Notice2022-10050
Oil Country Tubular Goods From Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Critical Circumstances, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
Primary source
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Published
May 11, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Mexico are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 91 (Wednesday, May 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28808-28811]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10050]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-201-856]
Oil Country Tubular Goods From Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative
Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Critical
Circumstances, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of
Provisional Measures
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Mexico are being, or are
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV).
The period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2020, through September
30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable May 11, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Bradshaw or Yang Jin Chun, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3896 or (202)
482-5760, respectively.
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 LTFV investigation on
November 1, 2021.\1\ On February 17, 2022, Commerce postponed the
preliminary determination of this investigation until May 4, 2022.\2\
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation
of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ A
list of sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
[[Page 28809]]
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 Oil Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and
the Russian Federation: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations, 86 FR 60205 (November 1, 2021) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and
the Russian Federation: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations
in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 87 FR 9034 (February 17,
2022).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Oil Country Tubular Goods from Mexico:
Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Affirmative Determinations of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Critical Circumstances,'' 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 OCTG from Mexico.
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see
Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ in
the Initiation Notice, Commerce set aside a period of time for parties
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain
interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product
coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for
this investigation and accompanying discussion and analysis of all
comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum.\6\ As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language that
appeared in the Initiation Notice.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\5\ See Initiation Notice.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of Oil
Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and the Russian
Federation and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Oil Country
Tubular Goods from the Republic of Korea, and the Russian
Federation: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated March 7,
2022 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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In the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce established
the deadline for parties to submit scope case briefs.\7\ Commerce did
not receive any comments from interested parties regarding the scope as
stated in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum prior to the
deadline. As explained in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,
there will be no further opportunity for comments on scope-related
issues.\8\
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\7\ Case briefs, other written comments, and rebuttal briefs
submitted by parties in response to this preliminary LTFV
determination should not include scope-related issues. See
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum and ``Public Comment'' section
of this notice.
\8\ See Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum at 4.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated constructed export prices
in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Commerce calculated
normal value in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full
description of the methodology underlying the preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that
in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually
examined. This rate shall be equal to the weighted average of the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters
and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de
minimis dumping margins, and any dumping margins determined entirely
under section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-
average dumping margin above de minimis for the sole mandatory
respondent, Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A. (TAMSA). Because TAMSA is
the sole mandatory respondent for which Commerce calculated a weighted-
average dumping margin, Commerce assigned TAMSA's preliminary margin to
all other producers and exporters of the merchandise under
consideration.
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206,
Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for all
companies in Mexico. For a full description of the methodology and
results of Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\9\
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\9\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 12-16.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist in this investigation:
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Estimated
weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Tubos de Acero de Mexico, S.A............................... 69.56
All Others.................................................. 69.56
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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 all entries of OCTG from Mexico, 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 estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-
others rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the respondent
listed in the table above is the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin calculated in this preliminary determination;
(2) if the exporter is not the respondent identified in the table
above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate is the company-
specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that
producer of the subject merchandise in the table above; and (3) the
cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters is the all-
others estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed in the table
above.
Further, section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, in the event
of an affirmative determination of critical circumstances, any
suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after the later of: (a) The date which is 90 days before the date on
which the suspension of liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date
on which notice of initiation of the investigation was published. As
noted above, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances
exist for imports of OCTG from Mexico produced and exported by all
companies. In accordance with 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, suspension of
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise
for shipments that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before the
publication of this notice, the date suspension of liquidation is first
ordered.
[[Page 28810]]
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its preliminary calculations and
related analysis to interested parties within five days of any public
announcement of the preliminary determination or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify information relied upon in making its final determination.\10\
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\10\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Oil Country Tubular Goods from Mexico: Notification of Intent to
Conduct Virtual Verification,'' dated March 16, 2022.
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Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.\11\ Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for
the submission of such case briefs and written comments at a later
date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be
submitted no later than seven days after the deadline date for case
briefs.\12\ 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 temporarily modified certain of its requirements for
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until
further notice.\13\
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\11\ Case briefs, other written comments, and rebuttal briefs
submitted by parties in response to this preliminary LTFV
determination should not include scope-related issues. The scope
case briefs deadline expired on April 13, 2022. See Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum at 3-4; see also Oil Country Tubular Goods
from the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Negative Countervailing Duty
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final
Antidumping Duty Determination, 87 FR 14248 (March 14, 2022), and
Oil Country Tubular Goods from the Russian Federation: Preliminary
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Negative
Critical Circumstances Determination, and Alignment of Final
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 87 FR 14249
(March 14, 2022).
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
\13\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and 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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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 within 30 days after the date of publication
of this notice in the Federal Register. Requests for a hearing should
contain: (1) The requesting party's name, address, and telephone
number; (2) the number of individuals from the requesting party that
will attend the hearing, including, whether any individuals are foreign
nationals; and (3) a list of the issues the party intends to discuss at
the hearing. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to
hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. Parties should
confirm by telephone the date and time of the hearing two days before
the scheduled hearing date.
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register
if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request
for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the
event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such
postponement is made by the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of
Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for
postponement of the final determination be accompanied by a request for
extension of provisional measures from a four-month period to a period
not more than six months in duration.
On April 27, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), TAMSA requested
that, contingent upon an affirmative preliminary determination of sales
at LTFV, Commerce postpone the final determination in this
investigation up to 135 days after publication of this notice and that
the provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six
months.\14\
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\14\ See TAMSA's Letter, ``Request for Postponement of Final
Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures Period,'' dated
April 27, 2022.
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In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary determination is
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; \15\ and (3) no
compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final
determination in this investigation and extending the provisional
measures from a four-month period to a period not greater than six
months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination in this
investigation no later than 135 days after the date of publication of
this preliminary determination in the Federal Register pursuant to
section 735(a)(2) of the Act.\16\.
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\15\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Oil
Country Tubular Goods from Mexico: Respondent Selection,'' dated
November 12, 2021, at Attachment.
\16\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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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 Commerce's final determination is affirmative, then
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 imports of OCTG from Mexico into the United
States are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the
U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This preliminary 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: May 4, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain OCTG,
which are hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including
oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other than case iron) or steel
(both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or welded, regardless of
end finish (e.g., whether or not plain end, threaded, or threaded
and coupled) whether or not conforming to American Petroleum
Institute (API) or non-API specifications, whether finished
(including limited service OCTG products) or unfinished (including
green tubes and limited service OCTG products), whether or not
thread protectors are attached. The scope of this investigation also
covers OCTG coupling stock.
Subject merchandise includes material matching the above
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed
in a third country, including by performing any heat treatment,
cutting, upsetting, threading, coupling, or any other finishing,
packaging, or processing that would not otherwise
[[Page 28811]]
remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if
performed in the country of manufacture of the OCTG.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are: Casing,
tubing, or coupling stock containing 10.5 percent or more by weight
of chromium; drill pipe; unattached couplings; and unattached thread
protectors.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.1010, 7304.29.1020,
7304.29.1030, 7304.29.1040, 7304.29.1050, 7304.29.1060,
7304.29.1080, 7304.29.2010, 7304.29.2020, 7304.29.2030,
7304.29.2040, 7304.29.2050, 7304.29.2060, 7304.29.2080,
7304.29.3110, 7304.29.3120, 7304.29.3130, 7304.29.3140,
7304.29.3150, 7304.29.3160, 7304.29.3180, 7304.29.4110,
7304.29.4120, 7304.29.4130, 7304.29.4140, 7304.29.4150,
7304.29.4160, 7304.29.4180, 7304.29.5015, 7304.29.5030,
7304.29.5045, 7304.29.5060, 7304.29.5075, 7304.29.6115,
7304.29.6130, 7304.29.6145, 7304.29.6160, 7304.29.6175,
7305.20.2000, 7305.20.4000, 7305.20.6000, 7305.20.8000,
7306.29.1030, 7306.29.1090, 7306.29.2000, 7306.29.3100,
7306.29.4100, 7306.29.6010, 7306.29.6050, 7306.29.8110, and
7306.29.8150.
The merchandise subject to this investigation may also enter
under the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.0024, 7304.39.0028,
7304.39.0032, 7304.39.0036, 7304.39.0040, 7304.39.0044,
7304.39.0048, 7304.39.0052, 7304.39.0056, 7304.39.0062,
7304.39.0068, 7304.39.0072, 7304.39.0076, 7304.39.0080,
7304.59.6000, 7304.59.8015, 7304.59.8020, 7304.59.8025,
7304.59.8030, 7304.59.8035, 7304.59.8040, 7304.59.8045,
7304.59.8050, 7304.59.8055, 7304.59.8060, 7304.59.8065,
7304.59.8070, 7304.59.8080, 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6090,
7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5090, 7306.50.5050, and 7306.50.5070.
The HTSUS subheadings and specifications above are provided for
convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of
the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II--List of Sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
VII. Currency Conversion
VIII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-10050 Filed 5-10-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 11, 2022.
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