[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 41 (Wednesday, March 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11688-11690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04355]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-580-837]


Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate From the 
Republic of Korea: Preliminary Results and Preliminary Intent To 
Rescind, in Part, the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2020

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain exporters/producers of certain cut-to-length plate (CTL 
plate) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) received countervailable 
subsidies during the period of review (POR), January 1, 2020, through 
December 31, 2020. Commerce preliminarily determines that the mandatory 
respondent, Hyundai Steel Company (Hyundai Steel), received de minimis 
net countervailable subsidies during the POR. Commerce preliminarily 
determines that Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. (DSM), which was not 
individually examined in this review, received net

[[Page 11689]]

countervailable subsidies. We invite interested parties to comment on 
these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable March 2, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Berger, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2483.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 10, 2000, Commerce published in the Federal Register 
the countervailing duty (CVD) order on CTL plate from Korea.\1\ On 
February 2, 2021, Commerce published in the Federal Register its 
initiation of the CVD administrative review of the Order for the period 
of January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020.\2\ On June 3, 2021, Commerce 
selected Hyundai Steel as the sole mandatory respondent in this 
administrative review.\3\
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    \1\ See Notice of Amended Final Determinations: Certain Cut-to-
Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from India and the Republic of 
Korea; and Notice of Countervailing Duty Orders: Certain Cut-To-
Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from France, India, Indonesia, 
Italy, and the Republic of Korea, 65 FR 6587 (February 10, 2000) 
(Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 86 FR 17124 (April 1, 2021).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Administrative Review of the 
Countervailing Duty Order of Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality 
Steel Plate from the Republic of Korea; Respondent Selection,'' 
dated June 3, 2021.
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    On October 1, 2021, Commerce extended the deadline for issuance of 
the preliminary results of this review by 117 days, until February 25, 
2022, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2).\4\
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel 
Plate from the Republic of Korea: Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review; 2020: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results,'' dated 
October 1, 2021.
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    A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
is included in the appendix to this notice. For a complete description 
of the events that followed the initiation of this review, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ 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.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 2020: 
Certain Cut-To-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from the Republic 
of Korea,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this Order is certain cut-to-length carbon-
quality steel plate. For a complete description of the scope of the 
Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Intent To Rescind Administrative Review, in Part

    Based on our analysis of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
data and comments received from interested parties, we preliminarily 
determine that two companies, BDP International and Sung Jin Steel Co., 
Ltd, had no reviewable shipments, sales or entries of subject 
merchandise during the POR.
    Absent any evidence of shipments placed on the record, pursuant to 
19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), we intend to rescind the administrative review of 
these companies in the final results of review. For further 
information, see ``Preliminary Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, 
in Part'' in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this CVD administrative review in accordance 
with section 751(a)(l)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Act). For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we 
preliminarily determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial 
contribution by an ``authority'' that confers a benefit to the 
recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\6\ For a full description 
of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.
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    \6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Rate for Non-Selected Companies Under Review

    To determine the rate for companies not selected for individual 
examination, Commerce's practice is to follow the instructions to 
calculate the all-others rate under section 705(c)(5) of the Act and 
weight average the net subsidy rates for the selected mandatory 
companies, excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely 
on facts available.\7\ In this review, we preliminarily calculated a de 
minimis subsidy rate for the sole mandatory respondent (i.e., Hyundai 
Steel) during the POR. In CVD proceedings, where the number of 
respondents being individually examined has been limited, Commerce has 
determined that a ``reasonable method'' to use to determine the rate 
applicable to companies that were not individually examined when all 
the rates of selected mandatory respondents are zero or de minimis is 
to assign to the non-selected respondents the average of the most 
recently determined rates that are not zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts available.\8\ However, if a non-selected respondent 
has its own calculated rate that is contemporaneous with or more recent 
than such previous rates, Commerce has found it appropriate to apply 
that calculated rate to the non-selected respondent, even when that 
rate is zero or de minimis.\9\
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    \7\ See, e.g., Certain Pasta from Italy: Final Results of the 
13th (2008) Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 75 FR 37386, 
37387 (June 29, 2010).
    \8\ See, e.g., Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate 
from the Republic of Korea: Final Results of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; Calendar Year 2018, 85 FR 84296 (December 28, 
2020).
    \9\ See Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from the Republic of 
Turkey: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review and Intent To Rescind the Review In Part; 2017, 85 FR 3030 
(January 17, 2020), unchanged in Steel Concrete Reinforcing Bar from 
the Republic of Turkey: Final Results and Partial Rescission of 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2017, 85 FR 42353 (July 
14, 2020).
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    In this case, Commerce calculated a company-specific rate for DSM 
in the administrative review covering 2018, while a more 
contemporaneous above de minimis rate of 0.56 percent was calculated in 
the most recently completed administrative review for Hyundai Steel, 
covering 2019. Therefore, consistent with Commerce's practice described 
above, we are assigning the rate of 0.56 percent ad valorem, calculated 
for Hyundai Steel in the most recently completed administrative review, 
to DSM.\10\
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    \10\ For additional information, see Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum at ``Non-Selected Rate.''
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Preliminary Results of Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the 
following net countervailable subsidy rates for the period January 1, 
2020, through December 31, 2020:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           Net countervailable subsidy
                Company                           rate (percent)
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Hyundai Steel Company..................  0.26 (de minimis).
Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd............  0.56.
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Assessment Rate

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), Commerce has

[[Page 11690]]

preliminarily assigned subsidy rates as indicated above. Consistent 
with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, upon issuance of the final 
results, Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate 
entries covered by this review. 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. 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 Rate

    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing 
duties in the amount indicated above with regard to shipments of 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of 
this review. For all non-reviewed firms, we will instruct CBP to 
continue to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties at 
the most recent company-specific or all-others rate applicable to the 
company, as appropriate. These cash deposit instructions, when imposed, 
shall remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose to parties to this proceeding the 
calculations performed in reaching the preliminary results within five 
days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.\11\ Commerce intends to issue a post-preliminary analysis 
memorandum subsequent to the publication of this notice to address the 
new subsidy allegations submitted by the petitioner, Covid-19 fee 
reductions self-reported by Hyundai Steel, and whether to attribute any 
potential subsidies received by Hyundai Green Power to Hyundai Steel. 
Commerce will notify the parties to this proceeding of the deadlines 
for the submission of case and rebuttal briefs after the issuance of 
the post-preliminary analysis memorandum. Rebuttal briefs, limited to 
issues raised in case briefs, may be filed within seven days \12\ after 
the time limit for filing case briefs. Parties who submit case or 
rebuttal briefs 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.\13\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified 
certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business 
proprietary information, until further notice.\14\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \12\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \14\ See Temporary Rule.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must do so within 30 days of publication of these 
preliminary results by submitting a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance using ACCESS.\15\ Requests 
should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the 
number of participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. 
Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the 
respective case and rebuttal briefs.\16\ If a request for a hearing is 
made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be 
determined.\17\ Parties should confirm the date and time of the hearing 
two days before the scheduled date. Parties are reminded that all 
briefs and hearing requests must be filed electronically using ACCESS 
and received successfully in their entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time 
on the due date.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \16\ Id.
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
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    Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of 
the Act, Commerce intends to issue the final results of this 
administrative review, including the results of its analysis of the 
issues raised by parties in their comments, within 120 days after the 
date of publication of these preliminary results.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This administrative review and notice are issued and published in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.213 and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: February 23, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Review
IV. Preliminary Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, In Part
V. Non-Selected Rate
VI. Scope of the Order
VII. Subsidies Valuation Information
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-04355 Filed 3-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P