[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10484-10487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-04108]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-489-816]


Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Turkey: 
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 Turkey (Turkey) are being sold, or are likely to

[[Page 10485]]

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 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: Catherine Cartsos, 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-
1757.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this 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 Turkey'', 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 
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 these determinations on the next business day 
(i.e., February 14, 2014). Id.
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Methodology

    The Department conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Export prices and constructed 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 December 18, 2013, the petitioners filed a timely critical 
circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 733(e)(1)

[[Page 10486]]

of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206(c)(1), alleging that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to imports of the merchandise under 
consideration.\5\ We preliminarily determine that critical 
circumstances do not exist for imports of OCTG from Turkey. For a full 
description of the methodology and results of our analysis, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \5\ See Letter from the petitioners, ``Amendment to Petition for 
the Imposition of Antidumping Duties: Oil Country Tubular Goods from 
Turkey'' dated December 18, 2013.
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Preliminary Determination

    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter/manufacturer                       dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borusan Mannesmann Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret and Borusan               0.00
 Istikbal Ticaret (collectively Borusan)....................
[Ccedil]ayirova Boru Sanayi ve Ticaret A.[Scedil]. and              4.87
 Y[uuml]cel Boru Ithalat-Ihracat ve Pazarlama A.[Scedil].
 (collectively Y[uuml]cel)..................................
All Others..................................................        4.87
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 Y[uuml]cel, the only mandatory respondent 
for which the Department calculated a rate that was not zero or de 
minimis.\6\
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    \6\ 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.\7\ 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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    \7\ 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.\8\ 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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    \8\ 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 Turkey 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 except for those produced and exported by Borusan. 
Because the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Borusan is 
zero, we are not directing CBP to suspend liquidation of entries of the 
merchandise it produced and exported.
    We will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the 
weighted-average amount by which the normal value exceeds U.S. price, 
as indicated in the chart above.\9\ The suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \9\ 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 requests from Borusan and Y[uuml]cel in this 
investigation, we are postponing the final determination. Accordingly, 
we will issue our final determination no later than 135 days after the 
date of publication of this preliminary determination, pursuant to 
section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act.\10\ Further, Borusan and Y[uuml]cel 
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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    \10\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii) and (e).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we 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 of OCTG from Turkey 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. Affiliation and Single Entity
    a. Affiliation Findings: BMB and Istikbal
    b. Affiliation Findings: [Ccedil]ayirova and YIIP
    c. Single Entity Analysis
6. Critical Circumstances
7. Fair Value Comparisons
8. Product Comparisons
9. Date of Sale
10. U.S. Price
11. Duty Drawback
12. Normal Value

[[Page 10487]]

    a. Home Market Viability and Comparison-Market Selection
    b. Level of Trade
    c. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Home-Market Prices
    d. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Constructed Value
13. Cost of Production
14. Currency Conversion
15. Verification

[FR Doc. 2014-04108 Filed 2-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P