Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From India: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 29479-29481 [2017-13628]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 124 / Thursday, June 29, 2017 / Notices
Contact: Robert Schramm, Telephone:
(202) 543–4455.
Application No.: 03–3A008.
Date Deemed Submitted: June 15,
2017.
Proposed Amendment: CPEC seeks to
amend its Certificate as follows:
• Remove Horizon Marketing Agency
in Common Cooperative Inc. as a
Member
• Add the following new Members:
Æ Arizona Nut Company, LLC
(controlling entity A&P Ranch, L.P.)
Æ Horizon Growers Cooperative, Inc.
CPEC’s proposed amendment of its
Certificate would result in the following
Members list:
Arizona Nut Company, LLC
ARO Pistachios, Inc.
Horizon Growers Cooperative, Inc.
Keenan Farms, Inc.
Monarch Nut Company
Nichols Pistachio
Primex Farms, LLC
Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc.
Zymex Industries, Inc.
Dated: June 23, 2017.
Joseph E. Flynn,
Director, Office of Trade and Economic
Analysis, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2017–13577 Filed 6–28–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C–533–872]
Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From
India: Final Affirmative Countervailing
Duty Determination
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Department) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being
provided to producers and exporters of
finished carbon steel flanges (flanges)
from India. The period of investigation
is April 1, 2015, through March 31,
2016.
AGENCY:
DATES:
Effective June 29, 2017.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Emily Maloof or Davina Friedmann,
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) 482–5649, or
(202) 482–0698, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Background
On November 29, 2016, the
Department published the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register.1
A summary of the events that
occurred since the Department
published the Preliminary
Determination, as well as a full
discussion of the issues raised by parties
for this final determination, may be
found in the accompanying Issues and
Decision Memorandum.2 The Issues and
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 is available to all
parties in the Central Records Unit,
room B8024 of the main Department of
Commerce building. In addition, a
complete version of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum can be accessed
directly at https://enforcement.trade.gov.
The signed and electronic versions of
the Issues and Decision Memorandum
are identical in content.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preliminary
Determination, the Department set aside
a period of time for parties to address
scope issues in case briefs or other
written comments on scope issues.3 In
the Preliminary Determination, we did
not modify the scope language as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice.4 No
interested party submitted scope
comments in case or rebuttal briefs.
However, the scope description that was
published in the Initiation Notice and in
the Preliminary Determination
contained typographical errors, which
have been corrected in the scope
description provided in Appendix I of
this notice.5 Other than the correction of
1 See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India:
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination, 81 FR 85928 (November 29, 2016)
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying
Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
2 See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Operations, to Ronald K.
Lorentzen, Acting Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance ‘‘Decision
Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative
Determination: Countervailing Duty Investigation of
Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India,’’ dated
concurrently with this determination and hereby
adopted by this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
3 See Preliminary Determination and PDM at
‘‘Scope Comments.’’
4 Id.; see also, Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from
India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty
Investigation, 81 FR 49625 (July 28, 2016)
(Initiation Notice).
5 Specifically, the Department incorrectly
referenced the ASME specifications as ‘‘ASME
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
29479
typographical errors, the scope of this
investigation remains unchanged for
this final determination.
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this
investigation are finished carbon steel
flanges from India. For a complete
description of the scope of the
investigation, see ‘‘Scope of the
Investigation,’’ in Appendix I of this
notice.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and
Comments Received
The subsidy programs under
investigation, and the issues raised in
the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by
the parties, are discussed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of
the issues that parties raised, and to
which we responded in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum, is attached to
this notice at Appendix II.
Verification
The Department conducted
verification of the questionnaire
responses submitted by the Government
of India, USK Group, and RNG between
January 30, and February 10, 2017.6
Use of Adverse Facts Available
If necessary information is not
available on the record, or an interested
party withholds information, fails to
provide requested information in a
timely manner, significantly impedes a
proceeding by not providing
information, or information provided
cannot be verified, the Department will
apply facts available, pursuant to
section 776(a)(1) & (2) of the Tariff Act
of 1930, as amended (the Act). For
purposes of this final determination, the
Department relied, in part, on facts
available. For USK Group Ltd. (Norma) 7
and R.N. Gupta & Co. (RNG), we are
basing certain countervailing duty rates
on facts otherwise available. Further,
because USK Group and RNG did not
act to the best of their ability in this
investigation by not providing necessary
816.5 or ASME 816.47 series A or series B.’’ The
corrected scope description properly references
these specifications at ‘‘ASME B16.5 or ASME
B16.47 series A or series B.’’
6 See Memoranda, ‘‘Verification Report of Norma
(India) Ltd., Uma Shanker Khandelwal & Co., USK
Exports Private Limited, and Bansidhar
Chiranjilal,’’ dated March 29, 2017 (USK Group
Verification Report); ‘‘Verification Report of R.N.
Gupta & Co., Ltd.,’’ dated March 29, 2017 (RNG
Verification Report); and ‘‘Verification Report of the
Government of India,’’ dated March 29, 2017
(Government of India Verification Report).
7 Norma (India) Limited includes its cross-owned
affiliates USK Exports Private Limited (USK), UMA
Shanker Khandelwal & Co. (UMA), and Bansidhar
Chiranjilal (BDCL) (collectively, USK Group). For
further discussion, see the accompanying Issues
and Decision Memorandum.
E:\FR\FM\29JNN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 124 / Thursday, June 29, 2017 / Notices
information requested by the
Department, we determine that an
adverse inference in selecting from the
facts available is warranted with respect
to certain countervailable subsidy
programs, pursuant to section 776(b) of
the Act. The Department has, therefore,
relied, in part, on adverse facts available
(AFA) in calculating the subsidy rates
for both mandatory respondents.
Regarding USK Group, we determine
that application of AFA is warranted
with regard to one lending program for
importing capital equipment.8
Concerning RNG, we determine that the
application of AFA is warranted with
regard to two programs, i.e., capital
equipment purchases and export
financing. Because the Government of
India did not provide the requested
information, as AFA, we find that each
of the programs meet the financial
contribution and specificity criteria
outlined under sections 771(5)(D) and
771(5A) of the Act, respectively.9 As
AFA, we also find that these subsidy
programs confer a benefit under section
771(5)(E) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.519.
For further information on the
Department’s application of AFA, as
summarized above, see the section
titled, ‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise
Available and Adverse Inferences,’’ in
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Changes Since the Preliminary
Determination
Based on our analysis of the
comments received from parties and the
minor corrections presented, as well as
additional items discovered at
verification, we made certain changes to
the respondent’s subsidy rate
calculations set forth in the Preliminary
Determination. For a discussion of these
changes, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum and the Final Calculation
Memoranda.10
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Final Determination
In accordance with section
705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we calculated
a rate for each exporter/producer of the
subject merchandise individually
investigated, i.e., Norma (India), Ltd.
and R.N. Gupta & Co. In accordance
8 For further discussion, see USK Group’s Final
Calculation Memorandum.
9 See, e.g., Supercalendered Paper from Canada:
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination, 80 FR 63535 (October 20, 2015), and
accompanying IDM at 17–20, 153–154.
10 See Issues and Decision Memorandum; see also
Memorandum, ‘‘Final Determination Calculations
for Norma (India) Ltd.,’’ dated June 23, 2017
(Norma’s Final Calculation Memorandum); see also
Memorandum, ‘‘Final Determination Calculation
Memorandum of RNG,’’ dated June 23, 2017 (RNG’s
Final Calculation Memorandum).
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with section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, for
companies not individually
investigated, we apply an ‘‘all-others’’
rate, which is normally calculated by
weighting the subsidy rates of the
individual companies selected as
mandatory respondents by those
companies’ exports of the subject
merchandise to the United States. Under
section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the
‘‘all-others’’ rate excludes zero and de
minimis rates calculated for the
exporters and producers individually
investigated as well as rates based
entirely on facts otherwise available.
Where the rates for the individually
investigated companies are all zero or
de minimis, or determined entirely
using facts otherwise available, section
705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act instructs the
Department to establish an ‘‘all-others’’
rate using ‘‘any reasonable method.’’
Where the countervailable subsidy rates
for all of the individually investigated
respondents are zero or de minimis or
are based on total AFA, the
Department’s practice, pursuant to
705(c)(5)(A)(ii), is to calculate the all
others rate based on a simple average of
the zero or de minimis margins and the
margins based on total AFA.
Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of
the Act, we have calculated the ‘‘allothers’’ rate using the subsidy rates of
the two individually investigated
respondents. However, we have not
calculated the ‘‘all-others’’ rate by
weight-averaging the rates because
doing so risks disclosure of proprietary
information. Therefore, consistent with
the Department’s practice,11 for the ‘‘all
others’’ rate, we calculated a simple
average of the two mandatory
respondents’ subsidy rates.
The final subsidy rates are as follows:
Subsidy rate
(percent)
Exporter/producer
Norma (India), Ltd 12 .............
R.N. Gupta & Co ..................
All-Others ..............................
5.66
9.11
7.39
Disclosure
We will disclose the calculations
performed within five days of the date
of publication of this notice to parties in
this proceeding in accordance with 19
CFR 351.224(b).
11 See e.g., Countervailing Duty Investigations of
Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric from the People’s
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination,
82 FR 8405 (January 25, 2016).
12 As discussed in the Preliminary Determination,
the Department found the following companies to
be cross-owned with Norma (India), Ltd.: Uma
Shanker Khandelwal & Co. (UMA), USK Exports
Private Limited (USK), and Bansidhar Chiranjilal
(BDCL).
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary
Determination, and pursuant to section
703(d) of the Act, we instructed U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
suspend liquidation of any entries of
merchandise under consideration from
India that were entered or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption, on or
after November 29, 2016, which is the
publication date in the Federal Register
of the Preliminary Determination.
Therefore, in accordance with section
703(d) of the Act, we issued instructions
to CBP to suspend liquidation of all
entries of steel flanges from India that
are entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption, on or after
November 29, 2017 through March 28,
2017. Additionally, we instructed CBP
to discontinue the suspension of
liquidation for countervailing duty
purposes for subject merchandise
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
on or after March 29, 2017 in
accordance with section 703(d)(3) of the
Act.
If the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we
will issue a countervailing duty order,
instruct CBP to reinstate suspension of
liquidation under section 706(a) of the
Act, and will require a cash deposit of
estimated countervailing duties for such
entries of subject merchandise in the
amounts indicated above. If the ITC
determines that material injury, or
threat of material injury, does not exist,
this proceeding will be terminated and
all estimated duties deposited as a result
of the suspension of liquidation will be
refunded or canceled.
U.S. International Trade Commission
Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of
the Act, we will notify the U.S.
International Trade Commission (ITC) of
our determination. In addition, we are
making available to the ITC all nonprivileged and non-proprietary
information related to this investigation.
We will allow the ITC access to all
privileged and business proprietary
information in our files, provided the
ITC confirms that it will not disclose
such information, either publicly or
under an administrative protective order
(APO), without the written consent of
the Acting Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Notification Regarding Administrative
Protective Orders
This notice serves as a reminder to
parties subject to an administrative
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 124 / Thursday, June 29, 2017 / Notices
protective order (APO) of their
responsibility concerning the
disposition of proprietary information
disclosed under APO in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely
written notification of the return or
destruction of APO materials, or
conversion to judicial protective order,
is hereby requested. Failure to comply
with the regulations and the terms of an
APO is a sanctionable violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and
published pursuant to sections 705(d)
and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210.
Dated: June 23, 2017
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement
and Compliance .
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
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 postforging 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:
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(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
(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 Issues and
Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
Adverse Inferences
IX. Analysis of Programs
A. Programs Determined to be
Countervailable
B. Programs Determined to be Not Used
X. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether the Department
Should Have Rejected the Government of
India’s Supplemental Questionnaire
Response
Comment 2: Whether the Duty Drawback
(DDB) Program Provides a
Countervailable Subsidy
Comment 3: Whether R.N. Gupta & Co.,
Ltd. (RNG) and USK Group Should
Report Duty Export Pass Book (DEPB)
Licenses During the Average Useful Life
(AUL) Period Prior to the Period of
Investigation (POI)
Comment 4: Whether USK Group and RNG
Received Benefits from Certain
Government of India Majority-Owned
Banks
Comment 5: Whether the Export Promotion
of Capital Goods Scheme (EPCGS)
Provides a Countervailable Subsidy and
Whether the EPCGS Used the Correct
Denominator for the Benefit Calculation
of Respondents
Comment 6: Whether to Apply Adverse
Facts Available (AFA) to Norma’s AUL
Sales Data
Comment 7: Whether to Apply AFA to
RNG’s Unaffiliated Indian Suppliers of
Subject Merchandise
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29481
Comment 8: Whether to Countervail Funds
Received by RNG Under the Focus
Product Scheme (FPS) During the POI
XI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2017–13628 Filed 6–28–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–475–835]
Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From
Italy: Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Department) determines that imports of
finished carbon steel flanges (flanges)
from Italy are being, or are likely to be,
sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV). The final estimated
weighted-average dumping margins of
sales at LTFV are listed below in the
section entitled ‘‘Final Determination.’’
The period of investigation is April 1,
2015, through March 31, 2016.
DATES: Effective June 29, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Moses Song or Edythe Artman, 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) 482–5041, or (202) 482–3931,
respectively.
AGENCY:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 8, 2017, the Department
published the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register.1
In the Preliminary Determination, we
postponed the final determination until
no later than 135 days after the date of
publication of the Preliminary
Determination, in accordance with
section 735(a)(2) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act).2
The petitioners in this investigation
are Weldbend Corporation and Boltex
Manufacturing Co., L.P. The two
mandatory respondents in this
investigation are: (1) Metalfar Prodotti
Industriali S.p.A. (Metalfar); and (2)
Officine Ambrogio Melesi & C. S.r.l.
1 See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from Italy:
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value and Postponement of Final
Determination, 82 FR 9711 (February 8, 2017)
(Preliminary Determination), and accompanying
Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
2 See Preliminary Determination, 82 FR at 9713.
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 124 (Thursday, June 29, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29479-29481]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13628]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-533-872]
Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From India: Final Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters
of finished carbon steel flanges (flanges) from India. The period of
investigation is April 1, 2015, through March 31, 2016.
DATES: Effective June 29, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Maloof or Davina Friedmann, 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) 482-5649, or (202)
482-0698, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 29, 2016, the Department published the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India: Preliminary
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 81 FR 85928 (November
29, 2016) (Preliminary Determination) and accompanying Preliminary
Decision Memorandum (PDM).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A summary of the events that occurred since the Department
published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion
of the issues raised by parties for this final determination, may be
found in the accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\ The Issues
and 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
is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of
the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete
version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly
at https://enforcement.trade.gov. The signed and electronic versions of
the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to
Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative
Determination: Countervailing Duty Investigation of Finished Carbon
Steel Flanges from India,'' dated concurrently with this
determination and hereby adopted by this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preliminary Determination, the Department
set aside a period of time for parties to address scope issues in case
briefs or other written comments on scope issues.\3\ In the Preliminary
Determination, we did not modify the scope language as it appeared in
the Initiation Notice.\4\ No interested party submitted scope comments
in case or rebuttal briefs. However, the scope description that was
published in the Initiation Notice and in the Preliminary Determination
contained typographical errors, which have been corrected in the scope
description provided in Appendix I of this notice.\5\ Other than the
correction of typographical errors, the scope of this investigation
remains unchanged for this final determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Preliminary Determination and PDM at ``Scope Comments.''
\4\ Id.; see also, Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India:
Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 81 FR 49625 (July
28, 2016) (Initiation Notice).
\5\ Specifically, the Department incorrectly referenced the ASME
specifications as ``ASME 816.5 or ASME 816.47 series A or series
B.'' The corrected scope description properly references these
specifications at ``ASME B16.5 or ASME B16.47 series A or series
B.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are finished carbon
steel flanges from India. For a complete description of the scope of
the investigation, see ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I of
this notice.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in
the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by the parties, are discussed in
the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues that parties
raised, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum, is attached to this notice at Appendix II.
Verification
The Department conducted verification of the questionnaire
responses submitted by the Government of India, USK Group, and RNG
between January 30, and February 10, 2017.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See Memoranda, ``Verification Report of Norma (India) Ltd.,
Uma Shanker Khandelwal & Co., USK Exports Private Limited, and
Bansidhar Chiranjilal,'' dated March 29, 2017 (USK Group
Verification Report); ``Verification Report of R.N. Gupta & Co.,
Ltd.,'' dated March 29, 2017 (RNG Verification Report); and
``Verification Report of the Government of India,'' dated March 29,
2017 (Government of India Verification Report).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use of Adverse Facts Available
If necessary information is not available on the record, or an
interested party withholds information, fails to provide requested
information in a timely manner, significantly impedes a proceeding by
not providing information, or information provided cannot be verified,
the Department will apply facts available, pursuant to section
776(a)(1) & (2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For
purposes of this final determination, the Department relied, in part,
on facts available. For USK Group Ltd. (Norma) \7\ and R.N. Gupta & Co.
(RNG), we are basing certain countervailing duty rates on facts
otherwise available. Further, because USK Group and RNG did not act to
the best of their ability in this investigation by not providing
necessary
[[Page 29480]]
information requested by the Department, we determine that an adverse
inference in selecting from the facts available is warranted with
respect to certain countervailable subsidy programs, pursuant to
section 776(b) of the Act. The Department has, therefore, relied, in
part, on adverse facts available (AFA) in calculating the subsidy rates
for both mandatory respondents.
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\7\ Norma (India) Limited includes its cross-owned affiliates
USK Exports Private Limited (USK), UMA Shanker Khandelwal & Co.
(UMA), and Bansidhar Chiranjilal (BDCL) (collectively, USK Group).
For further discussion, see the accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
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Regarding USK Group, we determine that application of AFA is
warranted with regard to one lending program for importing capital
equipment.\8\ Concerning RNG, we determine that the application of AFA
is warranted with regard to two programs, i.e., capital equipment
purchases and export financing. Because the Government of India did not
provide the requested information, as AFA, we find that each of the
programs meet the financial contribution and specificity criteria
outlined under sections 771(5)(D) and 771(5A) of the Act,
respectively.\9\ As AFA, we also find that these subsidy programs
confer a benefit under section 771(5)(E) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.519.
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\8\ For further discussion, see USK Group's Final Calculation
Memorandum.
\9\ See, e.g., Supercalendered Paper from Canada: Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 80 FR 63535 (October
20, 2015), and accompanying IDM at 17-20, 153-154.
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For further information on the Department's application of AFA, as
summarized above, see the section titled, ``Use of Facts Otherwise
Available and Adverse Inferences,'' in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our analysis of the comments received from parties and the
minor corrections presented, as well as additional items discovered at
verification, we made certain changes to the respondent's subsidy rate
calculations set forth in the Preliminary Determination. For a
discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum and
the Final Calculation Memoranda.\10\
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\10\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum; see also Memorandum,
``Final Determination Calculations for Norma (India) Ltd.,'' dated
June 23, 2017 (Norma's Final Calculation Memorandum); see also
Memorandum, ``Final Determination Calculation Memorandum of RNG,''
dated June 23, 2017 (RNG's Final Calculation Memorandum).
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Final Determination
In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we
calculated a rate for each exporter/producer of the subject merchandise
individually investigated, i.e., Norma (India), Ltd. and R.N. Gupta &
Co. In accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, for companies
not individually investigated, we apply an ``all-others'' rate, which
is normally calculated by weighting the subsidy rates of the individual
companies selected as mandatory respondents by those companies' exports
of the subject merchandise to the United States. Under section
705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the ``all-others'' rate excludes zero and
de minimis rates calculated for the exporters and producers
individually investigated as well as rates based entirely on facts
otherwise available. Where the rates for the individually investigated
companies are all zero or de minimis, or determined entirely using
facts otherwise available, section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act
instructs the Department to establish an ``all-others'' rate using
``any reasonable method.'' Where the countervailable subsidy rates for
all of the individually investigated respondents are zero or de minimis
or are based on total AFA, the Department's practice, pursuant to
705(c)(5)(A)(ii), is to calculate the all others rate based on a simple
average of the zero or de minimis margins and the margins based on
total AFA.
Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, we have calculated
the ``all-others'' rate using the subsidy rates of the two individually
investigated respondents. However, we have not calculated the ``all-
others'' rate by weight-averaging the rates because doing so risks
disclosure of proprietary information. Therefore, consistent with the
Department's practice,\11\ for the ``all others'' rate, we calculated a
simple average of the two mandatory respondents' subsidy rates.
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\11\ See e.g., Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain
Amorphous Silica Fabric from the People's Republic of China: Final
Affirmative Determination, 82 FR 8405 (January 25, 2016).
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The final subsidy rates are as follows:
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\12\ As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, the
Department found the following companies to be cross-owned with
Norma (India), Ltd.: Uma Shanker Khandelwal & Co. (UMA), USK Exports
Private Limited (USK), and Bansidhar Chiranjilal (BDCL).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subsidy rate
Exporter/producer (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Norma (India), Ltd \12\................................. 5.66
R.N. Gupta & Co......................................... 9.11
All-Others.............................................. 7.39
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Disclosure
We will disclose the calculations performed within five days of the
date of publication of this notice to parties in this proceeding in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary Determination, and pursuant to
section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of any entries of merchandise
under consideration from India that were entered or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption, on or after November 29, 2016, which is the
publication date in the Federal Register of the Preliminary
Determination. Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act,
we issued instructions to CBP to suspend liquidation of all entries of
steel flanges from India that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption, on or after November 29, 2017 through March 28, 2017.
Additionally, we instructed CBP to discontinue the suspension of
liquidation for countervailing duty purposes for subject merchandise
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, on or after March 29, 2017 in
accordance with section 703(d)(3) of the Act.
If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a countervailing duty
order, instruct CBP to reinstate suspension of liquidation under
section 706(a) of the Act, and will require a cash deposit of estimated
countervailing duties for such entries of subject merchandise in the
amounts indicated above. If the ITC determines that material injury, or
threat of material injury, does not exist, this proceeding will be
terminated and all estimated duties deposited as a result of the
suspension of liquidation will be refunded or canceled.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. In
addition, we are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and
non-proprietary information related to this investigation. We will
allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary
information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not
disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative
protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Acting
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders
This notice serves as a reminder to parties subject to an
administrative
[[Page 29481]]
protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the
disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of
the return or destruction of APO materials, or conversion to judicial
protective order, is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the
regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
705(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210.
Dated: June 23, 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
(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 Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IX. Analysis of Programs
A. Programs Determined to be Countervailable
B. Programs Determined to be Not Used
X. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether the Department Should Have Rejected the
Government of India's Supplemental Questionnaire Response
Comment 2: Whether the Duty Drawback (DDB) Program Provides a
Countervailable Subsidy
Comment 3: Whether R.N. Gupta & Co., Ltd. (RNG) and USK Group
Should Report Duty Export Pass Book (DEPB) Licenses During the
Average Useful Life (AUL) Period Prior to the Period of
Investigation (POI)
Comment 4: Whether USK Group and RNG Received Benefits from
Certain Government of India Majority-Owned Banks
Comment 5: Whether the Export Promotion of Capital Goods Scheme
(EPCGS) Provides a Countervailable Subsidy and Whether the EPCGS
Used the Correct Denominator for the Benefit Calculation of
Respondents
Comment 6: Whether to Apply Adverse Facts Available (AFA) to
Norma's AUL Sales Data
Comment 7: Whether to Apply AFA to RNG's Unaffiliated Indian
Suppliers of Subject Merchandise
Comment 8: Whether to Countervail Funds Received by RNG Under
the Focus Product Scheme (FPS) During the POI
XI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2017-13628 Filed 6-28-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P