[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 190 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61726-61727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21547]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-583-868]
Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand From Taiwan: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Negative
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that prestressed concrete steel wire strand (PC strand) from Taiwan is
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2019
through March 31, 2020. Interested parties are invited to comment on
this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable September 30, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy Zhang or John Hoffner, AD/CVD
Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230, telephone: (202) 482-1168 or (202) 482-3315,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on May 13,
2020.\1\ For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\2\ 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. In addition, a complete
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly
at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic
versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in
content.
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\1\ See Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand from Argentina,
Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia, the Republic of
Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 85 FR 28605 (May 13, 2020)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Prestressed
Concrete Steel Wire Strand from Taiwan,'' dated concurrently with,
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is PC strand from Taiwan.
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see
Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\3\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\4\ No interested party
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice. Therefore, Commerce is not preliminarily modifying
the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the
scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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\3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\4\ See Initiation Notice, 85 FR at 28606.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act,
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with
adverse inferences, for Chia Ta World Co., Ltd. (Chia Ta). For a full
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206,
Commerce preliminarily determines that critical circumstances do not
exist for Chia Ta and all other producers/exporters of PC strand from
Taiwan. For a full description of the methodology and results of
Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(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
investigated. 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 Chia Ta,
the sole mandatory 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 has been to calculate the
all-others rate as a simple average of the alleged dumping margins from
the petition. With respect to Taiwan, in the Petitions,\5\ the
petitioners \6\ alleged only one margin. Therefore, we have
preliminarily assigned the only margin alleged for subject merchandise
from Taiwan in the Petitions, which is 23.89 percent, to all other
producers/exporters.\7\
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\5\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire
Strand from Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia,
Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia,
Turkey, Ukraine, and United Arab Emirates--Petition for the
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated April
16, 2020 (the Petitions) at Volume XII; see also AD Investigation
Initiation Checklist: Prestressed Concrete Steel Wire Strand from
Taiwan, dated May 6, 2020 (AD Checklist).
\6\ Insteel Wire Products Company, Sumiden Wire Products
Corporation, and Wire Mesh Corporation (collectively, the
petitioners).
\7\ See AD Checklist.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
dumping margins exist during the period April 1, 2019 through March 31,
2020:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
dumping
Exporter/producer margin
(percent)
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Chia Ta World Co., Ltd ***.................................. 23.89
All Others.................................................. 23.89
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*** Adverse Facts Available (AFA).
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S.
[[Page 61727]]
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. 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 Chia Ta will be equal to the company-
specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 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 AFA
in determining the estimated weighted-average margin for the sole
individually examined company, Chia Ta, in this investigation, in
accordance with section 776 of the Act, and the applied AFA rate is
based solely on the single rate alleged in the petition, there are no
calculations to disclose.
Verification
Because Chia Ta did not provide information requested by Commerce,
and Commerce preliminarily determines Chia Ta to be uncooperative, 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 this preliminary determination,
unless Commerce alters the time limit.\8\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to
issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days
after the deadline date for case briefs.\9\ Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal
briefs in these proceedings 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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\8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for
general filing requirements); Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD
Service Requirements Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020)
(Temporary Rule); and Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service
Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR
41363 (July 10, 2020).
\9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements); and Temporary Rule.
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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:
(1) The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of
participants and whether any participant is a foreign national; and (3)
a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is
made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing 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.
Parties are reminded that briefs and hearing requests are to be
filed electronically using ACCESS and that electronically filed
documents must be received successfully in their entirety by ACCESS by
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Note that Commerce has
temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents
containing business proprietary information, until further notice.\10\
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\10\ See Temporary Rule.
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Final Determination
Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date
of this preliminary determination.
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, in accordance
with 735(b), 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: September 23, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is prestressed
concrete steel wire strand (PC strand), produced from wire of non-
stainless, non-galvanized steel, which is suitable for use in
prestressed concrete (both pretensioned and post-tensioned)
applications. The product definition encompasses covered and
uncovered strand and all types, grades, and diameters of PC strand.
PC strand is normally sold in the United States in sizes ranging
from 0.25 inches to 0.70 inches in diameter. PC strand made from
galvanized wire is only excluded from the scope if the zinc and/or
zinc oxide coating meets or exceeds the 0.40 oz./ft\2\ standard set
forth in ASTM-A-475.
The PC strand subject to this investigation is currently
classifiable under subheadings 7312.10.3010 and 7312.10.3012 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs
purposes, the written description of the scope of the 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 Investigation
V. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inferences and
Calculation of All-Others Rate
VI. Preliminary Critical Circumstances Finding
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2020-21547 Filed 9-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P