[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15825-15827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04622]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-580-837]
Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate From the
Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2022
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that certain exporters/producers of certain cut-to-length
plate (CTL plate) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) received
countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR) January 1,
2022, through December 31, 2022. We invite interested parties to
comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable March 5, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Johnson or Laura Griffith, AD/
CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4793 or (202)
482-6430, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 10, 2000, Commerce published in the Federal Register
the countervailing duty (CVD) order on CTL plate from Korea.\1\ On
April 11, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register its
initiation of the CVD administrative review of the Order for the period
of January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022.\2\ On June 14, 2023, Commerce
selected Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. (DSM) and Hyundai Steel Company
(Hyundai Steel), as the mandatory respondents in this administrative
review.\3\
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\1\ See Notice of Amended Final Determinations: Certain Cut-to-
Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from India and the Republic of
Korea; and Notice of Countervailing Duty Orders: Certain Cut-To-
Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from France, India, Indonesia,
Italy, and the Republic of Korea, 65 FR 6587 (February 10, 2000)
(Order).
\2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 21609 (April 11, 2023).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated June 14,
2023.
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On September 22, 2023, Commerce extended the deadline for issuance
of the preliminary results of this review by 120 days until February
28, 2024, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2).\4\
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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary
Results,'' dated September 22, 2023.
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
included in the appendix 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.
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\5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty
Order on Certain Cut-To-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from the
Republic of Korea; 2022,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The product covered by this Order is certain cut-to-length carbon-
quality steel plate. For a complete description of the scope of the
Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Partial Rescission of Administrative Review
On July 10, 2023, the domestic interested parties \6\ timely
withdrew
[[Page 15826]]
their request for an administrative review of BDP International and
Sung Jin Steel Co., Ltd. No other party requested a review of these
companies. Accordingly, we are rescinding this review, in part, with
respect to BDP International and Sung Jin Steel Co., Ltd., pursuant to
19 CFR 351.213(d)(1). For further information, see ``Partial Rescission
of Administrative Review'' in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\6\ The domestic interested parties are Nucor Corporation
(Nucor), SSAB Enterprises, LLC, and Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this CVD administrative review in accordance
with section 751(a)(l)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act). For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we
preliminarily determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial
contribution by an ``authority'' that confers a benefit to the
recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\7\ For a full description
of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
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\7\ 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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Preliminary Results of Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the
following net countervailable subsidy rates for the period January 1,
2022, through December 31, 2022:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net
countervailable
Company subsidy rate
(percent)
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Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd........................... 1.93
Hyundai Steel Company \8\............................. 2.21
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Assessment Rate
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\8\ Commerce preliminarily finds Hyundai Green Power to be
cross-owned with Hyundai Steel. See the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum at 7.
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In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), Commerce has
preliminarily assigned subsidy rates as indicated above. Consistent
with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, upon issuance of the final
results, Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate
entries covered by this review. 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).
For the companies for which this review is rescinded, Commerce will
instruct CBP to assess countervailing duties on all appropriate entries
at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties
required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for
consumption, during the period January 1, 2022, through December 31,
2022, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i). Commerce intends to
issue rescission instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the
date of publication of the notice of rescission in the Federal
Register.
Cash Deposit Rate
Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce intends to
instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing
duties in the amount indicated above with regard to shipments of
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of
this review. For all non-reviewed firms, we will instruct CBP to
continue to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties at
the most recent company-specific or all-others rate applicable to the
company, as appropriate. These cash deposit instructions, when imposed,
shall remain in effect until further notice.
Disclosure and Public Comment
We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties within
five days after public announcement of the preliminary results.\9\
Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the submission
of case briefs and written comments at a later date. Rebuttal briefs,
limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later
than five days after the date for filing case briefs.\10\ Interested
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding
must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a
table of authorities.\11\
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\9\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
\10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29,
2023) (APO, Service, and Other Procedures).
\11\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public,
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\12\ Further,
we request that interested parties limit their executive summary of
each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We
intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment
summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will
accompany the final results in this administrative review. We request
that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the
executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain
of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR
351.303(f).\13\
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\12\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\13\ See APO, Service, and Other Procedures.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), 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. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to
those raised in the respective case briefs. An electronically filed
hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety by
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.
Final Results
Unless the deadline is extended, we intend to issue the final
results of this administrative review, which will include the results
of our analysis of the issues raised in the case briefs, within 120
days of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal
Register, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
Verification
On July 20, 2023, Nucor requested that Commerce conduct
verification in this review of DSM, Hyundai Steel, and the Government
of Korea.\14\ Accordingly, as provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act,
Commerce intends to verify certain of the information relied upon for
its final results.
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\14\ See Nucor's Letter, ``Request for Verification,'' dated
July 20, 2023.
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Notification to Interested Parties
These preliminary results and notice are issued and published in
accordance
[[Page 15827]]
with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.213
and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: February 28, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Partial Rescission of Administrative Review
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Diversification of Korea's Economy
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Discount Rates
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-04622 Filed 3-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P