[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10491-10493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04093]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-565-802]
Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of the
Philippines: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value, Negative Preliminary Determination of Critical
Circumstances, and Postponement of Final Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, formerly Import Administration,
International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) preliminarily
determines that certain oil country tubular goods from the Republic of
the Philippines (the Philippines) are being sold, or are likely to be
sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided
in section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The
period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013.
The estimated weighted-average dumping margins of sales at LTFV are
listed in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice.
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dmitry Vladimirov, AD/CVD Operations,
Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0665.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain oil country
tubular goods (OCTG), which are hollow steel products of circular
cross-section, including oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other
than cast iron) or steel (both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or
welded, regardless of end finish (e.g., whether or not plain end,
threaded, or threaded and coupled) whether or not conforming to
American Petroleum Institute (API) or non-API specifications, whether
finished (including limited service OCTG products) or unfinished
(including green tubes and limited service OCTG products), whether or
not thread protectors are attached. The scope of the investigation also
covers OCTG coupling stock.
Excluded from the scope of the investigation are: casing or tubing
containing 10.5 percent or more by weight of chromium; drill pipe;
unattached couplings; and unattached thread protectors.
The merchandise subject to the investigation is currently
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.10.10, 7304.29.10.20,
7304.29.10.30, 7304.29.10.40, 7304.29.10.50, 7304.29.10.60,
7304.29.10.80, 7304.29.20.10, 7304.29.20.20, 7304.29.20.30,
7304.29.20.40, 7304.29.20.50, 7304.29.20.60, 7304.29.20.80,
7304.29.31.10, 7304.29.31.20, 7304.29.31.30, 7304.29.31.40,
7304.29.31.50, 7304.29.31.60, 7304.29.31.80, 7304.29.41.10,
7304.29.41.20, 7304.29.41.30, 7304.29.41.40, 7304.29.41.50,
7304.29.41.60, 7304.29.41.80, 7304.29.50.15, 7304.29.50.30,
7304.29.50.45, 7304.29.50.60, 7304.29.50.75, 7304.29.61.15,
7304.29.61.30, 7304.29.61.45, 7304.29.61.60, 7304.29.61.75,
7305.20.20.00, 7305.20.40.00, 7305.20.60.00, 7305.20.80.00,
7306.29.10.30, 7306.29.10.90, 7306.29.20.00, 7306.29.31.00,
7306.29.41.00, 7306.29.60.10, 7306.29.60.50, 7306.29.81.10, and
7306.29.81.50.
The merchandise subject to the investigation may also enter under
the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.00.24, 7304.39.00.28,
7304.39.00.32, 7304.39.00.36, 7304.39.00.40, 7304.39.00.44,
7304.39.00.48, 7304.39.00.52, 7304.39.00.56, 7304.39.00.62,
7304.39.00.68, 7304.39.00.72, 7304.39.00.76, 7304.39.00.80,
7304.59.60.00, 7304.59.80.15, 7304.59.80.20, 7304.59.80.25,
7304.59.80.30, 7304.59.80.35, 7304.59.80.40, 7304.59.80.45,
7304.59.80.50, 7304.59.80.55, 7304.59.80.60, 7304.59.80.65,
7304.59.80.70, 7304.59.80.80, 7305.31.40.00, 7305.31.60.90,
7306.30.50.55, 7306.30.50.90, 7306.50.50.50, and 7306.50.50.70.
The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and
customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the
investigation is dispositive.
Scope Comments
On August 12, 2013, WSP Pipe Co., Ltd. (the sole mandatory
respondent in the concurrent antidumping duty investigation involving
OCTG from Thailand) submitted scope comments to the Department
regarding ``pierced billets'' and asked that the Department determine
that such merchandise was outside of the scope of this and other OCTG
investigations. The petitioners \1\ filed rebuttal comments on August
22, 2013. We have not made any modifications to the scope of the
investigations. For more information, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\2\
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\1\ Boomerang Tube, Energex Tube, a division of JMC Steel Group,
Maverick Tube Corporation, Northwest Pipe Company, Tejas Tubular
Products, TMK IPSCO, United States Steel Corporation, Vallourec
Star, L.P., and Welded Tube USA Inc. (collectively, the
petitioners).
\2\ See the ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Oil
Country Tubular Goods from the Republic of the Philippines'', from
Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, dated concurrently with this determination and hereby
adopted by this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Tolling of Deadlines for Preliminary Determination
As explained in the memorandum from the Assistant Secretary for
[[Page 10492]]
Enforcement and Compliance, the Department has exercised its discretion
to toll deadlines for the duration of the closure of the Federal
Government from October 1, through October 16, 2013.\3\ Therefore, all
deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 16
days. If the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance
with the Department's practice, the deadline will become the next
business day.\4\ The revised deadline for the preliminary determination
of this investigation is now February 14, 2014.
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\3\ See Memorandum for the Record from Paul Piquado, Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by
the Shutdown of the Federal Government'' (October 18, 2013).
\4\ 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). Due
to the closure of the Federal Government on February 13, 2014,
Commerce completed this determination on the next business day
(i.e., February 14, 2014). Id.
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Methodology
The Department has conducted this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Export prices have been calculated in
accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value has been
calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full
description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 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 (IA ACCESS). IA ACCESS is available to
registered users at https://iaaccess.trade.gov, and is available to all
parties in the Department's Central Records Unit, located at room 7046
of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be found at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic versions of
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
On January 7, 2014, the petitioners filed a timely critical
circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act and
19 CFR 351.206(c)(1). We have preliminarily determined that critical
circumstances do not exist for imports of OCTG from the Philippines.
For a full description of the methodology and results of our analysis,
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Determination
The Department preliminarily determines that the following
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-average
Exporter/Manufacturer dumping margin %
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HLD Clark Steel Pipe Co., Inc....................... 8.90
All Others.......................................... 8.90
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Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated ``all
others'' rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters
and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero or de
minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776
of the Act. The ``All Others'' rate is based on the weighted-average
dumping margin calculated for HLD Clark Steel Pipe Co., Inc., the only
company for which the Department calculated a rate.\5\
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\5\ See section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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Disclosure and Public Comment
We will disclose the calculations performed to parties in this
proceeding within five days of the date of publication of this notice
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven
days after the date on which the final verification report is issued in
this proceeding and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline
date for case briefs.\6\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2),
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of
authorities.
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\6\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce. All documents must be filed
electronically using IA ACCESS. An electronically filed request must be
received successfully in its entirety by IA ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of
this notice.\7\ Requests should contain the party's name, address, and
telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues
to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department
intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a time and
date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date,
time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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\7\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we are directing
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all
entries of OCTG from the Philippines as described in the scope of the
investigation section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register.
We will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the
weighted-average amount by which the normal value exceeds export price,
as indicated in the chart above.\8\ The suspension of liquidation
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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\8\ See Modification of Regulations Regarding the Practice of
Accepting Bonds During the Provisional Measures Period in
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042
(October 3, 2011).
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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Pursuant to a request from HLD Clark Steel Pipe Co., Inc., in this
investigation, we are postponing the final determination. Accordingly,
we will issue our final determination no later
[[Page 10493]]
than 135 days after the date of publication of this preliminary
determination, pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act.\9\ Further,
HLD Clark Steel Pipe Co., Inc., requested to extend the application of
the provisional measures prescribed under section 733(d) of the Act and
19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), from a four-month period to a six-month period.
The suspension of liquidation described above will be extended
accordingly.
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\9\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) and (e).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the
ITC of our preliminary affirmative determination of sales at LTFV.
Because the preliminary determination in this proceeding is
affirmative, section 735(b)(2) of the Act requires that the ITC make
its final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the
United States is materially injured, or threatened with material
injury, by reason of imports OCTG from the Philippines before the later
of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days
after our final determination. Because we are postponing the deadline
for our final determination to 135 days from the date of publication of
this preliminary determination, as discussed above, the ITC will make
its final determination no later than 45 days after our final
determination.
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: February 14, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
1. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
2. Scope of the Investigation
3. Scope Comments
4. Selection of Respondents
5. Critical Circumstances
6. Fair Value Comparisons
7. Product Comparisons
8. Date of Sale
9. U.S. Price
10. Normal Value
a. Home Market Viability and Comparison-Market Selection
b. Level of Trade
c. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Third-Country Prices
d. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Constructed Value
11. Cost of Production
12. Currency Conversion
13. Verification
[FR Doc. 2014-04093 Filed 2-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P