Notice2024-08450
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Non-Refillable Steel Cylinders From India
Primary source
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Published
April 22, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain non-refillable steel cylinders (cylinders) from the India are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 78 (Monday, April 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29294-29296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08450]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-533-912]
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation of Certain Non-Refillable Steel Cylinders From India
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
certain non-refillable steel cylinders (cylinders) from the India are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2022,
through March 31, 2023.
DATES: Applicable April 22, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benito Ballesteros or Samuel Evans,
AD/CVD Operations, Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7425 or (202)
482-2420, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Commerce selected two companies, Bhiwadi Cylinders Pvt. Ltd./
Sapphire (India) Pvt. Ltd. (collectively Bhiwadi/Sapphire) \1\ and Inox
India Limited (Inox) as the mandatory respondents, in this
investigation. On December 1, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal
Register the Preliminary Determination, in which it also postponed the
final determination until not later than 135 days after the date of
publication of the Preliminary Determination (i.e., April 15, 2024).\2\
We invited parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination.
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\1\ Commerce determined that it was appropriate to collapse
Bhiwadi and Sapphire and treat these companies as a single entity.
See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Determination Affiliation and Single
Entity Memorandum,'' dated November 24, 2023.
\2\ See Certain Non-Refillable Steel Cylinders from India:
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of
Provisional Measures, 88 FR 83906 (December 1, 2023) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum
(PDM).
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In March 2024, we received case briefs from Worthington Industries
(the petitioner) and Bhiwadi/Sapphire,\3\ and rebuttal briefs from the
petitioner, Bhiwadi/Sapphire, and Inox.\4\ For a complete description
of the events that occurred since the Preliminary Determination, see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\5\ The Issues and 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 Issues and 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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\3\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Case Brief for Inox
India, Ltd,'' dated March 20, 2024; Petitioner's Letter,
``Petitioner's Case Brief for Bhiwadi Cylinders Private Limited,''
dated March 20, 2024; and Bhiwadi/Sapphire's Letter, ``Bhiwadi's
Revised Case Brief,'' dated March 26, 2024.
\4\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Rebuttal Brief for
Bhiwadi Cylinders Private Limited,'' dated March 26, 2024; Bhiwadi/
Sapphire's Letter, ``Bhiwadi's Rebuttal Case Brief,'' dated March
26, 2024; and Inox's Letter, ``Rebuttal Brief,'' dated March 26,
2024.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Final
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation
of Certain Non-Refillable Steel Cylinders from India,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by the scope of this investigation is
cylinders from India. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as
it appeared in the Preliminary Determination. Therefore, no changes
were made to the scope of the investigation.
Verification
Commerce conducted verification of the information relied upon in
making its final determination in this investigation, in accordance
with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Specifically, we conducted on-site verifications of Bhiwadi/Sapphire
and Inox in December 2023 and January 2024 using standard verification
procedures, including an examination of relevant sales and accounting
records, and original source documents provided by the respondents.\6\
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\6\ See Memorandum, ``Verification of the Cost Response of
Bhiwadi Cylinders Private Limited and Sapphire (India) Private
Limited,'' dated February 8, 2024; Memorandum, ``Verification of the
Cost Response of Inox India Ltd.,'' dated February 29, 2024;
Memorandum, ``Verification of the Sales Response of Inox India
Limited,'' dated March 11, 2024; and Memorandum, ``Verification of
the Sales Response of Bhiwadi Cylinders Private Limited and Sapphire
(India) Private Limited,'' dated March 12, 2024.
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[[Page 29295]]
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs are addressed in
the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues that parties
raised, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum, is attached to this notice in Appendix II.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
We made certain changes to the margin calculations for Bhiwadi/
Sapphire and Inox since the Preliminary Determination. See the Issues
and Decision Memorandum for a discussion of these changes.
All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters
not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
individually investigated exporters and producers, excluding rates that
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the
Act.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated a zero rate for Inox.
Therefore, the only rate that is not zero, de minimis, or based
entirely on facts otherwise available is the rate calculated for
Bhiwadi/Sapphire. Consequently, the rate calculated for Bhiwadi/
Sapphire is also assigned as the rate for all other producers and
exporters.
Final Determination
The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are listed
below for the period October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022:
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Cash deposit rate
Weighted-average (adjusted for
Exporter/producer dumping margin subsidy offset(s))
(percent) (percent)
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Bhiwadi Cylinders Private 6.27 4.13
Limited; Sapphire (India)
Private Limited................
Inox India Limited.............. 0.00 0.00
All Others...................... 6.27 4.13
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in
connection with this final determination to interested parties within
five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this final
determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all entries of cylinders from India, as
described in Appendix I of this notice, which were entered or withdrawn
from warehouse for consumption on or after December 1, 2023, the date
of publication of the Preliminary Determination of this investigation
in the Federal Register, with the exception of entries of subject
merchandise that were produced and exported by Inox. Because the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Inox is zero, entries of
shipments of subject merchandise produced and exported by Inox will not
be subject to suspension of liquidation or cash deposit requirements.
In such situations, Commerce applies the exclusion to the provisional
measures to the producer/exporter combination that was examined in the
investigation. Accordingly, Commerce is directing CBP not to suspend
liquidation of entries of merchandise produced and exported by Inox.
However, entries of subject merchandise in any other producer/exporter
combination, e.g., merchandise produced by a third party and exported
by Inox or produced by Inox and exported by a third party, are subject
to the cash deposit requirements at the all-others rate.
Furthermore, other than for entries produced and exported by Inox,
pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(d),
upon the publication of this notice, we will instruct CBP to require a
cash deposit for estimated antidumping duties for such entries of
merchandise as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents
listed in the table above will be equal to the company-specific
estimated weighted-average dumping margin determined in this final
determination; (2) if the exporter is not a respondent identified
above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be equal to
the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin
established for that producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the
cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters will be equal
to the all-others estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed in
the table above.
Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are
in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce made an affirmative
determination for countervailable export subsidies, Commerce has offset
the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the appropriate CVD
rate. Any such adjusted cash deposit rate may be found in the ``Final
Determination'' section above.
Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting estimated
antidumping duty cash deposits unadjusted for countervailed export
subsidies at the time that the provisional CVD measures expire.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this
investigation is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of
the Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the
domestic industry in the United States is materially injured or
threatened with material injury by reason of imports of cylinders from
India no later than 45 days after our final determination. If the ITC
determines that such injury does not exist, this proceeding will be
terminated, all cash deposits posted will be refunded, and suspension
of liquidation will be lifted. If the ITC determines that such injury
does exist, Commerce will issue an antidumping
[[Page 29296]]
duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by
Commerce, antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise
entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after the
effective date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed in the
``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.
Administrative Protective Order
This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely
written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials, or
conversion to judicial protective order, is hereby requested. Failure
to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a violation which
is subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: April 15, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is certain seamed
(welded or brazed), non-refillable steel cylinders meeting the
requirements of, or produced to meet the requirements of, U.S.
Department of Transportation specification 39, TransportCanada
specification 39M, or United Nations pressure receptacle standard
ISO 11118 and otherwise meeting the description provided below (non-
refillable steel cylinders). The subject non-refillable steel
cylinders are portable and range from 100-cubic inch (1.6 liter)
water capacity to 1,526-cubic inch (25 liter) water capacity.
Subject non-refillable steel cylinders may be imported with or
without a valve and/or pressure release device and are unfilled at
the time of importation. Non-refillable steel cylinders filled with
pressurized air otherwise meeting the physical description above are
covered by this investigation.
Specifically excluded are seamless non-refillable steel
cylinders.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is properly
classified under statistical reporting numbers 7311.00.0060 and
7311.00.0090 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS). The merchandise may also enter under HTSUS statistical
reporting numbers 7310.29.0030 and 7310.29.0065. Although the HTSUS
statistical reporting numbers are provided for convenience and
customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is
dispositive.
Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether to Apply Adverse Facts Available to Bhiwadi/
Sapphire
Comment 2: Whether to Adjust Bhiwadi/Sapphire's Export Prices
for Average Annual Warranty Expenses
Comment 3: Whether to Adjust Bhiwadi/Sapphire's Financial
Expense Ratio
Comment 4: Whether Certain of Bhiwadi/Sapphire's Cost
Reallocations Should be Reversed
Comment 5: Whether to Include the Purchase Cost of Semi-Finished
Cylinders in Bhiwadi/Sapphire's Cost of Manufacturing (COM)
Comment 6: Whether to Adjust Bhiwadi/Sapphire's Reported Costs
for Freight Inward and Loading and Unloading Expenses
Comment 7: Whether to Make Certain Revisions to SIPL's Reported
COM
Comment 8: Whether to Remove Raw Material Offsets Related to
Profit Earned on Sales of Raw Materials Between BCPL and SIPL
Comment 9: Whether Inox's Cost Reconciliation is Misstated for
both the Merchandise Under Consideration (MUC) and Non-MUC
Comment 10: Whether Inox's Direct Material Costs Are
Unreconciled and Unsupported by Record Evidence
Comment 11: Whether Inox Understated its Reported Direct
Material Costs
Comment 12: Whether Commerce Should Revise Inox's Scrap Offset
Comment 13: Whether Commerce Should Revise Inox's General and
Administrative Expense Ratio
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-08450 Filed 4-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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