[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 144 (Monday, July 27, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45185-45187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16074]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-580-888]
Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate From the
Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty
Administrative Review, and Intent to Rescind Review, in Part; 2018
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and
exporters of certain carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL
plate) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). The period of review is
January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018.
DATES: Applicable July 27, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Palmer or Faris Montgomery, 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) 482-9068 and (202)
482-1537, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 15, 2019, Commerce published a notice of initiation of an
administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on CTL
plate from Korea.\1\ On December 30, 2019, Commerce extended the
deadline for the preliminary results of this review to no later than
May 29, 2019.\2\ On April 24, 2020, Commerce tolled all deadlines in
administrative reviews by 50 days, thereby extending the deadline for
these preliminary results until July 20, 2020.\3\
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\1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 33739 (July 15, 2019).
\2\ See Memorandum ``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-
Length Plate from the Republic of Korea: Extension of Deadline for
Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review;
2018,'' dated December 30, 2019.
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews in Response to
Operational Adjustments Due to COVID-19,'' dated April 24, 2020.
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\
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 http://access.trade.gov. 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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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2018:
Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from the Republic
of Korea,'' 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 carbon and alloy steel cut-
to-length plate. 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)(l)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each
of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we
[[Page 45186]]
preliminarily determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a government-
provided financial contribution that gives rise to a benefit to the
recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\5\ For a full description
of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
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\5\ 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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Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, in Part
On August 13 and 14, 2019, Hyundai Steel Company and Dongkuk Steel
Mill Co., Ltd. timely submitted no shipment certifications.\6\ Because
there is no evidence on the record to indicate that Hyundai Steel
Company or Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. had entries, exports, or sales
of subject merchandise to the United States during the period of
review, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not provide
Commerce with any contradictory information, we intend to rescind the
review with respect to these companies in accordance with 19 CFR
351.213(d)(3).\7\
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\6\ See Hyundai Steel Company's letter, ``Carbon and Alloy Steel
Cut-To-Length Plate from Korea--Notice of No Sales,'' dated August
13, 2019; and Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd.'s letter,
``Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty Order on Carbon
and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Korea for the 2018 Review
Period--No Shipments Letter,'' dated August 14, 2019.
\7\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-
Length Plate from the Republic of Korea (C-580-888),'' dated June
19, 2020; see also Memorandum, ``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-
to-Length Plate from the Republic of Korea (C-580-888),'' dated June
22, 2020.
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Companies Not Selected for Individual Review
Commerce calculated an individual estimated net countervailable
subsidy rate for POSCO, the sole mandatory respondent in this segment
of the proceeding, which is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely
under section 776 of the Act. Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of
the Act, we are assigning POSCO's rate to all producers and exporters
not selected for individual review. For further information on the
calculation of the non-examined company rate, refer to the section in
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum entitled ``Rate for Non-Examined
Companies.''
Preliminary Results of Review
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we calculated an
individual net countervailable subsidy rate for POSCO. Commerce
preliminarily determines that, during the period of review, the net
countervailable subsidy rates for the producers/exporters under review
are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net
countervailable
Company subsidy rate
(percent ad
valorem)
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POSCO \8\............................................ 0.50
BDP International.................................... 0.50
Blue Track Equipment................................. 0.50
Boxco................................................ 0.50
Bukook Steel Co., Ltd................................ 0.50
Buma CE Co., Ltd..................................... 0.50
China Chengdu International Techno-Economic 0.50
Cooperation Co., Ltd................................
Daehan I.M. Co., Ltd................................. 0.50
Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd........................... 0.50
Daesam Industrial Co., Ltd........................... 0.50
Daesin Lighting Co., Ltd............................. 0.50
Daewoo International Corp............................ 0.50
Dong Yang Steel Pipe................................. 0.50
Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd................................ 0.50
Dongkuk Industries Co., Ltd.......................... 0.50
EAE Automotive Equipment............................. 0.50
EEW KHPC Co., Ltd.................................... 0.50
Eplus Expo Inc....................................... 0.50
GS Global Corp....................................... 0.50
Haem Co., Ltd........................................ 0.50
Han Young Industries................................. 0.50
Hyosung Corp......................................... 0.50
Jinmyung Frictech Co., Ltd........................... 0.50
Kindus Inc........................................... 0.50
Korean Iron and Steel Co., Ltd....................... 0.50
Kyoungil Precision Co., Ltd.......................... 0.50
Samsun C&T Corp...................................... 0.50
Shipping Imperial Co., Ltd........................... 0.50
Sinchang Eng Co., Ltd................................ 0.50
SK Networks Co., Ltd................................. 0.50
SNP Ltd.............................................. 0.50
Steel N People Ltd................................... 0.50
Summit Industry...................................... 0.50
Sungjin Co., Ltd..................................... 0.50
Young Sun Steel...................................... 0.50
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Assessment Rate
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\8\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with
POSCO: POSCO Chemtech, POSCO M-Tech, Pohang Scrap Recycling
Distribution Center Co., Ltd., POSCO Nippon Steel RHF Joint Venture
Co., Ltd., POSCO Terminal and POSCO Daewoo Corporation. The subsidy
rates apply to all cross-owned companies.
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Consistent with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, 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.
Cash Deposit Rate
Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce intends to
instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing
duties in the amount indicated above with regard to shipments of
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of
this review. 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 (i.e., 4.31
percent) applicable to the company, as appropriate.\9\ These cash
deposit instructions, when imposed, shall remain in effect until
further notice.
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\9\ See Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from
the Republic of Korea: Countervailing Duty Order, 82 FR 24103 (May
25, 2017).
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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.\10\ Interested
parties may submit written comments (case briefs) within 30 days of
publication of the preliminary results, and rebuttal comments (rebuttal
briefs) within seven days \11\ after the time limit for filing case
briefs.\12\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2), rebuttal briefs must be
limited 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.\13\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of
its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary
information, until further notice.\14\
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\10\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
\11\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July
10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii) and (d)(1); see also 19 CFR
351.303 (for general filing requirements).
\13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
\14\ See Temporary Rule.
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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, using Enforcement and
Compliance's ACCESS system within 30 days of publication of
[[Page 45187]]
this notice.\15\ Requests should contain: (1) The party's name,
address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3)
a list of issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be
limited to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs. If
a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing
at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm the date
and time of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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\15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Parties are reminded that all briefs and hearing requests must be
filed electronically using ACCESS and received successfully in their
entirety by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of
the Act, Commerce intends to issue the final results of this
administrative review, including the results of our analysis of the
issues raised by the parties in their comments, within 120 days after
publication of these preliminary results.
Notification to Interested Parties
These preliminary results of review are issued and published in
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.213 and 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: July 20, 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. Period of Review
IV. Diversification of Korea's Economy
V. Intent to Rescind, in Part, the Administrative Review
VI. Scope of the Order
VII. Rate for Non-Examined Companies
VIII. Subsidies Valuation Information
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2020-16074 Filed 7-24-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P