Countervailing Duty Investigation of Stainless Steel Flanges From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination, 15790-15791 [2018-07587]
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15790
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 71 / Thursday, April 12, 2018 / Notices
Postponement of Preliminary
Determinations
Section 703(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act) requires
Commerce to issue the preliminary
determination in a CVD investigation
within 65 days after the date on which
Commerce initiated the investigation.
However, section 703(c)(1)(A) of the Act
permits Commerce to postpone the
preliminary determination until no later
than 130 days after the date on which
Commerce initiated the investigation if
a petitioner makes a timely request for
a postponement. Under 19 CFR
351.205(e), a petitioner must submit a
request for postponement 25 days or
more before the scheduled date of the
preliminary determination and must
state the reason for the request.
Commerce will grant the request unless
it finds compelling reasons to deny the
request.2
On March 27, 2018, Alliance Rubber
Co. (the petitioner) submitted a timely
request, pursuant to section 703(c)(1)(A)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(e), to
postpone fully the preliminary
determinations.3 The petitioner stated
that the purpose of its request is to
provide Commerce with adequate time
to analyze fully ‘questionnaire
responses to determine the extent to
which countervailable subsidies are
used by the respondents.4
In accordance with 19 CFR
351.205(e), the petitioner stated the
reason for requesting a postponement of
the preliminary determinations and the
record does not present any compelling
reasons to deny the request. Therefore,
in accordance with section 703(c)(1)(A)
of the Act, Commerce is postponing the
deadline for the preliminary
determinations to July 2, 2018.5 In
accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1), the
deadline for the final determinations of
these investigations will continue to be
75 days after the date of the preliminary
determinations, unless postponed at a
later date.
This notice is issued and published
pursuant to section 703(c)(2) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.205(f)(1).
2 See
19 CFR 351.205(e).
Letter from the petitioner, ‘‘Petitioner’s
Request for Postponement of the Preliminary
Determinations,’’ dated March 27, 2018.
4 Id. at 2.
5 The actual deadline is June 30, 2018, which is
a Saturday. Commerce’s practice dictates that where
a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday,
the appropriate deadline is the next business day.
See Notice of Clarification: Application of ‘‘Next
Business Day’’ Rule for Administrative
Determination Deadlines Pursuant to the Tariff Act
of 1930, As Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2005).
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
3 See
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:20 Apr 11, 2018
Jkt 244001
Dated: April 6, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Operations,
performing the non-exclusive functions and
duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2018–07588 Filed 4–11–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C–570–065]
Countervailing Duty Investigation of
Stainless Steel Flanges From the
People’s Republic of China: Final
Affirmative Determination
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Commerce) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being
provided to producers/exporters of
stainless steel flanges from the People’s
Republic of China (China). The period
of investigation is January 1, 2016,
through December 31, 2016.
DATES: Applicable April 12, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Justin Neuman or Jerry Huang, AD/CVD
Operations, Office V, Enforcement and
Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone
(202) 482–0486 or (202) 482–4047,
respectively.
AGENCY:
Background
The Preliminary Determination in this
investigation was published on January
23, 2018.1 Commerce exercised its
discretion to toll all deadlines affected
by the closure of the Federal
Government from January 20 through
22, 2018. As a result, the revised
deadline for the final determination of
this investigation is now April 4, 2018.2
We invited interested parties to
comment on the Preliminary
Determination. However, we received
1 See Countervailing Duty Investigation of
Stainless Steel Flanges from the People’s Republic
of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination, 83
FR 3124 (January 23, 2018) (Preliminary
Determination).
2 See Memorandum, ‘‘Deadlines Affected by the
Shutdown of the Federal Government’’ (Tolling
Memorandum), dated January 23, 2018. All
deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have
been extended by 3 days.
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this
investigation are stainless steel flanges
from China. For a complete description
of the scope of this investigation, see the
Appendix to this notice.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and
Comments Received
As noted above, we received no
comments pertaining to the Preliminary
Determination. As stated in the
Preliminary Determination, we found
that the mandatory respondents in these
investigations, Bothwell (Jiangyan) Steel
Fittings Co., Ltd.; Hydro Fluids Controls
Limited; Jiangyin Shengda Brite Line
Kasugai Flange Co., Ltd.; and Qingdao IFlow Co., Ltd.; did not cooperate to the
best of their abilities and, accordingly,
we determined it appropriate to apply
facts otherwise available with adverse
inferences, in accordance with section
776(a)–(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act).3 For the purposes of
the final determination, Commerce has
made no changes to the Preliminary
Determination.
All-Others Rate
As discussed in the Preliminary
Determination, Commerce based the
selection of the ‘‘All-Others’’ rate on the
countervailable subsidy rate established
for the mandatory respondents in
accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii)
of the Act.4 We made no changes to the
selection of this rate for this final
determination.
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the
following estimated countervailable
subsidy rates exist:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
no comments from any interested
parties.
Company
Bothwell (Jiangyan) Steel Fittings Co., Ltd ...........................
Hydro-Fluids Controls Limited ....
Jiangyin Shengda Brite Line
Kasugai Flange Co., Ltd .........
Qingdao I-Flow Co., Ltd .............
All-Others ....................................
Subsidy
rate
(percent)
174.73
174.73
174.73
174.73
174.73
Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary
Determination and pursuant to section
703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act,
Commerce directed U.S. Customs and
3 See Preliminary Determination, 83 FR at 3124–
3125.
4 Id., 83 FR at 3125.
E:\FR\FM\12APN1.SGM
12APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 71 / Thursday, April 12, 2018 / Notices
Border Protection (CBP) to suspend
liquidation of entries of subject
merchandise as described in the scope
of the investigation section entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register.
If the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we
will issue a CVD order, will continue
the 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 or securities posted as
a result of the suspension of liquidation
will be refunded or canceled.
International Trade Commission
Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of
the Act, Commerce will notify the ITC
of its 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 Assistant Secretary for Enforcement
and Compliance.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Notification Regarding Administrative
Protective Orders
In the event that the ITC issues a final
negative injury determination, this
notice will serve as the only reminder
to parties subject to an APO of their
responsibility concerning the
destruction of proprietary information
disclosed under APO in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely
written notification of the return/
destruction of APO materials or
conversion to judicial protective order is
hereby requested. Failure to comply
with the regulations and terms of an
APO is a violation which is subject to
sanction.
This determination is issued and
published pursuant to sections 705(d)
and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(c).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
19:20 Apr 11, 2018
Jkt 244001
Dated: April 4, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Operations,
performing the non-exclusive functions and
duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix—Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation
are certain forged stainless steel flanges,
whether unfinished, semi-finished, or
finished (certain forged stainless steel
flanges). Certain forged stainless steel flanges
are generally manufactured to, but not
limited to, the material specification of
ASTM/ASME A/SA182 or comparable
domestic or foreign specifications. Certain
forged stainless steel flanges are made in
various grades such as, but not limited to,
304, 304L, 316, and 316L (or combinations
thereof). The term ‘‘stainless steel’’ used in
this scope refers to an alloy steel containing,
by actual weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon
and 10.5 percent or more of chromium, with
or without other elements.
Unfinished stainless steel flanges possess
the approximate shape of finished stainless
steel flanges and have not yet been machined
to final specification after the initial forging
or like operations. These machining
processes may include, but are not limited to,
boring, facing, spot facing, drilling, tapering,
threading, beveling, heating, or compressing.
Semi-finished stainless steel flanges are
unfinished stainless steel flanges that have
undergone some machining processes.
The scope includes six general types of
flanges. They are: (1) Weld neck, generally
used in butt-weld line connection; (2)
threaded, generally used for threaded line
connections; (3) slip-on, generally used to
slide over pipe; (4) lap joint, generally used
with stub-ends/butt-weld line connections;
(5) socket weld, generally used to fit pipe
into a machine recession; and (6) blind,
generally used to seal off a line. The sizes
and descriptions of the flanges within the
scope include all pressure classes of ASME
B16.5 and range from one-half inch to
twenty-four inches nominal pipe size.
Specifically excluded from the scope of these
orders are cast stainless steel flanges. Cast
stainless steel flanges generally are
manufactured to specification ASTM A351.
The country of origin for certain forged
stainless steel flanges, whether unfinished,
semi-finished, or finished is the country
where the flange was forged. Subject
merchandise includes stainless steel flanges
as defined above that have been further
processed in a third country. The processing
includes, but is not limited to, boring, facing,
spot facing, drilling, tapering, threading,
beveling, heating, or compressing, and/or any
other processing that would not otherwise
remove the merchandise from the scope of
the investigations if performed in the country
of manufacture of the stainless steel flanges.
Merchandise subject to the investigation is
typically imported under headings
7307.21.1000 and 7307.21.5000 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS). While HTSUS subheadings
and ASTM specifications are provided for
convenience and customs purposes, the
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
15791
written description of the scope is
dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2018–07587 Filed 4–11–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XG142
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions;
General Provisions for Domestic
Fisheries; Application for Exempted
Fishing Permits
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice; request for comments.
AGENCY:
The Assistant Regional
Administrator for Sustainable Fisheries,
Greater Atlantic Region, NMFS
(Assistant Regional Administrator), has
made a preliminary determination that
three exempted fishing permit
applications contain all of the required
information and warrant further
consideration. These exempted fishing
permits would authorize five
commercial fishing vessels to test the
economic viability of using hook gear to
selectively target pollock and haddock
in the Western Gulf of Maine and
Cashes Ledge Closure Areas (excluding
the Cashes Ledge Habitat Management
Area), and to temporarily retain
undersized catch for measurement and
data collection.
Regulations under the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act require publication of
this notification to provide interested
parties the opportunity to comment on
applications for proposed exempted
fishing permits.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before April 27, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit written
comments by any of the following
methods:
• Email: NMFS.GAR.EFP@noaa.gov.
Include in the subject line ‘‘Comments
on EFP Applications for Hook Gear
Access to WGOM and Cashes Ledge
Closure Areas.’’
• Mail: Michael Pentony, Regional
Administrator, NMFS, Greater Atlantic
Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great
Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.
Mark the outside of the envelope
‘‘Comments on EFP Applications for
Hook Gear Access to WGOM and Cashes
Ledge Closure Areas.’’
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\12APN1.SGM
12APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 71 (Thursday, April 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15790-15791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07587]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-065]
Countervailing Duty Investigation of Stainless Steel Flanges From
the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers/exporters of
stainless steel flanges from the People's Republic of China (China).
The period of investigation is January 1, 2016, through December 31,
2016.
DATES: Applicable April 12, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Justin Neuman or Jerry Huang, AD/CVD
Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-0486 or (202) 482-4047,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Preliminary Determination in this investigation was published
on January 23, 2018.\1\ Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all
deadlines affected by the closure of the Federal Government from
January 20 through 22, 2018. As a result, the revised deadline for the
final determination of this investigation is now April 4, 2018.\2\ We
invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination.
However, we received no comments from any interested parties.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Stainless Steel
Flanges from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative
Determination, 83 FR 3124 (January 23, 2018) (Preliminary
Determination).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the
Federal Government'' (Tolling Memorandum), dated January 23, 2018.
All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended
by 3 days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are stainless steel
flanges from China. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see the Appendix to this notice.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
As noted above, we received no comments pertaining to the
Preliminary Determination. As stated in the Preliminary Determination,
we found that the mandatory respondents in these investigations,
Bothwell (Jiangyan) Steel Fittings Co., Ltd.; Hydro Fluids Controls
Limited; Jiangyin Shengda Brite Line Kasugai Flange Co., Ltd.; and
Qingdao I-Flow Co., Ltd.; did not cooperate to the best of their
abilities and, accordingly, we determined it appropriate to apply facts
otherwise available with adverse inferences, in accordance with section
776(a)-(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\3\ For the
purposes of the final determination, Commerce has made no changes to
the Preliminary Determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Preliminary Determination, 83 FR at 3124-3125.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All-Others Rate
As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce based the
selection of the ``All-Others'' rate on the countervailable subsidy
rate established for the mandatory respondents in accordance with
section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act.\4\ We made no changes to the
selection of this rate for this final determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Id., 83 FR at 3125.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated countervailable
subsidy rates exist:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subsidy
Company rate
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bothwell (Jiangyan) Steel Fittings Co., Ltd................. 174.73
Hydro-Fluids Controls Limited............................... 174.73
Jiangyin Shengda Brite Line Kasugai Flange Co., Ltd......... 174.73
Qingdao I-Flow Co., Ltd..................................... 174.73
All-Others.................................................. 174.73
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary Determination and pursuant to
section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce directed U.S.
Customs and
[[Page 15791]]
Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries of subject
merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation section
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a CVD order, will
continue the 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 or securities posted as a result of the suspension of
liquidation will be refunded or canceled.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its 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 Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders
In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties
subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of
proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO
is a violation which is subject to sanction.
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: April 4, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix--Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are certain forged
stainless steel flanges, whether unfinished, semi-finished, or
finished (certain forged stainless steel flanges). Certain forged
stainless steel flanges are generally manufactured to, but not
limited to, the material specification of ASTM/ASME A/SA182 or
comparable domestic or foreign specifications. Certain forged
stainless steel flanges are made in various grades such as, but not
limited to, 304, 304L, 316, and 316L (or combinations thereof). The
term ``stainless steel'' used in this scope refers to an alloy steel
containing, by actual weight, 1.2 percent or less of carbon and 10.5
percent or more of chromium, with or without other elements.
Unfinished stainless steel flanges possess the approximate shape
of finished stainless steel flanges and have not yet been machined
to final specification after the initial forging or like operations.
These machining processes may include, but are not limited to,
boring, facing, spot facing, drilling, tapering, threading,
beveling, heating, or compressing. Semi-finished stainless steel
flanges are unfinished stainless steel flanges that have undergone
some machining processes.
The scope includes six general types of flanges. They are: (1)
Weld neck, generally used in butt-weld line connection; (2)
threaded, generally used for threaded line connections; (3) slip-on,
generally used to slide over pipe; (4) lap joint, generally used
with stub-ends/butt-weld line connections; (5) socket weld,
generally used to fit pipe into a machine recession; and (6) blind,
generally used to seal off a line. The sizes and descriptions of the
flanges within the scope include all pressure classes of ASME B16.5
and range from one-half inch to twenty-four inches nominal pipe
size. Specifically excluded from the scope of these orders are cast
stainless steel flanges. Cast stainless steel flanges generally are
manufactured to specification ASTM A351.
The country of origin for certain forged stainless steel
flanges, whether unfinished, semi-finished, or finished is the
country where the flange was forged. Subject merchandise includes
stainless steel flanges as defined above that have been further
processed in a third country. The processing includes, but is not
limited to, boring, facing, spot facing, drilling, tapering,
threading, beveling, heating, or compressing, and/or any other
processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the
scope of the investigations if performed in the country of
manufacture of the stainless steel flanges.
Merchandise subject to the investigation is typically imported
under headings 7307.21.1000 and 7307.21.5000 of the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). While HTSUS
subheadings and ASTM specifications are provided for convenience and
customs purposes, the written description of the scope is
dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2018-07587 Filed 4-11-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
