Oil Country Tubular Goods From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determinations of Circumvention, 67443-67444 [2021-25832]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 225 (Friday, November 26, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67443-67444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25832]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-943, C-570-944]


Oil Country Tubular Goods From the People's Republic of China: 
Final Affirmative Determinations of Circumvention

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports 
of welded oil country tubular goods (OCTG) completed in Brunei or the 
Philippines using inputs manufactured in the People's Republic of China 
(China) are circumventing the antidumping and countervailing duty 
orders on OCTG from China.

DATES: Applicable November 26, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yang Jin Chun or John Drury, 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) 482-5760 and (202) 482-0195, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 10, 2021, Commerce published the preliminary affirmative 
determinations of circumvention of the antidumping and countervailing 
duty orders on welded OCTG from China.\1\ In the Preliminary 
Determinations, Commerce extended the deadline for the final 
determinations of these circumvention inquiries to October 28, 2021.\2\ 
On October 18, 2021, Commerce extended the deadline for the final 
determinations of these circumvention inquiries to November 19, 
2021.\3\
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    \1\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Affirmative Determinations of Circumvention, 86 
FR 43627 (August 10, 2021) (Preliminary Determinations).
    \2\ Id. at 43629.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Oil Country Tubular Goods from the 
People's Republic of China: Extension of Deadline for Final 
Determinations of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiries of the 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders,'' dated October 18, 
2021.
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    We received case and rebuttal briefs with respect to the 
Preliminary Determinations. We conducted these circumvention inquiries 
in accordance with section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.225(h).

Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by the orders are certain OCTG, which are 
hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including oil well 
casing and tubing, of iron (other than cast iron) or steel (both carbon 
and alloy), whether seamless or welded, regardless of end finish. A 
full description of the scope of the orders is contained in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum.\4\ The written description is dispositive.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Oil Country Tubular Goods from the 
People's Republic of China: Issues and Decision Memorandum for Final 
Affirmative Determinations of Circumvention,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision 
Memorandum) at 2-3.
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Scope of the Circumvention Inquiries

    These circumvention inquiries cover welded OCTG completed in Brunei 
or the Philippines using inputs manufactured in China and subsequently 
exported from Brunei or the Philippines to the United States.\5\
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    \5\ See Preliminary Determinations, 86 FR 43628.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting these circumvention inquiries in accordance 
with section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(h). For a full 
description of the methodology underlying Commerce's final 
determinations, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum. The Issues and 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and 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. In addition, a complete 
version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in 
these inquiries are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A 
list of the issues raised is attached to this notice as an appendix. 
Based on our analysis of the comments received, we made a change to the 
Preliminary Determinations.

Final Affirmative Determinations

    As detailed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, we determine 
that welded OCTG assembled or completed in Brunei or the Philippines 
using inputs manufactured in China and subsequently exported from 
Brunei or the Philippines to the United States are circumventing the 
antidumping and countervailing duty orders on OCTG from China. 
Therefore, we determine that it is appropriate to include this 
merchandise within the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty 
orders of OCTG from China and to instruct U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend any entries of merchandise 
produced using Chinese inputs in Brunei or the Philippines and exported 
to the United States.

Continued Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.225(l)(3), based on these final 
determinations in these circumvention inquiries, Commerce will direct 
CBP to continue to suspend liquidation and to require a cash deposit of 
estimated duties on unliquidated entries of

[[Page 67444]]

welded OCTG completed in Brunei or the Philippines using inputs 
manufactured in China, subsequently exported from Brunei or the 
Philippines to the United States, and entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after November 12, 2020, the date of 
publication of the notice of initiation of these circumvention 
inquiries.\6\ The suspension of liquidation will remain in effect until 
further notice. As we explained in the Preliminary Determinations,\7\ 
Commerce will instruct CBP to require antidumping duty cash deposits 
equal to the rate established for the China-wide entity, i.e., 99.14 
percent,\8\ and countervailing duty cash deposits equal to the current 
all-others rate, i.e., 27.08 percent.\9\
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    \6\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 5; see also 
Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's Republic of China: Self-
Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty 
and Countervailing Duty Orders, 85 FR 71877 (November 12, 2020).
    \7\ See Preliminary Determinations, 86 FR 43628.
    \8\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's Republic of 
China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2017-2018, 84 FR 32125, 32126 (July 5, 2019).
    \9\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's Republic of 
China: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony With the Amended 
Final Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation, 82 FR 
25770 (June 5, 2017).
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    Welded OCTG assembled or completed in Brunei or the Philippines 
using non-Chinese inputs is not subject to these circumvention 
inquiries. However, because the mandatory respondents are unable to 
track welded OCTG to the country of origin of inputs used in the 
production of welded OCTG,\10\ Commerce did not implement a 
certification process at the preliminary stage and required cash 
deposits on all entries of welded OCTG produced in Brunei or the 
Philippines.\11\ We invited parties to comment on this issue in their 
case briefs and we received comments from the mandatory respondents on 
this issue. For the final determinations, we will not implement a 
certification process for welded OCTG already suspended,\12\ and we 
will require cash deposits on all entries of welded OCTG produced in 
either Brunei or the Philippines, with a slight modification from the 
Preliminary Determinations.\13\ However, producers and/or exporters in 
Brunei or the Philippines may request reconsideration of our denial of 
the certification process in a future segment of the proceeding, i.e., 
a changed circumstances review or administrative review.\14\
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    \10\ See, e.g., HLDS (B) Steel Sdn. Bhd.'s Letter, ``HLDSB 
Initial Questionnaire Response,'' dated March 16, 2021 at 25; and 
HLD Clark Steel Pipe Co., Inc.'s Letter, ``HLD Clark Initial 
Questionnaire Response,'' dated March 16, 2021 at 26.
    \11\ See Preliminary Determinations, 86 FR 43628.
    \12\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 4.
    \13\ Id. at Comment 5.
    \14\ See, e.g., Diamond Sawblades and Parts Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China: Final Determination of Anti-
Circumvention Inquiry, 85 FR 9737, 9739 (February 20, 2020) 
(``However, Protech may request reconsideration of our denial of the 
certification process in a future segment of the proceeding, i.e., a 
changed circumstances review or administrative review.''); see also 
Diamond Sawblades and Parts Thereof from the People's Republic of 
China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances 
Review, 85 FR 86905 (December 31, 2020) (``. . . Protech is eligible 
to participate in a certification process because Protech has 
demonstrated that it can identify diamond sawblades that it produced 
in Canada using non-Chinese cores and Chinese segments.'').
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Administrative Protective Order

    This notice will serve as the only reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (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 return/destruction or 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

    These final affirmative determinations of circumvention are issued 
and published in accordance with section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.225(f).

    Dated: November 19, 2021.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Orders
IV. Scope of the Circumvention Inquiries
V. The Period of Inquiries
VI. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Production of Hot-Rolled Steel vs. Production of OCTG
    Comment 2: Production Processes
    Comment 3: Appropriateness of Finding Circumvention
    Comment 4: Certification Eligibility
    Comment 5: Effective Date of Suspension of Liquidation
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2021-25832 Filed 11-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P