2023-04574. Stainless Steel Bar From India: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022

AGENCY:

Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from India. The period of review (POR) is February 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022. This review covers four producers/exporters of the subject merchandise. We preliminarily determine that subject merchandise has not been sold at less than at normal value during this POR. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Applicable March 7, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Kolberg, AD/CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On February 21, 1995, Commerce published the antidumping duty order on stainless steel bar from India.^[1] On April 12, 2022, based on timely requests for administrative reviews, Commerce initiated an administrative review of the Order,^[2] and subsequently selected Laxcon Steels Limited (Laxcon), as the sole mandatory respondent. On October 17, 2022, we extended the preliminary results until February 28, 2023.^[3]

Scope of the Order

The product covered by this Order is stainless steel bar from India. For a full description of the scope, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[4]

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price and constructed export price are calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. NV is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act.

For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as the appendix 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 (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.

Preliminary Results of Review

We preliminarily determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the period February 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022:

Producer/exporter	Weighted- average dumping margin (percent)
Laxcon Steels Limited, and its affiliates, Ocean Steels Private Limited, Metlax International Private Limited, Parvati Private Limited, and Mega Steels Private Limited 5	0.00
Non-Selected Companies
Venus Wire Industries Pvt. Ltd., and its affiliates, Precision Metals, Hindustan Inox Ltd., and Sieves Manufacturers (India) Pvt. Ltd.6	0.00
Bhansali Bright Bars Pvt. Ltd	0.00
Bhansali Inc	0.00

Rate for Companies Not Individually Examined

The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment of a weighted-average dumping margin to be applied to companies not selected for individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation, for guidance when calculating the weighted-average dumping margin for companies which were not selected for individual examination in an administrative review. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-others rate is normally an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually examined, excluding any margins that are zero, de minimis ( i.e., less than 0.5 percent), or determined entirely on the basis of facts available. However, where the dumping margins for individually examined respondents are all zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts available, section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that Commerce may use “any reasonable method to establish the estimated all-others rate for exporters and producers not individually investigated, including averaging the estimated weighted average dumping margins determined for the exporters and producers individually investigated.” In this review, we have calculated a weighted-average dumping margin for Laxcon, the sole mandatory respondent, that is zero. Consistent with section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, we are assigning to the three companies not selected for individual examination, Venus Group, Bhansali Bright Bars Pvt. Ltd., and Bhansali Inc., the zero percent rate calculated for the mandatory respondent, Laxcon.

Disclosure

We intend to disclose the calculations performed for these preliminary results to the interested parties within five days after public announcement of the preliminary results in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Public Comment

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case briefs to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance not later than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice, unless Commerce alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than seven days after the date for filing case briefs.^[7] Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this administrative review 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.^[8] Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for service of documents containing business proprietary information, until further notice.^[9]

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. An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.^[10] 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. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the respective case briefs. Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in any written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register , pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, unless extended.

Assessment Rate

Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.^[11] If a respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is above de minimis in the final results of this review, we will calculate an importer-specific assessment rate based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for each importer's examined sales and the total entered value of the sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).^[12] If a respondent's weighted-average dumping margin or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties in accordance with the Final Modification for Reviews.^[13]

For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by Laxcon for which they did not know their merchandise was destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.

The final results of this administrative review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise under review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.

We intend to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after 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., within 90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following cash deposit requirements for estimated antidumping duties will be effective upon publication of the notice of final results of this review for all shipments of stainless steel bar from India entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the company listed above will be established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent and, therefore, de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for merchandise exported by companies not covered in this review but covered in a prior segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the LTFV investigation but the producer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recently completed segment for the producer of the merchandise; (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will continue to be the 12.45 percent, the all-others rate established in the LTFV investigation.^[14] These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this period of review. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

Commerce is issuing and publishing these results in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

Dated: February 28, 2023.

Abdelali Elouaradia,

Deputy 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. Affiliation and Collapsing

V. Discussion of the Methodology

VI. Currency Conversion

VII. Recommendation

Footnotes

1.   See Antidumping Duty Orders: Stainless Steel Bar from Brazil, India and Japan,60 FR 9661 (February 21, 1995) ( Order).

2.   See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews,87 FR 21619 (April 12, 2022).

3.   See Memorandum, “Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022,” dated October 17, 2022.

4.   See Memorandum, “Stainless Steel Bar from India: Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum), at 2-3.

5.  Collectively, these companies are known as Laxcon.

6.  Collectively, these companies are known as Venus Group.

7.   See19 CFR 351.309(d); see also19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).

8.   See19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).

9.   See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period,85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).

10.   See19 CFR 351.310(c).

11.   See19 CFR 351.212(b).

12.  In these preliminary results, Commerce applied the assessment rate calculation method adopted in Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Duty Proceedings; Final Modification,77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012) ( Final Modification for Reviews).

13.   Id., 77 FR at 8103; see also19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).

14.   See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Stainless Steel Bar from India,59 FR 66915, 66921 (December 28, 1994).