50614 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices 

1See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce re: 

‘‘Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duties: Forged Steel Fittings from 

the People’s Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan’’ 

(October 5, 2017) (the Petitions). 

2See Volume I of the Petitions at 2 and 4. 

3See Letters from the Department to the 

petitioners re: ‘‘Petitions for the Imposition of 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports 

of Forged Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic 

of China, Italy, and Taiwan: Supplemental 

Questions,’’ ‘‘Petition for the Imposition of 

Antidumping Duties on Imports of Forged Steel 

Fittings from the People’s Republic of China: 

Supplemental Questions,’’ ‘‘Petition for the 

Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of 

Forged Steel Fittings from Taiwan: Supplemental 

Questions,’’; Letter from the Department to the 

petitioners re: ‘‘Petition for the Imposition of 

Antidumping Duties on Imports of Forged Steel 

Fittings from Italy: Supplemental Questions,’’ dated 

October 10, 2017. 

4See Letters from the petitioners, re: ‘‘Forged 

Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of China, 

Italy, and Taiwan: Response to Supplemental 

Questions—General Issues’’ (General Issues 

Supplement); ‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from Italy: 

Response to Supplemental Questions,’’ dated 

October 11, 2017 (Italy AD Supplemental 

Response); ‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from the People’s 

Republic of China: Response to Supplemental 

Questions,’’ (PRC AD Supplemental Response); and 

‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from Taiwan: Response to 

Supplemental Questions,’’ (Taiwan AD 

Supplemental Response), dated October 11, 2017. 

ACTION: Notice of Federal Advisory 

Committee Meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the 

schedule and proposed agenda of a 

meeting of the Environmental 

Technologies Trade Advisory 

Committee (ETTAC). 

DATES: The meeting is scheduled for 

Tuesday, November 14, 2017 from 8:30 

a.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time 

(EDT). The deadline for members of the 

public to register or to submit written 

comments for dissemination prior to the 

meeting is 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, 

November 3, 2017. The deadline for 

members of the public to request 

auxiliary aids is 5:00 p.m. EDT on 

Tuesday, November 7, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in 

Room 6057–59 at the U.S. Department 

of Commerce, Herbert Clark Hoover 

Building, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20230. The 

address to register, submit comments, or 

request auxiliary aids is: Ms. Amy 

Kreps, Office of Energy & Environmental 

Industries (OEEI), International Trade 

Administration, Room 28018, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20230 or email: amy.kreps@

trade.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Amy Kreps, Office of Energy & 

Environmental Industries (OEEI), 

International Trade Administration, 

Room 28018, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20230 (Phone: 

202–482–3835; Fax: 202–482–5665; 

email: amy.kreps@trade.gov). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

meeting will take place on November 14 

from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. The 

general meeting is open to the public 

and time will be permitted for public 

comment from 3:00–3:30 p.m. EDT. 

Members of the public seeking to attend 

the meeting are required to register in 

advance. Those interested in attending 

must provide notification by Friday, 

November 3, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, via 

the contact information provided above. 

This meeting is physically accessible to 

people with disabilities. Requests for 

sign language interpretation or other 

auxiliary aids should be directed to 

OEEI at (202) 482–3835 no less than one 

week prior to the meeting. Requests 

received after this date will be accepted, 

but it may not be possible to 

accommodate them. 

Written comments concerning ETTAC 

affairs are welcome any time before or 

after the meeting. To be considered 

during the meeting, written comments 

must be received by Friday, November 

3, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. EDT to ensure 

transmission to the members before the 

meeting. Minutes will be available 

within 30 days of this meeting. 

Topic To Be considered: The agenda 

for the November 14, 2017 meeting 

includes briefings from the U.S. 

interagency on ongoing NAFTA 

negotiations and ITA’s Trade Promotion 

Programs. Also during the meeting, the 

three ETTAC subcommittees will 

discuss their top priorities for this 

charter period, with the goal of 

generating recommendations for the 

Secretary of Commerce. Topics under 

discussion include optimizing the U.S. 

Government’s trade promotion 

programs, identifying market access 

barriers, pros and cons of existing trade 

agreements, and discussing 

procurement policy, including issues 

with financing mechanisms, localization 

requirements and non-tariff barriers. 

The ETTAC’s subcommittees are: Trade 

Promotion and Export Market 

Development, Professional Services and 

Infrastructure Advancement, and Trade 

Policy and American Competitiveness. 

Background: The ETTAC is mandated 

by Section 2313(c) of the Export 

Enhancement Act of 1988, as amended, 

15 U.S.C. 4728(c), to advise the 

Environmental Trade Working Group of 

the Trade Promotion Coordinating 

Committee, through the Secretary of 

Commerce, on the development and 

administration of programs to expand 

U.S. exports of environmental 

technologies, goods, services, and 

products. The ETTAC was originally 

chartered in May of 1994. It was most 

recently re-chartered until August 2018. 

Dated: October 25, 2017. 

Man Cho, 

Deputy Director, Office of Energy and 

Environmental Industries. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23811 Filed 10–31–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–570–067, A–475–839, and A–583–863] 

Forged Steel Fittings From the 

People’s Republic of China, Italy, and 

Taiwan: Initiation of Less-Than-FairValue Investigations 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

DATES: Applicable October 25, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Irene Gorelik at (202) 482–6905 or 

Robert Palmer at (202) 482–9068 

(Taiwan), Katherine Johnson at (202) 

482–4929 or Renato Barreda at (202) 

482–0317 (the People’s Republic of 

China (PRC)), and Denisa Ursu at (202) 

482–2285 or Michael Bowen at (202) 

482–0768 (Italy), AD/CVD Operations, 

Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20230. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitions 

On October 5, 2017, the U.S. 

Department of Commerce (the 

Department) received antidumping duty 

(AD) Petitions concerning imports of 

forged steel fittings from the People’s 

Republic of China (PRC), Italy, and 

Taiwan, filed in proper form, on behalf 

of Bonney Forge Corporation and 

United Steel, Paper and Forestry, 

Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied 

Industrial and Service Workers 

International Union (USW) (collectively, 

the petitioners).1 The AD Petitions were 

accompanied by a countervailing duty 

(CVD) Petition concerning imports of 

forged steel fittings from the PRC. The 

petitioners are domestic producers of 

forged steel fittings and a certified union 

that represents workers who produce 

forged steel fittings.2

On October 6 and 10, 2017, the 

Department requested supplemental 

information pertaining to certain areas 

of the Petitions.3 The petitioners filed 

responses to these supplemental 

questions on October 11, 2017.4 The 

Department also issued second 

supplemental questionnaires with 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices 50615 

5See Letter to the petitioners, re: ‘‘Petitions for 

the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 

Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from the 

People’s Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan: 

Supplemental Questions,’’ dated October 17, 2017; 

Letter to the petitioners, re: Petition for the 

Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of 

Forged Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of 

China: Second Supplement,’’ dated October 16, 

2017; Letter from the Department to the petitioners 

re: ‘‘Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping 

Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from 

Italy: Second Supplemental Questionnaire,’’ dated 

October 16, 2017. 

6See Letter from the petitioners re: ‘‘Forged Steel 

Fittings from the People’s Republic of China: 

Response to Second Supplemental Questions, dated 

October 17, 2017 (PRC AD Second Supplemental 

Response); Letter from the petitioners re: ‘‘Forged 

Steel Fittings from Italy: Response to Second 

Supplemental Question,’’ dated October 17, 2017; 

Letter from the petitioners to the Department, 

‘‘Response to Second Supplemental Question on 

Industry Support and Cumulation,’’ dated October 

18, 2017 (Second General Issues Supplement). 

7See Letter from the petitioners to the 

Department, ‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from China, 

Italy, and Taiwan: Revised Scope,’’ dated October 

19, 2017 (Revised Scope). See also the Appendix to 

this notice. 

8See ‘‘Determination of Industry Support for the 

Petitions’’ section, below. 

9See General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire; 

see also General Issues Supplement. 

10See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing 

Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 

1997). 

11See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ‘‘factual 

information’’). 

12See 19 CFR 351.303(b). 

13See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures; 

Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR 

39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 

Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System 

Name, 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014), for details 

of the Department’s electronic filing requirements, 

which went into effect on August 5, 2011. 

Information on help using ACCESS can be found at 

https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook 

can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/ 

Handbook%20on%20Electronic

%20Filling%20Procedures.pdf. 

regard to general issues in Volume I of 

the Petition and for issues specific to the 

PRC and Italy AD petitions.5 The 

petitioners filed their second 

supplemental response regarding the 

PRC and Italy AD petitions on October 

17, 2017 and second supplemental 

response regarding general issues on 

October 18, 2017.6 Petitioners also filed 

a revised scope on October 19, 2017.7

In accordance with section 732(b) of 

the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 

Act), the petitioners allege that imports 

of forged steel fittings from the PRC, 

Italy, and Taiwan are being, or 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 forged steel fittings in the 

United States. Also, consistent with 

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

Petitions are accompanied by 

information reasonably available to the 

petitioners supporting their allegations. 

The Department finds that the 

petitioners filed these Petitions on 

behalf of the domestic industry because 

the petitioners are interested parties as 

defined in sections 771(9)(C) and (D) of 

the Act. The Department also finds that 

the petitioners demonstrated sufficient 

industry support with respect to the 

initiation of the AD investigations that 

the petitioners are requesting.8

Periods of Investigation 

Because the Petitions were filed on 

October 5, 2017, the period of 

investigation (POI) for Taiwan and Italy 

is October 1, 2016, through September 

30, 2017. Because the PRC is a nonmarket economy (NME) country, the 

POI for this investigation is April 1, 

2017, through September 30, 2017. 

Scope of the Investigations 

The products covered by these 

investigations are forged steel fittings 

from the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan. For a 

full description of the scope of these 

investigations, see the ‘‘Scope of the 

Investigations,’’ in the Appendix to this 

notice. 

Comments on Scope of the 

Investigations 

During our review of the Petitions, the 

Department issued questions to, and 

received responses from, the petitioners 

pertaining to the proposed scope to 

ensure that the scope language in the 

Petitions would be an accurate 

reflection of the products for which the 

domestic industry is seeking relief.9

As discussed in the preamble to the 

Department’s regulations, we are setting 

aside a period for interested parties to 

raise issues regarding product coverage 

(scope).10 The Department will consider 

all comments received from interested 

parties and, if necessary, will consult 

with interested parties prior to the 

issuance of the preliminary 

determinations. If scope comments 

include factual information,11 all such 

factual information should be limited to 

public information. To facilitate 

preparation of its questionnaires, the 

Department requests all interested 

parties to submit such comments by 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on 

Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 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 Friday, 

November 24, 2017, which is 10 

calendar days from the initial comments 

deadline.12

The Department requests that any 

factual information the parties consider 

relevant to the scope of the 

investigations be submitted during this 

time period. However, if a party 

subsequently finds that additional 

factual information pertaining to the 

scope of the investigations may be 

relevant, the party may contact the 

Department and request permission to 

submit the additional information. All 

scope comments must be filed on the 

records of each of the concurrent AD 

and CVD investigations. 

Filing Requirements 

All submissions to the Department 

must be filed electronically using 

Enforcement and Compliance’s 

Antidumping Duty and Countervailing 

Duty Centralized Electronic Service 

System (ACCESS).13 An electronically 

filed document must be received 

successfully in its entirety by the time 

and date it is due. Documents exempted 

from the electronic submission 

requirements must be filed manually 

(i.e., in paper form) with Enforcement 

and Compliance’s APO/Dockets Unit, 

Room 18022, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20230, and 

stamped with the date and time of 

receipt by the applicable deadlines. 

Comments on Product Characteristics 

for AD Questionnaires 

The Department will provide 

interested parties an opportunity to 

comment on the appropriate physical 

characteristics of forged steel fittings to 

be reported in response to the 

Department’s AD questionnaires. This 

information will be used to identify the 

key physical characteristics of the 

merchandise under consideration in 

order to report the relevant costs of 

production accurately as well as to 

develop appropriate productcomparison criteria. 

Interested parties may provide any 

information or comments that they feel 

are relevant to the development of an 

accurate list of physical characteristics. 

Specifically, they may provide 

comments as to which characteristics 

are appropriate to use as: (1) General 

product characteristics and (2) productcomparison criteria. We note that it is 

not always appropriate to use all 

product characteristics as productcomparison criteria. We base productcomparison criteria on meaningful 

commercial differences among products. 

In other words, although there may be 

some physical product characteristics 

utilized by manufacturers to describe 

forged steel fittings, it may be that only 

a select few product characteristics take 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
50616 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices 

14See section 771(10) of the Act. 

15See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 

2d 1, 8 (CIT 2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. 

v. United States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), 

aff’d 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)). 

16For a discussion of the domestic like product 

analysis in this case, see Antidumping Duty 

Investigation Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel 

Fittings from the People’s Republic of China (PRC 

AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II, Analysis 

of Industry Support for the Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering Forged 

Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of China, 

Italy, and Taiwan (Attachment II); Antidumping 

Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel 

Fittings from Italy (Italy AD Initiation Checklist), at 

Attachment II; and Antidumping Duty Investigation 

Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel Fittings from 

Taiwan (Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist), at 

Attachment II. These checklists are dated 

concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 

notice and on file electronically via ACCESS. 

Access to documents filed via ACCESS is also 

available in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 

of the main Department of Commerce building. 

17As noted above, the petitioners submitted a 

revised scope on October 19, 2017. See Revised 

Scope and the Appendix. 

18See Volume I of the Petitions, at 3–4 and 

Exhibit I–1; see also General Issues Supplement, at 

1 and Exhibit I–15; and Second General Issues 

Supplement, at 1–2. 

19 Id. For further discussion, see PRC AD 

Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy AD 

Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and Taiwan 

AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II. 

20See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

II; Italy AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; 

and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

II. 

21See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also 

PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy 

AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and 

Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II. 

22See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

II; Italy AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; 

and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

II. 

23 Id. 

into account commercially meaningful 

physical characteristics. In addition, 

interested parties may comment on the 

order in which the physical 

characteristics should be used in 

matching products. Generally, the 

Department attempts to list the most 

important physical characteristics first 

and the least important characteristics 

last. 

In order to consider the suggestions of 

interested parties in developing and 

issuing the AD questionnaires, all 

product characteristics comments must 

be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on November 

14, 2017. Any rebuttal comments must 

be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on November 

24, 2017. All comments and 

submissions to the Department must be 

filed electronically using ACCESS, as 

explained above, on the records of the 

PRC, Italy and Taiwan less-than-fairvalue investigations. 

Determination of Industry Support for 

the Petitions 

Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires 

that a petition be filed on behalf of the 

domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) 

of the Act provides that a petition meets 

this requirement if the domestic 

producers or workers who support the 

petition account for: (i) At least 25 

percent of the total production of the 

domestic like product; and (ii) more 

than 50 percent of the production of the 

domestic like product produced by that 

portion of the industry expressing 

support for, or opposition to, the 

petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) 

of the Act provides that, if the petition 

does not establish support of domestic 

producers or workers accounting for 

more than 50 percent of the total 

production of the domestic like product, 

the Department shall: (i) Poll the 

industry or rely on other information in 

order to determine if there is support for 

the petition, as required by 

subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine 

industry support using a statistically 

valid sampling method to poll the 

‘‘industry.’’ 

Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines 

the ‘‘industry’’ as the producers as a 

whole of a domestic like product. Thus, 

to determine whether a petition has the 

requisite industry support, the statute 

directs the Department to look to 

producers and workers who produce the 

domestic like product. The International 

Trade Commission (ITC), which is 

responsible for determining whether 

‘‘the domestic industry’’ has been 

injured, must also determine what 

constitutes a domestic like product in 

order to define the industry. While both 

the Department and the ITC must apply 

the same statutory definition regarding 

the domestic like product,14 they do so 

for different purposes and pursuant to a 

separate and distinct authority. In 

addition, the Department’s 

determination is subject to limitations of 

time and information. Although this 

may result in different definitions of the 

like product, such differences do not 

render the decision of either agency 

contrary to law.15

Section 771(10) of the Act defines the 

domestic like product as ‘‘a product 

which is like, or in the absence of like, 

most similar in characteristics and uses 

with, the article subject to an 

investigation under this title.’’ Thus, the 

reference point from which the 

domestic like product analysis begins is 

‘‘the article subject to an investigation’’ 

(i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to 

be investigated, which normally will be 

the scope as defined in the petition). 

With regard to the domestic like 

product, the petitioners do not offer a 

definition of the domestic like product 

distinct from the scope of the 

investigations. Based on our analysis of 

the information submitted on the 

record, we have determined that forged 

steel fittings, as defined in the scope, 

constitutes a single domestic like 

product and we have analyzed industry 

support in terms of that domestic like 

product.16

In determining whether the 

petitioners have standing under section 

732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered 

the industry support data contained in 

the Petitions with reference to the 

domestic like product as defined in the 

‘‘Scope of the Investigations,’’ in the 

Appendix of this notice.17 The 

petitioners provided their own 

production of the domestic like product 

in 2016 and compared this to the 

estimated total 2016 production of the 

domestic like product for the entire 

domestic industry.18 We relied on the 

data the petitioners provided for 

purposes of measuring industry 

support.19

Our review of the data provided in the 

Petitions, supplements to the Petitions, 

and other information readily available 

to the Department indicates that the 

petitioners have established industry 

support.20 First, the Petitions 

established support from domestic 

producers (or workers) accounting for 

more than 50 percent of the total 

production of the domestic like product 

and, as such, the Department is not 

required to take further action in order 

to evaluate industry support (e.g., 

polling).21 Second, the domestic 

producers (or workers) have met the 

statutory criteria for industry support 

under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act 

because the domestic producers (or 

workers) who support the Petitions 

account for at least 25 percent of the 

total production of the domestic like 

product.22 Finally, the domestic 

producers (or workers) have met the 

statutory criteria for industry support 

under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act 

because the domestic producers (or 

workers) who support the Petitions 

account for more than 50 percent of the 

production of the domestic like product 

produced by that portion of the industry 

expressing support for, or opposition to, 

the Petitions.23 Accordingly, the 

Department determines that the 

Petitions were filed on behalf of the 

domestic industry within the meaning 

of section 732(b)(1) of the Act. 

The Department finds that the 

petitioners filed the Petitions on behalf 

of the domestic industry because they 

are interested parties as defined in 

sections 771(9)(C) and (D) of the Act and 

they have demonstrated sufficient 

industry support with respect to the AD 


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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices 50617 

24 Id. 

25See Volume I of the Petitions, at 10 and Exhibit 

I–4. 

26 Id. at 10–23 and Exhibits I–4 and I–7 through 

I–13. 

27See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

III, Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material 

Injury and Causation for the Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering Forged 

Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of China, 

Italy, and Taiwan (Attachment III); see also Italy AD 

Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III; see also 

Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III. 

28See PRC Initiation Checklist and Taiwan AD 

Initiation Checklist. 

29See Italy AD Initiation Checklist. 

30See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD 

Initiation Checklist and Taiwan AD Initiation 

Checklist. 

31See Volume II of the Petitions at 1–2. 

32See PRC AD Initiation Checklist. 

33See Volume II of the Petitions at 2 and Exhibits 

II–1 and II–2. 

34See PRC AD Initiation Checklist. 

35See Volume II of the Petitions at 4–6 and 

Exhibits II–7. See also PRC AD Supplemental 

Response at Exhibit II–18 and PRC AD Second 

Supplemental Response. 

36See Volume II of the Petitions at Exhibits II– 

8 through II–15. see also PRC AD Supplemental 

Response at Exhibit II–19 and PRC AD Second 

Supplemental Response. 

37See Volume II of the Petitions at Exhibit II–9. 

38The petitioners noted that ‘‘the Department’s 

exchange rate page {on the Department’s Web site} 

only goes through June 2017. We have therefore 

used www.exchange-rates.org to obtain the U.S./ 

Mexican exchange rates. . .’’ See PRC AD 

Supplemental Response at 2 and Exhibits II–19 

through II–22. 

39See Italy AD Initiation Checklist. 

40See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist. 

41See PRC AD Initiation Checklist. 

42See Italy AD Initiation Checklist. 

43See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist. 

investigations that they are requesting 

that the Department initiate.24

Allegations and Evidence of Material 

Injury and Causation 

The petitioners allege that the U.S. 

industry producing the domestic like 

product is being materially injured, or is 

threatened with material injury, by 

reason of the imports of the subject 

merchandise sold at less than normal 

value (NV). In addition, the petitioners 

allege that subject imports exceed the 

negligibility threshold provided for 

under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.25

The petitioners contend that the 

industry’s injured condition is 

illustrated by a significant and 

increasing volume of imports from the 

subject countries; reduced market share; 

underselling and price depression or 

suppression; and a negative impact on 

the domestic industry’s capacity 

utilization, employment, and profits.26

We have assessed the allegations and 

supporting evidence regarding material 

injury, threat of material injury, and 

causation, and we have determined that 

these allegations are properly supported 

by adequate evidence, and meet the 

statutory requirements for initiation.27

Allegations of Sales at Less Than Fair 

Value 

The following is a description of the 

allegations of sales at less than fair value 

upon which the Department based its 

decision to initiate AD investigations of 

imports of forged steel fittings from the 

PRC, Italy, and Taiwan. The sources of 

data for the deductions and adjustments 

relating to U.S. price and NV are 

discussed in greater detail in the 

country-specific initiation checklists. 

Export Price 

For the PRC and Taiwan, the 

petitioners based U.S. price on export 

price (EP) using an average unit value 

(AUV) of publicly available import 

data.28 For Italy, the petitioners based 

U.S. price on EP, which they calculated 

based on their own prices, reduced to 

meet the price obtained by a U.S. 

customer from an Italian producer.29

Where applicable, the petitioners made 

deductions from U.S. price for 

movement and other expenses, 

consistent with the terms of sale.30

Normal Value 

With respect to the PRC, the 

petitioners stated that the Department 

has found this country to be a NME 

country in prior administrative 

proceedings.31 In accordance with 

section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, the 

presumption of NME status remains in 

effect until revoked by the Department. 

The presumption of NME status for the 

PRC has not been revoked by the 

Department and, therefore, remains in 

effect for purposes of the initiation of 

this investigation. Accordingly, NV in 

the PRC is appropriately based on 

factors of production (FOPs) valued in 

a surrogate market economy country, in 

accordance with section 773(c) of the 

Act.32 In the course of this investigation, 

all parties, and the public, will have the 

opportunity to provide relevant 

information related to the granting of 

separate rates to individual exporters. 

The petitioners claim that Mexico is 

an appropriate surrogate country for the 

PRC, because it is a market economy 

country that is at a level of economic 

development comparable to that of the 

PRC, it is a significant producer of 

comparable merchandise, and public 

information from Mexico is available to 

value all material input factors.33 Based 

on the information provided by the 

petitioners, we determine that it is 

appropriate to use Mexico as a surrogate 

country for initiation purposes.34

Because information regarding the 

volume of inputs consumed by the PRC 

producers/exporters is not available, the 

petitioners relied on the production 

experience of a domestic producer of 

forged steel fittings in the United States 

as an estimate of PRC manufacturers’ 

FOPs.35 The petitioners valued the 

estimated FOPs using surrogate values 

from Mexico.36 Additionally, for the 

surrogate values denominated in 

Mexican pesos, the petitioners 

converted peso prices into U.S. dollars 

using the average exchange rate 

obtained from the Department’s Web 

site for April 2017, through June 2017,37

and from www.exchange-rates.org to 

obtain the U.S./Mexican exchange rates 

for the period July 2017 through 

September 2017.38

Interested parties will have the 

opportunity to submit comments 

regarding surrogate country selection 

and, pursuant to 19 CFR 

351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an 

opportunity to submit publicly available 

information to value FOPs no later than 

30 days before the scheduled date of the 

preliminary determination. 

For Italy, the petitioners based NV on 

a home market price quote obtained for 

ten selected forged steel fittings 

produced and sold in Italy within the 

proposed POI. The petitioners adjusted 

the price quotes for a distributor markup 

to obtain the ex-factory price.39

For Taiwan, the petitioners provided 

an affidavit from a foreign market 

researcher with a home market sales 

offer for forged steel fittings produced 

in, and sold or offered for sale in 

Taiwan.40

Fair Value Comparisons 

Based on the data provided by the 

petitioners, there is reason to believe 

that imports of forged steel fittings from 

the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan are being, or 

are likely to be, sold in the United States 

at less than fair value. Based on 

comparisons of EP to NV in accordance 

with sections 772 and 773 of the Act, 

the estimated dumping margins for 

forged steel fittings for each of the 

countries covered by this initiation are 

as follows: (1) PRC—142.72 percent; 41

(2) Italy—18.66 to 80.20 percent; 42 and 

(3) Taiwan—116.17 percent.43

Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigations 

Based upon the examination of the 

AD Petitions, we find that the Petitions 

meet the requirements of section 732 of 

the Act. Therefore, we are initiating AD 

investigations to determine whether 

imports of forged steel fittings from the 

PRC, Italy, and Taiwan are being, or are 

likely to be, sold in the United States at 

less than fair value. In accordance with 


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44See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, 

Public Law No. 114–27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015). 

45See Dates of Application of Amendments to the 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws Made 

by the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, 80 

FR 46793 (August 6, 2015). 

46 Id. at 46794–95. The 2015 amendments may be 

found at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114thcongress/house-bill/1295/text/pl. 

47See Volume I of the Petitions at Exhibit I–3. 

48See Volume I of the Petitions at Exhibit I–3. 

49See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates 

Practice and Application of Combination Rates in 

Antidumping Investigation involving Non-Market 

Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at 

http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf 

(Policy Bulletin 05.1). 

50Although in past investigations this deadline 

was 60 days, consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a), 

which states that ‘‘the Secretary may request any 

person to submit factual information at any time 

during a proceeding,’’ this deadline is now 30 days. 

51See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added). 

section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 

CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless postponed, 

we will make our preliminary 

determinations no later than 140 days 

after the date of this initiation. 

Under the Trade Preferences 

Extension Act of 2015, numerous 

amendments to the AD and CVD law 

were made.44 The 2015 law does not 

specify dates of application for those 

amendments. On August 6, 2015, the 

Department published an interpretative 

rule, in which it announced the 

applicability dates for each amendment 

to the Act, except for amendments 

contained in section 771(7) of the Act, 

which relate to determinations of 

material injury by the ITC.45 The 

amendments to sections 771(15), 773, 

776, and 782 of the Act are applicable 

to all determinations made on or after 

August 6, 2015, and, therefore, apply to 

these AD investigations.46

Respondent Selection 

The petitioners named six companies 

in Italy and three companies in Taiwan, 

as producers/exporters of forged steel 

fittings.47 Following standard practice 

in AD investigations involving market 

economy countries, in the event the 

Department determines that the number 

of companies for any one market 

economy country is large, the 

Department intends to review U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

data for U.S. imports of forged steel 

fittings during the respective POI under 

the appropriate Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States 

subheadings, and if it determines that it 

cannot individually examine each 

company based upon the Department’s 

resources, then the Department will 

select respondents based on that data. 

We intend to release CBP data under 

Administrative Protective Order (APO) 

to all parties with access to information 

protected by APO within five business 

days of the announcement of the 

initiation of these investigations. 

Interested parties must submit 

applications for disclosure under APO 

in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(b). 

Instructions for filing such applications 

may be found on the Department’s Web 

site at http://enforcement.trade.gov/apo. 

Interested parties may submit 

comments regarding the CBP data and 

respondent selection by 5:00 p.m. ET 

seven calendar days after the placement 

of the CBP data on the record of these 

investigations. Interested parties 

wishing to submit rebuttal comments 

should submit those comments five 

calendar days after the deadline for 

initial comments. 

Comments must be filed 

electronically using ACCESS. An 

electronically-filed document must be 

received successfully, in its entirety, by 

ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on 

the date noted above. If respondent 

selection is necessary, within 20 days of 

publication of this notice, we intend to 

make our decisions regarding 

respondent selection based upon 

comments received from interested 

parties and our analysis of the record 

information. 

With respect to the PRC, the 

petitioners named 14 producers/ 

exporters of forged steel fittings from the 

PRC.48 In accordance with our standard 

practice for respondent selection in AD 

cases involving NME countries, we 

intend to issue quantity and value 

(Q&V) questionnaires to producers/ 

exporters of merchandise subject to this 

investigation and, in the event the 

Department determines that the number 

of companies is large, base respondent 

selection on the responses received. For 

this investigation, the Department will 

request Q&V information from known 

exporters and producers identified with 

complete contact information in the 

Petitions. In addition, the Department 

will post the Q&V questionnaires along 

with filing instructions on Enforcement 

and Compliance’s Web site at http://

www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp. 

Producers/exporters of forged steel 

fittings from the PRC that do not receive 

Q&V questionnaires by mail may still 

submit a response to the Q&V 

questionnaire and can obtain a copy of 

the Q&V questionnaire from 

Enforcement & Compliance’s Web site. 

The Q&V response must be submitted 

by the relevant PRC exporters/producers 

no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on November 

9, 2017. All Q&V responses must be 

filed electronically via ACCESS. 

Separate Rates 

In order to obtain separate-rate status 

in an NME investigation, exporters and 

producers must submit a separate-rate 

application.49 The specific requirements 

for submitting a separate-rate 

application in the PRC investigation are 

outlined in detail in the application 

itself, which is available on the 

Department’s Web site at http://

enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-seprate.html. The separate-rate application 

will be due 30 days after publication of 

this initiation notice.50 Exporters and 

producers who submit a separate-rate 

application and have been selected as 

mandatory respondents will be eligible 

for consideration for separate-rate status 

only if they timely respond to all parts 

of the Department’s AD questionnaire as 

mandatory respondents. The 

Department requires that companies 

from the PRC submit a response to both 

the Q&V questionnaire and the separaterate application by the respective 

deadlines in order to receive 

consideration for separate-rate status. 

Companies not filing a timely Q&V 

response will not receive separate-rate 

consideration. 

Use of Combination Rates 

The Department will calculate 

combination rates for certain 

respondents that are eligible for a 

separate rate in an NME investigation. 

The Separate Rates and Combination 

Rates Bulletin states: 

{w}hile continuing the practice of 

assigning separate rates only to exporters, all 

separate rates that the Department will now 

assign in its NME Investigation will be 

specific to those producers that supplied the 

exporter during the period of investigation. 

Note, however, that one rate is calculated for 

the exporter and all of the producers which 

supplied subject merchandise to it during the 

period of investigation. This practice applies 

both to mandatory respondents receiving an 

individually calculated separate rate as well 

as the pool of non-investigated firms 

receiving the weighted-average of the 

individually calculated rates. This practice is 

referred to as the application of ‘‘combination 

rates’’ because such rates apply to specific 

combinations of exporters and one or more 

producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to 

an exporter will apply only to merchandise 

both exported by the firm in question and 

produced by a firm that supplied the exporter 

during the period of investigation.51

Distribution of Copies of the Petitions 

In accordance with section 

732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.202(f), copies of the public version 

of the Petitions have been provided to 

the governments of the PRC, Italy, and 

Taiwan via ACCESS. To the extent 

practicable, we will attempt to provide 

a copy of the public version of the 


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52See section 733(a) of the Act. 

53 Id. 

54See 19 CFR 351.301(b). 

55See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2). 

56See section 782(b) of the Act. 

57See Certification of Factual Information to 

Import Administration during Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 

17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also frequently asked 

questions regarding the Final Rule, available at 

http://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_

info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf. 

Petitions to each exporter named in the 

Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR 

351.203(c)(2). 

ITC Notification 

We will notify the ITC of our 

initiation, as required by section 732(d) 

of the Act. 

Preliminary Determinations by the ITC 

The ITC will preliminarily determine, 

within 45 days after the date on which 

the Petitions were filed, whether there 

is a reasonable indication that imports 

of forged steel fittings from the PRC, 

Italy, and/or Taiwan, are materially 

injuring, or threatening material injury 

to, a U.S. industry.52 A negative ITC 

determination for any country will 

result in the investigation being 

terminated with respect to that 

country.53 Otherwise, these 

investigations will proceed according to 

statutory and regulatory time limits. 

Submission of Factual Information 

Factual information is defined in 19 

CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) Evidence 

submitted in response to questionnaires; 

(ii) evidence submitted in support of 

allegations; (iii) publicly available 

information to value factors under 19 

CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 

adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 

351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence placed on 

the record by the Department; and (v) 

evidence other than factual information 

described in (i)–(iv). 19 CFR 351.301(b) 

requires any party, when submitting 

factual information, to specify under 

which subsection of 19 CFR 

351.102(b)(21) the information is being 

submitted 54 and, if the information is 

submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct 

factual information already on the 

record, to provide an explanation 

identifying the information already on 

the record that the factual information 

seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct.55 Time 

limits for the submission of factual 

information are addressed in 19 CFR 

351.301, which provides specific time 

limits based on the type of factual 

information being submitted. Interested 

parties should review the regulations 

prior to submitting factual information 

in these investigations. 

Extensions of Time Limits 

Parties may request an extension of 

time limits before the expiration of a 

time limit established under 19 CFR 

351.301, or as otherwise specified by the 

Secretary. In general, an extension 

request will be considered untimely if it 

is filed after the expiration of the time 

limit established under 19 CFR 351.301. 

For submissions that are due from 

multiple parties simultaneously, an 

extension request will be considered 

untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET 

on the due date. Under certain 

circumstances, we may elect to specify 

a different time limit by which 

extension requests will be considered 

untimely for submissions which are due 

from multiple parties simultaneously. In 

such a case, we will inform parties in 

the letter or memorandum setting forth 

the deadline (including a specified time) 

by which extension requests must be 

filed to be considered timely. An 

extension request must be made in a 

separate, stand-alone submission; under 

limited circumstances we will grant 

untimely-filed requests for the extension 

of time limits. Parties should review 

Extension of Time Limits; Final Rule, 78 

FR 57790 (September 20, 2013), 

available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 

pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013- 

22853.htm, prior to submitting factual 

information in these investigations. 

Certification Requirements 

Any party submitting factual 

information in an AD or CVD 

proceeding must certify to the accuracy 

and completeness of that information.56

Parties are hereby reminded that revised 

certification requirements are in effect 

for company/government officials, as 

well as their representatives.57

Investigations initiated on the basis of 

petitions filed on or after August 16, 

2013, and other segments of any AD or 

CVD proceedings initiated on or after 

August 16, 2013, should use the formats 

for the revised certifications provided in 

19 CFR 351.303(g). The Department 

intends to reject factual submissions if 

the submitting party does not comply 

with applicable revised certification 

requirements. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

Interested parties must submit 

applications for disclosure under APO 

in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On 

January 22, 2008, the Department 

published Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 

Documents Submission Procedures; 

APO Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January 

22, 2008). Parties wishing to participate 

in these investigations should ensure 

that they meet the requirements of these 

procedures (e.g., the filing of letters of 

appearance as discussed at 19 CFR 

351.103(d)). 

This notice is issued and published 

pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) and 777(i) 

of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c). 

Dated: October 25, 2017. 

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 

Scope of the Investigations 

The merchandise covered by these 

investigations is carbon and alloy forged steel 

fittings, whether unfinished (commonly 

known as blanks or rough forgings) or 

finished. Such fittings are made in a variety 

of shapes including, but not limited to, 

elbows, tees, crosses, laterals, couplings, 

reducers, caps, plugs, bushings and unions. 

Forged steel fittings are covered regardless of 

end finish, whether threaded, socket-weld or 

other end connections. 

While these fittings are generally 

manufactured to specifications ASME 

B16.11, MSS SP–79, and MSS SP–83, ASTM 

A105, ASTM A350 and ASTM A182, the 

scope is not limited to fittings made to these 

specifications. 

The term forged is an industry term used 

to describe a class of products included in 

applicable standards, and does not reference 

an exclusive manufacturing process. Forged 

steel fittings are not manufactured from 

casting. Pursuant to the applicable standards, 

fittings may also be machined from bar stock 

or machined from seamless pipe and tube. 

All types of fittings are included in the 

scope regardless of nominal pipe size (which 

may or may not be expressed in inches of 

nominal pipe size), pressure rating (usually, 

but not necessarily expressed in pounds of 

pressure, e.g., 2,000 or 2M; 3,000 or 3M; 

6,000 or 6M; 9,000 or 9M), wall thickness, 

and whether or not heat treated. 

Excluded from this scope are all fittings 

entirely made of stainless steel. Also 

excluded are flanges, butt weld fittings, and 

nipples. 

Subject carbon and alloy forged steel 

fittings are normally entered under HTSUS 

7307.99.1000, 7307.99.3000, 7307.99.5045, 

and 7307.99.5060. They also may be entered 

under HTSUS 7307.92.3010, 7307.92.3030, 

7307.92.9000, and 7326.19.0010. 

The HTSUS subheadings and 

specifications are provided for convenience 

and customs purposes; the written 

description of the scope is dispositive. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23760 Filed 10–31–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 


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