[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69356-69357]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27265]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-533-881; C-533-882]
Large Diameter Welded Pipe From India: Initiation and Expedited
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Changed
Circumstances Reviews
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating and
issuing expedited preliminary results of changed circumstances reviews
(CCRs) of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD)
orders on large diameter welded pipe from India.
DATES: Applicable December 18, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Johnson or Jaron Moore, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4929 or (202)
482-3640, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 6, 2019, Commerce published the AD and CVD orders on large
diameter welded pipe from India.\1\ On October 18, 2019, nine members
of the domestic industry, including the petitioners from the underlying
investigations (individually and as members of the American Line Pipe
Producers Association), and Welspun Global Trade LLC, requested that
Commerce initiate CCRs to revoke, in part, the AD and CVD orders of
large diameter welded pipe from India with respect to certain large
diameter welded pipe products within four specific groups of grades,
outside diameters, and wall thicknesses.\2\
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\1\ See Large Diameter Welded Pipe from India: Antidumping Duty
Order, 84 FR 8079 (March 6, 2019); and Large Diameter Welded Pipe
from India: Countervailing Duty Order, 84 FR 8085 (March 6, 2019)
(collectively, Orders).
\2\ See Letter from Domestic Industry, ``Large Diameter Welded
Pipe from India: Petitioners' Request for Changed Circumstances
Review and Partial Revocation,'' dated October 18, 2019 (Oct 18 CCR
Request) and Attachment to this notice.
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Scope of the Orders
The merchandise covered by these orders 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 orders 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 these orders
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 these orders
is dispositive.
Initiation and Expedited Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances
Review
Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(d), Commerce will conduct a CCR of an AD
or CVD order when it receives information which shows changed
circumstances sufficient to warrant such a review. Section 782(h)(2) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i) provide that Commerce may revoke an
order (in whole or in part) if it determines that producers accounting
for substantially all of the production of the domestic like product
have no further interest in the order, in
[[Page 69357]]
whole or in part. In the event Commerce determines that expedited
action is warranted, 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii) permits Commerce to
combine the notices of initiation and preliminary results.
For the reasons discussed below, we find that such sufficient
information exists to warrant CCRs. Further, Commerce requires no
additional information to make a preliminary finding. For this reason,
as permitted by 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii), Commerce finds that expedited
action is warranted and is conducting these reviews on an expedited
basis by publishing preliminary results in conjunction with a notice of
initiation.
The ten domestic producers filing the request assert that they
account for ``substantially all'' \3\ of the domestic production of
large diameter welded pipe.\4\ Because there is no record information
that contradicts this claim, in accordance with section 751(b) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i), we find that the ten domestic
producers comprise substantially all of the production of the domestic
like product.
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\3\ In its administrative practice, 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).
\4\ See Oct 18 CCR Request at 5-7 (identifying percentage of
production in 2017 and 2018 (designated as business proprietary
information)).
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Because this CCR request was filed less than 24 months after the
date of publication of notices of the final determinations in the
investigations, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.216(c), Commerce must determine
whether ``good cause'' exists to initiate these CCRs. We find that the
ten domestic producers' affirmative statement of no interest in the
orders with respect to certain specific large diameter welded pipe
products, coupled with the circumstances described below, constitute
good cause for the conduct of these reviews.\5\ Specifically, the
domestic industry does not currently produce the particular large
diameter welded pipe products subject to this CCR request. Furthermore,
according to the domestic producers, the investment needed for the
industry to 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.\6\ In addition, the
domestic producers provided an explanation indicating that the
commercial reality has changed since the Orders were put in place.\7\
In the absence of any objection by any other interested parties, 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 and CVD orders on large diameter welded
pipe from India. Accordingly, we are notifying the public of our intent
to revoke, in part, the AD and CVD orders as they relate to certain
specific large diameter welded pipe products. We intend to change the
scope of the AD and CVD orders on large diameter welded pipe from India
by adding the exclusion language provided in the Attachment to this
notice.
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\5\ See, e.g., Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products from
Japan: Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances
Review, and Intent to Revoke Order in Part, 82 FR 821 (January 4,
2017) (finding that ``Petitioners' affirmative statement of no
interest in the order . . . constitutes good cause for the conduct
of this review.'').
\6\ See Oct 18 CCR Request at 8.
\7\ Id. at 9-11.
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Public Comment
Interested parties may submit case briefs not later than 14 days
after the date of publication of this notice.\8\ 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.\9\ 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, and to all parties in
the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Commerce building. 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.
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\8\ Commerce is exercising its discretion under 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(ii) to alter the time limit for filing of case briefs.
\9\ Commerce is exercising its discretion under 19 CFR
351.309(d)(1) to alter the time limit for filing of rebuttal briefs.
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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,
parties will be notified of the time and date for the hearing to be
held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20230 in a room to be determined.\10\
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\10\ 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: December 12, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Attachment
Proposed Revision to the Scope of the Orders
Excluded from the scope of the antidumping/countervailing duty
orders 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. 2019-27265 Filed 12-17-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P