Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Republic of Korea: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Anti-Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders, 32871-32875 [2019-14694]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32871-32875]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14694]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-878; C-580-879]


Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Republic of 
Korea: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that imports of certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE), 
produced in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) using hot-
rolled steel (HRS) and/or cold-rolled steel (CRS) flat products 
manufactured in the Republic of Korea (Korea), are circumventing the 
antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on CORE from 
Korea.

DATES: Applicable July 10, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chien-Min Yang, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5484.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 32872]]

Background

    Certain domestic interested parties, ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor 
Corporation, United States Steel Corporation, Steel Dynamics, Inc. and 
California Steel Industries (collectively, the petitioners) filed an 
allegation \1\ that imports of CORE from Vietnam made from HRS and/or 
CRS sourced from the Korea and exported to the United States as CORE 
from Vietnam are circumventing the Korea CORE Orders.\2\ In their 
allegation, the petitioners requested that Commerce initiate anti-
circumvention inquiries pursuant to section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.225(h), to determine whether 
the importation of the Korean-origin HRS or CRS substrate for 
completing into CORE in Vietnam and subsequent sale of that CORE to the 
United States constitutes circumvention of the Korea CORE Orders. In 
their allegation, the petitioners requested Commerce initiate anti-
circumvention inquiries pursuant to section 781(b) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.225(h), to determine whether the importation of the Korean-
origin HRS or CRS substrate for completion into CORE in Vietnam and 
subsequent sale of that CORE to the United States constitutes 
circumvention of the Korea CORE Orders.
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    \1\ See Petitioners' letter, ``Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel 
Products from Korea: Request for Circumvention Ruling,'' dated June 
12, 2018 (Circumvention Ruling Request).
    \2\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Flat Products from 
India, Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, 
and Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Duty Determination 
for India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390 (July 
25, 2016). The ``all others rate'' was subsequently amended as the 
result of litigation. See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products 
from the Republic of Korea: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony 
with Final Determination of Investigation and Notice of Amended 
Final Results, 83 FR 39054 (August 8, 2018); see also Certain 
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from India, Italy, Republic of 
Korea, and the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty 
Order, 81 FR 48387 (July 25, 2016) (collectively, Korea CORE 
Orders).
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    On August 2, 2018, Commerce published the notice of initiation of 
anti-circumvention inquiries on imports of CORE from Vietnam.\3\ For a 
complete description of the events that followed the initiation of 
these inquiries, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ A list of 
topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as 
Appendix I 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 Commerce building. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic 
versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content.
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    \3\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the 
Republic of Korea and Taiwan: Initiation of Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders, 83 
FR 37785 (August 2, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry of Certain 
Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the Republic of Korea,'' 
dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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    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.\5\ If the new 
deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with Commerce's 
practice, the deadline will become the next business day.
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    \5\ 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 29, 2019. All deadlines in this segment have been extended 
by 40 days.
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Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by these orders are certain flat-rolled steel 
products, either clad, plated, or coated with corrosion-resistant 
metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-
based alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted, varnished, 
laminated, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in 
addition to the metallic coating. For a complete description of the 
scope of the orders, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiries

    These anti-circumvention inquiries cover CORE produced in Vietnam 
from HRS or CRS substrate input manufactured in Korea and subsequently 
exported from Vietnam to the United States (merchandise under 
consideration). This preliminary ruling applies to all shipments of 
merchandise under consideration on or after the date of initiation of 
these inquiries. Importers and exporters of CORE produced in Vietnam 
using (1) HRS manufactured in Vietnam or third countries, (2) CRS 
manufactured in Vietnam using HRS produced in Vietnam or third 
countries, or (3) CRS manufactured in third countries, must certify 
that the HRS or CRS processed into CORE in Vietnam did not originate in 
Korea, as provided for in the certifications attached to this Federal 
Register notice. Otherwise, their merchandise may be subject to 
antidumping and countervailing duties if Commerce makes affirmative 
final determination in these inquiries.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting these anti-circumvention inquiries in 
accordance with section 781(b) of the Act. Because certain interested 
parties did not cooperate to the best of their abilities in responding 
to Commerce's requests for information, we have based parts of our 
preliminary determination on the facts available, with adverse 
inferences, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full 
description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Finding

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we 
preliminarily determine that CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS and/or 
CRS sourced from Korea is circumventing the Korea CORE Orders. We 
therefore preliminarily determine that it is appropriate to include 
this merchandise within the Korea CORE Orders and to instruct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend any entries of CORE from 
Vietnam produced from HRS and/or CRS from Korea.

Suspension of Liquidation

    As stated above, Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative 
finding of circumvention of the Korea CORE Orders by exports to the 
United States of CORE produced by any Vietnamese company from Korean-
origin HRS and/or CRS input. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.225(1)(2), 
Commerce will direct CBP to suspend liquidation and to require a cash 
deposit of estimated duties on unliquidated entries of CORE produced in 
Vietnam, as appropriate, that were entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after August 2, 2018, the date of 
initiation of the anti-circumvention inquiries. The suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
    CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS and/or CRS that is not of Korean 
origin is not subject to these inquiries. Therefore, cash deposits 
pursuant to the Korea CORE Orders are not required for such 
merchandise. However, CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS and/or

[[Page 32873]]

CRS from China is subject to the AD/CVD orders on CORE from China,\6\ 
and CORE produced in Vietnam from HRS and/or CRS from Taiwan has 
preliminarily been found to be circumventing the AD order on CORE from 
Taiwan.\7\ Imports of such merchandise are also subject to 
certification requirements and cash deposits may be required. If an 
importer imports CORE from Vietnam and claims that the CORE was not 
produced from HRS and/or CRS substrate manufactured in Korea, in order 
not to be subject to Korea CORE Orders cash deposit requirements, the 
importer and exporter are required to meet the certification and 
documentation requirements described in Appendix II. Exporters of CORE 
produced from non-Korean-origin HRS and/or CRS substrate must prepare 
and maintain an Exporter Certification and documentation supporting the 
Exporter Certification (see Appendix IV). In addition, importers of 
such CORE must prepare and maintain an Importer Certification (see 
Appendix III) as well as documentation supporting the Importer 
Certification. Besides the Importer Certification, the importer must 
also maintain a copy of the Exporter Certification (see Appendix IV) 
and relevant supporting documentation from the exporter of CORE who did 
not use the Korean-origin HRS and/or CRS substrate.
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    \6\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention 
of the Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Orders, 83 FR 23895 
(May 23, 2018) (CORE China Circumvention Final).
    \7\ See Federal Register notice, ``Certain Corrosion-Resistant 
Steel Products from Taiwan: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of 
Anti-Circumvention Inquiry on the Antidumping Duty Order,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice.
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    In the situation where no certification is provided for an entry, 
and AD/CVD orders from three countries (China, Korea, or Taiwan) 
potentially apply to that entry, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to 
suspend the entry and collect cash deposits at the CORE China 
Circumvention Final rates (i.e., the AD rate established for the China-
wide entity (199.43 percent) and the CVD rate established for the China 
all-others rate (39.05 percent)).\8\ This is to prevent evasion, given 
that the CORE China Circumvention Final rates are higher than the AD 
and CVD rates established for CORE from Korea and Taiwan. In the 
situation where a certification is provided for the AD/CVD orders on 
CORE from China (stating that the merchandise was not produced from HRS 
and/or CRS from China), but no other certification is provided, then 
Commerce intends to instruct CBP to suspend the entry and collect cash 
deposits at the AD and CVD all-others rates (i.e., 8.31 percent and 
1.19 percent, respectively) applicable to the AD/CVD orders on CORE 
from Korea.\9\ This is to prevent evasion, given that the AD and CVD 
rates established for CORE from Korea are higher than the AD rate 
established for CORE from Taiwan.
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    \8\ See CORE China Circumvention Final, 83 FR at 23896.
    \9\ See Korea CORE Orders.
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Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than thirty 
days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, 
limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than 
five days after the deadline date for case briefs.\10\ Pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in these anti-circumvention inquiries 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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    \10\ 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.

International Trade Commission Notification

    Commerce, consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, has notified 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of these preliminary 
determinations to include the merchandise subject to these 
anticircumvention inquiries within the Korea CORE Orders. Pursuant to 
section 781(e) of the Act, the ITC may request consultations concerning 
Commerce's proposed inclusion of the subject merchandise. If, after 
consultations, the ITC believes that a significant injury issue is 
presented by the proposed inclusion, it will have 60 days from the date 
of notification by Commerce to provide written advice.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(f).

    Dated: June 28, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Orders
IV. Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiries
V. Period of Inquiries
VI. Statutory Framework
VII. Use of Facts Available with an Adverse Inference
VIII. Anti-Circumvention Determination
IX. Country-Wide Determination
X. Certification for Not Using Korean-Origin HRS and/or CRS
XI. Recommendation

Appendix II

Certification Requirements

    If an importer imports certain corrosion-resistant steel 
products (CORE) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and 
claims that the CORE was not produced from hot-rolled steel and/or 
cold-rolled steel substrate (substrate) manufactured in Korea, the 
importer is required to complete and maintain the importer 
certification attached hereto as Appendix III and all supporting 
documents. Where the importer uses a broker to facilitate the entry 
process, it should obtain the entry number from the broker. Agents 
of the importer, such as brokers, however, are not permitted to make 
this certification on behalf of the importer.
    The exporter is also required to complete and maintain the 
exporter certification attached hereto as Appendix IV, and is 
further required to provide the importer a copy of that 
certification and all supporting documentation.
    For shipments and/or entries on or after August 2, 2018 through 
July 18, 2019 for which certifications are required, importers and 
exporters should complete the required certification within 30 days 
of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
Accordingly, where appropriate, the relevant bullet in the 
certification should be edited to reflect that the certification was 
completed within the time frame specified above. For example, the 
bullet in the importer certification that reads: ``This 
certification was completed at or prior to the time of Entry,'' 
could be edited as follows: ``The imports referenced herein entered 
before July 19, 2019. This certification was

[[Page 32874]]

completed on mm/dd/yyyy, within 30 days of the Federal Register 
notice publication of the preliminary determination of 
circumvention.'' Similarly, the bullet in the exporter certification 
that reads, ``This certification was completed at or prior to the 
time of shipment,'' could be edited as follows: ``The shipments/
products referenced herein shipped before July 19, 2019. This 
certification was completed on mm/dd/yyyy, within 30 days of the 
Federal Register notice publication of the preliminary determination 
of circumvention.'' For such entries/shipments, importers and 
exporters each have the option to complete a blanket certification 
covering multiple entries/shipments, individual certifications for 
each entry/shipment, or a combination thereof.
    For shipments and/or entries on or after July 19, 2019, for 
which certifications are required, importers should complete the 
required certification at or prior to the date of Entry and 
exporters should complete the required certification and provide it 
to the importer at or prior to the date of shipment.
    The importer and Vietnamese exporter are also required to 
maintain sufficient documentation supporting their certifications. 
The importer will not be required to submit the certifications or 
supporting documentation to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
as part of the entry process at this time. However, the importer and 
the exporter will be required to present the certifications and 
supporting documentation, to Commerce and/or CBP, as applicable, 
upon request by the respective agency. Additionally, the claims made 
in the certifications and any supporting documentation are subject 
to verification by Commerce and/or CBP. The importer and exporter 
are required to maintain the certifications and supporting 
documentation for the later of (1) a period of five years from the 
date of entry or (2) a period of three years after the conclusion of 
any litigation in United States courts regarding such entries.
    In the situation where no certification is provided for an 
entry, and AD/CVD orders from three countries (China, Korea, or 
Taiwan) potentially apply to that entry, Commerce intends to 
instruct CBP to suspend the entry and collect cash deposits at the 
CORE China Circumvention Final rates (i.e., the AD rate established 
for the China-wide entity (199.43 percent) and the CVD rate 
established for China all-others rate (39.05 percent)). In the 
situation where a certification is provided for the AD/CVD orders on 
CORE from China, but no other certification is provided, then 
Commerce intends to instruct CBP to suspend the entry and collect 
cash deposits at the AD and CVD all-others rates (i.e., 8.31 percent 
and 1.19 percent, respectively) applicable to the AD/CVD orders on 
CORE from Korea.

Appendix III

    Importer Certification
    I hereby certify that:
     My name is {INSERT COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME HERE{time}  
and I am an official of {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the importation into the Customs territory of the United States of 
the corrosion-resistant steel products produced in Vietnam that 
entered under entry number(s) {INSERT ENTRY NUMBER(S){time}  and are 
covered by this certification. ``Direct personal knowledge'' refers 
to facts the certifying party is expected to have in its own 
records. For example, the importer should have ``direct personal 
knowledge'' of the importation of the product (e.g., the name of the 
exporter) in its records;
     I have personal knowledge of the facts regarding the 
production of the imported products covered by this certification. 
``Personal knowledge'' includes facts obtained from another party, 
(e.g., correspondence received by the importer (or exporter) from 
the producer regarding the source of the input used to produce the 
imported products);
     These corrosion-resistant steel products produced in 
Vietnam do not contain hot-rolled steel and/or cold-rolled steel 
substrate produced in Taiwan:
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain a copy of this certification 
and sufficient documentation supporting this certification (i.e., 
documents maintained in the normal course of business, or documents 
obtained by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, 
productions records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period 
of five years from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years 
after the conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts 
regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to provide this certification and 
supporting records, upon request, to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) and/or the Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain a copy of the exporter's 
certification for the later of (1) a period of five years from the 
date of entry or (2) a period of three years after the conclusion of 
any litigation in United States courts regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain and provide a copy of the 
exporter's certification and supporting records, upon request, to 
CBP and/or Commerce;
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation, are subject to verification by CBP 
and/or Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification and/or failure to substantiate the claims made herein 
will result in:
    [cir] Suspension of liquidation of all unliquidated entries (and 
entries for which liquidation has not become final) for which these 
requirements were not met and
    [cir] the requirement that the importer post applicable 
antidumping duty (AD) cash deposits equal to the rates as determined 
by Commerce;
     I understand that agents of the importer, such as 
brokers, are not permitted to make this certification;
     This certification was completed at or prior to the 
time of Entry; and
     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.

Signature--------------------------------------------------------------

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
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TITLE
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DATE

Appendix IV

    Exporter Certification
    I hereby certify that:
     My name is {INSERT COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME HERE{time}  
and I am an official of {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
     I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding 
the production and exportation of the corrosion-resistant steel 
products that were sold to the United States under invoice number(s) 
INSERT INVOICE NUMBER(S). ``Direct personal knowledge'' refers to 
facts the certifying party is expected to have in its own books and 
records. For example, an exporter should have ``direct personal 
knowledge'' of the producer's identity and location.
     These corrosion-resistant steel products produced in 
Vietnam do not contain hot-rolled steel and/or cold-rolled steel 
substrate produced in Taiwan:
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to maintain a copy of this certification 
and sufficient documentation supporting this certification (i.e., 
documents maintained in the normal course of business, or documents 
obtained by the certifying party, for example, mill certificates, 
productions records, invoices, etc.) for the later of (1) a period 
of five years from the date of entry or (2) a period of three years 
after the conclusion of any litigation in the United States courts 
regarding such entries;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  must provide this Exporter Certification to the U.S. 
importer by the time of shipment;
     I understand that {INSERT NAME OF EXPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  is required to provide a copy of this certification 
and supporting records, upon request, to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) and/or the Department of Commerce (Commerce);
     I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation are subject to verification by CBP and/
or Commerce;
     I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification and/or failure to substantiate the claims made herein 
will result in:
    o Suspension of all unliquidated entries (and entries for which 
liquidation has not become final) for which these requirements were 
not met and
    o the requirement that the importer post applicable antidumping 
duty (AD) cash deposits equal to the rates as determined by 
Commerce;
     This certification was completed at or prior to the 
time of shipment;

[[Page 32875]]

     I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited 
to, 18 U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who 
knowingly and willfully make material false statements to the U.S. 
government.
Signature--------------------------------------------------------------

NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL
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TITLE
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DATE

[FR Doc. 2019-14694 Filed 7-9-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P