Notice2023-14892
Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof From the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order
Primary source
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
July 14, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing an antidumping duty order on certain freight rail couplers and parts thereof (freight rail couplers) from the People's Republic of China (China).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 134 (Friday, July 14, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 134 (Friday, July 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45138-45140]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14892]
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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: Antidumping Duty Order
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S.
Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing an antidumping duty order on
certain freight rail couplers and parts thereof (freight rail couplers)
from the People's Republic of China (China).
DATES: Applicable July 14, 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
In accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act), On May 30, 2023, Commerce published in the
Federal Register its affirmative final determination in the less-than-
fair-value (LTFV) investigation of freight rail couplers from China.\1\
On July 3, 2023, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination,
pursuant to section 735(d) of the Act, that an industry in the United
States is materially injured within the meaning of section
735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by reason of LTFV imports freight rail
couplers from China, and that critical circumstances do not exist with
respect to dumped imports of freight rail couplers from China.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from the
People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales
at Less-Than-Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of
Critical Circumstances, 88 FR 34485 (May 30, 2023) (Final
Determination).
\2\ See ITC's Letter, Notification of ITC Final Determinations,
dated July 3, 2023.
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Scope of the Order
The products covered by this order are freight rail couplers from
China. For a complete description of the scope of this order, see the
appendix to this notice.
Antidumping Duty Order
On July 3, 2023, in accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, the
ITC notified Commerce of its final determination that an industry in
the United States is materially injured within the meaning of section
735(b)(1)(A)(1) of the Act by reason of imports of freight rail
couplers from China.\3\ Therefore, Commerce is issuing this antidumping
duty order in accordance with sections 735(c)(2) and 736 of the Act.
Because the ITC determined that imports of freight rail couplers from
China are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of
such merchandise from China, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for
consumption, are subject to the assessment of antidumping duties.
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\3\ Id.
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Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act,
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties equal
to the amount by which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds the
export price (or constructed export price) of the merchandise, for all
relevant entries of freight rail couplers from China. Antidumping
duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of freight rail
couplers from China, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on
or after March 13, 2023, the date of publication of the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register.\4\
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\4\ See 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, 88 FR 15372 (March 13,
2023) (Preliminary Determination).
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Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 736 of the Act, Commerce will instruct
CBP to continue to suspend liquidation on all relevant entries of
freight rail couplers from China. These instructions suspending
liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.
Commerce will also instruct CBP to require cash deposits equal to
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins indicated in the tables
below. Accordingly, effective on the date of publication in the Federal
Register of the notice of the ITC's final affirmative injury
determination, CBP will require, at the same time as importers would
normally deposit estimated duties on subject merchandise, a cash
deposit equal to the rates listed below. Commerce determined that all
exporters of Chinese freight rail couplers are part of the China-wide
entity.\5\ Accordingly, the China-wide entity rate listed below applies
to all exporters.
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\5\ See Final Determination.
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Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins
The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:
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\6\ The estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed in the
Preliminary Determination did not reflect an adjustment for export
subsidies found in the companion countervailing duty investigation
of freight rail couplers from China. Commerce will instruct CBP to
refund the difference between the unadjusted estimated weighted-
average dumping margin collected as cash deposits (i.e., 169.90
percent) after the publication of the Preliminary Determination and
the estimated weighted-average dumping margin adjusted for export
subsidy offset(s) (i.e., 139.49).
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Estimated
weighted-
average
Estimated dumping
weighted- margin
Exporter/producer average adjusted
dumping for export
margin subsidy
(percent) offset(s)
(percent)
\6\
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China-Wide Entity............................. 169.90 139.49
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Critical Circumstances
With respect to the ITC's negative critical circumstances
determination on imports of freight rail couplers, Commerce intends to
instruct CBP to lift suspension and to refund any cash deposits made to
secure the payment of estimated antidumping duties with respect to
entries of the subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or after December 13, 2022 (i.e., 90
days prior to the date of the publication of the Preliminary
Determination), but before March 13, 2023 (i.e., the date of
publication of the Preliminary Determination).
Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service Lists
On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the final rule titled
``Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Laws'' in the
[[Page 45139]]
Federal Register.\7\ On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published the
notice titled ``Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List;
and Informational Sessions'' in the Federal Register.\8\ The Final Rule
and Procedural Guidance provide that Commerce will maintain an annual
inquiry service list for each order or suspended investigation, and any
interested party submitting a scope ruling application or request for
circumvention inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request
on the persons on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as
well as any companion order covering the same merchandise from the same
country of origin.\9\
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\7\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 20,
2021) (Final Rule).
\8\ See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List;
and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021)
(Procedural Guidance).
\9\ Id.
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In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in
the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an
annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and
document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>, within five business days of publication of the
notice of the order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in
ACCESS, under each case number, and under a specific segment type
called ``AISL-Annual Inquiry Service List.'' \10\
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\10\ This segment will be combined with the ACCESS Segment
Specific Information (SSI) field which will display the month in
which the notice of the order or suspended investigation was
published in the Federal Register, also known as the anniversary
month. For example, for an order under case number A-000-000 that
was published in the Federal Register in January, the relevant
segment and SSI combination will appear in ACCESS as ``AISL-January
Anniversary.'' Note that there will be only one annual inquiry
service list segment per case number, and the anniversary month will
be pre-populated in ACCESS.
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Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry
service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the
annual inquiry service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30
days after the date of publication of the order. For ease of
administration, Commerce requests that law firms with more than one
attorney representing interested parties in an order designate a lead
attorney to be included on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce
will finalize the annual inquiry service list within five business days
thereafter. As mentioned in the Procedural Guidance, the new annual
inquiry service list will be in place until the following year, when
the Opportunity Notice for the anniversary month of the order is
published.
Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as
needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of
appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and
representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or
announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the
ACCESS website at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>.
Special Instructions for Petitioners and Foreign Governments
In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, ``after an initial request
and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and
foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry
service list in the years that follow.'' \11\ Accordingly, as stated
above, the petitioners and foreign governments should submit their
initial entry of appearance after publication of this notice in order
to appear in the first annual inquiry service list for those orders for
which they qualify as an interested party. Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.225(n)(3), the petitioners and foreign governments will not need to
resubmit their entries of appearance each year to continue to be
included on the annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioners
and foreign governments are responsible for making amendments to their
entries of appearance during the annual update to the annual inquiry
service list in accordance with the procedures described above.
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\11\ See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
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Notification to Interested Parties
This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to
freight rail couplers from China pursuant to section 736(a) of the Act.
Interested parties can find a list of antidumping duty orders currently
in effect at <a href="https://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html">https://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html</a>.
This antidumping duty order is published in accordance with section
736(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).
Dated: July 7, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
Scope of the Order
The scope of this order 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 order
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 order 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 this order 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.
[[Page 45140]]
The couplers that are the subject of this order 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 9803.00.50. 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 this order is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2023-14892 Filed 7-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on July 14, 2023.
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