[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 48 (Monday, March 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15372-15374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05106]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-145]


Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Critical Circumstances

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain freight rail couplers and parts thereof (freight rail 
couplers) from the People's Republic of China (China) are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). 
The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through June 30, 
2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable March 13, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Drew Jackson or Zachary Shaykin, AD/
CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4406 or (202) 
482-2638, 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 October 25, 
2022.\1\ For a complete

[[Page 15373]]

description of the events that followed the initiation of this 
investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\2\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China and Mexico: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 87 FR 64444 (October 25, 2022) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain 
Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from the People's Republic 
of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are freight rail 
couplers from China. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\3\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (scope).\4\ We received several 
comments concerning the scope of the LTFV investigations of freight 
rail couplers from China and Mexico. We are currently evaluating the 
scope comments filed by interested parties. We intend to issue our 
preliminary decision regarding the scope of these LTFV investigations 
on or before the preliminary determination in the LTFV investigation of 
freight rail couplers from Mexico, the deadline for which is April 26, 
2023.\5\ We will incorporate the scope decisions from the LTFV 
investigation of freight rail couplers from Mexico into the scope of 
the final determination for this investigation after considering any 
relevant comments submitted in scope case and rebuttal briefs. The 
deadline for interested parties to submit scope case and rebuttal 
briefs will be established in the preliminary scope decision 
memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \4\ See Initiation Notice.
    \5\ See Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from 
Mexico: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-
Fair-Value Investigation, 88 FR 10092 (February 16, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to sections 776(a) and 
(b) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily has relied upon facts otherwise 
available, with adverse inferences, for the China-wide entity. For a 
full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, 
Commerce preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist 
with respect to imports of freight rail couplers from China for the 
China-wide entity. For a full description of the methodology and 
results of Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\6\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\7\ In this case, because no respondent 
qualified for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were 
not calculated. For a full description of the separate rate status of 
interested parties in this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See Initiation Notice.
    \7\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Estimated
                                                              weighted-
                                                               average
                     Producer/exporter                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
China-wide Entity..........................................      169.90
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as 
discussed below. 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 weighted-average amount by which normal value 
exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) for 
all combinations of Chinese producers/exporters of merchandise under 
consideration that have not established eligibility for their own 
separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin established for the China-wide entity; 
and (2) for all third-country exporters of merchandise under 
consideration not listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is 
the cash deposit rate applicable to the China-wide entity, as stated 
above.
    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of (a) 
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily 
finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject 
merchandise from the China-wide entity. In accordance with section 
733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to 
all unliquidated entries of merchandise from all producers and/or 
exporters of freight rail couplers from China that were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 
90 days before the publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce 
preliminarily applied total adverse facts available

[[Page 15374]]

(AFA) to the China-wide entity in this investigation, in accordance 
with section 776 of the Act, and the applied AFA rate is based solely 
on the petition, there are no calculations to disclose.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination, 
unless Commerce alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to 
issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days 
after the deadline date for case briefs.\8\ 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.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \9\ 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the 
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make 
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date 
of this preliminary determination.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination of sales at LTFV. If the final determination is 
affirmative, 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 the subject merchandise 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: March 7, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers certain freight railcar 
couplers (also known as ``fits'' or ``assemblies'') and parts 
thereof. Freight railcar couplers are composed of two main parts, 
namely knuckles and coupler bodies but may also include other items 
(e.g., coupler locks, lock lift assemblies, knuckle pins, knuckle 
throwers, and rotors). The parts of couplers that are covered by the 
investigations include: (1) E coupler bodies, (2) E/F coupler 
bodies, (3) F coupler bodies, (4) E knuckles, and (5) F knuckles, as 
set forth by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The 
freight rail coupler parts (i.e., knuckles and coupler bodies) are 
included within the scope of the investigations when imported 
separately. Coupler locks, lock lift assemblies, knuckle pins, 
knuckle throwers, and rotors are covered merchandise when imported 
in an assembly but are not covered by the scope when imported 
separately.
    Subject freight railcar couplers and parts are included within 
the scope whether finished or unfinished, whether imported 
individually or with other subject or nonsubject parts, whether 
assembled or unassembled, whether mounted or unmounted, or if joined 
with nonsubject merchandise, such as other nonsubject parts or a 
completed railcar. Finishing includes, but is not limited to, arc 
washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, heat treatment, 
machining, and assembly of various parts. When a subject coupler or 
subject parts are mounted on or to other nonsubject merchandise, 
such as a railcar, only the coupler or subject parts are covered by 
the scope.
    The finished products covered by the scope of these 
investigations meet or exceed the AAR specifications of M-211, 
``Foundry and Product Approval Requirements for the Manufacture of 
Couplers, Coupler Yokes, Knuckles, Follower Blocks, and Coupler 
Parts'' and/or AAR M-215 ``Coupling Systems,'' or other equivalent 
domestic or international standards (including any revisions to the 
standard(s)).
    The country of origin for subject couplers and parts thereof, 
whether fully assembled, unfinished or finished, or attached to a 
railcar, is the country where the subject coupler parts were cast or 
forged. Subject merchandise includes coupler parts as defined above 
that have been further processed or further assembled, including 
those coupler parts attached to a railcar in third countries. 
Further processing includes, but is not limited to, arc washing, 
welding, grinding, shot blasting, heat treatment, painting, coating, 
priming, machining, and assembly of various parts. The inclusion, 
attachment, joining, or assembly of nonsubject parts with subject 
parts or couplers either in the country of manufacture of the in-
scope product or in a third country does not remove the subject 
parts or couplers from the scope.
    The couplers that are the subject of this investigation are 
currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS) statistical reporting number 8607.30.1000. 
Unfinished subject merchandise may also enter under HTSUS 
statistical reporting number 7326.90.8688. Subject merchandise 
attached to finished railcars may also enter under HTSUS statistical 
reporting numbers 8606.10.0000, 8606.30.0000, 8606.91.0000, 
8606.92.0000, 8606.99.0130, 8606.99.0160, or under subheading 
9803.00.5000 if imported as an Instrument of International Traffic. 
Subject merchandise may also be imported under HTSUS statistical 
reporting number 7325.99.5000. These HTSUS subheadings are provided 
for convenience and customs purposes only; the written description 
of the scope of these investigations is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Selection of Respondents
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2023-05106 Filed 3-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P