[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 110 (Thursday, June 6, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48382-48384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12352]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-898]


Large Diameter Welded Pipe From the Republic of Korea: 
Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of the 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 countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) 
from the Republic of Korea (Korea). The period of review (POR) is 
January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. Additionally, we are 
rescinding this review with respect to 17 companies. We invite 
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable June 6, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Faris Montgomery or Jonathan Schueler, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1537 
or (202) 482-9175, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 12, 2023, Commerce initiated an administrative review of 
the countervailing duty order on welded pipe from Korea.\1\ Commerce 
selected Hyundai RB Co., Ltd. (Hyundai RB) and SeAH Steel Corporation 
(SeAH Steel) as the mandatory respondents in this administrative 
review.\2\ On December 20, 2023, Commerce extended the deadline for 
these preliminary results to no later than May 30, 2024.\3\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 44262 (July 12, 2023); see also Large 
Diameter Welded Pipe from the Republic of Korea: Countervailing Duty 
Order, 84 FR 18773 (May 2, 2019).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated August 9, 
2023.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review,'' dated 
December 20, 2023.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ 
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included at Appendix I 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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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty 
Order on Large Diameter Welded Pipe 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 merchandise covered by the Order is welded pipe. For a complete 
description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part

    On September 14, 2023, Commerce notified interested parties that it 
intended to rescind this administrative review with respect to the 
companies listed in Appendix II because they had no entries of subject 
merchandise during the POR.\5\ No party commented on the notification 
of intent to rescind the review with respect to the 17 companies listed 
in Appendix II. Therefore, we determine that there were no entries of 
subject merchandise during the POR by these companies. As a result, we 
are rescinding this review, in part, with respect to the 17 companies 
listed in Appendix II, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Notice of Intent to Rescind Review, In 
Part,'' dated September 14, 2023.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this 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 government-provided 
financial contribution that confers a

[[Page 48383]]

benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\6\ For a 
full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \6\ 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 Rate for Non-Selected Companies

    The statute and Commerce's regulations do not directly address the 
countervailing duty rates to be applied to companies not selected for 
individual examination where Commerce limited its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(e)(2) of the Act. 
However, Commerce normally determines the rates for non-selected 
companies in reviews in a manner that is consistent with section 
705(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the 
all-others rate in an investigation. Section 777A(e)(2) of the Act 
provides that ``the individual countervailable subsidy rates determined 
under subparagraph (A) shall be used to determine the all-others rate 
under section 705(c)(5) {of the Act{time} .'' Section 705(c)(5)(A) of 
the Act states that for companies not investigated, in general, we will 
determine an all-others rate by weight averaging the countervailable 
subsidy rates established for each of the companies individually 
investigated, excluding zero and de minimis rates or any rates based 
solely on the facts available.
    Commerce initiated this administrative review with respect to 25 
producers/exporters. We are rescinding the review with respect to the 
17 companies listed in Appendix II. Commerce selected two mandatory 
respondents, Hyundai RB and SeAH Steel, for individual examination. For 
the remaining non-selected companies subject to this review, i.e., 
Chang Won Bending Co., Ltd.; Dong Yang Steel Pipe Co., Ltd.; EEW Korea 
Co., Ltd.; HiSteel Co., Ltd.; Husteel Co., Ltd.; and Kumsoo Connecting 
Co., Ltd., because the rates calculated for mandatory respondents 
Hyundai RB and SeAH Steel are above de minimis and not based entirely 
on facts available, we are applying a preliminary subsidy rate based on 
a weighted average of the rates calculated for the two mandatory 
respondents using the publicly-ranged sales data they submitted on the 
record.\7\ This methodology is consistent with our practice for 
establishing an all-others subsidy rate pursuant to section 
705(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Calculation of the Non-Selected Company 
Rate for the Preliminary Results,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice.
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Preliminary Results of the Review

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we calculated an 
individual net countervailable subsidy rate for Hyundai RB and SeAH. 
Commerce preliminarily finds that, during the POR, the net 
countervailable subsidy rates for the producers/exporters under review 
are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Subsidy rate (percent
                    Company                            ad valorem)
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Hyundai RB Co., Ltd.; and Shinchang                                 0.72
 Construction Co., Ltd.\8\.....................
SeAH Steel Corporation; and SeAH Steel Holdings                     0.54
 Corporation \9\...............................
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 Review-Specific Average Rate Applicable to the Following Companies \10\
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Chang Won Bending Co., Ltd.....................                     0.57
Dong Yang Steel Pipe Co., Ltd..................                     0.57
EEW Korea Co., Ltd.............................                     0.57
HiSteel Co., Ltd...............................                     0.57
Husteel Co., Ltd.\11\..........................                     0.57
Kumsoo Connecting Co., Ltd.....................                     0.57
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure and Public Comment
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    \8\ Commerce previously found Shinchang Construction Co., Ltd. 
to be cross-owned with Hyundai RB. See Large Diameter Welded Pipe 
from the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results and Partial 
Rescission of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2021, 
88 FR 37200 (June 7, 2023), and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum at 6-7, unchanged in Large Diameter Welded Pipe from the 
Republic of Korea: Final Results of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2021, 88 FR 85236 (December 7, 2023), and 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.
    \9\ Commerce finds SeAH Steel Holdings Corporation to be cross-
owned with SeAH Steel. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 7-8.
    \10\ This rate is based on the rates for the respondents that 
were selected for individual review, excluding rates that are zero, 
de minimis, or based entirely on facts available. See section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
    \11\ Subject merchandise both produced and exported by Husteel 
Co., Ltd. (Husteel) is excluded from the order. See Large Diameter 
Welded Pipe from the Republic of Korea: Countervailing Duty Order, 
84 FR 18773 (May 2, 2019). Thus, Husteel's inclusion in this 
administrative review is limited to entries for which Husteel was 
not both the producer and exporter of the subject merchandise.
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    We intend to disclose to parties to this proceeding the 
calculations performed in reaching the preliminary results within five 
days after public announcement of the preliminary results or, if there 
is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication 
of this notice.\12\
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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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    Interested parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days 
after the publication of this notice.\13\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to 
issues raised in case briefs, may be filed no later than five days 
after the date for filing case briefs.\14\ 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.\15\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c).
    \14\ 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 and Service Final Rule).
    \15\ 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 briefs 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.\16\ 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

[[Page 48384]]

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).\17\
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    \16\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \17\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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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. If a request for a hearing 
is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be 
determined. A 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 and 19 CFR 
351.213(h).

Assessment Rates

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we preliminarily 
assigned subsidy rates in the amounts shown above for the producers/
exporters shown above. Upon completion of the administrative review, 
consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2), 
Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate entries covered 
by this review.
    For the companies for which this review is rescinded, we 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)(l)(i). We intend to issue 
assessment instructions to CBP for these companies no earlier than 35 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary results of this 
review in the Federal Register.
    For the companies remaining in the review, we intend 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 Rate

    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce 
intends, upon publication of the final results, to instruct CBP to 
collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties in the amounts 
calculated in the final results for each of the reviewed companies 
listed above on 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, except, where the rate calculated in 
the final results is zero or de minimis, no cash deposit will be 
required. For all non-reviewed firms, we will instruct CBP to continue 
to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties at the all-
others rate as established in the Order (i.e., 9.29 percent) \18\ or 
the most recent company-specific rate applicable to the company, as 
appropriate. These cash deposit instructions, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.
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    \18\ See Order, 84 FR at 18775.
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Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results of review are issued and published 
pursuant to sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.213(d)(4) and 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: May 30, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Final Rescission of Administrative Review, In Part
V. Diversification of Korea's Economy
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation

Appendix II

Companies Rescinded From Review

1. AJU Besteel Co., Ltd
2. Daiduck Piping Co., Ltd.
3. Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd.
4. EEW KHPC Co., Ltd.
5. Hansol Metal Co. Ltd.
6. Hyundai Steel Company \19\
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    \19\ Subject merchandise both produced and exported by Hyundai 
Steel Company (Hyundai Steel) and subject merchandise produced by 
Hyundai Steel and exported by Hyundai Corporation are excluded from 
the countervailing duty order. See Order, 84 FR 18773. Thus, Hyundai 
Steel's inclusion in this administrative review is limited to 
entries for which Hyundai Steel was not the producer and exporter of 
the subject merchandise and for which Hyundai Steel was not the 
producer and Hyundai Corporation was not the exporter of subject 
merchandise.
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7. Il Jin Nts Co. Ltd.
8. Kem Solutions Co., Ltd.
9. Kiduck Industries Co., Ltd.
10. Kum Kang Kind. Co., Ltd.
11. Nexteel Co., Ltd.
12. POSCO International Corporation
13. Samkang M&T Co., Ltd.
14. Seonghwa Industrial Co., Ltd
15. SIN[hyphen]E B&P Co., Ltd.
16. Steel Flower Co., Ltd.
17. WELTECH Co., Ltd

[FR Doc. 2024-12352 Filed 6-5-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P