[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 188 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59047-59049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-21179]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-821-834]


Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Russian Federation: Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Negative 
Critical Circumstances Determination

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters 
of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from the Russian Federation 
(Russia). The period of investigation is January 1, 2020, through 
December 31, 2020.

DATES: Applicable September 29, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brontee George or Theodore Pearson, 
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) 482-4645 or (202) 
482-2631, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On March 14, 2022, Commerce published its Preliminary Determination 
\1\ in the Federal Register. For a complete description of the events 
that followed the Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.\2\ The Issues and 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 Issues 
and 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 Russia Federation: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 
Preliminary Negative Critical Circumstances Determination, and 
Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 87 FR 14249 (March 14, 2022) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
(PDM).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Final 
Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Russian Federation,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are oil country tubular 
goods from Russia. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see appendix I.

Scope Comments

    On March 7, 2022, concurrent with the issuance of the Preliminary 
Determination, we issued a Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\3\ In 
the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce established the 
deadline for parties to submit scope case briefs.\4\ Commerce did not 
receive any comments from interested parties regarding the scope by the 
deadline. Consequently, we made no changes to the scope from the 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.
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    \3\ 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).
    \4\ Id. at 4.
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Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs that were submitted by parties in this 
investigation, are discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. For 
a list of the issues raised by interested parties

[[Page 59048]]

and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see appendix II to 
this notice.

Methodology

    Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section 
701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each of the 
subsidy programs found to be countervailable, Commerce 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.\5\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
final determination, see the Issues and 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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    In making this final determination, Commerce relied, in part, on 
facts otherwise available, including adverse facts available (AFA), 
pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full discussion 
of our application of AFA, see the Preliminary Determination and the 
section ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences'' in the accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.\6\
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    \6\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 8-13; see also Issues 
and Decision Memorandum at section ``Use of Facts Otherwise 
Available and Adverse Inferences.''
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Verification

    Commerce was unable to conduct on-site verification of the 
information relied upon in making its final determination in this 
investigation. However, we took additional steps in lieu of on-site 
verifications to verify the information relied upon in making this 
final determination, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Act.\7\
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    \7\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Oil Country Tubular Goods from the 
Russian Federation: Volzhsky Pipe Plant, Joint Stock Company and 
Affiliated Companies Verification Questionnaire,'' dated May 11, 
2022; and ``Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Russian Federation: 
Vyksa Steel Works and United Metallurgical Company (collectively, 
OMK) and Affiliated Companies Verification Questionnaire,'' dated 
May 11, 2022.
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Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    Commerce determines that critical circumstances do not exist within 
the meaning of 703(e)(1) of the Act. For further information, see the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties, as well as additional information collected in questionnaires 
issued subsequent to the Preliminary Determination, we made certain 
changes to the subsidy rate calculations for JSC Vyska Steel Works 
(collectively with its affiliated companies, OMK), Volzhsky Pipe Plant, 
Joint Stock Company (collectively with its affiliated companies, TMK 
Group), and the all-others rate. For a discussion of these changes, see 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated an individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for the 
two mandatory respondents, OMK and TMK Group. Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) 
of the Act states that, for companies not individually investigated, 
Commerce will determine an all-others rate equal to the weighted-
average countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and/or 
producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis 
countervailable subsidy rates, and any rates determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    We continue to calculate individual estimated countervailable 
subsidy rates for OMK and TMK Group that are not zero, de minimis, or 
based entirely on facts otherwise available. We, therefore, continue to 
calculate the all-others rate using a weighted average of the 
individual estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined 
respondents (OMK and TMK Group) using each company's publicly-ranged 
sales value for their exports to the United States of subject 
merchandise,\8\ in accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act.
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    \8\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates 
calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the 
estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and 
(C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for 
the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. 
sale quantities 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, e.g., 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); see also Forged Steel Fluid End Blocks from 
Italy: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 
and Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 85 FR 31460, 31461 (May 26, 2020), unchanged in 
Forged Steel Fluid End Blocks from Italy: Final Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, 85 FR 80022, 80023 (December 11, 
2020).
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Final Determination

    Commerce determines that the following estimated countervailable 
subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Subsidy rate
                Manufacturer/exporter                     (percent  ad
                                                            valorem)
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Volzhsky Pipe Plant, Joint Stock Company; Sinarsky                  1.30
 Pipe Plant, Joint Stock Company; Seversky Pipe
 Plant, Joint Stock Company; Taganrog Metallurgical
 Plant, Joint Stock Company; Orsky Machine Building
 Plant, Joint Stock Company; and PAO TMK \9\.........
JSC Vyksa Steel Works\10\............................               1.59
All Others...........................................               1.43
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Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations 
and analysis performed in this final determination within five days of 
any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within 
five days of the date of the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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    \9\ Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Volzhsky Pipe Plant, Joint Stock Company: TMK Neftegasservice-
Nizhnevartovsk, Joint Stock Company; TMK Neftegasservice-Buzuluk, 
Limited Liability Company; Russian Research Institute of the Tube & 
Pipe Industries, JSC; and Scientific and Technical Center TMK, LLC.
    \10\ Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-
owned with JSC Vyska Steel Works: BusinessOptima; Metallolomaya 
Company OMK--Ecometall; United Metallurgical Company; and Joint-
Stock Company Trubodetal.
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Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    As a result of our Preliminary Determination and pursuant to 
section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we

[[Page 59049]]

instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 
liquidation of entries of subject merchandise from Russia that were 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after 
March 14, 2022, which is the date of publication of the Preliminary 
Determination in the Federal Register. In accordance with section 
703(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to discontinue the suspension of 
liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise entered or withdrawn 
from warehouse, on or after July 12, 2022, but to continue the 
suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise between 
March 14 and July 11, 2022.
    If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final 
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a CVD order, reinstate 
the suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of the Act, and 
require a cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties for entries 
of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If the ITC 
determines that material injury, or threat of material injury, does not 
exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all estimated duties 
deposited or securities posted as a result of the suspension of 
liquidation will be refunded or canceled.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our final affirmative determination that countervailable 
subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of OCTG from 
Russia. Because the final determination in this proceeding is 
affirmative, in accordance with section 705(b) of the Act, the ITC will 
make its final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the 
United States is materially injured, or threatened with material 
injury, by reason of imports of OCTG from Russia no later than 45 days 
after our final determination. In addition, we are making available to 
the ITC all non-privileged and nonproprietary information related to 
this investigation. We will allow the ITC access to all privileged and 
business proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC 
confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or 
under an administrative protective order (APO), without the written 
consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. If 
the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury 
does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all cash 
deposits will be refunded. If the ITC determines that such injury does 
exist, Commerce will issue a countervailing duty order directing CBP to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on 
all imports of the subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the 
suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in the ``Continuation of 
Suspension of Liquidation'' section.

Notification Regarding APO

    In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury 
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties 
subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of 
proprietary information disclosed under APO, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of 
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO 
is a violation which is subject to sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

    Dated: September 23, 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 Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Issues
IV. Critical Circumstances
V. Subsidies Valuation
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
VII. Interest Rate Benchmarks, Discount Rates, and Natural Gas 
Benchmark
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1: Whether to Adjust the Natural Gas Benchmark 
Calculation of Transmission Fees and Value-Added Tax (VAT)
    Comment 2: Loan Benchmark Selection
    A. OMK Loan Benchmark Issues
    B. TMK Group Loan Benchmark Issues
    Comment 3: Whether Commerce Should Find Certain Natural Gas 
Purchases to Be Tied to Non-Subject Merchandise for Affiliates of 
TMK Group
X. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-21179 Filed 9-28-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P