[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10923-10925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03618]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-602-809]


Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From Australia: 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and 
Intent To Rescind Review, in Part; 2018-2019

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that 
the producer/exporter subject to this review made sales of subject 
merchandise at less than normal value during the period of review 
(POR), October 1, 2018, through September 30, 2019. We invite 
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable February 23, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Hollander, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2805.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On January 17, 2020, Commerce initiated this administrative review 
of the antidumping duty order on certain hot-rolled steel flat products 
(hot-rolled steel) from Australia in accordance with section 751(a) of 
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\1\ This review covers one 
producer/exporter of subject merchandise, the collapsed entity, 
BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd., BlueScope Steel Ltd., and BlueScope 
Steel Distribution Pty Ltd. (collectively, BlueScope). On April 24, 
2020, Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines for 
administrative reviews by 50 days, resulting in a revised deadline for 
these preliminary results.\2\ On July 21, 2020, Commerce again tolled 
all deadlines in administrative reviews by an additional 60 days.\3\ 
Additionally, Commerce exercised its discretion to extend the deadline 
for the preliminary results until February 17, 2021.\4\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 85 FR 3014 (January 17, 2020) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ 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.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews,'' dated July 21, 2020.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products 
from Australia: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2018-2019,'' dated September 
21, 2020.
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this Order \5\ are certain hot-rolled, 
flat-rolled steel products. For a full description of the scope, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\6\
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    \5\ See Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Australia, 
Brazil, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, the Republic 
of Turkey, and the United Kingdom: Amended Final Affirmative 
Antidumping Determinations for Australia, the Republic of Korea, and 
the Republic of Turkey and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 67962 
(October 3, 2016) (Order).
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Hot Rolled Steel 
Flat Products from Australia: 2018-2019,'' dated concurrently with, 
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a) of the Act. Constructed export price is

[[Page 10924]]

calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value is 
calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying these 
preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. The 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is made 
available to the public 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 Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
available at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. A list of the topics 
included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an 
appendix to this notice.

Intent To Rescind Review in Part

    In the Initiation Notice, Commerce inadvertently included as 
subject to the review a U.S. company, i.e., AJU Steel USA Inc., for 
which a review should not have been initiated. As such, Commerce 
intends to rescind the review with respect to AJU Steel USA Inc. After 
the completion of the final results of review, Commerce intends to 
instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on any suspended entries of 
hot-rolled steel from AJU Steel USA Inc. at the rate equal to the cash 
deposit rate of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of 
entry, or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption.

Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily determine that the following weighted-average 
dumping margin exists for the period October 1, 2018, through September 
30, 2019:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BlueScope Steel (AIS) Pty Ltd, BlueScope Steel Ltd., and            7.96
 BlueScope Steel Distribution Pty Ltd.......................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties within 
five days after public announcement of the preliminary results.\7\ 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case 
briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, 
may be filed not later than seven days after the date for filing case 
briefs.\8\ Commerce modified certain of its requirements for serving 
documents containing business proprietary information until further 
notice.\9\ Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 
proceeding 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.\10\ Case and rebuttal briefs should be filed using ACCESS 
\11\ and must be served on interested parties.\12\ Executive summaries 
should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Temporary Rule Modifying AD/
CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006, 17007 (March 
26, 2020) (``To provide adequate time for release of case briefs via 
ACCESS, E&C intends to schedule the due date for all rebuttal briefs 
to be 7 days after case briefs are filed (while these modifications 
remain in effect).'').
    \9\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due 
to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 
2020).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \11\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
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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, filed electronically via 
ACCESS. 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 briefs. An electronically filed 
hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety by 
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time 
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.
    Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative 
review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in 
any written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of 
publication of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on 
all appropriate entries. If BlueScope's weighted-average dumping margin 
is above de minimis in the final results of this review, we will 
calculate an importer-specific assessment rate 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 same sales in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\13\ If BlueScope's weighted-
average dumping margin or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero 
or de minimis, in the final results of review, we will instruct CBP to 
liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping 
duties.\14\ The final results of this administrative review shall be 
the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of 
merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future 
deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.\15\
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    \13\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8103 (February 14, 
2012).
    \14\ Id. at 8102-03; see also 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
    \15\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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    For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by 
BlueScope for which it did not know that the merchandise was destined 
to the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed 
entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate 
company(ies) involved in the transaction.\16\
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    \16\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier 
than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this 
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the 
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will 
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties 
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 
90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication in the Federal Register of the notice of final results of 
administrative review for all shipments of hot-rolled steel from 
Australia entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of 
the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for BlueScope will be equal to the 
weighted-average dumping margin established in the final results of 
this administrative review; (2) for merchandise exported by a company 
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 in the completed segment for the most recent 
period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm

[[Page 10925]]

covered in this review or the original investigation but the producer 
is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established in the 
completed segment 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 29.58 percent, the all-others rate 
established in the less-than-fair-value investigation. These cash 
deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
further notice.

Notification to Importers

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

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.221.

    Dated: February 16, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2021-03618 Filed 2-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P