[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 248 (Monday, December 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78055-78058]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30434]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-557-816]


Certain Steel Nails From Malaysia: Preliminary Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination 
and Extension of Provisional Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) preliminarily 
determines that certain steel nails from Malaysia are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), 
as provided in section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act). The period of investigation is April 1, 2013, through March 
31, 2014. The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are shown in 
the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. Interested 
parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. The 
Department intends to issue the final determination 135 days after 
publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal Register.

DATES: Effective Date: December 29, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ericka Ukrow or Steve Bezirganian, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0405 or (202) 482-1131, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department published the notice of initiation of this 
investigation on June 25, 2014.\1\ Pursuant to section 733(c)(1)(A) of 
the Act, the Department postponed this preliminary determination 42 
days until December 17, 2014.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Steel Nails From India, the Republic of Korea, 
Malaysia, the Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, the Republic of Turkey, and 
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 79 FR 36019, (June 25, 2014) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Certain Steel Nails From the Republic of Korea, 
Malaysia, the Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, and the Socialist Republic 
of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determination of Antidumping 
Duty Investigations, 79 FR 63082 (October 22, 2014).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is certain steel nails 
from

[[Page 78056]]

Malaysia. For a full description of the scope of the investigation, see 
Appendix I to this notice.

Scope Comments

    Several interested parties (i.e., IKEA Supply AG and IKEA 
Distributions Services Inc. (collectively IKEA), Target Corporation, 
and The Home Depot) submitted comments to the Department on the scope 
of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice, and Mid 
Continent Steel & Wire, Inc. (Petitioner) submitted rebuttal comments. 
For further discussion of these comments, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum to Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, from Christian Marsh, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination 
in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Steel Nails from 
Malaysia,'' dated concurrently with this determination and hereby 
adopted by this notice. A list of the topics discussed in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum appears in Appendix II, below.
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Methodology

    The Department conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Because one of the mandatory respondents, Tag 
Fasteners Sdn. Bhd. (Tag), failed to respond to the Department's 
questionnaire, we preliminarily determined to apply facts otherwise 
available with an adverse inference to this respondent pursuant to 
sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. In applying adverse facts 
available, we are assigning Tag a dumping margin of 39.35 percent. For 
the other two mandatory respondents, Inmax Sdn. Bhd. (Inmax) and Region 
International Co., Ltd. and its collapsed affiliate, Region System Sdn. 
Bhd. (collectively, Region), export prices have been calculated in 
accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value has been 
calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full 
description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ The Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
is a public document and is made available to the public 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 Department's Central Records Unit, located at room 7046 
of the main Department of Commerce building.\5\ In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be found at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \4\ Id.
    \5\ Effective November 24, 2014, Enforcement and Compliance 
changed the name of the Import Administration AD and CVD Centralized 
Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS) to AD and CVD Centralized 
Electronic Service System (ACCESS). The Web site location was 
changed from http://iaacess.trade.gov to http://access.trade.gov. 
The Final Rule changing the references to the Regulations can be 
found at: 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014).
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All Others Rate

    Consistent with sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5) of the Act, 
the Department also calculated an estimated ``all others'' rate for all 
exporters or producers not individually investigated. Section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated ``all others'' rate 
shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and 
producers individually investigated, excluding any zero or de minimis 
margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the 
Act. Therefore, because the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
for Inmax Sdn. Bhd. and Region are not zero, de minimis, or determined 
entirely under section 776 of the Act, the Department has estimated the 
``all-others'' rate in this preliminary determination by weight-
averaging the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for 
those two respondents, based on publicly-ranged data.\6\
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    \6\ See ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Steel Nails 
from Malaysia; Preliminary Determination Calculation for the All-
Others Rate,'' dated concurrently with this determination.
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Preliminary Determination

    In accordance with section 733(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the 
Department calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margins for 
the individually investigated exporters and producers of subject 
merchandise, listed below. The Department preliminarily determines that 
the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist for 
these individually investigated exporters and producers:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                   Exporter/ producer                     dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Inmax Sdn. Bhd..........................................            2.14
Region International Co. Ltd. and Region System Sdn. Bhd            2.56
Tag Fasteners Sdn. Bhd..................................           39.35
All Others..............................................            2.20
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, the Department intends 
to verify the information submitted by Inmax Sdn. Bhd. and Region prior 
to making a final determination in this investigation.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We will disclose the calculations performed to parties in this 
proceeding within five days of the date of publication of this notice 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    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 final verification report is issued in 
this proceeding and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\7\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding 
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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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce. All documents must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed request must be 
received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Standard Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice.\8\ Requests should contain the party's name, address, and 
telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues 
to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department 
intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a time and 
date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date,

[[Page 78057]]

time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act, Inmax and Region 
requested that the Department postpone the final determination and 
extend provisional measures from four months to six months. 
Additionally, Inmax and Region requested to extend the application of 
the provisional measures prescribed under section 733(d) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), from a four-month period to a six-month period. 
Pursuant to a request from Inmax and Region and in accordance with 
section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii) and 
(e)(2), we will make our final determination no later than 135 days 
after the date of publication of this preliminary determination.\9\ The 
suspension of liquidation described below will be extended accordingly.
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    \9\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) and (e); see also Letter from 
Inmax and Region International Co., Ltd. to the Department, 
regarding ``Certain Steel Nails from Malaysia; Extension Request for 
Final Results'' (December 9, 2014).
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we are directing 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all 
entries of certain steel nails from Malaysia 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.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), we will instruct CBP to require a 
cash deposit equal to the weighted-average amount by which the normal 
value exceeds export price, as indicated in the chart 
above.<SUP>10 11</SUP> These suspension of liquidation instructions 
will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \10\ See Modification of Regulations Regarding the Practice of 
Accepting Bonds During the Provisional Measures Period in 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042 
(October 3, 2011).
    \11\ Because the preliminary calculated countervailing duty 
rates in the companion countervailing duty investigation 
attributable to export subsidies were de minimis for both 
respondents, we did not adjust these cash deposit rates to account 
for export subsidies. See Certain Steel Nails from Malaysia: 
Preliminary Negative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment 
of Final Countervailing Duty Determination with Final Antidumping 
Duty Determination, 79 FR 65179, 65180 (November 3, 2014).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
ITC of our preliminary affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. 
Because the preliminary determination in this proceeding is 
affirmative, section 735(b)(2) of the Act requires that the ITC make 
its final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the 
United States is materially injured, or threatened with material 
injury, by reason of imports of certain steel nails from Malaysia 
before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary 
determination or 45 days after our final determination. Because we are 
postponing the deadline for our final determination to 135 days from 
the date of publication of this preliminary determination, as discussed 
above, the ITC will make its final determination no later than 45 days 
after our final determination.
    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: December 17, 2014.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain steel 
nails having a nominal shaft length not exceeding 12 inches.\12\ 
Certain steel nails include, but are not limited to, nails made from 
round wire and nails that are cut from flat-rolled steel. Certain 
steel nails may be of one piece construction or constructed of two 
or more pieces. Certain steel nails may be produced from any type of 
steel, and may have any type of surface finish, head type, shank, 
point type and shaft diameter. Finishes include, but are not limited 
to, coating in vinyl, zinc (galvanized, including but not limited to 
electroplating or hot dipping one or more times), phosphate, cement, 
and paint. Certain steel nails may have one or more surface 
finishes. Head styles include, but are not limited to, flat, 
projection, cupped, oval, brad, headless, double, countersunk, and 
sinker. Shank styles include, but are not limited to, smooth, 
barbed, screw threaded, ring shank and fluted. Screw-threaded nails 
subject to this proceeding are driven using direct force and not by 
turning the nail using a tool that engages with the head. Point 
styles include, but are not limited to, diamond, needle, chisel and 
blunt or no point. Certain steel nails may be sold in bulk, or they 
may be collated in any manner using any material. If packaged in 
combination with one or more non-subject articles, certain steel 
nails remain subject merchandise if the total number of nails of all 
types, in aggregate regardless of size, is equal to or greater than 
25.
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    \12\ The shaft length of certain steel nails with flat heads or 
parallel shoulders under the head shall be measured from under the 
head or shoulder to the tip of the point. The shaft length of all 
other certain steel nails shall be measured overall.
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    Excluded from the scope of this investigation are certain steel 
nails packaged in combination with one or more non-subject articles, 
if the total number of nails of all types, in aggregate regardless 
of size, is less than 25.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are steel 
nails that meet the specifications of Type I, Style 20 nails as 
identified in Tables 29 through 33 of ASTM Standard F1667 (2013 
revision).
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are nails 
suitable for use in powder-actuated hand tools, whether or not 
threaded, which are currently classified under Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 7317.00.20.00 and 
7317.00.30.00.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are nails 
having a case hardness greater than or equal to 50 on the Rockwell 
Hardness C scale (HRC), a carbon content greater than or equal to 
0.5 percent, a round head, a secondary reduced-diameter raised head 
section, a centered shank, and a smooth symmetrical point, suitable 
for use in gas-actuated hand tools.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are 
corrugated nails. A corrugated nail is made up of a small strip of 
corrugated steel with sharp points on one side.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are thumb 
tacks, which are currently classified under HTSUS 7317.00.10.00.
    Certain steel nails subject to this investigation are currently 
classified under HTSUS subheadings 7317.00.55.02, 7317.00.55.03, 
7317.00.55.05, 7317.00.55.07, 7317.00.55.08, 7317.00.55.11, 
7317.00.55.18, 7317.00.55.19, 7317.00.55.20, 7317.00.55.30, 
7317.00.55.40, 7317.00.55.50, 7317.00.55.60, 7317.00.55.70, 
7317.00.55.80, 7317.00.55.90, 7317.00.65.30, 7317.00.65.60 and 
7317.00.75.00. Certain steel nails subject to this investigation 
also may be classified under HTSUS subheading 8206.00.00.00.
    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. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Scope Comments
VII. Respondent Selection
VIII. Facts Available (FA)
    A. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
    B. Adverse Facts Available (AFA) Rate and Corroboration of 
Secondary Information
IX. All Others Rate
X. Affiliation and Collapsing

[[Page 78058]]

    A. Legal Standard
    B. Inmax
    C. Region International
XI. Discussion of Methodology
    A. Fair Value Comparisons
    B. Product Comparisons
    C. Determination of Comparison Method
    D. Export Price
    E. Normal Value
    F. Date of Sale
    G. Currency Conversion
XII. Disclosure and Public Comment
XIII. Verification
XIV. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2014-30434 Filed 12-24-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P