding), Borusan Mannesmann Yatirim Holding,
 Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.
 (Borusan), and Borusan Istikbal Ticaret T.A.S.
 (Istikbal) (collectively, the Borusan Companies)....
Borusan Ithicat ve Dagitim A.S.......................               0.37
Borusan Mannesmann...................................               0.37
Borusan Mannesmann Pipe US, Inc......................               0.37
Cagil Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S...................               0.37
Eksen Makina.........................................               0.37
Erbosan Erciyas Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S...........               0.37
Guner Eksport........................................               0.37
Guven Celik Born San. Ve Tic. Ltd....................               0.37
Guven Steel Pipe.....................................               0.37
Kalibre Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret AS....................               0.37
MTS Lojistik ve Tasimacilik Hizmetleri TIC A.S.                     0.37
 Istanbul............................................
Net Boru Sanayi ve Dis Ticaret Koll. Sti.............               0.37
Noksel Celik Boru Sanayi AS..........................               0.37
Perfektup Ambalaj San. ve Tic. A.S...................               0.37
Schenker Arkas Nakliyat ve Ticaret A.S...............               0.37
Umran Celik Born Sanayii A.S.........................               0.37
Umran Steel Pipe Inc.................................               0.37
Vespro Muhendislik Mimarlik Danismanlik Sanayi ve                   0.37
 Ticaret AS..........................................
Yucel Boru ve Profil Endustrisi A.S., Yucelboru                     0.37
 Ihracat Ithalat ve Pazarlama A.S., and Cayirova Boru
 Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Yucel Companies)............
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Assessment Rates

    Consistent with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(2), upon issuance of the final results, Commerce shall 
determine, and CBP shall assess, countervailing duties on all 
appropriate entries covered by this review. We intend to issue 
instructions to CBP 15 days after publication of the final results of 
this review.
    For the companies for which this review is rescinded, Commerce will 
instruct CBP to assess countervailing duties on all appropriate entries 
at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties 
required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for 
consumption, during the period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 
2018, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, upon issuance of the 
final results, Commerce also intends to instruct CBP to collect cash 
deposits of estimated countervailing duties for each of the companies 
listed above on shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of 
the final results of this administrative review, except, where the rate 
calculated in the final results is zero or de minimis, no cash deposit 
will be required. For all non-reviewed firms, we will instruct CBP to 
continue to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties at 
the most recent company-specific or all-others rate applicable to the 
company, as appropriate. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, 
shall remain in effect until further notice.

[[Page 18920]]

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We will disclose to parties to this proceeding the calculations 
performed in reaching the preliminary results within five days of the 
date of publication of these preliminary results.\18\ Interested 
parties may submit written arguments (case briefs) within 30 days of 
publication of the preliminary results and rebuttal comments (rebuttal 
briefs) within five days after the time limit for filing the case 
briefs.\19\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2), rebuttal briefs may 
respond only to issues raised in the case briefs. Parties who submit 
arguments are requested to submit with the argument: (1) A statement of 
the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\20\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of 
its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information, until May 19, 2020, unless extended. \21\
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    \18\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \19\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii) and 351.309(d)(1).
    \20\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 351.309(d)(2).
    \21\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020).
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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, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.\22\ 
Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone 
number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues to be 
discussed. Issues addressed during the hearing will be limited to those 
raised in the briefs.\23\ If a request for a hearing is made, we will 
inform parties of the scheduled date for the hearing, which will be 
held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230, at a time and location to be determined.\24\ 
Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the 
hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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    \22\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \23\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \24\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
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    Parties are reminded that briefs and hearing requests are to be 
filed electronically using ACCESS and that electronically filed 
documents must be received successfully in their entirety by 5:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time on the due date.
    Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of 
the Act, Commerce will issue the final results of this administrative 
review, including the results of our analysis of the issues raised by 
parties in their comments, within 120 days after issuance of these 
preliminary results.
    These preliminary results are issued and published in accordance 
with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: March 27, 2020.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Non-Shipment Claims and Partial Rescission
IV. Period of Review
V. Scope of the Order
VI. Subsidy Valuation Information
VII. Non-Selected Rate
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2020-07044 Filed 4-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P