[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14511-14514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05381]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-143]


Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof From 
the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative 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 freight rail coupler systems and certain components thereof 
(freight rail couplers) from the People's Republic of China (China) are 
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair 
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is January 1, 2021, through 
June 30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable March 15, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kabir Archuletta, 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) 482-2593.

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 October 25, 
2021.\1\ For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\2\ 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. 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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    \1\ See Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components 
Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 86 FR 58864 (October 25, 2021) 
(Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Freight 
Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from the 
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 products covered by this investigation are freight rail coupler 
systems and certain components thereof 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,\3\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\4\ In November 2021, 
we received timely scope comments from two interested parties,\5\

[[Page 14512]]

as well as timely rebuttal scope comments from the petitioner.\6\ In 
February and March 2022, at our request,\7\ we received additional 
information, as well as additional comments, from interested parties 
regarding merchandise under consideration attached to rail cars.\8\ 
Because this information was submitted in close proximity to this 
preliminary determination, we intend to evaluate it and issue a 
decision regarding the scope of this investigation after this 
preliminary determination.
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    \3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \4\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR 58865.
    \5\ See Strato Inc. (Strato)'s Letter, ``Strato Scope Comments: 
Antidumping & Countervailing Duty Investigation of Freight Rail 
Coupler Systems and Components Thereof from the People's Republic of 
China,'' dated November 8, 2021; see also Wabtec Corporation's 
(Wabtec's) Letter, ``Certain Freight Rail Coupler Systems and 
Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Comment on 
the Proposed Scope of the Investigation,'' dated November 8, 2021.
    \6\ The petitioner is the Coalition of Freight Coupler 
Producers. See Petitioner's Letter, ``Freight Rail Car Coupler 
Systems and Certain Components Thereof from the People's Republic of 
China: Rebuttal Scope Comments,'' dated November 18, 2021.
    \7\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Less-Than-Fair Value Investigation 
of Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from 
the People's Republic of China: Request for Additional Scope 
Comments,'' dated February 11, 2022.
    \8\ See Strato's Letter, ``Response to Scope Questions: 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigation of Freight Rail 
Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from the People's 
Republic of China (A-570-143/C-570-144),'' dated February 22, 2022; 
see also Wabtec's Letter, ``Certain Freight Rail Coupler Systems and 
Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Additional 
Scope Comments'' dated February 22, 2022; see also Petitioner's 
Letter, ``Freight Rail Car Coupler Systems and Certain Components 
Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Petitioner's Response 
to Request for Scope Comments,'' dated February 22, 2022; see also 
Strato's Letter, ``Strato, Inc., Reply to Petitioners Response to 
Scope Questions: Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from 
the People's Republic of China (A-570-143/C-570-144),'' dated March 
1, 2022; see also Wabtec's Letter, ``Certain Freight Rail Coupler 
Systems and Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: 
Rebuttal Scope Comments,'' dated March 1, 2022; see also 
Petitioner's Letter, ``Freight Rail Car Coupler Systems and Certain 
Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Petitioner's 
Rebuttal Response to Strato and Wabtec's Additional Scope 
Comments,'' dated March 1, 2022.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
we have preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with 
adverse inferences (AFA) for the China-wide entity. The China-wide 
entity includes both companies selected for individual examination, 
because they failed to respond to Commerce's questionnaire, and all 
other exporters who responded to Commerce's quantity and value (Q&V) 
questionnaire, because they failed to submit a separate rate 
application, as instructed in the Initiation Notice.\9\ Because no 
companies are eligible for a rate separate from the China-wide entity, 
all exporters of Chinese freight rail couplers are preliminarily found 
to be part of the China-wide entity. We assigned the highest margin 
alleged in the petition (i.e., 147.11 percent) to the China-wide entity 
as AFA, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full 
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \9\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR at 58868 (``Commerce requires 
that respondents from China submit a response to both the Q&V 
questionnaire and the separate rate application by the respective 
deadlines in order to receive consideration for separate-rate 
status'').
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice, Commerce stated that it would calculate 
producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that are 
eligible for a separate rate in this investigation.\10\ Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\11\ In this case, because no companies 
qualified for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were 
not calculated for this preliminary determination.\12\
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    \10\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR 58868.
    \11\ 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.
    \12\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
dumping margins exist:

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                                                                                        Estimated dumping margin
                                                              Estimated dumping margin     adjusted for export
                      Exporter/producer                               (percent)             subsidy offset(s)
                                                                                                (percent)
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China-Wide Entity...........................................                   147.11                    116.70
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    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 all Chinese 
exporters of subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be equal 
to the estimated dumping margin established for the China-wide entity; 
and (2) for all third-county exporters of subject merchandise, the cash 
deposit rate is also the cash deposit rate applicable to the China-wide 
entity. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in 
effect until further notice.
    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. Accordingly, where Commerce has made a preliminary 
affirmative determination for domestic subsidy pass-through or export 
subsidies, Commerce has offset the calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margin by the appropriate rate(s). As discussed in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we made no adjustment for domestic 
subsidy pass-through. As further explained in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum, we made an adjustment for export subsidies found in the 
companion CVD investigation.\13\ The adjusted rate may be found in the 
``Preliminary Determination'' section chart above.
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    \13\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 11-12.
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    Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation 
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV 
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting cash 
deposits at a rate equal to the estimated weighted-average

[[Page 14513]]

dumping margin calculated in this preliminary determination unadjusted 
for export subsidies at the time the CVD provisional measures expire.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

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 determined that all companies are part of the China-wide 
entity and assigned as AFA to the China-wide entity a rate that is 
based solely on the margin alleged in the petition, there are no 
calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not 
provide information requested by Commerce by the established deadline 
and Commerce preliminarily determines in accordance with section 776(b) 
of the Act that each of the mandatory respondents has been 
uncooperative, verification will not be conducted.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope matters 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. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\14\ 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. Commerce has modified certain of its requirements for 
serving documents containing business proprietary information until 
further notice.\15\
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \15\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020).
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    All interested parties will have the opportunity to submit case and 
rebuttal briefs on the post-preliminary scope determination. The 
deadline to submit case briefs on the post-preliminary scope decision 
will be seven days after the signature date of the post-preliminary 
scope determination memorandum. Rebuttal scope briefs (which are 
limited to issues raised in the scope briefs) may be submitted no later 
than seven days after the deadline for the scope briefs. For all scope 
briefs and rebuttals thereto, parties must file identical documents 
simultaneously on the records of the ongoing AD and CVD freight rail 
coupler investigations. No new factual information or business 
proprietary information may be included in either scope briefs or 
rebuttal scope briefs.
    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 a date and time to be 
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

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.

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.

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: March 8, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers freight rail car coupler 
systems and certain components thereof. Freight rail car coupler 
systems are composed of, at minimum, four main components (knuckles, 
coupler bodies, coupler yokes, and follower blocks, as specified 
below) but may also include other items (e.g., coupler locks, lock 
lift assemblies, knuckle pins, knuckle throwers, and rotors). The 
components covered by the investigation include: (1) E coupler 
bodies; (2) E/F coupler bodies; (3) F coupler bodies; (4) E yokes; 
(5) F yokes; (6) E knuckles; (7) F knuckles; (8) E type follower 
blocks; and (9) F type follower blocks, as set forth by the 
Association of American Railroads (AAR). The freight rail coupler 
components are included within the scope of the investigation when 
imported individually, or in some combination thereof, such as in 
the form of a coupler fit (a coupler body and knuckle assembled 
together), independent from a coupler system.
    Subject freight rail car coupler systems and components are 
included within the scope whether finished or unfinished, whether 
imported individually or with other subject or non-subject 
components, whether assembled or unassembled, whether mounted or 
unmounted, or if joined with non-subject merchandise, such as other 
non-subject system parts or a completed rail car. Finishing 
includes, but is not limited to, arc washing, welding, grinding, 
shot blasting, heat treatment, machining, and assembly of various 
components. When a subject coupler system or subject components are 
mounted on or to other non-subject merchandise, such as a rail car, 
only the coupler system or subject components are covered by the 
scope.
    The finished products covered by the scope of this investigation 
meet or exceed the AAR specifications of M-211, ``Foundry and 
Product Approval Requirements for the Manufacture of Couplers, 
Coupler Yokes, Knuckles, Follower Blocks, and Coupler Parts'' or AAR 
M-215 ``Coupling Systems,'' or other equivalent domestic or 
international standards (including any revisions to the 
standard(s)).
    The country of origin for subject coupler systems and 
components, whether fully assembled, unfinished or finished, or 
attached to a rail car, is the country where the subject coupler 
components were cast or forged. Subject merchandise includes coupler 
components as defined above that have been further processed or 
further assembled, including those coupler components attached to a 
rail car in third countries. Further processing includes, but is not 
limited to, arc washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, heat 
treatment, painting, coating, priming, machining, and assembly of 
various components. The inclusion, attachment, joining, or assembly 
of non-subject components with subject components or coupler systems 
either in the country of manufacture of the in-scope product or in a 
third country does not remove the subject

[[Page 14514]]

components or coupler systems from the scope.
    The coupler systems that are the subject of this investigation 
are currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS) statistical reporting number 8607.30.1000. 
Unfinished subject merchandise may also enter under HTSUS 
statistical reporting number 7326.90.8688. Subject merchandise 
attached to finished rail cars may also enter under HTSUS 
statistical reporting numbers 8606.10.0000, 8606.30.0000, 
8606.91.0000, 8606.92.0000, 8606.99.0130, 8606.99.0160, or under 
subheading 9803.00.5000 if imported as an Instrument of 
International Traffic. These HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes only; the written description of 
the scope of the 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
VI. Adjustment Under Section 777A(f) of the Act
VII. Adjustment to Cash Deposit Rate for Export Subsidies
VIII. ITC Notification
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-05381 Filed 3-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P