[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4869-4871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02125]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-533-872]
Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From India: Preliminary Results and
Rescission, in Part, of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2023
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that countervailable subsidies were provided to certain
producers and/or exporters of finished carbon steel flanges (steel
flanges) from India. The period of review (POR) is January 1, 2023,
through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on
these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable February 3, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amber Hodak, AD/CVD Operations, Office
VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 842-8034.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 20, 2024, Commerce published in the Federal Register a
notice of initiation of an administrative review of the countervailing
duty (CVD) order on steel flanges from India.\1\ On October 29, 2024,
Commerce selected Norma (India) Ltd. (Norma) and R. N. Gupta & Company
Limited (RNG) as mandatory respondents in this review.\2\ On December
9, 2024, Commerce tolled the deadline to issue the preliminary results
in this administrative review by 90 days.\3\ On July 16, 2025, Commerce
extended the deadline for the preliminary results by 110 days, until
November 19, 2025, in accordance with section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2).\4\ Due to the lapse in appropriations and
Federal Government shutdown, on November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all
deadlines in this administrative proceedings by 47 days.\5\
Additionally, due to a backlog of documents that were electronically
filed via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) during the Federal
Government shutdown, on November 24, 2025, Commerce tolled all
deadlines in administrative proceedings by an additional 21 days, to
January 26, 2026.\6\ Finally, due to the closure of Commerce offices
due to inclement weather, the deadline for these preliminary results,
is postponed until the next business day,\7\ i.e., January 28, 2026.
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\1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 89 FR 77079, 77086 (September 20, 2024); see
also Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India: Countervailing Duty
Order, 82 FR 40138 (August 24, 2017) (Order).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated October 29,
2024.
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated December 9, 2024.
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review,'' dated July
16, 2025.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the
Federal Government,'' dated November 14, 2025.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of all Case Deadlines,'' dated
November 24, 2025.
\7\ See Notice of Clarification: Application of ``Next Business
Day'' Rule for Administrative Determination Deadlines Pursuant to
the Tariff Act of 1930, As Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2005).
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\8\
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
provided as an appendix to this notice. The Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via
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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\8\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of Finished
Carbon Steel Flanges from India; 2023,'' dated concurrently with,
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The product covered by the Order is steel flanges from India. For a
complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an
administrative review, in whole or in part, if all parties that
requested the review withdraw their requests within 90 days of the date
of publication of the notice of initiation of the requested review.
Commerce received timely filed withdrawal requests with respect to
Balkrishna Steel Forge Pvt. Ltd., Cetus Engineering Private Limited,
and Jai Auto Pvt. Ltd., pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1). Because the
withdrawal requests were timely filed, and no other parties requested a
review of these companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1),
Commerce is rescinding this administrative review with respect to these
three companies.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance
with section 751(a)(l)(A) of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs
found to be countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that
there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority''
that give rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is
specific.\9\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our
conclusions, including our reliance, in part, on facts otherwise
available with adverse inferences pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b)
of the Act, see the accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\9\ 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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Companies Not Selected for Individual Review 10
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\10\ See Appendix II for a list of companies not selected for
individual examination.
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The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment
of a rate to apply companies not selected for individual examination
when Commerce limits 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.
[[Page 4870]]
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) 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.
Three companies under review were not selected as mandatory
respondents or found to be cross-owned with a mandatory respondent: (1)
BFN Forgings Private Limited, (2) Echjay Industries Pvt. Ltd., and (3)
Munish Forge Private Limited.\11\ Accordingly, to determine the rate
for companies not selected for individual examination, Commerce's
practice is to weight-average the countervailable subsidy rates for the
selected mandatory respondents, excluding rates that are zero, de
minimis, or based entirely on facts available.\12\ In this review,
Commerce calculated preliminary individual estimated subsidy rates for
Norma and RNG that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts
otherwise available. Commerce calculated the rate assigned to the
companies under review that were not selected for individual
examination using a weighted average of the individual estimated
subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents using each
company's publicly ranged values for the merchandise under
consideration.\13\
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\11\ As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, this
company filed a letter notifying Commerce of its company name
change. However, Commerce requires additional time to assess if any
changes have been made to its operations, ownership and legal
structure.
\12\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates
calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the
estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and
(C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for
the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S.
sale values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters.
See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53662
(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum
at Comment 1.
\13\ As complete publicly ranged sales data were available,
Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged sales data
of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data,
see Memorandum, ``Preliminary Results Calculation of Subsidy Rate
for Non-Selected Companies Under Review,'' dated concurrently with
this notice.
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Preliminary Results of Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the
following net countervailable subsidy rates exist for the POR, January
1, 2023, through December 31, 2023: \14\
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\14\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross owned with
Norma (India) Ltd.: USK Export Private Limited; Uma Shanker
Khandelwal and Co.; and Bansidhar Chiranjilal. This rate applies to
all cross-owned companies.
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Norma (India) Ltd.; USK Export Private Limited; Uma 2.40
Shanker Khandelwal and Co.; and Bansidhar
Chiranjilal.........................................
R.N. Gupta & Co. Ltd................................. 2.27
Companies Not Selected for Review.................... 2.32
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties for these preliminary results within
five days of any 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).
Public Comment
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), we have modified the deadline
for interested parties to submit case briefs to Commerce to no later
than 21 days after the date of publication of this notice. 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.\15\
Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this
proceeding must submit: (1) table of contents listing each issue; and
(2) a table of authorities.\16\ All briefs must be filed electronically
using ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received
successfully in its entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the
established deadline.
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\15\ 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 Procedures).
\16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 351.309(d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iii), we
request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their
briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their
briefs.\17\ 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 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).\18\
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\17\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\18\ See APO and Service 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 by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of
publication of this notice. 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. Oral presentations at the hearing
will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a
hearing is made, Commerce will inform parties of the scheduled date for
the hearing.\19\
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\19\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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Assessment Rates
Consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.212(b)(2), 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.
For the companies listed above for which the review is being
rescinded, Commerce will instruct CBP to assess
[[Page 4871]]
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, 2023, through December 31, 2023 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 this
notice in the Federal Register.
For the companies remaining in the review, Commerce will instruct
CBP to assess countervailing duties on all appropriate entries at the
subsidy rates calculated in the final results of 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., without 90 days of
publication).
Cash Deposit Requirements
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, 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.
Final Results
Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(a) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), Commerce intends to issue the final
results of this administrative review, which will include the results
of its analysis of 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.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.221(b)(4).
Dated: January 28, 2026.
Christopher Abbott,
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. Scope of the Order
IV. Munish Forge Private Corporate Name Change
V. Diversification of India's Economy
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse
Inferences
VII. Subsidies Valuation
VIII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2026-02125 Filed 2-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P