Notice2023-21379
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of Korea: Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review
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
September 29, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
In response to a request for a changed circumstances review (CCR), the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating a CCR of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). Additionally, Commerce preliminarily determines that Dongkuk Coated Metal Co., Ltd., following a corporate organizational change in June 2023 (hereinafter, Dongkuk CM), is the successor-in-interest to the pre-reorganization Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. entity (hereinafter, Old Dongkuk Steel). As such, Dongkuk CM is entitled to Old Dongkuk Steel's AD cash deposit rates with respect to entries of subject merchandise in the above- referenced proceeding. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 188 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67243-67245]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21379]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-580-878]
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of
Korea: Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Changed Circumstances Review
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to a request for a changed circumstances review
(CCR), the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is initiating a CCR
of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain corrosion-resistant steel
products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea). Additionally,
Commerce preliminarily determines that Dongkuk Coated Metal Co., Ltd.,
following a corporate organizational change in June 2023 (hereinafter,
Dongkuk CM), is the successor-in-interest to the pre-reorganization
Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. entity (hereinafter, Old Dongkuk Steel).
As such, Dongkuk CM is entitled to Old Dongkuk Steel's AD cash deposit
rates with respect to entries of subject merchandise in the above-
referenced proceeding. Interested parties are invited to comment on
these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable September 29, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Horn, AD/CVD Operations,
Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4868.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 67244]]
Background
On June 30, 2023, Dongkuk CM notified Commerce of a corporate
reorganization and requested that Commerce initiate a CCR under the
relevant AD proceeding to determine that it is the successor-in-
interest to Old Dongkuk Steel for purposes of determining AD cash
deposits.\1\ In this request, Dongkuk CM stated that, on May 12, 2023,
the shareholders of Old Dongkuk Steel approved the December 9, 2022,
proposal by the company's board of directors (BOD) to spin off its
cold-rolled steel division, which produced CORE and non-subject
merchandise, and its hot-rolled steel division, which produced only
non-subject merchandise, as separate operating companies (i.e., Dongkuk
CM and New Dongkuk Steel, respectively) and position the newly-
established operating companies under the holding company, Dongkuk
Holdings Co., Ltd. (Dongkuk Holdings), effective as of June 1, 2023
(the Spin-Off and Reorganization).\2\ Immediately following the BOD
meeting on December 9, 2022, Old Dongkuk Steel notified the Korean
Financial Services Commission (KFSC) and the Korean Financial
Supervisory Service (KFSS) of the planned Spin-Off and Reorganization
through a written notification that summarized the Spin-Off Plan (KFSS
Notification). The KFSS Notification explained the plan to split the
operations of Old Dongkuk Steel into Dongkuk CM, New Dongkuk, and
Dongkuk Holdings.\3\ Subsequently, the Extraordinary General Meeting of
Shareholders was convened on May 12, 2023, which ``approved as
presented'' the Spin-Off Plan to proceed on June 1, 2023, as had been
proposed.\4\
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\1\ See Dongkuk's Letter, ``Request for Changed Circumstances
Review and Successor-in-Interest Determination'' (Dongkuk CCR
Request), dated June 30, 2023.
\2\ Id. at 2-3 and Attachment 1.
\3\ Id. at 4 and Attachment 3.
\4\ Id. at 4 and Attachments 2 and 4.
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Dongkuk CM states that there were no other changes because of the
Spin-Off and Reorganization. The total capital of Old Dongkuk Steel was
allocated among the three companies under the new structure; management
of Old Dongkuk Steel was divided among the three companies; the
production facilities of Old Dongkuk Steel, including the production
facility for CORE (i.e., the Busan Plant), were split by operating
division (i.e., Cold- Rolled Steel Division and Hot-Rolled Steel
Division) between Dongkuk CM and New Dongkuk Steel; Dongkuk CM retained
the suppliers of Old Dongkuk Steel's Cold-Rolled Steel Division for the
materials used in the production of CORE; and Dongkuk CM retained the
customer base of Old Dongkuk Steel's Cold-Rolled Steel Division for
CORE.\5\
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\5\ Id. at 3-6 and Attachments 2-4.
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Scope of the Order <SUP>6</SUP>
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\6\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from India,
Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and
Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Determination for
India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390 (July 25,
2016) (Order).
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The merchandise covered by the Order is certain corrosion-resistant
steel products from Korea. For a complete description of the scope of
the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\7\
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\7\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Initiation and
Preliminary Results of the Changed Circumstances Review of the
Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products
from the Republic of Korea,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby
adopted by, this notice.
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Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review
Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216, Commerce will conduct a CCR of an order
upon receipt of information concerning, or a request from an interested
party for a review of, an order which shows changed circumstances
sufficient to warrant a review of the order. Commerce finds that the
information submitted by Dongkuk CM demonstrates changed circumstances
sufficient to warrant such a review. Therefore, in accordance with
section 751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216(d), Commerce is
initiating a CCR based on the information contained in Dongkuk CM's
request that Commerce determine that Dongkuk CM is the successor-in-
interest to Old Dongkuk Steel for purposes of the Order.
Further, 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii) permits Commerce to combine the
notice of initiation of a CCR and the notice of preliminary results of
a CCR if Commerce concludes that expedited action is warranted. In this
instance, because the record contains the information necessary to make
a preliminary finding, we find that expedited action is warranted and
have combined the notice of initiation and the notice of preliminary
results.
Methodology
In determining whether one company is the successor to another,
Commerce generally considers a company to be the successor-in-interest
for AD cash deposit purposes if the operations of the successor are not
materially dissimilar from those of its predecessor.\8\ In making this
determination, Commerce examines a number of factors including, but not
limited to, changes in: (1) management; (2) production facilities; (3)
suppliers; and (4) customer base.\9\ While no one or several of these
factors will necessarily provide a dispositive indication of
succession, if the evidence demonstrates that, with respect to the
production and sale of the subject merchandise, the new company
operates as the same business entity as the prior company, Commerce
will assign the new company the cash deposit rate of its
predecessor.\10\
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\8\ See Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Changed Circumstances Review: Multilayered Wood Flooring from the
People's Republic of China, 79 FR 48117 (August 15, 2014), unchanged
in Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People's Republic of China:
Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review, 79 FR 58740
(September 30, 2014).
\9\ Id.
\10\ See, e.g., Certain Preserved Mushrooms from India:
Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed-Circumstances Review,
67 FR 78416 (December 24, 2002), unchanged in Certain Preserved
Mushrooms from India: Final Results of Changed-Circumstances Review,
68 FR 6884 (February 11, 2003); and Fresh and Chilled Atlantic
Salmon from Norway: Final Results of Changed Circumstances
Antidumping Administrative Review, 64 FR 9979, 9980 (March 1, 1999).
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Commerce's analysis of the information submitted by Dongkuk CM is
detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of the topics
discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an
appendix to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a
public document and is made available to the public 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 is available at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
Preliminary Results of the Changed Circumstances Reviews
In the Dongkuk CCR Request, Dongkuk CM provided evidence
demonstrating that its operations are not materially dissimilar from
those of Old Dongkuk Steel with respect to the subject merchandise.
Specifically, Dongkuk CM is managed and operated by the same managers
as Old Dongkuk Steel, either directly as board members or members of
Dongkuk CM's management team, or indirectly as members of Dongkuk
Holdings' management team. Further, Dongkuk CM has not added, or
discontinued use
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of, steel production facilities as a result of the change in ownership
and management structure. Finally, there have been no significant
changes to the company's suppliers and customer base. Based on the
foregoing, which is explained in greater detail in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum, we preliminarily determine that Dongkuk CM is the
successor-in-interest to Old Dongkuk Steel and, as such, that Dongkuk
CM is entitled to Old Dongkuk Steel's AD cash deposit rate with respect
to entries of subject merchandise.
Public Comment
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may
submit case briefs not later than 14 days after the date of publication
of this notice.\11\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case
briefs, may be filed not later than seven days after the due date for
case briefs, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(d).\12\ Parties who
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this CCR are requested to
submit with each argument: (1) a statement of the issues; (2) a brief
summary of the arguments; and (3) a table of authorities.\13\
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\11\ Commerce is exercising its discretion under 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(ii) to alter the time limit for the filing of case
briefs.
\12\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to Covid-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July
10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
\13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may request a
hearing within 14 days of publication of this notice.\14\ Hearing
requests should contain the following information: (1) the party's
name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants;
(3) whether any participant is a foreign national; and (4) a list of
the issues to be discussed. Oral presentations at the hearing will be
limited to issues raised in the briefs. 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 the date and the time of the hearing
two days before the scheduled date.
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\14\ Commerce is exercising its discretion under 19 CFR
351.310(c) to alter the time limit for requesting a hearing.
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All submissions must be filed electronically using ACCESS and must
also be served on interested parties. An electronically-filed document
must be received successfully in its entirely by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time (ET) on the due date.\15\ Note that Commerce has
temporarily modified certain requirements for serving documents
containing business proprietary information, until further notice.\16\
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\15\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b).
\16\ See Temporary Rule.
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Final Results
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we intend to issue the final
results of this CCR no later than 270 days after the date on which this
review was initiated, or within 45 days of publication of these
preliminary results, if all parties agree to the preliminary findings.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing this initiation and preliminary
results notice in accordance with section 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of
the Act, and 19 CFR 351.216(b) and 351.221(c)(3).
Dated: September 22, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Current Cash Deposit Rates
V. Initiation and Preliminary Results of the Changed Circumstances
Review
VI. Successor-in-Interest Determination
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2023-21379 Filed 9-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 29, 2023.
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