Low Enriched Uranium from France: Initiation of Expedited Changed Circumstances Review, and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review, 8285-8286 [2015-03194]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 31 (Tuesday, February 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8285-8286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03194]


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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 31 / Tuesday, February 17, 2015 / 
Notices

[[Page 8285]]



DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-427-818]


Low Enriched Uranium from France: Initiation of Expedited Changed 
Circumstances Review, and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances 
Review

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216 and 351.221(c)(3), the Department 
of Commerce (the Department) is initiating a changed circumstances 
review (CCR) of the antidumping duty order on low-enriched uranium 
(LEU) from France with respect to Eurodif SA and AREVA Inc. 
(collectively, AREVA). Moreover, the Department has determined that it 
is appropriate to conduct this CCR on an expedited basis. We invite 
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Effective Date: February 17, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Huston, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4261.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On February 13, 2002, the Department published an order on LEU from 
France.\1\ The order expressly excludes from the scope LEU that meets 
the requirements for re-exportation, including re-exportation within 18 
months of entry.\2\
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    \1\ See Notice of Amended Final Determination and Notice of 
Antidumping Duty Order: Low Enriched Uranium From France, 67 FR 6680 
(February 13, 2002).
    \2\ See id.
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    On December 5, 2011, AREVA requested that the Department initiate 
and conduct an expedited CCR to amend the scope of the order to extend 
by 18 months the deadline for re-exporting an entry of LEU for which 
AREVA reported it would not be able to meet the deadline for re-
exportation.\3\ At the time of entry, the LEU at issue met the 
requirements for exclusion from the scope outlined above. On April 2, 
2012, the Department published the final results of the CCR, extending 
the deadline for re-exportation of this sole entry by 18 months, to no 
later than November 1, 2013.\4\
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    \3\ See Letter from AREVA, ``Low Enriched Uranium from France,'' 
dated December 5, 2011.
    \4\ See Low Enriched Uranium from France: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 77 FR 19642 (April 2, 
2012) (Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review).
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    On July 8, 2013, AREVA requested that the Department initiate a CCR 
in order to further extend the period for the re-exportation this sole 
entry of LEU from November 1, 2013, until November 1, 2015.\5\ AREVA 
also requested that the Department conduct the review on an expedited 
basis. On November 7, 2013 the Department published the final results 
of the CCR, extending the deadline for re-exportation of this sole 
entry until November 1, 2015.\6\ The Department further determined that 
this would be the final extension for re-exportation of this specified 
entry.\7\
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    \5\ See Letter from AREVA, ``Request for Changed Circumstances 
Review,'' dated July 8, 2013.
    \6\ See Low Enriched Uranium from France: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 78 FR 66898 (November 
7, 2013) (Final Results of Second Changed Circumstances Review).
    \7\ See id.
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    On November 10, 2014, AREVA submitted its third request for a CCR, 
seeking an extension for an indefinite period of time for the re-
exportation of the specified entry of LEU covered in two previous CCRs, 
and AREVA requested that the Department conduct this CCR on an 
expedited basis.\8\
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    \8\ See Letter from Stuart Rosen Esq., ``Request for Changed 
Circumstances Review,'' dated November 10, 2014 (Third CCR Request).
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by the order is all LEU. LEU is enriched 
uranium hexafluoride (UF6) with a U\235\ product assay of 
less than 20 percent that has not been converted into another chemical 
form, such as UO2, or fabricated into nuclear fuel 
assemblies, regardless of the means by which the LEU is produced 
(including LEU produced through the down-blending of highly enriched 
uranium).
    Certain merchandise is outside the scope of the order. 
Specifically, the order does not cover enriched uranium hexafluoride 
with a U\235\ assay of 20 percent or greater, also known as highly-
enriched uranium. In addition, fabricated LEU is not covered by the 
scope of the order. For purposes of the order, fabricated uranium is 
defined as enriched uranium dioxide (UO2), whether or not 
contained in nuclear fuel rods or assemblies. Natural uranium 
concentrates (U3O8) with a U\235\ concentration 
of no greater than 0.711 percent and natural uranium concentrates 
converted into uranium hexafluoride with a U\235\ concentration of no 
greater than 0.711 percent are not covered by the scope of the order.
    Also excluded from the order is LEU owned by a foreign utility end-
user and imported into the United States by or for such end-user solely 
for purposes of conversion by a U.S. fabricator into uranium dioxide 
(UO2) and/or fabrication into fuel assemblies so long as the 
uranium dioxide and/or fuel assemblies deemed to incorporate such 
imported LEU (i) remain in the possession and control of the U.S. 
fabricator, the foreign end-user, or their designed transporter(s) 
while in U.S. customs territory, and (ii) are re-exported within 
eighteen (18) months of entry of the LEU for consumption by the end-
user in a nuclear reactor outside the United States. Such entries must 
be accompanied by the certifications of the importer and end user.
    The merchandise subject to this order is classified in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheading 
2844.20.0020. Subject merchandise may also enter under 2844.20.0030, 
2844.20.0050, and 2844.40.00. Although the HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description 
of the merchandise subject to this proceeding is dispositive.

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216 and 
351.221(c)(3),

[[Page 8286]]

the Department is initiating a CCR of the antidumping duty order on LEU 
from France with respect to AREVA. Based on the information and 
documentation AREVA submitted in its November 10, 2014 letter, we find 
that we have received sufficient information to warrant initiation of a 
review to determine if changed circumstances exist to support the 
extension of time to re-export the specified entry of LEU.
    Section 351.221 (c)(3)(ii) of the Department's regulations permits 
the Department to combine the notice of initiation of a changed 
circumstances review and the notice of preliminary results if the 
Department concludes that expedited action is warranted. In this 
instance, because we have on the record the information necessary to 
make a preliminary finding, we find that expedited action is warranted, 
and have combined the notice of initiation and the notice of 
preliminary results.

Preliminary Results of Expedited Changed Circumstances Review

    Based on the Department's analysis of the information provided by 
AREVA in its request for a CCR, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.216, we 
preliminarily determine that changed circumstances to extend the time 
period for re-exportation a third time do not exist, and that AREVA 
should not be granted an additional extension of time to re-export this 
one entry of subject merchandise.
    In its Third CCR Request, AREVA explained that the Japanese end-
user remained unable to take delivery of the subject LEU due to 
conditions caused by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in 
Japan, that the Japanese end-user was working to comply with ``detailed 
and lengthy'' regulatory requirements of Japan's Nuclear Regulatory 
Authority, and that AREVA and the Japanese end-user were unable to 
confirm when re-export of the subject entry of LEU would be 
possible.\9\
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    \9\ See id. at 3-4.
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    In the Final Results of Second Changed Circumstances Review, the 
Department stated that ``. . . if the Japanese end-user is unable to 
take delivery by the November 1, 2015 deadline, AREVA, the U.S. 
importer as well as the French exporter, will be required to re-export 
this sole entry to France or pay antidumping duties on the entry at the 
applicable rate.'' \10\ Given that the situation where the Japanese 
end-user would be unable to take delivery was anticipated in the 
previous CCR, we do not consider this situation to be ``changed 
circumstances.''
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    \10\ See Final Results of Second Changed Circumstances Review, 
78 FR at 66899.
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    The Department stated in the Final Results of Second Changed 
Circumstances Review,\11\ that this would be the final extension, and 
further stated in the accompanying decision memorandum that to allow 
the re-export deadline to be extended indefinitely would mean 
``ignoring this aspect of the scope.''\12\
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    \11\ See id.
    \12\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, ``Decision Memorandum for 
Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review of Low Enriched 
Uranium from France,'' October 31, 2013.
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    The Department preliminarily determines that changed circumstances 
do not exist beyond the changed circumstances already recognized in the 
two previous changed circumstances reviews, and that AREVA will not be 
granted a further extension to re-export the specified entry of LEU.

Public Comment

    Case briefs from interested parties may be submitted not later than 
30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, 
limited to the issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later 
than 5 days after the submission of case briefs. All written comments 
shall be submitted in accordance with 19 CFR 351.303. All submissions 
are to be filed electronically using Enforcement and Compliance's 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (ACCESS), and must also be served on interested parties.\13\ 
ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov, and 
it is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room 7046 
of the main Department of Commerce building. An electronically filed 
document must be received successfully in its entirety by the 
Department's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time 
on the deadline.\14\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b).
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    Any interested party may request a hearing within 30 days of 
publication of this notice. Any hearing, if requested, will be held no 
later than 37 days after the date of publication of this notice, or the 
first business day thereafter. Persons interested in attending the 
hearing, if one is requested, should contact the Department for the 
date and time of the hearing.

Notifications to Interested Parties

    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we will issue the final results 
of this changed circumstances review no later than 270 days after the 
date on which this review is initiated, or within 45 days after the 
date on which this review is initiated if all parties agree to our 
preliminary finding. The final results will include the Department's 
analysis of issues raised in any written comments.
    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results and notice 
in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) and (2) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.216.

    Dated: February 9, 2015.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-03194 Filed 2-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P