Notice2024-10643
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of Korea: Notice of Initiation of Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Review
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Published
May 15, 2024
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 countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain corrosion-resistant steel products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) to determine whether Dongkuk Coated Metal Co., Ltd. (Dongkuk CM) is the successor- in-interest (SII) to Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. (Old Dongkuk Steel).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42446-42447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10643]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-580-879]
Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From the Republic of
Korea: Notice of Initiation of Countervailing 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 countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain corrosion-resistant
steel products (CORE) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) to determine
whether Dongkuk Coated Metal Co., Ltd. (Dongkuk CM) is the successor-
in-interest (SII) to Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd. (Old Dongkuk Steel).
DATES: Applicable May 15, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Subler, 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) 482-6241.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 25, 2016, Commerce published the CVD order on CORE from
Korea in the Federal Register.\1\ On February 9, 2024, Dongkuk CM
requested the initiation of a CCR to determine that it is the SII to
Old Dongkuk Steel.\2\ In this request, Dongkuk CM explained that, on
May 12, 2023, the shareholders of Old Dongkuk Steel approved a December
9, 2022, proposal by the company's board of directors 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.\3\ Further,
the shareholders approved a proposal to position the newly established
operating companies under a holding company, Dongkuk Holdings Co.,
Ltd., effective as of June 1, 2023.\4\
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\1\ See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from India,
Italy, Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China:
Countervailing Duty Order, 81 FR 48387 (July 25, 2016) (Order).
\2\ See Dongkuk CM's Letter, ``Request for Changed Circumstances
Review and Successor-in-Interest Determination,'' dated February 9,
2024 (Dongkuk CM's CCR Request).
\3\ Id. at 2.
\4\ Id.
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On March 21, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for determining
whether to initiate a CCR by 45 days, until May 9, 2024.\5\
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\5\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Initiation of
Changed Circumstances Review,'' dated March 21, 2024.
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Scope of the Order
The products covered by this Order are certain flat-rolled steel
products, either clad, plated, or coated with corrosion-resistant
metals such as zinc, aluminum, or zinc-, aluminum-, nickel- or iron-
based alloys, whether or not corrugated or painted, varnished,
laminated, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances in
addition to the metallic coating. The products covered include coils
that have a width of 12.7 mm or greater, regardless of form of coil
(e.g., in successively superimposed layers, spirally oscillating,
etc.). The products covered also include products not in coils (e.g.,
in straight lengths) of a thickness less than 4.75 mm and a width that
is 12.7 mm or greater and that measures at least 10 times the
thickness. The products covered also include products not in coils
(e.g., in straight lengths) of a thickness of 4.75 mm or more and a
width exceeding 150 mm and measuring at least twice the thickness. The
products described above may be rectangular, square, circular, or other
shape and include products of either rectangular or non-rectangular
cross-section where such cross-section is achieved subsequent to the
rolling process, i.e., products which have been ``worked after
rolling'' (e.g., products which have been beveled or rounded at the
edges). For purposes of the width and thickness requirements referenced
above:
(1) where the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is
within the scope if application of either the nominal or actual
measurement would place it within the scope based on the definitions
set forth above, and
(2) where the width and thickness vary for a specific product
(e.g., the thickness of certain products with non-rectangular cross-
section, the width of certain products with non-rectangular shape,
etc.), the measurement at its greatest width or thickness applies.
Steel products included in the scope of this Order are products in
which: (1) iron predominates, by weight, over each of the other
contained elements; (2) the carbon content is 2 percent or less, by
weight; and (3) none of the elements listed below exceeds the quantity,
by weight, respectively indicated:
<bullet> 2.50 percent of manganese, or
<bullet> 3.30 percent of silicon, or
<bullet> 1.50 percent of copper, or
<bullet> 1.50 percent of aluminum, or
<bullet> 1.25 percent of chromium, or
<bullet> 0.30 percent of cobalt, or
<bullet> 0.40 percent of lead, or
<bullet> 2.00 percent of nickel, or
<bullet> 0.30 percent of tungsten (also called wolfram), or
<bullet> 0.80 percent of molybdenum, or
<bullet> 0.10 percent of niobium (also called columbium), or
<bullet> 0.30 percent of vanadium, or
<bullet> 0.30 percent of zirconium
Unless specifically excluded, products are included in this scope
regardless of levels of boron and titanium.
For example, specifically included in this scope are vacuum
degassed, fully stabilized (commonly referred to as interstitial-free
(IF)) steels and high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels. IF steels are
recognized as low carbon steels with micro-alloying levels of elements
such as titanium and/or niobium added to stabilize carbon and nitrogen
elements. HSLA steels are recognized as steels with micro-alloying
levels of elements such as chromium, copper, niobium, titanium,
vanadium, and molybdenum.
Furthermore, this scope also includes Advanced High Strength Steels
(AHSS) and Ultra High Strength Steels (UHSS), both of which are
considered high tensile strength and high elongation steels.
[[Page 42447]]
Subject merchandise also includes corrosion-resistant steel that
has been further processed in a third country, including but not
limited to annealing, tempering painting, varnishing, trimming,
cutting, punching and/or slitting or any other processing that would
not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the Order if
performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope corrosion
resistant steel.
All products that meet the written physical description, and in
which the chemistry quantities do not exceed any one of the noted
element levels listed above, are within the scope of this Order unless
specifically excluded. The following products are outside of and/or
specifically excluded from the scope of this Order:
<bullet> Flat-rolled steel products either plated or coated with
tin, lead, chromium, chromium oxides, both tin and lead (terne plate),
or both chromium and chromium oxides (tin free steel), whether or not
painted, varnished or coated with plastics or other non-metallic
substances in addition to the metallic coating;
<bullet> Clad products in straight lengths of 4.7625 mm or more in
composite thickness and of a width which exceeds 150 mm and measures at
least twice the thickness; and
<bullet> Certain clad stainless flat-rolled products, which are
three-layered corrosion-resistant flat-rolled steel products less than
4.75 mm in composite thickness that consist of a flat-rolled steel
product clad on both sides with stainless steel in a 20%-60%-20% ratio.
The products subject to the Order are currently classified in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item
numbers: 7210.30.0030, 7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030,
7210.49.0040, 7210.49.0045, 7210.49.0091, 7210.49.0095, 7210.61.0000,
7210.69.0000, 7210.70.6030, 7210.70.6060, 7210.70.6090, 7210.90.6000,
7210.90.9000, 7212.20.0000, 7212.30.1030, 7212.30.1090, 7212.30.3000,
7212.30.5000, 7212.40.1000, 7212.40.5000, 7212.50.0000, and
7212.60.0000.\6\
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\6\ On July 26, 2021, Commerce added two additional HTSUS
subheadings at the request of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
See Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from the Republic of
Korea: Final Results and Partial Rescission of Countervailing Duty
Administrative Review: 2019, 87 FR 2759 (January 19, 2022), and
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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The products subject to the Order may also enter under the
following HTSUS item numbers: 7210.90.1000, 7215.90.1000, 7215.90.3000,
7215.90.5000, 7217.20.1500, 7217.30.1530, 7217.30.1560, 7217.90.1000,
7217.90.5030, 7217.90.5060, 7217.90.5090, 7225.91.0000, 7225.92.0000,
7225.99.0090, 7226.99.0110, 7226.99.0130, 7226.99.0180, 7228.60.6000,
7228.60.8000, and 7229.90.1000.
The HTSUS subheadings above are provided for convenience and
customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the
Order is dispositive.
Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review
Pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), Commerce will conduct a CCR upon receipt of a request from
an interested party that shows changed circumstances sufficient to
warrant a review of an order. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(d),
Commerce determines that Dongkuk CM's CCR Request constitutes a
sufficient basis to conduct a CCR of the Order. Neither the Act, the
Statement of Administrative Action Accompanying the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act, or Commerce's regulations offer a definition of the
term ``changed circumstances,'' nor do they explain what aspects of a
determination may be reconsidered in light of such changed
circumstances. Commerce has in the past conducted CCRs regarding a
variety of issues.\7\
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\7\ See, e.g., Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic of
China: Initiation and Preliminary Results of Expedited Changed
Circumstances Review, 83 FR 34548 (July 20, 2018) (finding
sufficient information to initiate a CCR to recalculate certain cash
deposit rates); see also Certain Steel Nails from Malaysia: Final
Results of the Changed Circumstances Review, 82 FR 34476 (July 25,
2017) (finding sufficient information and ``good cause'' to initiate
a CCR to evaluate whether a company was properly utilizing the
correct cash deposit rate).
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Dongkuk CM has requested a CCR to determine whether it is the SII
to Old Dongkuk Steel.\8\ Recognizing that it is not Commerce's general
practice to routinely initiate CCR requests in CVD proceedings, we find
the circumstances here to be unusual. Moreover, Dongkuk CM has provided
a sufficient factual basis to support initiation of this CCR.
Therefore, in accordance with section 751(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.216(d), we are initiating a CCR based on the information
contained in Dongkuk CM's CCR Request. Given the particular facts
surrounding Dongkuk CM's request, we will be issuing a questionnaire to
Dongkuk CM in this CCR that will include questions on cross-ownership.
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\8\ In CVD CCRs involving SII determinations, Commerce follows
the practice described in Certain Pasta from Turkey: Preliminary
Results of Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 74 FR
47225 (September 15, 2009), unchanged in Certain Pasta from Turkey:
Final Results of Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Review,
74 FR 54022 (October 21, 2009).
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In the event that Commerce determines an expedited action is
warranted, 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii) permits Commerce to combine the
notice of initiation of the review and the preliminary results of
review into a single notice. However, we are not combining this notice
of initiation with the preliminary results, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.221(c)(3)(ii), because we have determined that it is necessary to
issue a questionnaire to Dongkuk CM and gather additional information
regarding the company's corporate structure and ownership, and its
cross-owned affiliates. As Dongkuk CM noted in its CCR request, Old
Dongkuk Steel was excluded from the Order.\9\ Therefore, given the
particular facts of this CCR request, we are soliciting comments from
interested parties on Commerce's consideration of Dongkuk CM's CCR
Request. We request that interested parties submit these comments
within two weeks of the publication date of this notice. After
examining any properly filed comments and following up with any
supplemental questionnaires as needed, we intend to issue the
preliminary results of this CCR.
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\9\ See Dongkuk CM's CCR Request at 4; see also Order, 81 FR at
48388.
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Preliminary and Final Results of the CCR
We intend to publish in the Federal Register a notice of the
preliminary results of this CCR in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)
and (c)(3)(i). Commerce will set forth its preliminary factual and
legal conclusions in that notice regarding Dongkuk CM's CCR Request.
Unless extended, Commerce will issue the final results of this CCR in
accordance with the time limits set forth in 19 CFR 351.216(e).
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing this initiation notice in accordance
with section 751(b)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, 19 CFR 351.216(b),\10\
and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(1).
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\10\ As noted above, we extended the CCR initiation deadline by
45 days under 19 CFR 351.302(b).
Dated: May 9, 2024.
James Maeder,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2024-10643 Filed 5-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 15, 2024.
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