Certain Standard Steel Fasteners From the People's Republic of China and Taiwan: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations, 54537-54543 [E9-25194]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 203 (Thursday, October 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54537-54543]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25194]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-960, A-583-845]


Certain Standard Steel Fasteners From the People's Republic of 
China and Taiwan: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations

DATES: Effective Date: October 22, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Flessner or Robert James, AD/CVD 
Operations Office 7, (202) 482-6312 or (202) 482-0649, respectively 
(Taiwan); Susan Pulongbarit or Jerry Huang, AD/CVD Operations Office 9, 
(202) 482-

[[Page 54538]]

4031 or (202) 482-4047, respectively (People's Republic of China); 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  On September 23, 2009, the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) received petitions concerning imports of 
certain standard steel fasteners (fasteners) from the People's Republic 
of China (PRC) and Taiwan filed in proper form by Nucor Fastener 
(Petitioner). See Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duties: Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from the 
People's Republic of China and Taiwan, dated September 23, 2009 
(Petition). On September 30, 2009, the Department issued additional 
requests for information and clarification of certain areas of the 
Petition. Petitioner timely filed additional information pertaining to 
Taiwan and the PRC on October 5, 2009. See Petition for the Imposition 
of Antidumping Duties on Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from Taiwan: 
Response to Deficiency Questionnaire, dated October 5, 2009 (Taiwan 
Deficiency Response); see also Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from the 
People's Republic of China: Response to Deficiency Questionnaire, dated 
October 5, 2009 (PRC Deficiency Response). Petitioner further timely 
filed additional information pertaining to general issues in the 
Petition on October 6, 2009 (see Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Certain Standard Steel 
Fasteners from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan: Response to 
General Issues Deficiency Questionnaire, dated October 6, 2009 
(Supplement to the AD/CVD Petitions)), on October 8, 2009 (see 
Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties 
on Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from the People's Republic of China 
and Antidumping Duties on Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from Taiwan: 
Submission of Additional Information Related to The Calculation of 
Industry Standing, dated October 8, 2009 (Industry Support 
Supplement)), also on October 8, 2009, (see Petitions for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Certain Standard 
Steel Fasteners from the People's Republic of China and Taiwan: 
Response to General Issues Deficiency Questionnaire, dated October 8, 
2009 (Second Supplement to the AD/CVD Petitions)), also on October 8, 
2009, (see Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duties on Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from the 
People's Republic of China and Antidumping Duties on Certain Standard 
Steel Fasteners from Taiwan: Confirmation of Simultaneous Filing at DOC 
and ITC, dated October 8, 2009 (Simultaneous Filing Supplement)), on 
October 9, 2009 (see Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duties on Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from the 
People's Republic of China and Antidumping Duties on Certain Standard 
Steel Fasteners from Taiwan: Revised Description of Scope and Uses and 
Technical Characteristics/U.S. Producers List, dated October 9, 2009 
(Third Supplement to the AD/CVD Petitions)), and on October 13, 2009 
(see Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from the People's Republic of 
China and Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from Taiwan).
    The period of investigation (POI) for the PRC is January 1, 2009, 
through June 30, 2009. The POI for Taiwan is July 1, 2008, through June 
30, 2009. See 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1).
    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Tariff Act), Petitioner alleges that imports of certain 
standard steel fasteners from the PRC and Taiwan are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value, within 
the meaning of section 731 of the Tariff Act, and that such imports are 
materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, an industry in 
the United States.
    The Department finds Petitioner filed the Petition on behalf of the 
domestic industry because Petitioner is an interested party, as defined 
in section 771(9)(C) of the Tariff Act, and has demonstrated sufficient 
industry support with respect to the antidumping duty investigations 
that Petitioner is requesting the Department to initiate (see 
``Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions'' section below).

Scope of the Investigations

    The products covered by these investigations are fasteners from the 
PRC and Taiwan. For a full description of the scope of the 
investigations, please see ``Scope of Investigations,'' in Appendix I 
of this notice. The Department, after consulting with Petitioner, made 
minor changes to the scope language submitted by Petitioner in the 
Third Supplement to the AD/CVD Petitions. See Memorandum to the file 
from Steve Bezirganian, Analyst, entitled ``Certain Standard Steel 
Fasteners from the People's Republic of China (A-570-960 and C-570-961) 
and Taiwan (A-583-845): Revisions to Petitioner's Proposed October 9, 
2009, Scope Language,'' dated October 13, 2009.

Comments on Scope of Investigations

    During our review of the Petition, we discussed the scope with 
Petitioner to ensure that it is an accurate reflection of the products 
for which the domestic industry is seeking relief. Moreover, as 
discussed in the preamble to the regulations (Antidumping Duties; 
Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997)), 
we are setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues 
regarding product coverage. The Department encourages all interested 
parties to submit such comments by Monday, November 2, 2009, which is 
twenty calendar days from the signature date of this notice. Comments 
should be addressed to Import Administration's APO/Dockets Unit, Room 
1870, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, 
NW., Washington, DC 20230. The period of scope consultations is 
intended to provide the Department with ample opportunity to consider 
all comments and to consult with parties prior to the issuance of the 
preliminary determinations.

Comments on Product Characteristics for Antidumping Duty Questionnaires

    We are requesting comments from interested parties regarding the 
appropriate physical characteristics of fasteners to be reported in 
response to the Department's antidumping questionnaires. This 
information will be used to identify the key physical characteristics 
of the merchandise under consideration in order to more accurately 
report the relevant factors and costs of production, as well as to 
develop appropriate product comparison criteria.
    Interested parties may provide information or comments that they 
believe are relevant to the development of an accurate listing of 
physical characteristics. Specifically, they may provide comments as to 
which characteristics are appropriate to use as: (1) General product 
characteristics; and (2) the product comparison criteria. We note that 
it is not always appropriate to use all product characteristics as 
product comparison criteria. We base product comparison criteria on 
meaningful commercial differences among products. In other words, while 
there may be some physical product characteristics utilized by 
manufacturers to describe fasteners, it may be that only a select few 
product characteristics take into account

[[Page 54539]]

commercially meaningful physical characteristics. In addition, 
interested parties may comment on the order in which the physical 
characteristics should be used in product matching. Generally, the 
Department attempts to list the most important physical characteristics 
first and the least important characteristics last.
    In order to consider the suggestions of interested parties in 
developing and issuing the antidumping duty questionnaires, we must 
receive comments at the above-referenced address by October 27, 2009. 
Additionally, rebuttal comments must be received by November 3, 2009.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    Section 732(b)(1) of the Tariff Act requires that a petition be 
filed on behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the 
Tariff Act provides that a petition meets this requirement if the 
domestic producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) 
At least 25 percent of the total production of the domestic like 
product; and (ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the 
domestic like product produced by that portion of the industry 
expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, 
section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Tariff Act provides that, if the petition 
does not establish support of domestic producers or workers accounting 
for more than 50 percent of the total production of the domestic like 
product, the Department shall: (i) Poll the industry or rely on other 
information in order to determine if there is support for the petition, 
as required by subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine industry support 
using a statistically valid sampling method to poll the industry.
    Section 771(4)(A) of the Tariff Act defines the ``industry'' as the 
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine 
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute 
directs the Department to look to producers and workers who produce the 
domestic like product. The International Trade Commission (the 
Commission), which is responsible for determining whether ``the 
domestic industry'' has been injured, must also determine what 
constitutes a domestic like product in order to define the industry. 
While both the Department and the Commission must apply the same 
statutory definition regarding the domestic like product (see section 
771(10) of the Tariff Act), they do so for different purposes and 
pursuant to a separate and distinct authority. In addition, the 
Department's determination is subject to limitations of time and 
information. Although this may result in different definitions of the 
like product, such differences do not render the decision of either 
agency contrary to law. See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 
2d 1, 8 (Ct. Int'l Trade 2001), citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. 
United States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (Ct. Int'l Trade 1988), aff'd 865 
F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989), cert. denied 492 U.S. 919 (1989).
    Section 771(10) of the Tariff Act defines the domestic like product 
as ``a product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar 
in characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an 
investigation under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which 
the domestic like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to 
an investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be 
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the 
petition).
    With regard to the domestic like product, Petitioner does not offer 
a definition of domestic like product distinct from the scope of the 
investigations. Based on our analysis of the information submitted on 
the record, we have determined that fasteners constitute a single 
domestic like product and we have analyzed industry support in terms of 
that domestic like product. For a discussion of the domestic like 
product analysis in this case, see Antidumping Duty Investigation 
Initiation Checklist: Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from the 
People's Republic of China (PRC Checklist), at Attachment II, Industry 
Support, and Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: 
Certain Standard Steel Fasteners from Taiwan (Taiwan Checklist), at 
Attachment II, Industry Support, on file in the Central Records Unit 
(CRU), Room 1117 of the main Department of Commerce building.
    In determining whether Petitioner has standing under section 
732(c)(4)(A) of the Tariff Act, we considered the industry support data 
contained in the Petitions with reference to the domestic like product 
as defined in the ``Scope of Investigations'' section above. To 
establish industry support, Petitioner provided its production of the 
domestic like product for the year 2008, and compared this to the 
estimated total production of the domestic like product for the entire 
domestic industry. See Volume I of the Petition, at 2-3, Exhibit I-10; 
see also Supplement to the AD/CVD Petitions, at 17-18, Exhibit I-Supp-
6, and Industry Support Supplement, at Attachment 1. To estimate 2008 
production of the domestic like product, Petitioner used its own data 
and industry specific knowledge. See Industry Support Supplement, at 
Attachment I; see also PRC Checklist at Attachment II, Taiwan Checklist 
at Attachment II. Petitioner calculated total domestic production based 
on its own production plus estimates regarding the other producers of 
the domestic like product in the United States. Id. We have relied upon 
data Petitioner provided for purposes of measuring industry support. 
For further discussion, see Initiation Checklist at Attachment II.
    Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, supplemental 
submissions, and other information readily available to the Department 
indicates that Petitioner has established industry support. First, the 
Petitions established support from domestic producers (or workers) 
accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of the 
domestic like product and, as such, the Department is not required to 
take further action in order to evaluate industry support (e.g., 
polling). See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Tariff Act; see also PRC 
Checklist at Attachment II, and Taiwan Checklist at Attachment II. 
Second, the domestic producers (or workers) have met the statutory 
criteria for industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the 
Tariff Act because the domestic producers (or workers) who support the 
Petitions account for at least 25 percent of the total production of 
the domestic like product. See PRC Checklist at Attachment II, and 
Taiwan Checklist at Attachment II. Finally, the domestic producers (or 
workers) have met the statutory criteria for industry support under 
section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Tariff Act because the domestic 
producers (or workers) who support the Petitions account for more than 
50 percent of the production of the domestic like product produced by 
that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, 
the Petitions. Accordingly, the Department determines that the 
Petitions were filed on behalf of the domestic industry within the 
meaning of section 732(b)(1) of the Tariff Act. Id.
    The Department finds that Petitioner filed the Petitions on behalf 
of the domestic industry because it is an interested party as defined 
in section 771(9)(C) of the Tariff Act and it has demonstrated 
sufficient industry support with respect to the antidumping duty 
investigations that it is requesting the Department initiate. Id.

Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation

    Petitioner alleges that the U.S. industry producing the domestic 
like product is being materially injured, or is

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threatened with material injury, by reason of the imports of the 
subject merchandise sold at less than normal value (NV). In addition, 
Petitioner alleges that subject imports exceed the negligibility 
threshold provided for under section 771(24)(A) of the Tariff Act.
    Petitioner contends that the industry's injured condition is 
illustrated by reduced market share, underselling and price depressing 
and suppressing effects, increased import penetration, declining sales, 
reduced production, reduced capacity, increased raw material cost, 
abandoned product lines, reduced shipments, reduced wages and hours 
worked, and an overall decline in financial performance. We have 
assessed the allegations and supporting evidence regarding material 
injury, threat of material injury, and causation, and we have 
determined that these allegations are properly supported by adequate 
evidence and meet the statutory requirements for initiation. See PRC 
Checklist at Attachment III, Injury, and Taiwan Checklist at Attachment 
III, Injury.

Allegations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

    The following is a description of the allegations of sales at less 
than fair value upon which the Department based its decision to 
initiate these investigations of imports of fasteners from the PRC and 
Taiwan. The sources of data for the deductions and adjustments relating 
to the U.S. price, the factors of production (for the PRC), and price-
based NV (for Taiwan) are also discussed in the country-specific 
initiation checklists. See PRC Checklist and Taiwan Checklist.

U.S. Price

The PRC

    For the PRC, Petitioner calculated export price (EP) based on 
documentation of offers for sale obtained from a confidential source. 
See PRC Initiation Checklist; see also Petition Vol. II at 3 and 
Exhibit II-2. Based on the terms of sale, Petitioner adjusted the 
export price for brokerage and handling, ocean freight, insurance and 
port expenses, as well as U.S. inland freight expenses. See PRC 
Initiation Checklist; see also Petition Vol. II at 5-13 and Exhibit II-
5.

Taiwan

    For Taiwan, Petitioner based U.S. price on EP because, it 
maintains, Taiwanese producers typically sell the subject merchandise 
either directly to unaffiliated U.S. customers or via an unaffiliated 
trading company to the U.S. customer. Petitioner obtained POI prices of 
fasteners produced by the Taiwanese manufacturer Jinn Her Enterprise 
Co., Ltd. (Jinn Her). Petitioner substantiated the U.S. prices used 
with affidavits from persons who obtained the information. Petitioner 
deducted, where appropriate, movement expenses (foreign inland freight, 
foreign port, brokerage and handling charges, ocean freight, and U.S. 
inland freight). Petitioners also deducted an amount for imputed credit 
expenses, based upon the presumed terms of payment. See Taiwan 
Checklist; see also Petition Vol. IV at 2-8 and Exhibits IV-1 to IV-15, 
and Taiwan Deficiency Response at Exhibits IV-Supp-1 to IV-Supp-5.

Normal Value

The PRC

    Petitioner claims the PRC is a non-market economy (NME) country and 
that no determination to the contrary has been made by the Department. 
See Petition Vol. II at 14. In accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of 
the Act, the presumption of NME status remains in effect until revoked 
by the Department. The presumption of NME status for the PRC has not 
been revoked by the Department and, therefore, remains in effect for 
purposes of the initiation of this investigation. Accordingly, the NV 
of the product for the PRC investigation is appropriately based on 
factors of production valued in a surrogate market-economy country in 
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. In the course of the PRC 
investigation, all parties, including the public, will have the 
opportunity to provide relevant information related to the issue of the 
PRC's NME status and the granting of separate rates to individual 
exporters.
    Petitioner contends that India is the appropriate surrogate country 
for the PRC because: (1) it is at a level of economic development 
comparable to that of the PRC and (2) it is a significant producer and 
exporter of comparable merchandise. See Petition Vol. II at 14-16. 
Based on the information provided by Petitioner, we believe that it is 
appropriate to use India as a surrogate country for initiation 
purposes. After initiation of the investigation, interested parties 
will have the opportunity to submit comments regarding surrogate 
country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(i), will be 
provided an opportunity to submit publicly available information to 
value factors of production within 40 days after the date of 
publication of the preliminary determination.
    Petitioner calculated the NV and dumping margins using the 
Department's NME methodology as required by 19 CFR 351.202(b)(7)(i)(C) 
and 19 CFR 351.408. Petitioner calculated NV based on consumption rates 
of the factors of production on the average consumption rates of a 
fasteners producer in the United States (Surrogate Domestic Producer) 
for identical or similar merchandise. See Petition Vol. II at 2 and 16-
17 and Exhibit II-16. In calculating NV, Petitioner based the quantity 
of each of the inputs used to manufacture and pack fasteners in the PRC 
on product-specific production costs and/or consumption rates of the 
Surrogate Domestic Producer during the POI. See Petition Vol. II at 16-
17 and Exhibit II-16. Petitioner states that the actual usage rates of 
the foreign manufacturers of fasteners, Autocraft Industrial 
(Autocraft) and Shanghai Prime Machinery Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Prime), 
are not reasonably available; however, Petitioner notes that according 
to the information available to Petitioner, the production of fasteners 
by Autocraft and Shanghai Prime relies on similar production methods to 
the Surrogate Domestic Producer. See Petition Vol. II at 16 and 19 and 
and 16-17 and Exhibit II-16.
    Petitioner determined the consumption quantities of all raw 
materials and packing materials based on the production experience of 
the Surrogate Domestic Producer. See Petition Vol. II at 2 and 19-20. 
Petitioner valued the factors of production based on reasonably 
available, public surrogate country data, specifically, Indian import 
statistics from the Global Trade Atlas (GTA). See the PRC Deficiency 
Response at 1 and Exhibits II-Supp-1 and 2. Petitioner excluded from 
these import statistics imports from countries previously determined by 
the Department to be NME countries. Petitioner also excluded import 
statistics from Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand, as the 
Department has previously excluded prices from these countries because 
they maintain broadly available, non-industry-specific export 
subsidies. Id., at 1 and Exhibits II-Supp-1 and 2. In addition, the 
Petitioner made currency conversions, where necessary, based on the 
POI-average rupee/U.S. dollar exchange rate, as reported on the 
Department's Web site. See Petition Vol. II at 21 and Exhibit II-8. 
Petitioner determined labor costs using the labor consumption, in 
hours, derived from the Surrogate Domestic Producer's experience. See 
Exhibit II-16 and PRC Deficiency Response at Exhibit II-Supp-2. 
Petitioner valued labor costs using the Department's NME Wage Rate for 
the

[[Page 54541]]

PRC at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/wages/05wages/05wages-051608.html. See 
Petition Vol. II at 26. For purposes of initiation, the Department 
determines that the surrogate values used by Petitioner are reasonably 
available and, thus, acceptable for purposes of initiation.
    Petitioner determined electricity costs using the electricity 
consumption, in kilowatt hours, derived from the Surrogate Domestic 
Producer's experience. See Petition Vol. II at 26 and Exhibit II-16. 
Petitioner valued electricity using the Indian electricity rate 
reported by the Central Electric Authority of the Government of India. 
See PRC Deficiency Response at 3 and Exhibits II-Supp-2 and II-Supp-5.
    Petitioner determined natural gas costs using the natural gas 
consumption derived from the Surrogate Domestic Producer's experience. 
See Volume II of the Petition at Exhibit II-16. Petitioner valued 
natural gas using the CRISIL natural gas rate that the Department 
replied upon in several recent investigations. See, e.g., 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). Petitioner converted the amounts 
denominated in Indian rupees to USD using the Department's published 
exchange rates for the time period for the prospective POI. See Volume 
II of the Petition at 25-26 and Exhibit II-22.
    Petitioner determined nitrogen costs using a price quote from 
Bhoruka Gases Ltd, which was previously relied upon in Frontseating 
Valves from the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Negative Determination of 
Critical Circumstances, 74 FR 10886 (March 13, 2009) and Petition Vol. 
II at 25 and Exhibit II-20, and the Supplement to the Petition Vol. II 
at 2.
    Petitioner determined the consumption of all packing materials 
based on the Surrogate Domestic Producer's experience. See Volume II of 
the Petition at 28 and Exhibit II-16. Petitioner valued packing 
materials based on Indian import statistics from GTA, and as noted 
above, excluded NME countries as well as countries with general export 
subsidies. See the Supplement to the AD PRC Petition at Exhibit II-
Supp-1. In addition, Petitioner made currency conversions, where 
necessary, based on the POI-average rupee/USD exchange rate, as 
reported on the Department's Web site. See the Supplement to the AD PRC 
Petition at Exhibit II-Supp-3.
    Petitioner based factory overhead, selling, general and 
administrative (SG&A), and profit on data from Sundaram Fasteners Ltd. 
(SFL), a producer of similar merchandise, for the 2007-2008 fiscal 
year. See Petition Vol. II at 27-28 and Exhibit II-24. For purposes of 
the initiation, the Department finds Petitioner's use of SFL's 
unconsolidated financial ratios appropriate.

Taiwan

    Petitioner based NV on price quotes for fasteners offered for sale 
in Taiwan by Jinn Her. These price and adjustment data were obtained 
through market research commissioned by petitioner. The price and 
adjustment data involve merchandise that is both commonly sold in the 
home market, and is substantially identical to the merchandise sold in 
the United States. Since the prices quoted were on an ``ex-works'' 
basis, Petitioner made no adjustments for movement expenses. Petitioner 
adjusted NV for imputed credit expenses. For comparison to EP, 
petitioner then added U.S. credit expenses. See Taiwan Checklist.

Fair-Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by Petitioner, there is reason to 
believe that imports of fasteners from the PRC and Taiwan are being, or 
are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value. 
Based on a comparison of U.S. prices and NV calculated in accordance 
with section 773(c) of the Tariff Act, the estimated dumping margins 
for fasteners from the PRC range from 66.87 percent to 205.97 percent. 
See PRC Checklist and PRC Deficiency Response at Exhibit II-Supp-4. 
Based on a comparison of U.S. price and NV, the estimated dumping 
margins for fasteners from Taiwan range from 51.39 percent to 114.14 
percent. See Taiwan Checklist; see also Petition Vol. IV at 18-19 and 
Exhibit IV-20, and Taiwan Deficiency Response at 11 and Exhibit IV-
Supp-8.

Initiation of Antidumping Investigations

    Based upon the examination of the Petition on fasteners from the 
PRC and Taiwan, the Department finds the Petition meets the 
requirements of section 732 of the Tariff Act. Therefore, we are 
initiating antidumping duty investigations to determine whether imports 
of fasteners from the PRC and Taiwan are being, or are likely to be, 
sold in the United States at less than fair value. In accordance with 
section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act and 19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless 
postponed, we will make our preliminary determinations no later than 
140 days after the date of this initiation.

Targeted-Dumping Allegations

    On December 10, 2008, the Department issued an interim final rule 
for the purpose of withdrawing 19 CFR 351.414(f) and (g), the 
regulatory provisions governing the targeted-dumping analysis in 
antidumping duty investigations, and the corresponding regulation 
governing the deadline for targeted-dumping allegations, 19 CFR 
351.301(d)(5). See Withdrawal of the Regulatory Provisions Governing 
Targeted Dumping in Antidumping Duty Investigations, 73 FR 74930 
(December 10, 2008). The Department stated that ``withdrawal will allow 
the Department to exercise the discretion intended by the statute and, 
thereby, develop a practice that will allow interested parties to 
pursue all statutory avenues of relief in this area.'' Id., 73 FR at 
74931.
    In order to accomplish this objective, if any interested party 
wishes to make a targeted-dumping allegation in either of these 
investigations pursuant to section 777A(d)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act, 
such allegations are due no later than 45 days before the scheduled 
date of the country-specific preliminary determination.

Respondent Selection

The PRC

    For this investigation, the Department will request quantity and 
value information from all known exporters and producers identified 
with complete contact information in the Petition. The quantity and 
value data received from NME exporters/producers will be used as the 
basis to select the mandatory respondents.
    The Department requires that the respondents submit a response to 
both the quantity and value questionnaire and the separate-rate 
application by the respective deadlines in order to receive 
consideration for separate-rate status. See Circular Welded Austenitic 
Stainless Pressure Pipe from the People's Republic of China: Initiation 
of Antidumping Duty Investigation, 73 FR 10221, 10225 (February 26, 
2008); Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigation: Certain Artist 
Canvas From the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 21996, 21999 (April 
28, 2005). The Department will post the quantity and value 
questionnaire along with the filing instructions on the Import 
Administration Web site at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/ia-highlights-and-news.html, and a response to the

[[Page 54542]]

quantity and value questionnaire is due no later than November 3, 2009. 
Also, the Department will send the quantity and value questionnaire to 
those PRC companies identified in the Petition at Exhibit I-4 and in 
the General Issues Deficiency Response at Exhibit I-Supp-1.

Taiwan

    For this investigation, the Department intends to select 
respondents based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for 
U.S. imports under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) numbers 7318.15.2030, 7318.15.2055, 7318.15.2065, 7318.15.8065, 
7318.15.8085, and 7318.16.0085, the six HTSUS categories most specific 
to the subject merchandise, during the POI. We intend to release the 
CBP data under Administrative Protective Order (APO) to all parties 
with access to information protected by APO within five days of 
publication of this Federal Register notice. We note that Petitioner 
has stated that five of the six HTS categories covering subject 
merchandise ``are broad basket categories that also cover products 
outside the scope of this investigation.'' See Petition at 9 and 
Exhibit I-5. Accordingly, the Department invites additional comments 
regarding the CBP data and respondent selection, including the 
propriety of basing respondent selection upon CBP data in this 
investigation, within ten days of publication of this Federal Register 
notice.
    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Instructions for filing such 
applications may be found on the Department's Web site at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/apo.

Separate Rates Application

    In order to obtain separate-rate status in NME investigations, 
exporters and producers must submit a separate-rate status application. 
See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and Application of 
Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market 
Economy Countries, dated April 5, 2005 (Separate Rates and Combination 
Rates Bulletin), available on the Department's Web site at 
http:[sol][sol]ia.ita.doc.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf. Based on our 
experience in processing the separate-rate applications in previous 
antidumping duty investigations, we have modified the application for 
this investigation to make it more administrable and easier for 
applicants to complete. See, e.g., Initiation of Antidumping Duty 
Investigation: Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the 
People's Republic of China, 72 FR 43591, 43594-95 (August 6, 2007). The 
specific requirements for submitting the separate-rate application in 
this investigation are outlined in detail in the application itself, 
which will be available on the Department's Web site at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/ia-highlights-and-news.html on the date of publication 
of this initiation notice in the Federal Register. The separate-rate 
application will be due 60 days after publication of this initiation 
notice. For exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate status 
application and subsequently are selected as mandatory respondents, 
these exporters and producers will no longer be eligible for 
consideration for separate rate status unless they respond to all parts 
of the questionnaire as mandatory respondents. As noted in the 
``Respondent Selection'' section above, the Department requires that 
respondents submit a response to both the quantity and value 
questionnaire and the separate rate application by the respective 
deadlines in order to receive consideration for separate-rate status. 
The quantity and value questionnaire will be available on the 
Department's Web site at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/ia-highlights-and-news.html on the date of the publication of this initiation notice in 
the Federal Register.

Use of Combination Rates in an NME Investigation

    The Department will calculate combination rates for certain 
respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in this 
investigation. The Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin 
states:

    [W]hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates only 
to exporters, all separate rates that the Department will now assign 
in its NME 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 Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin at 6 (emphasis 
added).

Distribution of Copies of the Petition

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act and 19 
CFR 351.202(f), copies of the public versions of the Petition have been 
provided to the representatives of the Governments of the PRC and 
Taiwan. Because of the large number of producers/exporters identified 
in the Petition, the Department considers the service of the public 
version of the Petition to the foreign producers/exporters satisfied by 
the delivery of the public version to the Government of the PRC and the 
Government of Taiwan, consistent with 19 CFR 351.203(c)(2).

Commission Notification

    We have notified the Commission of our initiations, as required by 
section 732(d) of the Tariff Act.

Preliminary Determinations by the Commission

    The Commission will preliminarily determine, no later than November 
7, 2009, whether there is a reasonable indication that imports of 
fasteners from the PRC and Taiwan are materially injuring, or 
threatening material injury to a U.S. industry. A negative ITC 
determination with respect to any country will result in the 
investigation being terminated for that country; otherwise, these 
investigations will proceed according to statutory and regulatory time 
limits.
    This notice is issued and published pursuant to section 777(i) of 
the Tariff Act.

    Dated: October 13, 2009.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigations

    The merchandise covered by the investigations consists of 
certain standard nuts, standard bolts, and standard cap screws, of 
steel other than stainless steel. Standard nuts, standard bolts, and 
standard cap screws covered by the investigations may have a variety 
of finishes, including but not limited to coating in paint, 
phosphates, and zinc. Standard bolts and standard cap screws covered 
by the investigations have a shank or thread with an actual and/or 
nominal diameter between 6 millimeters and 32 millimeters 
(inclusive). Standard bolts and standard cap screws covered by the 
investigations also possess a circular or hexagonal head, the 
surface of which may be flat or rounded (also known as ``dome-
shaped'' or ``button-headed''). Standard bolts covered by the 
investigations may have an attached washer face or the equivalent 
(e.g., a flanged head or chamfered corners on the underside of a 
fastener with a hexagonal-shaped head). Standard cap screws covered

[[Page 54543]]

by the investigations have a permanently-attached washer face. 
Standard nuts are covered by the investigations if they are suitable 
for attachment to bolts and/or cap screws covered by the 
investigations.
    Standard bolts, standard cap screws, and standard nuts are 
covered by the investigations whether imported alone, attached to 
other subject and/or non-subject merchandise (e.g., tension control 
assemblies), or unattached and in combination with other subject 
merchandise and/or non-subject merchandise.
    Standard nuts, standard bolts, and standard cap screws meet the 
requirements of one or more nationally recognized consensus industry 
standard specifications (including but not limited to those 
referenced below). Subject merchandise is typically certified to the 
specifications published by one or more consensus standards 
organizations such as the following: the American Society for 
Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Society of Automotive Engineers 
(SAE), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and 
the Industrial Fasteners Institute. Common specifications to which 
subject merchandise is certified include, but are not limited to: 
ASTM A194, ASTM A307, ASTM A325, ASTM A325M, ASTM A354, ASTM A449, 
ASTM A490, ASTM A563, ASTM F568M, ASTM F1852, ASTM F2280, SAE J429, 
SAE J1199, ISO 898-1, ISO 898-2, ISO 4759-1, ISO 8992, and 
comparable foreign and domestic specifications (including, but not 
limited to, metric versions of specifications such as those listed 
above).
    Excluded from the scope of the investigations are bolts, cap 
screws, and nuts produced for an original equipment manufacturer 
(OEM) part number specific to any ``automobile'' as defined in 49 
U.S.C. Section 32901(a)(3), any ``work truck'' as defined in 49 
U.S.C. Section 32901(a)(19), or any ``medium-duty passenger 
vehicle'' as defined in 40 CFR Section 86.1803-01 (2009).
    Also excluded from the scope of the investigations are bolts, 
cap screws, and nuts produced for an OEM part number specific to any 
``aircraft'' as defined in 14 CFR Section 1.1 (2009).
    Also excluded from the scope of the investigations are track 
bolts. Track bolts have a circular, rounded head and a shank which, 
immediately beneath the head, possesses an oval or elliptical shape, 
such that the non-round shape would restrict rotational movement of 
the bolt. Also excluded from the scope of the investigations are 
carriage bolts. Carriage bolts have a circular, rounded head and a 
shank which, immediately beneath the head, possesses a non-round 
shape (e.g., square, finned), such that the non-round shape would 
restrict rotational movement of the bolt. Also excluded from the 
scope of the investigations are socket screws. Socket screws have a 
head with a recessed cavity into which a shaped bit may be inserted 
to turn and drive the fastener.
    Unless explicitly excluded from the scope of the investigations, 
bolts, cap screws, and nuts meeting the description of subject 
merchandise are covered by the investigations.
    Merchandise covered by the investigations is classified in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under 
subheadings: 7318.15.2030, 7318.15.2055, 7318.15.2065, 7318.15.8065, 
7318.15.8085, and 7318.16.0085. Although the HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the merchandise under the investigations is 
dispositive.

[FR Doc. E9-25194 Filed 10-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P