Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-To-Length Plate From Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, South Africa, Taiwan, and the Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 27089-27098 [2016-10627]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 87 (Thursday, May 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27089-27098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10627]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-433-812, A-423-812, A-351-847, A-427-828, A-428-844, A-475-834, A-
588-875, A-580-887, A-570-047, A-791-822, A-583-858, A-489-828]


Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-To-Length Plate From Austria, 
Belgium, Brazil, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, 
the Republic of Korea, the People's Republic of China, South Africa, 
Taiwan, and the Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

DATES: Effective Date: April 28, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edythe Artman at (202) 482-3931 
(Austria), Elizabeth Eastwood at (202) 482-3874 (Belgium and Italy), 
Mark Kennedy at (202) 482-7883 (Brazil), Brandon Custard at (202) 482-
1823 (Federal Republic of Germany (Germany)), Terre Keaton Stefanova at 
(202) 482-1280 (France), Kabir Archuletta at (202) 482-2593 (Japan), 
Steve Bezirganian at (202) 482-1131 (Republic of Korea (Korea)), Ryan 
Mullen at (202) 482-5260 (the People's Republic of China (the PRC)), 
Julia Hancock at (202) 482-1394 (South Africa), Tyler Weinhold at (202) 
482-1121 (Taiwan), or Dmitry Vladimirov at (202) 482-0665 (Republic of 
Turkey (Turkey)), 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 April 8, 2016, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
received antidumping duty (AD) petitions concerning imports of certain 
carbon and alloy steel cut-to-length plate (CTL

[[Page 27090]]

plate) from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, the Germany, Italy, 
Japan, Korea, the PRC, South Africa, Taiwan, and the Turkey, filed in 
proper form on behalf of ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor Corporation, and 
SSAB Enterprises, LLC (collectively, Petitioners).\1\ The AD petitions 
were accompanied by countervailing duty (CVD) petitions on imports from 
Brazil, Korea, and the PRC. Petitioners are domestic producers of CTL 
plate.\2\
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    \1\ See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from Petitioners 
``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Austria, 
Belgium, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, France, the Federal 
Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, South 
Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey--Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties'' (April 8, 2016) (the 
Petitions).
    \2\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2.
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    On April 13, 2016, April 20, 2016, and April 21, 2016, the 
Department requested additional information and clarification of 
certain areas of the Petitions.\3\ Petitioners filed responses to these 
requests on April 18, 2016,\4\ April 21, 2016 \5\, and April 25, 
2016.\6\
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    \3\ See Country-specific letters to Petitioners from the 
Department concerning supplemental questions on each of the country-
specific records (April 13, 2016); see also Letter to Petitioners 
from the Department ``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping 
Duties on Imports of Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length 
Plate from Belgium: Supplemental Questions'' (April 20, 2016); and 
Memorandum to the File from Vicki Flynn ``Phone Call with Counsel to 
Petitioners'' (April 21, 2016).
    \4\ See Letter from Petitioners to the Secretary of Commerce 
``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Austria, 
Belgium, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, France, the Federal 
Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, South 
Africa, Taiwan, and the Republic of Turkey--Petitioners' Amendment 
to Petition Volume I Related to General Issues'' (April 18, 2016) 
(General Issues Supplement); see also responses to the Department's 
April 13, 2016, questionnaires concerning supplemental questions on 
each of the country-specific records (April 18, 2016); and Letter to 
the Secretary of Commerce from Petitioners ``Certain Carbon and 
Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the 
People's Republic of China, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, 
Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, and the 
Republic of Turkey--Petitioners' Amendment to Petition Volume I 
Related to General Issues'' (April 25, 2016) (Second General Issues 
Supplement).
    \5\ See Letter from Petitioners regarding the Belgium Petition 
``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Austria, 
Belgium, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, France, the Federal 
Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, South 
Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey--Petitioners' Second Amendment to 
Petition'' (April 21, 2016); see also Letter from Petitioners to the 
Secretary of Commerce ``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length 
Plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, 
France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic 
of Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey--Petitioners' Amendment 
to Petition Volume XVI Relating to Austria Antidumping Duties'' 
(April 21, 2016).
    \6\ See Second General Issues Supplement.
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    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), Petitioners allege that imports of CTL plate from 
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the 
PRC, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey 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.\7\
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    \7\ See the ``Determination of Industry Support for the 
Petitions'' section below.
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Periods of Investigation

    Because the Petitions were filed on April 8, 2016, the period of 
investigation (POI) is, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), as follows: 
April 1, 2015, through March 31, 2016, for Austria, Belgium, Brazil, 
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey, 
and October 1, 2015, through March 31, 2016, for the PRC.

Scope of the Investigations

    The product covered by these investigations is CTL plate from 
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, PRC, 
South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey. 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.\8\
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    \8\ See Memorandum to the File from Robert James ``Phone Calls 
with Counsel to Petitioners'' (November 6, 2015); see also General 
Issues Supplement at 1-4 and Exhibit I-Supp-8.
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    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).\9\ The Department will consider all 
comments received from parties and, if necessary, will 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. 
In order to facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, the 
Department requests all interested parties to submit such comments by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, which is 20 
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. ET on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, which is the next business day after 
10 calendar days from the deadline for initial comments.\10\
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    \9\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296, 
27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b).
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    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).\11\ 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

[[Page 27091]]

stamped with the date and time of receipt by the applicable deadlines.
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    \11\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 
Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046 
(November 20, 2014) 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.
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Comments on Product Characteristics for AD Questionnaires

    The Department will be giving interested parties an opportunity to 
provide comments on the appropriate physical characteristics of CTL 
plate to be reported in response to the Department's AD questionnaires. 
This information will be used to identify the key physical 
characteristics of the merchandise under consideration in order to 
report the relevant factors and costs of production accurately as well 
as to develop appropriate product-comparison criteria.
    Subsequent to the publication of this notice, the Department will 
be releasing a proposed list of physical characteristics and product-
comparison criteria, and interested parties will have the opportunity 
to 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 used by manufacturers to describe CTL plate, 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.
    The Department intends to establish a deadline for relevant 
comments and submissions at the time it releases the proposed list of 
physical characteristics and product-comparison criteria. All comments 
and submissions to the Department must be filed electronically using 
ACCESS, as explained above, on the records of the Austria, Belgium, 
Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the PRC, South Africa, 
Taiwan, and Turkey less-than-fair-value investigations.

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,\12\ 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.\13\
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    \12\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
    \13\ 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)).
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    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 CTL plate constitutes a single 
domestic like product and we have analyzed industry support in terms of 
that domestic like product.\14\
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    \14\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis in 
this case, see Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: 
Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Austria 
(Austria AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II, Analysis of 
Industry Support for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Petitions Covering Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length 
Plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, 
France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic 
of Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, and the Republic of Turkey 
(Attachment II); Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation 
Checklist: Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from 
Belgium (Belgium AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; 
Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Carbon 
and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Brazil (Brazil AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel 
Cut-to-Length Plate from the People's Republic of China (PRC AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel 
Cut-to-Length Plate from France (France AD Initiation Checklist), at 
Attachment II; Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: 
Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from the Federal 
Republic of Germany (Germany AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment 
II; Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain 
Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Italy (Italy AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel 
Cut-to-Length Plate from Japan (Japan AD Initiation Checklist), at 
Attachment II; Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: 
Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from the Republic 
of Korea (Korea AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; 
Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Carbon 
and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from South Africa (South Africa 
AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel 
Cut-to-Length Plate from Taiwan (Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist); 
and Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain 
Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from the Republic of 
Turkey (Turkey 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.
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    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. To establish industry support, Petitioners provided their 
shipments of the domestic like product in 2015, as well as the 2015

[[Page 27092]]

shipments of Universal Stainless & Alloy Products, Inc., a supporter of 
the Petitions, and compared these shipments to the estimated total 
shipments of the domestic like product for the entire domestic 
industry.\15\ Because total industry production data for the domestic 
like product for 2015 is not reasonably available to Petitioners and 
Petitioners have established that shipments are a reasonable proxy for 
production data,\16\ we have relied upon the shipment data provided by 
Petitioners for purposes of measuring industry support.\17\
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    \15\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2-4 and Exhibits I-3 
through I-5; see also General Issues Supplement, at 7-11 and 
Exhibits I-Supp-2 through I-Supp-4 and I-Supp-11.
    \16\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 3 and Exhibit I-4; see 
also General Issues Supplement, at 7.
    \17\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 2-4 and Exhibits I-4 and 
I-5; see also General Issues Supplement, at 8-11 and Exhibits I-
Supp-2, I-Supp-3, and I-Supp-11. For further discussion, see Austria 
AD Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation Checklist, Brazil AD 
Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist, France AD 
Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD 
Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD 
Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation Checklist, Taiwan 
AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment II.
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    Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, General Issues 
Supplement, and other information readily available to the Department 
indicates that Petitioners have established industry support.\18\ 
First, the Petitions established support from domestic producers (or 
workers) accounting for more than 50 percent of the total shipments 
\19\ 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).\20\ 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 the Petitions because the domestic 
producers (or workers) who support the Petitions account for at least 
25 percent of the total shipments of the domestic like product.\21\ 
Finally, the domestic producers (or workers) have met the statutory 
criteria for industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act 
because the domestic producers (or workers) who support the Petitions 
account for more than 50 percent of the shipments of the domestic like 
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support 
for, or opposition to, the Petitions.\22\ 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.
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    \18\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation 
Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation 
Checklist, Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \19\ As mentioned above, Petitioners established that shipments 
are a reasonable proxy for production data. Section 351.203(e)(1) of 
the Department's regulations states ``production levels may be 
established by reference to alternative data that the Secretary 
determines to be indicative of production levels.''
    \20\ See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also Austria AD 
Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation Checklist, Brazil AD 
Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation Checklist, France AD 
Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD 
Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD 
Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation Checklist, Taiwan 
AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment II.
    \21\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation 
Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation 
Checklist, Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \22\ Id.
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    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.\23\
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    \23\ Id.
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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, with regard to 
Brazil, the PRC, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Korea, Petitioners 
allege that subject imports exceed the three percent negligibility 
threshold provided for under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.\24\
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    \24\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 25-29 and Exhibits I-13 
and I-16; see also General Issues Supplement, at 15 and Exhibit I-
Supp-7.
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    With regard to Austria, Belgium, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey, 
while the allegedly dumped imports from each of these countries do not 
individually exceed the statutory requirements for negligibility, 
Petitioners note that the aggregate import share from these five 
countries is 7.29 percent, which exceeds the seven percent threshold 
established by the exception in section 771(24)(A)(ii) of the Act.\25\ 
Therefore, none of the subject imports from these countries are 
negligible for purposes of the material injury analysis in these 
Petitions.\26\
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    \25\ Section 771(24)(A)(ii) of the Act states ``{i{time} imports 
that would otherwise be negligible under clause (i) shall not be 
negligible if the aggregate volume of imports of the merchandise 
from all countries described in clause (i) with respect to which 
investigations were initiated on the same day exceeds 7 percent of 
the volume of all such merchandise imported in to the United States 
during the applicable 12-month period.''
    \26\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 25-26, 29-30, and Exhibit 
I-13.
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    Petitioners contend that the industry's injured condition is 
illustrated by reduced market share; declines in production, capacity 
utilization, U.S. shipments, labor hours, and wages; underselling and 
price suppression or depression; deteriorating financial performance; 
and lost sales and revenues.\27\ 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.\28\
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    \27\ Id., at 20-22, 34-47 and Exhibits I-4, I-5, I-9, I-10, I-12 
through I-14, I-16, and I-17; see also General Issues Supplement, at 
11-15 and Exhibits I-Supp-1, I-Supp-6, I-Supp-7, and I-Supp-9.
    \28\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation 
Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation 
Checklist, Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey 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 Carbon and Alloy 
Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the 
People's Republic of China, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, 
Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, and the 
Republic of Turkey.
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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 AD investigations of imports of CTL plate from Austria, 
Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the PRC, South 
Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey. 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 Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the PRC, Taiwan, and 
Turkey, Petitioners based export price (EP) U.S. prices on price quotes 
for sales of CTL plate produced in, and exported from,

[[Page 27093]]

those countries and offered for sale in the United States.\29\ For 
South Africa, Petitioners based EP on the average unit values of 
publicly available import data.\30\ Where applicable, Petitioners made 
deductions from U.S. price for movement expenses and trading company/
importer mark-ups, consistent with the terms of sale.\31\
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    \29\ See Brazil AD Initiation Checklist, France AD Initiation 
Checklist, Germany AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD Initiation 
Checklist, Japan AD Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation 
Checklist, Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation 
Checklist.
    \30\ See South Africa AD Initiation Checklist.
    \31\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation 
Checklist, Japan AD Initiation Checklist, PRC AD Initiation 
Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation Checklist, Taiwan AD 
Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation Checklist.
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Constructed Export Price

    For Austria, Belgium, and Korea, because Petitioners had reason to 
believe the sale was made through a U.S. affiliate, Petitioners based 
constructed export price (CEP) on a price quote/offer for sale of CTL 
plate produced in, and exported from, those countries.\32\ Petitioners 
made deductions from U.S. price for movement expenses consistent with 
the delivery terms.\33\ Where applicable, Petitioners also deducted 
from U.S. price imputed credit expenses, trading company/importer mark-
ups, and CEP expenses.\34\
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    \32\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation 
Checklist, and Korea AD Checklist.
    \33\ Id.
    \34\ Id.
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Normal Value

    For Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Korea, Taiwan, and 
Turkey, Petitioners provided home market price information obtained 
through market research for CTL plate produced in and offered for sale 
in each of these countries.\35\ For all eight of these countries, 
Petitioners provided a declaration from a market researcher for the 
price information.\36\ Where applicable, Petitioners made deductions 
for movement expenses, taxes, and imputed credit expenses, consistent 
with the terms of sale.\37\
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    \35\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation 
Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation Checklist, France AD Initiation 
Checklist, Germany AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation 
Checklist, Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation 
Checklist.
    \36\ Id.; see also Memorandum to the File ``Telephone Call to 
Foreign Market Researcher Regarding Antidumping Petition'' on each 
of the country-specific records (April 19 and 22, 2016).
    \37\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Belgium AD Initiation 
Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation Checklist, France AD Initiation 
Checklist, Germany AD Initiation Checklist, Korea AD Initiation 
Checklist, Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, and Turkey AD Initiation 
Checklist.
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    For Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Korea, and Taiwan, 
Petitioners provided information that sales of CTL plate in the 
respective home markets were made at prices below the cost of 
production (COP) and also calculated NV based on constructed value 
(CV).\38\ For Italy, Japan, and South Africa, Petitioners were unable 
to obtain home market price quotes for CTL plate and calculated NV 
based on CV.\39\ For further discussion of COP and NV based on CV, see 
below.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation 
Checklist.
    \39\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, and South Africa AD Initiation Checklist.
    \40\ In accordance with section 505(a) of the Trade Preferences 
Extension Act of 2015, amending section 773(b)(2) of the Act, for 
all of the investigations, the Department will request information 
necessary to calculate the CV and COP to determine whether there are 
reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that sales of the foreign 
like product have been made at prices that represent less than the 
COP of the product. The Department will no longer require a COP 
allegation to conduct this analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With respect to the PRC, Petitioners stated that the Department has 
found the PRC to be a non-market economy (NME) country in every 
administrative proceeding in which the PRC has been involved.\41\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ See Volume IV of the Petition at 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.\42\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \42\ Id. at 11-23; see also section 773(c) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 no later than 30 days before the 
scheduled date of the preliminary determination.

Factors of Production

    Because information regarding the volume of inputs consumed by 
Chinese producers/exporters is not reasonably available, Petitioners 
relied on a surrogate company's actual consumption of direct materials, 
labor, and energy as an estimate of the PRC manufacturers' FOPs.\43\ 
Petitioners valued the estimated FOPs using surrogate values from South 
Africa,\44\ and used the average POI exchange rate to convert the data 
to U.S. dollars.\45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \43\ See Volume IV of the Petition at 13-17.
    \44\ Id. at 16-17.
    \45\ Id. at 17 and Exhibit AD-CN-9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valuation of Raw Materials

    Petitioners valued direct materials based on publicly-available 
data for imports into South Africa obtained from the Global Trade Atlas 
for the period September 2015 through February 2016 (i.e., the latest 
six months available).\46\ For three items (beach iron scrap, 
ferromanganese, and slag iron offsets), there was insufficient import 
volume to calculate a surrogate value, and so Petitioners relied on 
South African export statistics.\47\ Petitioners excluded all import 
data from countries previously determined by the Department to maintain 
broadly available, non-industry-specific export subsidies, from 
countries previously determined by the Department to be NME countries. 
In addition, in accordance with the Department's practice, Petitioners 
excluded imports that were labeled as originating from an unidentified 
country.\48\ Petitioners added to these import values an inland freight 
rate derived from a report issued by the Human Sciences Research 
Council, based on the distance from the

[[Page 27094]]

nearest port to the PRC producing mill.\49\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \46\ Id. at 18-19 and Exhibits AD-CN-22 and AD-CN-23; see also 
Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from Petitioners regarding 
amendment to the PRC Petition (April 18, 2016) (PRC AD Petition 
Supplement) at 7 and Exhibits AD-CN-Supp-10 and AD-CN-Supp-11.
    \47\ See Volume IV of Petition at 19.
    \48\ Id.
    \49\ Id. at 17-18 and Exhibit AD-CN-7.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valuation of Labor

    Petitioners relied on 2013 data from the International Labor 
Organization's ILOSTAT data service to derive an hourly labor rate, and 
then inflated it using the Consumer Price Index.\50\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \50\ Id. at 20-21 and Exhibits AD-CN-10, AD-CN-25, and AD-CN-29.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valuation of Energy

    Petitioners valued electricity using electricity rates in effect 
during the POI as collected and disseminated by the South African 
electricity producer Eskom,\51\ water and natural gas by obtaining the 
surrogate values used by a recent Department case using South Africa as 
surrogate country,\52\ coke oven gas (which is neither imported nor 
sold on the commercial market) by taking South African pricing for 
natural gas as a substitute and making a downward revision to the value 
of natural gas to reflect the lower heat value of coke oven gas,\53\ 
and oxygen using the average unit pricing for oxygen imported into 
South Africa.\54\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \51\ Id. at 19 and Exhibit AD-CN-24.
    \52\ Id. at 19-20 and Exhibits AD-CN-26 and AD-CN-27.
    \53\ Id. at 20; see also PRC AD Petition Supplement at 7-8 and 
Exhibits AD-CN-Supp-12, AD-CN-Supp-13, and AD-CN-Supp-14.
    \54\ See PRC AD Petition Supplement at 8-9 and Exhibits AD-CN-
Supp-10 and AD-CN-Supp-14.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valuation of Packing Materials

    Petitioners valued the packing expenses used by the PRC producers 
based on actual production experience of a U.S. producer of CTL 
plate.\55\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \55\ See Volume IV of Petition at 1 and 23 and Exhibits AD-CN-18 
and AD-CN-21.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valuation of Factory Overhead, Selling, General and Administrative 
Expenses, and Profit

    Petitioners valued factory overhead, SG&A, and profit using 
publicly available financial statements from Evraz Highveld, a South 
African company that produces the merchandise under consideration.\56\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \56\ See Volume IV of Petition at 21-23 and Exhibits AD-CN-21 
and AD-CN-30; see also PRC AD Petition Supplement at 9-10 and 
Exhibits AD-CN-Supp-16.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Normal Value Based on Constructed Value

    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 the experience of a 
surrogate producer, adjusted for known differences between the 
surrogate producer and the producer(s) of the respective country (i.e., 
Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, South Africa, 
and Taiwan), during the proposed POI.\57\ Using publicly-available data 
to account for price differences, Petitioners multiplied the surrogate 
usage quantities by the submitted value of the inputs used to 
manufacture CTL plate in each country.\58\ For Austria, Brazil, France, 
Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan, labor rates 
were derived from publicly available sources multiplied by the product-
specific usage rates.\59\ For Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, 
Japan, Korea, South Africa, and Taiwan, to determine factory overhead, 
SG&A, and financial expense rates, Petitioners relied on financial 
statements of companies they asserted were producers of identical or 
comparable merchandise operating in the respective foreign country.\60\ 
For Brazil, we adjusted the financial expense rate to reflect the 
results from the consolidated rather than non-consolidated financial 
statements.\61\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \57\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation 
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
    \58\ Id.
    \59\ Id.
    \60\ Id.
    \61\ See Brazil AD Initiation Checklist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Korea, and Taiwan, because 
certain home market prices fell below COP, pursuant to sections 
773(a)(4), 773(b), and 773(e) of the Act, as noted above, Petitioners 
calculated NVs based on CV for those countries.\62\ For Italy, Japan, 
and South Africa, Petitioners indicated they were unable to obtain home 
market or third country prices; accordingly, Petitioners based NV only 
on CV for those countries.\63\ Pursuant to section 773(e) of the Act, 
CV consists of the COM, SG&A, financial expenses, packing expenses, and 
profit. Petitioners calculated CV using the same average COM, SG&A, and 
financial expenses, to calculate COP.\64\ With the exception of Brazil 
and Italy, 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.\65\ For Brazil and 
Italy, because the relevant financial statements indicated that the 
companies were operating at a loss, Petitioners did not include profit 
in CV.\66\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \62\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation 
Checklist.
    \63\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, and South Africa AD Initiation Checklist.
    \64\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, Brazil AD Initiation 
Checklist, France AD Initiation Checklist, Germany AD Initiation 
Checklist, Italy AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation 
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
    \65\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist, France AD Initiation 
Checklist, Germany AD Initiation Checklist, Japan AD Initiation 
Checklist, Korea AD Initiation Checklist, South Africa AD Initiation 
Checklist, and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
    \66\ See Brazil AD Initiation Checklist and Italy AD Initiation 
Checklist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by Petitioners, there is reason to 
believe that imports of CTL plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, 
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the PRC, South Africa, Taiwan, 
and Turkey are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value. Based on comparisons of EP, or CEP, to NV in 
accordance with sections 772 and 773 of the Act, the estimated dumping 
margins for CTL plate are as follows: (1) Austria ranges from 35.50 to 
121.90 percent; \67\ (2) Belgium is 51.78 percent; \68\ (3) Brazil is 
74.52 percent; \69\ (4) France ranges from 28.43 to 148.02 percent; 
\70\ (5) Germany ranges from 42.59 to 174.03 percent; \71\ (6) Italy is 
130.63 percent; \72\ (7) Japan is 179.2 percent; \73\ (8) Korea ranges 
from 44.70 to 248.64; \74\ (9) South Africa ranges from 81.29 to 94.14 
percent; \75\ (10) Taiwan ranges from 8.30 to 77.13 percent; \76\ and 
(11) Turkey ranges from 34.03 to 50.00 percent.\77\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \67\ See Austria AD Initiation Checklist.
    \68\ See Belgium AD Initiation Checklist.
    \69\ See Brazil AD Initiation Checklist.
    \70\ See France AD Initiation Checklist.
    \71\ See Germany AD Initiation Checklist.
    \72\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
    \73\ See Japan AD Initiation Checklist.
    \74\ See Korea AD Initiation Checklist.
    \75\ See South Africa AD Initiation Checklist.
    \76\ See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
    \77\ See Turkey AD Initiation Checklist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Based on comparisons of EP to NV, in accordance with section 773(c) 
of the Act, the estimated dumping margin for CTL plate from the PRC 
ranges from 67.93 to 68.27 percent.\78\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \78\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

    Based upon the examination of the AD Petitions on CTL plate from 
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the 
PRC, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey, we find that the Petitions meet 
the requirements of section 732 of the Act. Therefore, we are 
initiating AD investigations to

[[Page 27095]]

determine whether imports of CTL plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, 
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the PRC, South Africa, Taiwan, 
and Turkey 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.
    On June 29, 2015, the President of the United States signed into 
law the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, which made numerous 
amendments to the AD and CVD law.\79\ The 2015 law does not specify 
dates of application for those amendments. On August 6, 2015, the 
Department published an interpretative rule, in which it announced the 
applicability dates for each amendment to the Act, except for 
amendments contained in section 771(7) of the Act, which relate to 
determinations of material injury by the ITC.\80\ The amendments to 
sections 771(15), 773, 776, and 782 of the Act are applicable to all 
determinations made on or after August 6, 2015, and, therefore, apply 
to these investigations.\81\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \79\ See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, Public Law 
114-27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015).
    \80\ See Dates of Application of Amendments to the Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Laws Made by the Trade Preferences Extension 
Act of 2015, 80 FR 46793 (August 6, 2015).
    \81\ Id. at 46794-95. The 2015 amendments may be found at 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1295/text/pl.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Respondent Selection

    Petitioners named three companies in Brazil,\82\ three companies in 
Turkey,\83\ 11 companies in Germany,\84\ nine companies in Italy,\85\ 
five companies in Japan,\86\ 21 companies in Korea,\87\ four companies 
in South Africa,\88\ and 10 companies in Taiwan,\89\ as producers/
exporters of CTL plate. Following standard practice in AD 
investigations involving market economy countries, in the event the 
Department determines that the number of companies is large and it 
cannot individually examine each company based upon the Department's 
resources, where appropriate, the Department intends to select 
respondents based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for 
U.S. imports under the appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States numbers listed with the scope in Appendix I, below. We 
also intend to release the CBP data under Administrative Protective 
Order (APO) to all parties with access to information protected by APO 
on the record within five business days of publication of this Federal 
Register notice. Comments regarding the CBP data and respondent 
selection should be submitted seven calendar days after the placement 
of the CBP data on the record of these investigations. Parties wishing 
to submit rebuttal comments should submit those comments five calendar 
days after the deadline for the initial comments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \82\ See Volume I of the Petition at 18-19 and Exhibit I-8.
    \83\ Petitioners initially named only one company in Turkey, but 
later indicated that there are two additional producers in Turkey, 
[Mcy][Mcy]K Metalurji and Tos[ccedil]elik Profile & Sheet, that are 
theoretically capable of producing a product that would fall within 
the scope of this investigation. See Letter to the Secretary of 
Commerce from Petitioners ``Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-
Length Plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the People's Republic of 
China, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the 
Republic of Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey--Petitioners 
Amendment to the Petition'' (April 18, 2016).
    \84\ See Volume I of the Petition at 18-19 and Exhibit I-8.
    \85\ Id.
    \86\ Id.
    \87\ Id.
    \88\ Id.
    \89\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Although the Department normally relies on the number of producers/
exporters identified in the petition and/or import data from CBP to 
determine whether to select a limited number of producers/exporters for 
individual examination in AD investigations, Petitioners identified 
only one company as a producer/exporter of CTL plate in Austria: 
Voelstalpine Grobblech GmbH; two companies in Belgium: Industeel and 
NLMK Clabecq; and two companies in France: Dillinger France and 
Industeel France.\90\ We currently know of no additional producers/
exporters of merchandise under consideration from these countries and 
Petitioners provided information from an independent third-party source 
as support.\91\ Accordingly, the Department intends to examine all 
known producers/exporters in the investigations for Austria, Belgium, 
and France (i.e., the companies cited above for each respective 
investigation).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \90\ Id.
    \91\ See Volume I of the Petition at Exhibit I-9.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Comments for the above-referenced investigations 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 5:00 p.m. ET by the dates noted above. We 
intend to make our decision regarding respondent selection within 20 
days of publication of this notice.
    With respect to the PRC, Petitioners named 56 companies as 
producers/exporters of CTL plate.\92\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \92\ See Volume I of the Petition, at Exhibit I-8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Exporters/producers of CTL plate 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 May 12, 2016, 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.\93\ 
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.\94\ Exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate 
application and are 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \93\ 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).
    \94\ Although in past investigations this deadline was 60 days, 
consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a), 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

[[Page 27096]]

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.\95\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \95\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).

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 governments of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, France, 
Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the PRC, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey 
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 will notify 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 CTL plate from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, 
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the PRC, South Africa, Taiwan, 
and/or Turkey are materially injuring or threatening material injury to 
a U.S. industry.\96\ A negative ITC determination for any country will 
result in the investigation being terminated with respect to that 
country; \97\ otherwise, these investigations will proceed according to 
statutory and regulatory time limits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \96\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
    \97\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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). Any party, when submitting 
factual information, must specify under which subsection of 19 CFR 
351.102(b)(21) the information is being submitted \98\ 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.\99\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \98\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
    \99\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extensions of Time Limits

    Parties may request an extension of time limits before the 
expiration of a time limit established under 19 CFR 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 19 CFR 351. 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. ET 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 these investigations.

Certification Requirements

    Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding 
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\100\ 
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.\101\ The Department intends to reject factual submissions if the 
submitting party does not comply with applicable revised certification 
requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \100\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \101\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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: April 28, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigations

    The products covered by these investigations are certain carbon 
and alloy steel hot-rolled or forged flat plate products not in 
coils, whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or 
other non-metallic substances (cut-to-length plate). Subject 
merchandise includes plate that is produced by being cut-to-length 
from coils or from other discrete length plate and plate that is 
rolled or forged into a discrete length. The products covered 
include (1) Universal mill plates (i.e., flat-rolled products rolled 
on four faces or in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 mm 
but not exceeding 1250

[[Page 27097]]

mm, and of a thickness of not less than 4 mm, which are not in coils 
and without patterns in relief), and (2) hot-rolled or forged flat 
steel products of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more and of a width 
which exceeds 150 mm and measures at least twice the thickness, and 
which are not in coils, whether or not with patterns in relief. The 
covered products described above may be rectangular, square, 
circular or other shapes and include products of either rectangular 
or non-rectangular cross-section where such non-rectangular 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, the following rules apply:
    (1) Except where otherwise stated where the nominal and actual 
thickness or width measurements vary, a product from a given subject 
country 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 unless the product is already covered by 
an order existing on that specific country (e.g., orders on hot-
rolled flat-rolled steel); 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 of 
the other contained elements; and (2) the carbon content is 2 
percent or less by weight.
    Subject merchandise includes cut-to-length plate that has been 
further processed in the subject country or a third country, 
including but not limited to pickling, oiling, levelling, annealing, 
tempering, temper rolling, skin passing, painting, varnishing, 
trimming, cutting, punching, beveling, and/or slitting, or any other 
processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the 
scope of the investigations if performed in the country of 
manufacture of the cut-to-length plate.
    All products that meet the written physical description, are 
within the scope of these investigations unless specifically 
excluded or covered by the scope of an existing order. The following 
products are outside of, and/or specifically excluded from, the 
scope of these investigations:
    (1) Products clad, plated, or coated with metal, whether or not 
painted, varnished or coated with plastic or other non-metallic 
substances;
    (2) military grade armor plate certified to one of the following 
specifications or to a specification that references and 
incorporates one of the following specifications:
     MIL-A-12560,
     MIL-DTL-12560H,
     MIL-DTL-12560J,
     MIL-DTL-12560K,
     MIL-DTL-32332,
     MIL-A-46100D,
     MIL-DTL-46100-E,
     MIL-46177C,
     MIL-S-16216K Grade HY80,
     MIL-S-16216K Grade HY100,
     MIL-S-24645A HSLA-80;
     MIL-S-24645A HSLA-100,
     T9074-BD-GIB-010/0300 Grade HY80,
     T9074-BD-GIB-010/0300 Grade HY100,
     T9074-BD-GIB-010/0300 Grade HSLA80,
     T9074-BD-GIB-010/0300 Grade HSLA100, and
     T9074-BD-GIB-010/0300 Mod. Grade HSLA115,
except that any cut-to-length plate certified to one of the above 
specifications, or to a military grade armor specification that 
references and incorporates one of the above specifications, will 
not be excluded from the scope if it is also dual- or multiple-
certified to any other non-armor specification that otherwise would 
fall within the scope of this order;
    (3) stainless steel plate, containing 10.5 percent or more of 
chromium by weight;
    (4) CTL plate meeting the requirements of ASTM A-829, Grade E 
4340 that are over 305 mm in actual thickness;
    (5) Alloy forged and rolled CTL plate greater than or equal to 
152.4 mm in actual thickness meeting each of the following 
requirements:
    (a) Electric furnace melted, ladle refined & vacuum degassed and 
having a chemical composition (expressed in weight percentages):
     Carbon 0.23-0.28,
     Silicon 0.05-0.20,
     Manganese 1.20-1.60,
     Nickel not greater than 1.0,
     Sulfur not greater than 0.007,
     Phosphorus not greater than 0.020,
     Chromium 1.0-2.5,
     Molybdenum 0.35-0.80,
     Boron 0.002-0.004,
     Oxygen not greater than 20 ppm,
     Hydrogen not greater than 2 ppm, and
     Nitrogen not greater than 60 ppm;
    (b) With a Brinell hardness measured in all parts of the product 
including mid thickness falling within one of the following ranges:
    (i) 270-300 HBW,
    (ii) 290-320 HBW, or
    (iii) 320-350 HBW;
    (c) Having cleanliness in accordance with ASTM E45 method A 
(Thin and Heavy): A not exceeding 1.5, B not exceeding 1.0, C not 
exceeding 0.5, D not exceeding 1.5; and
    (d) Conforming to ASTM A578-S9 ultrasonic testing requirements 
with acceptance criteria 2 mm flat bottom hole;
    (6) Alloy forged and rolled steel CTL plate over 407 mm in 
actual thickness and meeting the following requirements:
    (a) Made from Electric Arc Furnace melted, Ladle refined & 
vacuum degassed, alloy steel with the following chemical composition 
(expressed in weight percentages):
     Carbon 0.23-0.28,
     Silicon 0.05-0.15,
     Manganese 1.20-1.50,
     Nickel not greater than 0.4,
     Sulfur not greater than 0.010,
     Phosphorus not greater than 0.020,
     Chromium 1.20-1.50,
     Molybdenum 0.35-0.55,
     Boron 0.002-0.004,
     Oxygen not greater than 20 ppm,
     Hydrogen not greater than 2 ppm, and
     Nitrogen not greater than 60 ppm;
    (b) Having cleanliness in accordance with ASTM E45 method A 
(Thin and Heavy): A not exceeding 1.5, B not exceeding 1.5, C not 
exceeding 1.0, D not exceeding 1.5;
    (c) Having the following mechanical properties:
    (i) With a Brinell hardness not more than 237 HBW measured in 
all parts of the product including mid thickness; and having a Yield 
Strength of 75ksi min and UTS 95ksi or more, Elongation of 18% or 
more and Reduction of area 35% or more; having charpy V at -75 
degrees F in the longitudinal direction equal or greater than 15 ft. 
lbs (single value) and equal or greater than 20 ft. lbs (average of 
3 specimens) and conforming to the requirements of NACE MR01-75; or
    (ii) With a Brinell hardness not less than 240 HBW measured in 
all parts of the product including mid thickness; and having a Yield 
Strength of 90 ksi min and UTS 110 ksi or more, Elongation of 15% or 
more and Reduction of area 30% or more; having charpy V at -40 
degrees F in the longitudinal direction equal or greater than 21 ft. 
lbs (single value) and equal or greater than 31 ft. lbs (average of 
3 specimens);
    (d) Conforming to ASTM A578-S9 ultrasonic testing requirements 
with acceptance criteria 3.2 mm flat bottom hole; and
    (e) Conforming to magnetic particle inspection in accordance 
with AMS 2301;
    (7) Alloy forged and rolled steel CTL plate over 407 mm in 
actual thickness and meeting the following requirements:
    (a) Made from Electric Arc Furnace melted, ladle refined & 
vacuum degassed, alloy steel with the following chemical composition 
(expressed in weight percentages):
     Carbon 0.25-0.30,
     Silicon not greater than 0.25,
     Manganese not greater than 0.50,
     Nickel 3.0-3.5,
     Sulfur not greater than 0.010,
     Phosphorus not greater than 0.020,
     Chromium 1.0-1.5,
     Molybdenum 0.6-0.9,
     Vanadium 0.08 to 0.12
     Boron 0.002-0.004,
     Oxygen not greater than 20 ppm,
     Hydrogen not greater than 2 ppm, and
     Nitrogen not greater than 60 ppm.
    (b) Having cleanliness in accordance with ASTM E45 method A 
(Thin and Heavy): A not exceeding 1.0(t) and 0.5(h), B not exceeding 
1.5(t) and 1.0(h), C not exceeding 1.0(t) and 0.5(h), and D not 
exceeding 1.5(t) and 1.0(h);
    (c) Having the following mechanical properties: A Brinell 
hardness not less than 350 HBW measured in all parts of the product 
including mid thickness; and having a Yield Strength of 145ksi or 
more and UTS 160ksi or more, Elongation of 15% or more and Reduction 
of area 35% or more; having charpy V at -40 degrees F in the 
transverse direction equal or greater than 20 ft. lbs (single value) 
and equal or greater than 25 ft. lbs (average of 3 specimens);
    (d) Conforming to ASTM A578-S9 ultrasonic testing requirements 
with

[[Page 27098]]

acceptance criteria 3.2 mm flat bottom hole; and
    (e) Conforming to magnetic particle inspection in accordance 
with AMS 2301.
    At the time of the filing of the petition, there was an existing 
antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon-quality steel 
plate products from Korea. See Notice of Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cut-To-Length Carbon-Quality 
Steel Plate Products from Korea, 64 FR 73196 (Dep't Commerce Dec. 
29, 1999), as amended, 65 FR 6585 (Dep't Commerce Feb 10, 2000) 
(1999 Korea AD Order). The scope of the antidumping duty 
investigation with regard to cut-to-length plate from Korea covers 
only (1) subject cut-to-length plate not within the physical 
description of cut-to-length carbon quality steel plate in the 1999 
Korea AD Order, regardless of producer or exporter; and (2) cut-to-
length plate produced and/or exported by those companies that were 
excluded or revoked from the 1999 Korea AD Order as of April 8, 
2016. The only revoked or excluded company is Pohang Iron and Steel 
Company, also known as POSCO.
    At the time of the filing of the petition, there was an existing 
countervailing duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon-quality 
steel plate from Korea. See Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination: Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate From 
the Republic of Korea, 64 FR 73176 (Dep't Commerce Dec. 29, 1999), 
as amended, 65 FR 6587 (Dep't Commerce Feb. 10, 2000) (1999 Korea 
CVD Order). The scope of the countervailing duty investigation with 
regard to cut-to-length plate from Korea covers only (1) subject 
cut-to-length plate not within the physical description of cut-to-
length carbon quality steel plate in the 1999 Korea CVD Order 
regardless of producer or exporter, and (2) cut-to-length plate 
produced and/or exported by those companies that were excluded or 
revoked from the 1999 Korea CVD Order as of April 8, 2016. The only 
revoked or excluded company is Pohang Iron and Steel Company, also 
known as POSCO.
    Excluded from the scope of the antidumping duty investigation on 
cut-to-length plate from China are any products covered by the 
existing antidumping duty order on certain cut-to-length carbon 
steel plate from the People's Republic of China. See Suspension 
Agreement on Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon Steel Plate From the 
People's Republic of China; Termination of Suspension Agreement and 
Notice of Antidumping Duty Order, 68 FR 60081 (Dep't Commerce Oct. 
21, 2003), as amended, Affirmative Final Determination of 
Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Cut-to-Length 
Carbon Steel Plate From the People's Republic of China, 76 FR 50996, 
50996-97 (Dep't of Commerce Aug. 17, 2011). On August 17, 2011, the 
U.S. Department of Commerce found that the order covered all imports 
of certain cut-to-length carbon steel plate products with 0.0008 
percent or more boron, by weight, from China not meeting all of the 
following requirements: aluminum level of 0.02 percent or greater, 
by weight; a ratio of 3.4 to 1 or greater, by weight, of titanium to 
nitrogen; and a hardenability test (i.e., Jominy test) result 
indicating a boron factor of 1.8 or greater.
    The products subject to the investigations are currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 
7208.51.0030, 7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 
7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045, 7225.40.1110, 
7225.40.1180, 7225.40.3005, 7225.40.3050, 7226.20.0000, and 
7226.91.5000.
    The products subject to the investigations may also enter under 
the following HTSUS item numbers: 7208.40.6060, 7208.53.0000, 
7208.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 7210.90.9000, 7211.19.1500, 
7211.19.2000, 7211.19.4500, 7211.19.6000, 7211.19.7590, 
7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, 7214.10.000, 
7214.30.0010, 7214.30.0080, 7214.91.0015, 7214.91.0060, 
7214.91.0090, 7225.11.0000, 7225.19.0000, 7225.40.5110, 
7225.40.5130, 7225.40.5160, 7225.40.7000, 7225.99.0010, 
7225.99.0090, 7206.11.1000, 7226.11.9060, 7229.19.1000, 
7226.19.9000, 7226.91.0500, 7226.91.1530, 7226.91.1560, 
7226.91.2530, 7226.91.2560, 7226.91.7000, 7226.91.8000, and 
7226.99.0180.
    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. 2016-10627 Filed 5-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P