[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 6, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26924-26926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09677]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-484-803]
Large Diameter Welded Pipe From Greece: Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
[[Page 26925]]
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is issuing the
preliminary results of the changed circumstances review (CCR) of the
antidumping duty (AD) order on large diameter welded pipe from Greece.
DATES: Applicable May 6, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brittany Bauer, AD/CVD Operations,
Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3860.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 21, 2020, in response to a request by Corinth Pipeworks
Pipe Industry S.A. (Corinth), a Greek producer of large diameter welded
pipe (welded pipe), Commerce published a notice of initiation of a
changed circumstances review to partially revoke the antidumping duty
order on welded pipe from Greece.\1\ The specific types of large
diameter welded pipe which are under consideration for partial
revocation are described in the Attachment to this notice. In the
Initiation Notice, we requested comments from interested parties.\2\ In
March 2020, we received comments from Corinth \3\ and the domestic
producers,\4\ and rebuttal comments from Corinth.\5\ On April 9, 2020,
we spoke with the domestic producers regarding both this CCR and the
CCRs of welded pipe from India.\6\
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\1\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Greece: Initiation of
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 85 FR 10150 (February
21, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Initiation Notice, 85 FR at 10151.
\3\ See Corinth's Letter, ``Changed Circumstances Review of
Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Greece--Corinth Pipeworks' Comments
and New Factual Information for Changed Circumstances Review,''
dated March 6, 2020 (Corinth's Comments); and Domestic Producers'
Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Greece: Comments on
Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review,'' dated March 6, 2020
(refiled with amended bracketing on March 13, 2020) (Domestic
Producers' Comments).
\4\ The domestic producers are American Cast Iron Pipe Company;
Berg Steel Pipe Corp./Berg Spiral Pipe Corp.; Dura-Bond Industries;
Stupp Corporation; (individually and as members of the American Line
Pipe Producers Association); Greens Bayou Pipe Mill, LP; JSW Steel
(USA) Inc.; Skyline Steel; and Trinity Products LLC (collectively
the petitioners in the less-than-fair-value investigation) and
Welspun Global Trade LLC.
\5\ See Corinth's Letter, ``Changed Circumstances Review of
Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Greece--Corinth Pipeworks' Rebuttal
Comments,'' dated March 20, 2020 (Corinth's Rebuttal Comments).
\6\ See Memorandum, ``AD Order on Large Diameter Welded Pipe
from Greece; AD and CVD Orders on Large Diameter Welded Pipe from
India--Ex Parte Memorandum,'' dated April 14, 2020.
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Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by this order is welded carbon and alloy
steel line pipe (other than stainless steel pipe), more than 406.4 mm
(16 inches) in nominal outside diameter (large diameter welded line
pipe), regardless of wall thickness, length, surface finish, grade, end
finish, or stenciling. Large diameter welded pipe may be used to
transport oil, gas, slurry, steam, or other fluids, liquids, or gases.
Large diameter welded line pipe is used to transport oil, gas, or
natural gas liquids and is normally produced to the American Petroleum
Institute (API) specification 5L. Large diameter welded line pipe can
be produced to comparable foreign specifications, grades and/or
standards or to proprietary specifications, grades and/or standards, or
can be non-graded material. All line pipe meeting the physical
description set forth above, including any dual- or multiple-certified/
stenciled pipe with an API (or comparable) welded line pipe
certification/stencil, is covered by the scope of the orders.
Subject merchandise also includes large diameter welded line pipe
that has been further processed in a third country, including but not
limited to coating, painting, notching, beveling, cutting, punching,
welding, or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the
merchandise from the scope of the order if performed in the country of
manufacture of the in-scope large diameter welded line pipe.
Excluded from the scope of the order is structural pipe, which is
produced only to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
standards A500, A252, or A53, or other relevant domestic
specifications, or comparable foreign specifications, grades and/or
standards or to proprietary specifications, grades and/or standards.
Also excluded is large diameter welded pipe produced only to
specifications of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) for water
and sewage pipe.
The large diameter welded line pipe that is subject to the order is
currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS) under subheadings 7305.11.1030, 7305.11.1060,
7305.11.5000, 7305.12.1030, 7305.12.1060, 7305.12.5000, 7305.19.1030,
7305.19.1060, and 7305.19.5000. Merchandise currently classifiable
under subheadings 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6090, 7305.39.1000 and
7305.39.5000 and that otherwise meets the above scope language is also
covered. While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and
customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the order is
dispositive.
Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review
In this changed circumstances review, pursuant to section 751(b) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce is considering
the partial revocation of the order on welded pipe from Greece. The
Greek welded pipe producer Corinth requested a changed circumstances
review following the initiation and preliminary partial revocation of
the antidumping and countervailing (CVD) duty orders on large diameter
welded pipe from India.\7\ In its request, Corinth included the public
version of the domestic producers' request to initiate the Indian CCRs.
In the Indian CCR requests, the ten domestic producers filing the
request assert that they account for ``substantially all'' \8\ of the
domestic production of large diameter welded pipe.\9\ In the Initiation
Notice for the Greek CCR, we requested comments related to the
applicability of the ``no interest'' statement in the Indian CCR
request to the Greek CCR. In response, we received a submission from
the domestic producers in which they stated the following: ``{the
domestic producers{time} confirm the comments made in the CCR of the
antidumping and countervailing duty orders of LDWP from India.'' \10\
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\7\ See Corinth's Letter, ``Large Diameter Welded Pipe from
Greece: Request for Changed Circumstances Review and Revocation, In
Part,'' dated January 3, 2020 (Corinth CCR Request); and Large
Diameter Welded Pipe from India: Initiation and Expedited
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty
Changed Circumstances Reviews, 84 FR 69356 (December 18, 2019)
(Indian CCR Initiation and Prelim).
\8\ Commerce has interpreted ``substantially all'' to mean at
least 85 percent of the total production of the domestic like
product covered by the order. See, e.g., Supercalendered Paper from
Canada: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review and Revocation
of Countervailing Duty Order, 83 FR 32268 (July 12, 2018).
\9\ See Corinth CCR Request, at Exhibit 2 and Indian CCR
Initiation and Prelim, 84 FR at 69357.
\10\ See Domestic Producers' Comments, at 2.
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We find that: (1) The ten domestic producers' statement of no
interest in the AD and CVD orders with respect to certain specific
large diameter welded pipe products from India; (2) the domestic
producers' statement that they do not currently produce the particular
large diameter welded pipe products subject to this CCR request; \11\
(3) the domestic producers' statement that the investment needed for
the industry to
[[Page 26926]]
produce these products far exceeds the potential benefit of such an
investment, given that the U.S. market for deep offshore projects,
i.e., the primary market for the large diameter welded pipe product
groups at issue is relatively small; \12\ and (4) the domestic
industry's support for excluding the pipe products at issue from the
Greek order, in the event that Commerce determines to treat all three
orders equally, all support a preliminary finding to exclude the
specified products from the AD order on large diameter welded pipe from
Greece.
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\11\ See Corinth CCR Request, at Exhibits 1 (at 84 FR 69357), 2
(at internal page numbers 4 and 8), and 4 (at internal page numbers
9-10).
\12\ See Corinth CCR Request at 6 and Exhibits 2 (at internal
page number 4) and Exhibit 4 (at internal page number 10).
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In its comments on the initiation of this review, Corinth argued
that: (1) The domestic industry has expressed a lack of interest in
these products; (2) no party objected to the Section 232 exclusion
requests for these same products; and (3) Corinth currently produces
these varieties of welded pipe.\13\ In response, the domestic producers
stated that, while the partial revocation of the Indian orders would
convey a benefit to the domestic producers, it did not believe that a
similar domestic benefit would be conferred by the exclusion of the
same products from Greek order.\14\
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\13\ See Corinth's Comments at 3-5 and Exhibits 2, 3, and 4.
\14\ See Domestic Producers' Comments at 2.
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In its rebuttal comments, Corinth argues that ``domestic benefit''
is not a consideration in the law, regulation, or practice of CCRs.\15\
Corinth argues that the relevant factors are: (1) The domestic
industry's statement of no interest in its request for CCRs of Indian
welded pipe; (2) the fact that the domestic industry does not produce
these varieties of welded pipe; (3) the fact that the domestic industry
has no intention of producing these varieties of pipe, because the
investment needed outweighs any economic benefits due to the small size
of market for these types of welded pipe; and (4) ten domestic
producers, who account for at least 85 percent of domestic production
of welded pipe, supported the statement of no interest.\16\ Further,
Corinth pointed out that in the Indian proceedings, the domestic
producers inaccurately stated that only India, Brazil, and Germany
produce the specified welded pipe in meaningful quantities.\17\
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\15\ See Corinth's Rebuttal Comments at 2-3.
\16\ See Corinth's Rebuttal Comments at 3.
\17\ Id. at 4.
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Corinth also argues that the domestic producers are incorrect in
their assertion that an exclusion for any other country subject to the
orders is unnecessary.\18\ The domestic producers did not rebut
Corinth's comments.
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\18\ Id. at 4-6.
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While the direct statement of no interest from the domestic
producers is from the Indian welded pipe CCRs, the domestic producers
have stated that these varieties of welded pipe are not produced
domestically and that there are no plans to undertake the investments
needed to produce these varieties of welded pipe.\19\ Further, there is
no evidence that harm is done to the domestic industry only by imports
of Greek welded pipe and not by Indian welded pipe. Accordingly, we
find that the domestic producers' statements are equally applicable to
the CCRs for both countries, as the lack of domestic production or
planned domestic production is true regardless of the foreign country
of production.
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\19\ See Corinth CCR Request, at 6 and Exhibits 1 (at 84 FR
69357), 2 (at internal page numbers 4 and 8), and 4 (at internal
page numbers 9-10).
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Therefore, in the absence of an objection by any other interested
parties, and based upon the four factual factors listed above, we
preliminarily find excluding those products from the Greek and Indian
Orders to be equally appropriate. Thus, we preliminarily determine that
substantially all of the domestic producers of the like product have no
interest in the continued application, in part, of the AD order on the
same types of large diameter welded pipe from Greece. Accordingly, we
are notifying the public of our intent to revoke, in part, the AD order
as it relates to certain specific large diameter welded pipe products.
We intend to change the scope of the AD order on large diameter welded
pipe from Greece by adding the exclusion language provided in the
Attachment to this notice.
Public Comment
Interested parties may submit case briefs not later than 14 days
after the date of publication of this notice.\20\ Rebuttal briefs,
which must be limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be filed not
later than seven days after the due date for case briefs.\21\ All
submissions must be filed electronically using Enforcement and
Compliance's AD and CVD Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
ACCESS is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov. An
electronically filed document must be received successfully in its
entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date set forth
in this notice. Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of
its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary
information, until May 19, 2020, unless extended.\22\
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\20\ Commerce is exercising its discretion under 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(ii) to alter the time limit for filing of case briefs.
\21\ Commerce is exercising its discretion under 19 CFR
351.309(d)(1) to alter the time limit for filing of rebuttal briefs.
\22\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020).
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An interested party may request a hearing within 14 days of
publication of this notice. Hearing requests should contain the
following information: (1) The party's name, address, and telephone
number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues to
be discussed. Oral presentations at the hearing will be limited to
issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made,
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a date and time to be
determined.\23\ Parties should confirm the date, time, and location of
the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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\23\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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Unless extended, consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we intend to
issue the final results of these CCRs no later than 270 days after the
date on which these reviews were initiated, or within 45 days of that
date if all parties agree to the outcome of the reviews.
Notification to Interested Parties
This notice is published in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and
777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216 and 351.221(c)(3).
Dated: April 30, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Attachment
Proposed Revision to the Scope of the Order
Excluded from the scope of the antidumping duty Order are large
diameter welded pipe products in the following combinations of
grades, outside diameters, and wall thicknesses:
Grade X60, X65, or X70, 18'' outside diameter, 0.688''
or greater wall thickness;
Grade X60, X65, or X70, 20'' outside diameter, 0.688''
or greater wall thickness;
Grade X60, X65, X70, or X80, 22'' outside diameter,
0.750'' or greater wall thickness; and
Grade X60, X65, or X70, 24'' outside diameter, 0.750''
or greater wall thickness.
[FR Doc. 2020-09677 Filed 5-5-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P