[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 49 (Monday, March 14, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14248-14249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05334]



[[Page 14248]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-913]


Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary 
Negative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final 
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that countervailable subsidies are not being provided to producers and 
exporters of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from the Republic of 
Korea (Korea). The period of investigation is January 1, 2020, through 
December 31, 2020. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable March 14, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacob Garten or Paul Litwin, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3342 or (202) 482-6002, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on November 1, 
2021.\1\ On November 30, 2021, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation, and the revised deadline is now 
March 7, 2022.\2\ For a complete description of the events that 
followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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 https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \1\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Republic of Korea and 
the Russian Federation: Initiation of Countervailing Duty 
Investigations, 86 FR 60210 (November 1, 2021) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Republic of Korea and 
the Russian Federation: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations 
in the Countervailing Duty Investigations, 86 FR 67909 (November 30, 
2021).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Oil 
Country Tubular Goods from the Republic of Korea,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is OCTG from Korea. For a 
complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix 
I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments 
and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this preliminary 
determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments 
timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared 
in the Initiation Notice. See revised scope in Appendix I.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR at 60210-11.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of Oil 
Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and the Russian 
Federation and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Oil Country 
Tubular Goods from the Republic of Korea, and the Russian 
Federation: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated March 7, 
2022 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a 
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives 
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\7\
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    \7\ 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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Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is 
aligning the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping 
duty (AD) investigations of OCTG from Argentina, Mexico, and the 
Russian Federation based on a request made by the petitioners.\8\ 
Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same 
date as the final AD determinations, which are currently scheduled to 
be issued no later than July 18, 2022, unless postponed.
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    \8\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Petitioners' Request to Extend 
Preliminary Determinations and Align the Countervailing Duty 
Investigations with the Concurrent Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations,'' dated February 10, 2022.
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Preliminary Determination

    For this preliminary determination, Commerce calculated zero or de 
minimis estimated countervailable subsidies for all individually 
examined producers/exporters of the subject merchandise. Consistent 
with section 703(b)(4)(A) of the Act, Commerce has disregarded the zero 
and de minimis rates. Commerce preliminarily determines that the 
following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Company                       Subsidy rate (percent)
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Hyundai Steel Corporation................  0.17
                                           (de minimis).
SeAH Steel Corporation \9\...............  0.00.
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    Consistent with section 703(d) of the Act, Commerce has not 
calculated an estimated weighted-average subsidy rate for all other 
producers/exporters because it has not made an affirmative preliminary 
determination.
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    \9\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following company to be cross-owned with SeAH 
Steel Corporation: SeAH Steel Holding Corporation.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    Because Commerce preliminarily determines that no countervailable 
subsidies are being provided to the production or exportation of 
subject merchandise, Commerce will not direct U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection to suspend liquidation of any such entries.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of this notice in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination. 
Normally, Commerce verifies information using standard procedures, 
including an on-site examination of original accounting, financial, and 
sales documentation. However, due to current travel restrictions in 
response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Commerce is unable to conduct 
on-site verification in this investigation. Accordingly, we intend to 
verify the information relied upon in making the final determination 
through alternative means in lieu of an on-site verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. A timeline for the 
submission of case briefs and written comments will be notified to 
interested parties at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues 
raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after 
the deadline date for case briefs after the deadline date for case 
briefs.\10\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its 
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information, until further notice.\11\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) 
and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 
investigation 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.
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    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \11\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and Temporary Rule 
Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of 
Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. 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 by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If the 
final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine 75 days 
after the final determination.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: March 7, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain OCTG, 
which are hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including 
oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other than case iron) or steel 
(both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or welded, regardless of 
end finish (e.g., whether or not plain end, threaded, or threaded 
and coupled) whether or not conforming to American Petroleum 
Institute (API) or non-API specifications, whether finished 
(including limited service OCTG products) or unfinished (including 
green tubes and limited service OCTG products), whether or not 
thread protectors are attached. The scope of this investigation also 
covers OCTG coupling stock.
    Subject merchandise includes material matching the above 
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed 
in a third country, including by performing any heat treatment, 
cutting, upsetting, threading, coupling, or any other finishing, 
packaging, or processing that would not otherwise remove the 
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the 
country of manufacture of the OCTG.
    Excluded from the scope of the investigation are: Casing, 
tubing, or coupling stock containing 10.5 percent or more by weight 
of chromium; drill pipe; unattached couplings; and unattached thread 
protectors.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.1010, 7304.29.1020, 
7304.29.1030, 7304.29.1040, 7304.29.1050, 7304.29.1060, 
7304.29.1080, 7304.29.2010, 7304.29.2020, 7304.29.2030, 
7304.29.2040, 7304.29.2050, 7304.29.2060, 7304.29.2080, 
7304.29.3110, 7304.29.3120, 7304.29.3130, 7304.29.3140, 
7304.29.3150, 7304.29.3160, 7304.29.3180, 7304.29.4110, 
7304.29.4120, 7304.29.4130, 7304.29.4140, 7304.29.4150, 
7304.29.4160, 7304.29.4180, 7304.29.5015, 7304.29.5030, 
7304.29.5045, 7304.29.5060, 7304.29.5075, 7304.29.6115, 
7304.29.6130, 7304.29.6145, 7304.29.6160, 7304.29.6175, 
7305.20.2000, 7305.20.4000, 7305.20.6000, 7305.20.8000, 
7306.29.1030, 7306.29.1090, 7306.29.2000, 7306.29.3100, 
7306.29.4100, 7306.29.6010, 7306.29.6050, 7306.29.8110, and 
7306.29.8150.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation may also enter 
under the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.0024, 7304.39.0028, 
7304.39.0032, 7304.39.0036, 7304.39.0040, 7304.39.0044, 
7304.39.0048, 7304.39.0052, 7304.39.0056, 7304.39.0062, 
7304.39.0068, 7304.39.0072, 7304.39.0076, 7304.39.0080, 
7304.59.6000, 7304.59.8015, 7304.59.8020, 7304.59.8025, 
7304.59.8030, 7304.59.8035, 7304.59.8040, 7304.59.8045, 
7304.59.8050, 7304.59.8055, 7304.59.8060, 7304.59.8065, 
7304.59.8070, 7304.59.8080, 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6090, 
7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5090, 7306.50.5050, and 7306.50.5070.
    The HTSUS subheadings and specifications above are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of 
the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Subsidies Valuation
V. Analysis of Programs
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-05334 Filed 3-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P