[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12917-12918]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04161]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-533-502]


Certain Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipes and Tubes From India: 
Final Negative Determinations of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty 
Order

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
imports of certain welded carbon steel standard pipes and tubes (pipe 
and tube), completed in Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 
hot-rolled steel (HRS) produced in India, are not circumventing the 
antidumping duty (AD) order on pipe and tube from India.

DATES: Applicable March 1, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacob Keller or Dusten Hom, 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) 482-4849 or (202) 482-5075, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 26, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register its 
Preliminary Determination that imports of pipe and tube completed in 
Oman and the UAE are not circumventing the Order.\1\ On December 9, 
2022, Commerce extended the deadline for the final determination of 
these circumvention inquiries to February 22, 2022.\2\ For a summary of 
events that occurred since Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues raised by

[[Page 12918]]

parties for the final determinations, see the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ The Issues and 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 Issues and 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \1\ See Certain Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipes and Tubes 
from India: Preliminary Negative Determinations of Circumvention of 
the Antidumping Order, 87 FR 52507 (August 26, 2022) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum; 
see also Certain Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipes and Tubes from 
India, 51 FR 17384 (May 12, 1986) (Order).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Final Determination,'' dated 
December 9, 2022.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain 
Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipes and Tubes from India,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order 4
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    \4\ See Order.
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    The products covered by the Order include certain welded carbon 
steel standard pipes and tubes with an outside diameter of 0.375 inch 
or more but not over 16 inches. For a full description of the scope of 
the Order, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiries

    These circumvention inquiries cover pipe and tube completed in Oman 
and the UAE using Indian-origin HRS and subsequently exported from Oman 
and the UAE to the United States.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting these circumvention inquiries in accordance 
with section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), 
and 19 CFR 351.226. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum for a full 
description of the methodology.\5\ We have continued to apply this 
methodology except where otherwise noted, and incorporate by reference 
this description of the methodology, for our final determination.\6\
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    \5\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 10-24.
    \6\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum at 4.
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in 
these inquiries are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A 
list of the issues raised is attached to this notice at the appendix.
    Based on our analysis of the comments received from interested 
parties, we made certain revisions to the Preliminary Determination. 
For Conares, we revised our pattern of trade and sourcing analysis to 
include Indian HRS shipments from a trading company based on 
information obtained during verification. For Universal, we revised our 
pattern of trade and sourcing analysis using the appropriate databases 
submitted with Universal's initial questionnaire response to include 
all Indian HRS purchases. The Issues and Decision Memorandum contains 
explanations of these revisions.

Final Negative Determinations of Circumvention

    As detailed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, Commerce 
determines that pipe and tube completed in Oman and the UAE using 
Indian-origin HRS and subsequently exported from Oman or the UAE to the 
United States are not circumventing the Order. Accordingly, Commerce is 
making a negative finding of circumvention of the Order.

Suspension of Liquidation

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.226(l)(4), Commerce will order U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) to terminate the suspension of liquidation 
and refund cash deposits for any imports of inquiry merchandise that 
are suspended under the case number applicable to this proceeding 
(i.e., A-533-502). Commerce will instruct CBP to continue to suspend 
imports of inquiry merchandise suspended under other case numbers 
(e.g., A-520-807, A-523-812) until specific liquidation instructions 
are issued.

Administrative Protective Order

    This notice will serve as the only reminder to all parties subject 
to administrative protective order (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 return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to 
judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with 
the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(g)(2).

    Dated: February 22, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Changes from the Preliminary Determination
VI. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Whether the Factors Under Section 781(b)(3) of the 
Act Are Determinative and Controlling
    Comment 2: Whether Commerce Should Assign Adverse Facts 
Available (AFA) to Conares Metal Supply Limited (Conares)
    Comment 3: Whether a Cash Deposit Rate Disparity Existed Between 
India, Oman, and the UAE During the Inquiry Period
    Comment 4: Whether Pattern of Trade and Other Factors Under 
Section 781(b)(3) of the Act Support an Affirmative Determination of 
Circumvention
    Comment 5: Whether a Single Product Can Be Subject to Two AD 
Orders
    Comment 6: Whether the Production of Pipe and Tube Is Minor or 
Insignificant Under Section 781(b)(2) of the Act
    Comment 7: Whether the Merchandise Completed in the Subject 
Country Is a Significant Portion of the Value of the Merchandise 
Exported to the United States
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2023-04161 Filed 2-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P