Notice2022-05381
Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value
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Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 15, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that freight rail coupler systems and certain components thereof (freight rail couplers) from the People's Republic of China (China) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is January 1, 2021, through June 30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14511-14514]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05381]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-143]
Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof From
the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination
of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that freight rail coupler systems and certain components thereof
(freight rail couplers) from the People's Republic of China (China) are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is January 1, 2021, through
June 30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this
preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable March 15, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kabir Archuletta, AD/CVD Operations,
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2593.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on October 25,
2021.\1\ For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\2\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to
registered users at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly
at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
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\1\ See Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components
Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 86 FR 58864 (October 25, 2021)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Freight
Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from the
People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are freight rail coupler
systems and certain components thereof from China. For a complete
description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\3\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\4\ In November 2021,
we received timely scope comments from two interested parties,\5\
[[Page 14512]]
as well as timely rebuttal scope comments from the petitioner.\6\ In
February and March 2022, at our request,\7\ we received additional
information, as well as additional comments, from interested parties
regarding merchandise under consideration attached to rail cars.\8\
Because this information was submitted in close proximity to this
preliminary determination, we intend to evaluate it and issue a
decision regarding the scope of this investigation after this
preliminary determination.
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\3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\4\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR 58865.
\5\ See Strato Inc. (Strato)'s Letter, ``Strato Scope Comments:
Antidumping & Countervailing Duty Investigation of Freight Rail
Coupler Systems and Components Thereof from the People's Republic of
China,'' dated November 8, 2021; see also Wabtec Corporation's
(Wabtec's) Letter, ``Certain Freight Rail Coupler Systems and
Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Comment on
the Proposed Scope of the Investigation,'' dated November 8, 2021.
\6\ The petitioner is the Coalition of Freight Coupler
Producers. See Petitioner's Letter, ``Freight Rail Car Coupler
Systems and Certain Components Thereof from the People's Republic of
China: Rebuttal Scope Comments,'' dated November 18, 2021.
\7\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Less-Than-Fair Value Investigation
of Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from
the People's Republic of China: Request for Additional Scope
Comments,'' dated February 11, 2022.
\8\ See Strato's Letter, ``Response to Scope Questions:
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigation of Freight Rail
Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from the People's
Republic of China (A-570-143/C-570-144),'' dated February 22, 2022;
see also Wabtec's Letter, ``Certain Freight Rail Coupler Systems and
Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Additional
Scope Comments'' dated February 22, 2022; see also Petitioner's
Letter, ``Freight Rail Car Coupler Systems and Certain Components
Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Petitioner's Response
to Request for Scope Comments,'' dated February 22, 2022; see also
Strato's Letter, ``Strato, Inc., Reply to Petitioners Response to
Scope Questions: Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Freight Rail Coupler Systems and Certain Components Thereof from
the People's Republic of China (A-570-143/C-570-144),'' dated March
1, 2022; see also Wabtec's Letter, ``Certain Freight Rail Coupler
Systems and Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China:
Rebuttal Scope Comments,'' dated March 1, 2022; see also
Petitioner's Letter, ``Freight Rail Car Coupler Systems and Certain
Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Petitioner's
Rebuttal Response to Strato and Wabtec's Additional Scope
Comments,'' dated March 1, 2022.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act,
we have preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with
adverse inferences (AFA) for the China-wide entity. The China-wide
entity includes both companies selected for individual examination,
because they failed to respond to Commerce's questionnaire, and all
other exporters who responded to Commerce's quantity and value (Q&V)
questionnaire, because they failed to submit a separate rate
application, as instructed in the Initiation Notice.\9\ Because no
companies are eligible for a rate separate from the China-wide entity,
all exporters of Chinese freight rail couplers are preliminarily found
to be part of the China-wide entity. We assigned the highest margin
alleged in the petition (i.e., 147.11 percent) to the China-wide entity
as AFA, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For a full
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\9\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR at 58868 (``Commerce requires
that respondents from China 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'').
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Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice, Commerce stated that it would calculate
producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that are
eligible for a separate rate in this investigation.\10\ Policy Bulletin
05.1 describes this practice.\11\ In this case, because no companies
qualified for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were
not calculated for this preliminary determination.\12\
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\10\ See Initiation Notice, 86 FR 58868.
\11\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1,
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on
Commerce's website at <a href="http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf">http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
\12\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
dumping margins exist:
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Estimated dumping margin
Estimated dumping margin adjusted for export
Exporter/producer (percent) subsidy offset(s)
(percent)
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China-Wide Entity........................................... 147.11 116.70
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Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal
to the weighted average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S.
price, as indicated in the chart above, as follows: (1) For all Chinese
exporters of subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be equal
to the estimated dumping margin established for the China-wide entity;
and (2) for all third-county exporters of subject merchandise, the cash
deposit rate is also the cash deposit rate applicable to the China-wide
entity. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in
effect until further notice.
To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic
subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding when CVD provisional measures are
in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce has made a preliminary
affirmative determination for domestic subsidy pass-through or export
subsidies, Commerce has offset the calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margin by the appropriate rate(s). As discussed in the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we made no adjustment for domestic
subsidy pass-through. As further explained in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum, we made an adjustment for export subsidies found in the
companion CVD investigation.\13\ The adjusted rate may be found in the
``Preliminary Determination'' section chart above.
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\13\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 11-12.
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Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting cash
deposits at a rate equal to the estimated weighted-average
[[Page 14513]]
dumping margin calculated in this preliminary determination unadjusted
for export subsidies at the time the CVD provisional measures expire.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement,
within five days of the date of publication of this notice, in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce
preliminarily determined that all companies are part of the China-wide
entity and assigned as AFA to the China-wide entity a rate that is
based solely on the margin alleged in the petition, there are no
calculations to disclose.
Verification
Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not
provide information requested by Commerce by the established deadline
and Commerce preliminarily determines in accordance with section 776(b)
of the Act that each of the mandatory respondents has been
uncooperative, verification will not be conducted.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope matters may be
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no
later than 30 days after the date of publication of the preliminary
determination. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case
briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline
date for case briefs.\14\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2),
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of
authorities. Commerce has modified certain of its requirements for
serving documents containing business proprietary information until
further notice.\15\
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\14\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
\15\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July
10, 2020).
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All interested parties will have the opportunity to submit case and
rebuttal briefs on the post-preliminary scope determination. The
deadline to submit case briefs on the post-preliminary scope decision
will be seven days after the signature date of the post-preliminary
scope determination memorandum. Rebuttal scope briefs (which are
limited to issues raised in the scope briefs) may be submitted no later
than seven days after the deadline for the scope briefs. For all scope
briefs and rebuttals thereto, parties must file identical documents
simultaneously on the records of the ongoing AD and CVD freight rail
coupler investigations. No new factual information or business
proprietary information may be included in either scope briefs or
rebuttal scope briefs.
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made,
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a date and time to be
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
Final Determination
Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date
of this preliminary determination.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material
injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: March 8, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
The scope of this investigation covers freight rail car coupler
systems and certain components thereof. Freight rail car coupler
systems are composed of, at minimum, four main components (knuckles,
coupler bodies, coupler yokes, and follower blocks, as specified
below) but may also include other items (e.g., coupler locks, lock
lift assemblies, knuckle pins, knuckle throwers, and rotors). The
components covered by the investigation include: (1) E coupler
bodies; (2) E/F coupler bodies; (3) F coupler bodies; (4) E yokes;
(5) F yokes; (6) E knuckles; (7) F knuckles; (8) E type follower
blocks; and (9) F type follower blocks, as set forth by the
Association of American Railroads (AAR). The freight rail coupler
components are included within the scope of the investigation when
imported individually, or in some combination thereof, such as in
the form of a coupler fit (a coupler body and knuckle assembled
together), independent from a coupler system.
Subject freight rail car coupler systems and components are
included within the scope whether finished or unfinished, whether
imported individually or with other subject or non-subject
components, whether assembled or unassembled, whether mounted or
unmounted, or if joined with non-subject merchandise, such as other
non-subject system parts or a completed rail car. Finishing
includes, but is not limited to, arc washing, welding, grinding,
shot blasting, heat treatment, machining, and assembly of various
components. When a subject coupler system or subject components are
mounted on or to other non-subject merchandise, such as a rail car,
only the coupler system or subject components are covered by the
scope.
The finished products covered by the scope of this investigation
meet or exceed the AAR specifications of M-211, ``Foundry and
Product Approval Requirements for the Manufacture of Couplers,
Coupler Yokes, Knuckles, Follower Blocks, and Coupler Parts'' or AAR
M-215 ``Coupling Systems,'' or other equivalent domestic or
international standards (including any revisions to the
standard(s)).
The country of origin for subject coupler systems and
components, whether fully assembled, unfinished or finished, or
attached to a rail car, is the country where the subject coupler
components were cast or forged. Subject merchandise includes coupler
components as defined above that have been further processed or
further assembled, including those coupler components attached to a
rail car in third countries. Further processing includes, but is not
limited to, arc washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, heat
treatment, painting, coating, priming, machining, and assembly of
various components. The inclusion, attachment, joining, or assembly
of non-subject components with subject components or coupler systems
either in the country of manufacture of the in-scope product or in a
third country does not remove the subject
[[Page 14514]]
components or coupler systems from the scope.
The coupler systems that are the subject of this investigation
are currently classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS) statistical reporting number 8607.30.1000.
Unfinished subject merchandise may also enter under HTSUS
statistical reporting number 7326.90.8688. Subject merchandise
attached to finished rail cars may also enter under HTSUS
statistical reporting numbers 8606.10.0000, 8606.30.0000,
8606.91.0000, 8606.92.0000, 8606.99.0130, 8606.99.0160, or under
subheading 9803.00.5000 if imported as an Instrument of
International Traffic. These HTSUS subheadings are provided for
convenience and customs purposes only; the written description of
the scope of the investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Adjustment Under Section 777A(f) of the Act
VII. Adjustment to Cash Deposit Rate for Export Subsidies
VIII. ITC Notification
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-05381 Filed 3-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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