82_FR_50824 82 FR 50614 - Forged Steel Fittings From the People's Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

82 FR 50614 - Forged Steel Fittings From the People's Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 210 (November 1, 2017)

Page Range50614-50619
FR Document2017-23760

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 210 (Wednesday, November 1, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 210 (Wednesday, November 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50614-50619]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23760]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-067, A-475-839, and A-583-863]


Forged Steel Fittings From the People's Republic of China, Italy, 
and Taiwan: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

DATES: Applicable October 25, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Gorelik at (202) 482-6905 or 
Robert Palmer at (202) 482-9068 (Taiwan), Katherine Johnson at (202) 
482-4929 or Renato Barreda at (202) 482-0317 (the People's Republic of 
China (PRC)), and Denisa Ursu at (202) 482-2285 or Michael Bowen at 
(202) 482-0768 (Italy), AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitions

    On October 5, 2017, the U.S. Department of Commerce (the 
Department) received antidumping duty (AD) Petitions concerning imports 
of forged steel fittings from the People's Republic of China (PRC), 
Italy, and Taiwan, filed in proper form, on behalf of Bonney Forge 
Corporation and United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, 
Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers 
International Union (USW) (collectively, the petitioners).\1\ The AD 
Petitions were accompanied by a countervailing duty (CVD) Petition 
concerning imports of forged steel fittings from the PRC. The 
petitioners are domestic producers of forged steel fittings and a 
certified union that represents workers who produce forged steel 
fittings.\2\
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    \1\ See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce re: ``Petitions for 
the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Forged 
Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of China, Italy, and 
Taiwan'' (October 5, 2017) (the Petitions).
    \2\ See Volume I of the Petitions at 2 and 4.
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    On October 6 and 10, 2017, the Department requested supplemental 
information pertaining to certain areas of the Petitions.\3\ The 
petitioners filed responses to these supplemental questions on October 
11, 2017.\4\ The Department also issued second supplemental 
questionnaires with

[[Page 50615]]

regard to general issues in Volume I of the Petition and for issues 
specific to the PRC and Italy AD petitions.\5\ The petitioners filed 
their second supplemental response regarding the PRC and Italy AD 
petitions on October 17, 2017 and second supplemental response 
regarding general issues on October 18, 2017.\6\ Petitioners also filed 
a revised scope on October 19, 2017.\7\
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    \3\ See Letters from the Department to the petitioners re: 
``Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from the People's 
Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan: Supplemental Questions,'' 
``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of 
Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of China: 
Supplemental Questions,'' ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from Taiwan: 
Supplemental Questions,''; Letter from the Department to the 
petitioners re: ``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties 
on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from Italy: Supplemental 
Questions,'' dated October 10, 2017.
    \4\ See Letters from the petitioners, re: ``Forged Steel 
Fittings from the People's Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan: 
Response to Supplemental Questions--General Issues'' (General Issues 
Supplement); ``Forged Steel Fittings from Italy: Response to 
Supplemental Questions,'' dated October 11, 2017 (Italy AD 
Supplemental Response); ``Forged Steel Fittings from the People's 
Republic of China: Response to Supplemental Questions,'' (PRC AD 
Supplemental Response); and ``Forged Steel Fittings from Taiwan: 
Response to Supplemental Questions,'' (Taiwan AD Supplemental 
Response), dated October 11, 2017.
    \5\ See Letter to the petitioners, re: ``Petitions for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of 
Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of China, Italy, 
and Taiwan: Supplemental Questions,'' dated October 17, 2017; Letter 
to the petitioners, re: Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping 
Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from the People's 
Republic of China: Second Supplement,'' dated October 16, 2017; 
Letter from the Department to the petitioners re: ``Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings 
from Italy: Second Supplemental Questionnaire,'' dated October 16, 
2017.
    \6\ See Letter from the petitioners re: ``Forged Steel Fittings 
from the People's Republic of China: Response to Second Supplemental 
Questions, dated October 17, 2017 (PRC AD Second Supplemental 
Response); Letter from the petitioners re: ``Forged Steel Fittings 
from Italy: Response to Second Supplemental Question,'' dated 
October 17, 2017; Letter from the petitioners to the Department, 
``Response to Second Supplemental Question on Industry Support and 
Cumulation,'' dated October 18, 2017 (Second General Issues 
Supplement).
    \7\ See Letter from the petitioners to the Department, ``Forged 
Steel Fittings from China, Italy, and Taiwan: Revised Scope,'' dated 
October 19, 2017 (Revised Scope). See also the Appendix to this 
notice.
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    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), the petitioners allege that imports of forged steel 
fittings from the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan are being, or likely to be, 
sold in the United States at less than fair value within the meaning of 
section 731 of the Act, and that such imports are materially injuring, 
or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry producing 
forged steel fittings in the United States. Also, consistent with 
section 732(b)(1) of the Act, the Petitions are accompanied by 
information reasonably available to the petitioners supporting their 
allegations.
    The Department finds that the petitioners filed these Petitions on 
behalf of the domestic industry because the petitioners are interested 
parties as defined in sections 771(9)(C) and (D) of the Act. The 
Department also finds that the petitioners demonstrated sufficient 
industry support with respect to the initiation of the AD 
investigations that the petitioners are requesting.\8\
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    \8\ See ``Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions'' 
section, below.
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Periods of Investigation

    Because the Petitions were filed on October 5, 2017, the period of 
investigation (POI) for Taiwan and Italy is October 1, 2016, through 
September 30, 2017. Because the PRC is a non-market economy (NME) 
country, the POI for this investigation is April 1, 2017, through 
September 30, 2017.

Scope of the Investigations

    The products covered by these investigations are forged steel 
fittings from the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan. For a full description of the 
scope of these investigations, see the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' 
in the Appendix to this notice.

Comments on Scope of the Investigations

    During our review of the Petitions, the Department issued questions 
to, and received responses from, the petitioners pertaining to the 
proposed scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petitions would 
be an accurate reflection of the products for which the domestic 
industry is seeking relief.\9\
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    \9\ See General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire; see also 
General Issues Supplement.
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    As discussed in the preamble to the Department's regulations, we 
are setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues 
regarding product coverage (scope).\10\ The Department will consider 
all comments received from interested parties and, if necessary, will 
consult with interested parties prior to the issuance of the 
preliminary determinations. If scope comments include factual 
information,\11\ all such factual information should be limited to 
public information. To facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, 
the Department requests all interested parties to submit such comments 
by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, which is 
20 calendar days from the signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal 
comments, which may include factual information, must be filed by 5:00 
p.m. ET on Friday, November 24, 2017, which is 10 calendar days from 
the initial comments deadline.\12\
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    \10\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ``factual 
information'').
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b).
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    The Department requests that any factual information the parties 
consider relevant to the scope of the investigations be submitted 
during this time period. However, if a party subsequently finds that 
additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the 
investigations may be relevant, the party may contact the Department 
and request permission to submit the additional information. All scope 
comments must be filed on the records of each of the concurrent AD and 
CVD investigations.

Filing Requirements

    All submissions to the Department must be filed electronically 
using Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing 
Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).\13\ An 
electronically filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety by the time and date it is due. Documents exempted from the 
electronic submission requirements must be filed manually (i.e., in 
paper form) with Enforcement and Compliance's APO/Dockets Unit, Room 
18022, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20230, and stamped with the date and time of receipt by 
the applicable deadlines.
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    \13\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 
Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046 
(November 20, 2014), for details of the Department's electronic 
filing requirements, which went into effect on August 5, 2011. 
Information on help using ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20Filling%20Procedures.pdf.
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Comments on Product Characteristics for AD Questionnaires

    The Department will provide interested parties an opportunity to 
comment on the appropriate physical characteristics of forged steel 
fittings to be reported in response to the Department's AD 
questionnaires. This information will be used to identify the key 
physical characteristics of the merchandise under consideration in 
order to report the relevant costs of production accurately as well as 
to develop appropriate product-comparison criteria.
    Interested parties may provide any information or comments that 
they feel are relevant to the development of an accurate list of 
physical characteristics. Specifically, they may provide comments as to 
which characteristics are appropriate to use as: (1) General product 
characteristics and (2) product-comparison criteria. We note that it is 
not always appropriate to use all product characteristics as product-
comparison criteria. We base product-comparison criteria on meaningful 
commercial differences among products. In other words, although there 
may be some physical product characteristics utilized by manufacturers 
to describe forged steel fittings, it may be that only a select few 
product characteristics take

[[Page 50616]]

into account commercially meaningful physical characteristics. In 
addition, interested parties may comment on the order in which the 
physical characteristics should be used in matching products. 
Generally, the Department attempts to list the most important physical 
characteristics first and the least important characteristics last.
    In order to consider the suggestions of interested parties in 
developing and issuing the AD questionnaires, all product 
characteristics comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on November 14, 
2017. Any rebuttal comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on November 
24, 2017. All comments and submissions to the Department must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS, as explained above, on the records of the 
PRC, Italy and Taiwan less-than-fair-value investigations.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on 
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act 
provides that a petition meets this requirement if the domestic 
producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) At least 
25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and 
(ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like 
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support 
for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of 
the Act provides that, if the petition does not establish support of 
domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product, the Department 
shall: (i) Poll the industry or rely on other information in order to 
determine if there is support for the petition, as required by 
subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine industry support using a 
statistically valid sampling method to poll the ``industry.''
    Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the 
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine 
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute 
directs the Department to look to producers and workers who produce the 
domestic like product. The International Trade Commission (ITC), which 
is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry'' has 
been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like 
product in order to define the industry. While both the Department and 
the ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic 
like product,\14\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a 
separate and distinct authority. In addition, the Department's 
determination is subject to limitations of time and information. 
Although this may result in different definitions of the like product, 
such differences do not render the decision of either agency contrary 
to law.\15\
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    \14\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
    \15\ See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT 
2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 688 F. 
Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
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    Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a 
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation 
under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which the domestic 
like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to an 
investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be 
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the 
petition).
    With regard to the domestic like product, the petitioners do not 
offer a definition of the domestic like product distinct from the scope 
of the investigations. Based on our analysis of the information 
submitted on the record, we have determined that forged steel fittings, 
as defined in the scope, constitutes a single domestic like product and 
we have analyzed industry support in terms of that domestic like 
product.\16\
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    \16\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis in 
this case, see Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: 
Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of China (PRC AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II, Analysis of Industry 
Support for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 
Covering Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of China, 
Italy, and Taiwan (Attachment II); Antidumping Duty Investigation 
Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel Fittings from Italy (Italy AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; and Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel Fittings from 
Taiwan (Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II. These 
checklists are dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice and on file electronically via ACCESS. Access to documents 
filed via ACCESS is also available in the Central Records Unit, Room 
B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building.
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    In determining whether the petitioners have standing under section 
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered the industry support data 
contained in the Petitions with reference to the domestic like product 
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' in the Appendix of 
this notice.\17\ The petitioners provided their own production of the 
domestic like product in 2016 and compared this to the estimated total 
2016 production of the domestic like product for the entire domestic 
industry.\18\ We relied on the data the petitioners provided for 
purposes of measuring industry support.\19\
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    \17\ As noted above, the petitioners submitted a revised scope 
on October 19, 2017. See Revised Scope and the Appendix.
    \18\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 3-4 and Exhibit I-1; see 
also General Issues Supplement, at 1 and Exhibit I-15; and Second 
General Issues Supplement, at 1-2.
    \19\ Id. For further discussion, see PRC AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment II; and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
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    Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, supplements to 
the Petitions, and other information readily available to the 
Department indicates that the petitioners have established industry 
support.\20\ First, the Petitions established support from domestic 
producers (or workers) accounting for more than 50 percent of the total 
production of the domestic like product and, as such, the Department is 
not required to take further action in order to evaluate industry 
support (e.g., polling).\21\ Second, the domestic producers (or 
workers) have met the statutory criteria for industry support under 
section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act because the domestic producers (or 
workers) who support the Petitions account for at least 25 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product.\22\ Finally, the 
domestic producers (or workers) have met the statutory criteria for 
industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act because the 
domestic producers (or workers) who support the Petitions account for 
more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like product 
produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or 
opposition to, the Petitions.\23\ Accordingly, the Department 
determines that the Petitions were filed on behalf of the domestic 
industry within the meaning of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.
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    \20\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and Taiwan AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \21\ See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also PRC AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II; and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment II.
    \22\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and Taiwan AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \23\ Id.
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    The Department finds that the petitioners filed the Petitions on 
behalf of the domestic industry because they are interested parties as 
defined in sections 771(9)(C) and (D) of the Act and they have 
demonstrated sufficient industry support with respect to the AD

[[Page 50617]]

investigations that they are requesting that the Department 
initiate.\24\
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    \24\ Id.
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Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation

    The petitioners allege that the U.S. industry producing the 
domestic like product is being materially injured, or is threatened 
with material injury, by reason of the imports of the subject 
merchandise sold at less than normal value (NV). In addition, the 
petitioners allege that subject imports exceed the negligibility 
threshold provided for under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.\25\
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    \25\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 10 and Exhibit I-4.
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    The petitioners contend that the industry's injured condition is 
illustrated by a significant and increasing volume of imports from the 
subject countries; reduced market share; underselling and price 
depression or suppression; and a negative impact on the domestic 
industry's capacity utilization, employment, and profits.\26\ We have 
assessed the allegations and supporting evidence regarding material 
injury, threat of material injury, and causation, and we have 
determined that these allegations are properly supported by adequate 
evidence, and meet the statutory requirements for initiation.\27\
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    \26\ Id. at 10-23 and Exhibits I-4 and I-7 through I-13.
    \27\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III, 
Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and 
Causation for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 
Covering Forged Steel Fittings from the People's Republic of China, 
Italy, and Taiwan (Attachment III); see also Italy AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment III; see also Taiwan AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment III.
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Allegations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

    The following is a description of the allegations of sales at less 
than fair value upon which the Department based its decision to 
initiate AD investigations of imports of forged steel fittings from the 
PRC, Italy, and Taiwan. The sources of data for the deductions and 
adjustments relating to U.S. price and NV are discussed in greater 
detail in the country-specific initiation checklists.

Export Price

    For the PRC and Taiwan, the petitioners based U.S. price on export 
price (EP) using an average unit value (AUV) of publicly available 
import data.\28\ For Italy, the petitioners based U.S. price on EP, 
which they calculated based on their own prices, reduced to meet the 
price obtained by a U.S. customer from an Italian producer.\29\ Where 
applicable, the petitioners made deductions from U.S. price for 
movement and other expenses, consistent with the terms of sale.\30\
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    \28\ See PRC Initiation Checklist and Taiwan AD Initiation 
Checklist.
    \29\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
    \30\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD Initiation 
Checklist and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
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Normal Value

    With respect to the PRC, the petitioners stated that the Department 
has found this country to be a NME country in prior administrative 
proceedings.\31\ In accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, 
the presumption of NME status remains in effect until revoked by the 
Department. The presumption of NME status for the PRC has not been 
revoked by the Department and, therefore, remains in effect for 
purposes of the initiation of this investigation. Accordingly, NV in 
the PRC is appropriately based on factors of production (FOPs) valued 
in a surrogate market economy country, in accordance with section 
773(c) of the Act.\32\ In the course of this investigation, all 
parties, and the public, will have the opportunity to provide relevant 
information related to the granting of separate rates to individual 
exporters.
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    \31\ See Volume II of the Petitions at 1-2.
    \32\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.
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    The petitioners claim that Mexico is an appropriate surrogate 
country for the PRC, because it is a market economy country that is at 
a level of economic development comparable to that of the PRC, it is a 
significant producer of comparable merchandise, and public information 
from Mexico is available to value all material input factors.\33\ Based 
on the information provided by the petitioners, we determine that it is 
appropriate to use Mexico as a surrogate country for initiation 
purposes.\34\
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    \33\ See Volume II of the Petitions at 2 and Exhibits II-1 and 
II-2.
    \34\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.
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    Because information regarding the volume of inputs consumed by the 
PRC producers/exporters is not available, the petitioners relied on the 
production experience of a domestic producer of forged steel fittings 
in the United States as an estimate of PRC manufacturers' FOPs.\35\ The 
petitioners valued the estimated FOPs using surrogate values from 
Mexico.\36\ Additionally, for the surrogate values denominated in 
Mexican pesos, the petitioners converted peso prices into U.S. dollars 
using the average exchange rate obtained from the Department's Web site 
for April 2017, through June 2017,\37\ and from www.exchange-rates.org 
to obtain the U.S./Mexican exchange rates for the period July 2017 
through September 2017.\38\
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    \35\ See Volume II of the Petitions at 4-6 and Exhibits II-7. 
See also PRC AD Supplemental Response at Exhibit II-18 and PRC AD 
Second Supplemental Response.
    \36\ See Volume II of the Petitions at Exhibits II-8 through II-
15. see also PRC AD Supplemental Response at Exhibit II-19 and PRC 
AD Second Supplemental Response.
    \37\ See Volume II of the Petitions at Exhibit II-9.
    \38\ The petitioners noted that ``the Department's exchange rate 
page {on the Department's Web site{time}  only goes through June 
2017. We have therefore used www.exchange-rates.org to obtain the 
U.S./Mexican exchange rates. . .'' See PRC AD Supplemental Response 
at 2 and Exhibits II-19 through II-22.
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    Interested parties will have the opportunity to submit comments 
regarding surrogate country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an opportunity to submit publicly 
available information to value FOPs no later than 30 days before the 
scheduled date of the preliminary determination.
    For Italy, the petitioners based NV on a home market price quote 
obtained for ten selected forged steel fittings produced and sold in 
Italy within the proposed POI. The petitioners adjusted the price 
quotes for a distributor markup to obtain the ex-factory price.\39\
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    \39\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
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    For Taiwan, the petitioners provided an affidavit from a foreign 
market researcher with a home market sales offer for forged steel 
fittings produced in, and sold or offered for sale in Taiwan.\40\
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    \40\ See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
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Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by the petitioners, there is reason to 
believe that imports of forged steel fittings from the PRC, Italy, and 
Taiwan are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value. Based on comparisons of EP to NV in accordance 
with sections 772 and 773 of the Act, the estimated dumping margins for 
forged steel fittings for each of the countries covered by this 
initiation are as follows: (1) PRC--142.72 percent; \41\ (2) Italy--
18.66 to 80.20 percent; \42\ and (3) Taiwan--116.17 percent.\43\
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    \41\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.
    \42\ See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
    \43\ See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
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Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

    Based upon the examination of the AD Petitions, we find that the 
Petitions meet the requirements of section 732 of the Act. Therefore, 
we are initiating AD investigations to determine whether imports of 
forged steel fittings from the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value. In 
accordance with

[[Page 50618]]

section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless 
postponed, we will make our preliminary determinations no later than 
140 days after the date of this initiation.
    Under the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, numerous 
amendments to the AD and CVD law were made.\44\ The 2015 law does not 
specify dates of application for those amendments. On August 6, 2015, 
the Department published an interpretative rule, in which it announced 
the applicability dates for each amendment to the Act, except for 
amendments contained in section 771(7) of the Act, which relate to 
determinations of material injury by the ITC.\45\ The amendments to 
sections 771(15), 773, 776, and 782 of the Act are applicable to all 
determinations made on or after August 6, 2015, and, therefore, apply 
to these AD investigations.\46\
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    \44\ See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, Public Law No. 
114-27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015).
    \45\ See Dates of Application of Amendments to the Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Laws Made by the Trade Preferences Extension 
Act of 2015, 80 FR 46793 (August 6, 2015).
    \46\ Id. at 46794-95. The 2015 amendments may be found at: 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1295/text/pl.
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Respondent Selection

    The petitioners named six companies in Italy and three companies in 
Taiwan, as producers/exporters of forged steel fittings.\47\ Following 
standard practice in AD investigations involving market economy 
countries, in the event the Department determines that the number of 
companies for any one market economy country is large, the Department 
intends to review U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for 
U.S. imports of forged steel fittings during the respective POI under 
the appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
subheadings, and if it determines that it cannot individually examine 
each company based upon the Department's resources, then the Department 
will select respondents based on that data. We intend to release CBP 
data under Administrative Protective Order (APO) to all parties with 
access to information protected by APO within five business days of the 
announcement of the initiation of these investigations. Interested 
parties must submit applications for disclosure under APO in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.305(b). Instructions for filing such applications may 
be found on the Department's Web site at http://enforcement.trade.gov/apo.
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    \47\ See Volume I of the Petitions at Exhibit I-3.
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    Interested parties may submit comments regarding the CBP data and 
respondent selection by 5:00 p.m. ET seven calendar days after the 
placement of the CBP data on the record of these investigations. 
Interested parties wishing to submit rebuttal comments should submit 
those comments five calendar days after the deadline for initial 
comments.
    Comments must be filed electronically using ACCESS. An 
electronically-filed document must be received successfully, in its 
entirety, by ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on the date noted above. 
If respondent selection is necessary, within 20 days of publication of 
this notice, we intend to make our decisions regarding respondent 
selection based upon comments received from interested parties and our 
analysis of the record information.
    With respect to the PRC, the petitioners named 14 producers/
exporters of forged steel fittings from the PRC.\48\ In accordance with 
our standard practice for respondent selection in AD cases involving 
NME countries, we intend to issue quantity and value (Q&V) 
questionnaires to producers/exporters of merchandise subject to this 
investigation and, in the event the Department determines that the 
number of companies is large, base respondent selection on the 
responses received. For this investigation, the Department will request 
Q&V information from known exporters and producers identified with 
complete contact information in the Petitions. In addition, the 
Department will post the Q&V questionnaires along with filing 
instructions on Enforcement and Compliance's Web site at http://www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \48\ See Volume I of the Petitions at Exhibit I-3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Producers/exporters of forged steel fittings from the PRC that do 
not receive Q&V questionnaires by mail may still submit a response to 
the Q&V questionnaire and can obtain a copy of the Q&V questionnaire 
from Enforcement & Compliance's Web site. The Q&V response must be 
submitted by the relevant PRC exporters/producers no later than 5:00 
p.m. ET on November 9, 2017. All Q&V responses must be filed 
electronically via ACCESS.

Separate Rates

    In order to obtain separate-rate status in an NME investigation, 
exporters and producers must submit a separate-rate application.\49\ 
The specific requirements for submitting a separate-rate application in 
the PRC investigation are outlined in detail in the application itself, 
which is available on the Department's Web site at http://enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. The separate-rate 
application will be due 30 days after publication of this initiation 
notice.\50\ Exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate 
application and have been selected as mandatory respondents will be 
eligible for consideration for separate-rate status only if they timely 
respond to all parts of the Department's AD questionnaire as mandatory 
respondents. The Department requires that companies from the PRC submit 
a response to both the Q&V questionnaire and the separate-rate 
application by the respective deadlines in order to receive 
consideration for separate-rate status. Companies not filing a timely 
Q&V response will not receive separate-rate consideration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \49\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and 
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigation 
involving Non-Market Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf (Policy Bulletin 
05.1).
    \50\ Although in past investigations this deadline was 60 days, 
consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a), which states that ``the Secretary 
may request any person to submit factual information at any time 
during a proceeding,'' this deadline is now 30 days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use of Combination Rates

    The Department will calculate combination rates for certain 
respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in an NME 
investigation. The Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin 
states:

    {w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate 
rates only to exporters, all separate rates that the Department will 
now assign in its NME Investigation will be specific to those 
producers that supplied the exporter during the period of 
investigation. Note, however, that one rate is calculated for the 
exporter and all of the producers which supplied subject merchandise 
to it during the period of investigation. This practice applies both 
to mandatory respondents receiving an individually calculated 
separate rate as well as the pool of non-investigated firms 
receiving the weighted-average of the individually calculated rates. 
This practice is referred to as the application of ``combination 
rates'' because such rates apply to specific combinations of 
exporters and one or more producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned 
to an exporter will apply only to merchandise both exported by the 
firm in question and produced by a firm that supplied the exporter 
during the period of investigation.\51\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \51\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Distribution of Copies of the Petitions

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.202(f), copies of the public version of the Petitions have been 
provided to the governments of the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan via ACCESS. 
To the extent practicable, we will attempt to provide a copy of the 
public version of the

[[Page 50619]]

Petitions to each exporter named in the Petitions, as provided under 19 
CFR 351.203(c)(2).

ITC Notification

    We will notify the ITC of our initiation, as required by section 
732(d) of the Act.

Preliminary Determinations by the ITC

    The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date 
on which the Petitions were filed, whether there is a reasonable 
indication that imports of forged steel fittings from the PRC, Italy, 
and/or Taiwan, are materially injuring, or threatening material injury 
to, a U.S. industry.\52\ A negative ITC determination for any country 
will result in the investigation being terminated with respect to that 
country.\53\ Otherwise, these investigations will proceed according to 
statutory and regulatory time limits.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \52\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
    \53\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Submission of Factual Information

    Factual information is defined in 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) 
Evidence submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence 
submitted in support of allegations; (iii) publicly available 
information to value factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence 
placed on the record by the Department; and (v) evidence other than 
factual information described in (i)-(iv). 19 CFR 351.301(b) requires 
any party, when submitting factual information, to specify under which 
subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information is being submitted 
\54\ and, if the information is submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct 
factual information already on the record, to provide an explanation 
identifying the information already on the record that the factual 
information seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct.\55\ Time limits for 
the submission of factual information are addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, 
which provides specific time limits based on the type of factual 
information being submitted. Interested parties should review the 
regulations prior to submitting factual information in these 
investigations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \54\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
    \55\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Extensions of Time Limits

    Parties may request an extension of time limits before the 
expiration of a time limit established under 19 CFR 351.301, or as 
otherwise specified by the Secretary. In general, an extension request 
will be considered untimely if it is filed after the expiration of the 
time limit established under 19 CFR 351.301. For submissions that are 
due from multiple parties simultaneously, an extension request will be 
considered untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET on the due date. 
Under certain circumstances, we may elect to specify a different time 
limit by which extension requests will be considered untimely for 
submissions which are due from multiple parties simultaneously. In such 
a case, we will inform parties in the letter or memorandum setting 
forth the deadline (including a specified time) by which extension 
requests must be filed to be considered timely. An extension request 
must be made in a separate, stand-alone submission; under limited 
circumstances we will grant untimely-filed requests for the extension 
of time limits. Parties should review Extension of Time Limits; Final 
Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 20, 2013), available at http://www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm, prior to 
submitting factual information in these investigations.

Certification Requirements

    Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding 
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\56\ 
Parties are hereby reminded that revised certification requirements are 
in effect for company/government officials, as well as their 
representatives.\57\ Investigations initiated on the basis of petitions 
filed on or after August 16, 2013, and other segments of any AD or CVD 
proceedings initiated on or after August 16, 2013, should use the 
formats for the revised certifications provided in 19 CFR 351.303(g). 
The Department intends to reject factual submissions if the submitting 
party does not comply with applicable revised certification 
requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \56\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \57\ See Certification of Factual Information to Import 
Administration during Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also 
frequently asked questions regarding the Final Rule, available at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notification to Interested Parties

    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On January 22, 2008, the 
Department published Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Documents Submission Procedures; APO Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January 
22, 2008). Parties wishing to participate in these investigations 
should ensure that they meet the requirements of these procedures 
(e.g., the filing of letters of appearance as discussed at 19 CFR 
351.103(d)).
    This notice is issued and published pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) 
and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).

    Dated: October 25, 2017.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Investigations

    The merchandise covered by these investigations is carbon and 
alloy forged steel fittings, whether unfinished (commonly known as 
blanks or rough forgings) or finished. Such fittings are made in a 
variety of shapes including, but not limited to, elbows, tees, 
crosses, laterals, couplings, reducers, caps, plugs, bushings and 
unions. Forged steel fittings are covered regardless of end finish, 
whether threaded, socket-weld or other end connections.
    While these fittings are generally manufactured to 
specifications ASME B16.11, MSS SP-79, and MSS SP-83, ASTM A105, 
ASTM A350 and ASTM A182, the scope is not limited to fittings made 
to these specifications.
    The term forged is an industry term used to describe a class of 
products included in applicable standards, and does not reference an 
exclusive manufacturing process. Forged steel fittings are not 
manufactured from casting. Pursuant to the applicable standards, 
fittings may also be machined from bar stock or machined from 
seamless pipe and tube.
    All types of fittings are included in the scope regardless of 
nominal pipe size (which may or may not be expressed in inches of 
nominal pipe size), pressure rating (usually, but not necessarily 
expressed in pounds of pressure, e.g., 2,000 or 2M; 3,000 or 3M; 
6,000 or 6M; 9,000 or 9M), wall thickness, and whether or not heat 
treated.
    Excluded from this scope are all fittings entirely made of 
stainless steel. Also excluded are flanges, butt weld fittings, and 
nipples.
    Subject carbon and alloy forged steel fittings are normally 
entered under HTSUS 7307.99.1000, 7307.99.3000, 7307.99.5045, and 
7307.99.5060. They also may be entered under HTSUS 7307.92.3010, 
7307.92.3030, 7307.92.9000, and 7326.19.0010.
    The HTSUS subheadings and specifications are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the 
scope is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2017-23760 Filed 10-31-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P



                                                50614                    Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices

                                                      Notice of Federal Advisory
                                                ACTION:                                                 meeting. Minutes will be available                    China (PRC)), and Denisa Ursu at (202)
                                                Committee Meeting.                                      within 30 days of this meeting.                       482–2285 or Michael Bowen at (202)
                                                                                                          Topic To Be considered: The agenda                  482–0768 (Italy), AD/CVD Operations,
                                                SUMMARY:    This notice sets forth the                  for the November 14, 2017 meeting                     Enforcement and Compliance,
                                                schedule and proposed agenda of a                       includes briefings from the U.S.                      International Trade Administration,
                                                meeting of the Environmental                            interagency on ongoing NAFTA                          U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
                                                Technologies Trade Advisory                             negotiations and ITA’s Trade Promotion                Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
                                                Committee (ETTAC).                                      Programs. Also during the meeting, the                DC 20230.
                                                DATES: The meeting is scheduled for                     three ETTAC subcommittees will                        SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                Tuesday, November 14, 2017 from 8:30                    discuss their top priorities for this
                                                a.m.–3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time                    charter period, with the goal of                      The Petitions
                                                (EDT). The deadline for members of the                  generating recommendations for the                      On October 5, 2017, the U.S.
                                                public to register or to submit written                 Secretary of Commerce. Topics under                   Department of Commerce (the
                                                comments for dissemination prior to the                 discussion include optimizing the U.S.                Department) received antidumping duty
                                                meeting is 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday,                     Government’s trade promotion                          (AD) Petitions concerning imports of
                                                November 3, 2017. The deadline for                      programs, identifying market access                   forged steel fittings from the People’s
                                                members of the public to request                        barriers, pros and cons of existing trade             Republic of China (PRC), Italy, and
                                                auxiliary aids is 5:00 p.m. EDT on                      agreements, and discussing                            Taiwan, filed in proper form, on behalf
                                                Tuesday, November 7, 2017.                              procurement policy, including issues                  of Bonney Forge Corporation and
                                                ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in                  with financing mechanisms, localization               United Steel, Paper and Forestry,
                                                Room 6057–59 at the U.S. Department                     requirements and non-tariff barriers.                 Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied
                                                of Commerce, Herbert Clark Hoover                       The ETTAC’s subcommittees are: Trade                  Industrial and Service Workers
                                                Building, 1401 Constitution Avenue                      Promotion and Export Market                           International Union (USW) (collectively,
                                                NW., Washington, DC 20230. The                          Development, Professional Services and                the petitioners).1 The AD Petitions were
                                                address to register, submit comments, or                Infrastructure Advancement, and Trade                 accompanied by a countervailing duty
                                                request auxiliary aids is: Ms. Amy                      Policy and American Competitiveness.                  (CVD) Petition concerning imports of
                                                Kreps, Office of Energy & Environmental                   Background: The ETTAC is mandated                   forged steel fittings from the PRC. The
                                                Industries (OEEI), International Trade                  by Section 2313(c) of the Export                      petitioners are domestic producers of
                                                Administration, Room 28018, 1401                        Enhancement Act of 1988, as amended,                  forged steel fittings and a certified union
                                                Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,                    15 U.S.C. 4728(c), to advise the                      that represents workers who produce
                                                DC 20230 or email: amy.kreps@                           Environmental Trade Working Group of                  forged steel fittings.2
                                                trade.gov.                                              the Trade Promotion Coordinating                        On October 6 and 10, 2017, the
                                                FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.                    Committee, through the Secretary of                   Department requested supplemental
                                                Amy Kreps, Office of Energy &                           Commerce, on the development and                      information pertaining to certain areas
                                                Environmental Industries (OEEI),                        administration of programs to expand                  of the Petitions.3 The petitioners filed
                                                International Trade Administration,                     U.S. exports of environmental                         responses to these supplemental
                                                Room 28018, 1401 Constitution Avenue                    technologies, goods, services, and                    questions on October 11, 2017.4 The
                                                NW., Washington, DC 20230 (Phone:                       products. The ETTAC was originally                    Department also issued second
                                                202–482–3835; Fax: 202–482–5665;                        chartered in May of 1994. It was most                 supplemental questionnaires with
                                                email: amy.kreps@trade.gov).                            recently re-chartered until August 2018.
                                                                                                                                                                 1 See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce re:
                                                SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The                            Dated: October 25, 2017.                            ‘‘Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and
                                                meeting will take place on November 14                  Man Cho,                                              Countervailing Duties: Forged Steel Fittings from
                                                from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. The                    Deputy Director, Office of Energy and                 the People’s Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan’’
                                                                                                                                                              (October 5, 2017) (the Petitions).
                                                general meeting is open to the public                   Environmental Industries.                                2 See Volume I of the Petitions at 2 and 4.
                                                and time will be permitted for public                   [FR Doc. 2017–23811 Filed 10–31–17; 8:45 am]             3 See Letters from the Department to the
                                                comment from 3:00–3:30 p.m. EDT.                        BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P                                petitioners re: ‘‘Petitions for the Imposition of
                                                Members of the public seeking to attend                                                                       Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports
                                                the meeting are required to register in                                                                       of Forged Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic
                                                                                                                                                              of China, Italy, and Taiwan: Supplemental
                                                advance. Those interested in attending                  DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                Questions,’’ ‘‘Petition for the Imposition of
                                                must provide notification by Friday,                                                                          Antidumping Duties on Imports of Forged Steel
                                                November 3, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. EDT, via                  International Trade Administration                    Fittings from the People’s Republic of China:
                                                the contact information provided above.                                                                       Supplemental Questions,’’ ‘‘Petition for the
                                                                                                        [A–570–067, A–475–839, and A–583–863]                 Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of
                                                This meeting is physically accessible to                                                                      Forged Steel Fittings from Taiwan: Supplemental
                                                people with disabilities. Requests for                  Forged Steel Fittings From the                        Questions,’’; Letter from the Department to the
                                                sign language interpretation or other                   People’s Republic of China, Italy, and                petitioners re: ‘‘Petition for the Imposition of
                                                auxiliary aids should be directed to                    Taiwan: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-                 Antidumping Duties on Imports of Forged Steel
                                                                                                                                                              Fittings from Italy: Supplemental Questions,’’ dated
                                                OEEI at (202) 482–3835 no less than one                 Value Investigations                                  October 10, 2017.
                                                week prior to the meeting. Requests                                                                              4 See Letters from the petitioners, re: ‘‘Forged
                                                received after this date will be accepted,              AGENCY:  Enforcement and Compliance,
                                                                                                                                                              Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of China,
                                                but it may not be possible to                           International Trade Administration,                   Italy, and Taiwan: Response to Supplemental
                                                                                                        Department of Commerce.                               Questions—General Issues’’ (General Issues
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                accommodate them.
                                                                                                        DATES: Applicable October 25, 2017.                   Supplement); ‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from Italy:
                                                   Written comments concerning ETTAC                                                                          Response to Supplemental Questions,’’ dated
                                                affairs are welcome any time before or                  FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                      October 11, 2017 (Italy AD Supplemental
                                                after the meeting. To be considered                     Irene Gorelik at (202) 482–6905 or                    Response); ‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from the People’s
                                                during the meeting, written comments                    Robert Palmer at (202) 482–9068                       Republic of China: Response to Supplemental
                                                                                                                                                              Questions,’’ (PRC AD Supplemental Response); and
                                                must be received by Friday, November                    (Taiwan), Katherine Johnson at (202)                  ‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from Taiwan: Response to
                                                3, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. EDT to ensure                      482–4929 or Renato Barreda at (202)                   Supplemental Questions,’’ (Taiwan AD
                                                transmission to the members before the                  482–0317 (the People’s Republic of                    Supplemental Response), dated October 11, 2017.



                                           VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:16 Oct 31, 2017   Jkt 244001   PO 00000   Frm 00007   Fmt 4703   Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\01NON1.SGM   01NON1


                                                                           Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices                                                  50615

                                                regard to general issues in Volume I of                   30, 2017. Because the PRC is a non-                  records of each of the concurrent AD
                                                the Petition and for issues specific to the               market economy (NME) country, the                    and CVD investigations.
                                                PRC and Italy AD petitions.5 The                          POI for this investigation is April 1,
                                                                                                                                                               Filing Requirements
                                                petitioners filed their second                            2017, through September 30, 2017.
                                                supplemental response regarding the                                                                               All submissions to the Department
                                                                                                          Scope of the Investigations                          must be filed electronically using
                                                PRC and Italy AD petitions on October
                                                17, 2017 and second supplemental                             The products covered by these                     Enforcement and Compliance’s
                                                response regarding general issues on                      investigations are forged steel fittings             Antidumping Duty and Countervailing
                                                October 18, 2017.6 Petitioners also filed                 from the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan. For a               Duty Centralized Electronic Service
                                                a revised scope on October 19, 2017.7                     full description of the scope of these               System (ACCESS).13 An electronically
                                                   In accordance with section 732(b) of                   investigations, see the ‘‘Scope of the               filed document must be received
                                                the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the                   Investigations,’’ in the Appendix to this            successfully in its entirety by the time
                                                Act), the petitioners allege that imports                 notice.                                              and date it is due. Documents exempted
                                                of forged steel fittings from the PRC,                    Comments on Scope of the                             from the electronic submission
                                                Italy, and Taiwan are being, or likely to                 Investigations                                       requirements must be filed manually
                                                be, sold in the United States at less than                                                                     (i.e., in paper form) with Enforcement
                                                fair value within the meaning of section                     During our review of the Petitions, the           and Compliance’s APO/Dockets Unit,
                                                731 of the Act, and that such imports                     Department issued questions to, and                  Room 18022, U.S. Department of
                                                are materially injuring, or threatening                   received responses from, the petitioners             Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
                                                material injury to, the domestic industry                 pertaining to the proposed scope to                  NW., Washington, DC 20230, and
                                                producing forged steel fittings in the                    ensure that the scope language in the                stamped with the date and time of
                                                United States. Also, consistent with                      Petitions would be an accurate                       receipt by the applicable deadlines.
                                                section 732(b)(1) of the Act, the                         reflection of the products for which the
                                                Petitions are accompanied by                              domestic industry is seeking relief.9                Comments on Product Characteristics
                                                information reasonably available to the                      As discussed in the preamble to the               for AD Questionnaires
                                                petitioners supporting their allegations.                 Department’s regulations, we are setting                The Department will provide
                                                   The Department finds that the                          aside a period for interested parties to             interested parties an opportunity to
                                                petitioners filed these Petitions on                      raise issues regarding product coverage              comment on the appropriate physical
                                                behalf of the domestic industry because                   (scope).10 The Department will consider              characteristics of forged steel fittings to
                                                the petitioners are interested parties as                 all comments received from interested                be reported in response to the
                                                defined in sections 771(9)(C) and (D) of                  parties and, if necessary, will consult              Department’s AD questionnaires. This
                                                the Act. The Department also finds that                   with interested parties prior to the                 information will be used to identify the
                                                the petitioners demonstrated sufficient                   issuance of the preliminary                          key physical characteristics of the
                                                industry support with respect to the                      determinations. If scope comments                    merchandise under consideration in
                                                initiation of the AD investigations that                  include factual information,11 all such              order to report the relevant costs of
                                                the petitioners are requesting.8                          factual information should be limited to             production accurately as well as to
                                                                                                          public information. To facilitate                    develop appropriate product-
                                                Periods of Investigation                                  preparation of its questionnaires, the               comparison criteria.
                                                   Because the Petitions were filed on                    Department requests all interested                      Interested parties may provide any
                                                October 5, 2017, the period of                            parties to submit such comments by                   information or comments that they feel
                                                investigation (POI) for Taiwan and Italy                  5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on                       are relevant to the development of an
                                                is October 1, 2016, through September                     Tuesday, November 14, 2017, which is                 accurate list of physical characteristics.
                                                                                                          20 calendar days from the signature date             Specifically, they may provide
                                                   5 See Letter to the petitioners, re: ‘‘Petitions for
                                                                                                          of this notice. Any rebuttal comments,               comments as to which characteristics
                                                the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing
                                                Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from the
                                                                                                          which may include factual information,               are appropriate to use as: (1) General
                                                People’s Republic of China, Italy, and Taiwan:            must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday,             product characteristics and (2) product-
                                                Supplemental Questions,’’ dated October 17, 2017;         November 24, 2017, which is 10                       comparison criteria. We note that it is
                                                Letter to the petitioners, re: Petition for the           calendar days from the initial comments
                                                Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of                                                                 not always appropriate to use all
                                                Forged Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of       deadline.12                                          product characteristics as product-
                                                China: Second Supplement,’’ dated October 16,                The Department requests that any                  comparison criteria. We base product-
                                                2017; Letter from the Department to the petitioners       factual information the parties consider             comparison criteria on meaningful
                                                re: ‘‘Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping          relevant to the scope of the
                                                Duties on Imports of Forged Steel Fittings from                                                                commercial differences among products.
                                                Italy: Second Supplemental Questionnaire,’’ dated
                                                                                                          investigations be submitted during this              In other words, although there may be
                                                October 16, 2017.                                         time period. However, if a party                     some physical product characteristics
                                                   6 See Letter from the petitioners re: ‘‘Forged Steel   subsequently finds that additional                   utilized by manufacturers to describe
                                                Fittings from the People’s Republic of China:             factual information pertaining to the
                                                Response to Second Supplemental Questions, dated                                                               forged steel fittings, it may be that only
                                                October 17, 2017 (PRC AD Second Supplemental
                                                                                                          scope of the investigations may be                   a select few product characteristics take
                                                Response); Letter from the petitioners re: ‘‘Forged       relevant, the party may contact the
                                                Steel Fittings from Italy: Response to Second             Department and request permission to                   13 See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
                                                Supplemental Question,’’ dated October 17, 2017;          submit the additional information. All               Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures;
                                                Letter from the petitioners to the Department,                                                                 Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR
                                                ‘‘Response to Second Supplemental Question on
                                                                                                          scope comments must be filed on the
                                                                                                                                                               39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                Industry Support and Cumulation,’’ dated October                                                               Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System
                                                                                                            9 See General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire;
                                                18, 2017 (Second General Issues Supplement).                                                                   Name, 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014), for details
                                                   7 See Letter from the petitioners to the               see also General Issues Supplement.                  of the Department’s electronic filing requirements,
                                                                                                            10 See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing
                                                Department, ‘‘Forged Steel Fittings from China,                                                                which went into effect on August 5, 2011.
                                                Italy, and Taiwan: Revised Scope,’’ dated October         Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19,      Information on help using ACCESS can be found at
                                                19, 2017 (Revised Scope). See also the Appendix to        1997).                                               https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook
                                                this notice.                                                11 See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ‘‘factual
                                                                                                                                                               can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/
                                                   8 See ‘‘Determination of Industry Support for the      information’’).                                      Handbook%20on%20Electronic
                                                Petitions’’ section, below.                                 12 See 19 CFR 351.303(b).                          %20Filling%20Procedures.pdf.



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                                                50616                    Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices

                                                into account commercially meaningful                    the domestic like product,14 they do so                   estimated total 2016 production of the
                                                physical characteristics. In addition,                  for different purposes and pursuant to a                  domestic like product for the entire
                                                interested parties may comment on the                   separate and distinct authority. In                       domestic industry.18 We relied on the
                                                order in which the physical                             addition, the Department’s                                data the petitioners provided for
                                                characteristics should be used in                       determination is subject to limitations of                purposes of measuring industry
                                                matching products. Generally, the                       time and information. Although this                       support.19
                                                Department attempts to list the most                    may result in different definitions of the                  Our review of the data provided in the
                                                important physical characteristics first                like product, such differences do not                     Petitions, supplements to the Petitions,
                                                and the least important characteristics                 render the decision of either agency                      and other information readily available
                                                last.                                                   contrary to law.15                                        to the Department indicates that the
                                                   In order to consider the suggestions of                 Section 771(10) of the Act defines the
                                                                                                                                                                  petitioners have established industry
                                                interested parties in developing and                    domestic like product as ‘‘a product
                                                                                                                                                                  support.20 First, the Petitions
                                                issuing the AD questionnaires, all                      which is like, or in the absence of like,
                                                                                                                                                                  established support from domestic
                                                product characteristics comments must                   most similar in characteristics and uses
                                                                                                                                                                  producers (or workers) accounting for
                                                be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on November                    with, the article subject to an
                                                                                                                                                                  more than 50 percent of the total
                                                14, 2017. Any rebuttal comments must                    investigation under this title.’’ Thus, the
                                                                                                                                                                  production of the domestic like product
                                                be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on November                    reference point from which the
                                                                                                                                                                  and, as such, the Department is not
                                                24, 2017. All comments and                              domestic like product analysis begins is
                                                                                                                                                                  required to take further action in order
                                                submissions to the Department must be                   ‘‘the article subject to an investigation’’
                                                filed electronically using ACCESS, as                   (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to                to evaluate industry support (e.g.,
                                                explained above, on the records of the                  be investigated, which normally will be                   polling).21 Second, the domestic
                                                PRC, Italy and Taiwan less-than-fair-                   the scope as defined in the petition).                    producers (or workers) have met the
                                                value investigations.                                      With regard to the domestic like                       statutory criteria for industry support
                                                                                                        product, the petitioners do not offer a                   under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act
                                                Determination of Industry Support for                   definition of the domestic like product                   because the domestic producers (or
                                                the Petitions                                           distinct from the scope of the                            workers) who support the Petitions
                                                   Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires                investigations. Based on our analysis of                  account for at least 25 percent of the
                                                that a petition be filed on behalf of the               the information submitted on the                          total production of the domestic like
                                                domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A)                 record, we have determined that forged                    product.22 Finally, the domestic
                                                of the Act provides that a petition meets               steel fittings, as defined in the scope,                  producers (or workers) have met the
                                                this requirement if the domestic                        constitutes a single domestic like                        statutory criteria for industry support
                                                producers or workers who support the                    product and we have analyzed industry                     under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act
                                                petition account for: (i) At least 25                   support in terms of that domestic like                    because the domestic producers (or
                                                percent of the total production of the                  product.16                                                workers) who support the Petitions
                                                domestic like product; and (ii) more                       In determining whether the                             account for more than 50 percent of the
                                                than 50 percent of the production of the                petitioners have standing under section                   production of the domestic like product
                                                domestic like product produced by that                  732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered                    produced by that portion of the industry
                                                portion of the industry expressing                      the industry support data contained in                    expressing support for, or opposition to,
                                                support for, or opposition to, the                      the Petitions with reference to the                       the Petitions.23 Accordingly, the
                                                petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D)                domestic like product as defined in the                   Department determines that the
                                                of the Act provides that, if the petition               ‘‘Scope of the Investigations,’’ in the                   Petitions were filed on behalf of the
                                                does not establish support of domestic                  Appendix of this notice.17 The                            domestic industry within the meaning
                                                producers or workers accounting for                     petitioners provided their own                            of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.
                                                more than 50 percent of the total                       production of the domestic like product                     The Department finds that the
                                                production of the domestic like product,                in 2016 and compared this to the                          petitioners filed the Petitions on behalf
                                                the Department shall: (i) Poll the                                                                                of the domestic industry because they
                                                industry or rely on other information in                  14 See  section 771(10) of the Act.                     are interested parties as defined in
                                                order to determine if there is support for                15 See  USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp.
                                                                                                                                                                  sections 771(9)(C) and (D) of the Act and
                                                the petition, as required by                            2d 1, 8 (CIT 2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd.
                                                                                                        v. United States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988),       they have demonstrated sufficient
                                                subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine                     aff’d 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).                     industry support with respect to the AD
                                                industry support using a statistically                     16 For a discussion of the domestic like product

                                                valid sampling method to poll the                       analysis in this case, see Antidumping Duty                   18 See Volume I of the Petitions, at 3–4 and
                                                ‘‘industry.’’                                           Investigation Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel
                                                                                                                                                                  Exhibit I–1; see also General Issues Supplement, at
                                                   Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines                 Fittings from the People’s Republic of China (PRC
                                                                                                                                                                  1 and Exhibit I–15; and Second General Issues
                                                                                                        AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II, Analysis
                                                the ‘‘industry’’ as the producers as a                  of Industry Support for the Antidumping and
                                                                                                                                                                  Supplement, at 1–2.
                                                                                                                                                                      19 Id. For further discussion, see PRC AD
                                                whole of a domestic like product. Thus,                 Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering Forged
                                                                                                                                                                  Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy AD
                                                to determine whether a petition has the                 Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of China,
                                                                                                                                                                  Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and Taiwan
                                                requisite industry support, the statute                 Italy, and Taiwan (Attachment II); Antidumping
                                                                                                        Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel     AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
                                                directs the Department to look to                       Fittings from Italy (Italy AD Initiation Checklist), at
                                                                                                                                                                      20 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment

                                                producers and workers who produce the                   Attachment II; and Antidumping Duty Investigation         II; Italy AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II;
                                                domestic like product. The International                Initiation Checklist: Forged Steel Fittings from          and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment
                                                                                                        Taiwan (Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist), at               II.
                                                Trade Commission (ITC), which is
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                                                                                                                                                                      21 See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also
                                                                                                        Attachment II. These checklists are dated
                                                responsible for determining whether                     concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this            PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Italy
                                                ‘‘the domestic industry’’ has been                      notice and on file electronically via ACCESS.             AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and
                                                injured, must also determine what                       Access to documents filed via ACCESS is also              Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
                                                                                                        available in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024             22 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment
                                                constitutes a domestic like product in
                                                                                                        of the main Department of Commerce building.              II; Italy AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II;
                                                order to define the industry. While both                   17 As noted above, the petitioners submitted a         and Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment
                                                the Department and the ITC must apply                   revised scope on October 19, 2017. See Revised            II.
                                                the same statutory definition regarding                 Scope and the Appendix.                                       23 Id.




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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices                                                        50617

                                                investigations that they are requesting                    Where applicable, the petitioners made                   using the average exchange rate
                                                that the Department initiate.24                            deductions from U.S. price for                           obtained from the Department’s Web
                                                                                                           movement and other expenses,                             site for April 2017, through June 2017,37
                                                Allegations and Evidence of Material
                                                                                                           consistent with the terms of sale.30                     and from www.exchange-rates.org to
                                                Injury and Causation
                                                                                                                                                                    obtain the U.S./Mexican exchange rates
                                                   The petitioners allege that the U.S.                    Normal Value
                                                                                                                                                                    for the period July 2017 through
                                                industry producing the domestic like                          With respect to the PRC, the                          September 2017.38
                                                product is being materially injured, or is                 petitioners stated that the Department                      Interested parties will have the
                                                threatened with material injury, by                        has found this country to be a NME                       opportunity to submit comments
                                                reason of the imports of the subject                       country in prior administrative                          regarding surrogate country selection
                                                merchandise sold at less than normal                       proceedings.31 In accordance with                        and, pursuant to 19 CFR
                                                value (NV). In addition, the petitioners                   section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, the                    351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an
                                                allege that subject imports exceed the                     presumption of NME status remains in                     opportunity to submit publicly available
                                                negligibility threshold provided for                       effect until revoked by the Department.                  information to value FOPs no later than
                                                under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.25                     The presumption of NME status for the                    30 days before the scheduled date of the
                                                   The petitioners contend that the                        PRC has not been revoked by the                          preliminary determination.
                                                industry’s injured condition is                            Department and, therefore, remains in                       For Italy, the petitioners based NV on
                                                illustrated by a significant and                           effect for purposes of the initiation of                 a home market price quote obtained for
                                                increasing volume of imports from the                      this investigation. Accordingly, NV in                   ten selected forged steel fittings
                                                subject countries; reduced market share;                   the PRC is appropriately based on                        produced and sold in Italy within the
                                                underselling and price depression or                       factors of production (FOPs) valued in                   proposed POI. The petitioners adjusted
                                                suppression; and a negative impact on                      a surrogate market economy country, in                   the price quotes for a distributor markup
                                                the domestic industry’s capacity                           accordance with section 773(c) of the                    to obtain the ex-factory price.39
                                                utilization, employment, and profits.26                    Act.32 In the course of this investigation,                 For Taiwan, the petitioners provided
                                                We have assessed the allegations and                       all parties, and the public, will have the               an affidavit from a foreign market
                                                supporting evidence regarding material                     opportunity to provide relevant                          researcher with a home market sales
                                                injury, threat of material injury, and                     information related to the granting of                   offer for forged steel fittings produced
                                                causation, and we have determined that                     separate rates to individual exporters.                  in, and sold or offered for sale in
                                                these allegations are properly supported                      The petitioners claim that Mexico is                  Taiwan.40
                                                by adequate evidence, and meet the                         an appropriate surrogate country for the                 Fair Value Comparisons
                                                statutory requirements for initiation.27                   PRC, because it is a market economy
                                                                                                           country that is at a level of economic                      Based on the data provided by the
                                                Allegations of Sales at Less Than Fair                                                                              petitioners, there is reason to believe
                                                Value                                                      development comparable to that of the
                                                                                                           PRC, it is a significant producer of                     that imports of forged steel fittings from
                                                   The following is a description of the                                                                            the PRC, Italy, and Taiwan are being, or
                                                                                                           comparable merchandise, and public
                                                allegations of sales at less than fair value                                                                        are likely to be, sold in the United States
                                                                                                           information from Mexico is available to
                                                upon which the Department based its                                                                                 at less than fair value. Based on
                                                                                                           value all material input factors.33 Based
                                                decision to initiate AD investigations of                                                                           comparisons of EP to NV in accordance
                                                                                                           on the information provided by the
                                                imports of forged steel fittings from the                                                                           with sections 772 and 773 of the Act,
                                                                                                           petitioners, we determine that it is
                                                PRC, Italy, and Taiwan. The sources of                                                                              the estimated dumping margins for
                                                                                                           appropriate to use Mexico as a surrogate
                                                data for the deductions and adjustments                                                                             forged steel fittings for each of the
                                                                                                           country for initiation purposes.34
                                                relating to U.S. price and NV are                                                                                   countries covered by this initiation are
                                                                                                              Because information regarding the
                                                discussed in greater detail in the                                                                                  as follows: (1) PRC—142.72 percent; 41
                                                                                                           volume of inputs consumed by the PRC
                                                country-specific initiation checklists.                                                                             (2) Italy—18.66 to 80.20 percent; 42 and
                                                                                                           producers/exporters is not available, the
                                                Export Price                                               petitioners relied on the production                     (3) Taiwan—116.17 percent.43
                                                  For the PRC and Taiwan, the                              experience of a domestic producer of                     Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
                                                petitioners based U.S. price on export                     forged steel fittings in the United States               Investigations
                                                price (EP) using an average unit value                     as an estimate of PRC manufacturers’                        Based upon the examination of the
                                                (AUV) of publicly available import                         FOPs.35 The petitioners valued the                       AD Petitions, we find that the Petitions
                                                data.28 For Italy, the petitioners based                   estimated FOPs using surrogate values                    meet the requirements of section 732 of
                                                U.S. price on EP, which they calculated                    from Mexico.36 Additionally, for the                     the Act. Therefore, we are initiating AD
                                                based on their own prices, reduced to                      surrogate values denominated in                          investigations to determine whether
                                                meet the price obtained by a U.S.                          Mexican pesos, the petitioners                           imports of forged steel fittings from the
                                                customer from an Italian producer.29                       converted peso prices into U.S. dollars                  PRC, Italy, and Taiwan are being, or are
                                                                                                              30 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, Italy AD
                                                                                                                                                                    likely to be, sold in the United States at
                                                  24 Id.
                                                                                                           Initiation Checklist and Taiwan AD Initiation            less than fair value. In accordance with
                                                  25 See   Volume I of the Petitions, at 10 and Exhibit
                                                I–4.                                                       Checklist.
                                                                                                              31 See Volume II of the Petitions at 1–2.               37 See Volume II of the Petitions at Exhibit II–9.
                                                  26 Id.   at 10–23 and Exhibits I–4 and I–7 through
                                                                                                              32 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.                     38 The  petitioners noted that ‘‘the Department’s
                                                I–13.
                                                   27 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment          33 See Volume II of the Petitions at 2 and Exhibits   exchange rate page {on the Department’s Web site}
                                                                                                           II–1 and II–2.                                           only goes through June 2017. We have therefore
                                                III, Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material
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                                                                                                              34 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.                   used www.exchange-rates.org to obtain the U.S./
                                                Injury and Causation for the Antidumping and
                                                                                                                                                                    Mexican exchange rates. . .’’ See PRC AD
                                                Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering Forged                 35 See Volume II of the Petitions at 4–6 and

                                                Steel Fittings from the People’s Republic of China,                                                                 Supplemental Response at 2 and Exhibits II–19
                                                                                                           Exhibits II–7. See also PRC AD Supplemental
                                                Italy, and Taiwan (Attachment III); see also Italy AD                                                               through II–22.
                                                                                                           Response at Exhibit II–18 and PRC AD Second                39 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
                                                Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III; see also          Supplemental Response.
                                                                                                                                                                      40 See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.
                                                Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III.            36 See Volume II of the Petitions at Exhibits II–
                                                   28 See PRC Initiation Checklist and Taiwan AD                                                                      41 See PRC AD Initiation Checklist.
                                                                                                           8 through II–15. see also PRC AD Supplemental
                                                Initiation Checklist.                                      Response at Exhibit II–19 and PRC AD Second                42 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.
                                                   29 See Italy AD Initiation Checklist.                   Supplemental Response.                                     43 See Taiwan AD Initiation Checklist.




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                                                50618                    Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices

                                                section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19                  respondent selection by 5:00 p.m. ET                  application in the PRC investigation are
                                                CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless postponed,                    seven calendar days after the placement               outlined in detail in the application
                                                we will make our preliminary                            of the CBP data on the record of these                itself, which is available on the
                                                determinations no later than 140 days                   investigations. Interested parties                    Department’s Web site at http://
                                                after the date of this initiation.                      wishing to submit rebuttal comments                   enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-
                                                   Under the Trade Preferences                          should submit those comments five                     rate.html. The separate-rate application
                                                Extension Act of 2015, numerous                         calendar days after the deadline for                  will be due 30 days after publication of
                                                amendments to the AD and CVD law                        initial comments.                                     this initiation notice.50 Exporters and
                                                were made.44 The 2015 law does not                         Comments must be filed                             producers who submit a separate-rate
                                                specify dates of application for those                  electronically using ACCESS. An                       application and have been selected as
                                                amendments. On August 6, 2015, the                      electronically-filed document must be                 mandatory respondents will be eligible
                                                Department published an interpretative                  received successfully, in its entirety, by            for consideration for separate-rate status
                                                rule, in which it announced the                         ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on                  only if they timely respond to all parts
                                                applicability dates for each amendment                  the date noted above. If respondent                   of the Department’s AD questionnaire as
                                                to the Act, except for amendments                       selection is necessary, within 20 days of             mandatory respondents. The
                                                contained in section 771(7) of the Act,                 publication of this notice, we intend to              Department requires that companies
                                                which relate to determinations of                       make our decisions regarding                          from the PRC submit a response to both
                                                material injury by the ITC.45 The                       respondent selection based upon                       the Q&V questionnaire and the separate-
                                                amendments to sections 771(15), 773,                    comments received from interested                     rate application by the respective
                                                776, and 782 of the Act are applicable                  parties and our analysis of the record                deadlines in order to receive
                                                to all determinations made on or after                  information.                                          consideration for separate-rate status.
                                                August 6, 2015, and, therefore, apply to                   With respect to the PRC, the                       Companies not filing a timely Q&V
                                                these AD investigations.46                              petitioners named 14 producers/                       response will not receive separate-rate
                                                                                                        exporters of forged steel fittings from the           consideration.
                                                Respondent Selection                                    PRC.48 In accordance with our standard
                                                   The petitioners named six companies                  practice for respondent selection in AD               Use of Combination Rates
                                                in Italy and three companies in Taiwan,                 cases involving NME countries, we                       The Department will calculate
                                                as producers/exporters of forged steel                  intend to issue quantity and value                    combination rates for certain
                                                fittings.47 Following standard practice                 (Q&V) questionnaires to producers/                    respondents that are eligible for a
                                                in AD investigations involving market                   exporters of merchandise subject to this              separate rate in an NME investigation.
                                                economy countries, in the event the                     investigation and, in the event the                   The Separate Rates and Combination
                                                Department determines that the number                   Department determines that the number                 Rates Bulletin states:
                                                of companies for any one market                         of companies is large, base respondent                  {w}hile continuing the practice of
                                                economy country is large, the                           selection on the responses received. For              assigning separate rates only to exporters, all
                                                Department intends to review U.S.                       this investigation, the Department will               separate rates that the Department will now
                                                Customs and Border Protection (CBP)                     request Q&V information from known                    assign in its NME Investigation will be
                                                data for U.S. imports of forged steel                   exporters and producers identified with               specific to those producers that supplied the
                                                                                                        complete contact information in the                   exporter during the period of investigation.
                                                fittings during the respective POI under
                                                                                                        Petitions. In addition, the Department                Note, however, that one rate is calculated for
                                                the appropriate Harmonized Tariff                                                                             the exporter and all of the producers which
                                                Schedule of the United States                           will post the Q&V questionnaires along                supplied subject merchandise to it during the
                                                subheadings, and if it determines that it               with filing instructions on Enforcement               period of investigation. This practice applies
                                                cannot individually examine each                        and Compliance’s Web site at http://                  both to mandatory respondents receiving an
                                                company based upon the Department’s                     www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp.                   individually calculated separate rate as well
                                                resources, then the Department will                        Producers/exporters of forged steel                as the pool of non-investigated firms
                                                select respondents based on that data.                  fittings from the PRC that do not receive             receiving the weighted-average of the
                                                                                                        Q&V questionnaires by mail may still                  individually calculated rates. This practice is
                                                We intend to release CBP data under                                                                           referred to as the application of ‘‘combination
                                                Administrative Protective Order (APO)                   submit a response to the Q&V
                                                                                                                                                              rates’’ because such rates apply to specific
                                                to all parties with access to information               questionnaire and can obtain a copy of                combinations of exporters and one or more
                                                protected by APO within five business                   the Q&V questionnaire from                            producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to
                                                days of the announcement of the                         Enforcement & Compliance’s Web site.                  an exporter will apply only to merchandise
                                                initiation of these investigations.                     The Q&V response must be submitted                    both exported by the firm in question and
                                                Interested parties must submit                          by the relevant PRC exporters/producers               produced by a firm that supplied the exporter
                                                                                                        no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on November                during the period of investigation.51
                                                applications for disclosure under APO
                                                in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(b).                   9, 2017. All Q&V responses must be                    Distribution of Copies of the Petitions
                                                Instructions for filing such applications               filed electronically via ACCESS.
                                                                                                                                                                In accordance with section
                                                may be found on the Department’s Web                    Separate Rates                                        732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
                                                site at http://enforcement.trade.gov/apo.                                                                     351.202(f), copies of the public version
                                                   Interested parties may submit                          In order to obtain separate-rate status
                                                                                                        in an NME investigation, exporters and                of the Petitions have been provided to
                                                comments regarding the CBP data and                                                                           the governments of the PRC, Italy, and
                                                                                                        producers must submit a separate-rate
                                                  44 See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015,       application.49 The specific requirements              Taiwan via ACCESS. To the extent
                                                                                                                                                              practicable, we will attempt to provide
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                                                Public Law No. 114–27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015).            for submitting a separate-rate
                                                  45 See Dates of Application of Amendments to the                                                            a copy of the public version of the
                                                Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws Made             48 See Volume I of the Petitions at Exhibit I–3.
                                                by the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, 80        49 See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates           50 Although in past investigations this deadline
                                                FR 46793 (August 6, 2015).                              Practice and Application of Combination Rates in      was 60 days, consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a),
                                                  46 Id. at 46794–95. The 2015 amendments may be                                                              which states that ‘‘the Secretary may request any
                                                                                                        Antidumping Investigation involving Non-Market
                                                found at: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-          Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at       person to submit factual information at any time
                                                congress/house-bill/1295/text/pl.                       http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf      during a proceeding,’’ this deadline is now 30 days.
                                                  47 See Volume I of the Petitions at Exhibit I–3.      (Policy Bulletin 05.1).                                 51 See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).




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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 210 / Wednesday, November 1, 2017 / Notices                                                 50619

                                                Petitions to each exporter named in the                    request will be considered untimely if it             in these investigations should ensure
                                                Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR                        is filed after the expiration of the time             that they meet the requirements of these
                                                351.203(c)(2).                                             limit established under 19 CFR 351.301.               procedures (e.g., the filing of letters of
                                                                                                           For submissions that are due from                     appearance as discussed at 19 CFR
                                                ITC Notification
                                                                                                           multiple parties simultaneously, an                   351.103(d)).
                                                  We will notify the ITC of our                            extension request will be considered
                                                initiation, as required by section 732(d)                                                                          This notice is issued and published
                                                                                                           untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET
                                                of the Act.                                                on the due date. Under certain                        pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) and 777(i)
                                                                                                           circumstances, we may elect to specify                of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).
                                                Preliminary Determinations by the ITC
                                                                                                           a different time limit by which                         Dated: October 25, 2017.
                                                   The ITC will preliminarily determine,                   extension requests will be considered                 Gary Taverman,
                                                within 45 days after the date on which                     untimely for submissions which are due                Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping
                                                the Petitions were filed, whether there                    from multiple parties simultaneously. In              and Countervailing Duty Operations,
                                                is a reasonable indication that imports                    such a case, we will inform parties in                performing the non-exclusive functions and
                                                of forged steel fittings from the PRC,                     the letter or memorandum setting forth                duties of the Assistant Secretary for
                                                Italy, and/or Taiwan, are materially                       the deadline (including a specified time)             Enforcement and Compliance.
                                                injuring, or threatening material injury                   by which extension requests must be
                                                to, a U.S. industry.52 A negative ITC                      filed to be considered timely. An                     Appendix
                                                determination for any country will                         extension request must be made in a                   Scope of the Investigations
                                                result in the investigation being                          separate, stand-alone submission; under
                                                terminated with respect to that                                                                                     The merchandise covered by these
                                                                                                           limited circumstances we will grant                   investigations is carbon and alloy forged steel
                                                country.53 Otherwise, these                                untimely-filed requests for the extension             fittings, whether unfinished (commonly
                                                investigations will proceed according to                   of time limits. Parties should review                 known as blanks or rough forgings) or
                                                statutory and regulatory time limits.                      Extension of Time Limits; Final Rule, 78              finished. Such fittings are made in a variety
                                                Submission of Factual Information                          FR 57790 (September 20, 2013),                        of shapes including, but not limited to,
                                                                                                           available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/                elbows, tees, crosses, laterals, couplings,
                                                   Factual information is defined in 19                    pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-                          reducers, caps, plugs, bushings and unions.
                                                CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) Evidence                        22853.htm, prior to submitting factual                Forged steel fittings are covered regardless of
                                                submitted in response to questionnaires;                   information in these investigations.                  end finish, whether threaded, socket-weld or
                                                (ii) evidence submitted in support of
                                                                                                           Certification Requirements                            other end connections.
                                                allegations; (iii) publicly available
                                                                                                                                                                    While these fittings are generally
                                                information to value factors under 19                        Any party submitting factual                        manufactured to specifications ASME
                                                CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the                           information in an AD or CVD                           B16.11, MSS SP–79, and MSS SP–83, ASTM
                                                adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR                      proceeding must certify to the accuracy               A105, ASTM A350 and ASTM A182, the
                                                351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence placed on                     and completeness of that information.56               scope is not limited to fittings made to these
                                                the record by the Department; and (v)                      Parties are hereby reminded that revised              specifications.
                                                evidence other than factual information                    certification requirements are in effect                 The term forged is an industry term used
                                                described in (i)–(iv). 19 CFR 351.301(b)                   for company/government officials, as                  to describe a class of products included in
                                                requires any party, when submitting                        well as their representatives.57                      applicable standards, and does not reference
                                                factual information, to specify under                      Investigations initiated on the basis of              an exclusive manufacturing process. Forged
                                                which subsection of 19 CFR                                 petitions filed on or after August 16,                steel fittings are not manufactured from
                                                351.102(b)(21) the information is being                    2013, and other segments of any AD or                 casting. Pursuant to the applicable standards,
                                                submitted 54 and, if the information is                    CVD proceedings initiated on or after                 fittings may also be machined from bar stock
                                                submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct                    August 16, 2013, should use the formats               or machined from seamless pipe and tube.
                                                factual information already on the                         for the revised certifications provided in               All types of fittings are included in the
                                                record, to provide an explanation                          19 CFR 351.303(g). The Department                     scope regardless of nominal pipe size (which
                                                identifying the information already on                     intends to reject factual submissions if              may or may not be expressed in inches of
                                                the record that the factual information                    the submitting party does not comply                  nominal pipe size), pressure rating (usually,
                                                seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct.55 Time                with applicable revised certification                 but not necessarily expressed in pounds of
                                                limits for the submission of factual                       requirements.                                         pressure, e.g., 2,000 or 2M; 3,000 or 3M;
                                                information are addressed in 19 CFR                                                                              6,000 or 6M; 9,000 or 9M), wall thickness,
                                                                                                           Notification to Interested Parties
                                                351.301, which provides specific time                                                                            and whether or not heat treated.
                                                limits based on the type of factual                          Interested parties must submit                         Excluded from this scope are all fittings
                                                information being submitted. Interested                    applications for disclosure under APO                 entirely made of stainless steel. Also
                                                parties should review the regulations                      in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On                 excluded are flanges, butt weld fittings, and
                                                prior to submitting factual information                    January 22, 2008, the Department                      nipples.
                                                in these investigations.                                   published Antidumping and                                Subject carbon and alloy forged steel
                                                                                                           Countervailing Duty Proceedings:                      fittings are normally entered under HTSUS
                                                Extensions of Time Limits                                  Documents Submission Procedures;                      7307.99.1000, 7307.99.3000, 7307.99.5045,
                                                  Parties may request an extension of                      APO Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January                   and 7307.99.5060. They also may be entered
                                                time limits before the expiration of a                     22, 2008). Parties wishing to participate             under HTSUS 7307.92.3010, 7307.92.3030,
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES




                                                time limit established under 19 CFR                                                                              7307.92.9000, and 7326.19.0010.
                                                351.301, or as otherwise specified by the                    56 See section 782(b) of the Act.                      The HTSUS subheadings and
                                                                                                             57 See Certification of Factual Information to
                                                Secretary. In general, an extension                                                                              specifications are provided for convenience
                                                                                                           Import Administration during Antidumping and          and customs purposes; the written
                                                                                                           Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July
                                                  52 See   section 733(a) of the Act.                      17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also frequently asked     description of the scope is dispositive.
                                                  53 Id.
                                                                                                           questions regarding the Final Rule, available at      [FR Doc. 2017–23760 Filed 10–31–17; 8:45 am]
                                                  54 See 19 CFR 351.301(b).                                http://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_
                                                  55 See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).                                                                                   BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
                                                                                                           info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.



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Document Created: 2017-11-01 02:02:35
Document Modified: 2017-11-01 02:02:35
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
DatesApplicable October 25, 2017.
ContactIrene Gorelik at (202) 482-6905 or Robert Palmer at (202) 482-9068 (Taiwan), Katherine Johnson at (202) 482-4929 or Renato Barreda at (202) 482-0317 (the People's Republic of China (PRC)), and Denisa Ursu at (202) 482-2285 or Michael Bowen at (202) 482-0768 (Italy), AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230.
FR Citation82 FR 50614 

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