2021-13621. Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2019-2020

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that Hyundai Steel Company (Hyundai Steel) and three non-examined companies made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) February 1, 2019, through January 31, 2020. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results of review.

DATES:

Applicable June 25, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael A. Romani, 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 April 8, 2020, Commerce initiated the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon-quality steel plate products (CTL plate) from the Republic of Korea (Korea).^[1]

On April 24, 2020, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative reviews by 50 days, thereby tolling the deadline for the preliminary results of review.^[2] On July 21, 2020, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative reviews by an additional 60 days, thereby tolling the deadline for the preliminary results of review until February 18, 2020.^[3] On January 26, 2021, Commerce extended the time limit for issuing the preliminary results of this review by 120 days, to no later than June 18, 2021.^[4] For a complete description of the events between the initiation of this review and these preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[5]

Scope of the Order

The products covered by the antidumping duty order are certain CTL plate from Korea. 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 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. 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. A list of the topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included in 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 http://access.trade.gov. In addition, the signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/​frn/​.

Rates 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 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 a weighted-average dumping margin for Hyundai Steel Company (Hyundai Steel) that is not zero, de minimis, or determined entirely on the basis of facts available. Accordingly, Commerce preliminarily has assigned to the companies not individually examined, BDP International, Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd., and Sung Jin Steel Co., Ltd.,^[7] a margin of 0.68 percent based on Hyundai Steel's calculated weighted-average dumping margin.

Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review

We preliminarily determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the respondents for the period February 1, 2019, through January 31, 2020:

Producer/exporter	Weighted- average dumping margin (percent)
Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd	0.68
Hyundai Steel Company	0.68
BDP International	0.68
Sung Jin Steel Co., Ltd	0.68

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 seven days after the date for filing case briefs.^[8] Commerce has modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary information until further notice.^[9] 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.^[10]

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. 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. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date. An electronically filed hearing request 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.^[11]

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 this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

Upon issuing 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.^[12] If a respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is above de minimis (i.e., 0.50 percent) in the final results of this review, we intend to 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).^[13] If the respondent's weighted-average dumping margin or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis in the final results of this review, we will instruct CBP not to assess duties on any of its entries in accordance with the Final Modification for Reviews.^[14] 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.

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

For the companies identified above that were not selected for individual examination, we will instruct CBP to liquidate entries at the rates listed above.

We intend 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. 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 CTL plate 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 equal to the weighted-average dumping margins established in the final results of the review; (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 original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recently completed segment for the producer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will continue to be 0.98 percent,^[15] the all-others rate established in the LTFV 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.

Administrative Protective Orders

This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a violation subject to sanctions.

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: June 15, 2021.

Christian Marsh,

Acting 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 Non-Examined Companies

V. Discussion of the Methodology

VI. Currency Conversion

VII. Recommendation

Footnotes

1.  See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 85 FR 19730, 189735 (April 8, 2020) (Initiation Notice).

2.  See Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews in Response to Operational Adjustments Due to COVID-19,” dated April 24, 2020.

3.  See Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews,” dated July 21, 2020.

4.  See Memorandum, “Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products from the Republic of Korea: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2019-2020,” dated January 26, 2021.

5.  See Memorandum, “Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products from the Republic of Korea: Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2019-2020,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

6.  See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at “Scope of the Order.”

7.  See Initiation Notice, 85 FR at 19735.

8.  See 19 CFR 351.309(d).

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

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

11.  See 19 CFR 351.310(c).

12.  See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).

13.  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).

14.  See Final Modification for Reviews, 77 FR 8103; see also 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).

15.  See, e.g., Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate Products from the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016-2017, 83 FR 32629, 32630 (July 13, 2018).