Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part: Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the People's Republic of China, 5500-5507 [E8-1664]
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ronald Gianella, Accountant, Office of
the Deputy Chief Financial Officer,
Policy and Internal Review Division,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP
33, P.O. Box 200011, St. Louis, MO
63120, Telephone: (314) 457–4298.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: Form RD 1951–65, Customer
Initiated Payments (CIP) Enrollment
Form; Form RD 1951–66, FedWire
Worksheet, and Form RD 3550–28,
Authorization Agreement for
Preauthorized Payments.
OMB Number: 0575–0184.
Expiration Date of Approval: June 30,
2008.
Type of Request: Revision of a
currently approved information
collection.
Abstract: Rural Development uses
electronic methods (Customer Initiated
Payments [CIP], FedWire, and
Preauthorized Debits [PAD]) for
receiving and processing loan payments
and collections. These electronic
collection methods provide a means for
Rural Development borrowers to
transmit loan payments from their
financial institution (FI) accounts to
Rural Development’s Treasury Account
and receive credit for their payments.
To administer these electronic loan
collection methods, Rural Development
collects the borrower’s FI routing
information (routing information
includes the FI routing number and the
borrower’s account number). Rural
Development uses Agency approved
forms for collecting bank routing
information for CIP, FedWire, and PAD.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting
burden for this collection of information
is estimated to average .5 hours per
response. Each Rural Development
borrower who elects to participate in
electronic loan payments will only
prepare one response for the life of their
loan unless they change financial
institutions or accounts.
Respondents: Business or other forprofit; Not-for-profit institutions; and
State, local, or tribal Government.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
23,520.
Estimated Number of Responses per
Respondent: 1.
Estimated Number of Responses:
23,520.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on
Respondents: 11,760 hours.
Copies of this information collection
can be obtained from Cheryl Thompson,
Regulations and Paperwork
Management Branch, at (202) 692–0043.
Comments are invited on: (1) The
need for the information including
whether the information has practical
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utility; (2) the accuracy of the reporting
burden estimate; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the
information collection on respondents.
Comments should be submitted to
Cheryl Thompson, Regulations and
Paperwork Management Branch,
Support Services Division, Rural
Development, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, STOP 0742, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250–0742. All
responses to this notice will be
summarized, included in the request for
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval, and will become a
matter of public record.
Dated: January 24, 2008.
Russell T. Davis,
Administrator, Rural Housing Service.
[FR Doc. E8–1577 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–570–914]
Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, Postponement
of Final Determination, and Affirmative
Preliminary Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part: Light-Walled
Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the
People’s Republic of China
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(the Department) preliminarily
determines that light-walled rectangular
pipe and tube (LWR) from the People’s
Republic of China (PRC) is being, or is
likely to be, sold in the United States at
less than fair value (LTFV), as provided
in section 733 of the Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended (the Act). The estimated
dumping margins are shown in the
‘‘Preliminary Determination’’ section of
this notice.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 30, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff
Pedersen or Drew Jackson, AD/CVD
Operations, Office 4, Import
Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230;
telephone: (202) 482–2769 or 482–4406,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
AGENCY:
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Background
On June 27, 2007, the Department
received petitions concerning imports of
LWR from the PRC, Mexico, Turkey,
and the Republic of Korea (Korea) filed
in proper form by Allied Tube and
Conduit, Atlas Tube, Bull Moose Tube
Company, California Steel and Tube,
EXLTUBE, Hannibal Industries, Leavitt
Tube Company, Maruichi American
Corporation, Searing Industries,
Southland Tube, Vest Inc., Welded
Tube, and Western Tube and Conduit
(collectively, the petitioners). The
Department initiated antidumping duty
investigations of LWR from the abovementioned countries on July 17, 2007.
See Initiation of Antidumping Duty
Investigations: Light-Walled Rectangular
Pipe and Tube from Republic of Korea,
Mexico, Turkey, and the People’s
Republic of China, 72 FR 40274 (July 24,
2007) (Initiation Notice). On August 22,
2007, the International Trade
Commission (ITC) preliminarily
determined that there is a reasonable
indication that an industry in the
United States is materially injured or
threatened with material injury by
reason of imports of LWR from the PRC,
Mexico, Turkey, and Korea. See LightWalled Rectangular Pipe and Tube
From China, Korea, Mexico, and Turkey,
Investigation Nos. 701-TA–449 and 731TA–1118–1121 (Preliminary), 72 FR
49310 (August 28, 2007).
On July 18, 2007, the Department
requested quantity and value (Q&V)
information from the 53 companies that
were identified in the petition as
potential producers or exporters of LWR
from the PRC. See Exhibit 10, Volume
I, of the June 27, 2007, Petition for the
Imposition of Antidumping and
Countervailing Duties (the petition). The
Department received timely responses
to its Q&V questionnaire from the
following 10 companies (three of which
were identified in the petition):
Zhangjiagang Zhongyuan Pipe-Making
Co., Ltd. (ZZPC), Suns International
Trading Limited (Suns), Liaoning Cold
Forming Sectional Company Limited
(Liaoning), Kunshan Lets Win Steel
Machinery Co., Ltd. (Lets Win), Wuxi
Baishun Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. (Baishun),
Guangdong Walsall Steel Pipe Industrial
Co., Ltd. (Walsall), Wuxi Worldunion
Trading Co., Ltd. (Worldunion), Weifang
East Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. (Weifang),
Jiangyin Jianye Metal Products Co., Ltd.
(Jiangyin), and Dalian Brollo Steel
Tubes Ltd. (Dalian).
On August 16, 2007, the Department
selected ZZPC and Lets Win as
mandatory respondents. See
memorandum regarding ‘‘Selection of
Respondents in the Antidumping
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Investigation of Light-Walled
Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the
People’s Republic of China,’’ dated
August 16, 2007 (Respondent Selection
Memorandum).
The Department received separaterate applications from ZZPC, Lets Win,
Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion, Weifang,
Jiangyin, and Dalian. The Department
did not receive separate-rate
applications from Suns and Liaoning.
On August 17, 2007, the Department
issued its antidumping questionnaire to
the mandatory respondents. ZZPC and
Lets Win submitted timely responses to
the Department’s questionnaire during
September and October 2007. The
Department issued supplemental
questionnaires to, and received
responses from, ZZPC and Lets Win in
October, November, and December 2007
and January 2008. The petitioners
submitted comments to the Department
regarding ZZPC’s and Lets Wins’
questionnaire and supplemental
questionnaire responses, and the
separate rates response of Dalian in
October and December 2007.
On September 21, 2007, the
Department released to interested
parties a memorandum which listed
potential surrogate countries and
invited interested parties to comment on
surrogate country and factor value
selection. No party responded to the
Department’s invitation to comment on
surrogate country selection. However, in
October, November, and December 2007
and January 2008, both the petitioners
and the respondents submitted
surrogate values, including surrogate
financial statements, for use in this
investigation. All of the submitted
surrogate data are from India.
In August and September 2007, the
petitioners and respondents submitted
comments to the Department regarding
the appropriate model matching criteria.
On November 1, 2007, the petitioners
alleged targeted dumping by ZZPC and
Lets Win. On December 10, 2007, the
Department sent a letter to the
petitioners requesting more information
regarding both targeted dumping
allegations. See Letter from Howard
Smith, Program Manager, Office 4, to
Petitioners, concerning, ‘‘Targeted
Dumping Allegation,’’ dated December
10, 2007. On December 17, 2007, the
petitioners responded to the
Department’s December 10th request for
additional information. See the
‘‘Targeted Dumping’’ section of this
notice for additional information
regarding these allegations.
On December 13, 2007, the petitioners
requested that the Department make a
finding that critical circumstances exist
with respect to imports of LWR from the
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PRC. The Department issued
questionnaires regarding critical
circumstances to Lets Win and ZZPC on
December 18, 2007. Lets Win and ZZPC
submitted their responses to those
questionnaires on December 28, 2007,
and January 2, 2008. See the ‘‘Critical
Circumstances’’ section of this notice for
additional information.
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (POI) is
October 1, 2006, through March 31,
2007. This period comprises the two
most recently completed fiscal quarters
as of the month preceding the month in
which the petition was filed (i.e., June
2007). See 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1).
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise that is the subject of
this investigation is certain welded
carbon-quality light-walled steel pipe
and tube, of rectangular (including
square) cross section, having a wall
thickness of less than 4 mm.
The term carbon-quality steel
includes both carbon steel and alloy
steel which contains only small
amounts of alloying elements.
Specifically, the term carbon-quality
includes products in which none of the
elements listed below exceeds the
quantity by weight respectively
indicated: 1.80 percent of manganese, or
2.25 percent of silicon, or 1.00 percent
of copper, or 0.50 percent of aluminum,
or 1.25 percent of chromium, or 0.30
percent of cobalt, or 0.40 percent of
lead, or 1.25 percent of nickel, or 0.30
percent of tungsten, or 0.10 percent of
molybdenum, or 0.10 percent of
niobium, or 0.15 percent vanadium, or
0.15 percent of zirconium. The
description of carbon-quality is
intended to identify carbon-quality
products within the scope. The welded
carbon-quality rectangular pipe and
tube subject to this investigation is
currently classified under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS) subheadings
7306.61.50.00 and 7306.61.70.60. While
HTSUS subheadings are provided for
convenience and Customs purposes, our
written description of the scope of the
investigation is dispositive.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to
the Department’s regulations, we set
aside a period of time in our Initiation
Notice for parties to raise issues
regarding product coverage, and
encouraged all parties to submit
comments within 20 calendar days of
publication of that notice. See
Antidumping Duties; Countervailing
Duties, 62 FR 27296, 27323, (May 19,
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1997) and Initiation Notice. The
Department received no comments
concerning the scope of the LWR
antidumping and countervailing duty
investigations. Accordingly, we have
not made changes to the scope of this
investigation.
Critical Circumstances
The Department preliminarily finds
that there is reason to believe or suspect
that critical circumstances exist for
imports of subject merchandise from the
PRC-wide entity because, in accordance
with section 733(e)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act,
importers of LWR produced by the PRCwide entity knew or should have known
that the exporter was selling the subject
merchandise at less than its fair value
and that there was likely to be material
injury by reason of such sales. See
Memorandum from Abdelali Elouaradia,
Director, Office 4, ‘‘Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part,’’ dated
concurrently with this memorandum. In
addition, the Department also
preliminarily finds that imports from
the PRC-wide entity satisfy section
733(e)(1)(B) of Act because these
imports were massive during a
relatively short period. See id.
However, with respect to Lets Win,
ZZPC, and the separate-rate companies,
the Department does not preliminarily
find that there is reason to believe or
suspect that critical circumstances exist
for imports of subject merchandise from
these companies because the record
indicates that imports from these
companies were not massive during a
relatively short period. See section
733(e)(1)(B) of the Act; see also
Memorandum from Abdelali Elouaradia,
Director, Office 4, ‘‘Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part,’’ dated
concurrently with this memorandum.
Accordingly, for Lets Win, ZZPC, and
the separate-rate companies, the
statutory requirement imposed by
section 733(e)(1)(B) of Act has not been
satisfied and, therefore, we
preliminarily determine that critical
circumstances do not exist for these
entities.
Targeted Dumping
Pursuant to section 777A(d)(1) of the
Act, in calculating dumping margins in
investigations the Department normally
will compare U.S. prices and normal
values using a weighted average-toaverage or transaction-to-transaction
comparison methodology. However,
section 777A(d)(1)(B) of the Act allows
the Department to compare transactionspecific export or constructed export
prices to weighted-average normal
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values if there is a pattern of export or
constructed export prices for
comparable merchandise that differ
significantly among purchasers, regions,
or periods of time and the Department
explains why such differences cannot be
taken into account using the weighted
average-to-average or transaction-totransaction methods. See sections
777A(d)(1)(B)(i) and 777A(d)(1)(B)(ii) of
the Act. Further, 19 CFR 351.414(f)(1)(i)
requires that a determination of targeted
dumping be made ‘‘through the use of,
among other things, standard and
appropriate statistical techniques.’’ The
regulations further elaborate that
targeted dumping allegations ‘‘must
include all supporting factual
information, and an explanation as to
why the average-to-average or
transaction-to-transaction method could
not take into account any alleged price
differences.’’ See 19 CFR 351.414(f)(3).
On November 1, 2007, the petitioners
alleged that Lets Win and ZZPC targeted
certain sales of LWR for dumping.
Specifically, the petitioners alleged that
targeted dumping occurred where the
average net price of all of the subject
merchandise sold to a particular
customer, entered into a particular port,
or sold during a specific month, differed
by more than two percent from the
overall average net price of all of the
subject merchandise sold by the
respondent during the POI. The
petitioners believe the two-percent price
difference supports a finding of targeted
dumping because: (1) This approach is
consistent with the methodology used
in the antidumping duty investigation of
coated free sheet (CFS) paper from the
Republic of South Korea; and (2) LWR
is a commodity product sold in a
competitive market and, thus, any price
difference is critical. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Coated Free Sheet Paper
from the Republic of Korea, 72 FR 60630
(October 25, 2007) (CFS from Korea) and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 3; see also
Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube
from China, Korea, Mexico, and Turkey,
Investigation Nos. 701–TA–449 and
731–TA–1118–1121 (Preliminary)
USITC Pub. 3941 at 10 (August 2007)
(noting that the parties generally agree
that LWR is a commodity-like product).
Based on the price comparisons
described above, the petitioners argue
that Lets Win engaged in targeted
dumping during a certain time period
whereas ZZPC engaged in targeted
dumping with respect to certain
customers, regions, and time periods.
After reviewing the petitioners’
targeted dumping allegations, the
Department determined that the
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allegations lacked basic information and
support, and informed the petitioners
that they failed to: (1) Establish that the
two-percent price variation is significant
for the LWR market; (2) establish that
the price differences are based on
purchasers, regions, or time periods
rather than other factors (e.g., general
price fluctuations in the market, product
differences, differences in channels of
distribution or quantities purchased);
and (3) explain why the average-toaverage or transaction-to-transaction
comparison methodology cannot take
into account the observed price
differences. See the Department’s
December 10, 2007, letter to the
petitioners.
In response to the Department’s
December 10, 2007, letter, the
petitioners asserted that the ITC has
already analyzed the LWR market and
found the subject merchandise to be a
commodity product. See the petitioners’
December 17, 2007, submission to the
Department. The petitioners noted that
the only stated reason for accepting a
two-percent price variation as evidence
of targeted dumping in the CFS paper
investigation was the ITC’s finding that
CFS paper is a commodity product.
According to the petitioners, additional
market analysis related to targeted
dumping (beyond the ITC’s finding) was
not engaged in by the petitioner in CFS
paper, nor is such extensive market
analysis required by the statute. Thus,
the petitioners maintained that the ITC’s
findings are more than adequate support
for their proposed two-percent
benchmark. Moreover, the petitioners
argued that price differences in
commodity-like products sold to
different purchasers or regions or in
different time periods can only be
captured through an average-totransaction comparison. Specifically,
the petitioners stated that if the
Department were to average prices to
targeted and non-targeted groups the
lower prices in the targeted groups
would be offset by the prices in the nontargeted groups.
We have determined that in this case
using an average-to-transaction
comparison methodology results in the
same overall antidumping margin for
each of the respondents as using an
average-to-average comparison
methodology. See memoranda to the
File from Jeff Pedersen for each
respondent regarding ‘‘Dumping
Margins Based on an Average-toTransaction Comparison Methodology.’’
Thus, the petitioners’ claim that the
observed price differences can only be
taken into account using an average-totransaction comparison is not supported
by the facts in this case. See id.
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Therefore, the requirement of section
777A(d)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act that the
average-to-average or transaction-totransaction methodology cannot account
for the price differences is not met. See
also ‘‘Statement of Administrative
Action,’’ accompanying the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (‘‘URAA’’), H.R.
Rep. No. 103–316, (1994) at 843 (SAA)
(‘‘{b}efore relying on {the average-totransaction comparison} methodology,
however, Commerce must establish and
provide an explanation why it cannot
account for such differences through the
use of an average-to-average or
transaction-to-transaction
comparison.’’).
Finally, the Department notes that the
petitioners failed to adequately respond
to the Department’s concerns regarding
their targeted dumping allegations.
Specifically, the petitioners failed to
describe how the LWR market functions
and did not adequately explain why a
two-percent price difference should be
considered to be significant for the
‘‘commodity-like product,’’ LWR, given
the characteristics of the LWR market.1
As provided in the SAA ‘‘the
Administration intends that in
determining whether a pattern of
significant price differences exist,
Commerce will proceed on a case-bycase basis, because small differences
may be significant for one industry or
one type of product, but not for
another.’’ See SAA at 843. Moreover, the
petitioners failed to address or take into
consideration other possible reasons for
the observed price differences (e.g.,
general price fluctuations in the market,
product differences (the petitioners did
not compare prices of identical
merchandise in their analysis),
differences in channels of distribution
or quantities purchased, etc.). Thus, the
petitioners did not adequately establish
price patterns based on purchasers,
regions, or periods of time. We note that
in the CFS paper investigation, a
number of these other possible reasons
for the observed price differences were
taken into account by comparing prices
for identical merchandise sold at the
same level of trade on a month-to-month
basis.
Given the foregoing, we find that the
petitioners’ allegations do not contain
sufficient information to conduct a
targeted dumping analysis.
1 Additionally, it is important to note that in the
investigation of CFS paper from the Republic of
Korea, rather than adopting a two-percent
benchmark in analyzing targeted dumping the
Department specifically noted that it ‘‘has not
adopted any specific percentages suggested by both
parties in their contentions regarding the definition
of significance.’’ See CFS from Korea and
accompanying ‘‘Issues and Decision Memorandum’’
at Comment 3.
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Non-Market Economy Treatment
The Department considers the PRC to
be a non-market economy (NME)
country. In accordance with section
771(18)(c)(i) of the Act, any
determination that a country is an NME
country shall remain in effect until
revoked by the administering authority.
See Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts
Thereof (TRBs), Finished and
Unfinished, From the People’s Republic
of China: Preliminary Results of 2001–
2002 Administrative Review and Partial
Rescission of Review, 68 FR 7500
(February 14, 2003), unchanged in
TRBs, Finished and Unfinished, From
the People’s Republic of China: Final
Results of 2001–2002 Administrative
Review and Partial Rescission of
Review, 68 FR 70488 (December 18,
2003). Therefore, in this preliminary
determination, we have treated the PRC
as an NME country and applied our
current NME methodology.
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Selection of a Surrogate Country
In antidumping proceedings involving
NME countries, the Department,
pursuant to section 773(c)(1) of the Act,
will generally base normal value (NV)
on the value of the NME producer’s
factors of production. In accordance
with section 773(c)(4) of the Act, in
valuing the factors of production, the
Department shall utilize, to the extent
possible, the prices or costs of factors of
production in one or more market
economy countries that are at a level of
economic development comparable to
that of the NME country and are
significant producers of merchandise
comparable to the subject merchandise.
The Department has determined that
India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the
Philippines, and Egypt are countries
that are at a level of economic
development comparable to that of the
PRC. See memorandum regarding
‘‘Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube
(Pipe) from the People’s Republic of
China (PRC): Request for a List of
Surrogate Countries,’’ dated August 22,
2007 (Policy Memorandum). From
among these economically comparable
countries, the Department has
preliminarily selected India as the
surrogate country for this investigation
because it determined that: (1) India is
a significant producer of merchandise
comparable to the subject merchandise
and (2) reliable Indian data for valuing
the factors of production are readily
available. See memorandum regarding
‘‘Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube
from the People’s Republic of China:
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Selection of a Surrogate Country’’ dated
November 13, 2007.
Separate Rates
In proceedings involving NME
countries, the Department has a
rebuttable presumption that all
companies within the country are
subject to government control and thus
should be assessed a single antidumping
duty rate. It is the Department’s policy
to assign all exporters of merchandise
subject to investigation involving an
NME country this single rate unless an
exporter can demonstrate that it is
sufficiently independent so as to be
entitled to a separate rate. ZZPC, Lets
Win, Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion,
Weifang, Jiangyin, and Dalian provided
company-specific information to
demonstrate that they operate
independently of de jure and de facto
government control, and therefore are
entitled to a separate rate. Suns and
Liaoning did not submit separate-rate
applications. Accordingly, Suns and
Liaoning have not provided companyspecific information to demonstrate that
they operate independently of de jure
and de facto government control.
The Department’s separate-rate test is
not concerned, in general, with
macroeconomic/border-type controls,
e.g., export licenses, quotas, and
minimum export prices, particularly if
these controls are imposed to prevent
dumping. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Certain Preserved
Mushrooms from the People’s Republic
of China, 63 FR 72255, 72256
(December 31, 1998). The test focuses,
rather, on controls over the investment,
pricing, and output decision-making
process at the individual firm level. See
Notice of Final Determination of Sales
at Less than Fair Value: Certain Cut-toLength Carbon Steel Plate From
Ukraine, 62 FR 61754, 61758 (November
19, 1997), and TRBs, Finished and
Unfinished, from the People’s Republic
of China: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review, 62 FR
61276, 61279 (November 17, 1997).
To establish whether a firm is
sufficiently independent from
government control of its export
activities to be entitled to a separate
rate, the Department analyzes each
entity exporting the subject
merchandise under a test arising from
the Notice of Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers
from the People’s Republic of China, 56
FR 20588 (May 6, 1991) (Sparklers), as
further developed in Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from the
People’s Republic of China, 59 FR 22585
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5503
(May 2, 1994) (Silicon Carbide). In
accordance with the separate-rates
criteria, the Department assigns separate
rates in NME cases only if respondents
can demonstrate the absence of both de
jure and de facto governmental control
over export activities.
Absence of De Jure Control
The Department considers the
following de jure criteria in determining
whether an individual company may be
granted a separate rate: (1) An absence
of restrictive stipulations associated
with an individual exporter’s business
and export licenses; (2) any legislative
enactments decentralizing control of
companies; and (3) other formal
measures by the government
decentralizing control of companies. See
Sparklers, 56 FR at 20589. Information
submitted by ZZPC, Lets Win, Baishun,
Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin
indicates that there are no restrictive
stipulations associated with their
exporter and/or business licenses; and
there are legislative enactments
decentralizing control of the companies.
Therefore, the Department has
preliminarily found a de jure absence of
government control over these
companies’ export activities.
Walsall reported that it is wholly
foreign-owned by China Pacific Limited
(CPL), which is incorporated in the
Cayman Islands. CPL is in turn wholly
owned by a Hong Kong citizen. Since
there is no PRC ownership of Walsall,
and we have no evidence indicating that
this company is under the control of the
PRC, a separate rates analysis is not
necessary to determine whether Walsall
is independent from government
control. See Brake Rotors From the
People’s Republic of China: Preliminary
Results and Partial Rescission of the
Fourth New Shipper Review and
Rescission of the Third Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review, 66 FR
1303, 1306 (January 8, 2001) (finding
that no separate rates analysis for
Hongfa was necessary because the
company was wholly foreign owned),
unchanged in the final determination;
see also Notice of Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Creatine Monohydrate From the
People’s Republic of China, 64 FR 71104
(December 20, 1999).
The Department determined that
Dalian did not make a sale to the United
States during the POI and thus should
not be considered for a separate rate.
See memorandum regarding ‘‘Dalian
Brollo Steel Tubes Ltd.’s Eligibility for
a Separate Rate’’ dated concurrently
with this notice.
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Absence of De Facto Control
Typically the Department considers
four factors in evaluating whether each
respondent is subject to de facto
governmental control of its export
functions: (1) Whether the export prices
are set by, or are subject to the approval
of, a governmental agency; (2) whether
the respondent has authority to
negotiate and sign contracts and other
agreements; (3) whether the respondent
has autonomy from the government in
making decisions regarding the
selection of management; and (4)
whether the respondent retains the
proceeds of its export sales and makes
independent decisions regarding
disposition of profits or financing of
losses. See Silicon Carbide, 59 FR at
22586–87; see also Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Furfuryl Alcohol From the
People’s Republic of China, 60 FR
22544, 22545 (May 8, 1995). The
Department considers an analysis of de
facto control to be critical in
determining whether a respondent is, in
fact, subject to a degree of governmental
control that would preclude the
Department from assigning the
respondent a separate rate.
ZZPC, Lets Win, Baishun,
Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin
have each provided information
indicating that they: (1) Set export
prices independent of the government
and without the approval of a
government authority; (2) have the
authority to negotiate and sign contracts
and other agreements; (3) have
autonomy from the government
regarding the selection of management;
and (4) retain proceeds from sales and
make independent decisions regarding
the disposition of profits or financing of
losses. Therefore, the Department has
preliminarily found a de facto absence
of government control over these
companies’ export activities.
Based on the foregoing, the
Department has preliminarily granted
ZZPC, Lets Win, Baishun, Walsall,
Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin,
separate, company-specific dumping
margins. The Department calculated
company-specific dumping margins for
ZZPC and Lets Win and assigned
Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion, Weifang,
and Jiangyin a dumping margin equal to
the weighted-average of the dumping
margins calculated for ZZPC and Lets
Win. As noted above, Suns and
Liaoning did not submit separate-rate
applications. Accordingly, Suns and
Liaoning have not provided companyspecific information to demonstrate that
they operate independently of de jure
and de facto government control.
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Therefore, the Department has not
preliminarily granted Suns and
Liaoning a separate rate.
The PRC-Wide Entity
Although PRC exporters of subject
merchandise to the United States were
given an opportunity to provide Q&V
information to the Department, not all
exporters responded to the Department’s
request for Q&V information.2 Based
upon our knowledge of the volume of
imports of subject merchandise from the
PRC, we have concluded that the
companies that responded to the Q&V
questionnaire do not account for all U.S.
imports of subject merchandise from the
PRC made during the POI. We have
treated the non-responsive PRC
producers/exporters as part of the PRCwide entity because they did not qualify
for a separate rate.
Section 776(a)(2) of the Act provides
that, if an interested party (A) withholds
information that has been requested by
the Department, (B) fails to provide such
information in a timely manner or in the
form or manner requested, subject to
subsections 782(c)(1) and (e) of the Act,
(C) significantly impedes a proceeding
under the antidumping statute, or (D)
provides such information but the
information cannot be verified, the
Department shall, subject to subsection
782(d) of the Act, use facts otherwise
available in reaching the applicable
determination.
As noted above, the PRC-wide entity
withheld information requested by the
Department. As a result, pursuant to
section 776(a)(2)(A) of the Act, we find
it appropriate to base the PRC-wide
dumping margin on facts available. See
Notice of Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Affirmative Preliminary Determination
of Critical Circumstances and
Postponement of Final Determination:
Certain Frozen Fish Fillets From the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 68 FR
4986 (January 31, 2003), unchanged in
Notice of Final Antidumping Duty
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value and Affirmative Critical
Circumstances: Certain Frozen Fish
Fillets from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam, 68 FR 37116 (June 23, 2003).
Section 776(b) of the Act provides
that, in selecting from among the facts
otherwise available, the Department
may employ an adverse inference if an
interested party fails to cooperate by not
acting to the best of its ability to comply
with requests for information. See
2 The Department received only 10 timely
responses to the requests for Q&V information that
it sent to the 53 potential exporters identified in the
petition, and there is no indication that any of these
Q&V questionnaires were rejected or undeliverable.
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Sfmt 4703
Notice of Final Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value: Certain ColdRolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel
Products From the Russian Federation,
65 FR 5510, 5518 (February 4, 2000); see
also SAA at 870. Because the PRC-wide
entity did not respond to the
Department’s request for information,
the Department has concluded that the
PRC-wide entity has failed to cooperate
to the best of its ability. Therefore, the
Department preliminarily finds that, in
selecting from among the facts available,
an adverse inference is appropriate.
Section 776(b) of the Act authorizes
the Department to use, as adverse facts
available (AFA), information derived
from the petition, the final
determination from the LTFV
investigation, a previous administrative
review, or any other information placed
on the record. In selecting a rate for
AFA, the Department selects one that is
sufficiently adverse ‘‘as to effectuate the
purpose of the facts available rule to
induce respondents to provide the
Department with complete and accurate
information in a timely manner.’’ See
Notice of Final Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value: Static Random
Access Memory Semiconductors From
Taiwan, 63 FR 8909 (February 23, 1998).
It is the Department’s practice to select,
as AFA, the higher of the (a) highest
margin alleged in the petition, or (b) the
highest calculated rate for any
respondent in the investigation. See
Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-Rolled
Flat-Rolled Carbon Quality Steel
Products From the People’s Republic of
China, 65 FR 34660 (May 21, 2000) at
the ‘‘Facts Available’’ section. Here, we
assigned the PRC-wide entity the
dumping margin calculated for ZZPC,
which exceeds the highest margin
alleged in the petition and is the highest
rate calculated in this investigation. We
do not need to corroborate this rate
because it is based on information
obtained during the course of this
investigation rather than secondary
information.3 The PRC-wide dumping
margin applies to all entries of the
merchandise under investigation except
for entries of subject merchandise from
ZZPC, Lets Win, Baishun, Walsall,
Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin.
3 Section 776(c) of the Act requires the
Department to corroborate secondary information
which the SAA describes as ‘‘information derived
from the petition that gave rise to the investigation
or review, the final determination concerning
subject merchandise, or any previous review under
section 751 concerning the subject merchandise.’’
See also SAA at 870.
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Fair Value Comparisons
To determine whether ZZPC or Lets
Win sold LWR to the United States at
LTFV, we compared the weightedaverage export price (EP) of the LWR to
the NV of the LWR, as described in the
‘‘U.S. Price,’’ and ‘‘NV’’ sections of this
notice.
U.S. Price
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
EP
In accordance with section 772(a) of
the Act, we based the U.S. price of sales
on EP because the first sale to
unaffiliated purchasers was made prior
to importation and the use of
constructed export price was not
otherwise warranted. During the POI,
Lets Win made certain sales of subject
merchandise to the United States
through an unaffiliated trading company
located in the PRC. Lets Win claims that
it established all of the essential terms
of such U.S. sales through its
negotiations with the first unaffiliated
U.S. customers.4 Based on Lets Win’s
claims, the Department has determined
that Lets Win’s reportable sales should
include the PRC trading company’s
sales of subject merchandise that were
arranged and negotiated by Lets Win
(using the price charged to the U.S.
customer as the starting gross price for
calculating EP). See Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Final Partial Affirmative Determination
of Critical Circumstances: Diamond
Sawblades and Parts Thereof from the
People’s Republic of China, 71 FR 29303
(May 22, 2006) (Diamond Sawblades),
and accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 17 (the
Department concluded that the seller
was the party that negotiated and
executed all of the essential terms of
sale). ZZPC reported that it made sales
of subject merchandise to an
unaffiliated PRC trading company with
knowledge that the merchandise was
destined for the United States. However,
unlike Lets Win, ZZPC reported that the
unaffiliated trading company directly
and independently negotiated the terms
of the sales with U.S. customers.5 In
light of ZZPC’s claims, and the fact that
the Department ignores transactions
between companies in an NME country,
we have not considered these sales
through the unaffiliated PRC trading
company in our analysis because they
are not ZZPC’s reportable sales. This
approach is consistent with that taken
in the investigation of diamond
4 See Lets Win’s November 6, 2007, supplemental
response at C–1 through C–8 and SA–8.
5 See ZZPC’s December 17, 2007, supplemental
response at 5 through 8.
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18:49 Jan 29, 2008
Jkt 214001
sawblades from the PRC. See Diamond
Saw Blades; see also Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Tetrahydrofurfuryl Alcohol
From the People’s Republic of China, 69
FR 34130 (June 18, 2004) and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 2 noting that
‘‘ * * * the knowledge test applies only
to exporters that have dealings with
entities outside of the NME country. In
an NME situation, the Department
ignores transactions between producers
and exporters that are both in-country,
since we will not base export price on
internal transactions between two
companies located in the NME
country’’).
In accordance with section 772(c) of
the Act, we calculated EP by deducting,
where applicable, the following
expenses from the starting price (gross
unit price) charged to the first
unaffiliated customer in the United
States: foreign movement expenses,
marine insurance, international freight,
and foreign brokerage and handling
expenses.
We based these movement expenses
on surrogate values where a PRC
company provided the service and was
paid in Renminbi (RMB). If market
economy service providers, who were
paid in a market economy currency,
provided movement services for over 33
percent of subject merchandise
shipments, by volume, we based the
movement expenses on the actual price
charged by the service provider. If
market economy service providers, who
were paid in a market economy
currency, provided movement services
for less than 33 percent of subject
merchandise shipments, by volume, we
calculated the movement expenses by
weight-averaging surrogate values with
the actual price charged by the service
provider. See Antidumping
Methodologies: Market Economy Inputs,
Expected Non-Market Economy Wages,
Duty Drawback; and Request for
Comments, 71 FR 61716 (October 19,
2006). For details regarding our EP
calculation, see analysis memoranda for
ZZPC and Lets Win dated concurrently
with this notice.
NV
In accordance with section 773(c) of
the Act, we constructed NV from the
factors of production employed by the
respondents to manufacture subject
merchandise during the POI.
Specifically, we calculated NV by
adding together the value of the factors
of production, general expenses, profit,
and packing costs. We valued the factors
of production using prices and financial
statements from the surrogate country,
PO 00000
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Sfmt 4703
5505
India. In selecting surrogate values, we
followed, to the extent practicable, the
Department’s practice of choosing
values which are non-export average
values, contemporaneous with, or
closest in time to, the POI, productspecific, and tax-exclusive. See, e.g.,
Notice of Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Negative
Preliminary Determination of Critical
Circumstances and Postponement of
Final Determination: Certain Frozen
and Canned Warmwater Shrimp From
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 69 FR
42672, 42682 (July 16, 2004), unchanged
in Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value: Certain Frozen and
Canned Warmwater Shrimp from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 69 FR
71005 (December 8, 2004). We also
considered the quality of the source of
surrogate information in selecting
surrogate values.
We valued material inputs and
packing by multiplying the amount of
the factor consumed in producing
subject merchandise by the average unit
value of the factor. We derived the
average unit value of the factor from
Indian import statistics. In addition, we
added freight costs to the surrogate costs
that we calculated for material inputs.
We calculated freight costs by
multiplying surrogate freight rates by
the shorter of the reported distance from
the domestic supplier to the factory that
produced the subject merchandise or
the distance from the nearest seaport to
the factory that produced the subject
merchandise, as appropriate. This
adjustment is in accordance with the
Court of Appeals for the Federal
Circuit’s decision in Sigma Corp. v.
United States, 117 F. 3d 1401, 1407
(Fed. Cir. 1997). Where we could only
obtain surrogate values that were not
contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated (or deflated) the surrogate
values using the Indian Wholesale Price
Index (WPI) as published in the
International Financial Statistics of the
International Monetary Fund.
Further, in calculating surrogate
values from Indian imports, we
disregarded imports from Indonesia,
South Korea, and Thailand because in
other proceedings the Department found
that these countries maintain broadly
available, non-industry-specific export
subsidies. Therefore, it is reasonable to
infer that all exports to all markets from
these countries may be subsidized. See
Notice of Amended Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Certain Automotive Replacement Glass
Windshields from the People’s Republic
of China, 67 FR 11670 (March 15, 2002);
see also Notice of Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
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Negative Final Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Certain Color Television
Receivers From the People’s Republic of
China, 69 FR 20594 (April 16, 2004).6
Thus, we have not used prices from
these countries in calculating the Indian
import-based surrogate values.
We valued raw materials and packing
materials using Indian import statistics,
except as noted below.
We valued electricity using rates from
Key World Energy Statistics 2003,
published by the International Energy
Agency. Because these data were not
contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the values using the WPI. See
the memoranda regarding ‘‘Investigation
of Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and
Tube from the People’s Republic of
China: Surrogate Values Selected’’ for
ZZPC and Lets Win dated concurrently
with this notice (Factor Value
Memoranda).
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.408(c)(3),
we valued direct, indirect, and packing
labor, using the most recently calculated
regression-based wage rate, which relies
on 2004 data. This wage rate can
currently be found on the Department’s
Web site on Import Administration’s
home page, Import Library, Expected
Wages of Selected NME Countries,
revised in January 2007, https://
ia.ita.doc.gov/wages/. The
source of these wage-rate data on the
Import Administration’s Web site is the
Yearbook of Labour Statistics 2002, ILO
(Geneva: 2002), Chapter 5B: Wages in
Manufacturing. Because this regressionbased wage rate does not separate the
labor rates into different skill levels or
types of labor, we have applied the same
wage rate to all skill levels and types of
labor reported by ZZPC and Lets Win.
See Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued water using data from the
Maharashtra Industrial Development
Corporation (https://www.midcindia.org)
because it includes a wide range of
industrial water tariffs. This source
provides 386 industrial water rates
within the Maharashtra province from
June 2003: 193 for the ‘‘inside industrial
areas’’ usage category and 193 for the
‘‘outside industrial areas’’ usage
category. Because the value was not
contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the rate using the WPI. See
Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued truck freight expenses
using a per-unit average rate from data
obtained from the Web site of an Indian
6 In addition, we note that legislative history
explains that the Department is not required to
conduct a formal investigation to ensure that such
prices are not subsidized. See H.R. Rep. 100–576 at
590 (1988). As such, it is the Department’s practice
to base its decision on information that is available
to it at the time it makes its determination.
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18:49 Jan 29, 2008
Jkt 214001
transportation company, InFreight
Technologies India Limited. See https://
www.infreight.com/. This average rate
was used by the Department in the
antidumping duty administrative review
of Saccharin from the People’s Republic
of China; Preliminary Results of the
2005–2006 Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 72 FR 25247
(May 4, 2007). Because this value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the rate using the WPI. See
Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued brokerage and handling
using a simple average of the brokerage
and handling costs that were reported in
public submissions that were filed in
two antidumping duty cases.
Specifically, we averaged the public
brokerage and handling expenses
reported by Agro Dutch Industries Ltd.
in the antidumping duty administrative
review of certain preserved mushrooms
from India and those reported by
Kejirwal Paper Ltd. in the LTFV
investigation of certain lined paper
products from India. See Certain
Preserved Mushrooms From India: Final
Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 71 FR 10646
(March 2, 2006); see also Notice of
Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of
Final Determination, and Affirmative
Preliminary Determination of Critical
Circumstances in Part: Certain Lined
Paper Products From India, 71 FR 19706
(April 17, 2006), unchanged in Notice of
Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value, and Negative
Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Certain Lined Paper
Products from India, 71 FR 45012
(August 8, 2006).
Because the resulting value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the rate using the WPI. See
Factor Value Memoranda.
ZZPC reported that all of its U.S. sales
had international freight arranged by an
NME freight forwarder. We valued
international freight expenses using U.S.
dollar freight quotes that the
Department obtained from Maersk
Sealand (Maersk), a market-economy
shipper. We obtained quotes from
Maersk for shipments from the PRC port
of export and the U.S. port of import
reported by ZZPC for its U.S. sales.
Because these data were not
contemporaneous to the POI, we
adjusted them for inflation using the
U.S. WPI. See Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued factory overhead, selling,
general, and administrative (SG&A)
expenses, and profit, using the 2006–
2007 audited financial statements of
Zenith Birla (India) Limited and Bihar
Tubes Limited. Record evidence
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
indicates that these are Indian
companies that produce subject
merchandise. We did not rely upon a
third company’s financial statement that
was placed on the record, namely the
financial statement of Bhawani
Industries Limited (Bhawani), because
Bhawani’s financial statement lists a
‘‘DEPB Premium’’ in ‘‘Other Income.’’
India’s DEPB Scheme has been found by
the Department to provide a
countervailable subsidy. See, e.g.,
Certain Iron-Metal Castings From India:
Preliminary Results and Partial Recision
of Countervailing Duty Administrative
Review, 64 FR 61592 (November 12,
1999) (unchanged in final results); see
also https://ia.ita.doc.gov/esel/
eselframes.html. In Crawfish from the
PRC, the Department noted that where
it has reason to believe or suspect that
a company may have received subsidies,
financial ratios derived from that
company’s financial statements do not
constitute the best available information
with which to value financial ratios. See
Freshwater Crawfish Tail Meat from the
People’s Republic of China: Notice of
Final Results And Rescission, In Part, of
2004/2005 Antidumping Duty
Administrative and New Shipper
Reviews, 72 FR 19174 (April 17, 2007)
and accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 1. Given the
record information regarding Bhawani’s
use of the DEPB program, and the fact
that we have other acceptable financial
statements to use as surrogates,
consistent with the Department’s
decision in Crawfish from the PRC, we
have not used Bhawani’s financial data
in our surrogate ratio calculations. See
Factor Value Memoranda.
In accordance with 19 CFR
351.301(c)(3)(i), interested parties may
submit publicly available information
with which to value factors of
production in the final determination
within 40 days after the date of
publication of the preliminary
determination.
Currency Conversion
We made currency conversions into
U.S. dollars, in accordance with section
773A(a) of the Act, based on the
exchange rates in effect on the dates of
the U.S. sales as certified by the Federal
Reserve Bank.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the
Act, we intend to verify the information
upon which we will rely in making our
final determination.
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice, the
Department stated that it would
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calculate combination rates for certain
respondents that are eligible for a
separate rate in this investigation. See
Initiation Notice. This change in
practice is described in Policy Bulletin
05.1, available at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/.
Policy Bulletin 05.1, 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 investigations 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.
See Policy Bulletin 05.1, ‘‘Separate
Rates Practice and Application of
Combination Rates in Antidumping
Investigations Involving Non-Market
Economy Countries.’’
Preliminary Determination
The weighted-average dumping
margins are as follows:
Weightedaverage
Margin
(percent)
Exporter & producer
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Zhangjiagang Zhongyuan PipeMaking Co., Ltd..
Kunshan Lets Win Steel Machinery Co., Ltd..
Wuxi Baishun Steel Pipe Co.,
Ltd..
Guangdong Walsall Steel Pipe
Industrial Co., Ltd..
Wuxi Worldunion Trading Co.,
Ltd..
Weifang East Steel Pipe Co.,
Ltd..
Jiangyin Jianye Metal Products
Co., Ltd..
PRC-Wide Rate ..........................
264.64
223.52
247.75
247.75
247.75
247.75
247.75
264.64
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).
Suspension of Liquidation
As noted above, the Department has
found that critical circumstances exist
with respect to imports of subject
merchandise from the PRC-Wide entity.
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Jkt 214001
Therefore, in accordance with section
733(d) of the Act, we will instruct U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
suspend liquidation of all entries of
LWR from the PRC-Wide entity as
described in the ‘‘Scope of the
Investigation’’ section of this notice,
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption on or after 90 days
prior to the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. For the
mandatory respondents, Lets Win and
ZZPC, and the separate rate applicants,
Wuxi Baishun Steel Pipe Co., Ltd.,
Guangdong Walsall Steel Pipe Industrial
Co., Ltd., Wuxi Worldunion Trading
Co., Ltd., Weifang East Steel Pipe Co.,
Ltd., Jiangyin Jianye Metal Products Co.,
Ltd., we will instruct CBP to suspend
liquidation of all entries of LWR from
these companies as described in the
‘‘Scope of the Investigation’’ section of
this notice, entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption upon the
date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register. We will instruct CBP
to require a cash deposit or the posting
of a bond equal to the weighted-average
amount by which the NV exceeds U.S.
price, as indicated above. The
suspension of liquidation will remain in
effect until further notice.
International Trade Commission
Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of
the Act, we have notified the ITC of our
preliminary affirmative determination of
sales at LTFV. Section 735(b)(2) of the
Act requires the ITC to 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
LWR, or sales (or the likelihood of sales)
for importation, of the subject
merchandise within 45 days of our final
determination.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments
may be submitted to the Assistant
Secretary for Import Administration no
later than seven days after the date the
final verification report is issued in this
proceeding and rebuttal briefs, limited
to issues raised in case briefs, no later
than five days after the deadline for
submitting case briefs. See 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(i) and 19 CFR
351.309(d)(1). A list of authorities used
and an executive summary of issues
should accompany any briefs submitted
to the Department. This summary
should be limited to five pages total,
including footnotes.
In accordance with section 774 of the
Act, we will hold a public hearing, if
requested, to afford interested parties an
PO 00000
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Sfmt 4703
5507
opportunity to comment on arguments
raised in case or rebuttal briefs. If a
request for a hearing is made, we intend
to hold the hearing three days after the
deadline of submission of rebuttal briefs
at the U.S. Department of Commerce,
14th Street and Constitution Ave, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230, at a time and
location to be determined. Parties
should confirm by telephone the date,
time, and location of the hearing two
days before the scheduled date.
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
Import Administration, U.S. Department
of Commerce, Room 1870, within 30
days after the date of publication of this
notice. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). Requests
should contain the party’s name,
address, and telephone number, the
number of participants, and a list of the
issues to be discussed. At the hearing,
each party may make an affirmative
presentation only on issues raised in
that party’s case brief and may make
rebuttal presentations only on
arguments included in that party’s
rebuttal brief.
Postponement of Final Determination
and Extension of Provisional Measures
Pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the
Act, on November 27, 2007, and
December 10, 2007, Lets Win and ZZPC,
respectively, requested that in the event
of an affirmative preliminary
determination in this investigation, the
Department postpone its final
determination by 60 days. At the same
time, Lets Win and ZZPC requested that
the Department extend the application
of the provisional measures prescribed
under 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) from a 4month period to a 6-month period. In
accordance with section 733(d) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b), because (1)
our preliminary determination is
affirmative, (2) the requesting exporters
account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise, and
(3) no compelling reasons for denial
exist, we are granting the request and
are postponing the final determination
until no later than 135 days after the
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. Suspension of liquidation will
be extended accordingly.
This determination is issued and
published in accordance with sections
733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: January 23, 2008.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E8–1664 Filed 1–29–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
E:\FR\FM\30JAN1.SGM
30JAN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 20 (Wednesday, January 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5500-5507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1664]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-914]
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Affirmative Preliminary
Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part: Light-Walled
Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the People's Republic of China
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily
determines that light-walled rectangular pipe and tube (LWR) from the
People's Republic of China (PRC) is being, or is likely to be, sold in
the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in
section 733 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The
estimated dumping margins are shown in the ``Preliminary
Determination'' section of this notice.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 30, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Pedersen or Drew Jackson, AD/CVD
Operations, Office 4, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
2769 or 482-4406, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 27, 2007, the Department received petitions concerning
imports of LWR from the PRC, Mexico, Turkey, and the Republic of Korea
(Korea) filed in proper form by Allied Tube and Conduit, Atlas Tube,
Bull Moose Tube Company, California Steel and Tube, EXLTUBE, Hannibal
Industries, Leavitt Tube Company, Maruichi American Corporation,
Searing Industries, Southland Tube, Vest Inc., Welded Tube, and Western
Tube and Conduit (collectively, the petitioners). The Department
initiated antidumping duty investigations of LWR from the above-
mentioned countries on July 17, 2007. See Initiation of Antidumping
Duty Investigations: Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from
Republic of Korea, Mexico, Turkey, and the People's Republic of China,
72 FR 40274 (July 24, 2007) (Initiation Notice). On August 22, 2007,
the International Trade Commission (ITC) preliminarily determined that
there is a reasonable indication that an industry in the United States
is materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of
imports of LWR from the PRC, Mexico, Turkey, and Korea. See Light-
Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube From China, Korea, Mexico, and Turkey,
Investigation Nos. 701-TA-449 and 731-TA-1118-1121 (Preliminary), 72 FR
49310 (August 28, 2007).
On July 18, 2007, the Department requested quantity and value (Q&V)
information from the 53 companies that were identified in the petition
as potential producers or exporters of LWR from the PRC. See Exhibit
10, Volume I, of the June 27, 2007, Petition for the Imposition of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties (the petition). The Department
received timely responses to its Q&V questionnaire from the following
10 companies (three of which were identified in the petition):
Zhangjiagang Zhongyuan Pipe-Making Co., Ltd. (ZZPC), Suns International
Trading Limited (Suns), Liaoning Cold Forming Sectional Company Limited
(Liaoning), Kunshan Lets Win Steel Machinery Co., Ltd. (Lets Win), Wuxi
Baishun Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. (Baishun), Guangdong Walsall Steel Pipe
Industrial Co., Ltd. (Walsall), Wuxi Worldunion Trading Co., Ltd.
(Worldunion), Weifang East Steel Pipe Co., Ltd. (Weifang), Jiangyin
Jianye Metal Products Co., Ltd. (Jiangyin), and Dalian Brollo Steel
Tubes Ltd. (Dalian).
On August 16, 2007, the Department selected ZZPC and Lets Win as
mandatory respondents. See memorandum regarding ``Selection of
Respondents in the Antidumping
[[Page 5501]]
Investigation of Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the
People's Republic of China,'' dated August 16, 2007 (Respondent
Selection Memorandum).
The Department received separate-rate applications from ZZPC, Lets
Win, Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion, Weifang, Jiangyin, and Dalian. The
Department did not receive separate-rate applications from Suns and
Liaoning.
On August 17, 2007, the Department issued its antidumping
questionnaire to the mandatory respondents. ZZPC and Lets Win submitted
timely responses to the Department's questionnaire during September and
October 2007. The Department issued supplemental questionnaires to, and
received responses from, ZZPC and Lets Win in October, November, and
December 2007 and January 2008. The petitioners submitted comments to
the Department regarding ZZPC's and Lets Wins' questionnaire and
supplemental questionnaire responses, and the separate rates response
of Dalian in October and December 2007.
On September 21, 2007, the Department released to interested
parties a memorandum which listed potential surrogate countries and
invited interested parties to comment on surrogate country and factor
value selection. No party responded to the Department's invitation to
comment on surrogate country selection. However, in October, November,
and December 2007 and January 2008, both the petitioners and the
respondents submitted surrogate values, including surrogate financial
statements, for use in this investigation. All of the submitted
surrogate data are from India.
In August and September 2007, the petitioners and respondents
submitted comments to the Department regarding the appropriate model
matching criteria.
On November 1, 2007, the petitioners alleged targeted dumping by
ZZPC and Lets Win. On December 10, 2007, the Department sent a letter
to the petitioners requesting more information regarding both targeted
dumping allegations. See Letter from Howard Smith, Program Manager,
Office 4, to Petitioners, concerning, ``Targeted Dumping Allegation,''
dated December 10, 2007. On December 17, 2007, the petitioners
responded to the Department's December 10th request for additional
information. See the ``Targeted Dumping'' section of this notice for
additional information regarding these allegations.
On December 13, 2007, the petitioners requested that the Department
make a finding that critical circumstances exist with respect to
imports of LWR from the PRC. The Department issued questionnaires
regarding critical circumstances to Lets Win and ZZPC on December 18,
2007. Lets Win and ZZPC submitted their responses to those
questionnaires on December 28, 2007, and January 2, 2008. See the
``Critical Circumstances'' section of this notice for additional
information.
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2006, through March
31, 2007. This period comprises the two most recently completed fiscal
quarters as of the month preceding the month in which the petition was
filed (i.e., June 2007). See 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1).
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise that is the subject of this investigation is
certain welded carbon-quality light-walled steel pipe and tube, of
rectangular (including square) cross section, having a wall thickness
of less than 4 mm.
The term carbon-quality steel includes both carbon steel and alloy
steel which contains only small amounts of alloying elements.
Specifically, the term carbon-quality includes products in which none
of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity by weight
respectively indicated: 1.80 percent of manganese, or 2.25 percent of
silicon, or 1.00 percent of copper, or 0.50 percent of aluminum, or
1.25 percent of chromium, or 0.30 percent of cobalt, or 0.40 percent of
lead, or 1.25 percent of nickel, or 0.30 percent of tungsten, or 0.10
percent of molybdenum, or 0.10 percent of niobium, or 0.15 percent
vanadium, or 0.15 percent of zirconium. The description of carbon-
quality is intended to identify carbon-quality products within the
scope. The welded carbon-quality rectangular pipe and tube subject to
this investigation is currently classified under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 7306.61.50.00 and
7306.61.70.60. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and
Customs purposes, our written description of the scope of the
investigation is dispositive.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to the Department's regulations, we
set aside a period of time in our Initiation Notice for parties to
raise issues regarding product coverage, and encouraged all parties to
submit comments within 20 calendar days of publication of that notice.
See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296, 27323, (May
19, 1997) and Initiation Notice. The Department received no comments
concerning the scope of the LWR antidumping and countervailing duty
investigations. Accordingly, we have not made changes to the scope of
this investigation.
Critical Circumstances
The Department preliminarily finds that there is reason to believe
or suspect that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject
merchandise from the PRC-wide entity because, in accordance with
section 733(e)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act, importers of LWR produced by the
PRC-wide entity knew or should have known that the exporter was selling
the subject merchandise at less than its fair value and that there was
likely to be material injury by reason of such sales. See Memorandum
from Abdelali Elouaradia, Director, Office 4, ``Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part,'' dated concurrently
with this memorandum. In addition, the Department also preliminarily
finds that imports from the PRC-wide entity satisfy section
733(e)(1)(B) of Act because these imports were massive during a
relatively short period. See id.
However, with respect to Lets Win, ZZPC, and the separate-rate
companies, the Department does not preliminarily find that there is
reason to believe or suspect that critical circumstances exist for
imports of subject merchandise from these companies because the record
indicates that imports from these companies were not massive during a
relatively short period. See section 733(e)(1)(B) of the Act; see also
Memorandum from Abdelali Elouaradia, Director, Office 4, ``Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part,'' dated
concurrently with this memorandum. Accordingly, for Lets Win, ZZPC, and
the separate-rate companies, the statutory requirement imposed by
section 733(e)(1)(B) of Act has not been satisfied and, therefore, we
preliminarily determine that critical circumstances do not exist for
these entities.
Targeted Dumping
Pursuant to section 777A(d)(1) of the Act, in calculating dumping
margins in investigations the Department normally will compare U.S.
prices and normal values using a weighted average-to-average or
transaction-to-transaction comparison methodology. However, section
777A(d)(1)(B) of the Act allows the Department to compare transaction-
specific export or constructed export prices to weighted-average normal
[[Page 5502]]
values if there is a pattern of export or constructed export prices for
comparable merchandise that differ significantly among purchasers,
regions, or periods of time and the Department explains why such
differences cannot be taken into account using the weighted average-to-
average or transaction-to-transaction methods. See sections
777A(d)(1)(B)(i) and 777A(d)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act. Further, 19 CFR
351.414(f)(1)(i) requires that a determination of targeted dumping be
made ``through the use of, among other things, standard and appropriate
statistical techniques.'' The regulations further elaborate that
targeted dumping allegations ``must include all supporting factual
information, and an explanation as to why the average-to-average or
transaction-to-transaction method could not take into account any
alleged price differences.'' See 19 CFR 351.414(f)(3).
On November 1, 2007, the petitioners alleged that Lets Win and ZZPC
targeted certain sales of LWR for dumping. Specifically, the
petitioners alleged that targeted dumping occurred where the average
net price of all of the subject merchandise sold to a particular
customer, entered into a particular port, or sold during a specific
month, differed by more than two percent from the overall average net
price of all of the subject merchandise sold by the respondent during
the POI. The petitioners believe the two-percent price difference
supports a finding of targeted dumping because: (1) This approach is
consistent with the methodology used in the antidumping duty
investigation of coated free sheet (CFS) paper from the Republic of
South Korea; and (2) LWR is a commodity product sold in a competitive
market and, thus, any price difference is critical. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Coated Free Sheet Paper
from the Republic of Korea, 72 FR 60630 (October 25, 2007) (CFS from
Korea) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 3;
see also Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and Tube from China, Korea,
Mexico, and Turkey, Investigation Nos. 701-TA-449 and 731-TA-1118-1121
(Preliminary) USITC Pub. 3941 at 10 (August 2007) (noting that the
parties generally agree that LWR is a commodity-like product). Based on
the price comparisons described above, the petitioners argue that Lets
Win engaged in targeted dumping during a certain time period whereas
ZZPC engaged in targeted dumping with respect to certain customers,
regions, and time periods.
After reviewing the petitioners' targeted dumping allegations, the
Department determined that the allegations lacked basic information and
support, and informed the petitioners that they failed to: (1)
Establish that the two-percent price variation is significant for the
LWR market; (2) establish that the price differences are based on
purchasers, regions, or time periods rather than other factors (e.g.,
general price fluctuations in the market, product differences,
differences in channels of distribution or quantities purchased); and
(3) explain why the average-to-average or transaction-to-transaction
comparison methodology cannot take into account the observed price
differences. See the Department's December 10, 2007, letter to the
petitioners.
In response to the Department's December 10, 2007, letter, the
petitioners asserted that the ITC has already analyzed the LWR market
and found the subject merchandise to be a commodity product. See the
petitioners' December 17, 2007, submission to the Department. The
petitioners noted that the only stated reason for accepting a two-
percent price variation as evidence of targeted dumping in the CFS
paper investigation was the ITC's finding that CFS paper is a commodity
product. According to the petitioners, additional market analysis
related to targeted dumping (beyond the ITC's finding) was not engaged
in by the petitioner in CFS paper, nor is such extensive market
analysis required by the statute. Thus, the petitioners maintained that
the ITC's findings are more than adequate support for their proposed
two-percent benchmark. Moreover, the petitioners argued that price
differences in commodity-like products sold to different purchasers or
regions or in different time periods can only be captured through an
average-to-transaction comparison. Specifically, the petitioners stated
that if the Department were to average prices to targeted and non-
targeted groups the lower prices in the targeted groups would be offset
by the prices in the non-targeted groups.
We have determined that in this case using an average-to-
transaction comparison methodology results in the same overall
antidumping margin for each of the respondents as using an average-to-
average comparison methodology. See memoranda to the File from Jeff
Pedersen for each respondent regarding ``Dumping Margins Based on an
Average-to-Transaction Comparison Methodology.'' Thus, the petitioners'
claim that the observed price differences can only be taken into
account using an average-to-transaction comparison is not supported by
the facts in this case. See id. Therefore, the requirement of section
777A(d)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act that the average-to-average or
transaction-to-transaction methodology cannot account for the price
differences is not met. See also ``Statement of Administrative
Action,'' accompanying the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (``URAA''),
H.R. Rep. No. 103-316, (1994) at 843 (SAA) (``{b{time} efore relying on
{the average-to-transaction comparison{time} methodology, however,
Commerce must establish and provide an explanation why it cannot
account for such differences through the use of an average-to-average
or transaction-to-transaction comparison.'').
Finally, the Department notes that the petitioners failed to
adequately respond to the Department's concerns regarding their
targeted dumping allegations. Specifically, the petitioners failed to
describe how the LWR market functions and did not adequately explain
why a two-percent price difference should be considered to be
significant for the ``commodity-like product,'' LWR, given the
characteristics of the LWR market.\1\ As provided in the SAA ``the
Administration intends that in determining whether a pattern of
significant price differences exist, Commerce will proceed on a case-
by-case basis, because small differences may be significant for one
industry or one type of product, but not for another.'' See SAA at 843.
Moreover, the petitioners failed to address or take into consideration
other possible reasons for the observed price differences (e.g.,
general price fluctuations in the market, product differences (the
petitioners did not compare prices of identical merchandise in their
analysis), differences in channels of distribution or quantities
purchased, etc.). Thus, the petitioners did not adequately establish
price patterns based on purchasers, regions, or periods of time. We
note that in the CFS paper investigation, a number of these other
possible reasons for the observed price differences were taken into
account by comparing prices for identical merchandise sold at the same
level of trade on a month-to-month basis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Additionally, it is important to note that in the
investigation of CFS paper from the Republic of Korea, rather than
adopting a two-percent benchmark in analyzing targeted dumping the
Department specifically noted that it ``has not adopted any specific
percentages suggested by both parties in their contentions regarding
the definition of significance.'' See CFS from Korea and
accompanying ``Issues and Decision Memorandum'' at Comment 3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Given the foregoing, we find that the petitioners' allegations do
not contain sufficient information to conduct a targeted dumping
analysis.
[[Page 5503]]
Non-Market Economy Treatment
The Department considers the PRC to be a non-market economy (NME)
country. In accordance with section 771(18)(c)(i) of the Act, any
determination that a country is an NME country shall remain in effect
until revoked by the administering authority. See Tapered Roller
Bearings and Parts Thereof (TRBs), Finished and Unfinished, From the
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of 2001-2002
Administrative Review and Partial Rescission of Review, 68 FR 7500
(February 14, 2003), unchanged in TRBs, Finished and Unfinished, From
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of 2001-2002
Administrative Review and Partial Rescission of Review, 68 FR 70488
(December 18, 2003). Therefore, in this preliminary determination, we
have treated the PRC as an NME country and applied our current NME
methodology.
Selection of a Surrogate Country
In antidumping proceedings involving NME countries, the Department,
pursuant to section 773(c)(1) of the Act, will generally base normal
value (NV) on the value of the NME producer's factors of production. In
accordance with section 773(c)(4) of the Act, in valuing the factors of
production, the Department shall utilize, to the extent possible, the
prices or costs of factors of production in one or more market economy
countries that are at a level of economic development comparable to
that of the NME country and are significant producers of merchandise
comparable to the subject merchandise.
The Department has determined that India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the
Philippines, and Egypt are countries that are at a level of economic
development comparable to that of the PRC. See memorandum regarding
``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and
Tube (Pipe) from the People's Republic of China (PRC): Request for a
List of Surrogate Countries,'' dated August 22, 2007 (Policy
Memorandum). From among these economically comparable countries, the
Department has preliminarily selected India as the surrogate country
for this investigation because it determined that: (1) India is a
significant producer of merchandise comparable to the subject
merchandise and (2) reliable Indian data for valuing the factors of
production are readily available. See memorandum regarding
``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and
Tube from the People's Republic of China: Selection of a Surrogate
Country'' dated November 13, 2007.
Separate Rates
In proceedings involving NME countries, the Department has a
rebuttable presumption that all companies within the country are
subject to government control and thus should be assessed a single
antidumping duty rate. It is the Department's policy to assign all
exporters of merchandise subject to investigation involving an NME
country this single rate unless an exporter can demonstrate that it is
sufficiently independent so as to be entitled to a separate rate. ZZPC,
Lets Win, Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion, Weifang, Jiangyin, and Dalian
provided company-specific information to demonstrate that they operate
independently of de jure and de facto government control, and therefore
are entitled to a separate rate. Suns and Liaoning did not submit
separate-rate applications. Accordingly, Suns and Liaoning have not
provided company-specific information to demonstrate that they operate
independently of de jure and de facto government control.
The Department's separate-rate test is not concerned, in general,
with macroeconomic/border-type controls, e.g., export licenses, quotas,
and minimum export prices, particularly if these controls are imposed
to prevent dumping. See Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value: Certain Preserved Mushrooms from the People's Republic
of China, 63 FR 72255, 72256 (December 31, 1998). The test focuses,
rather, on controls over the investment, pricing, and output decision-
making process at the individual firm level. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less than Fair Value: Certain Cut-to-Length
Carbon Steel Plate From Ukraine, 62 FR 61754, 61758 (November 19,
1997), and TRBs, Finished and Unfinished, from the People's Republic of
China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 62 FR
61276, 61279 (November 17, 1997).
To establish whether a firm is sufficiently independent from
government control of its export activities to be entitled to a
separate rate, the Department analyzes each entity exporting the
subject merchandise under a test arising from the Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers from the
People's Republic of China, 56 FR 20588 (May 6, 1991) (Sparklers), as
further developed in Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from the People's Republic of China,
59 FR 22585 (May 2, 1994) (Silicon Carbide). In accordance with the
separate-rates criteria, the Department assigns separate rates in NME
cases only if respondents can demonstrate the absence of both de jure
and de facto governmental control over export activities.
Absence of De Jure Control
The Department considers the following de jure criteria in
determining whether an individual company may be granted a separate
rate: (1) An absence of restrictive stipulations associated with an
individual exporter's business and export licenses; (2) any legislative
enactments decentralizing control of companies; and (3) other formal
measures by the government decentralizing control of companies. See
Sparklers, 56 FR at 20589. Information submitted by ZZPC, Lets Win,
Baishun, Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin indicates that there are no
restrictive stipulations associated with their exporter and/or business
licenses; and there are legislative enactments decentralizing control
of the companies. Therefore, the Department has preliminarily found a
de jure absence of government control over these companies' export
activities.
Walsall reported that it is wholly foreign-owned by China Pacific
Limited (CPL), which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. CPL is in
turn wholly owned by a Hong Kong citizen. Since there is no PRC
ownership of Walsall, and we have no evidence indicating that this
company is under the control of the PRC, a separate rates analysis is
not necessary to determine whether Walsall is independent from
government control. See Brake Rotors From the People's Republic of
China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of the Fourth New
Shipper Review and Rescission of the Third Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 66 FR 1303, 1306 (January 8, 2001) (finding that
no separate rates analysis for Hongfa was necessary because the company
was wholly foreign owned), unchanged in the final determination; see
also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Creatine Monohydrate From the People's Republic of China, 64 FR 71104
(December 20, 1999).
The Department determined that Dalian did not make a sale to the
United States during the POI and thus should not be considered for a
separate rate. See memorandum regarding ``Dalian Brollo Steel Tubes
Ltd.'s Eligibility for a Separate Rate'' dated concurrently with this
notice.
[[Page 5504]]
Absence of De Facto Control
Typically the Department considers four factors in evaluating
whether each respondent is subject to de facto governmental control of
its export functions: (1) Whether the export prices are set by, or are
subject to the approval of, a governmental agency; (2) whether the
respondent has authority to negotiate and sign contracts and other
agreements; (3) whether the respondent has autonomy from the government
in making decisions regarding the selection of management; and (4)
whether the respondent retains the proceeds of its export sales and
makes independent decisions regarding disposition of profits or
financing of losses. See Silicon Carbide, 59 FR at 22586-87; see also
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Furfuryl Alcohol From the People's Republic of China, 60 FR 22544,
22545 (May 8, 1995). The Department considers an analysis of de facto
control to be critical in determining whether a respondent is, in fact,
subject to a degree of governmental control that would preclude the
Department from assigning the respondent a separate rate.
ZZPC, Lets Win, Baishun, Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin have
each provided information indicating that they: (1) Set export prices
independent of the government and without the approval of a government
authority; (2) have the authority to negotiate and sign contracts and
other agreements; (3) have autonomy from the government regarding the
selection of management; and (4) retain proceeds from sales and make
independent decisions regarding the disposition of profits or financing
of losses. Therefore, the Department has preliminarily found a de facto
absence of government control over these companies' export activities.
Based on the foregoing, the Department has preliminarily granted
ZZPC, Lets Win, Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin,
separate, company-specific dumping margins. The Department calculated
company-specific dumping margins for ZZPC and Lets Win and assigned
Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion, Weifang, and Jiangyin a dumping margin
equal to the weighted-average of the dumping margins calculated for
ZZPC and Lets Win. As noted above, Suns and Liaoning did not submit
separate-rate applications. Accordingly, Suns and Liaoning have not
provided company-specific information to demonstrate that they operate
independently of de jure and de facto government control. Therefore,
the Department has not preliminarily granted Suns and Liaoning a
separate rate.
The PRC-Wide Entity
Although PRC exporters of subject merchandise to the United States
were given an opportunity to provide Q&V information to the Department,
not all exporters responded to the Department's request for Q&V
information.\2\ Based upon our knowledge of the volume of imports of
subject merchandise from the PRC, we have concluded that the companies
that responded to the Q&V questionnaire do not account for all U.S.
imports of subject merchandise from the PRC made during the POI. We
have treated the non-responsive PRC producers/exporters as part of the
PRC-wide entity because they did not qualify for a separate rate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The Department received only 10 timely responses to the
requests for Q&V information that it sent to the 53 potential
exporters identified in the petition, and there is no indication
that any of these Q&V questionnaires were rejected or undeliverable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 776(a)(2) of the Act provides that, if an interested party
(A) withholds information that has been requested by the Department,
(B) fails to provide such information in a timely manner or in the form
or manner requested, subject to subsections 782(c)(1) and (e) of the
Act, (C) significantly impedes a proceeding under the antidumping
statute, or (D) provides such information but the information cannot be
verified, the Department shall, subject to subsection 782(d) of the
Act, use facts otherwise available in reaching the applicable
determination.
As noted above, the PRC-wide entity withheld information requested
by the Department. As a result, pursuant to section 776(a)(2)(A) of the
Act, we find it appropriate to base the PRC-wide dumping margin on
facts available. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Critical
Circumstances and Postponement of Final Determination: Certain Frozen
Fish Fillets From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 68 FR 4986
(January 31, 2003), unchanged in Notice of Final Antidumping Duty
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative Critical
Circumstances: Certain Frozen Fish Fillets from the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam, 68 FR 37116 (June 23, 2003).
Section 776(b) of the Act provides that, in selecting from among
the facts otherwise available, the Department may employ an adverse
inference if an interested party fails to cooperate by not acting to
the best of its ability to comply with requests for information. See
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain
Cold-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon-Quality Steel Products From the Russian
Federation, 65 FR 5510, 5518 (February 4, 2000); see also SAA at 870.
Because the PRC-wide entity did not respond to the Department's request
for information, the Department has concluded that the PRC-wide entity
has failed to cooperate to the best of its ability. Therefore, the
Department preliminarily finds that, in selecting from among the facts
available, an adverse inference is appropriate.
Section 776(b) of the Act authorizes the Department to use, as
adverse facts available (AFA), information derived from the petition,
the final determination from the LTFV investigation, a previous
administrative review, or any other information placed on the record.
In selecting a rate for AFA, the Department selects one that is
sufficiently adverse ``as to effectuate the purpose of the facts
available rule to induce respondents to provide the Department with
complete and accurate information in a timely manner.'' See Notice of
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Static Random
Access Memory Semiconductors From Taiwan, 63 FR 8909 (February 23,
1998). It is the Department's practice to select, as AFA, the higher of
the (a) highest margin alleged in the petition, or (b) the highest
calculated rate for any respondent in the investigation. See Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-Rolled
Flat-Rolled Carbon Quality Steel Products From the People's Republic of
China, 65 FR 34660 (May 21, 2000) at the ``Facts Available'' section.
Here, we assigned the PRC-wide entity the dumping margin calculated for
ZZPC, which exceeds the highest margin alleged in the petition and is
the highest rate calculated in this investigation. We do not need to
corroborate this rate because it is based on information obtained
during the course of this investigation rather than secondary
information.\3\ The PRC-wide dumping margin applies to all entries of
the merchandise under investigation except for entries of subject
merchandise from ZZPC, Lets Win, Baishun, Walsall, Worldunion, Weifang,
and Jiangyin.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Section 776(c) of the Act requires the Department to
corroborate secondary information which the SAA describes as
``information derived from the petition that gave rise to the
investigation or review, the final determination concerning subject
merchandise, or any previous review under section 751 concerning the
subject merchandise.'' See also SAA at 870.
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[[Page 5505]]
Fair Value Comparisons
To determine whether ZZPC or Lets Win sold LWR to the United States
at LTFV, we compared the weighted-average export price (EP) of the LWR
to the NV of the LWR, as described in the ``U.S. Price,'' and ``NV''
sections of this notice.
U.S. Price
EP
In accordance with section 772(a) of the Act, we based the U.S.
price of sales on EP because the first sale to unaffiliated purchasers
was made prior to importation and the use of constructed export price
was not otherwise warranted. During the POI, Lets Win made certain
sales of subject merchandise to the United States through an
unaffiliated trading company located in the PRC. Lets Win claims that
it established all of the essential terms of such U.S. sales through
its negotiations with the first unaffiliated U.S. customers.\4\ Based
on Lets Win's claims, the Department has determined that Lets Win's
reportable sales should include the PRC trading company's sales of
subject merchandise that were arranged and negotiated by Lets Win
(using the price charged to the U.S. customer as the starting gross
price for calculating EP). See Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value and Final Partial Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Diamond Sawblades and Parts Thereof from the People's
Republic of China, 71 FR 29303 (May 22, 2006) (Diamond Sawblades), and
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 17 (the
Department concluded that the seller was the party that negotiated and
executed all of the essential terms of sale). ZZPC reported that it
made sales of subject merchandise to an unaffiliated PRC trading
company with knowledge that the merchandise was destined for the United
States. However, unlike Lets Win, ZZPC reported that the unaffiliated
trading company directly and independently negotiated the terms of the
sales with U.S. customers.\5\ In light of ZZPC's claims, and the fact
that the Department ignores transactions between companies in an NME
country, we have not considered these sales through the unaffiliated
PRC trading company in our analysis because they are not ZZPC's
reportable sales. This approach is consistent with that taken in the
investigation of diamond sawblades from the PRC. See Diamond Saw
Blades; see also Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Tetrahydrofurfuryl Alcohol From the People's Republic of China, 69 FR
34130 (June 18, 2004) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum
at Comment 2 noting that `` * * * the knowledge test applies only to
exporters that have dealings with entities outside of the NME country.
In an NME situation, the Department ignores transactions between
producers and exporters that are both in-country, since we will not
base export price on internal transactions between two companies
located in the NME country'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See Lets Win's November 6, 2007, supplemental response at C-
1 through C-8 and SA-8.
\5\ See ZZPC's December 17, 2007, supplemental response at 5
through 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In accordance with section 772(c) of the Act, we calculated EP by
deducting, where applicable, the following expenses from the starting
price (gross unit price) charged to the first unaffiliated customer in
the United States: foreign movement expenses, marine insurance,
international freight, and foreign brokerage and handling expenses.
We based these movement expenses on surrogate values where a PRC
company provided the service and was paid in Renminbi (RMB). If market
economy service providers, who were paid in a market economy currency,
provided movement services for over 33 percent of subject merchandise
shipments, by volume, we based the movement expenses on the actual
price charged by the service provider. If market economy service
providers, who were paid in a market economy currency, provided
movement services for less than 33 percent of subject merchandise
shipments, by volume, we calculated the movement expenses by weight-
averaging surrogate values with the actual price charged by the service
provider. See Antidumping Methodologies: Market Economy Inputs,
Expected Non-Market Economy Wages, Duty Drawback; and Request for
Comments, 71 FR 61716 (October 19, 2006). For details regarding our EP
calculation, see analysis memoranda for ZZPC and Lets Win dated
concurrently with this notice.
NV
In accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, we constructed NV
from the factors of production employed by the respondents to
manufacture subject merchandise during the POI. Specifically, we
calculated NV by adding together the value of the factors of
production, general expenses, profit, and packing costs. We valued the
factors of production using prices and financial statements from the
surrogate country, India. In selecting surrogate values, we followed,
to the extent practicable, the Department's practice of choosing values
which are non-export average values, contemporaneous with, or closest
in time to, the POI, product-specific, and tax-exclusive. See, e.g.,
Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Negative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances and
Postponement of Final Determination: Certain Frozen and Canned
Warmwater Shrimp From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 69 FR 42672,
42682 (July 16, 2004), unchanged in Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value: Certain Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp from
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 69 FR 71005 (December 8, 2004). We
also considered the quality of the source of surrogate information in
selecting surrogate values.
We valued material inputs and packing by multiplying the amount of
the factor consumed in producing subject merchandise by the average
unit value of the factor. We derived the average unit value of the
factor from Indian import statistics. In addition, we added freight
costs to the surrogate costs that we calculated for material inputs. We
calculated freight costs by multiplying surrogate freight rates by the
shorter of the reported distance from the domestic supplier to the
factory that produced the subject merchandise or the distance from the
nearest seaport to the factory that produced the subject merchandise,
as appropriate. This adjustment is in accordance with the Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in Sigma Corp. v. United
States, 117 F. 3d 1401, 1407 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Where we could only
obtain surrogate values that were not contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated (or deflated) the surrogate values using the Indian Wholesale
Price Index (WPI) as published in the International Financial
Statistics of the International Monetary Fund.
Further, in calculating surrogate values from Indian imports, we
disregarded imports from Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand because
in other proceedings the Department found that these countries maintain
broadly available, non-industry-specific export subsidies. Therefore,
it is reasonable to infer that all exports to all markets from these
countries may be subsidized. See Notice of Amended Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Automotive Replacement Glass
Windshields from the People's Republic of China, 67 FR 11670 (March 15,
2002); see also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value and
[[Page 5506]]
Negative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain Color
Television Receivers From the People's Republic of China, 69 FR 20594
(April 16, 2004).\6\ Thus, we have not used prices from these countries
in calculating the Indian import-based surrogate values.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ In addition, we note that legislative history explains that
the Department is not required to conduct a formal investigation to
ensure that such prices are not subsidized. See H.R. Rep. 100-576 at
590 (1988). As such, it is the Department's practice to base its
decision on information that is available to it at the time it makes
its determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We valued raw materials and packing materials using Indian import
statistics, except as noted below.
We valued electricity using rates from Key World Energy Statistics
2003, published by the International Energy Agency. Because these data
were not contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the values using the
WPI. See the memoranda regarding ``Investigation of Light-Walled
Rectangular Pipe and Tube from the People's Republic of China:
Surrogate Values Selected'' for ZZPC and Lets Win dated concurrently
with this notice (Factor Value Memoranda).
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.408(c)(3), we valued direct, indirect,
and packing labor, using the most recently calculated regression-based
wage rate, which relies on 2004 data. This wage rate can currently be
found on the Department's Web site on Import Administration's home
page, Import Library, Expected Wages of Selected NME Countries, revised
in January 2007, https://ia.ita.doc.gov/wages/. The source of
these wage-rate data on the Import Administration's Web site is the
Yearbook of Labour Statistics 2002, ILO (Geneva: 2002), Chapter 5B:
Wages in Manufacturing. Because this regression-based wage rate does
not separate the labor rates into different skill levels or types of
labor, we have applied the same wage rate to all skill levels and types
of labor reported by ZZPC and Lets Win. See Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued water using data from the Maharashtra Industrial
Development Corporation (https://www.midcindia.org) because it includes
a wide range of industrial water tariffs. This source provides 386
industrial water rates within the Maharashtra province from June 2003:
193 for the ``inside industrial areas'' usage category and 193 for the
``outside industrial areas'' usage category. Because the value was not
contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the rate using the WPI. See
Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued truck freight expenses using a per-unit average rate from
data obtained from the Web site of an Indian transportation company,
InFreight Technologies India Limited. See https://www.infreight.com/.
This average rate was used by the Department in the antidumping duty
administrative review of Saccharin from the People's Republic of China;
Preliminary Results of the 2005-2006 Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 72 FR 25247 (May 4, 2007). Because this value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the rate using the WPI. See
Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued brokerage and handling using a simple average of the
brokerage and handling costs that were reported in public submissions
that were filed in two antidumping duty cases. Specifically, we
averaged the public brokerage and handling expenses reported by Agro
Dutch Industries Ltd. in the antidumping duty administrative review of
certain preserved mushrooms from India and those reported by Kejirwal
Paper Ltd. in the LTFV investigation of certain lined paper products
from India. See Certain Preserved Mushrooms From India: Final Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 71 FR 10646 (March 2, 2006);
see also Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Affirmative Preliminary
Determination of Critical Circumstances in Part: Certain Lined Paper
Products From India, 71 FR 19706 (April 17, 2006), unchanged in Notice
of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, and Negative
Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain Lined Paper Products
from India, 71 FR 45012 (August 8, 2006).
Because the resulting value is not contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the rate using the WPI. See Factor Value Memoranda.
ZZPC reported that all of its U.S. sales had international freight
arranged by an NME freight forwarder. We valued international freight
expenses using U.S. dollar freight quotes that the Department obtained
from Maersk Sealand (Maersk), a market-economy shipper. We obtained
quotes from Maersk for shipments from the PRC port of export and the
U.S. port of import reported by ZZPC for its U.S. sales. Because these
data were not contemporaneous to the POI, we adjusted them for
inflation using the U.S. WPI. See Factor Value Memoranda.
We valued factory overhead, selling, general, and administrative
(SG&A) expenses, and profit, using the 2006-2007 audited financial
statements of Zenith Birla (India) Limited and Bihar Tubes Limited.
Record evidence indicates that these are Indian companies that produce
subject merchandise. We did not rely upon a third company's financial
statement that was placed on the record, namely the financial statement
of Bhawani Industries Limited (Bhawani), because Bhawani's financial
statement lists a ``DEPB Premium'' in ``Other Income.'' India's DEPB
Scheme has been found by the Department to provide a countervailable
subsidy. See, e.g., Certain Iron-Metal Castings From India: Preliminary
Results and Partial Recision of Countervailing Duty Administrative
Review, 64 FR 61592 (November 12, 1999) (unchanged in final results);
see also https://ia.ita.doc.gov/esel/eselframes.html. In Crawfish from
the PRC, the Department noted that where it has reason to believe or
suspect that a company may have received subsidies, financial ratios
derived from that company's financial statements do not constitute the
best available information with which to value financial ratios. See
Freshwater Crawfish Tail Meat from the People's Republic of China:
Notice of Final Results And Rescission, In Part, of 2004/2005
Antidumping Duty Administrative and New Shipper Reviews, 72 FR 19174
(April 17, 2007) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at
Comment 1. Given the record information regarding Bhawani's use of the
DEPB program, and the fact that we have other acceptable financial
statements to use as surrogates, consistent with the Department's
decision in Crawfish from the PRC, we have not used Bhawani's financial
data in our surrogate ratio calculations. See Factor Value Memoranda.
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(i), interested parties may
submit publicly available information with which to value factors of
production in the final determination within 40 days after the date of
publication of the preliminary determination.
Currency Conversion
We made currency conversions into U.S. dollars, in accordance with
section 773A(a) of the Act, based on the exchange rates in effect on
the dates of the U.S. sales as certified by the Federal Reserve Bank.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify
the information upon which we will rely in making our final
determination.
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that it would
[[Page 5507]]
calculate combination rates for certain respondents that are eligible
for a separate rate in this investigation. See Initiation Notice. This
change in practice is described in Policy Bulletin 05.1, available at
https://ia.ita.doc.gov/. Policy Bulletin 05.1, states:
{w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates
only to exporters, all separate rates that the Department will now
assign in its NME investigations 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.
See Policy Bulletin 05.1, ``Separate Rates Practice and Application
of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations Involving Non-Market
Economy Countries.''
Preliminary Determination
The weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exporter & producer Weighted- average Margin (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhangjiagang Zhongyuan Pipe- 264.64
Making Co., Ltd..
Kunshan Lets Win Steel 223.52
Machinery Co., Ltd..
Wuxi Baishun Steel Pipe Co., 247.75
Ltd..
Guangdong Walsall Steel Pipe 247.75
Industrial Co., Ltd..
Wuxi Worldunion Trading Co., 247.75
Ltd..
Weifang East Steel Pipe Co., 247.75
Ltd..
Jiangyin Jianye Metal 247.75
Products Co., Ltd..
PRC-Wide Rate................ 264.64
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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).
Suspension of Liquidation
As noted above, the Department has found that critical
circumstances exist with respect to imports of subject merchandise from
the PRC-Wide entity. Therefore, in accordance with section 733(d) of
the Act, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
suspend liquidation of all entries of LWR from the PRC-Wide entity as
described in the ``Scope of the Investigation'' section of this notice,
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 90
days prior to the date of publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. For the mandatory respondents, Lets Win and ZZPC, and the
separate rate applicants, Wuxi Baishun Steel Pipe Co., Ltd., Guangdong
Walsall Steel Pipe Industrial Co., Ltd., Wuxi Worldunion Trading Co.,
Ltd., Weifang East Steel Pipe Co., Ltd., Jiangyin Jianye Metal Products
Co., Ltd., we will instruct CBP to suspend liquidation of all entries
of LWR from these companies as described in the ``Scope of the
Investigation'' section of this notice, entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption upon the date of publication of this notice
in the Federal Register. We will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit
or the posting of a bond equal to the weighted-average amount by which
the NV exceeds U.S. price, as indicated above. The suspension of
liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the
ITC of our preliminary affirmative determination of sales at LTFV.
Section 735(b)(2) of the Act requires the ITC to 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 LWR, or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation,
of the subject merchandise within 45 days of our final determination.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration no later than seven days
after the date the final verification report is issued in this
proceeding and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case
briefs, no later than five days after the deadline for submitting case
briefs. See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i) and 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1). A list of
authorities used and an executive summary of issues should accompany
any briefs submitted to the Department. This summary should be limited
to five pages total, including footnotes.
In accordance with section 774 of the Act, we will hold a public
hearing, if requested, to afford interested parties an opportunity to
comment on arguments raised in case or rebuttal briefs. If a request
for a hearing is made, we intend to hold the hearing three days after
the deadline of submission of rebuttal briefs at the U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20230,
at a time and location to be determined. Parties should confirm by
telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before
the scheduled date.
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 Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room
1870, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. See
19 CFR 351.310(c). Requests should contain the party's name, address,
and telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the
issues to be discussed. At the hearing, each party may make an
affirmative presentation only on issues raised in that party's case
brief and may make rebuttal presentations only on arguments included in
that party's rebuttal brief.
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act, on November 27, 2007, and
December 10, 2007, Lets Win and ZZPC, respectively, requested that in
the event of an affirmative preliminary determination in this
investigation, the Department postpone its final determination by 60
days. At the same time, Lets Win and ZZPC requested that the Department
extend the application of the provisional measures prescribed under 19
CFR 351.210(e)(2) from a 4-month period to a 6-month period. In
accordance with section 733(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b),
because (1) our preliminary determination is affirmative, (2) the
requesting exporters account for a significant proportion of exports of
the subject merchandise, and (3) no compelling reasons for denial
exist, we are granting the request and are postponing the final
determination until no later than 135 days after the publication of
this notice in the Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will be
extended accordingly.
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: January 23, 2008.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-1664 Filed 1-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P