[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55012-55013]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17407]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-821-808]


Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate From the Russian 
Federation: Termination of the Suspension Agreement and Issuance of 
Antidumping Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is terminating the 
Agreement Suspending the Antidumping Duty Investigation on Certain Cut-
to-Length Carbon Steel Plate (CTL plate) from the Russian Federation 
(Russia) (2003 Agreement). Accordingly, Commerce is issuing an 
antidumping duty (AD) order on CTL plate from Russia. Commerce is 
directing the suspension of liquidation and collection of cash deposits 
to begin on the date of publication of this notice.

DATES: Applicable August 14, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sally C. Gannon or David Cordell, 
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-0162 or (202) 482-0408, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 3, 1996, Commerce initiated an AD investigation under 
section 732 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) on CTL 
plate from Russia.\1\ Commerce suspended the AD investigation on 
October 24, 1997, on the basis of an agreement between Commerce and the 
Government of Russia (GOR) under section 734(l) of the Act to restrict 
the volume of direct and indirect exports to the United States of CTL 
plate from all Russian producers/exporters and to revise its prices to 
eliminate completely sales of this merchandise to the United States at 
less than fair value.\2\ In the Final Determination, Commerce 
calculated weighted-average dumping margins of 53.81 percent for Joint 
Stock Company Severstal (Severstal) and 185.00 percent for the 
``Russia-wide'' entity.\3\ In December 1997, the U.S. International 
Trade Commission (ITC) determined that an industry in the United States 
was threatened with material injury by reason of imports of CTL plate 
from China, Russia, South Africa, and Ukraine.\4\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations: Certain 
Cut-To-Length Carbon Steel Plate from the People's Republic of 
China, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of South 
Africa, 61 FR 64051 (December 3, 1996).
    \2\ See Suspension of Antidumping Duty Investigation: Certain 
Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from the Russian Federation, 62 FR 
61780 (November 19, 1997) (1997 Suspension Agreement).
    \3\ See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from the Russian 
Federation, 62 FR 61787, 61794 (November 19, 1997) (Final 
Determination).
    \4\ See Certain Carbon Steel Plate from China, Russia, South 
Africa, and Ukraine, Inv. Nos. 731-TA-753- 756 (Final), USITC Pub. 
3076 (December 1997) (ITC Determination).
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    On June 6, 2002, based on the evidence of Russian economic reforms 
to that date, Commerce revoked Russia's status as a non-market economy 
(NME) country under section 771(18)(B) of the Act, effective on April 
1, 2002.\5\ On December 20, 2002, Commerce and three Russian CTL plate 
producers, Severstal, JSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, and JSC 
NOSTA (OKIW) Integrated Iron-Steel Works, signed a revised suspension 
agreement pursuant to section 734(b) of the Act. The effective date of 
the 2003 Agreement was January 23, 2003.\6\
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Inquiry into the Status of the Russian 
Federation as a Non-Market Economy Country Under the U.S. 
Antidumping Law,'' dated June 6, 2002.
    \6\ See Suspension of Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain 
Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from the Russian Federation, 68 FR 
3859 (January 27, 2003).
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    On November 9, 2022, Commerce revoked Russia's market-economy 
status in the AD investigation into Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber 
from the Russian Federation.\7\ On March 30, 2023, domestic producers 
Nucor Corporation, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., and SSAB Enterprises LLC 
(collectively, domestic parties) filed a request to terminate the 2003 
Agreement.\8\ They argue that the 2003 Agreement is no longer in the 
public interest primarily because in November 2022 Commerce 
reclassified Russia as an NME country.
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    \7\ See Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Russian 
Federation, 87 FR 69002 (November 17, 2022) (final and 
classification of the Russian Federation as an NME).
    \8\ See Domestic Parties' Letter, ``Request to Terminate 
Suspension Agreement,'' dated March 30, 2023.
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    We asked interested parties to comment on the request in a Federal 
Register notice published on April 24, 2023.\9\ We received comments 
from the domestic parties and the GOR. We received rebuttal comments 
from the domestic parties. These comments are summarized and addressed 
in the

[[Page 55013]]

accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum (IDM). For the reasons 
addressed in the IDM, Commerce is terminating the 2003 Agreement and 
instituting an AD order.
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    \9\ See Invitation for Comment on the Agreement Suspending the 
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel 
Plate from the Russian Federation, 88 FR 24756 (April 24, 2023).
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Antidumping Duty Order

    As noted above, the underlying investigation in this proceeding was 
continued pursuant to section 734(g) of the Act. Commerce made a final 
affirmative AD determination, and the ITC found material injury.\10\ 
Therefore, in light of the termination of the 2003 Agreement and the 
final affirmative determinations issued by Commerce and ITC, in 
accordance with section 735(c)(2) of the Act, Commerce is issuing an AD 
order and will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise, entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on after the date of 
publication of this Notice. These suspension-of-liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \10\ See Final Determination, and ITC Determination, 
respectively.
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    In accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce is 
directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, 
antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the normal value of the 
merchandise exceeds the export price (or constructed export price) of 
the merchandise, for all entries of CTL plate from Russia subject to 
the scope of this order in the appendix below.
    Commerce also shall instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for each 
entry equal to the AD estimated weighted-average margin rates found in 
Commerce's Final Determination, as listed below. Accordingly, for 
entries of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of this Federal 
Register notice, CBP will require, at the same time as importers would 
normally deposit estimated duties on the subject merchandise, a cash 
deposit equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins listed 
below. Therefore, effective on the date of publication of this notice, 
CBP shall require a cash deposit equal to the cash deposit rates shown 
below. These suspension of liquidation and cash deposit instructions 
will remain in effect until further notice.
    The ad valorem rates for this AD order are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
                    Producer/exporter                         average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Joint Stock Company Severstal...........................           53.81
Russia-wide Rate........................................          185.00
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The Russia-Wide Rate

    A Russia-wide rate was assigned to certain CTL plate based on the 
average margin contained in the petition. The Russia-wide rate applies 
to all entries of subject merchandise except for entries from 
exporters/factories that are identified individually above.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the AD order with respect to CTL plate from 
Russia pursuant to section 736(a) of the Act. Interested parties can 
find a list of AD orders currently in effect at https://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html. This order is issued and 
published in accordance with section 736(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.211(b).

    Dated: August 8, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

    The scope of the order includes hot-rolled iron and non-alloy 
steel universal mill plates (i.e., flat-rolled products rolled on 
four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 mm but 
not exceeding 1250 mm and of a thickness of not less than 4 mm, not 
in coils and without patterns in relief), of rectangular shape, 
neither clad, plated nor coated with metal, whether or not painted, 
varnished, or coated with plastics or other nonmetallic substances; 
and certain iron and non-alloy steel flat-rolled products not in 
coils, of rectangular shape, hot-rolled, neither clad, plated, nor 
coated with metal, whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with 
plastics or other nonmetallic substances, 4.75 mm or more in 
thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at least 
twice the thickness.
    Included as subject merchandise in the order are flat-rolled 
products of nonrectangular cross-section where such cross-section is 
achieved subsequent to the rolling process (i.e., products which 
have been ``worked after rolling'') for example, products which have 
been beveled or rounded at the edges.
    This merchandise is currently classified in the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item numbers 
7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030, 7208.51.0045, 
7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7208.53.0000, 7208.90.0000, 
7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 
7211.14.0045, 7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, and 
7212.50.0000.
    Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the order 
is dispositive. Specifically excluded from subject merchandise 
within the scope of this order is grade X-70 steel plate.

[FR Doc. 2023-17407 Filed 8-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P