2024-10233. Carbon Steel Flanges From Spain: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Rescission of Review in Part; 2022-2023

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that carbon steel flanges from Spain were sold in the United States at prices below normal value. The period of review (POR) is June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023. We are also rescinding this administrative review, in part, with respect to seven companies because the requests for administrative review were timely withdrawn. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Applicable May 10, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jacob Waddell or Mark Flessner, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone] or [phone], respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On June 4, 2017. Commerce issued an antidumping duty order on finished carbon steel flanges from Spain.^[1] On August 3, 2023, based on timely requests for administrative review, Commerce initiated an administrative review of the Order .^[2] All requests for administrative review were timely withdrawn with regard to seven companies,^[3] leaving ULMA Forja, S.Coop (ULMA) as the sole mandatory respondent in this review.^[4] On February 9, 2024, in accordance with section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce extended the preliminary results of review until June 28, 2024.^[5]

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this administrative review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[6] A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix I to this notice. 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. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/​public/​FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Scope of the Order

The product covered by the Order is carbon steel flanges from Spain. For a complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance with section 751(a)(2) of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Constructed export prices have been calculated in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Normal value 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.

Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an administrative review, in whole or in part, if the party or parties that requested a review withdraws the request within 90 days of the publication of the notice of initiation of the requested review. As noted above, all requests for an administrative review were timely withdrawn for all companies except ULMA. Therefore, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), we are rescinding this administrative review with respect to seven of the eight companies named in the Initiation Notice .^[7]

Preliminary Results of Review

Commerce preliminarily finds the following estimated weighted-average dumping margin exists for the period June 1, 2021, through May 31, 2023:

Exporter/producer	Weighted- average dumping margin (percent)
ULMA Forja, S.Coop	2.02

Disclosure and Public Comment

We intend to disclose to interested parties the calculations performed for these preliminary results within five days after public announcement of the preliminary results, or if there is no public announcement, within five days of the publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register , in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Interested parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication of these preliminary results of review.^[8] Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later than five days after the date for filing case briefs.^[9] Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.^[10]

As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior proceedings, we have encouraged interested parties to provide an executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that interested parties provide, at the beginning of their briefs, a public executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.^[11] Further, we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the final results in this administrative review. We request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the public executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).^[12]

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 by Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.^[13] 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.

Assessment Rate

Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.^[14]

For any individually examined respondents whose weighted-average dumping margin is above de minimis ( i.e., greater than or equal to 0.5 percent) in the final results of this review, we will calculate importer-specific ad valorem duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the total amount of antidumping duties calculated for the examined sales to the total entered value of the examined sales to that importer, and we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review. For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by each respondent for which it did not know its merchandise was destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.^[15] Where the individually-selected respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.

For the companies listed in Appendix II for which we are rescinding this review, we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i). Commerce intends to issue these rescission instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register .

Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal Register .^[16] 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 will be effective upon publication of the notice of final results of this administrative review for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication, as provided by section 751(a)(2) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the companies listed in the final results of review will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin established in the final results of this administrative review; (2) for merchandise exported by producers or exporters not covered in this review but covered in a prior segment of the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in which they were reviewed; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original investigation but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding for the producer of the merchandise; (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will continue to be 2.02 percent, the all-others rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation.^[17] These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Final Results of Review

Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative review, which will include the results of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs, within 120 days of publication of these preliminary results of review, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

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 POR. 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 preliminary results in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

Dated: May 6, 2024.

Ryan Majerus,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary

II. Background

III. Scope of the Order

IV. Rescission of Administrative Review, In Part

V. Discussion of the Methodology

VI. Currency Conversion

VII. Recommendation

Appendix II

Companies for Which This Administrative Review is Being Rescinded

1. Aleaciones De Metales Sinterizados S.A.

2. Central Y Almacenes

3. Farina Group Spain

4. Friedrich Geldbach Gmbh

5. Grupo Cunado

6. Transglory S.A.

7. Tubacero, S.L.

Footnotes

1.   See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain: Antidumping Duty Order,82 FR 27229 (June 14, 2017) ( Order).

2.   See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews,88 FR 51271 (August 3, 2023) ( Initiation Notice).

3.   See Weldbend Corporation's Letter, “Withdrawal of Request for Administrative Review,” dated September 5, 2023.

4.   See Memorandum, “Identification of Mandatory Respondent for the 2022-2023 Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain,” dated September 15, 2023.

5.   See Memorandum, “Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,” dated February 9, 2024.

6.   See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

7.   See Appendix II for a list of these companies.

8.   See19 CFR 351.309(c)(ii).

9.   See19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 2023) ( APO and Service Final Rule).

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

11.  We use the term “issue” here to describe an argument that Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

12.   See APO and Service Final Rule.

13.   See19 CFR 351.310(c).

14.   See19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).

15.  For a full discussion of this clarification, see Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties,68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).

16.   See Notice of Discontinuation of Policy to Issue Liquidation Instructions After 15 Days in Applicable Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Proceedings,86 FR 884 (January 15, 2021).

17.   See Order, 82 FR at 27230.