[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28808-28811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10050]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-856]


Oil Country Tubular Goods From Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Critical 
Circumstances, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of 
Provisional Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Mexico are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). 
The period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2020, through September 
30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable May 11, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Bradshaw or Yang Jin Chun, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3896 or (202) 
482-5760, 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 LTFV investigation on 
November 1, 2021.\1\ On February 17, 2022, Commerce postponed the 
preliminary determination of this investigation until May 4, 2022.\2\ 
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation 
of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ A 
list of sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is

[[Page 28809]]

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 Oil Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and 
the Russian Federation: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 86 FR 60205 (November 1, 2021) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and 
the Russian Federation: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations 
in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 87 FR 9034 (February 17, 
2022).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Oil Country Tubular Goods from Mexico: 
Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Affirmative Determinations of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Critical Circumstances,'' 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 OCTG from Mexico. 
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\ in 
the Initiation Notice, Commerce 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\ As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language that 
appeared in the Initiation 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, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of Oil 
Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and the Russian 
Federation and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Oil Country 
Tubular Goods from the Republic of Korea, and the Russian 
Federation: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated March 7, 
2022 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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    In the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce established 
the deadline for parties to submit scope case briefs.\7\ Commerce did 
not receive any comments from interested parties regarding the scope as 
stated in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum prior to the 
deadline. As explained in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, 
there will be no further opportunity for comments on scope-related 
issues.\8\
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    \7\ Case briefs, other written comments, and rebuttal briefs 
submitted by parties in response to this preliminary LTFV 
determination should not include scope-related issues. See 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum and ``Public Comment'' section 
of this notice.
    \8\ See Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum at 4.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated constructed export prices 
in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Commerce calculated 
normal value in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full 
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that 
in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be equal to the weighted average of the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters 
and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de 
minimis dumping margins, and any dumping margins determined entirely 
under section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-
average dumping margin above de minimis for the sole mandatory 
respondent, Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A. (TAMSA). Because TAMSA is 
the sole mandatory respondent for which Commerce calculated a weighted-
average dumping margin, Commerce assigned TAMSA's preliminary margin to 
all other producers and exporters of the merchandise under 
consideration.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, 
Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for all 
companies in Mexico. For a full description of the methodology and 
results of Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\9\
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    \9\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 12-16.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist in this investigation:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A...............................       69.56
All Others..................................................       69.56
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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 all entries of OCTG from Mexico, 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 estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-
others rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the respondent 
listed in the table above is the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin calculated in this preliminary determination; 
(2) if the exporter is not the respondent identified in the table 
above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate is the company-
specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that 
producer of the subject merchandise in the table above; and (3) the 
cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters is the all-
others estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed in the table 
above.
    Further, section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, in the event 
of an affirmative determination of critical circumstances, any 
suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of 
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the later of: (a) The date which is 90 days before the date on 
which the suspension of liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date 
on which notice of initiation of the investigation was published. As 
noted above, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances 
exist for imports of OCTG from Mexico produced and exported by all 
companies. In accordance with 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, suspension of 
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise 
for shipments that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before the 
publication of this notice, the date suspension of liquidation is first 
ordered.

[[Page 28810]]

    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its preliminary calculations and 
related analysis to interested parties within five days of any public 
announcement of the preliminary determination or, if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify information relied upon in making its final determination.\10\
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    \10\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
Oil Country Tubular Goods from Mexico: Notification of Intent to 
Conduct Virtual Verification,'' dated March 16, 2022.
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Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be 
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance.\11\ Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for 
the submission of such case briefs and written comments at a later 
date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than seven 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. 
Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for 
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until 
further notice.\13\
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    \11\ Case briefs, other written comments, and rebuttal briefs 
submitted by parties in response to this preliminary LTFV 
determination should not include scope-related issues. The scope 
case briefs deadline expired on April 13, 2022. See Preliminary 
Scope Decision Memorandum at 3-4; see also Oil Country Tubular Goods 
from the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Negative Countervailing Duty 
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination, 87 FR 14248 (March 14, 2022), and 
Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Russian Federation: Preliminary 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Negative 
Critical Circumstances Determination, and Alignment of Final 
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 87 FR 14249 
(March 14, 2022).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \13\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and 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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    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 within 30 days after the date of publication 
of this notice in the Federal Register. Requests for a hearing should 
contain: (1) The requesting party's name, address, and telephone 
number; (2) the number of individuals from the requesting party that 
will attend the hearing, including, whether any individuals are foreign 
nationals; and (3) a list of the issues the party intends to discuss at 
the hearing. 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 by telephone the date and time of the hearing two days before 
the scheduled hearing date.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register 
if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request 
for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a 
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the 
event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such 
postponement is made by the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of 
Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for 
postponement of the final determination be accompanied by a request for 
extension of provisional measures from a four-month period to a period 
not more than six months in duration.
    On April 27, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), TAMSA requested 
that, contingent upon an affirmative preliminary determination of sales 
at LTFV, Commerce postpone the final determination in this 
investigation up to 135 days after publication of this notice and that 
the provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six 
months.\14\
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    \14\ See TAMSA's Letter, ``Request for Postponement of Final 
Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures Period,'' dated 
April 27, 2022.
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    In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; \15\ and (3) no 
compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination in this investigation and extending the provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not greater than six 
months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination in this 
investigation no later than 135 days after the date of publication of 
this preliminary determination in the Federal Register pursuant to 
section 735(a)(2) of the Act.\16\.
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    \15\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Oil 
Country Tubular Goods from Mexico: Respondent Selection,'' dated 
November 12, 2021, at Attachment.
    \16\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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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 Commerce's final determination is affirmative, then 
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 imports of OCTG from Mexico into the United 
States are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the 
U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This preliminary 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: May 4, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain OCTG, 
which are hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including 
oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other than case iron) or steel 
(both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or welded, regardless of 
end finish (e.g., whether or not plain end, threaded, or threaded 
and coupled) whether or not conforming to American Petroleum 
Institute (API) or non-API specifications, whether finished 
(including limited service OCTG products) or unfinished (including 
green tubes and limited service OCTG products), whether or not 
thread protectors are attached. The scope of this investigation also 
covers OCTG coupling stock.
    Subject merchandise includes material matching the above 
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed 
in a third country, including by performing any heat treatment, 
cutting, upsetting, threading, coupling, or any other finishing, 
packaging, or processing that would not otherwise

[[Page 28811]]

remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if 
performed in the country of manufacture of the OCTG.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are: Casing, 
tubing, or coupling stock containing 10.5 percent or more by weight 
of chromium; drill pipe; unattached couplings; and unattached thread 
protectors.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.1010, 7304.29.1020, 
7304.29.1030, 7304.29.1040, 7304.29.1050, 7304.29.1060, 
7304.29.1080, 7304.29.2010, 7304.29.2020, 7304.29.2030, 
7304.29.2040, 7304.29.2050, 7304.29.2060, 7304.29.2080, 
7304.29.3110, 7304.29.3120, 7304.29.3130, 7304.29.3140, 
7304.29.3150, 7304.29.3160, 7304.29.3180, 7304.29.4110, 
7304.29.4120, 7304.29.4130, 7304.29.4140, 7304.29.4150, 
7304.29.4160, 7304.29.4180, 7304.29.5015, 7304.29.5030, 
7304.29.5045, 7304.29.5060, 7304.29.5075, 7304.29.6115, 
7304.29.6130, 7304.29.6145, 7304.29.6160, 7304.29.6175, 
7305.20.2000, 7305.20.4000, 7305.20.6000, 7305.20.8000, 
7306.29.1030, 7306.29.1090, 7306.29.2000, 7306.29.3100, 
7306.29.4100, 7306.29.6010, 7306.29.6050, 7306.29.8110, and 
7306.29.8150.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation may also enter 
under the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.0024, 7304.39.0028, 
7304.39.0032, 7304.39.0036, 7304.39.0040, 7304.39.0044, 
7304.39.0048, 7304.39.0052, 7304.39.0056, 7304.39.0062, 
7304.39.0068, 7304.39.0072, 7304.39.0076, 7304.39.0080, 
7304.59.6000, 7304.59.8015, 7304.59.8020, 7304.59.8025, 
7304.59.8030, 7304.59.8035, 7304.59.8040, 7304.59.8045, 
7304.59.8050, 7304.59.8055, 7304.59.8060, 7304.59.8065, 
7304.59.8070, 7304.59.8080, 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6090, 
7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5090, 7306.50.5050, and 7306.50.5070.
    The HTSUS subheadings and specifications above are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of 
the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
VII. Currency Conversion
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-10050 Filed 5-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P