Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 25738-25741 [2019-11586]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 4, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25738-25741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11586]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-849]


Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From Mexico: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that refillable stainless steel kegs (kegs) from Mexico are being, or 
are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value 
(LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2017, through June 
30, 2018. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable June 4, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Hollander at (202) 482-2805 or 
Minoo Hatten at (202) 482-1690, AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and 
Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Commerce published the notice of initiation of this investigation 
on October 16, 2018.\1\ This preliminary determination is made in 
accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act). Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines 
affected by the partial federal government closure from December 22, 
2018, through the resumption of operations on January 29, 2019.\2\ On

[[Page 25739]]

March 19, 2019, at the request of the petitioner, Commerce postponed 
the deadline for the preliminary determination until May 28. 2019.\3\ 
On May 2, 2019, Commerce preliminarily determined that critical 
circumstances exist.\4\
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    \1\ See Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from the People's 
Republic of China, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Mexico: 
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 83 FR 52195 
(October 16, 2016) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum to the Record from 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, ``Deadlines 
Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated 
January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding 
affected by the partial federal government closure have been 
extended by 40 days.
    \3\ See Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from the Federal 
Republic of Germany, Mexico and the People's Republic of China: 
Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 84 FR 10033 (March 19, 2019).
    \4\ See Antidumping Duty Investigation on Refillable Stainless 
Steel Kegs from Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Critical Circumstances, 84 FR 18796 (May 2, 2019) (Critical 
Circumstances Determination).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\5\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically 
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 
registered users at https://access.trade.gov, and to all parties in the 
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce 
building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from Mexico,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are refillable stainless 
steel kegs from Mexico. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\6\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\7\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of this investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments 
and rebuttal responses submitted to the record of this investigation, 
and a discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\8\ The scope case briefs were 
due on May 6, 2019, 30 days after the publication of Kegs from China 
Preliminary CVD Determination.\9\ There will be no further opportunity 
for comments on scope-related issues. Commerce is preliminarily 
modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation 
Notice.\10\ See the revised scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \6\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \7\ See Initiation Notice, 83 FR at 52196.
    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from the 
People's Republic of China, Germany, and Mexico: Scope Comments 
Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated 
March 29, 2019 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
    \9\ The scope case briefs were due 30 days after the publication 
of Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 84 FR 13634 (April 5, 2019) (Kegs from China 
Preliminary CVD Determination). See the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum at 5. Because the deadline fell on Sunday, May 5, 2019, 
the actual deadline for the scope case briefs was Monday, May 6, 
2019. See 19 CFR 351.303(b)(1) (``For both electronically filed and 
manually filed documents, if the applicable due date falls on a non-
business day, the Secretary will accept documents that are filed on 
the next business day.''). The deadline for scope rebuttal briefs 
was Monday, May 13, 2019.
    \10\ Id. at 3-4; see also Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum 
at 15.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a)-(b) of the Act, 
Commerce has preliminarily used an adverse inference when selecting 
from among the facts otherwise available for THIELMANN Mexico S.A. de 
C.V. (THIELMANN), Portinox Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Portinox) \11\ and 
Geodis Wilson Mexico S.A. de C.V. (Geodis Wilson). For a full 
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \11\ The petitioner stated that Portinox is the former name of 
THIELMANN. However, because neither Portinox nor THIELMANN responded 
to our initial questionnaire, we are unable to confirm that Portinox 
is the former name of THIELMANN. See the petitioner's Letter, 
``Supplement to the Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping 
Duties on Imports of Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from Mexico and 
Germany: Response to the Department's Supplemental Questions,'' 
dated September 28, 2019, at 3 (Petition Supplement).
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Critical Circumstances

    On December 10, 2019, the petitioner filed a timely critical 
circumstances allegation with respect to imports of the subject 
merchandise from Mexico. Section 733(e)(1) of the Act provides that 
Commerce will preliminarily determine that critical circumstances exist 
in a LTFV investigation if there is a reasonable basis to believe or 
suspect that: (A) There is a history of dumping and material injury by 
reason of dumped imports in the United States or elsewhere of the 
subject merchandise, or the person by whom, or for whose account, the 
merchandise was imported knew or should have known that the exporter 
was selling the subject merchandise at less than its fair value and 
that there was likely to be material injury by reason of such sales; 
and (B) there have been massive imports of the subject merchandise over 
a relatively short period. On May 2, 2019, we published our preliminary 
determination that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports 
of kegs exported from Mexico.\12\
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    \12\ See Critical Circumstances Determination.
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All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that 
in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero 
and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins established for all exporters and 
producers individually examined are zero, de minimis or determined 
based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any 
reasonable method to establish the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin for all-other producers or exporters. Commerce has preliminarily 
determined the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for the 
individually examined respondent under section 776 of the Act. 
Consequently, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, Commerce's 
normal practice under these circumstances is to calculate the ``all-
others'' rate as a simple average of the alleged dumping margin(s) from 
the petition.\13\ However, because there was

[[Page 25740]]

only one dumping margin alleged in the Petition pertaining to kegs from 
Mexico, consistent with its practice, Commerce is preliminarily 
assigning the dumping margin alleged in the Petition as the ``all-
others'' rate to all exporters and producers not individually examined. 
For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's 
analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \13\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of 
Germany, 73 FR 21909, 21912 (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, 38987 (July 8, 
2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2; 
see also, Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Raw Flexible Magnets from Taiwan, 73 FR 39673, 39674 (July 
10, 2008); 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).
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Producer/exporter                         margin
                                                               (percent)
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THIELMANN Mexico S.A. de C.V................................       18.48
Portinox Mexico S.A. de C.V.................................       18.48
Geodis Wilson Mexico S.A. de C.V............................       18.48
All Others..................................................       18.48
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Section 733(e)(2) 
of the Act provides that, given an affirmative determination of 
critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation shall apply to 
unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a) The date which 
is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of liquidation was 
first ordered, or (b) the date on which notice of initiation of the 
investigation was published. On May 2, 2019, Commerce preliminarily 
found that critical circumstances exist for all imports of subject 
merchandise from Mexico.\14\ Therefore, in accordance with section 
733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to 
all unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 90 days 
before the publication of this notice.
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    \14\ See Critical Circumstances Determination.
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    Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-
others rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the respondents 
listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margins determined in this preliminary determination; 
(2) if the exporter is not a respondent identified above, but the 
producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-
specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that 
producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for 
all other producers and exporters will be equal to the all-others 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin. These suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of the notice of 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied adverse 
facts available (AFA) to the individually examined company THIELMANN, 
as well as Portinox and Geodis Wilson in this investigation, in 
accordance with section 776 of the Act, and the applied AFA rate is 
based solely on the Petition, there are no calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because THIELMANN did not provide information requested by 
Commerce, and Commerce preliminarily determines that THIELMANN has been 
uncooperative within the meaning of section 776(b) of the Act, we will 
not conduct verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case 
briefs.\15\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who 
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are 
encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; 
(2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also, 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, 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, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce 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.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations 
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration, and 19 CFR 351.210(e)(1) further provides that Commerce 
may grant the request, unless Commerce finds compelling reasons to deny 
the request.
    On April 29, 2019, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), THIELMANN 
requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and that 
provisional measures be extended to a period not to

[[Page 25741]]

exceed six months.\16\ However, we find that a compelling reason to 
deny the request to postpone the final determination exists because 
THIELMANN declined to respond to our original questionnaire or 
otherwise participate in the investigation. THIELMANN is the sole 
mandatory respondent in this case, and because it declined to respond 
to our initial questionnaire and is not participating in the 
investigation, there is no need to postpone the final determination, 
and we are thus compelled to deny the request. In accordance with 
section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(e)(1) and (2), 
because a compelling reason for denial exists we are not granting 
THIELMANN's request to postpone the final determination. Therefore, we 
intend to issue the final determination pursuant to section 735(a)(1) 
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1).
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    \16\ See THIELMANN's Letter, ``Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs 
from Mexico: Request For Postponement of Final Determination,'' 
dated April 29, 2019.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the 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 the final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: May 28, 2019.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation are kegs, vessels, 
or containers with bodies that are approximately cylindrical in 
shape, made from stainless steel (i.e., steel containing at least 
10.5 percent chromium by weight and less than 1.2 percent carbon by 
weight, with or without other elements), and that are compatible 
with a ``D Sankey'' extractor (refillable stainless steel kegs) with 
a nominal liquid volume capacity of 10 liters or more, regardless of 
the type of finish, gauge, thickness, or grade of stainless steel, 
and whether or not covered by or encased in other materials. 
Refillable stainless steel kegs may be imported assembled or 
unassembled, with or without all components (including spears, 
couplers or taps, necks, collars, and valves), and be filled or 
unfilled.
    ``Unassembled'' or ``unfinished'' refillable stainless steel 
kegs include drawn stainless steel cylinders that have been welded 
to form the body of the keg and attached to an upper (top) chime 
and/or lower (bottom) chime. Unassembled refillable stainless steel 
kegs may or may not be welded to a neck, may or may not have a valve 
assembly attached, and may be otherwise complete except for testing, 
certification, and/or marking.
    Subject merchandise also includes refillable stainless steel 
kegs that have been further processed in a third country, including 
but not limited to, attachment of necks, collars, spears or valves, 
heat treatment, pickling, passivation, painting, testing, 
certification or any other processing that would not otherwise 
remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if 
performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope refillable 
stainless steel keg.
    Specifically excluded are the following:

    (1) Vessels or containers that are not approximately cylindrical 
in nature (e.g., box, ``hopper'' or ``cone'' shaped vessels);
    (2) stainless steel kegs, vessels, or containers that have 
either a ``ball lock'' valve system or a ``pin lock'' valve system 
(commonly known as ``Cornelius,'' ``corny'' or ``ball lock'' kegs);
    (3) necks, spears, couplers or taps, collars, and valves that 
are not imported with the subject merchandise; and
    (4) stainless steel kegs that are filled with beer, wine, or 
other liquid and that are designated by the Commissioner of Customs 
as Instruments of International Traffic within the meaning of 
section 332(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended.

    The merchandise covered by this investigation are currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under subheadings 7310.10.0010, 7310.10.0050, 7310.29.0025, 
and 7310.29.0050.
    These HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes; the written description of the scope of this investigation 
is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Scope Comments
VI. Product Characteristics
VII. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference, 
and Calculation of All-Others Rate
    A. Application of Facts Available
    B. Use of Adverse Inference
    C. Preliminary Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins Based 
on Adverse Facts Available
    D. Corroboration of Secondary Information
    E. All Others Rate
VIII. Critical Circumstances
IX. Verification
X. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2019-11586 Filed 6-3-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P