2016-14070. Diffusion-Annealed, Nickel-Plated Flat-Rolled Steel Products From Japan: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2013-2015

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated flat-rolled steel products from Japan.^[1] The period of review (POR) is November 19, 2013, through April 30, 2015. The review covers one producer/exporter of the subject merchandise, Toyo Kohan Co., Ltd. (Toyo Kohan). We preliminarily determine that sales of subject merchandise by Toyo Kohan were not made at less than normal value during the POR. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Effective June 17, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Dena Crossland or Brian Davis, 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: [phone] or [phone], respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Order

The diffusion-annealed, nickel-plated flat-rolled steel products included in this order are flat-rolled, cold-reduced steel products, regardless of chemistry; whether or not in coils; either plated or coated with nickel or nickel-based alloys and subsequently annealed (i.e., “diffusion-annealed”); whether or not painted, varnished or coated with plastics or other metallic or nonmetallic substances; and less than or equal to 2.0 mm in nominal thickness. For purposes of this order, “nickel-based alloys” include all nickel alloys with other metals in which nickel accounts for at least 80 percent of the alloy by volume.

Imports of merchandise included in the scope of this order are classified primarily under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 7212.50.0000 and 7210.90.6000, but may also be classified under HTSUS subheadings 7210.70.6090, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7219.90.0020, 7219.90.0025, 7219.90.0060, 7219.90.0080, 7220.90.0010, 7220.90.0015, 7225.99.0090, or 7226.99.0180. The foregoing HTSUS subheadings are provided only for convenience and customs purposes. The written description of the scope of this order is dispositive.

Methodology

The Department is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price is calculated in accordance with section 772 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 memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for AD/CVD Operations, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, titled “Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Diffusion-Annealed, Nickel-Plated Flat-Rolled Steel Products from Japan; 2013-2015” (Preliminary Decision Memorandum), which is issued concurrent with and hereby adopted by 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 to ACCESS is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov and is available 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 accessed directly on the Internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/​frn/​index.html. A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as an Appendix to this notice. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Results of Review

We preliminarily determine that, for the period November 19, 2013, through April 30, 2015, the following dumping margin exists:

Manufacturer/exporter	Weighted- average margin (percent)
Toyo Kohan Co., Ltd	0.00

Disclosure and Public Comment

The Department will disclose to parties to the proceeding any calculations performed in connection with these preliminary results of review within five days after the date of publication of this notice.^[2] Interested parties may submit case briefs to the Department in response to these preliminary results no later than 30 days after the publication of these preliminary results.^[3] Rebuttal briefs, the content of which is limited to the issues raised in the case briefs, must be filed within five days from the deadline date for the submission of case briefs.^[4]

Parties who submit arguments in this proceeding are requested to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.^[5] Executive summaries should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. Case and rebuttal briefs should be filed using ACCESS.^[6] In order to be properly filed, ACCESS must successfully receive an electronically-filed document in its entirety by 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Case and rebuttal briefs must be served on interested parties.^[7]

Within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice, interested parties may request a public hearing on arguments raised in the case and rebuttal briefs.^[8] Unless the Department specifies otherwise, the hearing, if requested, will be held two days after the date for submission of rebuttal briefs.^[9] Written argument and hearing requests should be electronically submitted to the Department via ACCESS.^[10] The Department's electronic records system, ACCESS, must successfully receive an electronically-filed document in its entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. 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 and rebuttal briefs.^[11] Parties will be notified of the time and location of the hearing.

The Department intends to publish the final results of this administrative review, including the results of its analysis of issues addressed in any case or rebuttal brief, no later than 120 days after publication of the preliminary results, unless extended.^[12]

Assessment Rates

Upon completion of this administrative review, the Department shall determine, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries.^[13] If Toyo Kohan's weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis in the final results of this review, we will calculate importer-specific assessment rates on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of antidumping duties calculated for an importer's examined sales and the total entered value of such sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). If Toyo Kohan's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, we will instruct CBP not to assess duties on any of its entries in accordance with the Final Modification for Reviews, i.e., “{w}here the weighted-average margin of dumping for the exporter is determined to be zero or de minimis, no antidumping duties will be assessed.” ^[14] 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.

For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by Toyo Kohan for which it did not know its 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 intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction. The all-others rate is 45.42 percent.^[15] We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after publication of the final results of this review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the final results of this administrative review for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for Toyo Kohan will be that established in the final results of this administrative review (except, if the rate is zero or de minimis, no cash deposit will be required); (2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers or exporters 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 in the less-than-fair value investigation but the manufacturer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent period for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers or exporters will continue to be the all-others rate of 45.42 percent, which is the all-others rate established in the investigation.^[16] These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

This notice also serves as a 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 review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the Department's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

Dated: June 6, 2016.

Paul Piquado,

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Summary

2. Background

3. Scope of the Order

4. Comparisons to Normal Value

A. Determination of Comparison Method

B. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis

5. Product Comparisons

6. Date of Sale

7. Export Price

8. Normal Value

A. Home Market Viability as Comparison Market

B. Level of Trade

C. Sales to Affiliated Customers

D. Cost of Production

1. Calculation of Cost of Production

2. Test of Comparison Market Sales Prices

3. Results of the Cost of Production Test

E. Calculation of Normal Value Based on Comparison Market Prices

F. Price-to-CV Comparison

G. Constructed Value

9. Currency Conversion

10. Recommendation

Footnotes

1.  See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 80 FR 37588 (July 1, 2015).

2.  See 19 CFR 351.224(b).

3.  See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).

4.  See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1) and (2).

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

6.  See generally 19 CFR 351.303.

7.  See 19 CFR 351.303(f).

8.  See 19 CFR 351.310(c).

9.  See 19 CFR 351.310(d)(1).

10.  See generally 19 CFR 351.303.

11.  See 19 CFR 351.310(c).

12.  See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; 19 CFR 351.213(h).

13.  See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).

14.  See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8102 (February 14, 2012) (Final Modification for Reviews).

15.  See Diffusion-Annealed, Nickel-Plated Flat-Rolled Steel Products From Japan: Antidumping Duty Order, 79 FR 30816, 30817 (May 29, 2014) (Order).

16.  See Order, 79 FR at 30817.