[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 149 (Thursday, August 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47719-47721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16723]



[[Page 47719]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-533-904]


Certain Steel Nails From India: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final 
Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that certain steel nails (steel nails) from India are being, 
or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value 
(LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2020, through 
September 30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable August 4, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Lindgren or Deborah Cohen, AD/
CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1671 or (202) 
482-4521, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on January 26, 
2022.\1\ On May 20, 2022, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation until July 28, 2022.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Steel Nails from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and 
the Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 87 FR 3965 (January 26, 2022) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Certain Steel Nails from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and 
the Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations 
in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 87 FR 30868 (May 20, 
2022).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included 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 https://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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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain 
Steel Nails from India'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted 
by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are steel nails from 
India. 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 this investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice. On July 5, 2022, Commerce issued its preliminary 
determination regarding the scope of the investigation.\6\ For a 
summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses 
submitted to the record for this investigation, and accompanying 
analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum. Based on an analysis of the comments received, 
Commerce preliminarily determined to make no change to the scope 
language from the Initiation Notice, as reflected in Appendix I.\7\ 
Commerce established a separate briefing schedule for interested 
parties to address the preliminary scope determination.\8\
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 87 FR at 3966.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of Certain 
Steel Nails from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Turkey and 
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain Steel Nails from 
India, Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Turkey: Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum,'' dated July 5, 2022 (Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum).
    \7\ Although Commerce preliminarily determined to make no change 
to the language of the scope in response to interested parties' 
comments, we note that the scope language as listed in Appendix I 
omits an HTSUS subheading (7318.15.5060) originally included in the 
scope language from the Initiation Notice, because Commerce 
determined that the HTSUS subheading does not exist. Id. at 15.
    \8\ Id. at 4-5.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export and constructed 
export prices in accordance with sections 772(a) and (b) of the Act. 
Normal value is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. 
For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that 
in the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero 
and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margins for Astrotech Steels Private Limited 
(Astrotech) and Geekay Wires Limited (Geekay) that are not zero, de 
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce 
calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the 
individually-examined respondents using the publicly-ranged total 
values of each respondent's sales of the merchandise under 
consideration to the United States during the POI.\9\
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    \9\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a 
simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average 
of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the 
examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sale 
values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See 
Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, 
and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 
(September 1, 2010). As complete publicly ranged sales data was 
available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged 
sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of 
the data, see Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Certain Steel Nails from India: Calculation of the Preliminary All-
Others Rate,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

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------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Estimated      Cash deposit rate
                                     weighted-average     adjusted for
         Exporter/producer            dumping margin     subsidy offset
                                        (percent)        (percent) \10\
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Astrotech Steels Private Limited..               2.91               0.00
Geekay Wires Limited..............               3.97               1.24
All Others........................               3.31               0.46
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Suspension of Liquidation
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    \10\ In the preliminary determination of the companion CVD 
proceeding, Commerce found that all of the programs conferring a 
benefit to the two mandatory respondents, Astrotech and Geekay, were 
export contingent subsidies. In accordance with section 772(c)(1)(C) 
of the Act, we have preliminarily relied on the entire CVD rates of 
2.93 and 2.73 percent calculated for Astrotech and Geekay, 
respectively, as well as the CVD all others rate of 2.85 percent, 
for purposes of determining the preliminary AD cash deposit rate. 
See Certain Steel Nails from India: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, 87 FR 34654 (June 7, 2022), and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-
others rate, as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents 
listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margins determined in this preliminary determination; 
(2) if the exporter is not a respondent identified above, but the 
producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-
specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that 
producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for 
all other producers and exporters will be equal to the all-others 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin. Commerce normally adjusts 
cash deposits for estimated antidumping duties by the amount of export 
subsidies countervailed in a companion countervailing duty (CVD) 
proceeding when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, 
where Commerce preliminarily made an affirmative determination for 
countervailable export subsidies, Commerce has offset the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin by the appropriate CVD rate. Any such 
adjusted cash deposit rate may be found in the ``Preliminary 
Determination'' section above.
    Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation 
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV 
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting estimated 
antidumping duty cash deposits unadjusted for countervailed export 
subsidies at the time that the provisional CVD measures expire.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

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

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be 
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance.\11\ Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for 
the submission of such case briefs and written comments 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.\12\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who 
submit case 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. Note that 
Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for 
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until 
further notice.\13\
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    \11\ Case briefs, other written comments, and rebuttal briefs 
submitted by parties in response to this preliminary LTFV 
determination should not include scope-related issues. The scope 
case briefs deadline was July 19, 2022. See Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum at 4.
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \13\ See 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 in the Federal Register. 
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.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register 
if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request 
for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a 
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the 
event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such 
postponement is made by Mid Continent Steel & Wire, Inc. (the 
petitioner). Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations requires 
that a request by exporters for postponement of the final determination 
be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from 
a four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Geekay and Astrotech requested on 
July 8 and 11, 2022, respectively, that, in the event of an affirmative 
preliminary determination in this investigation,

[[Page 47721]]

Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional measures 
be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\14\ On July 14, 2022, 
the petitioner similarly requested Commerce to postpone the final 
determination for a period not to exceed 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination in this proceeding in the 
event that it issued a negative preliminary determination.\15\ The 
petitioner stated further that it supports the respondents' requests to 
extend any provisional measures from a four-month period not to exceed 
a six-month period in the investigation, should Commerce reach an 
affirmative preliminary determination and should the deadline for a 
final determination be fully extended.\16\
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    \14\ See Geekay's Letter, ``Request to Extend the Deadline for 
the Final Determination,'' dated July 8, 2022; see also Astrotech's 
Letter, ``Astrotech's Request to Postpone Final Determination,'' 
dated July 11, 2022.
    \15\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Request for 
Postponement Final Determination,'' dated July 14, 2022.
    \16\ Id.
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    In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce 
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, then the ITC 
will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether imports of steel nails from India are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: July 28, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain steel 
nails having a nominal shaft or shank length not exceeding 12 
inches. Certain steel nails include, but are not limited to, nails 
made from round wire and nails that are cut from flat-rolled steel 
or long-rolled flat steel bars. Certain steel nails may be of one 
piece construction or constructed of two or more pieces. Examples of 
nails constructed of two or more pieces include, but are not limited 
to, anchors comprised of an anchor body made of zinc or nylon and a 
steel pin or a steel nail; crimp drive anchors; split-drive anchors, 
and strike pin anchors. Also included in the scope are anchors of 
one piece construction.
    Certain steel nails may be produced from any type of steel, and 
may have any type of surface finish, head type, shank, point type 
and shaft diameter. Finishes include, but are not limited to, 
coating in vinyl, zinc (galvanized, including but not limited to 
electroplating or hot dipping one or more times), phosphate, cement, 
and paint. Certain steel nails may have one or more surface 
finishes. Head styles include, but are not limited to, flat, 
projection, cupped, oval, brad, headless, double, countersunk, and 
sinker. Shank or shaft styles include, but are not limited to, 
smooth, barbed, screw threaded, ring shank and fluted.
    Screw-threaded nails subject to this proceeding are driven using 
direct force and not by turning the nail using a tool that engages 
with the head. Point styles include, but are not limited to, 
diamond, needle, chisel and blunt or no point. Certain steel nails 
may be sold in bulk, or they may be collated in any manner using any 
material.
    Excluded from the scope are certain steel nails packaged in 
combination with one or more non-subject articles, if the total 
number of nails of all types, in aggregate regardless of size, is 
less than 25. If packaged in combination with one or more non-
subject articles, certain steel nails remain subject merchandise if 
the total number of nails of all types, in aggregate regardless of 
size, is equal to or greater than 25, unless otherwise excluded 
based on the other exclusions below.
    Also excluded from the scope are certain steel nails with a 
nominal shaft or shank length of one inch or less that are a 
component of an unassembled article, where the total number of nails 
is sixty (60) or less, and the imported unassembled article falls 
into one of the following eight groupings: (1) Builders' joinery and 
carpentry of wood that are classifiable as windows, French-windows 
and their frames; (2) builders' joinery and carpentry of wood that 
are classifiable as doors and their frames and thresholds; (3) 
swivel seats with variable height adjustment; (4) seats that are 
convertible into beds (with the exception of those classifiable as 
garden seats or camping equipment); (5) seats of cane, osier, bamboo 
or similar materials; (6) other seats with wooden frames (with the 
exception of seats of a kind used for aircraft or motor vehicles); 
(7) furniture (other than seats) of wood (with the exception of (i) 
medical, surgical, dental or veterinary furniture; and (ii) barbers' 
chairs and similar chairs, having rotating as well as both reclining 
and elevating movements); or (8) furniture (other than seats) of 
materials other than wood, metal, or plastics (e.g., furniture of 
cane, osier, bamboo or similar materials). The aforementioned 
imported unassembled articles are currently classified under the 
following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheadings: 4418.10, 4418.20, 9401.30, 9401.40, 9401.51, 9401.59, 
9401.61, 9401.69, 9403.30, 9403.40, 9403.50, 9403.60, 9403.81 or 
9403.89.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are nails 
suitable for use in powder-actuated hand tools, whether or not 
threaded, which are currently classified under HTSUS subheadings 
7317.00.2000 and 7317.00.3000.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are nails 
suitable for use in gas-actuated hand tools. These nails have a case 
hardness greater than or equal to 50 on the Rockwell Hardness C 
scale (HRC), a carbon content greater than or equal to 0.5 percent, 
a round head, a secondary reduced-diameter raised head section, a 
centered shank, and a smooth symmetrical point.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are 
corrugated nails. A corrugated nail is made up of a small strip of 
corrugated steel with sharp points on one side.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are thumb 
tacks, which are currently classified under HTSUS subheading 
7317.00.1000.
    Also excluded from the scope are decorative or upholstery tacks.
    Certain steel nails subject to this investigation are currently 
classified under HTSUS subheadings 7317.00.5501, 7317.00.5502, 
7317.00.5503, 7317.00.5505, 7317.00.5507, 7317.00.5508, 
7317.00.5511, 7317.00.5518, 7317.00.5519, 7317.00.5520, 
7317.00.5530, 7317.00.5540, 7317.00.5550, 7317.00.5560, 
7317.00.5570, 7317.00.5580, 7317.00.5590, 7317.00.6530, 
7317.00.6560, and 7317.00.7500. Certain steel nails subject to this 
investigation also may be classified under HTSUS subheadings 
7318.15.5090, 7907.00.6000, 8206.00.0000, or other HTSUS 
subheadings. While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, 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. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-16723 Filed 8-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P