Notice2023-05106
Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
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Published
March 13, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain freight rail couplers and parts 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 (POI) is January 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 48 (Monday, March 13, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 48 (Monday, March 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15372-15374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05106]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-145]
Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof From the People's
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value and Preliminary Affirmative Determination of
Critical Circumstances
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that certain freight rail couplers and parts 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 (POI) is January 1, 2022, through June 30,
2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable March 13, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Drew Jackson or Zachary Shaykin, AD/
CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4406 or (202)
482-2638, 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 investigation on October 25,
2022.\1\ For a complete
[[Page 15373]]
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 Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from the
People's Republic of China and Mexico: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 87 FR 64444 (October 25, 2022) (Initiation
Notice).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain
Freight Rail Couplers and Parts 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
couplers 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 (scope).\4\ We received several
comments concerning the scope of the LTFV investigations of freight
rail couplers from China and Mexico. We are currently evaluating the
scope comments filed by interested parties. We intend to issue our
preliminary decision regarding the scope of these LTFV investigations
on or before the preliminary determination in the LTFV investigation of
freight rail couplers from Mexico, the deadline for which is April 26,
2023.\5\ We will incorporate the scope decisions from the LTFV
investigation of freight rail couplers from Mexico into the scope of
the final determination for this investigation after considering any
relevant comments submitted in scope case and rebuttal briefs. The
deadline for interested parties to submit scope case and rebuttal
briefs will be established in the preliminary scope decision
memorandum.
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\3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\4\ See Initiation Notice.
\5\ See Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from
Mexico: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-
Fair-Value Investigation, 88 FR 10092 (February 16, 2023).
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to sections 776(a) and
(b) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily has relied upon facts otherwise
available, with adverse inferences, for the China-wide entity. For a
full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206,
Commerce preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist
with respect to imports of freight rail couplers from China for the
China-wide entity. For a full description of the methodology and
results of Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice,\6\ Commerce stated that it would
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin
05.1 describes this practice.\7\ In this case, because no respondent
qualified for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were
not calculated. For a full description of the separate rate status of
interested parties in this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
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\6\ See Initiation Notice.
\7\ 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 at
<a href="http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf">http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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Estimated
weighted-
average
Producer/exporter dumping
margin
(percent)
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China-wide Entity.......................................... 169.90
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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 subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as
discussed below. 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 combinations of Chinese producers/exporters of merchandise under
consideration that have not established eligibility for their own
separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin established for the China-wide entity;
and (2) for all third-country exporters of merchandise under
consideration not listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is
the cash deposit rate applicable to the China-wide entity, as stated
above.
Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given 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. Commerce preliminarily
finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject
merchandise from the China-wide entity. In accordance with section
733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to
all unliquidated entries of merchandise from all producers and/or
exporters of freight rail couplers from China that were entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is
90 days before the publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
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 applied total adverse facts available
[[Page 15374]]
(AFA) to the China-wide entity in this investigation, in accordance
with section 776 of the Act, and the applied AFA rate is based solely
on the petition, there are no calculations to disclose.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments 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,
unless Commerce alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to
issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days
after the deadline date for case briefs.\8\ Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case 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. Note that Commerce has temporarily modified
certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business
proprietary information, until further notice.\9\
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\8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
\9\ 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, 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 time and date to be
determined.
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 of sales at LTFV. 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 imports of the subject merchandise 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 7, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The scope of this investigation covers certain freight railcar
couplers (also known as ``fits'' or ``assemblies'') and parts
thereof. Freight railcar couplers are composed of two main parts,
namely knuckles and coupler bodies but may also include other items
(e.g., coupler locks, lock lift assemblies, knuckle pins, knuckle
throwers, and rotors). The parts of couplers that are covered by the
investigations include: (1) E coupler bodies, (2) E/F coupler
bodies, (3) F coupler bodies, (4) E knuckles, and (5) F knuckles, as
set forth by the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The
freight rail coupler parts (i.e., knuckles and coupler bodies) are
included within the scope of the investigations when imported
separately. Coupler locks, lock lift assemblies, knuckle pins,
knuckle throwers, and rotors are covered merchandise when imported
in an assembly but are not covered by the scope when imported
separately.
Subject freight railcar couplers and parts are included within
the scope whether finished or unfinished, whether imported
individually or with other subject or nonsubject parts, whether
assembled or unassembled, whether mounted or unmounted, or if joined
with nonsubject merchandise, such as other nonsubject parts or a
completed railcar. Finishing includes, but is not limited to, arc
washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, heat treatment,
machining, and assembly of various parts. When a subject coupler or
subject parts are mounted on or to other nonsubject merchandise,
such as a railcar, only the coupler or subject parts are covered by
the scope.
The finished products covered by the scope of these
investigations 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'' and/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 couplers and parts thereof,
whether fully assembled, unfinished or finished, or attached to a
railcar, is the country where the subject coupler parts were cast or
forged. Subject merchandise includes coupler parts as defined above
that have been further processed or further assembled, including
those coupler parts attached to a railcar 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 parts. The inclusion,
attachment, joining, or assembly of nonsubject parts with subject
parts or couplers either in the country of manufacture of the in-
scope product or in a third country does not remove the subject
parts or couplers from the scope.
The couplers 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 railcars 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.
Subject merchandise may also be imported under HTSUS statistical
reporting number 7325.99.5000. These HTSUS subheadings are provided
for convenience and customs purposes only; the written description
of the scope of these investigations 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. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Selection of Respondents
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2023-05106 Filed 3-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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