[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36867-36870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13481]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-535-903]
Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From Pakistan:
Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
and Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily
determines that circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe (circular
welded pipe) from Pakistan is being, or is 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 is October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015. The
estimated weighted-average dumping margins of sales at LTFV are shown
in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. Interested
parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES: Effective: June 8, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Lindgren, AD/CVD Operations,
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3870.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Department initiated this investigation on November 17,
2015.\1\ For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\2\ 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 and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room
B8024 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 Preliminary Decision
Memorandum and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum are identical in content.
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\1\ See Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the
Sultanate of Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Arab
Emirates, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less
Than Fair Value Investigations, 80 FR 73708 (November 25, 2015)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, From Gary Taverman, Associate Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Circular
Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from Pakistan: Affirmative
Preliminary Less Than Fair Value Determination Decision
Memorandum,'' dated concurrently with and hereby adopted by this
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is circular welded pipe
from Pakistan. Interested parties filed comments regarding the scope of
the investigation, which resulted in one clarification to the scope
language and are addressed, in detail, in the Department's Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum.\3\ For a full
[[Page 36868]]
description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I to this
notice.
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\3\ See Memorandum to Gary Taverman, Associate Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Antidumping Duty
Investigations of Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from the
Sultanate of Oman, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from Pakistan; Scope
Comments Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations,''
April 1, 2016 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology
The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a)-(b) of the Act, the
Department has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available,
with adverse inferences, to assign an estimated weighted-average
dumping margin to the sole mandatory respondent International
Industries Limited (IIL). For a full description of the methodology
underlying our preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
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 rates that are
zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
We cannot apply the methodology described in section 735(c)(5)(A) of
the Act to calculate the ``all-others'' rate, as the only margin in
this preliminary determination was calculated under section 776 of the
Act. In cases where no weighted-average dumping margins besides zero,
de minimis, or those determined entirely under section 776 of the Act
have been established for individually examined entities, in accordance
with section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, the Department averages the
margins calculated in the petition and applies the result to ``all-
other'' entities not individually examined. In this case, however, only
one margin was calculated in the petition. Therefore, we assigned as
the ``all-others'' rate the only margin in the Petition, which is 11.80
percent.\4\
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\4\ See Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Thailand:
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, and
Postponement of Final Determination, 79 FR 10487, 10488 (February
25, 2014), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
unchanged in Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Thailand: Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 79 FR 41978, 41979
(July 18, 2014).
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Preliminary Determination
The Department preliminarily determines that the following
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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Weighted-
average
Exporter/ producer margin
(percent)
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International Industries Limited............................ 11.80
All-Others.................................................. 11.80
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Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we will direct
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all
entries of subject merchandise from Pakistan, as described in the
``Scope of the Investigation'' section, which are entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of
this notice in the Federal Register.
Pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d),
we will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the weighted-
average margin, as indicated in the chart above.\5\ These suspension of
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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\5\ 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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Public Comment
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination. Case briefs may be submitted no later than 30 days from
the publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal
Register.\6\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline for
case briefs.\7\ Parties submitting case briefs and/or rebuttal briefs
in this proceeding are encouraged to submit the following in regard to
each argument: (1) A statement of the issue, (2) a brief (i.e., no
longer than five pages) summary of the argument, and (3) a table of
authorities.\8\
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\6\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for
general filing requirements).
\7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1)-(2).
\8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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The Department also invites parties to comment on the Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum. Written comments concerning scope issues may
be submitted no later than 30 days from the publication of this
preliminary determination and should be submitted separately from the
briefs. Scope-related comments must be filed on the record of this
investigation, as well as the companion antidumping duty investigations
of circular welded pipe from the Sultanate of Oman, the United Arab
Emirates, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the countervailing
duty investigation of circular welded pipe from Pakistan.\9\
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\9\ See Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing must submit a written request within 30 days of the
publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal
Register.\10\ Such requests should include the party's name, address,
and telephone number, as well as 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 date, time, and location to be determined. Parties will be
notified of the date, time, and location of any hearing.
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\10\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Parties must file their case briefs and rebuttal briefs, as well as
any requests for a hearing, electronically, using ACCESS.\11\
Electronically-filed documents must be successfully received in their
entirety via ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time by the
abovementioned deadlines.\12\
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\11\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b)(2)(i).
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b)(1).
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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise. 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) requires that
requests by respondents for postponement of a final determination be
accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from a
four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.
IIL, the mandatory respondent, requested that, in the event of an
affirmative preliminary determination in this investigation, the
Department postpone its final determination by 60 days (i.e., to 135
days after publication of the preliminary determination) and agreed to
extend the application of the provisional measures prescribed under
section 733(d) of the Act and 19 CFR
[[Page 36869]]
351.210(e)(2), from a four-month period to a period not to exceed six
months.\13\
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\13\ See Letter from IIL, ``CWP from Pakistan--Request to
Postpone the Final Determination,'' May 28, 2016.
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In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because (1) our preliminary determination is
affirmative, (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, (3) the requesting
exporter has requested extension of provisional measures to a period
not more than six months, and (4) no compelling reasons for denial
exist, we are postponing the final determination until no later than
135 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register and
extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period
not greater than six months. 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) of the
Act.\14\
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\14\ See 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) and (e).
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International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we will notify the
U.S. International Trade Commission (the ITC) of our affirmative
preliminary determination of sales at LTFV. If our final determination
is affirmative, the ITC will determine whether or not imports of the
subject merchandise are materially injuring, or threaten material
injury to, the U.S. industry within 120 days of publication of this
preliminary determination or 45 days of publication of our final
determination, whichever is later.
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: May 31, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
This investigation covers welded carbon-quality steel pipes and
tube, of circular cross-section, with an outside diameter (O.D.) not
more than nominal 16 inches (406.4 mm), regardless of wall
thickness, surface finish (e.g., black, galvanized, or painted), end
finish (plain end, beveled end, grooved, threaded, or threaded and
coupled), or industry specification (e.g., American Society for
Testing and Materials International (ASTM), proprietary, or other),
generally known as standard pipe, fence pipe and tube, sprinkler
pipe, and structural pipe (although subject product may also be
referred to as mechanical tubing). Specifically, the term ``carbon
quality'' includes products in which:
(a) Iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other
contained elements;
(b) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and
(c) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity, by
weight, as indicated:
(i) 1.80 percent of manganese;
(ii) 2.25 percent of silicon;
(iii) 1.00 percent of copper;
(iv) 0.50 percent of aluminum;
(v) 1.25 percent of chromium;
(vi) 0.30 percent of cobalt;
(vii) 0.40 percent of lead;
(viii) 1.25 percent of nickel;
(ix) 0.30 percent of tungsten;
(x) 0.15 percent of molybdenum;
(xi) 0.10 percent of niobium;
(xii) 0.41 percent of titanium;
(xiii) 0.15 percent of vanadium; or
(xiv) 0.15 percent of zirconium.
Covered products are generally made to standard O.D. and wall
thickness combinations. Pipe multi-stenciled to a standard and/or
structural specification and to other specifications, such as
American Petroleum Institute (API) API-5L specification, may also be
covered by the scope of these investigations. In particular, such
multi-stenciled merchandise is covered when it meets the physical
description set forth above, and also has one or more of the
following characteristics: Is 32 feet in length or less; is less
than 2.0 inches (50 mm) in outside diameter; has a galvanized and/or
painted (e.g., polyester coated) surface finish; or has a threaded
and/or coupled end finish.
Standard pipe is ordinarily made to ASTM specifications A53,
A135, and A795, but can also be made to other specifications.
Structural pipe is made primarily to ASTM specifications A252 and
A500. Standard and structural pipe may also be produced to
proprietary specifications rather than to industry specifications.
Sprinkler pipe is designed for sprinkler fire suppression
systems and may be made to industry specifications such as ASTM A53
or to proprietary specifications.
Fence tubing is included in the scope regardless of
certification to a specification listed in the exclusions below, and
can also be made to the ASTM A513 specification. Products that meet
the physical description set forth above but are made to the
following nominal outside diameter and wall thickness combinations,
which are recognized by the industry as typical for fence tubing,
are included despite being certified to ASTM mechanical tubing
specifications:
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Wall thickness
O.D. in inches (nominal) in inches Gage
(nominal)
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1.315................................... 0.035 20
1.315................................... 0.047 18
1.315................................... 0.055 17
1.315................................... 0.065 16
1.315................................... 0.072 15
1.315................................... 0.083 14
1.315................................... 0.095 13
1.660................................... 0.055 17
1.660................................... 0.065 16
1.660................................... 0.083 14
1.660................................... 0.095 13
1.660................................... 0.109 12
1.900................................... 0.047 18
1.900................................... 0.055 17
1.900................................... 0.065 16
1.900................................... 0.072 15
1.900................................... 0.095 13
1.900................................... 0.109 12
2.375................................... 0.047 18
2.375................................... 0.055 17
2.375................................... 0.065 16
2.375................................... 0.072 15
2.375................................... 0.095 13
2.375................................... 0.109 12
2.375................................... 0.120 11
2.875................................... 0.109 12
2.875................................... 0.165 8
3.500................................... 0.109 12
3.500................................... 0.165 8
4.000................................... 0.148 9
4.000................................... 0.165 8
4.500................................... 0.203 7
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The scope of this investigation does not include:
(a) Pipe suitable for use in boilers, superheaters, heat
exchangers, refining furnaces and feedwater heaters, whether or not
cold drawn, which are defined by standards such as ASTM A178 or ASTM
A192;
(b) finished electrical conduit, i.e., Electrical Rigid Steel
Conduit (also known as Electrical Rigid Metal Conduit and Electrical
Rigid Metal Steel Conduit), Finished Electrical Metallic Tubing, and
Electrical Intermediate Metal Conduit, which are defined by
specifications such as American National Standard (ANSI) C80.1-2005,
ANSI C80.3-2005, or ANSI C80.6-2005, and Underwriters Laboratories
Inc. (UL) UL-6, UL-797, or UL-1242;
(c) finished scaffolding, i.e., component parts of final,
finished scaffolding that enter the United States unassembled as a
``kit.'' A kit is understood to mean a packaged combination of
component parts that contains, at the time of importation, all of
the necessary component parts to fully assemble final, finished
scaffolding;
(d) tube and pipe hollows for redrawing;
(e) oil country tubular goods produced to API specifications;
(f) line pipe produced to only API specifications, such as API
5L, and not multi-stenciled; and
(g) mechanical tubing, whether or not cold-drawn, other than
what is included in the above paragraphs.
The products subject to this investigation are currently
classifiable in Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) statistical reporting numbers 7306.19.1010, 7306.19.1050,
7306.19.5110, 7306.19.5150, 7306.30.1000, 7306.30.5015,
7306.30.5020, 7306.30.5025, 7306.30.5032, 7306.30.5040,
7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5085, 7306.30.5090, 7306.50.1000,
7306.50.5030, 7306.50.5050, and 7306.50.5070. The HTSUS subheadings
above are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes only.
The written
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description of the scope of the investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
V. Scope Comments
VI. Use of Facts Available With Adverse Inferences
A. Application of Facts Available
B. Use of Adverse Inference
C. Selection of the Adverse Facts Available Rate
D. Corroboration of Secondary Information
VII. All-Others Rate
VIII. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies in
Companion Countervailing Duty Investigation
IX. Verification
X. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2016-13481 Filed 6-7-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P