Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Korea: Negative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Negative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances and Postponement of Final Determination
Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)
Federal Register Volume 79, Number 37 (Tuesday, February 25, 2014)
Notices
Pages 10480-10482
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2014-04110
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
A-580-870
Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From the Republic of Korea: Negative Preliminary 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 (OCTG) from the Republic of Korea is not being, or is not 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 are shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. The Department preliminarily found that critical circumstances do not exist. Finally, in response to a request from petitioners, we are postponing the final determination. The final determination will be issued 135 days after the publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal Register. We invite interested parties to comment on the preliminary determination.
DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victoria Cho or Deborah Scott, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
5075 or (202) 482-2657, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 2, 2013, the Department received an antidumping duty (AD) petition \1\ concerning imports of OCTG from Korea filed in proper form on behalf of the petitioners.\2\ On July 22, 2013, the Department initiated a LTFV investigation of OCTG from Korea.\3\ On December 18, 2013, petitioners filed a timely critical circumstances allegation. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.206(c)(2)(i), when a critical circumstances allegation is submitted 20 days or more before the scheduled date of the preliminary determination, the Department will issue a preliminary finding not later than the preliminary determination.\4\
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\1\ See Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From India, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, dated July 2, 2013.
\2\ United States Steel Corporation, Vallourec Star L.P., TMK IPSCO, Energex (division of JMC Steel Group), Northwest Pipe Company, Tejas Tubular Products, Welded Tube USA Inc., Boomerang Tube LLC, and Maverick Tube Corporation (collectively, petitioners).
\3\ See Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from India, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations, 78 FR 45505 (July 29, 2013) (Initiation Notice).
\4\ Petitioners also alleged critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of merchandise in the companion CVD investigations. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.206(c)(2)(ii), the Department issued preliminary critical circumstances findings in those investigations on January 17, 2014. On December 31, 2013, the Department requested that respondents report their shipment data for a three-year period ending in February 2014, the month of the preliminary AD determinations, requesting Quantity and Value (Q&V) data from April 2010 to February 2014. On January 7, 2014 and January 17, 2014, HYSCO and NEXTEEL submitted its requested monthly Q&V shipment data for the months, April 2010 through December 2013, respectively.
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Page 10481
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. For a complete description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix I to this notice.
Tolling of Deadlines for Preliminary Determination
As explained in the memorandum from the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, the Department exercised its discretion to toll deadlines for the duration of the closure of the Federal Government from October 1, through October 16, 2013.\5\ 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.\6\ The revised deadline for the preliminary determination of this investigation is now February 14, 2014.\7\
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\5\ See Memorandum for the Record from Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated October 18, 2013.
\6\ 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).
\7\ 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). 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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Methodology
The Department has conducted this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Export price (EP) and constructed export price (CEP) have been calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value (NV) has been calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act.
For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Republic of Korea,'' from Gary Taverman, Senior Advisor for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, dated concurrently with this determination and hereby adopted by this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). A list of the topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Attachment II 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 (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, petitioners filed a timely critical circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206(c)(1), alleging that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of the merchandise under consideration. Based on our analysis, we preliminarily determine that there is not a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that critical circumstances exist with respect to OCTG from Korea. For a full description of the methodology and results of our analysis, please see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Determination
The Department preliminarily determines that the following weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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Weighted-
average
Exporter or producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Hyundai HYSCO............................................... 0.00
NEXTEEL Co., Ltd............................................ 0.00
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Consistent with section 733(d)(1)(A) of the Act, the Department has not calculated a weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers or exporters because it has not made an affirmative preliminary determination of sales at less than fair value.
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.\8\ 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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\8\ 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.\9\ 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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\9\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Page 10482
Suspension of Liquidation
Because the Department has not made an affirmative preliminary determination of sales at less than fair value, we are not directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of any entries of OCTG from Korea.
Postponement of Final Determination
Pursuant to a request from U.S. Steel \10\ in this investigation, we are postponing the final determination pursuant to 735(a)(2)(B) of the Act. Because our preliminary determination is negative, in accordance with section 735(a)(2)(B) of the Act, we are granting U.S. Steel's request and are postponing the final determination until no later than 135 days after the publication of the preliminary determination notice in the Federal Register.\11\
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\10\ On February 11, 2014, petitioner, United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel), requested that the Department postpone the final determination in the event of a negative preliminary determination.
\11\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(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 negative determination of sales at LTFV. If our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after our final determination whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
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 I
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.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
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Summary
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Background
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Period of Investigation
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Postponement of Final Determination
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Scope of the Investigation
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Scope Comments
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Model Match Comments
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Affiliation
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Critical Circumstances
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Discussion of Methodology
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Currency Conversion
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Verification
FR Doc. 2014-04110 Filed 2-24-14; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
