Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 68232-68241 [E9-30536]
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 23, 2009 / Notices
Period to be
reviewed
Antidumping duty proceedings
Zhangzhou Xiangcheng Rainbow Greenland Food Co., Ltd.
Zhengzhou Harmoni Spice Co., Ltd.
Zhengzhou Yuanli Trading Co., Ltd.
The People’s Republic of China: Lightweight Thermal Paper,5 A–570–920 ..........................................................................
Guangdong Guanhao High-Tech Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Hanhong Paper Co., Ltd. and
Hanhong International Limited
The People’s Republic of China: Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip,6 A–570–924 .....................................
Fuwei Films (Shandong) Co., Ltd.
Shaoxing Xiangyu Green Packing Co., Ltd.
Tianjin Wanhua Co., Ltd.
Sichuan Dongfang Insulating Material Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Xishu Electric Material Co., Ltd.
Shanghai Uchem Co., Ltd.
United Arab Emirates: Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip, A–520–803 .......................................................
Flex Middle East FZE
JBF RAK LLC
Countervailing Duty Proceedings
The People’s Republic of China: Lightweight Thermal Paper, C–570–921 ...........................................................................
Guangdong Guanhao High-Tech Co., Ltd.
Suspension Agreements
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None.
During any administrative review
covering all or part of a period falling
between the first and second or third
and fourth anniversary of the
publication of an antidumping duty
order under 19 CFR 351.211 or a
determination under 19 CFR
351.218(f)(4) to continue an order or
suspended investigation (after sunset
review), the Secretary, if requested by a
domestic interested party within 30
days of the date of publication of the
notice of initiation of the review, will
determine, consistent with FAG Italia v.
United States, 291 F.3d 806 (Fed. Cir.
2002), as appropriate, whether
antidumping duties have been absorbed
by an exporter or producer subject to the
review if the subject merchandise is
sold in the United States through an
3 If the above-named company does not qualify
for a separate rate, all other exporters of certain cutto-length carbon steel plate from the People’s
Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’) who have not qualified
for a separate rate are deemed to be covered by this
review as part of the single PRC entity of which the
named exporters are a part.
4 If one of the above-named companies does not
qualify for a separate rate, all other exporters of
fresh garlic from the PRC who have not qualified
for a separate rate are deemed to be covered by this
review as part of the single PRC entity of which the
named exporters are a part.
5 If one of the above-named companies does not
qualify for a separate rate, all other exporters of
lightweight thermal paper from the PRC who have
not qualified for a separate rate are deemed to be
covered by this review as part of the single PRC
entity of which the named exporters are a part.
6 If one of the above-named companies does not
qualify for a separate rate, all other exporters of
polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, and strip
from the PRC who have not qualified for a separate
rate are deemed to be covered by this review as part
of the single PRC entity of which the named
exporters are a part.
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19:26 Dec 22, 2009
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importer that is affiliated with such
exporter or producer. The request must
include the name(s) of the exporter or
producer for which the inquiry is
requested.
For the first administrative review of
any order, there will be no assessment
of antidumping or countervailing duties
on entries of subject merchandise
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption during the relevant
provisional-measures ‘‘gap’’ period, of
the order, if such a gap period is
applicable to the POR.
Interested parties must submit
applications for disclosure under APO
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On
January 22, 2008, the Department
published Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Documents Submission Procedures;
APO Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January
22, 2008). Those procedures apply to
administrative reviews included in this
notice of initiation. Parties wishing to
participate in any of these
administrative reviews should ensure
that they meet the requirements of these
procedures (e.g., the filing of separate
letters of appearance as discussed in 19
CFR 351.101(d)).
These initiations and this notice are
in accordance with section 751(a) of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19
U.S.C. 1675(a)), and 19 CFR
351.221(c)(1)(i).
11/1/08–10/31/09
11/20/08–10/31/09
11/6/08–10/31/09
11/6/08–10/31/09
11/20/08–12/31/08
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–570–945]
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire
Strand From the People’s Republic of
China: Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES:
Effective Date: December 23,
2009.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(‘‘the Department’’) preliminarily
determines that prestressed concrete
steel wire strand (‘‘PC strand’’) 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
(‘‘Act’’), for the period of investigation
(‘‘POI’’) October 1, 2008, through March
31, 2009. The estimated margins of sales
at LTFV are shown in the ‘‘Preliminary
Determination’’ section of this notice.
Interested parties are invited to
comment on this preliminary
determination.
Dated: December 17, 2009.
John M. Andersen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations.
[FR Doc. E9–30529 Filed 12–22–09; 8:45 am]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Alan Ray or Alexis Polovina, AD/CVD
Operations, Office 9, Import
Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20230;
telephone: (202) 482–5403 or (202) 482–
3927, respectively.
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 23, 2009 / Notices
Initiation
On May 27, 2009, the Department
received an antidumping duty (‘‘AD’’)
petition concerning imports of PC
strand from the PRC filed in proper form
by American Spring Wire Corp., Insteel
Wire Products Company, and Sumiden
Wire Products Corp., (collectively,
‘‘Petitioners’’). See Petitions for the
Imposition of Antidumping and
Countervailing Duties: Prestressed
Concrete Steel Wire Strand from the
People’s Republic of China, dated May
27, 2009 (‘‘Petition’’). The Department
initiated this investigation on June 23,
2009. See Prestressed Concrete Steel
Wire Strand From the People’s Republic
of China: Initiation of Antidumping
Duty Investigation, 74 FR 29665 (June
23, 2009) (‘‘Initiation Notice’’).
On July 17, 2009, the United States
International Trade Commission (‘‘ITC’’)
issued its affirmative preliminary
determination that there is a reasonable
indication that an industry in the
United States is materially injured by
reason of imports from the PRC of PC
strand. The ITC’s determination was
published in the Federal Register on
July 17, 2009. See Investigation Nos.
701–TA–464 and 731–TA–1160
(Preliminary) Prestressed Concrete Steel
Wire From China, 74 FR 34782 (July 17,
2009); see also Prestressed Concrete
Steel Wire From China: Investigation
Nos. 701–TA–464 and 731–TA–1160
(Preliminary), USITC Publication 4086
(July 2009).
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to
our regulations, we set aside a period of
time for parties to raise issues regarding
product coverage and encouraged all
parties to submit comments within 20
calendar days of publication of the
Initiation Notice. See Antidumping
Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final
Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19,
1997). See also Initiation Notice, 74 FR
at 29665. We did not receive any scope
comments.
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Period of Investigation
The POI is October 1, 2008, through
March 31, 2009. This period
corresponds to the two most recent
fiscal quarters prior to the month of the
filing of the petition (May 2009). See 19
CFR 351.204(b)(1).
Respondent Selection
In the Initiation Notice, the
Department stated that it intended to
select respondents based on quantity
and value (‘‘Q&V’’) questionnaires. See
Initiation Notice, 74 FR at 29668. On
June 23, 2009, the Department requested
Q&V information from the 22 companies
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16:41 Dec 22, 2009
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that Petitioners identified as potential
exporters or producers of PC strand
from the PRC. See Petition at Vol. 1.,
Exhibit General-4. Additionally, the
Department also posted the Q&V
questionnaire for this investigation on
its Web site at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/iahighlights-and-news.html.
The Department received timely Q&V
responses from eight exporters/
producers that shipped merchandise
under investigation to the United States
during the POI.
On July 28, 2009, the Department
selected Tianjin Shengte and Silvery
Dragon PC Steel Products Group Co.,
Ltd. (‘‘Silvery Dragon Steel’’) as
mandatory respondents in this
investigation. See July 28, 2009,
Memorandum to the File, from Alexis
Polovina, Analyst, through Alex
Villanueva, Program Manager, to James
C. Doyle, Director, regarding the
Antidumping Investigation of
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand
from the People’s Republic of China:
Respondent Selection (‘‘Respondent
Selection Memo’’). The Department sent
its antidumping duty questionnaire to
Tianjin Shengte and Silvery Dragon
Steel on July 31, 2009. On August 7,
2009, Silvery Dragon Steel filed a letter
stating that it would not participate as
a mandatory respondent in this
investigation. See August 7, 2009, Letter
to the Department from Silvery Dragon
Steel. On August 10, 2009, the
Department received a letter from Wuxi
Jinyang Metal Products Co. (‘‘WJMP’’)
requesting to participate as a voluntary
respondent in the investigation. On
August 14, 2009, the Department
selected Xinhua Metal Products Co.,
Ltd. (‘‘Xinhua Metal’’) as an additional
mandatory respondent, as Xinhua Metal
was the next largest exporter in terms of
volume. See August 14, 2009,
Memorandum to the File, from Alan
Ray, Analyst, through Alex Villanueva,
Program Manager, regarding
Replacement Respondent Selection
(‘‘Replacement Respondent Selection
Memo’’). On August 24, 2009, Tianjin
Shengte did not comply with the
Department’s procedures in attempting
to file a Section A questionnaire
response. On August 27, 2009, the
Department sent a letter to Tianjin
Shengte that granted it a one week
extension to properly resubmit their
Section A questionnaire response.
Tianjin Shengte failed to do so. On
September 11, 2009, due to the time
constraints of the investigation, the
Department decided to select WJMP as
the voluntary respondent, rather than
select another mandatory respondent.
See September 11, 2009, Memorandum
to the File, from Alan Ray, Analyst,
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through Alex Villanueva, Program
Manager, regarding Replacement of
Mandatory Respondent (‘‘Replacement
of Mandatory Respondent Selection
Memo’’). See the ‘‘Application of
Adverse Facts Available’’ section below
for a discussion on the application of
adverse facts available for Tianjin
Shengte and Silvery Dragon Steel.
Separate Rates Applications
On August 24, 2009, we received
timely filed separate-rate applications
(‘‘SRA’’) from two companies: Liaonin
TongDa Building Material Industry Co.,
Ltd. (‘‘Tongda’’) and Fasten Group
Import & Export (‘‘Fasten Group I&E’’).
On September 10, 2009, the Department
issued Tongda a supplemental
questionnaire requesting additional
information. Tongda did not respond to
the supplemental questionnaire, and as
such, Tongda is not eligible for a
separate rate. See the ‘‘Separate Rates’’
section below for further discussion on
the eligibility for a separate rate. On
September 30 and October 20, 2009, the
Department issused Fasten Group I&E
two supplemental questionnaires
requesting additional information.
Fasten Group I&E submitted timely
responses to these questionnaires.
Product Characteristics and
Questionnaires
In the Initiation Notice, the
Department asked all parties in this
investigation for comments on the
appropriate product characteristics for
defining individual products. On July
29, 2009, and August 6, 2009, we
received comments from Petitioners
regarding product characteristics. On
July 31, 2009 the Department issued its
antidumping duty questionnaire to
Tianjin Shengte and Silvery Dragon
Steel, and on August 14, 2009, the
Department issued its antidumping duty
questionnaire to Xinhua Metal. WJMP
and Xinhua Metal submitted responses
to the Department’s questionnaire. As
stated above, Tianjin Shengte failed to
properly submit questionnaire
responses and Silvery Dragon Steel did
not submit questionnaire responses.
Surrogate Country Comments
On August 19, 2009, the Department
determined that India, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Colombia, Thailand, and
Peru, are countries comparable to the
PRC in terms of economic development.
See August 19, 2009, Letter to All
Interested Parties, regarding
Antidumping Duty Investigation of
prestressed concrete steel wire strand
from the People’s Republic of China:
Surrogate Country List, attaching
August 17, 2009, Memorandum to Alex
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 23, 2009 / Notices
Villanueva, Program Manager, Office 9,
AD/CVD Operations, from Kelly
Parkhill, Acting Director, Office for
Policy, regarding Request for List of
Surrogate Countries for an Antidumping
Duty Investigation of prestressed
concrete steel wire strand from the
People’s Republic of China (‘‘Surrogate
Country List’’).
On August 19, 2009, the Department
requested comments on surrogate
country selection from the interested
parties in this investigation. On
September 2, 2009, Petitioners
submitted surrogate country comments.
No other interested parties commented
on the selection of a surrogate country.
For a detailed discussion of the
selection of the surrogate country, see
‘‘Surrogate Country’’ section below.
Surrogate Value Comments
On September 14, 2009 and
September 29, 2009, the Department
extended the deadline for interested
parties to submit surrogate information
with which to value the factors of
production in this proceeding. On
October 13, 2009, Petitioners, WJMP,
and Xinhua Metal submitted surrogate
value comments. On October 23, 2009,
Petitioners and WJMP submitted
rebuttal comments on the surrogate
values. All the surrogate values placed
on the record were obtained from
sources in India, with the exception of
Petitioner’s suggestions for international
freight and marine insurance, which
were based on U.S. sources.
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Postponement of Preliminary
Determination
Pursuant to section 733(c) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.205(f)(1), the
Department extended the preliminary
determination by 30 days. The
Department published a postponement
of the preliminary determination on
October 26, 2009. See Prestressed
Concrete Steel Wire Strand From the
People’s Republic of China:
Postponement of Preliminary
Determination of the Antidumping Duty
Investigation, 74 FR 54963 (October 26,
2009). On November 23, 2009, the
Department published a second
postponement of the preliminary
determination, extending the
prelimininary determination by an
additional 14 days. See Prestressed
Concrete Steel Wire Strand From the
People’s Republic of China:
Postponement of Preliminary
Determination of the Antidumping Duty
Investigation, 74 FR 61104 (November
23, 2009). On December 9, 2009, we
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16:41 Dec 22, 2009
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received pre-preliminary determination
comments from Petitioners.1
Scope of Investigation
The scope of this investigation
consists of PC strand, produced from
wire of non-stainless, non-galvanized
steel, which is suitable for use in
prestressed concrete (both pretensioned
and post-tensioned) applications. The
product definition encompasses covered
and uncovered strand and all types,
grades, and diameters of PC strand. PC
strand is normally sold in the United
States in sizes ranging from 0.25 inches
to 0.70 inches in diameter. PC strand
made from galvanized wire is only
excluded from the scope if the zinc and/
or zinc oxide coating meets or exceeds
the 0.40 oz./ft2 standard set forth in
ASTM–A–475. The PC strand subject to
this investigation is currently
classifiable under subheadings
7312.10.3010 and 7312.10.3012 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (‘‘HTSUS’’). Although the
HTSUS subheadings are provided for
convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the scope of this
investigation is dispositive.
Non-Market Economy Country
For purposes of initiation, Petitioners
submitted LTFV analyses for the PRC as
a non-market economy (‘‘NME’’). See
Initiation Notice, 74 FR 29665 (June 23,
2009). The Department considers the
PRC to be a NME country. See
Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement
of Final Determination: Coated Free
Sheet Paper from the People’s Republic
of China, 72 FR 30758, 30760 (June 4,
2007), unchanged in Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Coated Free Sheet Paper
from the People’s Republic of China, 72
FR 60632 (October 25, 2007) (‘‘CFS
Paper’’). In accordance with section
771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any
determination that a foreign country is
an NME country shall remain in effect
until revoked by the administering
authority. No party has challenged the
designation of the PRC as an NME
country in this investigation. Therefore,
we continue to treat the PRC as an NME
country for purposes of this preliminary
determination and calculated normal
value in accordance with Section 773(c)
of the Act, which applies to all NME
countries.
Surrogate Country
When the Department investigates
imports from an NME country and
1 See Petitioner’s December 9, 2009, Letter to the
Department.
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available information does not permit
the Department to determine normal
value (‘‘NV’’) pursuant to section 773(a)
of the Act, then, pursuant to section
773(c)(4) of the Act, the Department
bases NV on an NME producer’s factors
of production (‘‘FOPs’’), to the extent
possible, in one or more marketeconomy countries that (1) are at a level
of economic development comparable to
that of the NME country, and (2) are
significant producers of comparable
merchandise. The Department
determined that India, the Philippines,
Indonesia, Colombia, Thailand, and
Peru, are countries comparable to the
PRC in terms of economic development.
See Surrogate Country List. The sources
of the surrogate values we have used in
this investigation are discussed under
the ‘‘Normal Value’’ section below.
Based on publicly available
information placed on the record, the
Department determines India to be a
reliable source for surrogate values
because India is at a comparable level of
economic development pursuant to
section 773(c)(4) of the Act, is a
significant producer of subject
merchandise, and has publicly available
and reliable data. Accordingly, the
Department has selected India as the
surrogate country for purposes of
valuing the FOPs because it meets the
Department’s criteria for surrogate
country selection.
Affiliations
Section 771(33) of the Act, provides
that:
The following persons shall be
considered to be ‘affiliated’ or ‘affiliated
persons’:
(A) Members of a family, including
brothers and sisters (whether by the
whole or half blood), spouse, ancestors,
and lineal descendants.
(B) Any officer or director of an
organization and such organization.
(C) Partners.
(D) Employer and employee.
(E) Any person directly or indirectly
owning, controlling, or holding with
power to vote, 5 percent or more of the
outstanding voting stock or shares of
any organization and such organization.
(F) Two or more persons directly or
indirectly controlling, controlled by, or
under common control with, any
person.
(G) Any person who controls any
other person and such other person.
Additionally, section 771(33) of the
Act stipulates that: ‘‘For purposes of this
paragraph, a person shall be considered
to control another person if the person
is legally or operationally in a position
to exercise restraint or direction over the
other person.’’
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 245 / Wednesday, December 23, 2009 / Notices
WJMP
statement 2
Based on WJMP’s
that
they are affiliated with Corus Americas,
Inc., (‘‘CAI’’) and based on the evidence
presented in WJMP’s questionnaire
responses, we preliminarily find that
WJMP is affiliated with CAI, which was
involved in WJMP’s sales process
pursuant to sections 771(33)(E), (F) and
(G) of the Act, based on ownership and
common control.
Separate Rates
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In proceedings involving NME
countries, there is a rebuttable
presumption that all companies within
the country are subject to government
control and thus should be assessed a
single antidumping duty rate. See
Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet,
and Strip from the People’s Republic of
China: Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, 73 FR 55039,
55040 (September 24, 2008) (‘‘PET Film
LTFV Final’’). It is the Department’s
policy to assign all exporters of
merchandise subject to investigation in
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. See Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Sparklers From the People’s
Republic of China, 56 FR 20588 (May 6,
1991) (‘‘Sparklers’’); see also 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’’), and section 351.107(d) of the
Department’s regulations.
In the Initiation Notice, the
Department notified parties of the
application process by which exporters
and producers may obtain separate rate
status in NME investigations. See
Initiation Notice, 74 FR at 29665. The
process requires exporters and
producers to submit a separate-rate
status application. The Department’s
practice is discussed further in Policy
Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice
and Application of Combination Rates
in Antidumping Investigations involving
Non-Market Economy Countries, (April
5, 2005), (‘‘Policy Bulletin 05.1’’),
available at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/policy/
bull05–1.pdf.3
2 See WJMP’s August 21, 2009, Separate Rate
Application at 4.
3 The 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
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We have considered whether each
PRC company that submitted a complete
application or complete Section A
Response as a mandatory respondent, is
eligible for a separate rate. 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 Tapered Roller Bearings and
Parts Thereof, 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 merchandise under
investigation under a test arising from
the Sparklers, as further developed in
Silicon Carbide. In accordance with the
separate rate 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.
1. 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
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 at 6.
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68235
decentralizing control of companies. See
Sparklers, 56 FR at 20589.
The evidence provided by WJMP
supports a preliminary finding of de
jure absence of governmental control
based on the following: (1) An absence
of restrictive stipulations associated
with the individual exporter’s business
and export licenses; (2) the applicable
legislative enactments decentralizing
control of the companies; and (3) any
other formal measures by the
government decentralizing control of
companies. See WJMP’s August 21,
2009, Separate Rate Application at 4–8.
Petitioners questioned Xinhua Metal’s
eligibility for a separate rate. Petitioners
argued that a business proprietary note
in Xinhua Metal’s financial statement
indicated government control.4
Additionally, Petitioners allege Xinhua
Metal’s parent company is state owned,
based on a statement on the parent
company’s Web site.5
We have determined, however, that
the evidence provided by Xinhua Metal
supports a preliminary finding of de
jure absence of governmental control
based on the following: (1) An absence
of restrictive stipulations associated
with the individual exporter’s business
and export licenses; (2) the applicable
legislative enactments decentralizing
control of the companies; and (3) any
other formal measures by the
government decentralizing control of
companies. See Xinhua Metal’s August
24, 2009, Separate Rate Application
(‘‘SRA’’) at 6–10; October 23, 2009, 1st
Supplemental A&C Questionnaire at
2–12; and November 23, 2009, 2nd
Supplemental A Questionnaire at 1–8.
This determination is consistent with
recent prior Department analyses of de
jure control. See Notice of Preliminary
Results of New Shipper Review: Cut-to
Length Carbon Steel Plate From the
People’s Republic of China, 73 FR 67124
(November 13, 2008).
Petitioners also questioned Fasten
Group I&E’s eligibility for a separate
rate. Petitioners argued that, Fasten
Group I&E is controlled by the parent
company, Fasten Group Corporation,
and in turn, the parent company is
owned by the government, based on the
business license and an annual report.6
Again, we have determined that the
evidence provided by Fasten Group I&E
supports a preliminary finding of de
jure absence of government control
based on the following: (1) An absence
of restrictive stipulations associated
4 5 See Petitioners’ September 22, 2009, Letter to
the Department; and Petitioners’ December 9, 2009,
Letter to the Department.
6 See Petitioners’ September 18, 2009, Letter to
the Department.
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with the individual exporter’s business
and export licenses; (2) the applicable
legislative enactments decentralizing
control of the companies; and (3) any
other formal measures by the
government decentralizing control of
companies. See Fasten Group I&E’s
August 24, 2009, SRA at 7–10, and
November 3, 2009, SRA Second
Supplemental Response at 1–6.
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2. 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 has determined that an
analysis of de facto control is critical in
determining whether respondents are,
in fact, subject to a degree of
governmental control which would
preclude the Department from assigning
separate rates.
We determine that, for WJMP, Xinhua
Metal, and Fasten Group I&E, the
evidence on the record supports a
preliminary finding of de facto absence
of governmental control based on record
statements and supporting
documentation showing the following:
(1) Each exporter sets its own export
prices independent of the government
and without the approval of a
government authority; (2) each exporter
retains the proceeds from its sales and
makes independent decisions regarding
disposition of profits or financing of
losses; (3) each exporter has the
authority to negotiate and sign contracts
and other agreements; and (4) each
exporter has autonomy from the
government regarding the selection of
management. See WJMP’s August 21,
2009, SRA at 9–14; Xinhua Metal’s
October 23, 2009, 1st Supplemental
A&C Questionnaire at 2–12, and
November 23, 2009, 2nd Supplemental
A Questionnaire at 1–8; and Fasten
Group I&E’s November 3, 2009, SRA
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Second Supplemental at 1–6, and
August 24, 2009, SRA at 10–17.
The evidence placed on the record of
this investigation by WJMP, Xinhua
Metal, and Fasten Group I&E,
demonstrates an absence of de jure and
de facto government control with
respect to each of the exporter’s exports
of the merchandise under investigation,
in accordance with the criteria
identified in Sparklers and Silicon
Carbide. As a result, we have granted
the separate company, Fasten Group
I&E, a margin based on the experience
of the mandatory respondent and
excluding any de minimis or zero rates
or rates based on total adverse facts
available (‘‘AFA’’) for the purposes of
this preliminary determination.
Application of Adverse Facts Available,
the PRC-Wide Entity and PRC-Wide
Rate
The Department has data that indicate
there were more exporters of PC strand
from the PRC than those indicated in
the response to our request for Q&V
information during the POI. See
Respondent Selection Memorandum.
We issued our request for Q&V
information to 22 potential Chinese
exporters of the merchandise under
investigation, in addition to posting the
Q&V questionnaire on the Department’s
Web site. While information on the
record of this investigation indicates
that there are other exporters/producers
of PC strand in the PRC, we received
only eight timely filed Q&V responses.
Although all exporters were given an
opportunity to provide Q&V
information, not all exporters provided
a response to the Department’s Q&V
letter. Additionally, as discussed above,
Silvery Dragon Steel filed a letter stating
that it would not participate as a
mandatory respondent, and Tianjin
Shengte filed a deficient Section A
questionnaire and failed to respond to
the Department’s request for more
information. Therefore, the Department
has preliminarily determined that there
were exporters/producers of the
merchandise under investigation during
the POI from the PRC that did not
respond to the Department’s request for
information. We have treated these PRC
exporters/producers, as part of the PRCwide entity because they did not qualify
for a separate rate. See, e.g., Preliminary
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value, Postponement of Final
Determination, and Preliminary Partial
Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Diamond Sawblades
and Parts Thereof From the People’s
Republic of China, 70 FR 77121, 77128
(December 29, 2005), and unchanged in
Final Determination of Sales at Less
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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).
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.
Information on the record of this
investigation indicates that the PRCwide entity was non-responsive. Certain
companies did not respond to our
questionnaire requesting Q&V
information or the Department’s request
for more information. As a result,
pursuant to section 776(a)(2)(A) of the
Act, we find that the use of facts
available (‘‘FA’’) is appropriate to
determine the PRC-wide rate. 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
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
Statement of Administrative Action,
accompanying the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (‘‘URAA’’), H.R. Rep.
No. 103–316, 870 (1994) (‘‘SAA’’); see
also 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). We find that, because the PRCwide entity did not respond to our
requests for information, it 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.
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When employing an adverse
inference, section 776 indicates that the
Department may rely upon 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 a rate that
is sufficiently adverse to ensure that the
uncooperative party does not obtain a
more favorable result by failing to
cooperate than if it had fully
cooperated. 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 of any respondent in the
investigation. See Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Certain Cold-Rolled Carbon Quality
Steel Products from the People’s
Republic of China, 65 FR 34660 (May
21, 2000) and accompanying Issues and
Decision Memorandum at Comment 1.
As AFA, we have preliminarily assigned
to the PRC-wide entity a rate of 193.55
percent, a rate calculated in the petition
which is higher than the highest rate
calculated for either of the cooperative
respondents. The Department
preliminarily determines that this
information is the most appropriate
from the available sources to effectuate
the purposes of AFA.
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Corroboration
Section 776(c) of the Act provides
that, when the Department relies on
secondary information rather than on
information obtained in the course of an
investigation as facts available, it must,
to the extent practicable, corroborate
that information from independent
sources reasonably at its disposal. The
SAA provides guidance as to what
constitutes secondary information. One
of the suggested sources of secondary
information is ‘‘information derived
from the petition that gave rise to the
investigation or review, the final
determination concerning the subject
merchandise, or any previous review
under section 751 concerning the
subject merchandise.’’ See SAA at 870.
The SAA further suggests that to
‘‘corroborate’’ means that the
Department will satisfy itself that the
secondary information to be used has
probative value. Id. Independent
sources used to corroborate may
include, for example, published price
lists, official import statistics, and CBP
data, and information obtained from
interested parties during the particular
investigation. Id. To corroborate
secondary information, the Department
will, to the extent practicable, examine
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16:41 Dec 22, 2009
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the reliability and relevance of the
information used.7
The AFA rate selected by the
Department is a rate calculated in the
petition. Based on our examination of
information on the record, including
examination of the petition export
prices and normal values, we find that,
for purposes of this investigation, there
is not a sufficient basis to consider that
certain petition margins have probative
value. However, there is a sufficient
basis to find that the petition margin
selected does have probative value. In
this case, we have selected a margin that
is not so much greater than the highest
transaction-specific margin calculated
for the mandatory respondent that it can
be considered not to have probative
value. The Department’s practice, when
selecting an AFA rate from among the
possible sources of information, has
been to ensure that the margin is
sufficiently adverse ‘‘as to effectuate the
statutory purposes of the adverse 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 and Final Negative Critical
Circumstances: Carbon and Certain
Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Brazil, 67 FR
55792, 55796 (Aug. 30, 2002); see also
Notice of Final Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value: Static Random
Access Memory Semiconductors From
Taiwan, 63 FR 8909, 8932 (Feb. 23,
1998). As guided by the SAA, the
information used as AFA should ensure
an uncooperative party does not benefit
by failing to cooperate than if it had
cooperated fully. See SAA at 870. We
conclude that using Xinhua Metal’s
highest transaction specific margin as a
limited reference point, the highest
petition margin that can be corroborated
within the meaning of the statute is
193.55 percent, which is sufficiently
adverse so as to induce cooperation that
the uncooperative companies do not
benefit from their failure to cooperate.
Accordingly, we preliminarily find that
the rate of 193.55 percent is
corroborated within the meaning of
section 776(c) of the Act. This method
7 See Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof,
Finished and Unfinished, from Japan, and Tapered
Roller Bearings, Four Inches or Less in Outside
Diameter, and Components Thereof, from Japan;
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Reviews and Partial Termination of
Administrative Reviews, 61 FR 57391, 57392
(November 6, 1996), unchanged in Tapered Roller
Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and
Unfinished, From Japan, and Tapered Roller
Bearings, Four Inches or Less in Outside Diameter,
and Components Thereof, From Japan; Final
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Reviews and Termination in Part, 62 FR 11825
(March 13, 1997).
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of selecting an AFA dumping margin is
consistent with the recent final
determination involving kitchen
appliance shelving and racks from the
PRC. See July 20, 2009, Memorandum to
the File, from Julia Hancock, Senior
Analyst, regarding Corroboration of the
PRC-Wide Entity Rate and the Wireking
Total AFA Rate for the Final
Determination in the Antidumping Duty
Investigation of Certain Kitchen
Appliance Shelving and Racks From the
People’s Republic of China.
Accordingly, we determine that 193.55
percent is the most appropriate
antidumping rate for the PRC-wide
entity. The PRC-wide rate applies to all
entries of the merchandise under
investigation except for entries from
WJMP, Xinhua Metal, and Fasten Group
I&E.
Margin for the Separate Rate
Companies
The Department received a timely and
complete separate rate application from
the separate rate company, Fasten
Group I&E, who is an exporter of PC
strand from the PRC, and was not
selected as a mandatory respondent in
this investigation. Through the evidence
in their application and supplemental
questionnaire responses, this company
has demonstrated its eligibility for a
separate rate. See the ‘‘Separate Rates’’
section above. Consistent with the
Department’s practice, as the separate
rate, we have established a margin for
the separate rate company based on the
rate we calculated for the mandatory
respondent, Xinhua Metal, excluding
any rates that are zero, de minimis, or
based entirely on AFA.8 The
Department did not include WJMP in
the calculation of the separate rate
because as discussed above in the
‘‘Respondent Selection’’ section, WJMP
is a voluntary respondent. Fasten Group
I&E is the company receiving this rate
and is listed in the ‘‘Suspension of
Liquidation’’ section of this notice.
Date of Sale
Section 351.401(i) of the Department’s
regulations state that, ‘‘{i}n identifying
the date of sale of the merchandise
under consideration or foreign like
product, the Secretary normally will use
the date of invoice, as recorded in the
exporter or producer’s records kept in
8 See, e.g., Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value and Partial Affirmative
Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain
Polyester Staple Fiber from the People’s Republic of
China, 71 FR 77373, 77377 (December 26, 2006)
(‘‘PSF’’), unchanged in Final Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value and Partial Affirmative
Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain
Polyester Staple Fiber from the People’s Republic of
China, 72 FR 19690 (April 19, 2007).
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the normal course of business.’’ In
Allied Tube, the Court of International
Trade (‘‘CIT’’) noted that a ‘‘party
seeking to establish a date of sale other
than invoice date bears the burden of
producing sufficient evidence to
‘satisf{y}’ the Department that ‘a
different date better reflects the date on
which the exporter or producer
establishes the material terms of sale.’ ’’
Allied Tube & Conduit Corp. v. United
States 132 F. Supp. 2d at 1087, 1090
(CIT 2001) (quoting 19 CFR 351.401(i))
(‘‘Allied Tube’’). Additionally, the
Secretary may use a date other than the
date of invoice if the Secretary is
satisfied that a different date better
reflects the date on which the exporter
or producer establishes the material
terms of sale. See 19 CFR 351.401(i); see
also Allied Tube, 132 F. Supp. 2d at
1090–1092. The date of sale is generally
the date on which the parties agree
upon all substantive terms of the sale.
This normally includes the price,
quantity, delivery terms and payment
terms. See Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire
Rod from Trinidad and Tobago: Final
Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 72 FR 62824
(November 7, 2007) and accompanying
Issue and Decision Memorandum at
Comment 1; Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Certain Cold-Rolled FlatRolled Carbon Quality Steel Products
from Turkey, 65 FR 15123 (March 21,
2000) and accompanying Issues and
Decision Memorandum at Comment 1.
WJMP reported that the date of sale
was determined by the invoice issued
by the affiliated importer to the
unaffiliated United States customer. In
this case, as the Department found no
evidence contrary to WJMP’s claims that
invoice date was the appropriate date of
sale, the Department used invoice date
as the date of sale for this preliminary
determination.
Xinhua Metal reported that the date of
sale was determined by the invoice
issued to the unaffiliated United States
customer. In this case, as the
Department found no evidence contrary
to Xinhua Metal’s claims that invoice
date was the appropriate date of sale,
the Department used invoice date as the
date of sale for this preliminary
determination.
Fair Value Comparison
To determine whether sales of PC
strand to the United States by WJMP
and Xinhua Metal were made at LTFV,
we compared constructed export price
(‘‘CEP’’) and export price (‘‘EP’’) to NV,
as described in the ‘‘U.S. Price’’ and
‘‘Normal Value’’ sections of this notice.
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16:41 Dec 22, 2009
Jkt 220001
U.S. Price
In accordance with section 772(b) of
the Act, we based the U.S. price for
WJMP’s sales on CEP because these
sales were made by WJMP’s U.S.
affiliate, CAI, which purchased the
merchandise under investigation
produced by WJMP. In accordance with
section 772(c)(2)(A) of the Act, we
calculated CEP by deducting, where
applicable, the following expenses from
the gross unit price charged to the first
unaffiliated customer in the United
States: foreign movement expenses, and
U.S. movement expenses, including
U.S. duties, brokerage and handling,
AMS charges, and inventory carrying
costs. Further, in accordance with
section 772(d)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.402(b), where appropriate, we
deducted from the starting price the
following selling expenses associated
with economic activities occurring in
the United States: credit expenses and
other indirect selling expenses. In
addition, pursuant to section 772(d)(3)
of the Act, we made an adjustment to
the starting price for CEP profit. We
based movement expenses on either
surrogate values or actual expenses. For
details regarding our CEP calculations,
and for a complete discussion of the
calculation of the U.S. price for WJMP,
see December 17, 2009, Memorandum to
the File, from Alan Ray, Case Analyst,
through Alex Villanueva, Program
Manager, regarding Analysis of the
Preliminary Determination of the
Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand
from the PRC: WJMP (‘‘WJMP Analysis
Memo’’).
In accordance with section 772(a) of
the Act, the Department calculated the
EP for Xinhua Metal’s sales to the
United States because the first sale to an
unaffiliated party was made before the
date of importation and the use of CEP
was not otherwise warranted. The
Department calculated EP based on the
price to unaffiliated purchasers in the
United States. In accordance with
section 772(c) of the Act, as appropriate,
the Department deducted from the
starting price to unaffiliated purchasers
foreign inland freight, foreign inland
insurance, and brokerage and handling.
Each of these services was provided by
an NME vendor. Thus, the Department
based the deduction of these movement
charges on surrogate values. For a
complete discussion of the calculation
of the U.S. price for Xinhua Metal, see
December 17, 2009, Memorandum to the
File, from Alexis Polovina, Case
Analyst, through Alex Villanueva,
Program Manager, regarding Analysis of
the Preliminary Determination of the
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Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand
from the PRC: Xinhua Metal (‘‘Xinhua
Metal Analysis Memo’’).
Normal Value
Section 773(c)(1) of the Act provides
that the Department shall determine NV
using a FOP methodology if the
merchandise is exported from an NME
and the information does not permit the
calculation of NV using home-market
prices, third-country prices, or
constructed value under section 773(a)
of the Act. The Department bases NV on
the FOP because the presence of
government controls on various aspects
of non-market economies renders price
comparisons and the calculation of
production costs invalid under the
Department’s normal methodologies.
See, e.g., Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Affirmative Critical Circumstances, In
Part, and Postponement of Final
Determination: Certain Lined Paper
Products from the People’s Republic of
China, 71 FR 19695 (April 17, 2006)
(‘‘CLPP’’) unchanged in Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value, and Affirmative Critical
Circumstances, In Part: Certain Lined
Paper Products From the People’s
Republic of China, 71 FR 53079
(September 8, 2006).
As the basis for NV, both WJMP and
Xinhua Metal provided FOPs used in
each stage for processing PC strand.
Consistent with section 773(c)(1) of
the Act, it is the Department’s practice
to value the FOPs that a respondent uses
to produce the merchandise under
consideration. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Certain Frozen and Canned
Warmwater Shrimp From the People’s
Republic of China, 69 FR 70997
(December 8, 2004) and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum at
Comment 9(E).
Factor Valuation Methodology
In accordance with section 773(c) of
the Act, we calculated NV based on FOP
data reported by WJMP and Xinhua
Metal. To calculate NV, we multiplied
the reported per-unit factorconsumption rates by publicly available
surrogate values. In selecting the
surrogate values, we considered the
quality, specificity, and
contemporaneity of the data. See, e.g.,
Fresh Garlic From the People’s Republic
of China: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty New Shipper Review, 67 FR 72139
(December 4, 2002) and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum at
Comment 6; and Final Results of First
New Shipper Review and First
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Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review: Certain Preserved Mushrooms
From the People’s Republic of China, 66
FR 31204 (June 11, 2001) and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 5. As
appropriate, we adjusted input prices by
including freight costs to make them
delivered prices. Specifically, we added
to Indian import surrogate values a
surrogate freight cost using the shorter
of the reported distance from the
domestic supplier to the factory or the
distance from the nearest seaport to the
factory where 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, 1407–08
(Fed. Cir. 1997). For a detailed
description of all surrogate values used
for WJMP and Xinhua Metal see
December 17, 2009, Memorandum to the
File, from Alexis Polovina, Case
Analyst, through Alex Villanueva,
Program Manager, Investigation of
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand
from the PRC: Surrogate Values for the
Preliminary Determination
(‘‘Preliminary Surrogate Value
Memorandum’’).
For this preliminary determination, in
accordance with the Department’s
practice, we used data from the Indian
Import Statistics and other publicly
available Indian sources in order to
calculate surrogate values for WJMP and
Xinhua Metal’s raw materials, packing,
by-products, and coal. In selecting the
best available information for valuing
FOPs in accordance with section
773(c)(1) of the Act, the Department’s
practice is to select, to the extent
practicable, surrogate values which are
non-export average values, most
contemporaneous with 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). The record
shows that data in the Indian Import
Statistics, as well as those from the
other Indian sources, are
contemporaneous with the POI,
product-specific, and tax-exclusive. See
Preliminary Surrogate Value
Memorandum. In those instances where
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we could not obtain publicly available
information contemporaneous to the
POI with which to value factors, we
adjusted the surrogate values using,
where appropriate, the Indian
Wholesale Price Index (‘‘WPI’’) as
published in the International Financial
Statistics of the International Monetary
Fund. See, e.g., PSF 71 FR at 77380 and
CLPP 71 FR at 19704.
Furthermore, with regard to the
Indian import-based surrogate values,
we have disregarded import prices that
we have reason to believe or suspect
may be subsidized. We have reason to
believe or suspect that prices of inputs
from Indonesia, South Korea, and
Thailand may have been subsidized. We
have found in other proceedings that
these countries maintain broadly
available, non-industry-specific export
subsidies and, therefore, it is reasonable
to infer that all exports to all markets
from these countries may be subsidized.
See Notice of Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Negative Final Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Certain Color Television
Receivers From the People’s Republic of
China, 69 FR 20594 (April 16, 2004) and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 7. Further,
guided by the legislative history, it is
the Department’s practice not to
conduct a formal investigation to ensure
that such prices are not subsidized. See
Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness
Act of 1988, Conference Report to
accompany H.R. Rep. 100–576 at 590
(1988), reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N.
1547, 1623–24; see also CFS Paper.
Rather, the Department bases its
decision on information that is available
to it at the time it makes its
determination. See Polyethylene
Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip
from the People’s Republic of China:
Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, 73 FR 24552,
24559 (May 5, 2008), unchanged in PET
Film LTFV Final. Therefore, we have
not used prices from these countries in
calculating the Indian import-based
surrogate values. Additionally, we
disregarded prices from NME countries.
Finally, imports that were labeled as
originating from an ‘‘unspecified’’
country were excluded from the average
value, because the Department could
not be certain that they were not from
either an NME country or a country
with general export subsidies. See id.
For direct, indirect, and packing
labor, consistent with 19 CFR
351.408(c)(3), we used the PRC
regression-based wage rate as reported
on Import Administration’s home page,
Import Library, Expected Wages of
Selected NME Countries, revised in
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68239
October 2009. See Expected Non-Market
Economy Wages: Request for Comments
on 2009 Calculation, 74 FR 51555
(October 7, 2009), and 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 2005, ILO
(Geneva: 2007), 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 the respondents.
We valued steam using the April
2007—March 2008 financial statement
of Hindalco Industries Limited. Since
the rates are not contemporaneous with
the POI, we inflated the values using the
WPI. See Preliminary Surrogate Value
Memorandum.
We valued diesel using the June 2007
diesel prices across four Indian cities
from the Indian Oil Corporation. Since
the rates are not contemporaneous with
the POI, we inflated the values using the
WPI. See Preliminary Surrogate Value
Memorandum.
We valued electricity using price data
for small, medium, and large industries,
as published by the Central Electricity
Authority of the Government of India in
its publication titled ‘‘Electricity Tariff
& Duty and Average Rates of Electricity
Supply in India,’’ dated March 2008.
These electricity rates represent actual
country-wide, publicly available
information on tax-exclusive electricity
rates charged to industries in India. As
the rates listed in this source became
effective on a variety of different dates,
we are not adjusting the average value
for inflation.
Because water is essential to the
production process of the merchandise
under consideration, the Department
considers water to be a direct material
input, not overhead, and valued water
with a surrogate value according to our
practice. See Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Critical Circumstances: Certain
Malleable Iron Pipe Fittings from the
People’s Republic of China, 68 FR 61395
(October 23, 2003) and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum at
Comment 11. The Department valued
water using data from the Maharashtra
Industrial Development Corporation
(https://www.midcindia.org) since it
includes a wide range of industrial
water tariffs. This source provides 386
industrial water rates within the
Maharashtra province from June 2003,
of which 193 were for the ‘‘inside
industrial areas’’ usage category and the
other 193 were for the ‘‘outside
industrial areas’’ usage category.
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Because the value was not
contemporaneous with the POI, we used
WPI data to deflate the rate to be
contemporaneous to the POI.
We are including dies, drawbench,
and lime among the factors of
production for this preliminary
determination, as they appear to be
actual factors used in the production of
PC strand and not overhead.9 We will
continue to consider whether they
should be included among the factors of
production for the final determination.
We valued truck freight expenses
using a per-unit average rate calculated
from data on the infobanc Web site:
https://www.infobanc.com/logistics/
logtruck.htm. The logistics section of
this Web site contains inland freight
truck rates between many large Indian
cities. Since this value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the rate using WPI.
We valued rail freight expenses using
the 2006–2007 freight rail rate
published by Indian Railways. Since
this value is not contemporaneous with
the POI, we inflated the rate using WPI.
We valued inland shipping expenses
using price data for barge freight
reported in a March 19, 2007, article
published in The Hindu Business Line.
Since this value is not contemporaneous
with the POI, we inflated the rate using
WPI.
We valued inland insurance using the
public insurance expenses in the
submission from Agro Dutch in the
sixth administrative review of certain
preserved mushrooms from India.10
Since this value is not contemporaneous
with the POI, we inflated the rate using
WPI.
We continued our recent practice to
value brokerage and handling using a
simple average of the brokerage and
handling costs that were reported in
public submissions that were filed in
three antidumping duty cases.
Specifically, we averaged the public
brokerage and handling expenses
reported by Navneet Publications (India)
Ltd. in the 2007–2008 administrative
review of certain lined paper products
from India, Essar Steel Limited in the
2006–2007 antidumping duty
administrative review of hot-rolled
carbon steel flat products from India,
and Himalya International Ltd. in the
2005–2006 administrative review of
certain preserved mushrooms from
India.11 Since the resulting value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the rate using the WPI.
To value factory overhead, selling,
general, and administrative (‘‘SG&A’’)
expenses, and profit, the Department
used the audited financial statements of
Rajratan Global Wire Ltd.
Both WJMP and Xinhua Metal have
claimed by-product offsets to normal
value for by-products produced during
the production of PC strand and then
sold. We are preliminarily granting a byproduct offset to WJMP for steel wire
rod scrap, semi-finished scrap, and PC
strand scrap. We are also preliminarily
granting a by-product offset to Xinhua
Metal for scrap PC strand, scrap wire,
scrap wire rod, and scrap short wire.
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
calculate combination rates for certain
respondents that are eligible for a
separate rate in this investigation. See
Initiation Notice, 74 FR at 29668. This
practice is described in Policy Bulletin
05.1, available at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/.
Preliminary Determination
Preliminary weighted-average
dumping margins are as follows:
Weighted-average margin
Exporter
Producer
WJMP .......................................................
Xinhua Metal .............................................
Fasten Group I&E .....................................
WJMP ...........................................................................................................................
Xinhua Metal ................................................................................................................
Jiangyin Fasten Steel Products Co., Ltd., Jiangyin Walsin Steel Cable Co., Ltd.,
Jiangyin Hongyu Metal Products Co., Ltd.
.......................................................................................................................................
PRC-wide Entity * ......................................
37.72
151.44
151.44
193.55
* This rate also applies to Tianjin Shengte, Silvery Dragon Steel, and Tongda.
In accordance with section 733(d) of
the Act, we will instruct CBP to suspend
liquidation of all entries of subject PC
strand from the PRC as described in the
‘‘Scope of Investigation’’ section,
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption from WJMP, Xinhua
Metal, Fasten Group I&E, and the PRCwide entity on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register.
On November 2, 2009, the Department
published the preliminary affirmative
countervailing duty determination with
respect to PC Strand from the PRC. See
Pre-Stressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand
from the People’s Republic of China:
Notice of Preliminary Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination, 74
FR 56576 (November 2, 2009) (‘‘PC
Strand CVD Preliminary
Determination’’). In PC Strand CVD
Preliminary Determination, the
Department found that Xinhua Metal’s
merchandise benefited from export
subsidies. Therefore, we will instruct
CBP to require a cash deposit or posting
of a bond equal to the weighted-average
amount by which normal value exceeds
U.S. price for Xinhua Metal, as
indicated above, minus the amount
determined to constitute an export
subsidy. See, e.g., Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
9 See WJMP’s October 28, 2009 Supplemental
C&D Questionnaire Response; and Xinhua Metal’s
December 2, 2009, 2nd Supplemental A&C
Questionnaire Response.
10 See Certain Preserved Mushrooms from India:
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 71 FR 10646 (March 2, 2006) (‘‘Mushrooms
from India’’).
11 See Certain Lined Paper Products from India:
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 74 FR 17149 (April 14, 2009); Certain HotRolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from India: Final
Results of Antidumping Duty Review, 73 FR 31961
(June 5, 2008); and Certain Preserved Mushrooms
from India: Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 72 FR 5268 (February 5,
2007).
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).
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
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Fair Value: Carbazole Pigment 23 from
India, 69 FR 67306, 67307 (November
17, 2007).
With respect to WJMP, the voluntary
respondent in this proceeding, the
Department did not individually
examine its exports of merchandise
under investigation in the PC Strand
CVD Preliminary Determination. As a
result, WJMP is captured under the ‘‘All
Others’’ rate, which is an average of the
companies examined in PC Strand CVD
Preliminary Determination. Therefore,
we will instruct CBP to require a cash
deposit or posting of a bond equal to the
weighted-average amount by which
normal value exceeds U.S. price for
WJMP, indicated above, minus the
amount determined to constitute an
export subsidy in the ‘‘All Others’’ rate.
With respect to Fasten Group I&E, the
separate rate company, we note that the
rate applied in this proceeding as a
separate rate is derived from the
calculated rate received by Xinhua
Metal. Therefore, because Xinhua Metal
received export subsidies in PC Strand
CVD Preliminary Determination, we
will instruct CBP to require a cash
deposit or posting of a bond equal to the
weighted-average amount by which
normal value exceeds U.S. price for
Xinhua Metal, as indicated above,
minus the amount determined to
constitute an export subsidy.
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 less than fair value. 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 PC strand, or sales
(or the likelihood of sales) for
importation, of the merchandise under
investigation within 45 days of our final
determination.
srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments
may be submitted to the Assistant
Secretary for Import Administration no
later than seven business days after the
date on which the final verification
report is issued in this proceeding and
rebuttal briefs limited to issues raised in
case briefs and must be received no later
than five business days after the
deadline date for case briefs. See 19 CFR
351.309(c)(i) and (d). A list of
authorities used and an executive
summary of issues should accompany
any briefs submitted to the Department.
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16:41 Dec 22, 2009
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This summary should be limited to five
pages total, including footnotes.
In accordance with section 774 of the
Act, and if requested, we will hold a
public hearing, 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 shortly
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.
This determination is issued and
published in accordance with sections
733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: December 17, 2009.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–30536 Filed 12–22–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C–570–955]
Certain Magnesia Carbon Bricks From
the People’s Republic of China:
Preliminary Negative Countervailing
Duty Determination
AGENCY: Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(the Department) preliminarily
determines that countervailable
subsidies are not being provided to
producers and exporters of Certain
Magnesia Carbon Bricks (Bricks) from
the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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DATES:
68241
Effective Date: December 23,
2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Toni
Page and Summer Avery, AD/CVD
Operations, Office 6, Operations, Import
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Room 7867, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–1398
and (202) 482–4052, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Case History
On July 29, 2009, the Department
received a countervailing duty (CVD)
petition concerning Bricks from the
People’s Republic of China filed in
proper form by Resco Products, Inc.
(Petitioner). This investigation was
initiated on August 18, 2009. See
Certain Magnesia Carbon Bricks from
the People’s Republic of China:
Initiation of Countervailing Duty
Investigation, 74 FR 42858 (August 25,
2009) (Initiation Notice), and
accompanying Initiation Checklist.1 On
September 15, 2009, the Department
selected Liaoning Mayerton Refractories
Co., Ltd. (LMR) and RHI Refractories
Liaoning Co., Ltd. (RHIL) as mandatory
respondents in this investigation. See
Memorandum from the Team through
Barbara Tillman, Director, Office 6,
Operations, to John M. Andersen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, Re: Respondent Selection
(September 15, 2009).
On September 15, 2009, we issued the
initial CVD questionnaire to the
Government of the People’s Republic of
China (GOC), LMR, and RHIL.
On October 2, 2009, pursuant to
section 703(c)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of
1930 as amended (the Act) and 19 CFR
351.205(e), the Department postponed
the deadline for the preliminary
determination by 55 days to no later
than December 16, 2009. See Certain
Magnesia Carbon Bricks From the
People’s Republic of China:
Postponement of Preliminary
Determination in the Countervailing
Duty Investigation, 74 FR 51558
(October 7, 2009).
On November 5, 2009, the GOC
submitted a response to the initial CVD
questionnaire (GOC Questionnaire
Response). Also on November 5, 2009,
LMR submitted a response for itself and
for its affiliate Dalian Mayerton
Refractories Co. Ltd. (DMR)
(collectively, the Mayerton Companies)
(Mayerton Questionnaire Response);
1 A public version of this document and all public
Departmental memoranda are on file in the Central
Records Unit (CRU), room 1117 in the main
building of the Department.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68232-68241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30536]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-945]
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand From the People's Republic
of China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES: Effective Date: December 23, 2009.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') preliminarily
determines that prestressed concrete steel wire strand (``PC strand'')
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
(``Act''), for the period of investigation (``POI'') October 1, 2008,
through March 31, 2009. The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are
shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice.
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Ray or Alexis Polovina, AD/CVD
Operations, Office 9, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
5403 or (202) 482-3927, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 68233]]
Initiation
On May 27, 2009, the Department received an antidumping duty
(``AD'') petition concerning imports of PC strand from the PRC filed in
proper form by American Spring Wire Corp., Insteel Wire Products
Company, and Sumiden Wire Products Corp., (collectively,
``Petitioners''). See Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and
Countervailing Duties: Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand from the
People's Republic of China, dated May 27, 2009 (``Petition''). The
Department initiated this investigation on June 23, 2009. See
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand From the People's Republic of
China: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigation, 74 FR 29665 (June
23, 2009) (``Initiation Notice'').
On July 17, 2009, the United States International Trade Commission
(``ITC'') issued its affirmative preliminary determination that there
is a reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is
materially injured by reason of imports from the PRC of PC strand. The
ITC's determination was published in the Federal Register on July 17,
2009. See Investigation Nos. 701-TA-464 and 731-TA-1160 (Preliminary)
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire From China, 74 FR 34782 (July 17,
2009); see also Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire From China:
Investigation Nos. 701-TA-464 and 731-TA-1160 (Preliminary), USITC
Publication 4086 (July 2009).
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to our regulations, we set aside a
period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage
and encouraged all parties to submit comments within 20 calendar days
of publication of the Initiation Notice. See Antidumping Duties;
Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
See also Initiation Notice, 74 FR at 29665. We did not receive any
scope comments.
Period of Investigation
The POI is October 1, 2008, through March 31, 2009. This period
corresponds to the two most recent fiscal quarters prior to the month
of the filing of the petition (May 2009). See 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1).
Respondent Selection
In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that it intended to
select respondents based on quantity and value (``Q&V'')
questionnaires. See Initiation Notice, 74 FR at 29668. On June 23,
2009, the Department requested Q&V information from the 22 companies
that Petitioners identified as potential exporters or producers of PC
strand from the PRC. See Petition at Vol. 1., Exhibit General-4.
Additionally, the Department also posted the Q&V questionnaire for this
investigation on its Web site at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/ia-highlights-and-news.html.
The Department received timely Q&V responses from eight exporters/
producers that shipped merchandise under investigation to the United
States during the POI.
On July 28, 2009, the Department selected Tianjin Shengte and
Silvery Dragon PC Steel Products Group Co., Ltd. (``Silvery Dragon
Steel'') as mandatory respondents in this investigation. See July 28,
2009, Memorandum to the File, from Alexis Polovina, Analyst, through
Alex Villanueva, Program Manager, to James C. Doyle, Director,
regarding the Antidumping Investigation of Prestressed Concrete Steel
Wire Strand from the People's Republic of China: Respondent Selection
(``Respondent Selection Memo''). The Department sent its antidumping
duty questionnaire to Tianjin Shengte and Silvery Dragon Steel on July
31, 2009. On August 7, 2009, Silvery Dragon Steel filed a letter
stating that it would not participate as a mandatory respondent in this
investigation. See August 7, 2009, Letter to the Department from
Silvery Dragon Steel. On August 10, 2009, the Department received a
letter from Wuxi Jinyang Metal Products Co. (``WJMP'') requesting to
participate as a voluntary respondent in the investigation. On August
14, 2009, the Department selected Xinhua Metal Products Co., Ltd.
(``Xinhua Metal'') as an additional mandatory respondent, as Xinhua
Metal was the next largest exporter in terms of volume. See August 14,
2009, Memorandum to the File, from Alan Ray, Analyst, through Alex
Villanueva, Program Manager, regarding Replacement Respondent Selection
(``Replacement Respondent Selection Memo''). On August 24, 2009,
Tianjin Shengte did not comply with the Department's procedures in
attempting to file a Section A questionnaire response. On August 27,
2009, the Department sent a letter to Tianjin Shengte that granted it a
one week extension to properly resubmit their Section A questionnaire
response. Tianjin Shengte failed to do so. On September 11, 2009, due
to the time constraints of the investigation, the Department decided to
select WJMP as the voluntary respondent, rather than select another
mandatory respondent. See September 11, 2009, Memorandum to the File,
from Alan Ray, Analyst, through Alex Villanueva, Program Manager,
regarding Replacement of Mandatory Respondent (``Replacement of
Mandatory Respondent Selection Memo''). See the ``Application of
Adverse Facts Available'' section below for a discussion on the
application of adverse facts available for Tianjin Shengte and Silvery
Dragon Steel.
Separate Rates Applications
On August 24, 2009, we received timely filed separate-rate
applications (``SRA'') from two companies: Liaonin TongDa Building
Material Industry Co., Ltd. (``Tongda'') and Fasten Group Import &
Export (``Fasten Group I&E''). On September 10, 2009, the Department
issued Tongda a supplemental questionnaire requesting additional
information. Tongda did not respond to the supplemental questionnaire,
and as such, Tongda is not eligible for a separate rate. See the
``Separate Rates'' section below for further discussion on the
eligibility for a separate rate. On September 30 and October 20, 2009,
the Department issused Fasten Group I&E two supplemental questionnaires
requesting additional information. Fasten Group I&E submitted timely
responses to these questionnaires.
Product Characteristics and Questionnaires
In the Initiation Notice, the Department asked all parties in this
investigation for comments on the appropriate product characteristics
for defining individual products. On July 29, 2009, and August 6, 2009,
we received comments from Petitioners regarding product
characteristics. On July 31, 2009 the Department issued its antidumping
duty questionnaire to Tianjin Shengte and Silvery Dragon Steel, and on
August 14, 2009, the Department issued its antidumping duty
questionnaire to Xinhua Metal. WJMP and Xinhua Metal submitted
responses to the Department's questionnaire. As stated above, Tianjin
Shengte failed to properly submit questionnaire responses and Silvery
Dragon Steel did not submit questionnaire responses.
Surrogate Country Comments
On August 19, 2009, the Department determined that India, the
Philippines, Indonesia, Colombia, Thailand, and Peru, are countries
comparable to the PRC in terms of economic development. See August 19,
2009, Letter to All Interested Parties, regarding Antidumping Duty
Investigation of prestressed concrete steel wire strand from the
People's Republic of China: Surrogate Country List, attaching August
17, 2009, Memorandum to Alex
[[Page 68234]]
Villanueva, Program Manager, Office 9, AD/CVD Operations, from Kelly
Parkhill, Acting Director, Office for Policy, regarding Request for
List of Surrogate Countries for an Antidumping Duty Investigation of
prestressed concrete steel wire strand from the People's Republic of
China (``Surrogate Country List'').
On August 19, 2009, the Department requested comments on surrogate
country selection from the interested parties in this investigation. On
September 2, 2009, Petitioners submitted surrogate country comments. No
other interested parties commented on the selection of a surrogate
country. For a detailed discussion of the selection of the surrogate
country, see ``Surrogate Country'' section below.
Surrogate Value Comments
On September 14, 2009 and September 29, 2009, the Department
extended the deadline for interested parties to submit surrogate
information with which to value the factors of production in this
proceeding. On October 13, 2009, Petitioners, WJMP, and Xinhua Metal
submitted surrogate value comments. On October 23, 2009, Petitioners
and WJMP submitted rebuttal comments on the surrogate values. All the
surrogate values placed on the record were obtained from sources in
India, with the exception of Petitioner's suggestions for international
freight and marine insurance, which were based on U.S. sources.
Postponement of Preliminary Determination
Pursuant to section 733(c) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(f)(1), the
Department extended the preliminary determination by 30 days. The
Department published a postponement of the preliminary determination on
October 26, 2009. See Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand From the
People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination
of the Antidumping Duty Investigation, 74 FR 54963 (October 26, 2009).
On November 23, 2009, the Department published a second postponement of
the preliminary determination, extending the prelimininary
determination by an additional 14 days. See Prestressed Concrete Steel
Wire Strand From the People's Republic of China: Postponement of
Preliminary Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation, 74 FR
61104 (November 23, 2009). On December 9, 2009, we received pre-
preliminary determination comments from Petitioners.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Petitioner's December 9, 2009, Letter to the Department.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of Investigation
The scope of this investigation consists of PC strand, produced
from wire of non-stainless, non-galvanized steel, which is suitable for
use in prestressed concrete (both pretensioned and post-tensioned)
applications. The product definition encompasses covered and uncovered
strand and all types, grades, and diameters of PC strand. PC strand is
normally sold in the United States in sizes ranging from 0.25 inches to
0.70 inches in diameter. PC strand made from galvanized wire is only
excluded from the scope if the zinc and/or zinc oxide coating meets or
exceeds the 0.40 oz./ft\2\ standard set forth in ASTM-A-475. The PC
strand subject to this investigation is currently classifiable under
subheadings 7312.10.3010 and 7312.10.3012 of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS''). Although the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
Non-Market Economy Country
For purposes of initiation, Petitioners submitted LTFV analyses for
the PRC as a non-market economy (``NME''). See Initiation Notice, 74 FR
29665 (June 23, 2009). The Department considers the PRC to be a NME
country. See Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
and Postponement of Final Determination: Coated Free Sheet Paper from
the People's Republic of China, 72 FR 30758, 30760 (June 4, 2007),
unchanged in Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Coated Free Sheet Paper from the People's Republic of China, 72 FR
60632 (October 25, 2007) (``CFS Paper''). In accordance with section
771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any determination that a foreign country is
an NME country shall remain in effect until revoked by the
administering authority. No party has challenged the designation of the
PRC as an NME country in this investigation. Therefore, we continue to
treat the PRC as an NME country for purposes of this preliminary
determination and calculated normal value in accordance with Section
773(c) of the Act, which applies to all NME countries.
Surrogate Country
When the Department investigates imports from an NME country and
available information does not permit the Department to determine
normal value (``NV'') pursuant to section 773(a) of the Act, then,
pursuant to section 773(c)(4) of the Act, the Department bases NV on an
NME producer's factors of production (``FOPs''), to the extent
possible, in one or more market-economy countries that (1) are at a
level of economic development comparable to that of the NME country,
and (2) are significant producers of comparable merchandise. The
Department determined that India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Colombia,
Thailand, and Peru, are countries comparable to the PRC in terms of
economic development. See Surrogate Country List. The sources of the
surrogate values we have used in this investigation are discussed under
the ``Normal Value'' section below.
Based on publicly available information placed on the record, the
Department determines India to be a reliable source for surrogate
values because India is at a comparable level of economic development
pursuant to section 773(c)(4) of the Act, is a significant producer of
subject merchandise, and has publicly available and reliable data.
Accordingly, the Department has selected India as the surrogate country
for purposes of valuing the FOPs because it meets the Department's
criteria for surrogate country selection.
Affiliations
Section 771(33) of the Act, provides that:
The following persons shall be considered to be `affiliated' or
`affiliated persons':
(A) Members of a family, including brothers and sisters (whether by
the whole or half blood), spouse, ancestors, and lineal descendants.
(B) Any officer or director of an organization and such
organization.
(C) Partners.
(D) Employer and employee.
(E) Any person directly or indirectly owning, controlling, or
holding with power to vote, 5 percent or more of the outstanding voting
stock or shares of any organization and such organization.
(F) Two or more persons directly or indirectly controlling,
controlled by, or under common control with, any person.
(G) Any person who controls any other person and such other person.
Additionally, section 771(33) of the Act stipulates that: ``For
purposes of this paragraph, a person shall be considered to control
another person if the person is legally or operationally in a position
to exercise restraint or direction over the other person.''
[[Page 68235]]
WJMP
Based on WJMP's statement \2\ that they are affiliated with Corus
Americas, Inc., (``CAI'') and based on the evidence presented in WJMP's
questionnaire responses, we preliminarily find that WJMP is affiliated
with CAI, which was involved in WJMP's sales process pursuant to
sections 771(33)(E), (F) and (G) of the Act, based on ownership and
common control.
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\2\ See WJMP's August 21, 2009, Separate Rate Application at 4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Separate Rates
In proceedings involving NME countries, there is a rebuttable
presumption that all companies within the country are subject to
government control and thus should be assessed a single antidumping
duty rate. See Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip from
the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value, 73 FR 55039, 55040 (September 24, 2008) (``PET Film
LTFV Final''). It is the Department's policy to assign all exporters of
merchandise subject to investigation in 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. See Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers From the People's Republic of
China, 56 FR 20588 (May 6, 1991) (``Sparklers''); see also 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''), and section 351.107(d) of the Department's
regulations.
In the Initiation Notice, the Department notified parties of the
application process by which exporters and producers may obtain
separate rate status in NME investigations. See Initiation Notice, 74
FR at 29665. The process requires exporters and producers to submit a
separate-rate status application. The Department's practice is
discussed further in Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations
involving Non-Market Economy Countries, (April 5, 2005), (``Policy
Bulletin 05.1''), available at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ The 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 at 6.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have considered whether each PRC company that submitted a
complete application or complete Section A Response as a mandatory
respondent, is eligible for a separate rate. 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 Tapered Roller
Bearings and Parts Thereof, 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
merchandise under investigation under a test arising from the
Sparklers, as further developed in Silicon Carbide. In accordance with
the separate rate 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.
1. 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.
The evidence provided by WJMP supports a preliminary finding of de
jure absence of governmental control based on the following: (1) An
absence of restrictive stipulations associated with the individual
exporter's business and export licenses; (2) the applicable legislative
enactments decentralizing control of the companies; and (3) any other
formal measures by the government decentralizing control of companies.
See WJMP's August 21, 2009, Separate Rate Application at 4-8.
Petitioners questioned Xinhua Metal's eligibility for a separate
rate. Petitioners argued that a business proprietary note in Xinhua
Metal's financial statement indicated government control.\4\
Additionally, Petitioners allege Xinhua Metal's parent company is state
owned, based on a statement on the parent company's Web site.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4 5\ See Petitioners' September 22, 2009, Letter to the
Department; and Petitioners' December 9, 2009, Letter to the
Department.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have determined, however, that the evidence provided by Xinhua
Metal supports a preliminary finding of de jure absence of governmental
control based on the following: (1) An absence of restrictive
stipulations associated with the individual exporter's business and
export licenses; (2) the applicable legislative enactments
decentralizing control of the companies; and (3) any other formal
measures by the government decentralizing control of companies. See
Xinhua Metal's August 24, 2009, Separate Rate Application (``SRA'') at
6-10; October 23, 2009, 1st Supplemental A&C Questionnaire at 2-12; and
November 23, 2009, 2nd Supplemental A Questionnaire at 1-8. This
determination is consistent with recent prior Department analyses of de
jure control. See Notice of Preliminary Results of New Shipper Review:
Cut-to Length Carbon Steel Plate From the People's Republic of China,
73 FR 67124 (November 13, 2008).
Petitioners also questioned Fasten Group I&E's eligibility for a
separate rate. Petitioners argued that, Fasten Group I&E is controlled
by the parent company, Fasten Group Corporation, and in turn, the
parent company is owned by the government, based on the business
license and an annual report.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See Petitioners' September 18, 2009, Letter to the
Department.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Again, we have determined that the evidence provided by Fasten
Group I&E supports a preliminary finding of de jure absence of
government control based on the following: (1) An absence of
restrictive stipulations associated
[[Page 68236]]
with the individual exporter's business and export licenses; (2) the
applicable legislative enactments decentralizing control of the
companies; and (3) any other formal measures by the government
decentralizing control of companies. See Fasten Group I&E's August 24,
2009, SRA at 7-10, and November 3, 2009, SRA Second Supplemental
Response at 1-6.
2. 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 has determined that an analysis of
de facto control is critical in determining whether respondents are, in
fact, subject to a degree of governmental control which would preclude
the Department from assigning separate rates.
We determine that, for WJMP, Xinhua Metal, and Fasten Group I&E,
the evidence on the record supports a preliminary finding of de facto
absence of governmental control based on record statements and
supporting documentation showing the following: (1) Each exporter sets
its own export prices independent of the government and without the
approval of a government authority; (2) each exporter retains the
proceeds from its sales and makes independent decisions regarding
disposition of profits or financing of losses; (3) each exporter has
the authority to negotiate and sign contracts and other agreements; and
(4) each exporter has autonomy from the government regarding the
selection of management. See WJMP's August 21, 2009, SRA at 9-14;
Xinhua Metal's October 23, 2009, 1st Supplemental A&C Questionnaire at
2-12, and November 23, 2009, 2nd Supplemental A Questionnaire at 1-8;
and Fasten Group I&E's November 3, 2009, SRA Second Supplemental at 1-
6, and August 24, 2009, SRA at 10-17.
The evidence placed on the record of this investigation by WJMP,
Xinhua Metal, and Fasten Group I&E, demonstrates an absence of de jure
and de facto government control with respect to each of the exporter's
exports of the merchandise under investigation, in accordance with the
criteria identified in Sparklers and Silicon Carbide. As a result, we
have granted the separate company, Fasten Group I&E, a margin based on
the experience of the mandatory respondent and excluding any de minimis
or zero rates or rates based on total adverse facts available (``AFA'')
for the purposes of this preliminary determination.
Application of Adverse Facts Available, the PRC-Wide Entity and PRC-
Wide Rate
The Department has data that indicate there were more exporters of
PC strand from the PRC than those indicated in the response to our
request for Q&V information during the POI. See Respondent Selection
Memorandum. We issued our request for Q&V information to 22 potential
Chinese exporters of the merchandise under investigation, in addition
to posting the Q&V questionnaire on the Department's Web site. While
information on the record of this investigation indicates that there
are other exporters/producers of PC strand in the PRC, we received only
eight timely filed Q&V responses. Although all exporters were given an
opportunity to provide Q&V information, not all exporters provided a
response to the Department's Q&V letter. Additionally, as discussed
above, Silvery Dragon Steel filed a letter stating that it would not
participate as a mandatory respondent, and Tianjin Shengte filed a
deficient Section A questionnaire and failed to respond to the
Department's request for more information. Therefore, the Department
has preliminarily determined that there were exporters/producers of the
merchandise under investigation during the POI from the PRC that did
not respond to the Department's request for information. We have
treated these PRC exporters/producers, as part of the PRC-wide entity
because they did not qualify for a separate rate. See, e.g.,
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Preliminary Partial
Determination of Critical Circumstances: Diamond Sawblades and Parts
Thereof From the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 77121, 77128
(December 29, 2005), and unchanged in 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).
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.
Information on the record of this investigation indicates that the
PRC-wide entity was non-responsive. Certain companies did not respond
to our questionnaire requesting Q&V information or the Department's
request for more information. As a result, pursuant to section
776(a)(2)(A) of the Act, we find that the use of facts available
(``FA'') is appropriate to determine the PRC-wide rate. 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 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
Statement of Administrative Action, accompanying the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (``URAA''), H.R. Rep. No. 103-316, 870 (1994) (``SAA'');
see also 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). We
find that, because the PRC-wide entity did not respond to our requests
for information, it 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.
[[Page 68237]]
When employing an adverse inference, section 776 indicates that the
Department may rely upon 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 a rate that is
sufficiently adverse to ensure that the uncooperative party does not
obtain a more favorable result by failing to cooperate than if it had
fully cooperated. 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 of any respondent in the investigation. See
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-
Rolled Carbon Quality Steel Products from the People's Republic of
China, 65 FR 34660 (May 21, 2000) and accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 1. As AFA, we have preliminarily assigned to the
PRC-wide entity a rate of 193.55 percent, a rate calculated in the
petition which is higher than the highest rate calculated for either of
the cooperative respondents. The Department preliminarily determines
that this information is the most appropriate from the available
sources to effectuate the purposes of AFA.
Corroboration
Section 776(c) of the Act provides that, when the Department relies
on secondary information rather than on information obtained in the
course of an investigation as facts available, it must, to the extent
practicable, corroborate that information from independent sources
reasonably at its disposal. The SAA provides guidance as to what
constitutes secondary information. One of the suggested sources of
secondary information is ``information derived from the petition that
gave rise to the investigation or review, the final determination
concerning the subject merchandise, or any previous review under
section 751 concerning the subject merchandise.'' See SAA at 870. The
SAA further suggests that to ``corroborate'' means that the Department
will satisfy itself that the secondary information to be used has
probative value. Id. Independent sources used to corroborate may
include, for example, published price lists, official import
statistics, and CBP data, and information obtained from interested
parties during the particular investigation. Id. To corroborate
secondary information, the Department will, to the extent practicable,
examine the reliability and relevance of the information used.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and
Unfinished, from Japan, and Tapered Roller Bearings, Four Inches or
Less in Outside Diameter, and Components Thereof, from Japan;
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews and
Partial Termination of Administrative Reviews, 61 FR 57391, 57392
(November 6, 1996), unchanged in Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts
Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, From Japan, and Tapered Roller
Bearings, Four Inches or Less in Outside Diameter, and Components
Thereof, From Japan; Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Reviews and Termination in Part, 62 FR 11825 (March
13, 1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The AFA rate selected by the Department is a rate calculated in the
petition. Based on our examination of information on the record,
including examination of the petition export prices and normal values,
we find that, for purposes of this investigation, there is not a
sufficient basis to consider that certain petition margins have
probative value. However, there is a sufficient basis to find that the
petition margin selected does have probative value. In this case, we
have selected a margin that is not so much greater than the highest
transaction-specific margin calculated for the mandatory respondent
that it can be considered not to have probative value. The Department's
practice, when selecting an AFA rate from among the possible sources of
information, has been to ensure that the margin is sufficiently adverse
``as to effectuate the statutory purposes of the adverse 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 and Final Negative
Critical Circumstances: Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from
Brazil, 67 FR 55792, 55796 (Aug. 30, 2002); see also Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Static Random Access
Memory Semiconductors From Taiwan, 63 FR 8909, 8932 (Feb. 23, 1998). As
guided by the SAA, the information used as AFA should ensure an
uncooperative party does not benefit by failing to cooperate than if it
had cooperated fully. See SAA at 870. We conclude that using Xinhua
Metal's highest transaction specific margin as a limited reference
point, the highest petition margin that can be corroborated within the
meaning of the statute is 193.55 percent, which is sufficiently adverse
so as to induce cooperation that the uncooperative companies do not
benefit from their failure to cooperate. Accordingly, we preliminarily
find that the rate of 193.55 percent is corroborated within the meaning
of section 776(c) of the Act. This method of selecting an AFA dumping
margin is consistent with the recent final determination involving
kitchen appliance shelving and racks from the PRC. See July 20, 2009,
Memorandum to the File, from Julia Hancock, Senior Analyst, regarding
Corroboration of the PRC-Wide Entity Rate and the Wireking Total AFA
Rate for the Final Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation
of Certain Kitchen Appliance Shelving and Racks From the People's
Republic of China. Accordingly, we determine that 193.55 percent is the
most appropriate antidumping rate for the PRC-wide entity. The PRC-wide
rate applies to all entries of the merchandise under investigation
except for entries from WJMP, Xinhua Metal, and Fasten Group I&E.
Margin for the Separate Rate Companies
The Department received a timely and complete separate rate
application from the separate rate company, Fasten Group I&E, who is an
exporter of PC strand from the PRC, and was not selected as a mandatory
respondent in this investigation. Through the evidence in their
application and supplemental questionnaire responses, this company has
demonstrated its eligibility for a separate rate. See the ``Separate
Rates'' section above. Consistent with the Department's practice, as
the separate rate, we have established a margin for the separate rate
company based on the rate we calculated for the mandatory respondent,
Xinhua Metal, excluding any rates that are zero, de minimis, or based
entirely on AFA.\8\ The Department did not include WJMP in the
calculation of the separate rate because as discussed above in the
``Respondent Selection'' section, WJMP is a voluntary respondent.
Fasten Group I&E is the company receiving this rate and is listed in
the ``Suspension of Liquidation'' section of this notice.
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\8\ See, e.g., Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value and Partial Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Certain Polyester Staple Fiber from the People's
Republic of China, 71 FR 77373, 77377 (December 26, 2006) (``PSF''),
unchanged in Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
and Partial Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances:
Certain Polyester Staple Fiber from the People's Republic of China,
72 FR 19690 (April 19, 2007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date of Sale
Section 351.401(i) of the Department's regulations state that,
``{i{time} n identifying the date of sale of the merchandise under
consideration or foreign like product, the Secretary normally will use
the date of invoice, as recorded in the exporter or producer's records
kept in
[[Page 68238]]
the normal course of business.'' In Allied Tube, the Court of
International Trade (``CIT'') noted that a ``party seeking to establish
a date of sale other than invoice date bears the burden of producing
sufficient evidence to `satisf{y{time} ' the Department that `a
different date better reflects the date on which the exporter or
producer establishes the material terms of sale.' '' Allied Tube &
Conduit Corp. v. United States 132 F. Supp. 2d at 1087, 1090 (CIT 2001)
(quoting 19 CFR 351.401(i)) (``Allied Tube''). Additionally, the
Secretary may use a date other than the date of invoice if the
Secretary is satisfied that a different date better reflects the date
on which the exporter or producer establishes the material terms of
sale. See 19 CFR 351.401(i); see also Allied Tube, 132 F. Supp. 2d at
1090-1092. The date of sale is generally the date on which the parties
agree upon all substantive terms of the sale. This normally includes
the price, quantity, delivery terms and payment terms. See Carbon and
Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Trinidad and Tobago: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 72 FR 62824 (November 7, 2007)
and accompanying Issue and Decision Memorandum at Comment 1; Notice of
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-
Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon Quality Steel Products from Turkey, 65 FR
15123 (March 21, 2000) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum
at Comment 1.
WJMP reported that the date of sale was determined by the invoice
issued by the affiliated importer to the unaffiliated United States
customer. In this case, as the Department found no evidence contrary to
WJMP's claims that invoice date was the appropriate date of sale, the
Department used invoice date as the date of sale for this preliminary
determination.
Xinhua Metal reported that the date of sale was determined by the
invoice issued to the unaffiliated United States customer. In this
case, as the Department found no evidence contrary to Xinhua Metal's
claims that invoice date was the appropriate date of sale, the
Department used invoice date as the date of sale for this preliminary
determination.
Fair Value Comparison
To determine whether sales of PC strand to the United States by
WJMP and Xinhua Metal were made at LTFV, we compared constructed export
price (``CEP'') and export price (``EP'') to NV, as described in the
``U.S. Price'' and ``Normal Value'' sections of this notice.
U.S. Price
In accordance with section 772(b) of the Act, we based the U.S.
price for WJMP's sales on CEP because these sales were made by WJMP's
U.S. affiliate, CAI, which purchased the merchandise under
investigation produced by WJMP. In accordance with section 772(c)(2)(A)
of the Act, we calculated CEP by deducting, where applicable, the
following expenses from the gross unit price charged to the first
unaffiliated customer in the United States: foreign movement expenses,
and U.S. movement expenses, including U.S. duties, brokerage and
handling, AMS charges, and inventory carrying costs. Further, in
accordance with section 772(d)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.402(b),
where appropriate, we deducted from the starting price the following
selling expenses associated with economic activities occurring in the
United States: credit expenses and other indirect selling expenses. In
addition, pursuant to section 772(d)(3) of the Act, we made an
adjustment to the starting price for CEP profit. We based movement
expenses on either surrogate values or actual expenses. For details
regarding our CEP calculations, and for a complete discussion of the
calculation of the U.S. price for WJMP, see December 17, 2009,
Memorandum to the File, from Alan Ray, Case Analyst, through Alex
Villanueva, Program Manager, regarding Analysis of the Preliminary
Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Prestressed
Concrete Steel Wire Strand from the PRC: WJMP (``WJMP Analysis Memo'').
In accordance with section 772(a) of the Act, the Department
calculated the EP for Xinhua Metal's sales to the United States because
the first sale to an unaffiliated party was made before the date of
importation and the use of CEP was not otherwise warranted. The
Department calculated EP based on the price to unaffiliated purchasers
in the United States. In accordance with section 772(c) of the Act, as
appropriate, the Department deducted from the starting price to
unaffiliated purchasers foreign inland freight, foreign inland
insurance, and brokerage and handling. Each of these services was
provided by an NME vendor. Thus, the Department based the deduction of
these movement charges on surrogate values. For a complete discussion
of the calculation of the U.S. price for Xinhua Metal, see December 17,
2009, Memorandum to the File, from Alexis Polovina, Case Analyst,
through Alex Villanueva, Program Manager, regarding Analysis of the
Preliminary Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand from the PRC: Xinhua Metal
(``Xinhua Metal Analysis Memo'').
Normal Value
Section 773(c)(1) of the Act provides that the Department shall
determine NV using a FOP methodology if the merchandise is exported
from an NME and the information does not permit the calculation of NV
using home-market prices, third-country prices, or constructed value
under section 773(a) of the Act. The Department bases NV on the FOP
because the presence of government controls on various aspects of non-
market economies renders price comparisons and the calculation of
production costs invalid under the Department's normal methodologies.
See, e.g., Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Affirmative Critical Circumstances, In Part, and Postponement of Final
Determination: Certain Lined Paper Products from the People's Republic
of China, 71 FR 19695 (April 17, 2006) (``CLPP'') unchanged in Notice
of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, and
Affirmative Critical Circumstances, In Part: Certain Lined Paper
Products From the People's Republic of China, 71 FR 53079 (September 8,
2006).
As the basis for NV, both WJMP and Xinhua Metal provided FOPs used
in each stage for processing PC strand.
Consistent with section 773(c)(1) of the Act, it is the
Department's practice to value the FOPs that a respondent uses to
produce the merchandise under consideration. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Frozen and
Canned Warmwater Shrimp From the People's Republic of China, 69 FR
70997 (December 8, 2004) and accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 9(E).
Factor Valuation Methodology
In accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, we calculated NV
based on FOP data reported by WJMP and Xinhua Metal. To calculate NV,
we multiplied the reported per-unit factor-consumption rates by
publicly available surrogate values. In selecting the surrogate values,
we considered the quality, specificity, and contemporaneity of the
data. See, e.g., Fresh Garlic From the People's Republic of China:
Final Results of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review, 67 FR 72139
(December 4, 2002) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at
Comment 6; and Final Results of First New Shipper Review and First
[[Page 68239]]
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain Preserved Mushrooms
From the People's Republic of China, 66 FR 31204 (June 11, 2001) and
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 5. As
appropriate, we adjusted input prices by including freight costs to
make them delivered prices. Specifically, we added to Indian import
surrogate values a surrogate freight cost using the shorter of the
reported distance from the domestic supplier to the factory or the
distance from the nearest seaport to the factory where 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, 1407-08 (Fed. Cir. 1997). For a detailed description of all
surrogate values used for WJMP and Xinhua Metal see December 17, 2009,
Memorandum to the File, from Alexis Polovina, Case Analyst, through
Alex Villanueva, Program Manager, Investigation of Prestressed Concrete
Steel Wire Strand from the PRC: Surrogate Values for the Preliminary
Determination (``Preliminary Surrogate Value Memorandum'').
For this preliminary determination, in accordance with the
Department's practice, we used data from the Indian Import Statistics
and other publicly available Indian sources in order to calculate
surrogate values for WJMP and Xinhua Metal's raw materials, packing,
by-products, and coal. In selecting the best available information for
valuing FOPs in accordance with section 773(c)(1) of the Act, the
Department's practice is to select, to the extent practicable,
surrogate values which are non-export average values, most
contemporaneous with 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). The
record shows that data in the Indian Import Statistics, as well as
those from the other Indian sources, are contemporaneous with the POI,
product-specific, and tax-exclusive. See Preliminary Surrogate Value
Memorandum. In those instances where we could not obtain publicly
available information contemporaneous to the POI with which to value
factors, we adjusted the surrogate values using, where appropriate, the
Indian Wholesale Price Index (``WPI'') as published in the
International Financial Statistics of the International Monetary Fund.
See, e.g., PSF 71 FR at 77380 and CLPP 71 FR at 19704.
Furthermore, with regard to the Indian import-based surrogate
values, we have disregarded import prices that we have reason to
believe or suspect may be subsidized. We have reason to believe or
suspect that prices of inputs from Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand
may have been subsidized. We have found in other proceedings that these
countries maintain broadly available, non-industry-specific export
subsidies and, therefore, it is reasonable to infer that all exports to
all markets from these countries may be subsidized. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Negative Final
Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain Color Television
Receivers From the People's Republic of China, 69 FR 20594 (April 16,
2004) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 7.
Further, guided by the legislative history, it is the Department's
practice not to conduct a formal investigation to ensure that such
prices are not subsidized. See Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of
1988, Conference Report to accompany H.R. Rep. 100-576 at 590 (1988),
reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1547, 1623-24; see also CFS Paper.
Rather, the Department bases its decision on information that is
available to it at the time it makes its determination. See
Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip from the People's
Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value, 73 FR 24552, 24559 (May 5, 2008), unchanged in PET Film LTFV
Final. Therefore, we have not used prices from these countries in
calculating the Indian import-based surrogate values. Additionally, we
disregarded prices from NME countries. Finally, imports that were
labeled as originating from an ``unspecified'' country were excluded
from the average value, because the Department could not be certain
that they were not from either an NME country or a country with general
export subsidies. See id.
For direct, indirect, and packing labor, consistent with 19 CFR
351.408(c)(3), we used the PRC regression-based wage rate as reported
on Import Administration's home page, Import Library, Expected Wages of
Selected NME Countries, revised in October 2009. See Expected Non-
Market Economy Wages: Request for Comments on 2009 Calculation, 74 FR
51555 (October 7, 2009), and 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 2005, ILO (Geneva: 2007),
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 the respondents.
We valued steam using the April 2007--March 2008 financial
statement of Hindalco Industries Limited. Since the rates are not
contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the values using the WPI. See
Preliminary Surrogate Value Memorandum.
We valued diesel using the June 2007 diesel prices across four
Indian cities from the Indian Oil Corporation. Since the rates are not
contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the values using the WPI. See
Preliminary Surrogate Value Memorandum.
We valued electricity using price data for small, medium, and large
industries, as published by the Central Electricity Authority of the
Government of India in its publication titled ``Electricity Tariff &
Duty and Average Rates of Electricity Supply in India,'' dated March
2008. These electricity rates represent actual country-wide, publicly
available information on tax-exclusive electricity rates charged to
industries in India. As the rates listed in this source became
effective on a variety of different dates, we are not adjusting the
average value for inflation.
Because water is essential to the production process of the
merchandise under consideration, the Department considers water to be a
direct material input, not overhead, and valued water with a surrogate
value according to our practice. See Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value and Critical Circumstances: Certain Malleable Iron
Pipe Fittings from the People's Republic of China, 68 FR 61395 (October
23, 2003) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment
11. The Department valued water using data from the Maharashtra
Industrial Development Corporation (https://www.midcindia.org) since it
includes a wide range of industrial water tariffs. This source provides
386 industrial water rates within the Maharashtra province from June
2003, of which 193 were for the ``inside industrial areas'' usage
category and the other 193 were for the ``outside industrial areas''
usage category.
[[Page 68240]]
Because the value was not contemporaneous with the POI, we used WPI
data to deflate the rate to be contemporaneous to the POI.
We are including dies, drawbench, and lime among the factors of
production for this preliminary determination, as they appear to be
actual factors used in the production of PC strand and not overhead.\9\
We will continue to consider whether they should be included among the
factors of production for the final determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See WJMP's October 28, 2009 Supplemental C&D Questionnaire
Response; and Xinhua Metal's December 2, 2009, 2nd Supplemental A&C
Questionnaire Response.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We valued truck freight expenses using a per-unit average rate
calculated from data on the infobanc Web site: https://www.infobanc.com/logistics/logtruck.htm. The logistics section of this Web site contains
inland freight truck rates between many large Indian cities. Since this
value is not contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the rate using
WPI.
We valued rail freight expenses using the 2006-2007 freight rail
rate published by Indian Railways. Since this value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the rate using WPI.
We valued inland shipping expenses using price data for barge
freight reported in a March 19, 2007, article published in The Hindu
Business Line. Since this value is not contemporaneous with the POI, we
inflated the rate using WPI.
We valued inland insurance using the public insurance expenses in
the submission from Agro Dutch in the sixth administrative review of
certain preserved mushrooms from India.\10\ Since this value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the rate using WPI.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See Certain Preserved Mushrooms from India: Final Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 71 FR 10646 (March 2,
2006) (``Mushrooms from India'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We continued our recent practice to value brokerage and handling
using a simple average of the brokerage and handling costs that were
reported in public submissions that were filed in three antidumping
duty cases. Specifically, we averaged the public brokerage and handling
expenses reported by Navneet Publications (India) Ltd. in the 2007-2008
administrative review of certain lined paper products from India, Essar
Steel Limited in the 2006-2007 antidumping duty administrative review
of hot-rolled carbon steel flat products from India, and Himalya
International Ltd. in the 2005-2006 administrative review of certain
preserved mushrooms from India.\11\ Since the resulting value is not
contemporaneous with the POI, we inflated the rate using the WPI.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ See Certain Lined Paper Products from India: Final Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 74 FR 17149 (April 14,
2009); Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from India:
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Review, 73 FR 31961 (June 5,
2008); and Certain Preserved Mushrooms from India: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 72 FR 5268 (February 5,
2007).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To value factory overhead, selling, general, and administrative
(``SG&A'') expenses, and profit, the Department used the audited
financial statements of Rajratan Global Wire Ltd.
Both WJMP and Xinhua Metal have claimed by-product offsets to
normal value for by-products produced during the production of PC
strand and then sold. We are preliminarily granting a by-product offset
to WJMP for steel wire rod scrap, semi-finished scrap, and PC strand
scrap. We are also preliminarily granting a by-product offset to Xinhua
Metal for scrap PC strand, scrap wire, scrap wire rod, and scrap short
wire.
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
calculate combination rates for certain respondents that are eligible
for a separate rate in this investigation. See Initiation Notice, 74 FR
at 29668. This practice is described in Policy Bulletin 05.1, available
at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/.
Preliminary Determination
Preliminary weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-
Exporter Producer average margin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WJMP........................... WJMP................... 37.72
Xinhua Metal................... Xinhua Metal........... 151.44
Fasten Group I&E............... Jiangyin Fasten Steel 151.44
Products Co., Ltd.,
Jiangyin Walsin Steel
Cable Co., Ltd.,
Jiangyin Hongyu Metal
Products Co., Ltd.
PRC-wide Entity *.............. ....................... 193.55
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* This rate also applies to Tianjin Shengte, Silvery Dragon Steel, and
Tongda.
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
In accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, we will instruct CBP
to suspend liquidation of all entries of subject PC strand from the PRC
as described in the ``Scope of Investigation'' section, entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption from WJMP, Xinhua Metal,
Fasten Group I&E, and the PRC-wide entity on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
On November 2, 2009, the Department published the preliminary
affirmative countervailing duty determination with respect to PC Strand
from the PRC. See Pre-Stressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand from the
People's Republic of China: Notice of Preliminary Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination, 74 FR 56576 (November 2, 2009) (``PC
Strand CVD Preliminary Determination''). In PC Strand CVD Preliminary
Determination, the Department found that Xinhua Metal's merchandise
benefited from export subsidies. Therefore, we will instruct CBP to
require a cash deposit or posting of a bond equal to the weighted-
average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. price for Xinhua
Metal, as indicated above, minus the amount determined to constitute an
export subsidy. See, e.g., Notice of Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than
[[Page 68241]]
Fair Value: Carbazole Pigment 23 from India, 69 FR 67306, 67307
(November 17, 2007).
With respect to WJMP, the voluntary respondent in this proceeding,
the Department did not individually examine its exports of merchandise
under investigation in the PC Strand CVD Preliminary Determination. As
a result, WJMP is captured under the ``All Others'' rate, which is an
average of the companies examined in PC Strand CVD Preliminary
Determination. Therefore, we will instruct CBP to require a cash
deposit or posting of a bond equal to the weighted-average amount by
which normal value exceeds U.S. price for WJMP, indicated above, minus
the amount determined to constitute an export subsidy in the ``All
Others'' rate.
With respect to Fasten Group I&E, the separate rate company, we
note that the rate applied in this proceeding as a separate rate is
derived from the calculated rate received by Xinhua Metal. Therefore,
because Xinhua Metal received export subsidies in PC Strand CVD
Preliminary Determination, we will instruct CBP to require a cash
deposit or posting of a bond equal to the weighted-average amount by
which normal value exceeds U.S. price for Xinhua Metal, as indicated
above, minus the amount determined to constitute an export subsidy.
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 less than
fair value. 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 PC strand, or sales (or the likelihood of sales)
for importation, of the merchandise under investigation 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
business days after the date on which the final verification report is
issued in this proceeding and rebuttal briefs limited to issues raised
in case briefs and must be received no later than five business days
after the deadline date for case briefs. See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(i) and
(d). A list of authorities used and an executive summary of issues
should accompany any briefs submitted to the Departmen