[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74875-74878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20772]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-914]


Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube From the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review, and Preliminary Determination of No 
Shipments; 2022-2023

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

SUMMARY: The U.S Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting the 
administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on light-
walled rectangular pipe and tube (LWRPT) from the People's Republic of 
China (China). The period of review (POR) is August 1, 2022, through 
July 31, 2023. Commerce preliminarily finds that Hoa Phat Steel Pipe 
Company Limited (Hoa Phat) had no subject shipments of LWRPT and that 
Hoa Phat will be eligible to participate in the

[[Page 74876]]

certification program previously established with respect to the AD 
order on LWRPT from China. In addition, we are rescinding this review 
with respect to Hangzhou Ailong Metal Product Co., Ltd. (Ailong). We 
invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable September 13, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Kebker, 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) 482-2254.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 5, 2008, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
AD order on LWRPT from China.\1\ On August 2, 2023, Commerce notified 
interested parties of the opportunity to request an administrative 
review of the Order.\2\ On August 30, 2023, Hoa Phat requested that 
Commerce conduct an administrative review of its exports to determine 
whether those exports are covered by the Order.\3\ In its review 
request, Hoa Phat elaborated that it sought an administrative review so 
that Commerce would permit it to submit certifications to U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) to properly declare the origin of the hot-
rolled steel (HRS) that it used to produce the LWRPT it exported.\4\ On 
August 31, 2023, GS Global USA, Inc. (GS Global) requested that 
Commerce conduct an administrative review of Hoa Phat's exports.\5\ On 
August 31, 2023, Ailong requested that Commerce conduct an 
administrative review of its exports.\6\
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    \1\ See Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from Mexico, the 
People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea: Antidumping 
Duty Orders; Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the 
Republic of Korea: Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, 73 FR 45403 (August 5, 2008) (Order).
    \2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review and Join annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 50840 (August 2, 
2023).
    \3\ See Hoa Phat Letter, ``Request for Administrative Review,'' 
dated August 30, 2023.
    \4\ Id. As background, in Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube 
from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty and 
Countervailing Duty Orders, 88 FR 21985-21986 (April 12, 2023) 
(Preliminary Circumvention Determination), and accompanying 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 4-6, Commerce preliminarily 
determined that Hoa Phat had failed to cooperate in the 
circumvention proceeding and applied facts available with adverse 
inferences to determine that Hoa Phat was not eligible to 
participate in the certification regime established in the 
circumvention proceeding. In the final determination, Commerce 
continued to find that Hoa Phat was ineligible to participate in the 
certification regime. See Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube 
from the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination 
of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty 
Orders, 88 FR 77283 (November 9, 2023) (Final Circumvention 
Determination), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum 
(IDM) at Comment 3.
    \5\ See GS Global Letter, ``Request for Administrative Review'' 
dated August 31, 2023.
    \6\ See Ailong Letter, ``Request for Administrative Review--
Hangzhou Ailong Metal Product Co.,'' dated August 31, 2023.
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    Subsequently, we initiated an administrative review of the Order 
with respect to Ailong and Hoa Phat.\7\ On December 14, 2023, Commerce 
received a timely withdrawal of review request with respect to 
Ailong.\8\
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    \7\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 71829 (October 18, 2023).
    \8\ See Ailong Letter, ``Withdraw of Request for Administrative 
Review--Hangzhou Ailong Metal Product Co.'' dated December 14, 2023 
(Ailong Withdrawal Request).
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    On November 9, 2023, we published in the Federal Register the Final 
Circumvention Determination, in which we: (1) determined that certain 
LWRPT exported from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and 
entered into the United States was circumventing the Order and, 
therefore, is now covered by the Order; and (2) established a 
certification program to allow eligible producers and exporters of 
LWRPT exported from Vietnam to certify that entries of LWRPT exported 
from Vietnam are not subject to the Order.\9\ We also indicated that 
during the upcoming anniversary month of the Order (i.e., August) \10\ 
we would allow interested parties to request reviews of LWRPT shipped 
from Vietnam and suspended under the Order.
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    \9\ See Final Circumvention Determination, 88 FR at 77284.
    \10\ Id. 88 FR at 77285.
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    On April 11, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for these 
preliminary results to August 30, 2024.\11\ On June 22, 2024, Commerce 
tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven 
days.\12\ The deadline for these preliminary results is now September 
6, 2024. For details regarding the events that occurred subsequent to 
the initiation of the review, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\13\
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    \11\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated April 
11, 2024.
    \12\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
    \13\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Light-
Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the People's Republic of 
China: 2022-2023,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 
this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise subject to this Order is certain welded carbon 
quality light-walled steel pipe and tube. A complete description of the 
scope of the Order is contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or in part, if all parties that 
requested a review withdraw their requests within 90 days of the 
publication date of the notice of initiation of the requested review in 
the Federal Register. On December 14, 2023, Ailong timely withdrew its 
request for administrative review.\14\ Because no other party requested 
a review of Ailong, consistent with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce is 
rescinding this review, in part, with respect to Ailong.
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    \14\ See Ailong Withdrawal Request.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) and 19 CFR 
351.213. For a full description of the methodology underlying these 
preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of 
the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included 
as the appendix to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
a public document and is made available to the public via Enforcement 
and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized 
Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered 
users at http://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is available at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    In this administrative review, we issued a questionnaire to Hoa 
Phat to gather information on the quantity and value (Q&V) of its 
shipments of LWRPT to the United States.\15\ We received a response to 
this questionnaire from Hoa Phat, in which it reported that its

[[Page 74877]]

suspended entries consisted exclusively of non-subject merchandise.\16\ 
We issued supplemental questionnaires to Hoa Phat and received 
responses.\17\ We have analyzed the information in these responses and 
preliminarily find that Hoa Phat has provided information to support 
its claim that the LWRPT it exported to the United States is of non-
subject LWRPT. Thus, if our preliminary finding is unchanged in the 
final results, Hao Phat Hoa will be eligible to participate in the 
certification program previously established with respect to the AD 
Order on LWRPT from China as of the publication date of the final 
results.
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    \15\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Quantity and Value 
Questionnaire,'' dated November 20, 2023; see also Memorandum, 
``Clarification of Companies Required to Submit Responses to Q&V 
Questionnaire,'' dated November 28, 2023; and Commerce's Letters, 
``Request for Entry Information,'' dated February 5, 2024 
(collectively, Q&V Questionnaire).
    \16\ See Hoa Phat's Letter, ``Sections A, C, D Responses,'' 
dated January 10, 2024 (Hoa Phat Initial Response) and Hoa Phat's 
Letter, ``CBP Data Comments,'' dated November 8, 2023 (CBP Data 
Comments).
    \17\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Supplemental Questionnaire,'' 
dated February 13, 2024; and Commerce's Letter, ``Second 
Supplemental Questionnaire,'' dated March 29, 2024; see also Hoa 
Phat's Letter, ``Supplemental Sections A, C, D Responses,'' dated 
March 12, 2024 (Hoa Phat First Supplemental Response);and Hoa Phat's 
Letter, ``Second Supplemental Questionnaire Response,'' dated April 
5, 2024 (Hoa Phat Second Supplemental Response).
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China-Wide Entity

    Under Commerce's policy regarding the conditional review of the 
China-wide entity,\18\ the China-wide entity will not be under review 
unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce self-initiates, a 
review of the entity. Because no party requested a review of the China-
wide entity in this review, the entity is not under review, and the 
entity's rate (i.e., 255.07 percent) is not subject to change.\19\
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    \18\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in 
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty 
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity 
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
    \19\ See Implementation of Determinations Under Section 129 of 
the Uruguay Round Agreements Act: Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road 
Tires; Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe; Laminated Woven 
Sacks; and Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the People's 
Republic of China, 77 FR 52683, 52688 (August 30, 2012); see also 
Order, 73 FR at 45403.
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Verification

    On January 26, 2024, Nucor Tubular Products Inc. requested that 
Commerce conduct verification of Hoa Phat pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.307(b)(1)(v). Accordingly, Commerce intends to verify the 
information relied upon in making its final results for Hoa Phat.

Public Comment

    Because Commerce intends to verify the questionnaire responses of 
Hoa Phat, the mandatory respondent in this review, interested parties 
will be notified of the deadline for the submission of case briefs at a 
later date.\20\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\21\
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    \20\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements).
    \21\ 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).
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    Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 
proceeding must submit with each argument: (1) a statement of the 
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\22\ 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.\23\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary 
of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the 
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that 
will accompany the final determination in this review. We request that 
interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the 
public 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).\24\
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    \22\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \23\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the IDM.
    \24\ 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, 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 publication of this notice. Hearing requests should contain: 
(1) the party's name, address, telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants; and whether any participant is a foreign national; and 
(3) a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing 
will be limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs. If a 
request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at 
a time and date to be determined and will notify the parties through 
ACCESS.\25\ Parties should confirm the date, time, and location of the 
hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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    \25\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    All submissions, including case and rebuttal briefs, as well as 
hearing requests, should be filed using ACCESS. An electronically-filed 
document must be received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results of this review, Commerce will 
determine, and CBP will assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries covered by this review.\26\ We intend to instruct CBP to 
liquidate entries of LWRPT exported by Hoa Phat without regard to 
antidumping duties if these preliminary results are unchanged for the 
final results. For Hoa Phat, 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).
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    \26\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
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    For Ailong, we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on 
all appropriate entries at a rate equal to the cash deposit of 
estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i). For Ailong, Commerce intends 
to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after 
the date of publication of this notice 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 Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this administrative review for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of review, as provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the 
Act: (1) for Hoa Phat, the cash deposit rate will remain unchanged 
(i.e.,

[[Page 74878]]

255.07 percent),\27\ unless the company satisfies the certification 
requirements in the Final Circumvention Determination; \28\ (2) for 
previously investigated or reviewed Chinese and non-Chinese exporters 
who are not under review in this segment of the proceeding but who have 
separate rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the exporter 
specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) for all Chinese 
exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be 
entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the China-
wide rate of 255.07 percent; and (4) for all non-Chinese exporters of 
subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash 
deposit rate will be the rate applicable to Chinese exporter(s) that 
supplied that non-Chinese exporter, or the rate for the China-wide 
entity (i.e., 255.07), if no alternate rate is available. These deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.
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    \27\ See Final Circumvention Determination.
    \28\ Id. at Appendix II for the importer and exporter 
certifications.
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Final Results of Review

    Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final 
results of this administrative review, which will include the results 
of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs, within 120 days of 
publication of these preliminary results of review, pursuant to section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping and/or countervailing duties 
prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. 
Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's 
presumption that reimbursement of antidumping and/or countervailing 
duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping 
duties, and/or an increase in the amount of antidumping duties by the 
amount of the countervailing duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: September 6, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Partial Rescission of Administrative Review
V. Discussion of Interested Party Comments
VI. Analysis of the Sourcing of the Hot Rolled Steel Hoa Phat Used 
to Produce LWRPT Exported to the United States
VII. Certification Program
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-20772 Filed 9-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P