[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 71 (Monday, April 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20472-20473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07719]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-805]


Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From Mexico: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final 
Determination of No Shipments; 2017-2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) continues to find that 
Conduit, S.A. de C.V. (Conduit), Mueller Comercial de Mexico, S. de 
R.L. de C.V. (Mueller), and RYMCO made no shipments of subject 
merchandise during the period of review (POR), November 1, 2017 through 
October 31, 2018.

DATES: Applicable April 13, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Flessner or Erin Kearney, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6312 or (202) 482-0167, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 17, 2019, Commerce published in the Federal Register 
the Preliminary Results of this administrative review.\1\ In accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), Commerce invited interested parties to 
comment on the Preliminary Results. On October 17, 2019, Independence 
Tube Corporation and Southland Tube, Incorporated (collectively, 
Domestic Interested Parties) submitted a case brief.\2\ On October 22, 
2019, Conduit and Mueller each submitted a rebuttal brief.\3\
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    \1\ See Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from 
Mexico: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review and Rescission of Review, in Part; 2017-2018, 84 FR 48907 
(September 17, 2019) (Preliminary Results).
    \2\ See Domestic Interested Parties' Letter, ``Certain Circular 
Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Mexico: Case Brief,'' dated October 
17, 2019.
    \3\ See Conduit's Letter, ``Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe 
from Mexico: Rebuttal Brief,'' dated October 22, 2019 (Conduit's 
Rebuttal Brief). Conduit's Rebuttal Brief was filed on behalf of 
Conduit and RYMCO. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 2159 (February 6, 2019) 
(Initiation Notice). RYMCO, though listed in the Initiation Notice 
as a respondent, does not exist as a separate company and is merely 
Conduit's brand name; see also Mueller's Letter, ``Certain Circular 
Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Mexico: Rebuttal Brief of Mueller 
Comercial de Mexico,'' dated October 22, 2019.
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    These final results cover Conduit, Mueller, and RYMCO.\4\ Based on 
an analysis of the comments received, we have made no changes to the 
Preliminary Results. This administrative review was conducted in 
accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act).
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    \4\ See Domestic Interested Parties' Letter, ``Certain Circular 
Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Mexico: Partial Withdrawal of 
Request for Administrative Review,'' dated May 7, 2019; see also 
Wheatland Tube's Letter, ``Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel 
Pipes and Tubes from Mexico: Partial Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review,'' dated May 7, 2019.
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    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.\5\ If the new 
deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with Commerce's 
practice, the deadline will become the next business day. On February 
11, 2020, we extended the deadline for these final results, until March 
13, 2020.\6\ We extended the deadline of the final results a second 
time, until May 14, 2020.\7\
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    \5\ See Memorandum to the Record from Gary Taverman, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``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.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel 
Pipe from Mexico: Extension of Time Limit for Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated February 11, 2020.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel 
Pipe from Mexico: Extension of Time Limit for Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated March 11, 2020.
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Scope of the Order 8
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    \8\ See Notice of Antidumping Duty Orders: Certain Circular 
Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Brazil, the Republic of Korea 
(Korea), Mexico, and Venezuela and Amendment to Final Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Welded Non-Alloy Steel 
Pipe from Korea, 57 FR 49453 (November 2, 1992) (the Order).
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    The merchandise under review is certain circular welded non-alloy 
steel pipes and tubes. The merchandise covered by the Order and subject 
to this review is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheadings: 7306.30.10.00, 
7306.30.50.25, 7306.30.50.32, 7306.30.50.40, 7306.30.50.55, 
7306.30.50.85, and 7306.30.50.90. While HTSUS subheadings are provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of this Order is dispositive. A full description of the scope of 
the Order is contained in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\9\
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    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decisions Memorandum for the 
Final Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain 
Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Mexico; 2017-2018,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice (Issues and Decisions Memorandum).
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs filed by parties 
in this review are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A 
list of the issues which parties raised, and to which we respond in the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum, follows in the appendix to this notice. 
The Issues and 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. In 
addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. 
The signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and the electronic version of 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

    Based on our analysis of the comments received, and for the reasons 
explained in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, Commerce made no 
changes to the Preliminary Results.

[[Page 20473]]

Final Determination of No Shipments

    Prior to the issuance of the questionnaire, Conduit reported that 
it made no sales of subject merchandise during the POR.\10\ On May 8, 
2019, we placed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) port 
inquiry instructions on the record that we sent to CBP regarding each 
company that submitted a statement of no shipments. We received no 
information from CBP contrary to the statements of no shipments from 
the companies contained in the attachments to the CBP Information 
Memorandum.\11\
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    \10\ See Conduit's Letter, ``Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel 
Pipe from Mexico: Response to Comments on Notice of No Sales and 
Confirmation of No Sales, dated April 19, 2019. This statement 
included RYMCO.
    \11\ The port inquiries were for: Conduit, ITISA, Lamina y 
Placa, Mach 1 Aero, Mach 1 Global, Regiopytsa, Tubacero, and TUMEX.
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    On June 28, 2019, we received a certification of no shipments of 
subject merchandise from Mueller, which contained documentation in 
support of its contention that it had no prior knowledge of the entry 
of products it had sold into the United States.\12\ Based on this 
evidence, we preliminarily determined that Mueller made no shipments of 
subject merchandise into the United States during the POR.\13\
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    \12\ See Mueller's Letter, ``Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy 
Steel Pipe from Mexico: Mueller Certification of No Shipments,'' 
dated June 28, 2019.
    \13\ See Preliminary Results.
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    On July 8, 2019, we received a certification of no shipments of 
subject merchandise from Conduit and RYMCO which contained 
documentation supporting their contentions that they had no prior 
knowledge of subject merchandise exported to the United States during 
the POR, and that the products listed in the CBP data were not subject 
merchandise.\14\ Based on this evidence, we preliminarily determined 
that Conduit and RYMCO made no shipments of subject merchandise into 
the United States during the POR.\15\
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    \14\ See Conduit/RYMCO's Letter, ``Certain Circular Welded Non-
Alloy Steel Pipe from Mexico: Conduit/RYMCO Response to Department 
Questionnaire--Statement of No Sales of Subject Merchandise,'' dated 
July 8, 2019.
    \15\ See Preliminary Results, 84 FR at 48908.
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    For the reasons explained in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, we 
continue to determine for these final results that Conduit, Mueller, 
and RYMCO made no shipments of subject merchandise during the POR.

Assessment

    Commerce shall determine and U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) shall assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. 
Because Commerce determined that Conduit, Mueller, and RYMCO had no 
shipments of the subject merchandise, any suspended entries that 
entered under those companies' case numbers (i.e., at those companies' 
rates) will be liquidated at the all-others rate effective during the 
POR, consistent with Commerce's practice.\16\ We intend to issue 
assessment instructions directly to CBP 41 days after publication of 
the final results of this review.
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    \16\ For a full discussion of this clarification, see 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of 
Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following deposit requirements for estimated antidumping duties 
will be effective upon publication of the notice of these final results 
of review for all shipments of circular welded non-alloy steel pipe 
from Mexico entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication as provided by section 751(a)(2) of the 
Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for Conduit, Mueller, and RYMCO will 
continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent 
period; (2) for merchandise exported by producers or exporters not 
covered in this review but covered in a prior segment of the 
proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-
specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter 
is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original 
investigation, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be 
the rate established for the most recent period for the producer of the 
merchandise; (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers or 
exporters will continue to be 32.62 percent, the all-others rate 
established in the LTFV investigation.\17\ These cash deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.
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    \17\ See Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Mexico, 57 FR 42953 
(September 17, 1992); see also the Order.
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Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a final reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties and/or countervailing 
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 and/or 
countervailing duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of doubled 
antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties Regarding Administrative Protective 
Order

    This notice also serves as the only reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3), which continues to govern 
business proprietary information in this segment of the proceeding. 
Timely written notification of the return or destruction of APO 
materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an 
APO is a sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing notice of these final results in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.213(h).

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

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: No-Shipment Statements in Lieu of Questionnaire 
Response
    Comment 2: Adequacy of Support for Conduit's No Shipment 
Statement
    Comment 3: Application of Adverse Facts Available to Conduit
    Comment 4: Adequacy of Support for Mueller's No Shipment 
Statement
    Comment 5: Application of Adverse Facts Available to Mueller
V. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2020-07719 Filed 4-10-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P