Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Italy, India, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 37228-37235 [2015-16061]
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37228
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 125 / Tuesday, June 30, 2015 / Notices
clad, plated, or coated with corrosionresistant metals such as zinc, aluminum, or
zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-based
alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted,
varnished, laminated, or coated with plastics
or other non-metallic substances in addition
to the metallic coating. The products covered
include coils that have a width of 12.7 mm
or greater, regardless of form of coil (e.g., in
successively superimposed layers, spirally
oscillating, etc.). The products covered also
include products not in coils (e.g., in straight
lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and
a width that is 12.7 mm or greater and that
measures at least 10 times the thickness. The
products covered also include products not
in coils (e.g., in straight lengths) of a
thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a width
exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least
twice the thickness. The products described
above may be rectangular, square, circular, or
other shape and include products of either
rectangular or non-rectangular cross-section
where such cross-section is achieved
subsequent to the rolling process, i.e.,
products which have been ‘‘worked after
rolling’’ (e.g., products which have been
beveled or rounded at the edges). For
purposes of the width and thickness
requirements referenced above:
(1) Where the nominal and actual
measurements vary, a product is within the
scope if application of either the nominal or
actual measurement would place it within
the scope based on the definitions set forth
above, and
(2) where the width and thickness vary for
a specific product (e.g., the thickness of
certain products with non-rectangular crosssection, the width of certain products with
non-rectangular shape, etc.), the
measurement at its greatest width or
thickness applies.
Steel products included in the scope of this
investigation are products in which: (1) Iron
predominates, by weight, over each of the
other contained elements; (2) the carbon
content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and
(3) none of the elements listed below exceeds
the quantity, by weight, respectively
indicated:
• 2.50 percent of manganese, or
• 3.30 percent of silicon, or
• 1.50 percent of copper, or
• 1.50 percent of aluminum, or
• 1.25 percent of chromium, or
• 0.30 percent of cobalt, or
• 0.40 percent of lead, or
• 2.00 percent of nickel, or
• 0.30 percent of tungsten (also called
wolfram), or
• 0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
• 0.10 percent of niobium (also called
columbium), or
• 0.30 percent of vanadium, or
• 0.30 percent of zirconium
Unless specifically excluded, products are
included in this scope regardless of levels of
boron and titanium.
For example, specifically included in this
scope are vacuum degassed, fully stabilized
(commonly referred to as interstitial-free (IF))
steels and high strength low alloy (HSLA)
steels. IF steels are recognized as low carbon
steels with micro-alloying levels of elements
such as titanium and/or niobium added to
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stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements.
HSLA steels are recognized as steels with
micro-alloying levels of elements such as
chromium, copper, niobium, titanium,
vanadium, and molybdenum.
Furthermore, this scope also includes
Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) and
Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS), both of
which are considered high tensile strength
and high elongation steels.
All products that meet the written physical
description, and in which the chemistry
quantities do not exceed any one of the noted
element levels listed above, are within the
scope of this investigation unless specifically
excluded. The following products are outside
of and/or specifically excluded from the
scope of this investigation:
• Flat-rolled steel products either plated or
coated with tin, lead, chromium,
chromium oxides, both tin and lead (‘‘terne
plate’’), or both chromium and chromium
oxides (‘‘tin free steel’’), whether or not
painted, varnished or coated with plastics
or other non-metallic substances in
addition to the metallic coating;
• Clad products in straight lengths of 4.7625
mm or more in composite thickness and of
a width which exceeds 150 mm and
measures at least twice the thickness; and
• Certain clad stainless flat-rolled products,
which are three-layered corrosion-resistant
flat-rolled steel products less than 4.75 mm
in composite thickness that consist of a
flat-rolled steel product clad on both sides
with stainless steel in a 20%–60%–20%
ratio.
The products subject to the investigation
are currently classified in the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
under item numbers: 7210.30.0030,
7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030,
7210.49.0091, 7210.49.0095, 7210.61.0000,
7210.69.0000, 7210.70.6030, 7210.70.6060,
7210.70.6090, 7210.90.6000, 7210.90.9000,
7212.20.0000, 7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090,
7212.30.3000, 7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000,
7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, and
7212.60.0000.
The products subject to the investigation
may also enter under the following HTSUS
item numbers: 7210.90.1000, 7215.90.1000,
7215.90.3000, 7215.90.5000, 7217.20.1500,
7217.30.1530, 7217.30.1560, 7217.90.1000,
7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060, 7217.90.5090,
7225.91.0000, 7225.92.0000, 7225.99.0090,
7226.99.0110, 7226.99.0130, 7226.99.0180,
7228.60.6000, 7228.60.8000, and
7229.90.1000.
The HTSUS subheadings above are
provided for convenience and customs
purposes only. The written description of the
scope of the investigation is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2015–16067 Filed 6–29–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–475–832, A–533–863, A–570–026, A–580–
878, A–583–856]
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel
Products From Italy, India, the
People’s Republic of China, the
Republic of Korea, and Taiwan:
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES: Effective Date: June 30, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia
Hancock or Susan Pulongbarit at (202)
482–1394 and (202) 482–4031,
respectively (Italy), Alexis Polovina at
(202) 482–3927 (India); David Lindgren
at (202) 482–3870 (the People’s
Republic of China (PRC)); David
Lindgren at (202) 482–3870 (the
Republic of Korea (Korea)); or Brendan
Quinn or Paul Stolz at (202) 482–5848
and (202) 482–4474, respectively
(Taiwan), AD/CVD Operations,
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 14th Street
and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
AGENCY:
The Petitions
On June 3, 2015, the Department of
Commerce (the Department) received
antidumping duty (AD) petitions
concerning imports of certain corrosionresistant steel products (corrosionresistant steel) from Italy, India, the
PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, filed in proper
form on behalf of United States Steel
Corporation, Nucor Corporation,
ArcelorMittal USA, AK Steel
Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc., and
California Steel Industries, Inc.,
(Petitioners).1 The AD petitions were
accompanied by five countervailing
duty (CVD) petitions.2 Petitioners are
domestic producers of corrosionresistant steel.3
On June 9, 2015, and June 10, 2015,
the Department requested additional
information and clarification of certain
areas of the Petitions.4 Petitioners filed
1 See Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping
Duties on Imports of Certain Corrosion-Resistant
Steel Products from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea,
and Taiwan, dated June 3, 2015 (the Petitions).
2 See the Petitions for the Imposition of
Countervailing Duties on Imports of Certain
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Italy, India,
the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, dated June 3, 2015.
3 See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2, and Exhibit
I–1.
4 See Letter from the Department to Petitioners
entitled ‘‘Re: Petitions for the Imposition of
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responses to these requests on June 12,
2015.5
In accordance with section 732(b) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act), Petitioners allege that imports of
corrosion-resistant steel from Italy,
India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the
United States at less-than-fair value
within the meaning of section 731 of the
Act, and that such imports are
materially injuring, or threatening
material injury to, an industry in the
United States. Also, consistent with
section 732(b)(1) of the Act, the
Petitions are accompanied by
information reasonably available to
Petitioners supporting their allegations.
The Department finds that Petitioners
filed these Petitions on behalf of the
domestic industry because Petitioners
are interested parties as defined in
section 771(9)(C) of the Act. The
Department also finds that Petitioners
demonstrated sufficient industry
support with respect to the initiation of
the AD investigations that Petitioners
are requesting.6
Periods of Investigation
Because the Petitions were filed on
June 3, 2015, the periods of
investigation (POI) are, pursuant to 19
CFR 351.204(b)(1), as follows: April 1,
2014, through March 31, 2015, for Italy,
India, Korea, and Taiwan, and October
1, 2014, through March 31, 2015, for the
PRC.
Scope of the Investigations
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The product covered by these
investigations is corrosion-resistant steel
from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and
Taiwan. For a full description of the
scope of these investigations, see the
‘‘Scope of the Investigations,’’ in
Appendix I of this notice.
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Certain
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Italy, India,
the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, and Countervailing
Duties on Imports of Certain Corrosion-Resistant
Steel Products from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea,
and Taiwan: Supplemental Questions’’ dated June
9, 2015, and June 10, 2015; (General Issues
Supplemental Questionnaire), and Letters from the
Department to Petitioners entitled ‘‘Re: Petition for
the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports
of Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from
{country}: Supplemental Questions’’ on each of the
country-specific records, dated June 9, 2015.
5 See Response to the Department’s June 9, 2015
Questionnaire Regarding Volume I of the Petitions
for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,
dated June12, 2015 (General Issues Supplement);
see also Response to the Department’s June 9, 2015
Questionnaires Regarding Volumes II, IV, VI, VIII,
X, of the Petitions for the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duties, dated June 12, 2015.
6 See the ‘‘Determination of Industry Support for
the Petitions’’ section below.
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Comments on Scope of the
Investigations
During our review of the Petitions, the
Department issued questions to, and
received responses from, Petitioners
pertaining to the proposed scope to
ensure that the scope language in the
Petitions would be an accurate
reflection of the products for which the
domestic industry is seeking relief.7
As discussed in the preamble to the
Department’s regulations, we are setting
aside a period for interested parties to
raise issues regarding product coverage
(scope). The period for scope comments
is intended to provide the Department
with ample opportunity to consider all
comments and to consult with parties
prior to the issuance of the preliminary
determination. If scope comments
include factual information (see 19 CFR
351.102(b)(21)), all such factual
information should be limited to public
information. All such comments must
be filed by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight
Time (EDT) on Tuesday, July 14, 2015,
which is 21 calendar days from the
signature date of this notice. Any
rebuttal comments, which may include
factual information, must be filed by
5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 24, 2015,
which is 10 calendar days after the
initial comments.
The Department requests that any
factual information the parties consider
relevant to the scope of the
investigations be submitted during this
time period. However, if a party
subsequently finds that additional
factual information pertaining to the
scope of the investigations may be
relevant, the party may contact the
Department and request permission to
submit the additional information. All
such comments must be filed on the
records of each of the concurrent AD
and CVD investigations.
Filing Requirements
All submissions to the Department
must be filed electronically using
Enforcement and Compliance’s
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System
(ACCESS).8 An electronically filed
document must be received successfully
in its entirety by the time and date when
it is due. Documents excepted from the
7 See General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire;
see also General Issues Supplement.
8 See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures;
Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR
39263 (July 6, 2011) for details of the Department’s
electronic filing requirements, which went into
effect on August 5, 2011. Information on help using
ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/
help.aspx and a handbook can be found at
https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20
Electronic%20Filling%20Procedures.pdf.
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electronic submission requirements
must be filed manually (i.e., in paper
form) with Enforcement and
Compliance’s APO/Dockets Unit, Room
18022, U.S. Department of Commerce,
14th Street and Constitution Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20230, and
stamped with the date and time of
receipt by the applicable deadlines.
Comments on Product Characteristics
for AD Questionnaires
The Department requests comments
from interested parties regarding the
appropriate physical characteristics of
corrosion-resistant steel to be reported
in response to the Department’s AD
questionnaires. This information will be
used to identify the key physical
characteristics of the subject
merchandise in order to report the
relevant factors and costs of production
accurately as well as to develop
appropriate product-comparison
criteria.
Interested parties may provide any
information or comments that they feel
are relevant to the development of an
accurate list of physical characteristics.
Specifically, they may provide
comments as to which characteristics
are appropriate to use as: (1) General
product characteristics and (2) productcomparison criteria. We note that it is
not always appropriate to use all
product characteristics as productcomparison criteria. We base productcomparison criteria on meaningful
commercial differences among products.
In other words, although there may be
some physical product characteristics
utilized by manufacturers to describe
corrosion-resistant steel, it may be that
only a select few product characteristics
take into account commercially
meaningful physical characteristics. In
addition, interested parties may
comment on the order in which the
physical characteristics should be used
in matching products. Generally, the
Department attempts to list the most
important physical characteristics first
and the least important characteristics
last.
In order to consider the suggestions of
interested parties in developing and
issuing the AD questionnaires, all
comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m.
EDT on Tuesday, July 14, 2015, which
is 21 calendar days from the signature
date of this notice. Any rebuttal
comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m.
EDT on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. All
comments and submissions to the
Department must be filed electronically
using ACCESS, as explained above, on
the records of the Italy, India, the PRC,
Korea, and Taiwan less-than-fair-value
investigations.
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Determination of Industry Support for
the Petitions
Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires
that a petition be filed on behalf of the
domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A)
of the Act provides that a petition meets
this requirement if the domestic
producers or workers who support the
petition account for: (i) At least 25
percent of the total production of the
domestic like product; and (ii) more
than 50 percent of the production of the
domestic like product produced by that
portion of the industry expressing
support for, or opposition to, the
petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D)
of the Act provides that, if the petition
does not establish support of domestic
producers or workers accounting for
more than 50 percent of the total
production of the domestic like product,
the Department shall: (i) Poll the
industry or rely on other information in
order to determine if there is support for
the petition, as required by
subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine
industry support using a statistically
valid sampling method to poll the
‘‘industry.’’
Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines
the ‘‘industry’’ as the producers as a
whole of a domestic like product. Thus,
to determine whether a petition has the
requisite industry support, the statute
directs the Department to look to
producers and workers who produce the
domestic like product. The International
Trade Commission (ITC), which is
responsible for determining whether
‘‘the domestic industry’’ has been
injured, must also determine what
constitutes a domestic like product in
order to define the industry. While both
the Department and the ITC must apply
the same statutory definition regarding
the domestic like product,9 they do so
for different purposes and pursuant to a
separate and distinct authority. In
addition, the Department’s
determination is subject to limitations of
time and information. Although this
may result in different definitions of the
like product, such differences do not
render the decision of either agency
contrary to law.10
Section 771(10) of the Act defines the
domestic like product as ‘‘a product
which is like, or in the absence of like,
most similar in characteristics and uses
with, the article subject to an
investigation under this title.’’ Thus, the
reference point from which the
domestic like product analysis begins is
9 See
section 771(10) of the Act.
USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp.
2d 1, 8 (CIT 2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd.
v. United States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988),
aff’d 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
10 See
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‘‘the article subject to an investigation’’
(i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to
be investigated, which normally will be
the scope as defined in the Petitions).
With regard to the domestic like
product, Petitioners do not offer a
definition of the domestic like product
distinct from the scope of the
investigations. Based on our analysis of
the information submitted on the
record, we have determined that
corrosion-resistant steel constitutes a
single domestic like product and we
have analyzed industry support in terms
of that domestic like product.11
In determining whether Petitioners
have standing under section
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered
the industry support data contained in
the Petitions with reference to the
domestic like product as defined in the
‘‘Scope of the Investigations,’’ in
Appendix I of this notice. Petitioners
provided their shipments of the
domestic like product in 2014, and
estimated total shipments of the
domestic like product for the entire
domestic industry using data from the
American Iron and Steel Institute and
the ITC.12 To establish industry support,
Petitioners compared their own
shipments to estimated total shipments
of the domestic like product for the
entire domestic industry.13 Because data
regarding total production of the
domestic like product are not
reasonably available to Petitioners and
Petitioners have established that
shipments are a reasonable proxy for
11 For a discussion of the domestic like product
analysis in this case, see Antidumping Duty
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the
People’s Republic of China (PRC AD Initiation
Checklist), at Attachment II, Analysis of Industry
Support for the Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Petitions Covering Certain Corrosion-Resistant
Steel Products from the People’s Republic of China,
India, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan
(Attachment II); Antidumping Duty Investigation
Initiation Checklist: Certain Corrosion-Resistant
Steel Products from India (India AD Initiation
Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Italy (Italy
AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II;
Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation
Checklist: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel
Products from the Republic of Korea (Korea AD
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; and
Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation
Checklist: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel
Products from Taiwan (Taiwan AD Initiation
Checklist). These checklists are dated concurrently
with this notice and on file electronically via
ACCESS. Access to documents filed via ACCESS is
also available in the Central Records Unit, Room
B8024 of the main Department of Commerce
building.
12 See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2–3 and
Exhibits I–3 to I–5; see also General Issues
Supplement, at 12–14 and Exhibits Supp. I–3,
Supp. I–40 to Supp. I–42, and Supp. I–45.
13 Id.
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production, we have relied on the
shipment data provided by Petitioners
for purposes of measuring industry
support.14
On June 12, 2015, we received a
submission from Thomas Steel Strip
Corporation (Thomas) and Apollo
Metals, Ltd. (Apollo), domestic
producers of corrosion-resistant steel. In
the submission, Thomas and Apollo
state that they support the Petitions for
the imposition of antidumping and
countervailing duties on corrosionresistant steel from the PRC, Korea, Italy
and Taiwan. Thomas and Apollo do not
express a view with respect to the
Petitions for the imposition of
antidumping and countervailing duties
on corrosion-resistant steel from India.
In addition, Thomas and Apollo provide
their 2014 production of the domestic
like product.15
We have relied on the data provided
by Petitioners, Thomas, and Apollo for
purposes of measuring industry
support.16
Our review of the data provided in the
Petitions, General Issues Supplement,
submission from Thomas and Apollo,
and other information readily available
to the Department indicates that
Petitioners have established industry
support for all of the Petitions.17 First,
the Petitions established support from
domestic producers (or workers)
accounting for more than 50 percent of
the total production of the domestic like
product and, as such, the Department is
not required to take further action in
order to evaluate industry support (e.g.,
polling).18 Second, the domestic
producers (or workers) have met the
statutory criteria for industry support
under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act
for all of the Petitions because the
domestic producers (or workers) who
support each of the Petitions account for
14 For further discussion, see PRC AD Initiation
Checklist, India AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD
Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist,
and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment
II.
15 See Letter to the Department from Thomas
Steel Strip Corporation and Apollo Metals, Ltd.,
entitled ‘‘Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from
the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of
Korea, Italy, and Taiwan: Statement of Support for
the Petitions and Comments Concerning NickelPlated Steel Products,’’ dated June 12, 2015.
16 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist, India AD
Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist,
Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
17 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist, India AD
Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist,
Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
18 See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also
Italy AD Initiation Checklist, India AD Initiation
Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD
Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation
Checklist, at Attachment II.
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at least 25 percent of the total
production of the domestic like
product.19 Finally, the domestic
producers (or workers) have met the
statutory criteria for industry support
under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act
for all of the Petitions because the
domestic producers (or workers) who
support each of the Petitions account for
more than 50 percent of the production
of the domestic like product produced
by that portion of the industry
expressing support for, or opposition to,
the Petitions.20 Accordingly, the
Department determines that the
Petitions were filed on behalf of the
domestic industry within the meaning
of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.
The Department finds that Petitioners
filed the Petitions on behalf of the
domestic industry because they are
interested parties as defined in section
771(9)(C) of the Act and they have
demonstrated sufficient industry
support with respect to the AD
investigations that they are requesting
the Department initiate.21
Allegations and Evidence of Material
Injury and Causation
Petitioners allege that the U.S.
industry producing the domestic like
product is being materially injured, or is
threatened with material injury, by
reason of the imports of the subject
merchandise sold at less than normal
value (NV). In addition, Petitioners
allege that subject imports exceed the
negligibility threshold provided for
under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.22
Petitioners contend that the industry’s
injured condition is illustrated by
reduced market share; underselling and
price suppression or depression; lost
sales and revenues; oversupply and
inventory overhang in the U.S. market;
and adverse impact on domestic
industry performance.23 We have
assessed the allegations and supporting
evidence regarding material injury,
threat of material injury, and causation,
and we have determined that these
allegations are properly supported by
adequate evidence and meet the
statutory requirements for initiation.24
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19 See
Italy AD Initiation Checklist, India AD
Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist,
Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
20 Id.
21 Id.
22 See Volume I of the Petitions, at 24 (footnote
87) and Exhibit I–27.
23 See Volume I of the Petitions, at 17–19, 24–43
and Exhibits I–5, I–12 and I–18 through I–27; see
also General Issues Supplement, at 1 and Exhibits
Supp. I–18, Supp. I–25, Supp. I–26, and Supp. I–
28.
24 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, India AD
Initiation Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist,
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Allegations of Sales at Less-Than-Fair
Value
The following is a description of the
allegations of sales at less-than-fair
value upon which the Department based
its decision to initiate investigations of
imports of corrosion-resistant steel from
Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and
Taiwan. The sources of data for the
deductions and adjustments relating to
U.S. price and NV are discussed in
greater detail in the country-specific
initiation checklists.
Export Price
For Italy, India, Korea, the PRC and
Taiwan, Petitioners based EP U.S. prices
on price quotes/offers for sales of
corrosion-resistant steel produced in,
and exported from, the subject
country.25 Petitioners made deductions
from U.S. price for movement expenses
consistent with the delivery terms.26
Where applicable, Petitioners also
deducted from U.S. price trading
company/distributor/reseller mark-ups
estimated using Petitioners’ knowledge
of the U.S. industry.27
Normal Value
For Italy, India, Korea, and Taiwan
Petitioners provided home market price
information obtained through market
research for corrosion-resistant steel
produced in and offered for sale in each
of these countries.28 For each country,
Petitioners provided an affidavit or
declaration from a market researcher for
the price information.29 Additionally,
Petitioners made deductions for
movement expenses consistent with the
terms of delivery, where applicable.30
For India, Petitioners made a distributor
mark-up adjustment to the price.31
Petitioners made no other adjustments
to the prices. For India, Petitioners
based NV on the adjusted price. For
Italy, Korea and Taiwan, Petitioners
alleged that sales of corrosion-resistant
Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III, Analysis of
Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and
Causation for the Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Petitions Covering Certain Corrosion-Resistant
Steel Products from the People’s Republic of China,
India, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan.
25 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist; India AD
Initiation Checklist; Korea AD Initiation Checklist;
PRC AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD
Initiation Checklist.
26 Id.
27 Id.
28 See AD Italy Initiation Checklist; India AD
Initiation Checklist; Korea AD Initiation Checklist;
and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
29 Id; see also Memorandum to the File,
‘‘Telephone Call to Foreign Market Researcher,’’ on
each of the country-specific records, dated June 10,
2015.
30 Id.
31 See AD India Initiation Checklist.
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37231
steel in the respective home markets
were made at prices below the cost of
production. See below for discussion of
NV based on constructed value.
With respect to the PRC, Petitioners
stated that the Department has long
treated the PRC as a non-market
economy (NME) country.32 In
accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of
the Act, the presumption of NME status
remains in effect until revoked by the
Department. The presumption of NME
status for the PRC has not been revoked
by the Department and, therefore,
remains in effect for purposes of the
initiation of this investigation.
Accordingly, the NV of the product is
appropriately based on factors of
production (FOPs) valued in a surrogate
market economy country, in accordance
with section 773(c) of the Act. In the
course of this investigation, all parties,
and the public, will have the
opportunity to provide relevant
information related to the issues of the
PRC’s NME status and the granting of
separate rates to individual exporters.
Petitioners claim that South Africa is
an appropriate surrogate country
because it is a market economy that is
at a level of economic development
comparable to that of the PRC, it is a
significant producer of the merchandise
under consideration, and the data for
valuing FOPs, factory overhead, selling,
general and administrative (SG&A)
expenses and profit are both available
and reliable.33
Based on the information provided by
Petitioners, we believe it is appropriate
to use South Africa as a surrogate
country for initiation purposes.
Interested parties will have the
opportunity to submit comments
regarding surrogate country selection
and, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an
opportunity to submit publicly available
information to value FOPs within 30
days before the scheduled date of the
preliminary determination.34
Factors of Production
Petitioners based the FOPs for
materials, labor, and energy on a
petitioning U.S. producer’s
consumption rates for producing
corrosion-resistant steel as they did not
have access to the consumption rates of
PRC producers of the subject
32 See
Volume II of the Petitions, at 1–2.
at 2.
34 Note that 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(i) is the revised
regulation published on April 1, 2013. See https://
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2013-title19-vol3/
html/CFR-2013-title19-vol3.htm.
33 Id.
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merchandise.35 Petitioners note that the
selected U.S. producer was chosen
because, like the Chinese producer of
the U.S. price offers, the U.S. producer
is a large, integrated producer of subject
merchandise.36 Petitioners value the
estimated factors of production using
surrogate values from South Africa.37
Valuation of Raw Materials
Petitioners valued the FOPs for raw
materials (e.g., coke, iron ore,
aluminum, zinc) using reasonably
available, public import data for South
Africa from the Global Trade Atlas
(GTA) for the period of investigation.38
Petitioners excluded all import values
from countries previously determined
by the Department to maintain broadly
available, non-industry-specific export
subsidies and from countries previously
determined by the Department to be
NME countries. In addition, in
accordance with the Department’s
practice, the average import value
excludes imports that were labeled as
originating from an unidentified
country. The Department determines
that the surrogate values used by
Petitioners are reasonably available and,
thus, are acceptable for purposes of
initiation.
Valuation of Labor
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Petitioners valued labor using South
African labor data published by the
International Labor Organization
(ILO).39 Specifically, Petitioners relied
on industry-specific wage rate data from
Chapter 5A of the ILO’s ‘‘Labor Cost in
Manufacturing’’ publication as South
African wage information was not
available in Chapter 6A of the ILO’s
‘‘Yearbook of Labor Statistics’’
publication.40 As the South African
wage data are monthly data from 2012
in South African Rand, Petitioners
converted the wage rates to hourly,
adjusted for inflation and then
converted to U.S. Dollars using the
average exchange rate during the POI.41
Petitioners then applied that resulting
labor rate to the labor hours expended
by the U.S. producer of corrosionresistant steel.42
35 See Volume II of the Petitions, at Exhibit II–14
(page 1).
36 Id.
37 Id., at Exhibit II–14.
38 See Volume II of the Petitions, at Exhibit II–
14(D).
39 Id., at Exhibit II–14 (page 5 and Exhibit II–
14(E)).
40 Id.
41 Id.
42 Id., at Exhibit II–14(I).
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Valuation of Energy
Petitioners used public information,
as compiled by Eskom (a South African
electricity producer), to value
electricity.43 This 2014–2015 Eskom
price information was converted to U.S.
Dollars and from kilowatt hours to
thousand kilowatt hours in order to be
compared to the U.S producer factor
usage rates.44 The cost of natural gas in
South Africa was calculated from the
average unit value of imports of liquid
natural gas for the period, as reported by
GTA.45 Using universal conversion
factors, Petitioners converted that cost
to the U.S. producer-reported factor unit
of million British thermal units to
ensure the proper comparison.46
Valuation of Factory Overhead, Selling,
General and Administrative Expenses,
and Profit
Petitioners calculated surrogate
financial ratios (i.e., manufacturing
overhead, SG&A expenses, and profit)
using the 2013 audited financial
statement of EVRAZ Highveld Steel and
Vanadium, a South African producer of
comparable merchandise (i.e., flat-rolled
steel).47
Sales-Below-Cost Allegation
For Italy, Korea, and Taiwan,
Petitioners provided information
demonstrating reasonable grounds to
believe or suspect that sales of
corrosion-resistant steel in the
respective home markets were made at
prices below the fully-absorbed COP,
within the meaning of section 773(b) of
the Act, and requested that the
Department conduct country-wide salesbelow-cost investigations.48 For India,
Petitioners did not make a sales-belowcost allegation.
With respect to sales-below-cost
allegations in the context of
investigations, the Statement of
Administrative Action (SAA)
accompanying the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act states that an allegation
of sales below COP need not be specific
to individual exporters or producers.49
The SAA states further that ‘‘Commerce
will consider allegations of below-cost
sales in the aggregate for a foreign
country . . . on a country-wide basis for
purposes of initiating an antidumping
43 Id.,
44 Id.,
at Exhibit II–14(F).
at Exhibit II–14 (page 7 and Exhibit II–
14(F)).
45 Id., at Exhibit II–14(G).
46 Id., at Exhibit II–14 (page 7).
47 Id., at Exhibit II–14 (page 8 and Exhibit II–
14(H)).
48 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist; Korea AD
Initiation Checklist; and Taiwan AD Initiation
Checklist.
49 See SAA, H.R. Doc. No. 103–316, at 833 (1994).
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investigation.’’ 50 Consequently, the
Department intends to consider
Petitioners’ allegations on a countrywide basis for each respective country
for purposes of this initiation.
Finally, the SAA provides that section
773(b)(2)(A) of the Act retains the
requirement that the Department have
‘‘reasonable grounds to believe or
suspect that below-cost sales have
occurred before initiating such an
investigation.’’ 51 ‘‘Reasonable grounds’’
will exist when an interested party
provides specific factual information on
costs and prices, observed or
constructed, indicating that sales in the
foreign market in question are at belowcost prices.52 As explained below, we
find reasonable grounds exist that
indicate home market sales in Italy,
Korea, and Taiwan, were at below-cost
prices.
Cost of Production
Pursuant to section 773(b)(3) of the
Act, COP consists of the cost of
manufacturing (COM); SG&A expenses;
financial expenses; and packing
expenses. Petitioners calculated COM
based on Petitioners’ experience
adjusted for known differences between
their industry in the United States and
the industries of the respective country
(i.e., Italy, Korea, and Taiwan), during
the proposed POI.53 Using publiclyavailable data to account for price
differences, Petitioners multiplied their
usage quantities by the submitted value
of the inputs used to manufacture
corrosion-resistant steel in each
country.54 For Italy and Korea, to
determine factory overhead, SG&A, and
financial expense rates, Petitioners
relied on financial statements of
producers of comparable merchandise
operating in the respective foreign
country.55 For Taiwan, Petitioners used
the factory overhead rate experienced at
its own factory. To determine SG&A and
financial expense rates for Taiwan,
Petitioners relied on financial
statements of a producer of comparable
merchandise operating in Taiwan.
Based upon a comparison of the
prices of the foreign like product in the
home market to the calculated COP of
the most comparable product, we find
reasonable grounds to believe or suspect
that sales of the foreign like products
were made at prices that are below the
COP, within the meaning of section
50 Id.
51 Id.
52 Id.
53 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist; Korea AD
Initiation Checklist; and Taiwan AD Initiation
Checklist.
54 Id.
55 Id.
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773(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Act. Accordingly,
the Department is initiating countrywide cost investigations on sales of
corrosion-resistant steel from Italy,
Korea, and Taiwan.
Normal Value Based on Constructed
Value
For Italy, Korea, and Taiwan, because
they alleged sales below cost, pursuant
to sections 773(a)(4), 773(b), and 773(e)
of the Act, Petitioners calculated NV
based on constructed value (CV).
Petitioners calculated CV using the
same average COM, SG&A, and financial
expenses, to calculate COP.56
Petitioners relied on the financial
statements of the same producers that
they used for calculating manufacturing
overhead, SG&A, and financial expenses
to calculate the profit rate.57
Fair Value Comparisons
Based on the data provided by
Petitioners, there is reason to believe
that imports of corrosion-resistant steel
from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and
Taiwan, are being, or are likely to be,
sold in the United States at less-thanfair value. Based on comparisons of EP
to NV in accordance with section 773(a)
of the Act, the estimated dumping
margin(s) for corrosion-resistant steel
range from: (1) Italy range from 119.68
to 126.75 percent; 58 (2) India is 71.09
percent; 59 (3) Korea range from 46.80 to
86.34 percent; 60 (4) Taiwan is 86.17
percent.61
Based on comparisons of EP to NV, in
accordance with section 773(c) of the
Act, the estimated dumping margins for
corrosion-resistant steel from the PRC
range from 114.06 to 126.34 percent.62
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Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations
Based upon the examination of the
AD Petitions on corrosion-resistant steel
from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and
Taiwan, we find that Petitions meet the
requirements of section 732 of the Act.
Therefore, we are initiating AD
investigations to determine whether
imports of corrosion-resistant steel from
Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and
Taiwan, are being, or are likely to be,
sold in the United States at less-thanfair value. In accordance with section
733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.205(b)(1), unless postponed, we will
make our preliminary determinations no
56 Id.
57 Id.
Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
India AD Initiation Checklist.
60 See Korea AD Initiation Checklist.
61 See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
62 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.
later than 140 days after the date of this
initiation.
Respondent Selection
Petitioners named seven companies
from Italy, 26 companies from India, 11
companies from Korea, and eight
companies from Taiwan, as producers/
exporters of corrosion-resistant steel.63
Following standard practice in AD
investigations involving ME countries,
the Department intends to select
respondents based on U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) data for U.S.
imports under the appropriate HTSUS
numbers listed in the ‘‘Scope of
Investigations’’ section above. We
intend to release the CBP data under
Administrative Protective Order (APO)
to all parties with access to information
protected by APO within five days of
publication of this Federal Register
notice and make our decision regarding
respondent selection within 20 days of
publication of this notice.
We invite interested parties to
comment on this issue. Parties wishing
to comment must do so within five days
of the publication of this notice in the
Federal Register. Comments must be
filed electronically using ACCESS. An
electronically-filed document must be
received successfully in its entirety by
the Department’s electronic records
system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. EDT by the
date noted above.
With respect to the PRC, Petitioners
named 147 companies as producers/
exporters of corrosion-resistant steel.64
In accordance with our standard
practice for respondent selection in
cases involving NME countries, we
intend to issue quantity-and-value
(Q&V) questionnaires to each potential
respondent and base respondent
selection on the responses received. In
addition, the Department will post the
Q&V questionnaire along with filing
instructions on the Enforcement and
Compliance Web site at https://
www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp.
Exporters/producers of corrosionresistant steel from the PRC that do not
receive Q&V questionnaires by mail may
still submit a response to the Q&V
questionnaire and can obtain a copy
from the Enforcement and Compliance
Web site. The Q&V response must be
submitted by all PRC exporters/
producers no later than July 7, 2015,
which is two weeks from the signature
date of this notice. All Q&V responses
must be filed electronically via
ACCESS.
58 See
59 See
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63 See the Volume I of the Petitions, at 15 and
Exhibit 1–8 through I–11.
64 See the Volume I of the Petitions, at 15 and
Exhibit 1–8.
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Separate Rates
In order to obtain separate-rate status
in an NME investigation, exporters and
producers must submit a separate-rate
application.65 The specific requirements
for submitting a separate-rate
application in the PRC investigation are
outlined in detail in the application
itself, which is available on the
Department’s Web site at https://
enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-seprate.html. The separate-rate application
will be due 30 days after publication of
this initiation notice.66 Exporters and
producers who submit a separate-rate
application and have been selected as
mandatory respondents will be eligible
for consideration for separate-rate status
only if they respond to all parts of the
Department’s AD questionnaire as
mandatory respondents. The
Department requires that respondents
from the PRC submit a response to both
the Q&V questionnaire and the separaterate application by their respective
deadlines in order to receive
consideration for separate-rate status.
Use of Combination Rates
The Department will calculate
combination rates for certain
respondents that are eligible for a
separate rate in an NME investigation.
The Separate Rates and Combination
Rates Bulletin states:
{w}hile continuing the practice of
assigning separate rates only to exporters, all
separate rates that the Department will now
assign in its NME Investigation 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.67
65 See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates
Practice and Application of Combination Rates in
Antidumping Investigation involving Non-Market
Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at
https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf
(Policy Bulletin 05.1).
66 Although in past investigations this deadline
was 60 days, consistent with section 351.301 (a) of
the Department’s regulations, which states that ‘‘the
Secretary may request any person to submit factual
information at any time during a proceeding,’’ this
deadline is now 30 days.
67 See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).
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Distribution of Copies of the Petitions
In accordance with section
732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.202(f), copies of the public version
of the Petitions have been provided to
the Taiwan Authorities and the
governments of Italy, India, the PRC,
and Korea via ACCESS. To the extent
practicable, we will attempt to provide
a copy of the public version of the
Petitions to each exporter named in the
Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR
351.203(c)(2).
ITC Notification
We have notified the ITC of our
initiation, as required by section 732(d)
of the Act.
Preliminary Determinations by the ITC
The ITC will preliminarily determine,
within 45 days after the date on which
the Petitions were filed, whether there
is a reasonable indication that imports
of corrosion-resistant steel from Italy,
India, the PRC, Korean, and/or Taiwan
are materially injuring or threatening
material injury to a U.S. industry.68 A
negative ITC determination for any
country will result in the investigation
being terminated with respect to that
country; 69 otherwise, these
investigations will proceed according to
statutory and regulatory time limits.
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Submission of Factual Information
Factual information is defined in 19
CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) Evidence
submitted in response to questionnaires;
(ii) evidence submitted in support of
allegations; (iii) publicly available
information to value factors under 19
CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR
351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence placed on
the record by the Department; and (v)
evidence other than factual information
described in (i)–(iv). The regulation
requires any party, when submitting
factual information, to specify under
which subsection of 19 CFR
351.102(b)(21) the information is being
submitted and, if the information is
submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct
factual information already on the
record, to provide an explanation
identifying the information already on
the record that the factual information
seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct. Time
limits for the submission of factual
information are addressed in 19 CFR
351.301, which provides specific time
limits based on the type of factual
information being submitted. Please
review the regulations prior to
68 See
section 733(a) of the Act.
69 Id.
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submitting factual information in these
investigations.
Extensions of Time Limits
Parties may request an extension of
time limits before the expiration of a
time limit established under Part 351, or
as otherwise specified by the Secretary.
In general, an extension request will be
considered untimely if it is filed after
the expiration of the time limit
established under Part 351 expires. For
submissions that are due from multiple
parties simultaneously, an extension
request will be considered untimely if it
is filed after 10:00 a.m. on the due date.
Under certain circumstances, we may
elect to specify a different time limit by
which extension requests will be
considered untimely for submissions
which are due from multiple parties
simultaneously. In such a case, we will
inform parties in the letter or
memorandum setting forth the deadline
(including a specified time) by which
extension requests must be filed to be
considered timely. An extension request
must be made in a separate, stand-alone
submission; under limited
circumstances we will grant untimelyfiled requests for the extension of time
limits. Review Extension of Time Limits;
Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 20,
2013), available at https://www.gpo.gov/
fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/201322853.htm, prior to submitting factual
information in this segment.
Certification Requirements
Any party submitting factual
information in an AD or CVD
proceeding must certify to the accuracy
and completeness of that information.70
Parties are hereby reminded that revised
certification requirements are in effect
for company/government officials, as
well as their representatives.
Investigations initiated on the basis of
petitions filed on or after August 16,
2013, and other segments of any AD or
CVD proceedings initiated on or after
August 16, 2013, should use the formats
for the revised certifications provided at
the end of the Final Rule.71 The
Department intends to reject factual
submissions if the submitting party does
not comply with applicable revised
certification requirements.
70 See
section 782(b) of the Act.
Certification of Factual Information to
Import Administration during Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July
17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also frequently asked
questions regarding the Final Rule, available at
https://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_
info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.
71 See
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Notification to Interested Parties
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). Parties wishing to participate
in these investigations should ensure
that they meet the requirements of these
procedures (e.g., the filing of letters of
appearance as discussed in 19 CFR
351.103(d)).
This notice is issued and published
pursuant to section 777(i) of the Act.
Dated: June 23, 2015.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigations
The products covered by these
investigations are certain flat-rolled steel
products, either clad, plated, or coated with
corrosion-resistant metals such as zinc,
aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or
iron-based alloys, whether or not corrugated
or painted, varnished, laminated, or coated
with plastics or other non-metallic
substances in addition to the metallic
coating. The products covered include coils
that have a width of 12.7 mm or greater,
regardless of form of coil (e.g., in
successively superimposed layers, spirally
oscillating, etc.). The products covered also
include products not in coils (e.g., in straight
lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and
a width that is 12.7 mm or greater and that
measures at least 10 times the thickness. The
products covered also include products not
in coils (e.g., in straight lengths) of a
thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a width
exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least
twice the thickness. The products described
above may be rectangular, square, circular, or
other shape and include products of either
rectangular or non-rectangular cross-section
where such cross-section is achieved
subsequent to the rolling process, i.e.,
products which have been ‘‘worked after
rolling’’ (e.g., products which have been
beveled or rounded at the edges). For
purposes of the width and thickness
requirements referenced above:
(1) Where the nominal and actual
measurements vary, a product is within the
scope if application of either the nominal or
actual measurement would place it within
the scope based on the definitions set forth
above, and
(2) where the width and thickness vary for
a specific product (e.g., the thickness of
certain products with non-rectangular crosssection, the width of certain products with
non-rectangular shape, etc.), the
measurement at its greatest width or
thickness applies.
Steel products included in the scope of
these investigations are products in which:
(1) Iron predominates, by weight, over each
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of the other contained elements; (2) the
carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight;
and (3) none of the elements listed below
exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively
indicated:
• 2.50 percent of manganese, or
• 3.30 percent of silicon, or
• 1.50 percent of copper, or
• 1.50 percent of aluminum, or
• 1.25 percent of chromium, or
• 0.30 percent of cobalt, or
• 0.40 percent of lead, or
• 2.00 percent of nickel, or
• 0.30 percent of tungsten (also called
wolfram), or
• 0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
• 0.10 percent of niobium (also called
columbium), or
• 0.30 percent of vanadium, or
• 0.30 percent of zirconium
Unless specifically excluded, products are
included in this scope regardless of levels of
boron and titanium.
For example, specifically included in this
scope are vacuum degassed, fully stabilized
(commonly referred to as interstitial-free (IF))
steels and high strength low alloy (HSLA)
steels. IF steels are recognized as low carbon
steels with micro-alloying levels of elements
such as titanium and/or niobium added to
stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements.
HSLA steels are recognized as steels with
micro-alloying levels of elements such as
chromium, copper, niobium, titanium,
vanadium, and molybdenum.
Furthermore, this scope also includes
Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) and
Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS), both of
which are considered high tensile strength
and high elongation steels.
All products that meet the written physical
description, and in which the chemistry
quantities do not exceed any one of the noted
element levels listed above, are within the
scope of these investigations unless
specifically excluded. The following
products are outside of and/or specifically
excluded from the scope of these
investigations:
• Flat-rolled steel products either plated or
coated with tin, lead, chromium, chromium
oxides, both tin and lead (‘‘terne plate’’), or
both chromium and chromium oxides (‘‘tin
free steel’’), whether or not painted,
varnished or coated with plastics or other
non-metallic substances in addition to the
metallic coating;
• Clad products in straight lengths of
4.7625 mm or more in composite thickness
and of a width which exceeds 150 mm and
measures at least twice the thickness; and
• Certain clad stainless flat-rolled
products, which are three-layered corrosionresistant flat-rolled steel products less than
4.75 mm in composite thickness that consist
of a flat-rolled steel product clad on both
sides with stainless steel in a 20%–60%–
20% ratio.
The products subject to the investigations
are currently classified in the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
under item numbers: 7210.30.0030,
7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030,
7210.49.0091, 7210.49.0095, 7210.61.0000,
7210.69.0000, 7210.70.6030, 7210.70.6060,
7210.70.6090, 7210.90.6000, 7210.90.9000,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:34 Jun 29, 2015
Jkt 235001
7212.20.0000, 7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090,
7212.30.3000, 7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000,
7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, and
7212.60.0000.
The products subject to the investigations
may also enter under the following HTSUS
item numbers: 7210.90.1000, 7215.90.1000,
7215.90.3000, 7215.90.5000, 7217.20.1500,
7217.30.1530, 7217.30.1560, 7217.90.1000,
7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060, 7217.90.5090,
7225.91.0000, 7225.92.0000, 7225.99.0090,
7226.99.0110, 7226.99.0130, 7226.99.0180,
7228.60.6000, 7228.60.8000, and
7229.90.1000.
The HTSUS subheadings above are
provided for convenience and customs
purposes only. The written description of the
scope of the investigations is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2015–16061 Filed 6–29–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
[RIN 0648–XA756]
Marine Mammals; File No. 15537
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comment on
permit amendment.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
NMFS is considering an amendment to
Permit No. 15337 issued to the Institute
for Marine Mammal Studies (IMMS),
P.O. Box 207, Gulfport, MS 39502 (Dr.
Moby Solangi, Responsible Party). This
permit authorizes the acquisition of
stranded, releasable California sea lions
(Zalophus californianus) from the
National Marine Mammal Health and
Stranding Response Program for the
purposes of public display. The permit
amendment is in response to a court
decision to remand this permit to NMFS
for reconsideration.
DATES: Written, telefaxed, or email
comments must be received on or before
July 30, 2015.
ADDRESSES: The current permit and
related documents are available for
review online at https://
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/permits/
review.htm or upon written request or
by appointment in the following office:
Permits and Conservation Division,
Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,
1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705,
Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone (301)
427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Skidmore or Amy Sloan, (301)
427–8401.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00017
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
37235
The
permit was issued on October 5, 2011,
under the authority of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as
amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and
the regulations governing the taking and
importing of marine mammals (50 CFR
part 216). NMFS received several
comments from members of the Marine
Mammal Stranding Network and animal
welfare organizations during the 30-day
public comment period for the
application that objected to animals
undergoing rehabilitation and deemed
fit for return to the wild being placed in
public display, which commenters said
contradicts the goals and mission of the
Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
Based in part on those comments and as
explained in the memorandum
documenting the decision on this
permit, we included the following
conditions in the permit:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Condition B.2: This permit does not
guarantee that the Permit Holder will be able
to obtain any releasable sea lions from
rehabilitation facilities, and does not require
NMFS to direct any rehabilitation facilities to
provide the Permit Holder with releasable sea
lions. Thus, NMFS will not make
arrangements for animals to be provided to
IMMS, and rehabilitation facilities are under
no obligation to provide animals to fulfill this
permit. And Condition B.3: The Permit
Holder is solely responsible for entering into
cooperative agreements with partnering
rehabilitation facilities, and must work
directly with the facilities to be notified of
any potential candidate animals to be
acquired under this Permit.
After NMFS issued the permit, IMMS
challenged the above provisions in U.S.
District Court. As described in the
Court’s opinion, the Court remanded the
permit to NMFS for reconsideration.
IMMS v. NMFS, No. 1:11CV318–LG–JMR
(S.D. Miss. 2014). NMFS is, therefore,
proposing to remove Permit Condition
B.3 and amend Permit Condition B.2 of
the issued permit to state the following:
Condition B.2: This permit does not
guarantee that the Permit Holder will be able
to obtain any releasable sea lions from
rehabilitation facilities, and does not require
NMFS to direct or make arrangements for any
rehabilitation facilities to provide the Permit
Holder with releasable sea lions. Since NMFS
does not maintain real-time information
regarding releasable sea lions in the stranding
network, the Permit Holder should work
initially with the rehabilitation facilities to be
notified of any potential candidate animals to
be acquired under this Permit. Final
decisions with respect to use of rehabilitated
marine mammals for public display purposes
in lieu of take from the wild are at the
ultimate discretion of the Office Director in
accordance with 50 CFR 216.27(b)(4).
In accordance with NMFS’
Memorandum in Opposition to Motion
to Alter or Amend the Court’s Judgment
E:\FR\FM\30JNN1.SGM
30JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 125 (Tuesday, June 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37228-37235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-16061]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-475-832, A-533-863, A-570-026, A-580-878, A-583-856]
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Italy, India, the
People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan:
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES: Effective Date: June 30, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia Hancock or Susan Pulongbarit at
(202) 482-1394 and (202) 482-4031, respectively (Italy), Alexis
Polovina at (202) 482-3927 (India); David Lindgren at (202) 482-3870
(the People's Republic of China (PRC)); David Lindgren at (202) 482-
3870 (the Republic of Korea (Korea)); or Brendan Quinn or Paul Stolz at
(202) 482-5848 and (202) 482-4474, respectively (Taiwan), AD/CVD
Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce,
14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Petitions
On June 3, 2015, the Department of Commerce (the Department)
received antidumping duty (AD) petitions concerning imports of certain
corrosion-resistant steel products (corrosion-resistant steel) from
Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, filed in proper form on
behalf of United States Steel Corporation, Nucor Corporation,
ArcelorMittal USA, AK Steel Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc., and
California Steel Industries, Inc., (Petitioners).\1\ The AD petitions
were accompanied by five countervailing duty (CVD) petitions.\2\
Petitioners are domestic producers of corrosion-resistant steel.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on
Imports of Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Italy,
India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, dated June 3, 2015 (the
Petitions).
\2\ See the Petitions for the Imposition of Countervailing
Duties on Imports of Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from
Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, dated June 3, 2015.
\3\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2, and Exhibit I-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On June 9, 2015, and June 10, 2015, the Department requested
additional information and clarification of certain areas of the
Petitions.\4\ Petitioners filed
[[Page 37229]]
responses to these requests on June 12, 2015.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See Letter from the Department to Petitioners entitled ``Re:
Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Italy, India, the
PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, and Countervailing Duties on Imports of
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Italy, India, the
PRC, Korea, and Taiwan: Supplemental Questions'' dated June 9, 2015,
and June 10, 2015; (General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire), and
Letters from the Department to Petitioners entitled ``Re: Petition
for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of Certain
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from {country{time} :
Supplemental Questions'' on each of the country-specific records,
dated June 9, 2015.
\5\ See Response to the Department's June 9, 2015 Questionnaire
Regarding Volume I of the Petitions for the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duties, dated June12, 2015 (General Issues
Supplement); see also Response to the Department's June 9, 2015
Questionnaires Regarding Volumes II, IV, VI, VIII, X, of the
Petitions for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duties, dated June
12, 2015.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act), Petitioners allege that imports of corrosion-
resistant steel from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair
value within the meaning of section 731 of the Act, and that such
imports are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, an
industry in the United States. Also, consistent with section 732(b)(1)
of the Act, the Petitions are accompanied by information reasonably
available to Petitioners supporting their allegations.
The Department finds that Petitioners filed these Petitions on
behalf of the domestic industry because Petitioners are interested
parties as defined in section 771(9)(C) of the Act. The Department also
finds that Petitioners demonstrated sufficient industry support with
respect to the initiation of the AD investigations that Petitioners are
requesting.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See the ``Determination of Industry Support for the
Petitions'' section below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Periods of Investigation
Because the Petitions were filed on June 3, 2015, the periods of
investigation (POI) are, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), as follows:
April 1, 2014, through March 31, 2015, for Italy, India, Korea, and
Taiwan, and October 1, 2014, through March 31, 2015, for the PRC.
Scope of the Investigations
The product covered by these investigations is corrosion-resistant
steel from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan. For a full
description of the scope of these investigations, see the ``Scope of
the Investigations,'' in Appendix I of this notice.
Comments on Scope of the Investigations
During our review of the Petitions, the Department issued questions
to, and received responses from, Petitioners pertaining to the proposed
scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petitions would be an
accurate reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is
seeking relief.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire; see also
General Issues Supplement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As discussed in the preamble to the Department's regulations, we
are setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues
regarding product coverage (scope). The period for scope comments is
intended to provide the Department with ample opportunity to consider
all comments and to consult with parties prior to the issuance of the
preliminary determination. If scope comments include factual
information (see 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21)), all such factual information
should be limited to public information. All such comments must be
filed by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Tuesday, July 14,
2015, which is 21 calendar days from the signature date of this notice.
Any rebuttal comments, which may include factual information, must be
filed by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, July 24, 2015, which is 10 calendar
days after the initial comments.
The Department requests that any factual information the parties
consider relevant to the scope of the investigations be submitted
during this time period. However, if a party subsequently finds that
additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the
investigations may be relevant, the party may contact the Department
and request permission to submit the additional information. All such
comments must be filed on the records of each of the concurrent AD and
CVD investigations.
Filing Requirements
All submissions to the Department must be filed electronically
using Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).\8\ An electronically
filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the
time and date when it is due. Documents excepted from the electronic
submission requirements must be filed manually (i.e., in paper form)
with Enforcement and Compliance's APO/Dockets Unit, Room 18022, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230, and stamped with the date and time of receipt by
the applicable deadlines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011) for details of the
Department's electronic filing requirements, which went into effect
on August 5, 2011. Information on help using ACCESS can be found at
https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook can be found at
https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20Filling%20Procedures.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comments on Product Characteristics for AD Questionnaires
The Department requests comments from interested parties regarding
the appropriate physical characteristics of corrosion-resistant steel
to be reported in response to the Department's AD questionnaires. This
information will be used to identify the key physical characteristics
of the subject merchandise in order to report the relevant factors and
costs of production accurately as well as to develop appropriate
product-comparison criteria.
Interested parties may provide any information or comments that
they feel are relevant to the development of an accurate list of
physical characteristics. Specifically, they may provide comments as to
which characteristics are appropriate to use as: (1) General product
characteristics and (2) product-comparison criteria. We note that it is
not always appropriate to use all product characteristics as product-
comparison criteria. We base product-comparison criteria on meaningful
commercial differences among products. In other words, although there
may be some physical product characteristics utilized by manufacturers
to describe corrosion-resistant steel, it may be that only a select few
product characteristics take into account commercially meaningful
physical characteristics. In addition, interested parties may comment
on the order in which the physical characteristics should be used in
matching products. Generally, the Department attempts to list the most
important physical characteristics first and the least important
characteristics last.
In order to consider the suggestions of interested parties in
developing and issuing the AD questionnaires, all comments must be
filed by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 14, 2015, which is 21 calendar
days from the signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments must
be filed by 5:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 21, 2015. All comments and
submissions to the Department must be filed electronically using
ACCESS, as explained above, on the records of the Italy, India, the
PRC, Korea, and Taiwan less-than-fair-value investigations.
[[Page 37230]]
Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions
Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act
provides that a petition meets this requirement if the domestic
producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) At least
25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and
(ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support
for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of
the Act provides that, if the petition does not establish support of
domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of
the total production of the domestic like product, the Department
shall: (i) Poll the industry or rely on other information in order to
determine if there is support for the petition, as required by
subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine industry support using a
statistically valid sampling method to poll the ``industry.''
Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute
directs the Department to look to producers and workers who produce the
domestic like product. The International Trade Commission (ITC), which
is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry'' has
been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like
product in order to define the industry. While both the Department and
the ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic
like product,\9\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a
separate and distinct authority. In addition, the Department's
determination is subject to limitations of time and information.
Although this may result in different definitions of the like product,
such differences do not render the decision of either agency contrary
to law.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
\10\ See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT
2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 688 F.
Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation
under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which the domestic
like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to an
investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the
Petitions).
With regard to the domestic like product, Petitioners do not offer
a definition of the domestic like product distinct from the scope of
the investigations. Based on our analysis of the information submitted
on the record, we have determined that corrosion-resistant steel
constitutes a single domestic like product and we have analyzed
industry support in terms of that domestic like product.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis in
this case, see Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist:
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the People's
Republic of China (PRC AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II,
Analysis of Industry Support for the Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Petitions Covering Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products
from the People's Republic of China, India, Italy, the Republic of
Korea, and Taiwan (Attachment II); Antidumping Duty Investigation
Initiation Checklist: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products
from India (India AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II;
Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Italy (Italy AD Initiation
Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty Investigation
Initiation Checklist: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products
from the Republic of Korea (Korea AD Initiation Checklist), at
Attachment II; and Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation
Checklist: Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from Taiwan
(Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist). These checklists are dated
concurrently with this notice and on file electronically via ACCESS.
Access to documents filed via ACCESS is also available in the
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce
building.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In determining whether Petitioners have standing under section
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered the industry support data
contained in the Petitions with reference to the domestic like product
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' in Appendix I of
this notice. Petitioners provided their shipments of the domestic like
product in 2014, and estimated total shipments of the domestic like
product for the entire domestic industry using data from the American
Iron and Steel Institute and the ITC.\12\ To establish industry
support, Petitioners compared their own shipments to estimated total
shipments of the domestic like product for the entire domestic
industry.\13\ Because data regarding total production of the domestic
like product are not reasonably available to Petitioners and
Petitioners have established that shipments are a reasonable proxy for
production, we have relied on the shipment data provided by Petitioners
for purposes of measuring industry support.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2-3 and Exhibits I-3 to
I-5; see also General Issues Supplement, at 12-14 and Exhibits Supp.
I-3, Supp. I-40 to Supp. I-42, and Supp. I-45.
\13\ Id.
\14\ For further discussion, see PRC AD Initiation Checklist,
India AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Korea
AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at
Attachment II.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On June 12, 2015, we received a submission from Thomas Steel Strip
Corporation (Thomas) and Apollo Metals, Ltd. (Apollo), domestic
producers of corrosion-resistant steel. In the submission, Thomas and
Apollo state that they support the Petitions for the imposition of
antidumping and countervailing duties on corrosion-resistant steel from
the PRC, Korea, Italy and Taiwan. Thomas and Apollo do not express a
view with respect to the Petitions for the imposition of antidumping
and countervailing duties on corrosion-resistant steel from India. In
addition, Thomas and Apollo provide their 2014 production of the
domestic like product.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ See Letter to the Department from Thomas Steel Strip
Corporation and Apollo Metals, Ltd., entitled ``Corrosion-Resistant
Steel Products from the People's Republic of China, the Republic of
Korea, Italy, and Taiwan: Statement of Support for the Petitions and
Comments Concerning Nickel-Plated Steel Products,'' dated June 12,
2015.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We have relied on the data provided by Petitioners, Thomas, and
Apollo for purposes of measuring industry support.\16\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist, India AD Initiation
Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, General Issues
Supplement, submission from Thomas and Apollo, and other information
readily available to the Department indicates that Petitioners have
established industry support for all of the Petitions.\17\ First, the
Petitions established support from domestic producers (or workers)
accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of the
domestic like product and, as such, the Department is not required to
take further action in order to evaluate industry support (e.g.,
polling).\18\ Second, the domestic producers (or workers) have met the
statutory criteria for industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i)
of the Act for all of the Petitions because the domestic producers (or
workers) who support each of the Petitions account for
[[Page 37231]]
at least 25 percent of the total production of the domestic like
product.\19\ Finally, the domestic producers (or workers) have met the
statutory criteria for industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii)
of the Act for all of the Petitions because the domestic producers (or
workers) who support each of the Petitions account for more than 50
percent of the production of the domestic like product produced by that
portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the
Petitions.\20\ Accordingly, the Department determines that the
Petitions were filed on behalf of the domestic industry within the
meaning of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist, India AD Initiation
Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
\18\ See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also Italy AD
Initiation Checklist, India AD Initiation Checklist, PRC AD
Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
\19\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist, India AD Initiation
Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
\20\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Department finds that Petitioners filed the Petitions on behalf
of the domestic industry because they are interested parties as defined
in section 771(9)(C) of the Act and they have demonstrated sufficient
industry support with respect to the AD investigations that they are
requesting the Department initiate.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation
Petitioners allege that the U.S. industry producing the domestic
like product is being materially injured, or is threatened with
material injury, by reason of the imports of the subject merchandise
sold at less than normal value (NV). In addition, Petitioners allege
that subject imports exceed the negligibility threshold provided for
under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.\22\ Petitioners contend that the
industry's injured condition is illustrated by reduced market share;
underselling and price suppression or depression; lost sales and
revenues; oversupply and inventory overhang in the U.S. market; and
adverse impact on domestic industry performance.\23\ We have assessed
the allegations and supporting evidence regarding material injury,
threat of material injury, and causation, and we have determined that
these allegations are properly supported by adequate evidence and meet
the statutory requirements for initiation.\24\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\22\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 24 (footnote 87) and
Exhibit I-27.
\23\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 17-19, 24-43 and Exhibits
I-5, I-12 and I-18 through I-27; see also General Issues Supplement,
at 1 and Exhibits Supp. I-18, Supp. I-25, Supp. I-26, and Supp. I-
28.
\24\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, India AD Initiation
Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III,
Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and
Causation for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions
Covering Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the
People's Republic of China, India, Italy, the Republic of Korea, and
Taiwan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allegations of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value
The following is a description of the allegations of sales at less-
than-fair value upon which the Department based its decision to
initiate investigations of imports of corrosion-resistant steel from
Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan. The sources of data for the
deductions and adjustments relating to U.S. price and NV are discussed
in greater detail in the country-specific initiation checklists.
Export Price
For Italy, India, Korea, the PRC and Taiwan, Petitioners based EP
U.S. prices on price quotes/offers for sales of corrosion-resistant
steel produced in, and exported from, the subject country.\25\
Petitioners made deductions from U.S. price for movement expenses
consistent with the delivery terms.\26\ Where applicable, Petitioners
also deducted from U.S. price trading company/distributor/reseller
mark-ups estimated using Petitioners' knowledge of the U.S.
industry.\27\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist; India AD Initiation
Checklist; Korea AD Initiation Checklist; PRC AD Initiation
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
\26\ Id.
\27\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Normal Value
For Italy, India, Korea, and Taiwan Petitioners provided home
market price information obtained through market research for
corrosion-resistant steel produced in and offered for sale in each of
these countries.\28\ For each country, Petitioners provided an
affidavit or declaration from a market researcher for the price
information.\29\ Additionally, Petitioners made deductions for movement
expenses consistent with the terms of delivery, where applicable.\30\
For India, Petitioners made a distributor mark-up adjustment to the
price.\31\ Petitioners made no other adjustments to the prices. For
India, Petitioners based NV on the adjusted price. For Italy, Korea and
Taiwan, Petitioners alleged that sales of corrosion-resistant steel in
the respective home markets were made at prices below the cost of
production. See below for discussion of NV based on constructed value.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\ See AD Italy Initiation Checklist; India AD Initiation
Checklist; Korea AD Initiation Checklist; and Taiwan AD Initiation
Checklist.
\29\ Id; see also Memorandum to the File, ``Telephone Call to
Foreign Market Researcher,'' on each of the country-specific
records, dated June 10, 2015.
\30\ Id.
\31\ See AD India Initiation Checklist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to the PRC, Petitioners stated that the Department has
long treated the PRC as a non-market economy (NME) country.\32\ In
accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, the presumption of
NME status remains in effect until revoked by the Department. The
presumption of NME status for the PRC has not been revoked by the
Department and, therefore, remains in effect for purposes of the
initiation of this investigation. Accordingly, the NV of the product is
appropriately based on factors of production (FOPs) valued in a
surrogate market economy country, in accordance with section 773(c) of
the Act. In the course of this investigation, all parties, and the
public, will have the opportunity to provide relevant information
related to the issues of the PRC's NME status and the granting of
separate rates to individual exporters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\32\ See Volume II of the Petitions, at 1-2.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Petitioners claim that South Africa is an appropriate surrogate
country because it is a market economy that is at a level of economic
development comparable to that of the PRC, it is a significant producer
of the merchandise under consideration, and the data for valuing FOPs,
factory overhead, selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses
and profit are both available and reliable.\33\
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\33\ Id. at 2.
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Based on the information provided by Petitioners, we believe it is
appropriate to use South Africa as a surrogate country for initiation
purposes. Interested parties will have the opportunity to submit
comments regarding surrogate country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an opportunity to submit publicly
available information to value FOPs within 30 days before the scheduled
date of the preliminary determination.\34\
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\34\ Note that 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(i) is the revised regulation
published on April 1, 2013. See https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2013-title19-vol3/html/CFR-2013-title19-vol3.htm.
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Factors of Production
Petitioners based the FOPs for materials, labor, and energy on a
petitioning U.S. producer's consumption rates for producing corrosion-
resistant steel as they did not have access to the consumption rates of
PRC producers of the subject
[[Page 37232]]
merchandise.\35\ Petitioners note that the selected U.S. producer was
chosen because, like the Chinese producer of the U.S. price offers, the
U.S. producer is a large, integrated producer of subject
merchandise.\36\ Petitioners value the estimated factors of production
using surrogate values from South Africa.\37\
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\35\ See Volume II of the Petitions, at Exhibit II-14 (page 1).
\36\ Id.
\37\ Id., at Exhibit II-14.
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Valuation of Raw Materials
Petitioners valued the FOPs for raw materials (e.g., coke, iron
ore, aluminum, zinc) using reasonably available, public import data for
South Africa from the Global Trade Atlas (GTA) for the period of
investigation.\38\ Petitioners excluded all import values from
countries previously determined by the Department to maintain broadly
available, non-industry-specific export subsidies and from countries
previously determined by the Department to be NME countries. In
addition, in accordance with the Department's practice, the average
import value excludes imports that were labeled as originating from an
unidentified country. The Department determines that the surrogate
values used by Petitioners are reasonably available and, thus, are
acceptable for purposes of initiation.
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\38\ See Volume II of the Petitions, at Exhibit II-14(D).
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Valuation of Labor
Petitioners valued labor using South African labor data published
by the International Labor Organization (ILO).\39\ Specifically,
Petitioners relied on industry-specific wage rate data from Chapter 5A
of the ILO's ``Labor Cost in Manufacturing'' publication as South
African wage information was not available in Chapter 6A of the ILO's
``Yearbook of Labor Statistics'' publication.\40\ As the South African
wage data are monthly data from 2012 in South African Rand, Petitioners
converted the wage rates to hourly, adjusted for inflation and then
converted to U.S. Dollars using the average exchange rate during the
POI.\41\ Petitioners then applied that resulting labor rate to the
labor hours expended by the U.S. producer of corrosion-resistant
steel.\42\
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\39\ Id., at Exhibit II-14 (page 5 and Exhibit II-14(E)).
\40\ Id.
\41\ Id.
\42\ Id., at Exhibit II-14(I).
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Valuation of Energy
Petitioners used public information, as compiled by Eskom (a South
African electricity producer), to value electricity.\43\ This 2014-2015
Eskom price information was converted to U.S. Dollars and from kilowatt
hours to thousand kilowatt hours in order to be compared to the U.S
producer factor usage rates.\44\ The cost of natural gas in South
Africa was calculated from the average unit value of imports of liquid
natural gas for the period, as reported by GTA.\45\ Using universal
conversion factors, Petitioners converted that cost to the U.S.
producer-reported factor unit of million British thermal units to
ensure the proper comparison.\46\
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\43\ Id., at Exhibit II-14(F).
\44\ Id., at Exhibit II-14 (page 7 and Exhibit II-14(F)).
\45\ Id., at Exhibit II-14(G).
\46\ Id., at Exhibit II-14 (page 7).
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Valuation of Factory Overhead, Selling, General and Administrative
Expenses, and Profit
Petitioners calculated surrogate financial ratios (i.e.,
manufacturing overhead, SG&A expenses, and profit) using the 2013
audited financial statement of EVRAZ Highveld Steel and Vanadium, a
South African producer of comparable merchandise (i.e., flat-rolled
steel).\47\
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\47\ Id., at Exhibit II-14 (page 8 and Exhibit II-14(H)).
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Sales-Below-Cost Allegation
For Italy, Korea, and Taiwan, Petitioners provided information
demonstrating reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that sales of
corrosion-resistant steel in the respective home markets were made at
prices below the fully-absorbed COP, within the meaning of section
773(b) of the Act, and requested that the Department conduct country-
wide sales-below-cost investigations.\48\ For India, Petitioners did
not make a sales-below-cost allegation.
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\48\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist; Korea AD Initiation
Checklist; and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
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With respect to sales-below-cost allegations in the context of
investigations, the Statement of Administrative Action (SAA)
accompanying the Uruguay Round Agreements Act states that an allegation
of sales below COP need not be specific to individual exporters or
producers.\49\ The SAA states further that ``Commerce will consider
allegations of below-cost sales in the aggregate for a foreign country
. . . on a country-wide basis for purposes of initiating an antidumping
investigation.'' \50\ Consequently, the Department intends to consider
Petitioners' allegations on a country-wide basis for each respective
country for purposes of this initiation.
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\49\ See SAA, H.R. Doc. No. 103-316, at 833 (1994).
\50\ Id.
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Finally, the SAA provides that section 773(b)(2)(A) of the Act
retains the requirement that the Department have ``reasonable grounds
to believe or suspect that below-cost sales have occurred before
initiating such an investigation.'' \51\ ``Reasonable grounds'' will
exist when an interested party provides specific factual information on
costs and prices, observed or constructed, indicating that sales in the
foreign market in question are at below-cost prices.\52\ As explained
below, we find reasonable grounds exist that indicate home market sales
in Italy, Korea, and Taiwan, were at below-cost prices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\ Id.
\52\ Id.
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Cost of Production
Pursuant to section 773(b)(3) of the Act, COP consists of the cost
of manufacturing (COM); SG&A expenses; financial expenses; and packing
expenses. Petitioners calculated COM based on Petitioners' experience
adjusted for known differences between their industry in the United
States and the industries of the respective country (i.e., Italy,
Korea, and Taiwan), during the proposed POI.\53\ Using publicly-
available data to account for price differences, Petitioners multiplied
their usage quantities by the submitted value of the inputs used to
manufacture corrosion-resistant steel in each country.\54\ For Italy
and Korea, to determine factory overhead, SG&A, and financial expense
rates, Petitioners relied on financial statements of producers of
comparable merchandise operating in the respective foreign country.\55\
For Taiwan, Petitioners used the factory overhead rate experienced at
its own factory. To determine SG&A and financial expense rates for
Taiwan, Petitioners relied on financial statements of a producer of
comparable merchandise operating in Taiwan.
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\53\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist; Korea AD Initiation
Checklist; and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
\54\ Id.
\55\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Based upon a comparison of the prices of the foreign like product
in the home market to the calculated COP of the most comparable
product, we find reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that sales of
the foreign like products were made at prices that are below the COP,
within the meaning of section
[[Page 37233]]
773(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Act. Accordingly, the Department is initiating
country-wide cost investigations on sales of corrosion-resistant steel
from Italy, Korea, and Taiwan.
Normal Value Based on Constructed Value
For Italy, Korea, and Taiwan, because they alleged sales below
cost, pursuant to sections 773(a)(4), 773(b), and 773(e) of the Act,
Petitioners calculated NV based on constructed value (CV). Petitioners
calculated CV using the same average COM, SG&A, and financial expenses,
to calculate COP.\56\ Petitioners relied on the financial statements of
the same producers that they used for calculating manufacturing
overhead, SG&A, and financial expenses to calculate the profit
rate.\57\
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\56\ Id.
\57\ Id.
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Fair Value Comparisons
Based on the data provided by Petitioners, there is reason to
believe that imports of corrosion-resistant steel from Italy, India,
the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, are being, or are likely to be, sold in the
United States at less-than-fair value. Based on comparisons of EP to NV
in accordance with section 773(a) of the Act, the estimated dumping
margin(s) for corrosion-resistant steel range from: (1) Italy range
from 119.68 to 126.75 percent; \58\ (2) India is 71.09 percent; \59\
(3) Korea range from 46.80 to 86.34 percent; \60\ (4) Taiwan is 86.17
percent.\61\
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\58\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
\59\ See India AD Initiation Checklist.
\60\ See Korea AD Initiation Checklist.
\61\ See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
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Based on comparisons of EP to NV, in accordance with section 773(c)
of the Act, the estimated dumping margins for corrosion-resistant steel
from the PRC range from 114.06 to 126.34 percent.\62\
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\62\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.
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Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations
Based upon the examination of the AD Petitions on corrosion-
resistant steel from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea, and Taiwan, we find
that Petitions meet the requirements of section 732 of the Act.
Therefore, we are initiating AD investigations to determine whether
imports of corrosion-resistant steel from Italy, India, the PRC, Korea,
and Taiwan, are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States
at less-than-fair value. In accordance with section 733(b)(1)(A) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless postponed, we will make our
preliminary determinations no later than 140 days after the date of
this initiation.
Respondent Selection
Petitioners named seven companies from Italy, 26 companies from
India, 11 companies from Korea, and eight companies from Taiwan, as
producers/exporters of corrosion-resistant steel.\63\ Following
standard practice in AD investigations involving ME countries, the
Department intends to select respondents based on U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) data for U.S. imports under the appropriate
HTSUS numbers listed in the ``Scope of Investigations'' section above.
We intend to release the CBP data under Administrative Protective Order
(APO) to all parties with access to information protected by APO within
five days of publication of this Federal Register notice and make our
decision regarding respondent selection within 20 days of publication
of this notice.
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\63\ See the Volume I of the Petitions, at 15 and Exhibit 1-8
through I-11.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We invite interested parties to comment on this issue. Parties
wishing to comment must do so within five days of the publication of
this notice in the Federal Register. Comments must be filed
electronically using ACCESS. An electronically-filed document must be
received successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic
records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. EDT by the date noted above.
With respect to the PRC, Petitioners named 147 companies as
producers/exporters of corrosion-resistant steel.\64\ In accordance
with our standard practice for respondent selection in cases involving
NME countries, we intend to issue quantity-and-value (Q&V)
questionnaires to each potential respondent and base respondent
selection on the responses received. In addition, the Department will
post the Q&V questionnaire along with filing instructions on the
Enforcement and Compliance Web site at https://www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp.
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\64\ See the Volume I of the Petitions, at 15 and Exhibit 1-8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exporters/producers of corrosion-resistant steel from the PRC that
do not receive Q&V questionnaires by mail may still submit a response
to the Q&V questionnaire and can obtain a copy from the Enforcement and
Compliance Web site. The Q&V response must be submitted by all PRC
exporters/producers no later than July 7, 2015, which is two weeks from
the signature date of this notice. All Q&V responses must be filed
electronically via ACCESS.
Separate Rates
In order to obtain separate-rate status in an NME investigation,
exporters and producers must submit a separate-rate application.\65\
The specific requirements for submitting a separate-rate application in
the PRC investigation are outlined in detail in the application itself,
which is available on the Department's Web site at https://enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. The separate-rate
application will be due 30 days after publication of this initiation
notice.\66\ Exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate
application and have been selected as mandatory respondents will be
eligible for consideration for separate-rate status only if they
respond to all parts of the Department's AD questionnaire as mandatory
respondents. The Department requires that respondents from the PRC
submit a response to both the Q&V questionnaire and the separate-rate
application by their respective deadlines in order to receive
consideration for separate-rate status.
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\65\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigation
involving Non-Market Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at
https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf (Policy Bulletin
05.1).
\66\ Although in past investigations this deadline was 60 days,
consistent with section 351.301 (a) of the Department's regulations,
which states that ``the Secretary may request any person to submit
factual information at any time during a proceeding,'' this deadline
is now 30 days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use of Combination Rates
The Department will calculate combination rates for certain
respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in an NME
investigation. The Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin
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 Investigation 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.\67\
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\67\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).
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[[Page 37234]]
Distribution of Copies of the Petitions
In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.202(f), copies of the public version of the Petitions have been
provided to the Taiwan Authorities and the governments of Italy, India,
the PRC, and Korea via ACCESS. To the extent practicable, we will
attempt to provide a copy of the public version of the Petitions to
each exporter named in the Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR
351.203(c)(2).
ITC Notification
We have notified the ITC of our initiation, as required by section
732(d) of the Act.
Preliminary Determinations by the ITC
The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date
on which the Petitions were filed, whether there is a reasonable
indication that imports of corrosion-resistant steel from Italy, India,
the PRC, Korean, and/or Taiwan are materially injuring or threatening
material injury to a U.S. industry.\68\ A negative ITC determination
for any country will result in the investigation being terminated with
respect to that country; \69\ otherwise, these investigations will
proceed according to statutory and regulatory time limits.
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\68\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
\69\ Id.
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Submission of Factual Information
Factual information is defined in 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i)
Evidence submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence
submitted in support of allegations; (iii) publicly available
information to value factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence
placed on the record by the Department; and (v) evidence other than
factual information described in (i)-(iv). The regulation requires any
party, when submitting factual information, to specify under which
subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information is being submitted
and, if the information is submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct
factual information already on the record, to provide an explanation
identifying the information already on the record that the factual
information seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct. Time limits for the
submission of factual information are addressed in 19 CFR 351.301,
which provides specific time limits based on the type of factual
information being submitted. Please review the regulations prior to
submitting factual information in these investigations.
Extensions of Time Limits
Parties may request an extension of time limits before the
expiration of a time limit established under Part 351, or as otherwise
specified by the Secretary. In general, an extension request will be
considered untimely if it is filed after the expiration of the time
limit established under Part 351 expires. For submissions that are due
from multiple parties simultaneously, an extension request will be
considered untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. on the due date.
Under certain circumstances, we may elect to specify a different time
limit by which extension requests will be considered untimely for
submissions which are due from multiple parties simultaneously. In such
a case, we will inform parties in the letter or memorandum setting
forth the deadline (including a specified time) by which extension
requests must be filed to be considered timely. An extension request
must be made in a separate, stand-alone submission; under limited
circumstances we will grant untimely-filed requests for the extension
of time limits. Review Extension of Time Limits; Final Rule, 78 FR
57790 (September 20, 2013), available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm, prior to submitting factual
information in this segment.
Certification Requirements
Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\70\
Parties are hereby reminded that revised certification requirements are
in effect for company/government officials, as well as their
representatives. Investigations initiated on the basis of petitions
filed on or after August 16, 2013, and other segments of any AD or CVD
proceedings initiated on or after August 16, 2013, should use the
formats for the revised certifications provided at the end of the Final
Rule.\71\ The Department intends to reject factual submissions if the
submitting party does not comply with applicable revised certification
requirements.
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\70\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
\71\ See Certification of Factual Information to Import
Administration during Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also
frequently asked questions regarding the Final Rule, available at
https://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.
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Notification to Interested Parties
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). Parties wishing to participate in these investigations
should ensure that they meet the requirements of these procedures
(e.g., the filing of letters of appearance as discussed in 19 CFR
351.103(d)).
This notice is issued and published pursuant to section 777(i) of
the Act.
Dated: June 23, 2015.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigations
The products covered by these investigations are certain flat-
rolled steel products, either clad, plated, or coated with
corrosion-resistant metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-,
aluminum-, nickel- or iron-based alloys, whether or not corrugated
or painted, varnished, laminated, or coated with plastics or other
non-metallic substances in addition to the metallic coating. The
products covered include coils that have a width of 12.7 mm or
greater, regardless of form of coil (e.g., in successively
superimposed layers, spirally oscillating, etc.). The products
covered also include products not in coils (e.g., in straight
lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and a width that is 12.7
mm or greater and that measures at least 10 times the thickness. The
products covered also include products not in coils (e.g., in
straight lengths) of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a width
exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least twice the thickness. The
products described above may be rectangular, square, circular, or
other shape and include products of either rectangular or non-
rectangular cross-section where such cross-section is achieved
subsequent to the rolling process, i.e., products which have been
``worked after rolling'' (e.g., products which have been beveled or
rounded at the edges). For purposes of the width and thickness
requirements referenced above:
(1) Where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is
within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual
measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions
set forth above, and
(2) where the width and thickness vary for a specific product
(e.g., the thickness of certain products with non-rectangular cross-
section, the width of certain products with non-rectangular shape,
etc.), the measurement at its greatest width or thickness applies.
Steel products included in the scope of these investigations are
products in which: (1) Iron predominates, by weight, over each
[[Page 37235]]
of the other contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent
or less, by weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below
exceeds the quantity, by weight, respectively indicated:
2.50 percent of manganese, or
3.30 percent of silicon, or
1.50 percent of copper, or
1.50 percent of aluminum, or
1.25 percent of chromium, or
0.30 percent of cobalt, or
0.40 percent of lead, or
2.00 percent of nickel, or
0.30 percent of tungsten (also called wolfram), or
0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
0.10 percent of niobium (also called columbium), or
0.30 percent of vanadium, or
0.30 percent of zirconium
Unless specifically excluded, products are included in this
scope regardless of levels of boron and titanium.
For example, specifically included in this scope are vacuum
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-
free (IF)) steels and high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels. IF
steels are recognized as low carbon steels with micro-alloying
levels of elements such as titanium and/or niobium added to
stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized
as steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as chromium,
copper, niobium, titanium, vanadium, and molybdenum.
Furthermore, this scope also includes Advanced High Strength
Steels (AHSS) and Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS), both of which
are considered high tensile strength and high elongation steels.
All products that meet the written physical description, and in
which the chemistry quantities do not exceed any one of the noted
element levels listed above, are within the scope of these
investigations unless specifically excluded. The following products
are outside of and/or specifically excluded from the scope of these
investigations:
Flat-rolled steel products either plated or coated with
tin, lead, chromium, chromium oxides, both tin and lead (``terne
plate''), or both chromium and chromium oxides (``tin free steel''),
whether or not painted, varnished or coated with plastics or other
non-metallic substances in addition to the metallic coating;
Clad products in straight lengths of 4.7625 mm or more
in composite thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 mm and
measures at least twice the thickness; and
Certain clad stainless flat-rolled products, which are
three-layered corrosion-resistant flat-rolled steel products less
than 4.75 mm in composite thickness that consist of a flat-rolled
steel product clad on both sides with stainless steel in a 20%-60%-
20% ratio.
The products subject to the investigations are currently
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7210.30.0030, 7210.30.0060,
7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030, 7210.49.0091, 7210.49.0095,
7210.61.0000, 7210.69.0000, 7210.70.6030, 7210.70.6060,
7210.70.6090, 7210.90.6000, 7210.90.9000, 7212.20.0000,
7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090, 7212.30.3000, 7212.30.5000,
7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, and 7212.60.0000.
The products subject to the investigations may also enter under
the following HTSUS item numbers: 7210.90.1000, 7215.90.1000,
7215.90.3000, 7215.90.5000, 7217.20.1500, 7217.30.1530,
7217.30.1560, 7217.90.1000, 7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060,
7217.90.5090, 7225.91.0000, 7225.92.0000, 7225.99.0090,
7226.99.0110, 7226.99.0130, 7226.99.0180, 7228.60.6000,
7228.60.8000, and 7229.90.1000.
The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and
customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the
investigations is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2015-16061 Filed 6-29-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P