[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 214 (Monday, November 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67014-67016]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24167]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-565-801]


Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings From the Philippines: 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and 
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2021-2022

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that there were no shipments of merchandise subject to the 
antidumping duty (AD) order on stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings 
(SSBWF) from the Philippines during the period of review (POR) February 
1, 2021, through January 31, 2022, from any of the companies under 
review. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary 
results.

DATES: Applicable November 7, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Flessner, 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) 482-6312.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 23, 2001, Commerce published the AD order on SSBWF from 
the Philippines in the Federal Register.\1\ On February 8, 2022, we 
published a notice of opportunity to request an administrative review 
of the Order for the POR February 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022.\2\ 
On February 28, 2022, Core Pipe Products, Inc. and Taylor Forge 
Stainless Inc. (collectively, the petitioners) timely requested an 
administrative review of the Order with respect to: E N Corporation (E 
N Corp.); Enlin Steel Corporation (Enlin); and Vinox Corporation (a/k/a 
Vinoc Corporation) (collectively, Vinox).\3\ On April 12, 2022, 
Commerce initiated an administrative review of these companies 
consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act).\4\
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    \1\ See Antidumping Duty Orders: Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe 
Fittings from Italy, Malaysia, and the Philippines, 66 FR 11257 
(February 23, 2001) (Order).
    \2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 87 FR 7112 (February 8, 
2022).
    \3\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe 
Fittings from the Philippines--Petitioners' Request for 2021/2022 
Administrative Review,'' dated February 28, 2022.
    \4\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 21619 (April 12, 2022).
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    Commerce queried U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data to 
identify suspended entries of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption during the POR from the companies under 
review. On April 18, 2022, Commerce placed the results of its CBP data 
query on the record.\5\ The CBP data show no suspended entries of 
subject merchandise during the POR associated with the companies under 
review.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings 
from the Philippines; 2021-2022: Placement on the Record of Results 
of Inquiry to U.S. Customs and Border Protection,'' dated April 18, 
2022.
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    Commerce requested comments from interested parties on the CBP 
data.\6\ On April 25, 2022, the petitioners commented on the CBP data, 
alleging that entries during the POR could have been misreported; the 
petitioners provided information which, they contend, supports their 
allegation.\7\ Consequently, the petitioners requested that Commerce 
address evidence of evasion of the Order.\8\
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    \6\ Id.
    \7\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe 
Fittings from the Philippines; 2021-2022--Petitioners' Comments on 
CBP Data,'' dated April 25, 2022, at 1-2 and Attachment.
    \8\ Id. at 2-3.
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Scope of the Order

    For purposes of this Order, the product covered is certain 
stainless steel butt-weld pipe fittings (butt-weld fittings). Butt-weld 
pipe fittings are under 14 inches in outside diameter (based on nominal 
pipe size), whether finished or unfinished. The product encompasses all 
grades of stainless steel and ``commodity'' and ``specialty'' fittings. 
Specifically excluded from the definition are threaded, grooved, and 
bolted fittings, and fittings made from any material other than 
stainless steel. The butt-weld fittings subject to this order are 
generally designated under specification ASTM A403/A403M, the standard 
specification for Wrought Austenitic Stainless Steel Piping Fittings, 
or its foreign equivalents (e.g., DIN or JIS specifications). This 
specification covers two general classes of fittings, WP and CR, of 
wrought austenitic stainless steel fittings of seamless and welded 
construction covered by the latest revision of ANSI B16.9, ANSI B16.11, 
and ANSI B16.28. Butt-weld fittings manufactured to specification ASTM 
A774, or its foreign equivalents, are also covered by this Order.
    This Order does not apply to cast fittings. Cast austenitic 
stainless steel pipe fittings are covered by specifications A351/A351M, 
A743/743M, and A744/A744M.
    The butt-weld fittings subject to this Order are currently 
classifiable under subheadings 7307.23.00.30 and 7307.23.00.90 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the scope of this Order is dispositive.

[[Page 67015]]

Methodology

    As noted above, CBP data show that there were no suspended entries 
of subject merchandise during the POR associated with the three 
companies under review. Section 751(a)(2) of the Act instructs Commerce 
that, when conducting an administrative review, it is to determine the 
dumping margin for entries during the relevant period and establish a 
revised cash deposit rate for estimated ADs for future entries of 
subject merchandise. Given that the record evidence shows that there 
are no suspended entries of subject merchandise during the POR from the 
three companies under review, we have not calculated or otherwise 
determined a weighted-average dumping margin or revised the cash 
deposit rate for these three companies for which this administrative 
review was initiated.

Allegation of Misreported Entries

    Commerce is committed to preventing the evasion of ADs and takes 
allegations, such as the one made by the petitioners, seriously. The 
issue raised by the petitioners falls within the jurisdiction of CBP 
and is best addressed by CBP.\9\ Consequently, Commerce referred this 
allegation of potential misclassification and/or fraud, and the 
evidence that the petitioners provided in support of their claim, by 
sending an Evasion Allegation Letter to CBP for investigation.\10\
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    \9\ See Globe Metallurgical Inc., v. United States, 722 F. Supp. 
2d 1372, 1381 (CIT 2010); see also Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and 
Tube from Turkey: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review; 2019-2020, 86 FR 18035, 18036 (April 7, 
2021), unchanged in Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from 
Turkey: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2019-2020, 86 FR 41440 (August 2, 2021).
    \10\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe 
Fittings from the Philippines, 2021-2022 Administrative Review,'' 
dated September 2, 2022 (Evasion Allegation Letter).
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Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    Based on the foregoing, Commerce preliminarily determines that the 
following companies did not have any reviewable entries during the POR: 
E N Corp.; Enlin; and Vinox. Consistent with Commerce's practice, we 
are not rescinding the review with respect to E N Corp., Enlin, and 
Vinox, but, rather, will complete the review with respect to E N Corp., 
Enlin, and Vinox, and issue appropriate instructions to CBP based on 
the final results of this review.

Preliminary Results of Review

    Commerce has not calculated weighted-average dumping margins for E 
N Corp., Enlin, and Vinox because there are no suspended entries of 
subject merchandise during the POR for these three companies on which 
to perform such a calculation.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    Because Commerce has not calculated weighted-average dumping 
margins for these preliminary results, there are no calculations to 
disclose to interested parties.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results of the review. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested 
parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Rebuttal briefs, 
limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later than 
seven days after the deadline for filing case briefs.\11\ Parties who 
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are encouraged 
to submit with each brief: (1) a statement of the issue; (2) a brief 
summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.\12\ Executive 
summaries should be limited to five pages total, including 
footnotes.\13\ Case and rebuttal briefs should be filed using 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).\14\ Note that Commerce 
has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving 
documents containing business proprietary information, until further 
notice.\15\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \13\ Id.
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
    \15\ 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), any interested party may request a 
hearing within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. 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 the deadline noted 
above. If a hearing is requested, Commerce will notify interested 
parties of the hearing date and time. Requests for a hearing should 
contain: (1) the requesting party's name, address, and telephone 
number; (2) the number of individuals from the requesting party's firm 
that will attend the hearing; and (3) a list of issues the party 
intends to discuss at the hearing. Issues raised in the hearing will be 
limited to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs.
    Unless we extend the deadline for the final results of this review, 
we intend to issue the final results of this administrative review, 
including the results of our analysis of issues raised by the parties 
in their briefs, within 120 days of the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register.\16\
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    \16\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; and 19 CFR 
351.213(h)(1).
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Assessment

    Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce will determine, and 
CBP shall assess, ADs on all appropriate entries in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.212(b)(1). For any entries found to be associated with the 
three companies under review, we will instruct CBP to liquidate such 
entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate 
company (or companies) involved in the transaction, consistent with 
Commerce's reseller policy.\17\
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    \17\ 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 for all 
entries of SSBWF from the Philippines entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the 
notice of the final results of this administrative review, as provided 
for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for 
the three companies under review will continue to be equal to the 
company-specific weighted-average dumping margin established for each 
company in the most recently completed segment of this proceeding 
(except, if the rate is de minimis, i.e., less than 0.5 percent, then 
the cash deposit will be zero percent) or, if a company-specific 
weighted-average dumping margin has not been established for the 
company, the cash deposit rate will continue to be equal to the all-
others rate; (2) for merchandise exported by a company not covered in 
this review but covered in a prior completed segment of the proceeding, 
the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate 
published for that company in the most recently completed segment of 
this proceeding in which the company was included; (3) if

[[Page 67016]]

the exporter of the subject merchandise does not have its own rate but 
the producer has its own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
established in the most recently completed segment of the proceeding 
for the producer of the subject merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit 
rate for all other producers or exporters will continue to be 33.81 
percent, the all-others rate established in the less-than-fair-value 
investigation.\18\
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    \18\ See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Stainless Steel Butt-Weld Pipe Fittings from the 
Philippines, 65 FR 81823 (December 27, 2000).
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    These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in 
effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice 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 and/or countervailing 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 and/or countervailing duties occurred 
and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    Commerce is issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

    Dated: October 31, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2022-24167 Filed 11-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P