Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From Spain: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 9723-9726 [2017-02606]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 8, 2017 / Notices Decision Memorandum are identical in content. Preliminary Results of Review The Department’s change in policy regarding conditional review of the PRC-wide entity applies to this AR.4 Aside from RZBC, for which the AR is being rescinded, the Department considers all other companies for which a review was requested to be part of the PRC-wide entity. Because Taihe did not respond to the Department’s original questionnaire and did not provide separate rate information, Taihe has not established its eligibility for separate rate status and, therefore, is part of the PRC-wide entity. In addition to Taihe, 14 companies listed in the Initiation Notice and, thus, subject to this AR, failed to provide separate rate applications or separate rate certifications necessary to establish their eligibility for a separate rate. Therefore, the Department preliminarily determines that these 14 companies are not eligible for a separate rate and are part of the PRC-wide entity. The rate previously established for the PRC-wide entity in this proceeding is 156.87 percent.5 For additional information, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Disclosure and Public Comment Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments, filed electronically using ACCESS, within 30 days of the date of publication of these preliminary results of review.6 Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, will be due five days after the due date for case briefs.7 Parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are requested to submit with each argument a statement of the issue, a summary of the argument not to exceed five pages, and a table of authorities.8 Further, interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 4 See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013). Under this policy, the PRC-wide entity will not be under review unless a party specifically requests, or the Department self-initiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested a review of the PRCwide entity in this review, the entity’s rate (i.e., 156.87 percent) is not subject to change. 5 See Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2013– 2014, 80 FR 77323, 77324 (December 14, 2015). 6 See 19 CFR 351.309(c). 7 See 19 CFR 351.309(d). 8 See 19 CFR 351.309(c). VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:36 Feb 07, 2017 Jkt 241001 Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days after the publication of this notice.9 Electronically filed case briefs/written comments and hearing requests must be received successfully in their entirety by the Department’s electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.10 Hearing requests should contain: (1) The party’s name, address and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those issues raised in the respective case briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the time and date of the hearing which will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230. The Department intends to issue the final results of this AR, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in any written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication of this notice, unless extended, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act. Assessment Rates Upon issuance of the final results, the Department will determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.11 The Department intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the publication date of the final results of this review. The Department intends to instruct CBP to liquidate entries of subject merchandise from the PRC-wide entity, including entries of subject merchandise from Taihe, at 156.87 percent (the PRC-wide rate).12 Cash Deposit Requirements The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the final results of this AR for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of review, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For previously investigated or reviewed PRC and non-PRC exporters which are not under review in this segment of the proceeding but which have separate rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the exporter-specific rate published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding; (2) for all PRC exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate for the PRCwide entity, 156.87 percent; and (3) for all non-PRC exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the PRC exporter(s) that supplied that non-PRC exporter. These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice. Notification to Importers This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in the Department’s presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties. We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213 and 351.221(b)(4). Dated: January 31, 2017. Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Appendix List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum I. Summary II. Background III. Partial Rescission IV. Scope of the Order V. Discussion of the Methodology VI. Recommendation [FR Doc. 2017–02528 Filed 2–7–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [A–469–815] Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From Spain: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily determines that finished carbon steel flanges from Spain are being, or are AGENCY: 9 See 19 CFR 351.310(c). 10 Id. 11 See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). a full discussion of this practice, see NonMarket Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011). 12 For PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 9723 E:\FR\FM\08FEN1.SGM 08FEN1 9724 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 8, 2017 / Notices likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2015, through March 31, 2016. 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 February 8, 2017. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Flessner or Erin Kearney, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–6312 or (202) 482–0167, respectively. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Background The Department initiated this investigation on July 20, 2016.1 We selected one mandatory respondent in this investigation, ULMA Forja, S.Coop (ULMA), which accounted for all imports of finished carbon steel flanges from Spain during the POI.2 For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum that is dated concurrently with this determination and hereby adopted by this notice.3 A list of topics in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is made available to the public 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 is available to all parties in the Department’s Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main 1 See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India, Italy, and Spain: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 81 FR 49619 (July 28, 2016) (Initiation Notice). 2 See Memorandum from Mark Flessner to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, entitled, ‘‘Respondent Selection for the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain,’’ dated November 18, 2016 (Respondent Selection Memorandum). 3 See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Associate 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 Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain,’’ dated concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:36 Feb 07, 2017 Jkt 241001 Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content. Scope of the Investigation The product covered by this investigation is finished carbon steel flanges from Spain. For a full description of the scope of this investigation, see the ‘‘Scope of the Investigation,’’ in Appendix I of this notice. Scope Comments We received no comments from interested parties regarding the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. The scope published in the Initiation Notice contained typographical errors, which have been corrected in Appendix I. Methodology The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Pursuant to section 776(a) of the Act, the Department preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available to assign an estimated weighted-average dumping margin to the mandatory respondent in this investigation, because ULMA did not submit a response to the Department’s questionnaire.4 Further, the Department preliminarily determines that ULMA failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to comply with a request for information, and has applied an adverse inference in selecting from the facts otherwise available (AFA) for ULMA, in accordance with section 776(b) of Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. All-Others Rate Section 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act provides that in the preliminary determination the Department shall determine an estimated ‘‘all-others’’ rate for all exporters and producers not individually investigated, in accordance with section 735(c)(5) of the Act. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that generally the estimated rate for all4 See Letter from ULMA to the Secretary of Commerce entitled, ‘‘ULMA Piping’s Notice of Intent Not To Respond To The Department’s Questionnaire—Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain,’’ dated September 30, 2016. PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 others 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. The estimated weighted-average dumping margin determined for the individually examined respondent in this preliminary determination was determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. In an investigation where no weighted-average dumping margins other than zero, de minimis, or those determined entirely under section 776 of the Act have been established for individually examined entities, in accordance with section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, the Department has previously used the simple average of the margins calculated in the petition and applied the result to ‘‘all-other’’ entities not individually examined.5 With respect to Spain, the petitioners calculated two margins in the Petition.6 Thus, consistent with our practice, we preliminarily assigned as the ‘‘allothers’’ rate in this investigation the simple average of the two dumping margins calculated for subject merchandise from Spain provided in the Petitions, as recalculated by the Department for initiation purposes, which is 18.81 percent.7 Preliminary Determination The Department preliminarily determines that finished carbon steel flanges from Spain are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at LTFV, pursuant to section 733 of the Act, and that the following estimated 5 See Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 78 FR 79670, 79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014); see also Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 21909 (April 23, 2008); unchanged in Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 38986 (July 8, 2008). 6 See Letter from Weldbend Corporation and Boltex Mfg. Co., L.P. (collectively, petitioners) to the Secretary of the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Secretary of Commerce entitled, ‘‘Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain: 2nd Supplemental Questionnaire Response,’’ dated July 13, 2016, at 2 and Exhibit 1. See also AD Investigation Initiation Checklist: Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain (July 20, 2016) (in which the petition margins were recalculated for purposes of initiation). 7 Id. E:\FR\FM\08FEN1.SGM 08FEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 8, 2017 / Notices Public Comment weighted-average dumping margins exist: Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination no later than 30 days Exporter/manufacturer after the date of publication of this preliminary determination.9 Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case ULMA Forja, S.Coop .................. 24.43 briefs, may be submitted no later than All Others .................................... 18.81 five days after the deadline date for case briefs.10 Pursuant to 19 CFR Suspension of Liquidation 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in In accordance with section 733(d)(2) this proceeding are encouraged to of the Act, we will direct U.S. Customs submit with each argument: (1) A and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend statement of the issue; (2) a brief liquidation of all entries of finished summary of the argument; and (3) a carbon steel flanges from Spain, as table of authorities. described in the Scope of the Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), Investigation in Appendix I, that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a written request to for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Register. Commerce, within 30 days after the date Pursuant to section 733(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), we will instruct of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party’s name, CBP to require cash deposits 8 equal to address, and telephone number, the the weighted-average amount by which number of participants, and a list of the the normal value exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above, as follows: issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department (1) The rate for the mandatory intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. respondent listed above will be the respondent-specific rate we determined Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, in this preliminary determination; (2) if DC 20230, at a time and date to be the exporter is not a mandatory determined. Parties should confirm by respondent identified above, but the producer is, the rate will be the specific telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the rate established for the producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the rate for scheduled date. all other producers or exporters will be All documents must be filed the all-others rate. The suspension of electronically using ACCESS. An liquidation instructions will remain in electronically-filed request must be effect until further notice. received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Disclosure Time. Normally, the Department discloses to International Trade Commission (ITC) interested parties the calculations Notification performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five In accordance with section 733(f) of days after public announcement of the the Act, we are notifying the ITC of our preliminary determination in affirmative preliminary determination of accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). sales at LTFV. If our final determination Because the Department preliminarily is affirmative, the ITC will determine applied a rate from the Petition as AFA before the later of 120 days after the date to the mandatory respondent in this of this preliminary determination or 45 investigation, there are no calculations days after our final determination to disclose. whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, Verification the U.S. industry. Because the mandatory respondent in This determination is issued and this investigation did not provide the published in accordance with sections information requested, the Department 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 will not conduct verifications. CFR 351.205(c). asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Weightedaverage dumping margin (percent) 8 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). VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:36 Feb 07, 2017 Jkt 241001 9 See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements). 10 See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements). PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 9725 Dated: January 26, 2017. Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Appendix I Scope of the Investigation The scope of this investigation covers finished carbon steel flanges. Finished carbon steel flanges differ from unfinished carbon steel flanges (also known as carbon steel flange forgings) in that they have undergone further processing after forging, including, but not limited to, beveling, bore threading, center or step boring, face machining, taper boring, machining ends or surfaces, drilling bolt holes, and/or deburring or shot blasting. Any one of these post-forging processes suffices to render the forging into a finished carbon steel flange for purposes of this investigation. However, mere heat treatment of a carbon steel flange forging (without any other further processing after forging) does not render the forging into a finished carbon steel flange for purposes of this investigation. While these finished carbon steel flanges are generally manufactured to specification ASME B16.5 or ASME B16.47 series A or series B, the scope is not limited to flanges produced under those specifications. All types of finished carbon steel flanges are included in the scope regardless of pipe size (which may or may not be expressed in inches of nominal pipe size), pressure class (usually, but not necessarily, expressed in pounds of pressure, e.g., 150, 300, 400, 600, 900, 1500, 2500, etc.), type of face (e.g., flat face, full face, raised face, etc.), configuration (e.g., weld neck, slip on, socket weld, lap joint, threaded, etc.), wall thickness (usually, but not necessarily, expressed in inches), normalization, or whether or not heat treated. These carbon steel flanges either meet or exceed the requirements of the ASTM A105, ASTM A694, ASTM A181, ASTM A350 and ASTM A707 standards (or comparable foreign specifications). The scope includes any flanges produced to the above-referenced ASTM standards as currently stated or as may be amended. The term ‘‘carbon steel’’ under this scope is steel 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) 0.87 percent of aluminum; (ii) 0.0105 percent of boron; (iii) 10.10 percent of chromium; (iv) 1.55 percent of columbium; (v) 3.10 percent of copper; (vi) 0.38 percent of lead; (vii) 3.04 percent of manganese; (viii) 2.05 percent of molybdenum; (ix) 20.15 percent of nickel; (x) 1.55 percent of niobium; (xi) 0.20 percent of nitrogen; (xii) 0.21 percent of phosphorus; (xiii) 3.10 percent of silicon; (xiv) 0.21 percent of sulfur; (xv) 1.05 percent of titanium; (xvi) 4.06 percent of tungsten; (xvii) 0.53 percent of vanadium; or E:\FR\FM\08FEN1.SGM 08FEN1 9726 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 25 / Wednesday, February 8, 2017 / Notices (xviii) 0.015 percent of zirconium. Finished carbon steel flanges are currently classified under subheadings 7307.91.5010 and 7307.91.5050 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). They may also be entered under HTSUS subheadings 7307.91.5030 and 7307.91.5070. The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the scope is dispositive. Appendix II List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 1. Summary 2. Background 3. Period of Investigation 4. Scope of the Investigation 5. Scope Comments 6. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference 7. Calculation of All-Others Rate 8. Verification 9. Conclusion [FR Doc. 2017–02606 Filed 2–7–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Special Subsistence Permits and Harvest Logs for Pacific Halibut in Waters Off Alaska National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. AGENCY: ACTION: Notice. The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. SUMMARY: Written comments must be submitted on or before April 10, 2017. DATES: Direct all written comments to Jennifer Jessup, Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer, Department of Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230 (or via the Internet at JJessup@doc.gov). asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES ADDRESSES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or copies of the information collection instruments and instructions should be directed to Rachel Baker, (907) 586– 7425 or rachel.baker@noaa.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:36 Feb 07, 2017 Jkt 241001 I. Abstract This request is for extension of a currently approved information collection. This information collection describes special permits issued to participants in the Pacific halibut subsistence fishery in waters off the coast of Alaska and any appeals resulting from denials. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) designed the permits to work in conjunction with other halibut harvest assessment measures. Subsistence fishing for halibut has occurred for many years among the Alaska Native people and non-Native people. Special permits are initiated in response to the concerns of Native and community groups regarding increased restrictions in International Pacific Halibut Commission Area 2C and include Community Harvest Permits, Ceremonial Permits, and Educational Permits. A Community Harvest Permit allows the community or Alaska Native tribe to appoint one or more individuals from its respective community or tribe to harvest subsistence halibut from a single vessel under reduced gear and harvest restrictions. Ceremonial and Educational Permits are available exclusively to Alaska Native tribes. Eligible Alaska Native tribes may appoint only one Ceremonial Permit Coordinator per tribe for Ceremonial Permits or one authorized Instructor per tribe for Educational Permits. Except for enrolled students fishing under a valid Educational Permit, special permits require persons fishing under them to also possess a Subsistence Halibut Registration Certificate (SHARC) (see OMB No. 0648–0460) which identifies those persons who are currently eligible for subsistence halibut fishing. Each of the instruments is designed to minimize the reporting burden on subsistence halibut fishermen while retrieving essential information. Respondents have a choice of either electronic or paper forms. Methods of submittal include online, email of electronic forms, mail, and facsimile transmission of paper forms. Educational Permits may not be applied for online. III. Data OMB Control Number: 0648–0512. Form Number: None. Type of Review: Regular submission (extension of a currently approved collection). Frm 00018 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 IV. Request for Comments Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval of this information collection; they also will become a matter of public record. Dated: February 3, 2017. Sarah Brabson, NOAA PRA Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 2017–02591 Filed 2–7–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–22–P CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request Corporation for National and Community Service. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: II. Method of Collection PO 00000 Affected Public: Individuals or households; state, local, or tribal government. Estimated Number of Respondents: 33. Estimated Time per Response: Permit applications, 10 minutes; Community harvest log, 30 minutes; Ceremonial or educational harvest log, 30 minutes; Appeal for permit denial, 4 hours. Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 17. Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $21 in recordkeeping/reporting costs. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a pre-clearance consultation program to provide the general public and federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA95) . This program helps to ensure SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\08FEN1.SGM 08FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 25 (Wednesday, February 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9723-9726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02606]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-469-815]


Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From Spain: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that finished carbon steel flanges from Spain are being, or 
are

[[Page 9724]]

likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). 
The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2015, through March 31, 
2016. 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 February 8, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Flessner or Erin Kearney, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6312 or (202) 482-0167, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department initiated this investigation on July 20, 2016.\1\ We 
selected one mandatory respondent in this investigation, ULMA Forja, 
S.Coop (ULMA), which accounted for all imports of finished carbon steel 
flanges from Spain during the POI.\2\ For a complete description of the 
events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum that is dated concurrently with this 
determination and hereby adopted by this notice.\3\ A list of topics in 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this 
notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India, Italy, and 
Spain: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 81 FR 
49619 (July 28, 2016) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum from Mark Flessner to Christian Marsh, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, entitled, ``Respondent Selection for the Antidumping 
Duty Investigation of Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain,'' 
dated November 18, 2016 (Respondent Selection Memorandum).
    \3\ See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Associate 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 Finished 
Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is 
made available to the public 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 is available to all parties in the Department's 
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce 
building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is finished carbon steel 
flanges from Spain. For a full description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I of 
this notice.

Scope Comments

    We received no comments from interested parties regarding the scope 
of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. The scope 
published in the Initiation Notice contained typographical errors, 
which have been corrected in Appendix I.

Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Pursuant 
to section 776(a) of the Act, the Department preliminarily relied upon 
facts otherwise available to assign an estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin to the mandatory respondent in this investigation, 
because ULMA did not submit a response to the Department's 
questionnaire.\4\ Further, the Department preliminarily determines that 
ULMA failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to 
comply with a request for information, and has applied an adverse 
inference in selecting from the facts otherwise available (AFA) for 
ULMA, in accordance with section 776(b) of Act. For a full description 
of the methodology underlying our preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Letter from ULMA to the Secretary of Commerce entitled, 
``ULMA Piping's Notice of Intent Not To Respond To The Department's 
Questionnaire--Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain,'' dated 
September 30, 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

All-Others Rate

    Section 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act provides that in the 
preliminary determination the Department shall determine an estimated 
``all-others'' rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
investigated, in accordance with section 735(c)(5) of the Act. Section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that generally the estimated rate for 
all-others 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. The estimated weighted-average dumping margin determined 
for the individually examined respondent in this preliminary 
determination was determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. In 
an investigation where no weighted-average dumping margins other than 
zero, de minimis, or those determined entirely under section 776 of the 
Act have been established for individually examined entities, in 
accordance with section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, the Department has 
previously used the simple average of the margins calculated in the 
petition and applied the result to ``all-other'' entities not 
individually examined.\5\
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    \5\ See Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 78 FR 79670, 
79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in Steel Threaded Rod from 
Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 
14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014); see also Notice of Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from 
the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 21909 (April 23, 2008); 
unchanged in Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 
FR 38986 (July 8, 2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With respect to Spain, the petitioners calculated two margins in 
the Petition.\6\ Thus, consistent with our practice, we preliminarily 
assigned as the ``all-others'' rate in this investigation the simple 
average of the two dumping margins calculated for subject merchandise 
from Spain provided in the Petitions, as recalculated by the Department 
for initiation purposes, which is 18.81 percent.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See Letter from Weldbend Corporation and Boltex Mfg. Co., 
L.P. (collectively, petitioners) to the Secretary of the U.S. 
International Trade Commission and the Secretary of Commerce 
entitled, ``Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain: 2nd 
Supplemental Questionnaire Response,'' dated July 13, 2016, at 2 and 
Exhibit 1. See also AD Investigation Initiation Checklist: Finished 
Carbon Steel Flanges from Spain (July 20, 2016) (in which the 
petition margins were recalculated for purposes of initiation).
    \7\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preliminary Determination

    The Department preliminarily determines that finished carbon steel 
flanges from Spain are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United 
States at LTFV, pursuant to section 733 of the Act, and that the 
following estimated

[[Page 9725]]

weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter/manufacturer                       dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ULMA Forja, S.Coop..........................................       24.43
All Others..................................................       18.81
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 finished carbon steel flanges from Spain, as described in 
the Scope of the Investigation in Appendix I, that are entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    Pursuant to section 733(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), we 
will instruct CBP to require cash deposits \8\ equal to the weighted-
average amount by which the normal value 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. The suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ 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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    Normally, the Department discloses to interested parties the 
calculations performed in connection with a preliminary determination 
within five days after public announcement of the preliminary 
determination in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). Because the 
Department preliminarily applied a rate from the Petition as AFA to the 
mandatory respondent in this investigation, there are no calculations 
to disclose.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondent in this investigation did not 
provide the information requested, the Department will not conduct 
verifications.

Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination no later than 30 days after the date of publication of 
this preliminary determination.\9\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues 
raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after 
the deadline date for case briefs.\10\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, 
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, 1401 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.
    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 Standard Time.

International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we are notifying 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: January 26, 2017.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers finished carbon steel 
flanges. Finished carbon steel flanges differ from unfinished carbon 
steel flanges (also known as carbon steel flange forgings) in that 
they have undergone further processing after forging, including, but 
not limited to, beveling, bore threading, center or step boring, 
face machining, taper boring, machining ends or surfaces, drilling 
bolt holes, and/or de-burring or shot blasting. Any one of these 
post-forging processes suffices to render the forging into a 
finished carbon steel flange for purposes of this investigation. 
However, mere heat treatment of a carbon steel flange forging 
(without any other further processing after forging) does not render 
the forging into a finished carbon steel flange for purposes of this 
investigation.
    While these finished carbon steel flanges are generally 
manufactured to specification ASME B16.5 or ASME B16.47 series A or 
series B, the scope is not limited to flanges produced under those 
specifications. All types of finished carbon steel flanges are 
included in the scope regardless of pipe size (which may or may not 
be expressed in inches of nominal pipe size), pressure class 
(usually, but not necessarily, expressed in pounds of pressure, 
e.g., 150, 300, 400, 600, 900, 1500, 2500, etc.), type of face 
(e.g., flat face, full face, raised face, etc.), configuration 
(e.g., weld neck, slip on, socket weld, lap joint, threaded, etc.), 
wall thickness (usually, but not necessarily, expressed in inches), 
normalization, or whether or not heat treated. These carbon steel 
flanges either meet or exceed the requirements of the ASTM A105, 
ASTM A694, ASTM A181, ASTM A350 and ASTM A707 standards (or 
comparable foreign specifications). The scope includes any flanges 
produced to the above-referenced ASTM standards as currently stated 
or as may be amended. The term ``carbon steel'' under this scope is 
steel 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) 0.87 percent of aluminum;
    (ii) 0.0105 percent of boron;
    (iii) 10.10 percent of chromium;
    (iv) 1.55 percent of columbium;
    (v) 3.10 percent of copper;
    (vi) 0.38 percent of lead;
    (vii) 3.04 percent of manganese;
    (viii) 2.05 percent of molybdenum;
    (ix) 20.15 percent of nickel;
    (x) 1.55 percent of niobium;
    (xi) 0.20 percent of nitrogen;
    (xii) 0.21 percent of phosphorus;
    (xiii) 3.10 percent of silicon;
    (xiv) 0.21 percent of sulfur;
    (xv) 1.05 percent of titanium;
    (xvi) 4.06 percent of tungsten;
    (xvii) 0.53 percent of vanadium; or

[[Page 9726]]

    (xviii) 0.015 percent of zirconium.
    Finished carbon steel flanges are currently classified under 
subheadings 7307.91.5010 and 7307.91.5050 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). They may also be entered 
under HTSUS subheadings 7307.91.5030 and 7307.91.5070. The HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the 
written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Summary
2. Background
3. Period of Investigation
4. Scope of the Investigation
5. Scope Comments
6. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
7. Calculation of All-Others Rate
8. Verification
9. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2017-02606 Filed 2-7-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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