Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel From the Czech Republic: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, 58324-58326 [2014-23124]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 188 (Monday, September 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58324-58326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-23124]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-851-803]


Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel From the Czech Republic: Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative 
Determination of Critical Circumstances

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) determines that 
grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) from the Czech Republic is 
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value (LTFV), as provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act). In addition, we determine that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to imports of the subject merchandise 
from the Czech Republic. The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 
2012, through June 30, 2013. The final dumping margins of sales at LTFV 
are listed below in the ``Final Determination'' section of this notice.

DATES: Effective Date: September 29, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Bailey at (202) 482-0193 or 
Dennis McClure at (202) 482-5973; AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and 
Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On May 9, 2014, the Department published the Preliminary 
Determination of sales at LTFV of GOES from the Czech Republic.\1\ The 
following events occurred since the Preliminary Determination was 
issued.
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    \1\ See Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel From the Czech Republic: 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Negative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, and 
Postponement of Final Determination, 79 FR 26717 (May 9, 2014) 
(Preliminary Determination).
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    In May 2014, the Department verified the sales data submitted by 
ArcelorMittal Frydek-Mistek (AMFM) and its U.S. affiliate, 
ArcelorMittal International America LLC, in accordance with section 
782(i) of the Act. We also issued a supplemental cost of production 
(COP) questionnaire to AMFM on May 9, 2014, and received the response 
to this supplemental questionnaire on June 3, 2014.
    In June 2014, we verified the COP information submitted by AMFM, 
and we attempted to verify the sales information submitted by Sujani 
Enterprises, Ltd. (Sujani), in accordance with section 782(i) of the 
Act.
    We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary 
Determination. On July 28 and August 4, 2014, the domestic industry,\2\ 
AMFM, and Sujani submitted case and rebuttal briefs, respectively.
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    \2\ The domestic industry includes AK Steel Corporation, 
Allegheny Ludlum, LLC, and the United Steelworkers (i.e., the 
parties filing the petition), as well as one additional domestic 
interested party, the International Union, United Automobile, 
Aerospace, and Agricultural Implemental Workers of America (UAW).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of the investigation covers GOES, which is a flat-rolled 
alloy steel product containing by weight specific levels of silicon, 
carbon, and aluminum. For a complete description of the scope of the 
investigation, see Appendix I of this notice.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in 
this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, 
which is hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the issues raised is 
attached to this notice as Appendix II. The Issues and Decision 
Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (IA ACCESS). IA ACCESS is 
available to registered users at https://iaaccess.trade.gov and it is 
available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room 7046 of the 
main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version 
of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at 
https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic 
versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, in May and June 2014, we 
verified the sales and cost information submitted by AMFM for use in 
our final determination. We used standard verification procedures, 
including an examination of relevant accounting and production records, 
and original source documents provided by AMFM.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum to the File from Stephen Bailey and Dennis 
McClure, Senior Analysts, entitled ``Verification of ArcelorMittal 
International America LLC in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation 
of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel from the Czech Republic,'' dated 
June 11, 2014; Memorandum to the File from Stephen Bailey and Dennis 
McClure, Senior Analysts, entitled ``Verification of Sales Response 
of ArcelorMittal Fr[yacute]dek-M[iacute]stek in the Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigation of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel from the 
Czech Republic,'' dated July 3, 2014; and Memorandum to the File 
from Christopher J. Zimpo, Senior Accountant, entitled 
``Verification of Cost Response of ArcelorMittal Frydek-Mistek 
(``AMFM'') in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Grain-Oriented 
Electrical Steel from the Czech Republic,'' dated July 18, 2014.
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    In addition, as provided in section 782(i) of the Act, in June 
2014, we also attempted to verify the sales information submitted by 
Sujani, using standard verification procedures.\4\ However, as noted in 
the Sujani Sales Verification Report, Sujani was unable to substantiate 
the data in its accounting system using independent sources, and it 
withheld information when requested by the Department's verifiers. As a 
consequence, we find that Sujani's reported data is unverifiable, and 
so incomplete that it cannot serve as a reliable basis for reaching a 
determination in this investigation.\5\
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    \4\ See Memorandum to the File from Dennis McClure, Senior 
Analyst, and Stephen Banea, Analyst, Office II, AD/CVD Operations, 
entitled, ``Verification of Sujani Enterprises, Inc. in the Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel 
from the Czech Republic,'' dated July 16, 2013 (Sujani Sales 
Verification Report).
    \5\ See sections 782(e)(2) and (3) of the Act.

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[[Page 58325]]

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of the comments received and our findings at 
verification, we made certain changes to the margin calculation for 
AMFM. For a discussion of these changes, see the ``Margin 
Calculations'' section of the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
    With respect to Sujani, as noted in the ``Verification'' section 
above, we found that Sujani's reported sales information could not be 
verified. As a consequence, for purposes of the final determination, we 
find that necessary information is not available on the record, and 
that Sujani withheld information requested by the Department, 
significantly impeded the proceeding, and provided information that 
could not be verified, within the meaning of sections 776(a)(1) and 
776(a)(2)(A), (C), and (D) of the Act. Furthermore, we find that Sujani 
failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability in this 
proceeding because it failed to provide complete information at the 
Department's request, although it possessed this information. Thus, 
pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.308(a), and 
consistent with sections 782(e)(2) and (3) of the Act, we have based 
Sujani's dumping margin on total adverse facts available (AFA). For 
further discussion, see Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 11.

``All Others'' Rate

    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 margins determined entirely under section 776 of 
the Act. In the Preliminary Determination, the Department calculated 
the ``all others'' rate based on the average of AMFM's and Sujani's 
margins. In light of the Department's use of total AFA for Sujani for 
purposes of this final determination, Sujani's rate is no longer 
appropriate for use in calculating the ``all others'' rate. Therefore, 
the Department has assigned AMFM's weighted-average dumping margin of 
13.76 percent to all other entities not individually examined.

Final Determination

    The final weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                          Dumping margin
                  Manufacturer/Exporter                      (percent)
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ArcelorMittal Frydek-Mistek.............................           13.76
Sujani Enterprises, Ltd.................................           35.93
All Others..............................................           13.76
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Final Determination of Critical Circumstances

    For AMFM and the companies covered by the all others rate, we made 
no changes to our critical circumstances analysis announced in the 
Preliminary Determination and described in the ``Decision Memorandum 
for the Preliminary Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation 
of Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel from the Czech Republic.'' \6\ Thus, 
pursuant to 735(a)(3) of the Act, we continue to find that critical 
circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of GOES from the 
Czech Republic from AMFM and the companies covered by the all others 
rate.
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    \6\ See Preliminary Determination, 79 FR at 26717, and 
accompanying Preliminary Issues and Decision Memorandum at 16-18.
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    For Sujani, because we now find it to be uncooperative, we are 
determining for Sujani, as AFA, a final dumping margin of 35.93 
percent, which is the highest model-specific margin calculated for 
AMFM. In performing its critical circumstances analysis, the Department 
normally considers margins of 25 percent or more for export price sales 
and 15 percent or more for constructed export price sales sufficient to 
impute importer knowledge of sales at LTFV.\7\ Because Sujani's final 
dumping margin exceeds the threshold sufficient to impute knowledge of 
dumping, this margin provides a sufficient basis for imputing knowledge 
of sales of subject merchandise at LTFV to the importers, as set forth 
in section 735(a)(3)(ii) of the Act.
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    \7\ See, e.g., Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Germany, 
Mexico, Moldova, Trinidad and Tobago, and Ukraine: Preliminary 
Determination of Critical Circumstances, 67 FR 6224, 6225 (February 
11, 2002) (Steel Wire Rod Preliminary Determination), unchanged in 
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod From Moldova, 67 FR 55790 
(Steel Wire Rod Moldova Final Determination); Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances: Magnesium Metal 
From the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 5606, 5607 (February 3, 
2005) (Magnesium Metal Preliminary Critical Circumstances 
Determination), unchanged in Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value and Affirmative Critical Circumstances: Magnesium 
Metal From the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 9037 (Magnesium 
Metal Final Determination) (February 24, 2005).
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    In determining whether an importer knew or should have known that 
there was likely to be material injury caused by reason of such 
imports, the Department normally will look to the preliminary injury 
determination of the International Trade Commission (ITC).\8\ If the 
ITC finds a reasonable indication of material injury to the relevant 
U.S. industry, the Department will determine that a reasonable basis 
exists to impute importer knowledge that material injury is likely by 
reason of such imports.\9\ Here, the ITC found that ``there is a 
reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is 
materially injured by reason of imports from China, Czech Republic, 
Germany, Japan, Korea, Poland, and Russia of grain-oriented electrical 
steel, provided for in subheadings 7225.11.00, 7226.11.10, and 
7226.11.90 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. . . 
.'' \10\ Therefore, the ITC's preliminary injury determination in this 
investigation is sufficient to impute knowledge of the likelihood of 
material injury.
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    \8\ See, e.g., Certain Potassium Phosphate Salts From the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Critical Circumstances in the Antidumping Duty Investigation, 75 FR 
24572, 24573 (May 5, 2010), unchanged in Certain Potassium Phosphate 
Salts From the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Termination of Critical 
Circumstances Inquiry, 75 FR 30377 (June 1, 2010).
    \9\ See, e.g., Steel Wire Rod Preliminary Determination, 
Unchanged in Steel Wire Rod Moldova Final Determination; and 
Magnesium Metal Preliminary Critical Circumstances Determination, 
unchanged in Magnesium Metal Final Determination.
    \10\ See Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel From China, Czech 
Republic, Germany, Japan, Korea, Poland, and Russia; Determinations, 
78 FR 70574 (November 26, 2013).
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    Section 351.206(h)(1) of the Department's regulations provides 
that, in determining whether imports of the subject merchandise were 
``massive,'' the Department normally will examine: (i) The volume and 
value of the imports; (ii) seasonal trends; and (iii) the share of 
domestic consumption accounted for by the imports. In addition, 19 CFR 
351.206(h)(2) provides that, ``{i{time} n general, unless the imports 
during the `relatively short period' . . . have increased by at least 
15 percent over the imports during an immediately preceding period of 
comparable duration, the Secretary will not consider the imports 
massive.'' It is the Department's practice to conduct its massive 
imports analysis based on the experience of investigated companies, 
using the reported monthly shipment data for the base and comparison 
periods.\11\ However, as noted above, we

[[Page 58326]]

determined that Sujani has not acted to the best of its ability in 
responding to our requests for information.\12\ Therefore, the 
Department determines that the use of adverse facts available is 
warranted. Accordingly, we find that there were massive imports of 
subject merchandise from Sujani, pursuant to our practice.\13\
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    \11\ See, e.g., Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value and Affirmative Final Determination of Critical 
Circumstances: Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe From the 
People's Republic of China, 73 FR 31970, 31972-31973 (June 5, 2008); 
and Small Diameter Graphite Electrodes From the People's Republic of 
China, 74 FR 2049, 2052-2053 (January 14, 2009) (SDGE Final 
Determination).
    \12\ See the ``Verification'' section of this memorandum, above.
    \13\ See SDGE Final Determination, 74 FR at 2052-2053.
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    Given the analysis above, we determine that critical circumstances 
exist with respect to imports of GOES from Sujani.

Disclosure

    We will disclose the calculations performed within five days of the 
date of publication of this notice to parties in this proceeding in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department 
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to 
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of GOES from the Czech 
Republic, as described in Appendix I of this notice, for AMFM and the 
companies covered by the all others rate which were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 9, 2014, the 
date of publication of the preliminary determination of this 
investigation in the Federal Register. For entries made by Sujani, in 
accordance with section 735(c)(4)(B) of the Act, we will instruct CBP 
to suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of GOES from the 
Czech Republic, as described in Appendix I of this notice which were 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
February 8, 2014, which is 90 days prior to the date of publication of 
the preliminary determination of this investigation in the Federal 
Register.
    Further, the Department will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit 
equal to the amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. price as 
follows: (1) For the mandatory respondents listed above, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the dumping margin which the Department 
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a 
mandatory respondent identified in this investigation, but the producer 
is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the producer 
of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rates for all 
other producers or exporters will be 13.76 percent. The suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of the final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. Because 
the final determination in this proceeding is affirmative, in 
accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the ITC will 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 GOES from the Czech Republic no later than 45 days 
after our final determination. If the ITC determines that material 
injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will 
be terminated and all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC 
determines that such injury does exist, the Department will issue an 
antidumping duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further 
instruction by the Department, antidumping duties on all imports of the 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders (APO)

    This notice serves as a reminder to parties subject to APO of their 
responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 
notification of the return or destruction of APO materials, or 
conversion to judicial protective order, is hereby requested. Failure 
to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a 
sanctionable violation.
    This determination and this notice are issued and published 
pursuant to sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: September 22, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers grain-oriented silicon 
electrical steel (GOES). GOES is a flat-rolled alloy steel product 
containing by weight at least 0.6 percent but not more than 6 
percent of silicon, not more than 0.08 percent of carbon, not more 
than 1.0 percent of aluminum, and no other element in an amount that 
would give the steel the characteristics of another alloy steel, in 
coils or in straight lengths. The GOES that is subject to this 
investigation is currently classifiable under subheadings 
7225.11.0000, 7226.11.1000, 7226.11.9030, and 7226.11.9060 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope of this investigation 
is dispositive. Excluded are flat-rolled products not in coils that, 
prior to importation into the United States, have been cut to a 
shape and undergone all punching, coating, or other operations 
necessary for classification in Chapter 85 of the HTSUS as a 
transformer part (i.e., laminations).

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

General Comments

    1. Affiliation Between AMFM and Sujani
    2. The Knowledge Test

Company-Specific Comments

AMFM

    3. Home Market Sale Outside the Ordinary Course of Trade
    4. Indirect Selling Expenses
    5. Packing Expenses
    6. CEP Offset
    7. Electricity
    8. Rolls and Roller Adjustment to Cost of Manufacturing
    9. Verification Changes to AMFM's Cost Data
    10. Profit

Sujani

    11. Total Facts Available for Sujani
    12. Other Sujani Adjustments

[FR Doc. 2014-23124 Filed 9-26-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P