[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 166 (Monday, August 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43644-43646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18489]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-077]


Large Diameter Welded Pipe From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that large diameter welded pipe (welded pipe) from the People's 
Republic of China (China) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of 
investigation (POI) is July 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable August 27, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Trenton Duncan or Ryan Mullen, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3539 or (202) 482-5260, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on February 
20, 2018.\1\ On June 8, 2018, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation; the revised deadline is now August 
20, 2018.\2\ For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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, and 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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, 
the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the 
Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 83 FR 7154 (February 20, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, 
the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the 
Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in 
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 83 FR 27953 (June 15, 2018).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Large 
Diameter Welded Pipe from People's Republic of China,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is welded pipe from 
China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e. scope).\5\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments 
and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this investigation, 
and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely 
received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ Commerce is 
preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. See the revised scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, 
Greece, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of 
Korea, and the Republic of Turkey: Scope Comments Decision 
Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations'' (Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum), dated June 19, 2018.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
we have preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with 
adverse inferences (AFA), for the China-wide entity. As AFA, we have 
assigned the highest margin alleged in the Petition of 132.63 
percent.\7\ For a full description of the methodology underlying 
Commerce's preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Response to the Department's 
January 23, 2018 Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume VIII of the 
Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duties,'' dated January 25, 2018,'' at Exhibit AD-CN-Supp-3.
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\8\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\9\ In this case, because no respondent 
qualified for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were 
not calculated.
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    \8\ See Initiation Notice at 7160.
    \9\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on 
Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin exists:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
                                                              average
                        Exporter                              dumping
                                                              margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
China-wide Entity.......................................          132.63
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct CBP to suspend liquidation of subject

[[Page 43645]]

merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation section 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as 
discussed below. Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash 
deposit equal to the weighted average amount by which normal value 
exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) For 
the producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the cash 
deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of 
Chinese producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that 
have not established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-
country exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the 
table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable 
to the China producer/exporter combination (or the China-wide entity) 
that supplied that third-country exporter.
    To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic 
subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. However, in this investigation, we made no adjustments to 
the China-wide entity's antidumping cash deposit rate of 132.63 percent 
because Commerce made no findings in the companion CVD investigation 
that any of the subsidies in question are export subsidies.\10\ 
Further, pursuant to section 777A(f) of the Act, we normally adjust 
cash deposit rates for estimated domestic subsidy pass-through, where 
appropriate. However, in this case there is no basis to grant a 
domestic subsidy pass-through adjustment.\11\ Thus, Commerce has not 
made an adjustment to the antidumping duty cash deposit rates under 
section 777A(f) of the Act. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \10\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \11\ Id.
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Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce 
preliminarily applied AFA to the China-wide entity in this 
investigation, in accordance with section 776 of the Act, and the 
applied AFA rate is based solely on the petition, there are no 
calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because none of the mandatory respondents in this investigation 
responded to our requests for information, verification will not be 
conducted.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments regarding non-scope issues 
may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance no later than 30 days after the date of publication of the 
preliminary determination, unless the Secretary alters the time limit. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case 
briefs.\12\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who 
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation 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.
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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Additionally, case briefs regarding scope issues may be submitted 
within 10 days after the date of this notice in the Federal Register. 
Rebuttal briefs regarding scope issues, limited to those issues in the 
scope case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the 
deadline date for scope case briefs. All scope case and rebuttal briefs 
must be filed identically on the records of this investigation and the 
concurrent AD and CVD investigations of welded pipe.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, 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.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the 
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make 
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date 
of this preliminary determination.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: August 20, 2018.
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.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is welded carbon 
and alloy steel pipe (including stainless steel pipe), more than 
406.4 mm (16 inches) in nominal outside diameter (large diameter 
welded pipe), regardless of wall thickness, length, surface finish, 
grade, end finish, or stenciling. Large diameter welded pipe may be 
used to transport oil, gas, slurry, steam, or other fluids, liquids, 
or gases. It may also be used for structural purposes, including, 
but not limited to, piling. Specifically, not included is large 
diameter welded pipe produced only to specifications of the American 
Water Works Association (AWWA) for water and sewage pipe.
    Large diameter welded pipe used to transport oil, gas, or 
natural gas liquids is normally produced to the American Petroleum 
Institute (API) specification 5L. Large diameter welded pipe may 
also be produced to American Society for Testing

[[Page 43646]]

and Materials (ASTM) standards A500, A252, or A53, or other relevant 
domestic specifications, grades and/or standards. Large diameter 
welded pipe can be produced to comparable foreign specifications, 
grades and/or standards or to proprietary specifications, grades 
and/or standards, or can be non-graded material. All pipe meeting 
the physical description set forth above is covered by the scope of 
this investigation, whether or not produced according to a 
particular standard.
    Subject merchandise also includes large diameter welded pipe 
that has been further processed in a third country, including but 
not limited to coating, painting, notching, beveling, cutting, 
punching, welding, or any other processing that would not otherwise 
remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if 
performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope large 
diameter welded pipe.
    The large diameter welded pipe that is subject to this 
investigation is currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under subheadings 
7305.11.1030, 7305.11.1060, 7305.11.5000, 7305.12.1030, 
7305.12.1060, 7305.12.5000, 7305.19.1030, 7305.19.1060, 
7305.19.5000, 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6010, 7305.31.6090, 7305.39.1000 
and 7305.39.5000. While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Discussion of the Methodology
    A. Non-Market Economy Country
    B. China-Wide Entity
    C. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences
    1. Application of Facts Available
    2. Application of Facts Available With an Adverse Inference
    3. Selection and Corroboration of the AFA Rate
VI. Adjustment Under Section 777A(f) of the Act
VII. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies
VIII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2018-18489 Filed 8-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P