[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 133 (Friday, July 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41554-41555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14835]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-932]


Certain Steel Threaded Rod From the People's Republic of China: 
Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With the Final Results of 
Administrative Review and Notice of Amended Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

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

SUMMARY: On June 22, 2020, the United States Court of International 
Trade (CIT) sustained the final results of redetermination pertaining 
to the fifth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on 
certain steel threaded rod (steel threaded rod) from the People's 
Republic of China (China) covering the period of review (POR) April 1, 
2013 through March 31, 2014. The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is 
notifying the public that the CIT's final judgment in this case is not 
in harmony with the final results of the administrative review, and 
that Commerce is amending the final results with respect to the dumping 
margin calculated for Jiaxing Brother Fastener Co., Ltd. (a/k/a Jiaxing 
Brother Standard Parts, Co., Ltd.), IFI & Morgan Ltd., and RMB 
Fasteners Ltd. (collectively, RMB/IFI Group).

DATES: Applicable July 2, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benito Ballesteros, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7425.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 12, 2015, Commerce published its Final Results in the 
2013-2014 administrative review of steel threaded rod from China.\1\ 
During the review, Commerce selected Thailand as the primary surrogate 
country, finding that data from Thailand provided the best available 
information on the record to value the RMB/IFI Group's reported factors 
of production (FOPs).
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    \1\ See Certain Steel Threaded Rod from the People's Republic of 
China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2013-2014, 80 FR 69938 (November 12, 2015) (Final Results), and 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum (IDM).
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    Commerce valued hours of labor with data from the National 
Statistical Office of Thailand's Labor Force Survey of the Whole 
Kingdom (NSO or NSO data) from the second and third quarters of 2013, 
because it found the data to be more industry-specific and 
contemporaneous with the POR than the alternative data on the record, 
i.e., International Labor Organization Chapter 6A data.\2\ In addition, 
Commerce derived surrogate financial ratios from the financial 
statements of three Thai companies. In the calculation of surrogate 
financial ratios, Commerce categorized selling, general, and 
administrative (SG&A) labor-related line items as SG&A expenses. As a 
result, the SG&A surrogate financial ratio numerator included these 
line items' values, along with other SG&A expenses, and the denominator 
represented the total cost of manufacturing, i.e., the sum of raw 
materials, manufacturing labor, energy, manufacturing overhead, and 
finished goods.\3\
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    \2\ See Jiaxing Brother Fastener Co., Ltd. et al. v. United 
States, Court No. 15-00313, Slip Op. 20-11 (CIT January 29, 2020) 
(Remand Order) at 20.
    \3\ Id. at 20-21.
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    The RMB/IFI Group challenged the Final Results, contesting 
Commerce's selection of Thailand as the primary surrogate country, 
selection of Global Trade Atlas data from Thailand to value steel 
threaded rod inputs, and decision not to adjust the surrogate financial 
ratios.\4\ On January 29, 2020, the CIT issued the Remand Order, in 
which it sustained Commerce's selection of Thailand as the primary 
surrogate country and calculation of the RMB/IFI Group's steel threaded 
rod FOP.\5\ However, the CIT held that Commerce's decision not to make 
any adjustments to the calculation of the surrogate financial ratios 
was inadequately explained,\6\ and it remanded Commerce's calculation 
of the surrogate financial ratios as related to labor for further 
explanation or reconsideration. In particular, the CIT directed 
Commerce to explain ``the basis for finding record evidence that allows 
it to conclude that it could capture, and not overstate, labor costs by 
applying the NSO quarterly data and, as a result, decline to adjust the 
surrogate financial ratios.'' \7\ The CIT also stated that ``{o{time} n 
remand, Commerce may wish to reopen the record.'' \8\
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    \4\ Id. at 2.
    \5\ Id. at 25.
    \6\ Id. at 21.
    \7\ Id. at 24.
    \8\ Id.
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    On February 25 and 26, 2020, Commerce opened the record and placed 
additional reports from Thailand's NSO on the record. Commerce received 
no comments on these reports.
    On April 23, 2020, Commerce issued the Final Remand Results \9\ and 
determined that, because the NSO data were industry-specific and 
contemporaneous with the POR, it was appropriate to rely on the NSO 
data to value labor, and to treat labor-related SG&A costs in the same 
manner as the surrogate companies did in their financial statements. 
Moreover, we found that the NSO data did not provide the information 
necessary to accurately adjust the surrogate financial ratios to 
account for any potential overstatement in labor costs because the 
record lacked evidence to support a finding as to what extent, or by 
what percentage, the NSO data also covered SG&A labor.\10\ Moreover, 
given that the RMB/IFI Group did not report labor hours associated with 
SG&A staff, we declined to assume

[[Page 41555]]

that the NSO data would accurately compensate for, and not overstate, 
the respondent's unreported SG&A labor hours. As a result, we did not 
transfer the surrogate financial statements' SG&A labor-related line 
items to the denominator in the surrogate financial ratio calculation, 
because doing so could distort the calculation and result in an 
undervaluation of labor-related SG&A expenses.\11\ We did not make the 
adjustments proposed by the RMB/IFI Group, but revised the respondent's 
weighted-average margin to 39.53 percent, which increased from the 
39.42 percent margin calculated in the Final Results due to the 
incorporation of additional quarters of labor data that were placed on 
the record during the remand proceeding.
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    \9\ See Final Results of Redetermination Pursuant to Court 
Remand in Jiaxing Brother Fastener Co., Ltd. (a/k/a Jiaxing Brother 
Standard Part Co., Ltd.), IFI & Morgan Ltd., and RMB Fasteners Ltd. 
v. United States, Consol. Ct. No. 15-00313 (April 23, 2020) (Final 
Remand Results).
    \10\ Id. at 8-10.
    \11\ Id. at 11-12.
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Timken Notice

    In its decision in Timken,\12\ as clarified by Diamond 
Sawblades,\13\ the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) held 
that, pursuant to section 516A of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), Commerce must publish a notice of a court decision that is 
not ``in harmony'' with a Commerce determination and must suspend 
liquidation of entries pending a ``conclusive'' court decision. The 
CIT's June 22, 2020 judgment sustaining the Final Remand Results 
constitutes a final decision of the Court that is not in harmony with 
Commerce's Final Results. This notice is published in fulfillment of 
the publication requirements of Timken.
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    \12\ See Timken Co., v. United States, 893 F.2d 337 (Fed. Cir. 
1990) (Timken).
    \13\ See Diamond Sawblades Mfrs. Coalition v. United States, 626 
F.3d 1374 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (Diamond Sawblades).
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Amended Final Results

    Because there is now a final court decision, Commerce is amending 
the Final Results with respect to the RMB/IFI Group. The revised 
weighted-average dumping margin for the RMB/IFI Group for the period 
April 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014 is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                          Exporter                              margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RMB/IFI Group...............................................      39.53
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Assessment Instructions

    In the event the CIT's ruling is not appealed or, if appealed, 
upheld by a final and conclusive court decision, Commerce intends to 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess antidumping 
duties on unliquidated entries of subject merchandise exported by the 
RMB/IFI Group in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). Commerce will 
calculate importer-specific ad valorem assessment rates on the basis of 
the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for each importer's 
examined sales and the total entered value of those sales, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). We will instruct CBP to assess 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review 
when the importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate calculated is not 
zero or de minimis. Where an importer-specific ad valorem assessment 
rate is zero or de minimis,\14\ we will instruct CBP to liquidate the 
appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
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    Pursuant to Commerce's assessment practice, for entries that were 
not reported in the US sales data submitted by the RMB/IFI Group during 
this review, Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at 
the China-wide entity rate.\15\
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    \15\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The cash deposit rate calculated for the RMB/IFI Group in the 2013-
2014 administrative review has been superseded by cash deposit rates 
calculated in intervening administrative reviews of the antidumping 
duty order on steel threaded rod from China.\16\ Thus, we will not 
alter the RMB/IFI Group's cash deposit rate.
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    \16\ See Certain Steel Threaded Rod from the People's Republic 
of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2014-2015, 81 FR 83800 (November 22, 2016); and Certain Steel 
Threaded Rod from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2015-2016, 82 FR 51611 
(November 7, 2017).
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Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections 
516A(e), 751(a)(1), and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: July 2, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-14835 Filed 7-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P