[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55572-55574]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21851]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-882]


Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic of 
Korea: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review, 2019

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain producers/exporters of certain cold-rolled steel flat 
products (cold-rolled steel) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) 
received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR) 
January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019, while other producers/
exporters (i.e., Hyundai Steel Co., Ltd., also referred to as Hyundai 
Steel Company (Hyundai Steel) and POSCO) received de minimis net 
countervailable subsidies during the POR. Interested parties are 
invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable October 6, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Moses Song or Natasia Harrison, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7885 and (202) 482-1240, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 30, 2020, Commerce published a notice of initiation of 
an administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on 
cold-rolled steel from Korea.\1\ On December 17, 2020, Commerce 
selected Hyundai Steel and POSCO as mandatory respondents in this 
administrative review.\2\ On May 18, 2021, Commerce extended the 
deadline for the preliminary results of this review.\3\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 85 FR 68840, 68846-68847 (October 30, 2020).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Countervailing Duty Administrative Review 
of Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the Republic of 
Korea: Selection of Respondents for Individual Examination,'' dated 
December 17, 2020. The petitioners requested a review of ``Hyundai 
Steel Co., Ltd.,'' while Hyundai Steel requested a review of 
``Hyundai Steel Company.'' We selected Hyundai Steel Co., Ltd., also 
referred to as Hyundai Steel Company as a mandatory respondent, 
based on the entry volume of exports of subject merchandise during 
the POR. We combined the entry quantities of Hyundai Steel Co., 
Ltd., based on the company specific case number which appears in the 
CBP data.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products 
from the Republic of Korea: Extension of Deadline for the 
Preliminary Results of the 2019 Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review,'' dated May 18, 2021.
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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 Appendix I to this notice. The Preliminary

[[Page 55573]]

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/.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2019: 
Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products 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 certain cold-rolled steel. 
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 preliminarily 
determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution from 
an authority 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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Companies Not Selected for Individual Review

    The statute and Commerce's regulations do not directly address the 
CVD rates to be applied to companies not selected for individual 
examination where Commerce limits 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. Section 777A(e)(2) of the Act provides that ``the 
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 weight-averaging the 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.
    Accordingly, to determine the rate for companies not selected for 
individual examination, Commerce's practice is to weight average the 
net subsidy rates for the selected mandatory companies, excluding rates 
that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available.\6\ In 
this review, we preliminarily calculated de minimis subsidy rates for 
each of the mandatory respondents (i.e., Hyundai Steel and POSCO) 
during the POR. In CVD proceedings where the number of respondents 
being individually examined has been limited, Commerce has determined 
that a ``reasonable method'' to use to determine the rate applicable to 
companies that were not individually examined when all the rates of 
selected mandatory respondents are zero or de minimis, is to assign to 
the non-selected respondents the average of the most recently 
determined rates for the mandatory respondents (i.e., Hyundai Steel and 
POSCO) that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts 
available.\7\ However, if a non-selected respondent has its own 
calculated rate that is contemporaneous with or more recent than these 
previous rates, Commerce has found it appropriate to apply that 
calculated rate to that non-selected respondent, even when that rate is 
zero or de minimis.\8\
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    \6\ See, e.g., Certain Pasta from Italy: Final Results of the 
13th (2008) Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 75 FR 37386, 
37387 (June 29, 2010).
    \7\ See, e.g., Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from 
Turkey: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
Calendar Year 2012 and Rescission of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review, in Part, 79 FR 51140, 51141 (August 27, 
2014); and Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from the 
Republic of Korea: Final Results of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2012, 79 FR 46770 (August 11, 2014), and 
accompanying IDM at ``Non-Selected Rate''; and Steel Concrete 
Reinforcing Bar from the Republic of Turkey: Preliminary Results of 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review and Intent To Rescind the 
Review in Part; 2017, 85 FR 3030 (January 17, 2020), and 
accompanying PDM at ``Non-Selected Rate,'' unchanged in Steel 
Concrete Reinforcing Bar from the Republic of Turkey: Final Results 
and Partial Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
2017, 85 FR 42353 (July 14, 2020), and accompanying IDM at ``Non-
Selected Rate.''
    \8\ Id.
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    In recent administrative reviews of this order, we calculated net 
subsidy rates of 0.51 percent ad valorem for Hyundai Steel and 0.59 
percent ad valorem for POSCO.\9\ Therefore, for these preliminary 
results, and consistent with Commerce's practice described above, we 
are assigning the rate of 0.55 percent ad valorem, i.e., the simple 
average rate of Hyundai Steel's 0.51 percent and POSCO's 0.59 percent 
above-ad valorem, to non-selected companies for which an individual 
rate was not calculated.\10\ In addition, in the most recently 
completed administrative review (i.e., CRS Third Admin Review Final 
Results), we calculated a rate of 9.18 percent ad valorem for Dongbu 
Steel Co., Ltd./Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd.\11\ Accordingly, for 
these preliminary results, consistent with Commerce's practice 
described above, we are assigning the rate of 9.18 percent ad valorem 
to Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd./Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd., i.e., the 
sole company for which an individual rate was calculated in a prior 
review but which was not selected for review in the instant review, 
based on the company's rate calculated in the prior review (i.e., CRS 
Third Admin Review Final Results).
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    \9\ See Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the Republic of 
Korea: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review; 2018, 86 FR 7063 (January 26, 2021); and Certain Cold-Rolled 
Steel Flat Products from the Republic of Korea: Final Results of 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2018, 86 FR 40465 (July 
28, 2021) (CRS Third Admin Review Final Results); see also Certain 
Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from the Republic of Korea: 
Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
2017, 84 FR 60377 (November 8, 2019); and Certain Cold-Rolled Steel 
Flat Products from the Republic of Korea: Final Results of 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2017, 85 FR 38361 (June 
26, 2020) (CRS Second Admin Review Final Results) (collectively, CRS 
Second Admin Review).
    \10\ The rate of 0.55 percent ad valorem is the average of 
Hyundai Steel's and POSCO's most recently determined individual 
rates that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts 
available. See CRS Third Admin Review Final Results, 86 FR at 40466; 
and CRS Second Admin Review Final Results, 85 FR at 38361.
    \11\ See CRS Third Admin Review Final Results, 86 FR at 40466.
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Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the net 
countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Producer/exporter                       ad valorem
                                                             (percent)
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Hyundai Steel Co., Ltd..................................          * 0.46
POSCO \12\..............................................          * 0.32
Non-Selected Companies Under Review \13\................            0.55
Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd./Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd.               9.18
 \14\...................................................
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* (de minimis)

Assessment Rates
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    \12\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with 
POSCO: Pohang Scrap Recycling Distribution Center Co. Ltd.; POSCO 
Chemical; POSCO M-Tech; POSCO Nippon Steel RHF Joint Venture Co., 
Ltd.; and POSCO Terminal. The subsidy rate applies to all cross-
owned companies.
    \13\ See Appendix II.
    \14\ As described above, while Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. and Dongbu 
Incheon Steel Co., Ltd. are non-selected respondents, because each 
received a calculated rate in a prior review (i.e., CRS Third Admin 
Review Final Results), Commerce has found it appropriate to apply 
that calculated rate to that to Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. and Dongbu 
Incheon Steel Co., Ltd. in this review.
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    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, upon issuance of the 
final results,

[[Page 55574]]

Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate entries covered 
by this review. If the assessment rate calculated in the final results 
in zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate all 
appropriate entries without regard to countervailing duties. 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

    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 amounts shown for each of the respective companies listed 
above, except, where the rate calculated in the final results is de 
minimis, no cash deposit will be required on shipments of the 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, CBP will continue to collect cash deposits 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.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We will disclose to the parties in this proceeding the calculations 
performed in reaching the preliminary results within five days of the 
date of publication of these preliminary results.\15\ Case briefs, or 
other written comments, may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance at a date to be determined. Rebuttal 
comments (rebuttal briefs), limited to issues raised in case briefs, 
may be filed within seven days \16\ after the time limit for filing 
case briefs. 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 each argument: (1) A statement 
of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\17\ All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS. 
Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements 
for serving documents containing business proprietary information until 
further notice.\18\
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \16\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 351.309(d)(2).
    \18\ See Temporary Rule.
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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 by 5 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice.\19\ Hearing requests should contain: (1) 
The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues 
addressed at the hearing will be limited to those raised in the briefs. 
If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the 
date and time for the hearing to be determined.\20\
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    \19\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \20\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    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, no 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), unless this deadline is extended.

Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results are issued and published pursuant to 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.213 and 19 
CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: September 30, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting 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. Scope of the Order
V. Rate for Non-Examined Companies
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Recommendation

Appendix II--List of Non-Selected Companies

1. AJU Steel Co., Ltd.
2. Amerisource Korea
3. Atlas Shipping Cp. Ltd.
4. BC Trade
5. Busung Steel Co., Ltd.
6. Cenit Co., Ltd.
7. Daewoo Logistics Corp.
8. Dai Yang Metal Co., Ltd.
9. DK GNS Co., Ltd
10. Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd.\21\
11. Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd.\22\
12. KG Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. (formerly Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd.)
13. Dongbu USA
14. Dong Jin Machinery
15. Dongkuk Industries Co., Ltd.
16. Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd.
17. Eunsan Shipping and Air Cargo Co., Ltd.
18. Euro Line Global Co., Ltd.
19. GS Global Corp.
20. Hanawell Co., Ltd.
21. Hankum Co., Ltd.
22. Hyosung TNC Corp.
23. Hyuk San Profile Co., Ltd.
24. Hyundai Group
25. Iljin NTS Co., Ltd.
26. Iljin Steel Corp.
27. Jeen Pung Industrial Co., Ltd.
28. JT Solution
29. Kolon Global Corporation
30. Nauri Logistics Co., Ltd.
31. Okaya (Korea) Co., Ltd.
32. PL Special Steel Co., Ltd.
33. POSCO C&C Co., Ltd.
34. POSCO Daewoo Corp.
35. POSCO International Corp.
36. Samsung C&T Corp.
37. Samsung STS Co., Ltd.
38. SeAH Steel Corp.
39. SM Automotive Ltd.
40. SK Networks Co., Ltd.
41. Taihan Electric Wire Co., Ltd.
42. TGS Pipe Co., Ltd.
43. TI Automotive Ltd.
44. Xeno Energy
45. Young Steel Co., Ltd.
     
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    \21\ As described above, while Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. and Dongbu 
Incheon Steel Co., Ltd. are non-selected respondents, because each 
received a calculated rate in a prior review (i.e., CRS Third Admin 
Review Final Results), Commerce has found it appropriate to apply 
that calculated rate to that to Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. and Dongbu 
Incheon Steel Co., Ltd.
    \22\ See footnote 21.

[FR Doc. 2021-21851 Filed 10-5-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P