[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68402-68405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27043]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-588-874]
Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products From Japan: Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Preliminary
Determination of No Shipments; 2017-2018
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
[[Page 68403]]
that Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC) and Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co.,
Ltd. (Tokyo Steel), producers and exporters of hot-rolled steel flat
products (hot-rolled steel) from Japan, did not sell subject
merchandise in the United States at prices below normal value during
the period of review (POR) October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018.
In addition, Commerce preliminarily determines that Honda Trading
Canada, Inc. (Honda) had no shipments during the POR. We invite
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable December 16, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Myrna Lobo or Jack Zhao, AD/CVD
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2371 or (202) 482-1396,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping
duty order on hot-rolled steel from Japan in accordance with section
751(a)(1)(B) of Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\1\ Commerce
initiated this administrative review on December 11, 2018 covering 25
producers and/or exporters.\2\ We selected NSC and Tokyo Steel as
mandatory respondents.\3\ On January 28, 2019, Commerce exercised its
discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the partial federal
government closure from December 22, 2018, through the resumption of
operations on January 29, 2019.\4\ On July 29, 2019, we extended the
deadline for the preliminary results of this review until November 8,
2019.\5\ On October 22, 2019, we extended the deadline for the
preliminary results of this review until December 10, 2019.\6\ For a
detailed description of the events that followed the initiation of this
review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\7\
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\1\ See Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products from Australia,
Brazil, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, the Republic
of Turkey, and the United Kingdom: Amended Final Affirmative
Antidumping Determinations for Australia, the Republic of Korea, and
the Republic of Turkey and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 67962
(October 3, 2016) (Order).
\2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 63615 (December 11, 2018).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection for the 2017-2018
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Certain Hot-Rolled Steel
Flat Products from Japan,'' dated March 11, 2019.
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Partial Shutdown
of the Federal Government,'' dated January 28, 2019. All deadlines
in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 40 days.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products
from Japan: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review--2017-2018,'' dated July 29,
2019.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Flat Products
from Japan: Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review--2017-2018,'' dated October
22, 2019.
\7\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Certain Hot-
Rolled Steel Flat Products from Japan; 2017-2018,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by the order is hot-rolled steel from
Japan. For a complete description of the scope of the order, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\8\
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\8\ Id.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance
with section 751(a) of the Act. Constructed export price and export
price were calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal
value is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a
full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of topics discussed in the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as an appendix 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 to ACCESS is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov and is available to all parties in the Central Records
Unit, Room B8024 of the main Commerce building. In addition, a complete
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly
on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. A list
of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
attached as an appendix to this notice. The signed Preliminary Decision
Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum are identical in content.
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
Among the companies under review, Honda properly filed a statement
reporting that it had made no shipments of subject merchandise to the
United States during the POR. Commerce issued an instruction to the
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) asking for any entry activity
regarding Honda, and is awaiting CBP's response.\9\ Based on the
certification submitted by Honda and our analysis of CBP information on
the record, we preliminarily determine that Honda had no shipments
during the POR.\10\ Consistent with its practice, Commerce finds that
it is not appropriate to preliminarily rescind the review with respect
to Honda, but rather to complete the review and issue appropriate
instructions to CBP based on the final results of this review.
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\9\ See No Shipment Inquiry to CBP, dated December 9, 2019.
\10\ See Honda's Letter, ``Administrative Review of Certain Hot-
Rolled Steel Flat Products from Japan: Honda Trading Canada, Inc.'s
No Shipment Certification,'' dated December 20, 2018.
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Rate for Non-Examined Companies
The statute and Commerce's regulations do not address the
establishment of a rate to be applied to companies not selected for
individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act.
Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which
provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a market
economy investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for
companies which were not selected for individual examination in an
administrative review. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-
others rate is normally ``an amount equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero
or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely {on the
basis of facts available{time} .''
In this review, we have preliminarily calculated weighted-average
dumping margins for NSC and Tokyo Steel that are zero. Accordingly, we
have preliminarily assigned to the companies not individually examined
a margin of 0.00 percent.
Preliminary Results
We preliminarily determine the following weighted-average dumping
margins for the period October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018:
[[Page 68404]]
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Weighted-average
Exporter/producer dumping margin
(percent)
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Nippon Steel Corporation/Nippon Steel Nisshin Co., 0.00
Ltd./Nippon Steel Trading Corporation \11\........
Tokyo Steel Manufacturing Co., Ltd................. 0.00
Hanwa Co., Ltd..................................... 0.00
Higuchi Manufacturing America, LLC................. 0.00
Higuchi Seisakusho Co., Ltd........................ 0.00
Hitachi Metals, Ltd................................ 0.00
JFE Steel Corporation/JFE Shoji Trade Corporation 0.00
\12\..............................................
JFE Shoji Trade America............................ 0.00
JFE Shoji Trade Corporation........................ 0.00
Kanematsu Corporation.............................. 0.00
Kobe Steel, Ltd.................................... 0.00
Metal One Corporation.............................. 0.00
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.................................. 0.00
Miyama Industry Co., Ltd........................... 0.00
Nakagawa Special Steel Inc......................... 0.00
Nippon Steel & Sumikin Logistics Co., Ltd.......... 0.00
Okaya & Co. Ltd.................................... 0.00
Panasonic Corporation.............................. 0.00
Saint-Gobain K.K................................... 0.00
Shinsho Corporation................................ 0.00
Sumitomo Corporation............................... 0.00
Suzukaku Corporation............................... 0.00
Toyota Tsusho Corporation Nagoya................... 0.00
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Assessment Rates
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\11\ In a recently completed changed circumstances review, we
found that NSC, Nippon Steel Nisshin Co., Ltd. (Nippon Nisshin), and
Nippon Steel Trading Corporation (NSTC) are affiliated companies
that should be treated as a single entity and as the successor-in-
interest to Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC),
Nisshin Steel Co., Ltd. (Nisshin Steel), and Nippon Steel & Sumikin
Bussan Corporation (NSSBC), respectively. See Certain Hot-Rolled
Steel Flat Products from Japan: Notice of Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 84 FR 46713
(September 5, 2019). In the absence of record information indicating
that Commerce should reevaluate this determination, we are treating
these companies as a single entity for purposes of this
administrative review.
\12\ We collapsed JFE Shoji Trade Corporation with JFE Steel
Corporation in the underlying investigation. See Certain Hot-Rolled
Steel Flat Products from Japan: Preliminary Determination of Sales
at Less than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination, 81
FR 15222 (March 22, 2016), and accompanying Preliminary Decision
Memorandum at 8-9.
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Upon completion of the administrative review, Commerce shall
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate
entries. For any individually examined respondent whose weighted-
average dumping margin is not zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5
percent) in the final results of this review and the respondent
reported reliable entered values, we will calculate importer-specific
ad valorem assessment rates for the merchandise based on the ratio of
the total amount of dumping calculated for the examined sales made
during the POR to each importer and the total entered value of those
same sales, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). If the respondent
has not reported reliable entered values, we will calculate a per-unit
assessment rate for each importer by dividing the total amount of
dumping calculated for the examined sales made to that importer by the
total sales quantity associated with those transactions. Where an
importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis in
the final results of review, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the
appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2). If a respondent's weighted-average dumping
margin is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, we will
instruct CBP not to assess duties on any of its entries in accordance
with the Final Modification for Reviews, i.e., ``{w{time} here the
weighted-average margin of dumping for the exporter is determined to be
zero or de minimis, no antidumping duties will be assessed.'' \13\
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\13\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping
Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8102 (February 14,
2012) (Final Modification for Reviews).
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For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by NSC
and Tokyo Steel for which the producer did not know its merchandise was
destined for the United States, or for any respondent for which we have
a final determination of no shipments, we will instruct CBP to
liquidate unreviewed entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate
for the intermediate company (or companies) involved in the
transaction.\14\
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\14\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after
publication of the final results of this review.
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the notice of final results of this administrative
review for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The
cash deposit rate for each specific company listed above will be that
established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is
less than 0.50 percent, and therefore de minimis within the meaning of
19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero;
(2) for previously investigated companies not participating in this
review, the cash deposit will continue to be the company-specific rate
published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in
which the company participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm
covered in this review, or the underlying investigation, but the
manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate
established for the most recent segment for the manufacturer of the
merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other
[[Page 68405]]
manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 5.58 percent, the all-
others rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation.\15\
These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until
further notice.
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\15\ See Order.
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Disclosure and Public Comment
We intend to disclose the calculations performed for these
preliminary results of review to interested parties within five days of
the date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b). Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may
submit case briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication
of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, the content of which is limited to
issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later than five days
after the date for filing case briefs.\16\ Parties who submit case
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding 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.\17\ Case and rebuttal
briefs should be filed using ACCESS \18\ and must be served on
interested parties.\19\ Executive summaries should be limited to five
pages total, including footnotes.
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\16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
\17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
\18\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
\19\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS. An electronically filed
request must be received successfully in its entirety by 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time within 30 days of the date of publication of this
notice.\20\ Requests should contain: (1) The party's name, address and
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of
issues parties intend to discuss. Issues raised in the hearing will be
limited to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs. If
a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing
at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20230, at a date and time to be determined.\21\ Parties
should confirm the date, time, and location of the hearing two days
before the scheduled date.
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\20\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
\21\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative
review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in
any case or rebuttal briefs, no later than 120 days after the date of
publication of this notice, unless extended.\22\
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\22\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; and 19 CFR 351.213(h).
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Notification to Importers
This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double
antidumping duties.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: December 10, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
V. Use of Facts Available and Adverse Facts Available
VI. Rates for Non-Examined Companies
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2019-27043 Filed 12-13-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P