83 FR 2768 - Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings From China: Amended Preliminary Determination of Countervailing Duty Investigation

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 13 (January 19, 2018)

On December 19, 2017, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) published in the Federal Register the preliminary determination of the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on cast iron soil pipe fittings from the People's Republic of China (China). Commerce is amending the preliminary determination of the investigation to correct a significant ministerial error.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2768-2769]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-00924]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-063]


Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings From China: Amended Preliminary 
Determination of Countervailing Duty Investigation

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

SUMMARY: On December 19, 2017, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
published in the Federal Register the preliminary determination of the 
countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on cast iron soil pipe fittings 
from the People's Republic of China (China). Commerce is amending the 
preliminary determination of the investigation to correct a significant 
ministerial error.

[[Page 2769]]


DATES: Applicable December 19, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis McClure or Jinny Ahn, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5973 
or (202) 482-0339, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 19, 2017, Commerce published in 
the Federal Register the preliminary determination of the CVD 
investigation of cast iron soil pipe fittings from China.\1\ On 
December 18, 2017, Wor-Biz International Trading Co., Ltd. (Anhui) 
(Wor-Biz) timely alleged that Commerce made a significant ministerial 
error in the Preliminary Determination.
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    \1\ See Cast Iron Soil Pipe Fittings from the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination 
and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 82 FR 60178 (December 19, 2017) (Preliminary 
Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Significant Ministerial Error

    A ministerial error, as defined in section 705(e) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act), includes ``errors in addition, 
subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical errors resulting 
from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any other type 
of unintentional error which the administering authority considers 
ministerial.'' \2\ With respect to preliminary determinations, 19 CFR 
351.224(e) provides that Commerce ``will analyze any comments received 
and, if appropriate, correct any significant ministerial error by 
amending the preliminary determination. . . .'' A significant 
ministerial error is defined as an error, the correction of which, 
singly or in combination with other errors, would result in: (1) A 
change of at least five absolute percentage points in, but not less 
than 25 percent of, the countervailable subsidy rate calculated in the 
original (erroneous) preliminary determination; or (2) a difference 
between a countervailable subsidy rate of zero (or de minimis) and a 
countervailable subsidy rate of greater than de minimis, or vice 
versa.\3\
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    \2\ See also 19 CFR 351.224(f).
    \3\ See 19 CFR 351.224(g)(1) and (2).
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Ministerial Error Allegation

    Wor-Biz alleges that, in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce 
erred in calculating the benchmark prices for the Provision of Pig Iron 
for LTAR and the Provision of Ferrous Scrap for LTAR programs by 
unintentionally double-counting the distance for inland freight. We 
agree. Therefore, as explained in the Ministerial Error Memorandum 
issued concurrently with this notice,\4\ and pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.224(e) and (g), Commerce is amending the Preliminary Determination 
to reflect the correction of a significant ministerial error made in 
the calculation of the subsidy rate for Wor-Biz.
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    \4\ See Memorandum ``Countervailing Duty Investigation of Cast 
Iron Soil Pipe Fittings from China: Allegation of Significant 
Ministerial Error in the Preliminary Determination,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice (Ministerial Error Memorandum). This 
memorandum is on file electronically via Enforcement and 
Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized 
Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 
registered users at http://access.trade.gov, and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main 
Department of Commerce building.
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Amended Preliminary Determination

    We are amending the preliminary subsidy rate for Wor-Biz pursuant 
to 19 CFR 351.224(e). In addition, because the preliminary ``All-
Others'' Rate was based on the weighted average of the subsidy rates 
calculated for Wor-Biz and Shanxi Xuanshi Industrial Group Co., Ltd,\5\ 
we are also amending the ``All-Others'' rate to account for the change 
in Wor-Biz's subsidy rate. Further, because the adverse facts available 
rate assigned to the non-cooperative respondent Shijiazhuang Chengmei 
Import & Export Co., Ltd. was determined using, in part, the highest 
calculated program-specific rates determined for the cooperating 
respondents,\6\ we are also amending the adverse facts available rate 
to account for our correction of Wor-Biz's Provision of Pig Iron for 
LTAR and Provision of Ferrous Scrap for LTAR program rates.\7\ The 
revised subsidy rates are as follows:
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    \5\ See Preliminary Determination, 82 FR at 60179.
    \6\ For further explanation, see Preliminary Determination and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum at ``Use of Facts 
Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences.''
    \7\ See Ministerial Error Memorandum for additional information 
on the revised adverse facts available rate.
    \8\ This rate remains unchanged from the Preliminary 
Determination.

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                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
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Shanxi Xuanshi Industrial Group Co., Ltd................        \8\ 8.66
Wor-Biz International Trading Co., Ltd. (Anhui).........            7.37
All-Others..............................................            8.12
Shijiazhuang Chengmei Import & Export Co., Ltd..........           96.96
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    This amended preliminary determination is published in accordance 
with sections 705(e) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(e) and 
(g).

    Dated: January 12, 2018.
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.
[FR Doc. 2018-00924 Filed 1-18-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P