3124 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 23, 2018 / Notices 

1See Stainless Steel Flanges from India and the 

People’s Republic of China: Initiation of 

Countervailing Duty Investigations, 82 FR 42654 

(September 11, 2017) (Initiation Notice). 

2See Stainless Steel Flanges from India and the 

People’s Republic of China: Postponement of 

Preliminary Determinations of Countervailing Duty 

Investigations, 82 FR 49786 (October 27, 2017). 

3See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Determination of the 

Countervailing Duty Investigation of Stainless Steel 

Flanges from the People’s Republic of China,’’ dated 

concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 

notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). 

4See 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. 

This determination is issued and 

published pursuant to sections 705(d) 

and 777(i) of the Act. 

Dated: January 16, 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 

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. List of Issues 

III. Background 

IV. Scope Comments 

V. Scope of the Investigation 

VI. Subsidies Valuation Information 

VII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates 

VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 

Adverse Inferences 

IX. Analysis of Programs 

X. Analysis of Comments 

Comment 1: Whether to Countervail the 

AAP and DDB 

Comment 2: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Reliance and Bombay Dyeing’s 

Discovered Benefits under the TUFS 

Comment 3: Treatment of the EPCG 

Comment 4: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Bombay Dyeing’s Unreported Benefits 

from the SHIS 

Comment 5: Whether Commerce should 

countervail the FPS/IEIS 

Comment 6: Whether Commerce should 

countervail the SGOM PSI 

Comment 7: Whether to Apply AFA to the 

POI Value of Bombay Dyeing’s 

Company-Wide Sales and CompanyWide Export Sales 

Comment 8: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Reliance’s Unreported Benefits from the 

AAP 

Comment 9: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Reliance’s Unreported Benefits from the 

MEIS and the MLFPS 

Comment 10: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Reliance’s Alleged Benefits for EOU 

programs 

Comment 11: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Reliance’s Purported Benefits for Two 

Income Deductions Related to SEZ 

programs 

Comment 12: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Reliance’s Purported Benefits under 

Section 35(1)(iv), Section 35(I)(ii), and 

Section 35(I)(i) Income Tax Deductions 

Comment 13: Whether to Apply AFA to 

Reliance’s Unreported Benefits for SEZ 

programs 

Comment 14: Whether to Revise the 

Application of AFA Rates for SEZ 

programs 

Comment 15: Whether to Apply Total AFA 

to Reliance 

Comment 16: Whether to Revise the 

Calculation of Benefits Received under 

the EPCG 

XI. Recommendation 

Appendix II 

Scope of the Investigation 

The merchandise covered by this 

investigation is fine denier polyester staple 

fiber (fine denier PSF), not carded or combed, 

measuring less than 3.3 decitex (3 denier) in 

diameter. The scope covers all fine denier 

PSF, whether coated or uncoated. The 

following products are excluded from the 

scope: 

(1) PSF equal to or greater than 3.3 decitex 

(more than 3 denier, inclusive) currently 

classifiable under Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 

subheadings 5503.20.0045 and 5503.20.0065. 

(2) Low-melt PSF defined as a bicomponent polyester fiber having a polyester 

fiber component that melts at a lower 

temperature than the other polyester fiber 

component, which is currently classifiable 

under HTSUS subheading 5503.20.0015. 

Fine denier PSF is classifiable under the 

HTSUS subheading 5503.20.0025. Although 

the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 

convenience and customs purposes, the 

written description of the scope of the 

investigations is dispositive. 

[FR Doc. 2018–01151 Filed 1–22–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[C–570–065] 

Countervailing Duty Investigation of 

Stainless Steel Flanges From the 

People’s Republic of China: 

Preliminary Affirmative Determination 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

(Commerce) preliminarily determines 

that countervailable subsidies are being 

provided to producers/exporters of 

stainless steel flanges from the People’s 

Republic of China (China). The period 

of investigation is January 1, 2016, 

through December 31, 2016. We invite 

interested parties to comment on this 

preliminary determination. 

DATES: Applicable January 23, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Justin Neuman or Jerry Huang, 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) 482–0486 or (202) 482–4047, 

respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This preliminary determination is 

made in accordance with section 703(b) 

of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 

(Act). Commerce published the notice of 

initiation of this investigation on 

September 11, 2017.1 On October 27, 

2017, Commerce postponed the 

preliminary determination of this 

investigation to January 16, 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 

discussed in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum is included at 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 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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/ 

frn/. The signed and electronic versions 

of the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum are identical in content. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products covered by this 

investigation are stainless steel flanges 

from China. For a complete description 

of the scope of this investigation, see 

Appendix I. 

Methodology 

Commerce is conducting this 

investigation in accordance with section 

701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy 

programs found countervailable, 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial 

contribution by an ‘‘authority’’ that 

gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, 

and that the subsidy is specific.4

In making these findings, Commerce 

relied totally on facts available, because 

neither the GOC nor any of the selected 

mandatory respondent companies 

responded to the questionnaire. Further, 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 23, 2018 / Notices 3125 

5See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. 

6See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 

(for general filing requirements). 

because these parties did not act to the 

best of their ability to respond to 

Commerce’s requests for information, 

Commerce drew an adverse inference in 

selecting from among the facts 

otherwise available.5 For further 

information, see ‘‘Use of Facts 

Otherwise Available and Adverse 

Inferences’’ in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum. 

All-Others Rate 

Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of 

the Act provide that in the preliminary 

determination, Commerce shall 

determine an estimated all-others rate 

for companies not individually 

examined. This rate shall be an amount 

equal to the weighted average of the 

estimated subsidy rates established for 

those companies individually 

examined, excluding any zero and de 

minimis rates and any rates based 

entirely under section 776 of the Act. In 

this investigation, Commerce 

preliminarily assigned a rate based 

entirely on facts available to mandatory 

respondents Bothwell (Jiangyan) Steel 

Fittings Co., Ltd., Hydro-Fluids Controls 

Limited, Jiangyin Shengda Brite Line 

Kasugai Flange Co., Ltd, and Qingdao IFlow Co., Ltd. There is no other 

information on the record with which to 

determine an all-others rate. As a result, 

in accordance with section 

705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, we have 

established the all-others rate by 

applying the countervailable subsidy 

rate established for the mandatory 

respondents. Consequently, the rate 

calculated for the mandatory 

respondents is also assigned as the rate 

for all-other producers and exporters. 

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated 

countervailable subsidy rates exist: 

Company Subsidy rate 

(percent) 

Bothwell (Jiangyan) Steel Fittings Co., Ltd ..................... 174.73 

Hydro-Fluids Controls Limited .................................... 174.73 

Jiangyin Shengda Brite Line 

Kasugai Flange Co., Ltd ... 174.73 

Qingdao I-Flow Co., Ltd ....... 174.73 

All-Others .............................. 174.73 

Suspension of Liquidation 

In accordance with section 

703(d)(1)(B) and (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 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. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 

351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP 

to require a cash deposit equal to the 

rates indicated above. 

Public Comment 

Case briefs or other written comments 

may be submitted to the Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance no later than seven days 

after the date on which the last 

verification report is issued in this 

investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to 

issues raised in case briefs, may be 

submitted no later than five days after 

the deadline date for case briefs.6

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. 

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 by 

telephone the date, time, and location of 

the hearing two days before the 

scheduled date. 

International Trade Commission 

Notification 

In accordance with section 703(f) of 

the Act, Commerce will notify the 

International Trade Commission (ITC) of 

its 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. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This determination is issued and 

published pursuant to sections 703(f) 

and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.205(c). 

Dated: January 16, 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 products covered by this investigation 

are certain forged stainless steel flanges, 

whether unfinished, semi-finished, or 

finished (certain forged stainless steel 

flanges). Certain forged stainless steel flanges 

are generally manufactured to, but not 

limited to, the material specification of 

ASTM/ASME A/SA182 or comparable 

domestic or foreign specifications. Certain 

forged stainless steel flanges are made in 

various grades such as, but not limited to, 

304, 304L, 316, and 316L (or combinations 

thereof). The term ‘‘stainless steel’’ used in 

this scope refers to an alloy steel containing, 

by actual weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon 

and 10.5 percent or more of chromium, with 

or without other elements. 

Unfinished stainless steel flanges possess 

the approximate shape of finished stainless 

steel flanges and have not yet been machined 

to final specification after the initial forging 

or like operations. These machining 

processes may include, but are not limited to, 

boring, facing, spot facing, drilling, tapering, 

threading, beveling, heating, or compressing. 

Semi-finished stainless steel flanges are 

unfinished stainless steel flanges that have 

undergone some machining processes. 

The scope includes six general types of 

flanges. They are: (1) Weld neck, generally 

used in butt-weld line connection; (2) 

threaded, generally used for threaded line 

connections; (3) slip-on, generally used to 

slide over pipe; (4) lap joint, generally used 

with stub-ends/butt-weld line connections; 

(5) socket weld, generally used to fit pipe 

into a machine recession; and (6) blind, 

generally used to seal off a line. The sizes 

and descriptions of the flanges within the 

scope include all pressure classes of ASME 

B16.5 and range from one-half inch to 

twenty-four inches nominal pipe size. 

Specifically excluded from the scope of these 

orders are cast stainless steel flanges. Cast 

stainless steel flanges generally are 

manufactured to specification ASTM A351. 

The country of origin for certain forged 

stainless steel flanges, whether unfinished, 

semi-finished, or finished is the country 

where the flange was forged. Subject 

merchandise includes stainless steel flanges 

as defined above that have been further 

processed in a third country. The processing 

includes, but is not limited to, boring, facing, 

spot facing, drilling, tapering, threading, 

beveling, heating, or compressing, and/or any 

other processing that would not otherwise 

remove the merchandise from the scope of 

the investigations if performed in the country 

of manufacture of the stainless steel flanges. 

Merchandise subject to the investigation is 

typically imported under headings 

7307.21.1000 and 7307.21.5000 of the 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
3126 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 15 / Tuesday, January 23, 2018 / Notices 

1See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce, 

‘‘Certain Plastic Decorative Ribbon from the 

People’s Republic of China: Petitions for the 

Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 

Duties’’ (December 27, 2017) (the Petition). 

2See Volume I of the Petition, at 3 and Exhibit 

I–3. 

3See Letter from Commerce, ‘‘Petitions for the 

Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 

Duties on Imports of Certain Plastic Decorative 

Ribbon from the People’s Republic of China: 

Supplemental Questions’’ dated January 2, 2018 

(General Issues Supplemental Questions); see also 

Letter from Commerce, ‘‘Petition for the Imposition 

of Antidumping Duties on Imports of Certain Plastic 

Decorative Ribbons from the People’s Republic of 

China: Supplemental Questions’’ dated January 2, 

2018 (AD Supplemental Questions). 

4See Letter from the petitioner, ‘‘Certain Plastic 

Decorative Ribbon from the People’s Republic of 

China: Response to the Department’s January 2, 

2018 Supplemental Questions Regarding Volumes I 

and II of the Petition for the Imposition of 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duties’’ dated 

January 5, 2018 (General Issues and China AD 

Supplement). 

5See Letter from the petitioner, ‘‘Certain Plastic 

Decorative Ribbon from the People’s Republic of 

China: Amendment to the Petition for the 

Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 

Duties’’ dated January 12, 2018 (Scope 

Clarification). 

6See the ‘‘Determination of Industry Support for 

the Petition’’ section, below. 

7See General Issues Supplemental Questions and 

AD Supplemental Questions; see also General 

Issues and China AD Supplement, at 2–4 and 

Exhibit COM-Supp-2; and Scope Clarification. 

8See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 

Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). 

9See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ‘‘factual 

information’’). 

10See 19 CFR 351.303(b). 

States (HTSUS). While HTSUS subheadings 

and ASTM specifications are provided for 

convenience and customs purposes, the 

written description of the scope is 

dispositive. 

Appendix II—List of Topics Discussed 

in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Scope Comments 

IV. Scope of the Investigation 

V. Injury Test 

VI. Application of the CVD Law to Imports 

from China 

VII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 

Adverse Inferences 

VIII. Calculation of the All-Others Rate 

IX. ITC Notification 

X. Public Comment 

XI. Conclusion 

[FR Doc. 2018–01145 Filed 1–22–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–570–075] 

Certain Plastic Decorative Ribbon 

From the People’s Republic of China: 

Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigation 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

DATES: Applicable January 16, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Hoadley at (202) 482–3148, AD/ 

CVD Operations, Enforcement and 

Compliance, International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20230. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petition 

On December 27, 2017, the U.S. 

Department of Commerce (Commerce) 

received an antidumping duty (AD) 

Petition concerning imports of certain 

plastic decorative ribbon (plastic 

decorative ribbon) from the People’s 

Republic of China (China), filed in 

proper form on behalf of Berwick 

Offray, LLC (the petitioner).1 The AD 

Petition was accompanied by a 

countervailing duty (CVD) petition 

concerning imports of plastic decorative 

ribbon from China. The petitioner is a 

domestic producer of plastic decorative 

ribbon.2

On January 2, 2018, Commerce 

requested supplemental information 

pertaining to certain areas of the 

Petition.3 The petitioner filed responses 

to these requests, including revised 

scope language, on January 5, 2018.4 On 

January 12, 2018, the petitioner filed a 

submission clarifying the scope 

language.5

In accordance with section 732(b) of 

the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 

Act), the petitioner alleges that imports 

of plastic decorative ribbon from China 

are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 

United States at less than fair value 

within the meaning of section 731 of the 

Act, and that such imports are 

materially injuring, or threatening 

material injury to, the domestic industry 

producing plastic decorative ribbon in 

the United States. Consistent with 

section 732(b)(1) of the Act, the Petition 

is accompanied by information 

reasonably available to the petitioner 

supporting its allegations. 

Commerce finds that the petitioner 

filed this Petition on behalf of the 

domestic industry because the 

petitioner is an interested party as 

defined in section 771(9)(C) and (F) of 

the Act. Commerce also finds that the 

petitioner demonstrated sufficient 

industry support with respect to the 

initiation of the AD investigation that 

the petitioner is requesting.6

Period of Investigation 

Because the Petition was filed on 

December 27, 2017, and China is a nonmarket economy (NME) country, 

pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the 

POI for this investigation is April 1, 

2017, through September 30, 2017. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products covered by this 

investigation are plastic decorative 

ribbon from China. For a full 

description of the scope of this 

investigation, see the ‘‘Scope of the 

Investigation,’’ in the Appendix to this 

notice. 

Comments on Scope of the Investigation 

During our review of the Petition, 

Commerce issued questions to, and 

received responses from, the petitioner 

pertaining to the proposed scope to 

ensure that the scope language in the 

Petition would be an accurate reflection 

of the products for which the domestic 

industry is seeking relief.7

As discussed in the preamble to 

Commerce’s regulations, we are setting 

aside a period for interested parties to 

raise issues regarding product coverage 

(scope).8 Commerce will consider all 

comments received from interested 

parties and, if necessary, will consult 

with interested parties prior to the 

issuance of the preliminary 

determination. If scope comments 

include factual information,9 all such 

factual information should be limited to 

public information. To facilitate 

preparation of its questionnaires, 

Commerce requests all interested parties 

to submit such comments by 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time (ET) on Monday, February 

5, 2018, which is 20 calendar days from 

the signature date of this notice. Any 

rebuttal comments, which may include 

factual information, must be filed by 

5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 15, 

2018, which is 10 calendar days from 

the initial comments deadline.10

Commerce requests that any factual 

information the parties consider 

relevant to the scope of the investigation 

be submitted during this time period. 

However, if a party subsequently finds 

that additional factual information 

pertaining to the scope of the 

investigation may be relevant, the party 

may contact Commerce and request 

permission to submit the additional 

information. All such comments must 

be filed on the records of each of the 

concurrent AD and CVD investigations. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES