Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the Sultanate of Oman: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination, 36871-36873 [2016-13480]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 110 (Wednesday, June 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36871-36873]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13480]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-523-812]


Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the Sultanate of 
Oman: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value and Postponement of Final Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) preliminarily 
determines that circular welded carbon-quality steel pipe (CWP) from 
the Sultanate of Oman (Oman) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The period of 
investigation (POI) is October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015. The 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins of sales at LTFV are shown 
in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. Interested 
parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective June 8, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Johnson or Terre Keaton 
Stefanova, AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 
(202) 482-4929 or (202) 482-1280, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Department initiated this investigation on November 17, 
2015.\1\ For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the memorandum that is dated 
concurrently with this determination and hereby adopted by this 
notice.\2\ There is one mandatory respondent participating in this 
investigation, Al Jazeera Steel Products Co. SAOG (Al Jazeera). The 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file 
electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). 
ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov, 
and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main 
Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be found at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.
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    \1\ See Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the 
Sultanate of Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Arab 
Emirates, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 80 FR 73708 (November 25, 2015).
    \2\ See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to 
Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, 
entitled ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in 
the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Circular Welded Carbon-Quality 
Steel Pipe From the Sultanate of Oman'' (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum), dated concurrently with this notice.
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is CWP from Oman. 
Interested parties filed comments regarding the scope of the 
investigation, which resulted in one clarification to the scope 
language and are addressed, in detail, in the Department's Preliminary 
Scope Decision Memorandum.\3\ For a full description of the scope of 
this investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix 
I of this notice.
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    \3\ See Department Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations 
of Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the Sultanate of 
Oman, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the Socialist Republic 
of Vietnam and Countervailing Duty Investigation of Circular Welded 
Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe form Pakistan; Scope Comments Decision 
Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated April 1, 2016 
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Export price is calculated in accordance with 
section 772 of the Act and normal value (NV) is calculated in 
accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Consistent with sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5) of the Act, 
the Department also calculated an estimated all-others rate. Section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated all-others rate 
shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and 
producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis 
margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the 
Act.
    In this investigation, we preliminarily calculated an above de 
minimis margin for Al Jazeera, the sole respondent in this 
investigation. Therefore, the rate calculated for Al Jazeera is also 
assigned as the all-others rate.

Preliminary Determination \4\
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    \4\ On March 14, 2016, the Department postponed the preliminary 
determination in this investigation until May 31, 2016, see Circular 
Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe From the Sultanate of Oman, 
Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of Antidumping 
Duty Investigations, 81 FR 15039 (March 21, 2016).
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    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                 Exporter/ manufacturer                   dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Al Jazeera Steel Products Co. SAOG......................            7.86
All Others..............................................            7.86
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we will direct 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all 
entries of subject merchandise from Oman, as described in Appendix I of 
this notice, for all companies, which are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register.

[[Page 36872]]

    Pursuant to section 733(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), we 
will instruct CBP to require cash deposits \5\ equal to the weighted-
average amount by which the NV exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the 
chart above, as follows: (1) The rate for the mandatory respondent 
listed above will be the respondent-specific rate we determined in this 
preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is not a mandatory 
respondent identified above, but the producer is, the rate will be the 
specific rate established for the producer of the subject merchandise; 
and (3) the rate for all other producers or exporters will be the all-
others rate. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain 
in effect until further notice.
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    \5\ See Modification of Regulations Regarding the Practice of 
Accepting Bonds During the Provisional Measures Period in 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042 
(October 3, 2011).
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Disclosure

    We will disclose the calculations performed to interested parties 
in this proceeding within five days of the announcement of this 
preliminary determination in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we intend to verify 
information relied upon in making our final determination.

Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination. Case briefs or other written comments concerning scope 
issues may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance no later than 30 days from the publication of this notice, 
and rebuttal briefs, limited to scope issues raised in the case briefs, 
may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for 
case briefs. Scope-related briefs/comments must be filed on the record 
of this investigation and the concurrent antidumping and countervailing 
duty CWP investigations. Case briefs or other written comments on non-
scope issues may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on 
which the final verification report is issued in this proceeding, and 
rebuttal briefs, limited to non-scope issues raised in the case briefs, 
may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for 
case briefs.\6\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties 
who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are 
encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; 
(2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce. 
All documents must be filed electronically using ACCESS. An 
electronically-filed request must be received successfully in its 
entirety by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party's 
name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, and a 
list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
the Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230, at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by 
telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before 
the scheduled date.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise. 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) requires that 
requests by respondents for postponement of a final determination be 
accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from a 
four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.
    Al Jazeera requested that, in the event of an affirmative 
preliminary determination in this investigation, the Department 
postpone its final determination by 60 days (i.e., to 135 days after 
publication of the preliminary determination), and agreed to extend the 
application of the provisional measures prescribed under section 733(d) 
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), from a four-month period to a 
period not to exceed six months.\7\
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    \7\ See Letter from Al Jazeera entitled, ``Circular Welded 
Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from Oman; request to extend final 
determination,'' dated April 28, 2016.
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    In accordance with sections 735(a)(2)(A) and 733(d) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii) and (e)(2), because (1) our preliminary 
determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for 
a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; (3) the 
requesting exporter has requested extension of provisional measures to 
a period not more than six months; and (4) no compelling reasons for 
denial exist, we are postponing the final determination until no later 
than 135 days after the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, we will 
issue our final determination no later than 135 days after the date of 
publication of this preliminary determination, pursuant to section 
735(a)(2) of the Act.\8\
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) and (e).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our affirmative preliminary determination of sales at LTFV. If 
our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before 
the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination 
or 45 days after our final determination whether these imports are 
materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: May 31, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    This investigation covers welded carbon-quality steel pipes and 
tube, of circular cross-section, with an outside diameter (O.D.) not 
more than nominal 16 inches (406.4 mm), regardless of wall 
thickness, surface finish (e.g., black, galvanized, or painted), end 
finish (plain end, beveled end, grooved, threaded, or threaded and 
coupled), or industry specification (e.g., American Society for 
Testing and Materials International (ASTM), proprietary, or other), 
generally known as standard pipe, fence pipe and tube, sprinkler 
pipe, and structural pipe (although subject product may also be 
referred to as mechanical tubing). Specifically, the term ``carbon 
quality'' includes products in which:
    (a) Iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other 
contained elements;
    (b) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by weight; and
    (c) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity, by 
weight, as indicated:
    (i) 1.80 percent of manganese;
    (ii) 2.25 percent of silicon;

[[Page 36873]]

    (iii) 1.00 percent of copper;
    (iv) 0.50 percent of aluminum;
    (v) 1.25 percent of chromium;
    (vi) 0.30 percent of cobalt;
    (vii) 0.40 percent of lead;
    (viii) 1.25 percent of nickel;
    (ix) 0.30 percent of tungsten;
    (x) 0.15 percent of molybdenum;
    (xi) 0.10 percent of niobium;
    (xii) 0.41 percent of titanium;
    (xiii) 0.15 percent of vanadium; or
    (xiv) 0.15 percent of zirconium.
    Covered products are generally made to standard O.D. and wall 
thickness combinations. Pipe multi-stenciled to a standard and/or 
structural specification and to other specifications, such as 
American Petroleum Institute (API) API-5L specification, may also be 
covered by the scope of these investigations. In particular, such 
multi-stenciled merchandise is covered when it meets the physical 
description set forth above, and also has one or more of the 
following characteristics: Is 32 feet in length or less; is less 
than 2.0 inches (50 mm) in outside diameter; has a galvanized and/or 
painted (e.g., polyester coated) surface finish; or has a threaded 
and/or coupled end finish.
    Standard pipe is ordinarily made to ASTM specifications A53, 
A135, and A795, but can also be made to other specifications. 
Structural pipe is made primarily to ASTM specifications A252 and 
A500. Standard and structural pipe may also be produced to 
proprietary specifications rather than to industry specifications.
    Sprinkler pipe is designed for sprinkler fire suppression 
systems and may be made to industry specifications such as ASTM A53 
or to proprietary specifications.
    Fence tubing is included in the scope regardless of 
certification to a specification listed in the exclusions below, and 
can also be made to the ASTM A513 specification. Products that meet 
the physical description set forth above but are made to the 
following nominal outside diameter and wall thickness combinations, 
which are recognized by the industry as typical for fence tubing, 
are included despite being certified to ASTM mechanical tubing 
specifications:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Wall thickness
        O.D. in inches (nominal)             in inches         Gage
                                             (nominal)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.315...................................           0.035              20
1.315...................................           0.047              18
1.315...................................           0.055              17
1.315...................................           0.065              16
1.315...................................           0.072              15
1.315...................................           0.083              14
1.315...................................           0.095              13
1.660...................................           0.055              17
1.660...................................           0.065              16
1.660...................................           0.083              14
1.660...................................           0.095              13
1.660...................................           0.109              12
1.900...................................           0.047              18
1.900...................................           0.055              17
1.900...................................           0.065              16
1.900...................................           0.072              15
1.900...................................           0.095              13
1.900...................................           0.109              12
2.375...................................           0.047              18
2.375...................................           0.055              17
2.375...................................           0.065              16
2.375...................................           0.072              15
2.375...................................           0.095              13
2.375...................................           0.109              12
2.375...................................           0.120              11
2.875...................................           0.109              12
2.875...................................           0.165               8
3.500...................................           0.109              12
3.500...................................           0.165               8
4.000...................................           0.148               9
4.000...................................           0.165               8
4.500...................................           0.203               7
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The scope of this investigation does not include:
    (a) Pipe suitable for use in boilers, superheaters, heat 
exchangers, refining furnaces and feedwater heaters, whether or not 
cold drawn, which are defined by standards such as ASTM A178 or ASTM 
A192;
    (b) finished electrical conduit, i.e., Electrical Rigid Steel 
Conduit (also known as Electrical Rigid Metal Conduit and Electrical 
Rigid Metal Steel Conduit), Finished Electrical Metallic Tubing, and 
Electrical Intermediate Metal Conduit, which are defined by 
specifications such as American National Standard (ANSI) C80.1-2005, 
ANSI C80.3-2005, or ANSI C80.6-2005, and Underwriters Laboratories 
Inc. (UL) UL-6, UL-797, or UL-1242;
    (c) finished scaffolding, i.e., component parts of final, 
finished scaffolding that enter the United States unassembled as a 
``kit.'' A kit is understood to mean a packaged combination of 
component parts that contains, at the time of importation, all of 
the necessary component parts to fully assemble final, finished 
scaffolding;
    (d) tube and pipe hollows for redrawing;
    (e) oil country tubular goods produced to API specifications;
    (f) line pipe produced to only API specifications, such as API 
5L, and not multi-stenciled; and
    (g) mechanical tubing, whether or not cold-drawn, other than 
what is included in the above paragraphs.
    The products subject to this investigation are currently 
classifiable in Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) statistical reporting numbers 7306.19.1010, 7306.19.1050, 
7306.19.5110, 7306.19.5150, 7306.30.1000, 7306.30.5015, 
7306.30.5020, 7306.30.5025, 7306.30.5032, 7306.30.5040, 
7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5085, 7306.30.5090, 7306.50.1000, 
7306.50.5030, 7306.50.5050, and 7306.50.5070. The HTSUS subheadings 
above are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes only. 
The written description of the scope of the investigation is 
dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

    1. Summary
    2. Background
    3. Period of Investigation
    4. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of 
Provisional Measures
    5. Scope Comments
    6. Discussion of the Methodology
    a. Determination of the Comparison Method
    b. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
    7. Date of Sale
    8. Product Comparisons
    9. Export Price
    10. Normal Value
    a. Home Market Viability
    b. Level of Trade
    c. Cost of Production (COP) Analysis
    1. Calculation of COP
    2. Test of Comparison Market Sales Prices
    3. Results of the COP Test
    d. Calculation of NV Based on Comparison Market Prices
    11. Currency Conversion
    12. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2016-13480 Filed 6-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P