[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 108 (Thursday, June 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34413-34416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12078]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-580-878, C-580-879, A-580-881, C-580-882]
Initiation of Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Changed
Circumstances Reviews: Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products and
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of Korea
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to a request from KG Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. (KG
Dongbu Steel), and pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act), and, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating changed
circumstances reviews (CCRs) of the antidumping duty (AD) and
countervailing duty (CVD) orders on certain cold-rolled steel flat
products (cold-rolled steel) and certain corrosion-resistant steel
products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). These reviews will
determine whether KG Dongbu Steel is the successor-in-interest to
Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. (Dongbu Steel) and Dongbu Incheon Steel Co.,
Ltd. (Dongbu Incheon).
DATES: Applicable June 4, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua A. DeMoss, 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) 482-3362.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 24, 2019, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
final results of the AD and CVD administrative reviews of cold-rolled
steel from Korea, where Dongbu Steel and Dongbu Incheon were non-
examined companies.\1\ As a result of these administrative reviews,
Commerce assigned a cash deposit rate of 11.60 percent to Dongbu Steel
and Dongbu Incheon for the AD administrative review, based on the non-
selected respondent rate (i.e., the weighted-average of the
respondent's calculated weighted-average dumping margins),\2\ and a
subsidy rate of 0.56 percent for the CVD administrative review based on
the all-others subsidy rate.\3\
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\1\ See Certain Cold Rolled Steel Flat Products From the
Republic of Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review; 2016-2017, 84 FR 24083 (May 24, 2019) (Cold-Rolled Steel AD
Final); see also Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the
Republic of Korea: Final Results of Countervailing Duty
Administrative Review, 2016, 84 FR 24087 (May 24, 2019). On July 5,
2019, Commerce amended the final results of the CVD administrative
review of cold-rolled steel from Korea. See Countervailing Duty
Order on Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products From the Republic
of Korea: Amended Final Results of the First Countervailing Duty
Administrative Review, 84 FR 32123 (July 5, 2019) (Cold-Rolled Steel
CVD Amended Final).
\2\ See Cold-Rolled Steel AD Final.
\3\ See Cold-Rolled Steel CVD Amended Final.
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Similarly, on March 17, 2020, Commerce published in the Federal
Register the final results of the AD and CVD administrative reviews of
CORE.\4\ In the final results of the AD administrative review, Commerce
assigned a cash deposit rate of 2.43 percent to Dongbu Steel and Dongbu
Incheon based on the non-selected respondent rate.\5\ For the CVD
administrative review, Commerce assigned a subsidy rate of 7.16 percent
to Dongbu Steel and Dongbu Incheon as mandatory respondents.\6\
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\4\ See Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of
Korea: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and
Final Determination of No Shipments; 2017-2018, 85 FR 15114 (March
17, 2020) (CORE AD Final); see also Certain Corrosion-Resistant
Steel Products From the Republic of Korea: Final Results of
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2017, 85 FR 15112 (March
17, 2020) (CORE CVD Final).
\5\ See CORE AD Final.
\6\ See CORE CVD Final.
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On April 13, 2020, KG Dongbu Steel informed Commerce that, on March
2, 2020, Dongbu Steel publicly announced its merger with its wholly
owned subsidiary, Dongbu Incheon.\7\ KG Dongbu Steel stated that, as of
March 27, 2020, the newly merged Dongbu Steel officially changed its
name to KG Dongbu Steel, therefore becoming the successor-in-interest
to Dongbu Steel and Dongbu Incheon, Dongbu Steel's wholly-owned
subsidiary.\8\ KG Dongbu Steel requests that Commerce conduct CCRs and
find that KG Dongbu Steel is the successor-in-interest to Dongbu Steel
and Dongbu Incheon, and that it be subject to Dongbu Steel's and Dongbu
Incheon's AD margins and CVD subsidy rates for both cold-rolled steel
and CORE. We did not receive comments from other interested parties
concerning these requests.
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\7\ See KG Dongbu Steel's Letter, ``Request for Changed
Circumstances Review: Change of Name for Dongbu Steel Co., Ltd. and
Dongbu Incheon Steel Co., Ltd.,'' dated April 13, 2020.
\8\ Id. at 2-3.
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Scopes of the Orders
Certain Cold-Rolled Steel Flat Products
The products covered by this order are certain cold-rolled (cold-
reduced), flat-rolled steel products, whether or not annealed, painted,
varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances.
The products covered do not include those that are clad, plated, or
coated with metal. The products covered include coils that have a width
or other lateral measurement (width) of 12.7 mm or greater, regardless
of form of coil (e.g., in successively superimposed layers, spirally
oscillating, etc.). The products covered also include products not in
coils (e.g., in straight lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and
a width that is 12.7 mm or greater and that measures at least 10 times
the thickness. The products covered also include products not in coils
(e.g., in straight lengths) of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a
width exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least twice the thickness. The
products described above may be rectangular, square, circular, or other
shape and include products of either rectangular or non-rectangular
cross-section where such cross-section is achieved subsequent to the
rolling process, i.e., products which have been ``worked after
rolling'' (e.g., products which have been beveled or rounded at the
edges). For purposes of the width and thickness requirements referenced
above:
(1) where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is
within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual
measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions
set forth above, and
(2) where the width and thickness vary for a specific product
(e.g., the thickness of certain products with non-rectangular cross-
section, the width of certain products with non-rectangular shape,
etc.), the measurement at its greatest width or thickness applies.
Steel products included in the scope of these Orders are products
in which: (1) Iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other
contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by
weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity,
by weight, respectively indicated:
2.50 percent of manganese, or
[[Page 34414]]
3.30 percent of silicon, or
1.50 percent of copper, or
1.50 percent of aluminum, or
1.25 percent of chromium, or
0.30 percent of cobalt, or
0.40 percent of lead, or
2.00 percent of nickel, or
0.30 percent of tungsten (also called wolfram), or
0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
0.10 percent of niobium (also called columbium), or
0.30 percent of vanadium, or
0.30 percent of zirconium
Unless specifically excluded, products are included in this scope
regardless of levels of boron and titanium.
For example, specifically included in this scope are vacuum
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free
(IF)) steels, high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels, motor lamination
steels, Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS), and Ultra High Strength
Steels (UHSS). IF steels are recognized as low carbon steels with
micro-alloying levels of elements such as titanium and/or niobium added
to stabilize carbon and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized
as steels with micro-alloying levels of elements such as chromium,
copper, niobium, titanium, vanadium, and molybdenum. Motor lamination
steels contain micro-alloying levels of elements such as silicon and
aluminum. AHSS and UHSS are considered high tensile strength and high
elongation steels, although AHSS and UHSS are covered whether or not
they are high tensile strength or high elongation steels.
Subject merchandise includes cold-rolled steel that has been
further processed in a third country, including but not limited to
annealing, tempering, painting, varnishing, trimming, cutting,
punching, and/or slitting, or any other processing that would not
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of these Orders if
performed in the country of manufacture of the cold-rolled steel.
All products that meet the written physical description, and in
which the chemistry quantities do not exceed any one of the noted
element levels listed above, are within the scope of these Orders
unless specifically excluded. The following products are outside of
and/or specifically excluded from the scope of these Orders:
Ball bearing steels; \9\
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\9\ Ball bearing steels are defined as steels which contain, in
addition to iron, each of the following elements by weight in the
amount specified: (i) Not less than 0.95 nor more than 1.13 percent
of carbon; (ii) not less than 0.22 nor more than 0.48 percent of
manganese; (iii) none, or not more than 0.03 percent of sulfur; (iv)
none, or not more than 0.03 percent of phosphorus; (v) not less than
0.18 nor more than 0.37 percent of silicon; (vi) not less than 1.25
nor more than 1.65 percent of chromium; (vii) none, or not more than
0.28 percent of nickel; (viii) none, or not more than 0.38 percent
of copper; and (ix) none, or not more than 0.09 percent of
molybdenum.
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Tool steels; \10\
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\10\ Tool steels are defined as steels which contain the
following combinations of elements in the quantity by weight
respectively indicated: (i) More than 1.2 percent carbon and more
than 10.5 percent chromium; or (ii) not less than 0.3 percent carbon
and 1.25 percent or more but less than 10.5 percent chromium; or
(iii) not less than 0.85 percent carbon and 1 percent to 1.8
percent, inclusive, manganese; or (iv) 0.9 percent to 1.2 percent,
inclusive, chromium and 0.9 percent to 1.4 percent, inclusive,
molybdenum; or (v) not less than 0.5 percent carbon and not less
than 3.5 percent molybdenum; or (vi) not less than 0.5 percent
carbon and not less than 5.5 percent tungsten.
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Silico-manganese steel; \11\
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\11\ Silico-manganese steel is defined as steels containing by
weight: (i) Not more than 0.7 percent of carbon; (ii) 0.5 percent or
more but not more than 1.9 percent of manganese, and (iii) 0.6
percent or more but not more than 2.3 percent of silicon.
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Grain-oriented electrical steels (GOES) as defined in the
final determination of the U.S. Department of Commerce in Grain-
Oriented Electrical Steel from Germany, Japan, and Poland.\12\
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\12\ See Grain-Oriented Electrical Steel from Germany, Japan,
and Poland: Final Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
and Certain Final Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances, 79 FR 42501, 42503 (July 22, 2014). This
determination defines grain-oriented electrical steel as ``a flat-
rolled alloy steel product containing by weight at least 0.6 percent
but not more than 6 percent of silicon, not more than 0.08 percent
of carbon, not more than 1.0 percent of aluminum, and no other
element in an amount that would give the steel the characteristics
of another alloy steel, in coils or in straight lengths.''
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Non-Oriented Electrical Steels (NOES), as defined in the
antidumping orders issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce in Non-
Oriented Electrical Steel from the People's Republic of China, Germany,
Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan.\13\
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\13\ See Non-Oriented Electrical Steel from the People's
Republic of China, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden,
and Taiwan: Antidumping Duty Orders, 79 FR 71741, 71741-42 (December
3, 2014). The orders define NOES as ``cold-rolled, flat-rolled,
alloy steel products, whether or not in coils, regardless of width,
having an actual thickness of 0.20 mm or more, in which the core
loss is substantially equal in any direction of magnetization in the
plane of the material. The term `substantially equal' means that the
cross grain direction of core loss is no more than 1.5 times the
straight grain direction (i.e., the rolling direction) of core loss.
NOES has a magnetic permeability that does not exceed 1.65 Tesla
when tested at a field of 800 A/m (equivalent to 10 Oersteds) along
(i.e., parallel to) the rolling direction of the sheet (i.e., B800
value). NOES contains by weight more than 1.00 percent of silicon
but less than 3.5 percent of silicon, not more than 0.08 percent of
carbon, and not more than 1.5 percent of aluminum. NOES has a
surface oxide coating, to which an insulation coating may be
applied.''
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The products subject to these Orders are currently classified in
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item
numbers: 7209.15.0000, 7209.16.0030, 7209.16.0060, 7209.16.0070,
7209.16.0091, 7209.17.0030, 7209.17.0060, 7209.17.0070, 7209.17.0091,
7209.18.1530, 7209.18.1560, 7209.18.2510, 7209.18.2520, 7209.18.2580,
7209.18.6020, 7209.18.6090, 7209.25.0000, 7209.26.0000, 7209.27.0000,
7209.28.0000, 7209.90.0000, 7210.70.3000, 7211.23.1500, 7211.23.2000,
7211.23.3000, 7211.23.4500, 7211.23.6030, 7211.23.6060, 7211.23.6090,
7211.29.2030, 7211.29.2090, 7211.29.4500, 7211.29.6030, 7211.29.6080,
7211.90.0000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7225.50.6000, 7225.50.8080,
7225.99.0090, 7226.92.5000, 7226.92.7050, and 7226.92.8050.
The products subject to these Orders may also enter under the
following HTSUS numbers: 7210.90.9000, 7212.50.0000, 7215.10.0010,
7215.10.0080, 7215.50.0016, 7215.50.0018, 7215.50.0020, 7215.50.0061,
7215.50.0063, 7215.50.0065, 7215.50.0090, 7215.90.5000, 7217.10.1000,
7217.10.2000, 7217.10.3000, 7217.10.7000, 7217.90.1000, 7217.90.5030,
7217.90.5060, 7217.90.5090, 7225.19.0000, 7226.19.1000, 7226.19.9000,
7226.99.0180, 7228.50.5015, 7228.50.5040, 7228.50.5070, 7228.60.8000,
and 7229.90.1000.
The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and U.S.
Customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of these
Orders is dispositive.
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products
The products covered by this order 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. The products covered include coils
that have a width of 12.7 mm or greater, regardless of form of coil
(e.g., in successively superimposed layers, spirally oscillating,
etc.). The products covered also include products not in coils (e.g.,
in straight lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and a width that
is 12.7 mm or greater and that measures at least 10 times the
thickness. The products covered also
[[Page 34415]]
include products not in coils (e.g., in straight lengths) of a
thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a width exceeding 150 mm and measuring
at least twice the thickness. The products described above may be
rectangular, square, circular, or other shape and include products of
either rectangular or non-rectangular cross-section where such cross-
section is achieved subsequent to the rolling process, i.e., products
which have been ``worked after rolling'' (e.g., products which have
been beveled or rounded at the edges). For purposes of the width and
thickness requirements referenced above:
(1) Where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is
within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual
measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions
set forth above, and
(2) where the width and thickness vary for a specific product
(e.g., the thickness of certain products with non-rectangular cross-
section, the width of certain products with non-rectangular shape,
etc.), the measurement at its greatest width or thickness applies.
Steel products included in the scope of these Orders are products
in which: (1) Iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other
contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by
weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity,
by weight, respectively indicated:
2.50 percent of manganese, or
3.30 percent of silicon, or
1.50 percent of copper, or
1.50 percent of aluminum, or
1.25 percent of chromium, or
0.30 percent of cobalt, or
0.40 percent of lead, or
2.00 percent of nickel, or
0.30 percent of tungsten (also called wolfram), or
0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
0.10 percent of niobium (also called columbium), or
0.30 percent of vanadium, or
0.30 percent of zirconium
Unless specifically excluded, products are included in this scope
regardless of levels of boron and titanium.
For example, specifically included in this scope are vacuum
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free
(``IF'')) steels and high strength low alloy (``HSLA'') steels. If
steels are recognized as low carbon steels with micro-alloying levels
of elements such as titanium and/or niobium added to stabilize carbon
and nitrogen elements. HSLA steels are recognized as steels with micro-
alloying levels of elements such as chromium, copper, niobium,
titanium, vanadium, and molybdenum.
Furthermore, this scope also includes Advanced High Strength Steels
(``AHSS'') and Ultra High Strength Steels (``UHSS''), both of which are
considered high tensile strength and high elongation steels.
Subject merchandise also includes corrosion-resistant steel that
has been further processed in a third country, including but not
limited to annealing, tempering painting, varnishing, trimming,
cutting, punching and/or slitting or any other processing that would
not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of these Orders if
performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope corrosion
resistant steel.
All products that meet the written physical description, and in
which the chemistry quantities do not exceed any one of the noted
element levels listed above, are within the scope of these Orders
unless specifically excluded. The following products are outside of
and/or specifically excluded from the scope of these Orders: Flat-
rolled steel products either plated or coated with tin, lead, chromium,
chromium oxides, both tin and lead (``terne plate''), or both chromium
and chromium oxides (``tin free steel''), whether or not painted,
varnished or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in
addition to the metallic coating; Clad products in straight lengths of
4.7625 mm or more in composite thickness and of a width which exceeds
150 mm and measures at least twice the thickness; and Certain clad
stainless flat-rolled products, which are three-layered corrosion-
resistant flat-rolled steel products less than 4.75 mm in composite
thickness that consist of a flat-rolled steel product clad on both
sides with stainless steel in a 20%-60%-20% ratio.
The products subject to these Orders are currently classified in
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'') under
item numbers: 7210.30.0030, 7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030,
7210.49.0091, 7210.49.0095, 7210.61.0000, 7210.69.0000, 7210.70.6030,
7210.70.6060, 7210.70.6090, 7210.90.6000, 7210.90.9000, 7212.20.0000,
7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090, 7212.30.3000, 7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000,
7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, and 7212.60.0000.
The products subject to these Orders may also enter under the
following HTSUS item numbers: 7210.90.1000, 7215.90.1000, 7215.90.3000,
7215.90.5000, 7217.20.1500, 7217.30.1530, 7217.30.1560, 7217.90.1000,
7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060, 7217.90.5090, 7225.91.0000, 7225.92.0000,
7225.99.0090, 7226.99.0110, 7226.99.0130, 7226.99.0180, 7228.60.6000,
7228.60.8000, and 7229.90.1000.
The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and
customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of these
Orders is dispositive.
Initiation of AD and CVD CCRs
Pursuant to section 751(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d),
Commerce will conduct a CCR upon receipt of a request from an
interested party for a review of an AD or CVD order which shows changed
circumstances sufficient to warrant a review of the order. In the past,
Commerce has used CCRs to address the applicability of cash deposit
rates after there have been changes in the name or structure of a
respondent, such as a merger or spinoff (successor-in-interest or
successorship determinations).\14\ The information submitted by KG
Dongbu Steel supporting its claim that it is the successor-in-interest
to Dongbu Steel and Dongbu Incheon demonstrates changed circumstances
sufficient to warrant such a review.\15\ Therefore, in accordance with
751(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d) and (e), we are
initiating CCRs based on the information contained in KG Dongbu Steel's
submission.
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\14\ See, e.g., Diamond Sawblades and Parts Thereof from the
People's Republic of China: Initiation and Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 82 FR 51605, 51606
(November 7, 2017), unchanged in Diamond Sawblades and Parts Thereof
from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 82 FR 60177 (December 19, 2017).
\15\ See 19 CFR 351.216(d).
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Commerce will issue questionnaires requesting additional
information for the reviews, and will publish in the Federal Register a
notice of the preliminary results, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.221(b)(2) and (4), and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(i). The notice will set
forth the factual and legal conclusions upon which our preliminary
results are based and a description of any action proposed based on
those results. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(ii), interested parties
will have an opportunity to comment on the preliminary results. In
accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(e), Commerce intends to issue the final
results no later than 270 days after the date on which the reviews are
initiated. Note that Commerce has modified certain of its requirements
for serving documents containing business proprietary
[[Page 34416]]
information until July 17, 2020, unless extended.\16\
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\16\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 29615 (May 18,
2020).
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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(b), 351.221(b), and
351.221(c)(3).
Dated: May 28, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-12078 Filed 6-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P