2020-00642. Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-2018

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on circular welded non-alloy steel pipe (CWP) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). The period of review (POR) is November 1, 2017 through October 31, 2018. Commerce preliminarily determines that the producers/exporters subject to this review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Applicable January 16, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jerry Huang or Justin Neuman, AD/CVD Operations, Office V, 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 February 6, 2019, Commerce initiated the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on CWP from Korea in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).^[1] This review covers 25 companies,^[2] including mandatory respondents Husteel Co., Ltd. (Husteel) and Nexteel Co., Ltd. (Nexteel).^[3] The remaining 23 companies were not selected for individual examination and remain subject to this administrative review. Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the partial federal government closure from December 22, 2018 through the resumption of operations on January 29, 2019, resulting in a revised deadline for these preliminary results.^[4] Additionally, Commerce extended the deadline for the preliminary results until January 9, 2020.^[5]

Scope of the Order

The merchandise subject to the order is circular welded non-alloy steel pipe and tube. Imports of the product are currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under subheadings 7306.30.1000, 7306.30.5025, 7306.30.5032, 7306.30.5040, 7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5085, and 7306.30.5090. While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description is dispositive. A full description of the scope of the order is contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[6]

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying these preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of the topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an 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,, and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is available at http://enforcement.trade.gov/​frn/​. The signed and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Rate for Non-Examined Companies

The statute and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment of a rate 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 market economy investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate 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 investigated, excluding any zero or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely {on the basis of facts available}.”

In this review, we have preliminarily calculated weighted-average dumping margins for Husteel and Nexteel that are not zero, de minimis, or determined entirely on the basis of facts available. Accordingly, we have preliminarily assigned to the companies not individually examined in this review a margin of 23.74 percent, which is the weighted-average of the antidumping duty margins calculated using the public ranged sales data of Husteel and Nexteel.^[7]

Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review

We preliminarily determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the respondents for the period November 1, 2017 through October 31, 2018:

Producer and/or exporter	Weighted- average dumping margin (percent)
Aju Besteel	23.74
Bookook Steel	23.74
Chang Won Bending	23.74
Dae Ryung	23.74
Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (Dsme)	23.74
Daiduck Piping	23.74
Dong Yang Steel Pipe	23.74
Dongbu Steel	23.74
Eew Korea Company	23.74
Histeel	23.74
Husteel Co., Ltd	5.11
Hyundai Rb	23.74
Hyundai Steel (Pipe Division)	23.74
Hyundai Steel Company	23.74
Kiduck Industries	23.74
Kum Kang Kind	23.74
Kumsoo Connecting	23.74
Miju Steel Manufacturing	23.74
Nexteel Co., Ltd	31.64
Samkang M&T	23.74
Seah Fs	23.74
Seah Steel	23.74
Steel Flower	23.74
Vesta Co., Ltd	23.74
Yep Co	23.74

Disclosure and Public Comment

We intend to disclose the calculations performed for these preliminary results to the parties within five days after public announcement of the preliminary results in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case briefs not later than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing case briefs.^[8] 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.^[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 by the Department's electronic records system, 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 will 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 this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

Upon completion of this administrative review, Commerce shall determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. If Husteel or Nexteel's weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 percent) in the final results of this review, we will calculate importer-specific ad valorem antidumping duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's examined sales to the total entered value of those same sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). We will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review when the importer-specific assessment rate calculated in the final results of this review is not zero or de minimis. If a respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties. The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.^[11]

In accordance with Commerce's “automatic assessment” practice, for entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by Husteel or Nexteel for which it did not know that the merchandise was destined to the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate those entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.^[12]

We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after publication of the final results of this review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the notice of final results of this review for all shipments of CWP from Korea 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 companies subject to this review will be the rates established in the final results of the 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 recent period; (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 recent period for the producer of the merchandise; (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will continue to be 4.80 percent,^[13] the all-others rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation, adjusted for the export-subsidy rate in the companion countervailing duty investigation.

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 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.

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: January 9, 2020.

Jeffrey I. Kessler,

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. Rates for Respondents Not Selected for Individual Examination

V. Discussion of the Methodology

VI. Export Price and Constructed Export Price

VII. Normal Value

VIII. Currency Conversion

IX. Recommendation

Footnotes

1.  See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 2159 (February 6, 2019).

2.  Id. at 2161-2162.

3.  See Memorandum to the Record from Gary Taverman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, “Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from the Republic of Korea, Respondent Selection Memorandum”, dated March 25, 2019.

4.  See Memorandum, “Deadlines Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,” dated January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 40 days.

5.  See Memorandum, “Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Republic of Korea: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of 2017-2018 Antidumping Administrative Review,” dated August 27, 2019.

6.  For a full description of the scope of the order, see Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from the Republic of Korea: 2017-2018,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

7.  For a full description of the rate for non-examined companies, see Preliminary Decision Memorandum; see also Memorandum, “Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from the Republic of Korea: Calculation of the Margin for Respondents Not Selected for Individual Examination,” dated January 9, 2020.

8.  See 19 CFR 351.309(d).

9.  See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).

10.  See 19 CFR 351.310(c).

11.  See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.

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

13.  See Notice of Antidumping Duty Orders: Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Brazil, the Republic of Korea (Korea), Mexico, and Venezuela, and Amendment to Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Circular Welded Non-Alloy Steel Pipe from Korea, 57 FR 49453 (November 2, 1992).