Notice2023-17700
Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From India: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2021
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
August 17, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that Norma (India) Ltd. (Norma) and R.N. Gupta & Co. Ltd. (RNG) received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR), January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 158 (Thursday, August 17, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 158 (Thursday, August 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56000-56002]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-17700]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-533-872]
Finished Carbon Steel Flanges From India: Preliminary Results of
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2021
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that Norma (India) Ltd. (Norma) and R.N. Gupta & Co. Ltd.
(RNG) received countervailable subsidies during the period of review
(POR), January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021. Interested parties
are invited to comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable August 17, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James R. Hepburn or Preston N. Cox,
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) 482-1882 or (202)
482-5041, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 24, 2017, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
countervailing duty order on finished carbon steel flanges from
India.\1\ On August 2, 2022, Commerce published a notice of opportunity
to request an administrative review of the Order.\2\ On August 31,
2022, Weldbend Corporation and Boltex Manufacturing Co., L.P.
(collectively, the petitioners), requested a review of 41 producers
and/or exporters of subject merchandise.\3\ Further, between August 18
and 31, 2022, Commerce received multiple requests, from Indian
producers or exporters of flanges for an administrative review of the
Order with respect to themselves.\4\ On October 11,
[[Page 56001]]
2022, Commerce published a notice of initiation of an administrative
review of the Order.\5\ On November 3, 2022, Commerce selected Norma
and RNG as mandatory respondents in this administrative review.\6\ On
April 25, 2023, Commerce extended the time period for issuing these
preliminary results to August 31, 2021, in accordance with section
751(a)(3)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\7\
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\1\ See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India: Countervailing
Duty Order, 82 FR 40138 (August 24, 2017) (Order).
\2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 87 FR 47187, 47188
(August 2, 2022).
\3\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Request for Administrative
Review,'' dated August 31, 2022.
\4\ See Munish Forge Private Limited's Letter, ``Request for
Counter Vailing Duty Administrative Review,'' dated August 18, 2022;
see also Balkrishna Steel Forge Prv. Ltd.'s Letter, ``Request for
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of Balkrishna Steel Forge
Pvt. Ltd. for the Period of January 01, 2021 to December 31, 2021,''
dated August 29, 2022; Cetus Engineering Private Limited's Letter,
``Request for Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of Cetus
Engineering Private Limited (``Cetus'') for the Period of January
01, 2021 to December 31, 2021,'' dated August 29, 2022; Jai Auto
Private Limited's Letter, ``Request for Countervailing Duty
Administrative Review of Jai Auto Pvt. Ltd for the Period of January
01, 2021 to December 31, 2021,'' dated August 27, 2022; Norma's
Letter, ``Request for Countervailing Duty Administrative Review for
Norma (India) Limited, USK Export Private Limited, Umashanker
Khandelwal and Co. and Bansidhar Chiranjilal.,'' dated August 29,
2022; RNG's Letter, ``Request for Countervailing Duty Administrative
Review,'' dated August 29, 2022; and Bebitz Flanges Works Private
Limited's Letter, ``Request for an Administrative Review,'' dated
August 31, 2022.
\5\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 61278, 61286 (October 11, 2022).
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated November 3,
2022.
\7\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review,'' dated April
25, 2023.
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\8\
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
included as Appendix I 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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\8\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of the 2021 Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty
Order on Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by the Order is finished carbon steel
flanges. For a complete description of the scope of the Order, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section
751(a)(l)(A) of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found to be
countervailable, we preliminarily determine that there is a subsidy,
i.e., a government-provided financial contribution that gives rise to a
benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\9\ For a
full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions,
including our reliance on adverse facts available pursuant to sections
776(a) and (b) of the Act, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\9\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; see also section 771(5)(E) of the Act
regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding
specificity.
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Companies Not Selected for Individual Review
The Act and Commerce's regulations do not directly address the
subsidy rate to be applied to companies not selected for individual
examination where Commerce limits its examination in an administrative
review pursuant to section 777A(e)(2) of the Act. However, Commerce
normally determines the rates for non-selected companies in reviews in
a manner that is consistent with section 705(c)(5) of the Act, which
provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in an
investigation. Section 777A(e)(2) of the Act provides that ``the
individual countervailable subsidy rates determined under subparagraph
(A) shall be used to determine the all-others rate under section
705(c)(5) {of the Act{time} .'' Section 705(c)(5)(A) states that for
companies not investigated, in general, we will determine an all-others
rate by weight averaging the countervailable subsidy rates established
for each of the companies individually investigated, excluding zero and
de minimis rates or any rates based solely on the facts available.
Accordingly, to determine the rate for companies not selected for
individual examination, Commerce's practice is to weight average the
countervailable subsidy rates for the selected mandatory respondents,
excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts
available.
We preliminarily find that the rates for Norma and RNG were above
de minimis and not based entirely on facts available. However, because
publicly ranged sales values for all mandatory respondents are not on
the record of this review, for these preliminary results, we are unable
to weight average the subsidy rates of Norma and RNG to derive a rate
for companies not selected for individual review. Therefore, we
calculated a simple average of the subsidy rates calculated for Norma
and RNG for application to the companies not selected for individual
review. The companies for which a review was requested and that were
not selected as mandatory respondents or found to be cross-owned with a
mandatory respondent are listed in Appendix II.
Preliminary Results of Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that the
following net countervailable subsidy rates exist for the period
January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021:
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\10\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with
Norma (India) Ltd.: USK Export Private Limited; Uma Shanker
Khandelwal and Co.; and Bansidhar Chiranjilal. This rate applies to
all cross-owned companies.
\11\ See Appendix II for a list of companies not selected for
individual examination.
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Subsidy
rate
Producer/exporter (percent ad
valorem)
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Norma (India) Ltd.\10\.................................... 2.98
R.N. Gupta & Co. Ltd...................................... 3.20
Non-Selected Companies Under Review \11\.................. 3.09
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Disclosure and Public Comment
We will disclose to parties to this proceeding the calculations
performed in reaching the preliminary results within five days of the
date of publication of these preliminary results.\12\ Interested
parties may submit case briefs no later than seven days after the date
on which the verification reports are issued in this review.\13\
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be filed
no later than seven days after the deadline date for filing case
briefs.\14\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who
submit arguments are requested to submit with the argument: (1) a
statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a
table of authorities.
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\12\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
\13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
\14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1); see also Temporary Rule Modifying
AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective
Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce,
using Enforcement and Compliance's ACCESS system within 30 days of the
publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) the party's
name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants and
whether any participant is a foreign national; and (3) a list of the
issues to be discussed. Issues addressed during the hearing will be
limited to those raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs.\15\
If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the
scheduled date and time. Parties should confirm the date and time of
the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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\15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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[[Page 56002]]
Parties are reminded that all briefs and hearing requests must be
filed electronically using ACCESS and received successfully in their
entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Note that Commerce
has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving
documents containing business proprietary information, until further
notice.\16\
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\16\ See Temporary Rule.
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Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), Commerce intends to issue the final
results of this administrative review, including the results of our
analysis of the issues raised by the parties in any written briefs, no
later than 120 days after the date of publication of these preliminary
results.
Assessment Rates
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we are preliminarily
assigning subsidy rates in the amounts shown above for the producers/
exporters shown above. Upon completion of the administrative review,
consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2),
Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate entries covered
by this review. We intend to issue assessment instructions to CBP no
earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results
of this review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at
the U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within
90 days of publication).
Cash Deposit Requirements
Pursuant to section 751(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends, upon
publication of the final results, to instruct CBP to collect cash
deposits of estimated countervailing duties in the amounts shown for
each company listed above on shipments of subject merchandise entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of final results of this administrative review. For all
non-reviewed firms, we will instruct CBP to continue to collect cash
deposits of estimated countervailing duties at its most recent company-
specific or the non-selected companies rate, as appropriate. These cash
deposit instructions, when imposed, shall remain in effect until
further notice.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify information relied upon in arriving at the final results of this
administrative review.
Notification to Interested Parties
These preliminary results of review are issued and published
pursuant to sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.213 and 351,221(b)(4).
Dated: August 10, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Subsidies Valuation
V. Benchmark Interest Rates and Discount Rates
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse
Inferences
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Rate for Non-Examined Companies
IX. Recommendation
Appendix II--Companies Not Selected for Individual Examination
1. Adinath International
2. Allena Group
3. Alloyed Steel
4. Balkrishna Steel Forge Pvt. Ltd.
5. Bebitz Flanges Works Private Limited
6. C. D. Industries
7. Cetus Engineering Private Limited
8. CHW Forge
9. CHW Forge Pvt. Ltd.
10. Citizen Metal Depot
11. Corum Flange
12. DN Forge Industries
13. Echjay Forgings Limited
14. Falcon Valves and Flanges Private Limited
15. Heubach International
16. Hindon Forge Pvt. Ltd.
17. Jai Auto Pvt. Ltd.
18. Kinnari Steel Corporation
19. M F Rings and Bearing Races Ltd.
20. Mascot Metal Manufacturers
21. Munish Forge Private Limited
22. OM Exports
23. Punjab Steel Works (PSW)
24. R.D. Forge
25. Raaj Sagar Steel
26. Ravi Ratan Metal Industries
27. Rolex Fittings India Pvt. Ltd.
28. Rollwell Forge Engineering Components and Flanges
29. Rollwell Forge Pvt. Ltd.
30. SHM (ShinHeung Machinery)
31. Siddhagiri Metal & Tubes
32. Sizer India
33. Steel Shape India
34. Sudhir Forgings Pvt. Ltd.
35. Tirupati Forge
36. Umashanker Khandelwal Forging Limited
[FR Doc. 2023-17700 Filed 8-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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