Notice2025-24069
Oil Country Tubular Goods From the People's Republic of China: Notice of Covered Merchandise Referral and Initiation of Covered Merchandise Inquiry
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
December 31, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has received a covered merchandise referral from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in connection with a CBP investigation concerning alleged evasion of the antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from the People's Republic of China (China). Commerce is initiating a covered merchandise inquiry to determine whether the merchandise described in the referral is subject to the AD/CVD orders on OCTG from China. Interested parties are invited to comment and submit factual information addressing this initiation.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 247 (Wednesday, December 31, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 31, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61375-61377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-24069]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-943/C-570-944]
Oil Country Tubular Goods From the People's Republic of China:
Notice of Covered Merchandise Referral and Initiation of Covered
Merchandise Inquiry
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has received a
covered merchandise referral from U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) in connection with a CBP investigation concerning alleged evasion
of the antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) orders on oil
country tubular goods (OCTG) from the People's Republic of China
(China). Commerce is initiating a covered merchandise inquiry to
determine whether the merchandise described in the referral is subject
to the AD/CVD orders on OCTG from China. Interested parties are invited
to comment and submit factual information addressing this initiation.
DATES: Applicable December 31, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harrison Tanchuck, 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) 482-7421.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 517(b)(4)(A)(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act), provides a procedure whereby if, during the course of an Enforce
and Protect Act (EAPA) investigation, CBP is unable to determine
whether the merchandise at issue is covered merchandise within the
meaning of section 517(a)(3) of the Act, it shall refer the matter to
Commerce to make such a determination. Section 517(a)(3) of the Act
defines covered merchandise as merchandise that is subject to an AD
order issued under section 736 of the Act or a CVD order issued under
section 706 of the Act. Section 517(b)(4)(B) of the Act states that
Commerce, after receiving a covered merchandise referral from CBP,
shall determine whether the merchandise is covered merchandise and
promptly transmit its determination to CBP. Commerce's regulations at
19 CFR 351.227 establish procedures for covered merchandise referrals
that Commerce receives from CBP in connection with an EAPA
investigation.\1\
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\1\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300, 52354-62
(September 20, 2021) (final rule promulgating the regulation
establishing procedures for covered merchandise referrals).
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On December 1, 2025, Commerce received a sufficient covered
merchandise referral from CBP regarding CBP EAPA Investigation No. 8143
\2\ which concerns the AD/CVD orders on OCTG from China.\3\
Specifically, CBP explained that an allegation was filed by the U.S.
OCTG Manufacturers Association alleging that U.S. importers Commercial
Steel Products LLC (CSP) and JOL Tubular, Inc. (JOL Tubular) evaded the
AD/CVD Orders on OCTG from China by entering covered merchandise into
the United States without declaring it as subject to the AD/CVD Orders
on OCTG from China and paying the applicable AD/CVD duties. CBP
informed Commerce that CBP is unable to determine whether certain
merchandise is covered merchandise subject to the AD/CVD Orders on OCTG
from China. Thus, CBP has requested that Commerce issue a determination
as to whether the OCTG produced by Boly Pipe Co., Ltd. (Boly Pipe) in
Thailand out of steel billets \4\ from China is subject to the AD/CVD
Orders on OCTG from China.
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\2\ See CBP's Letter, ``Covered Merchandise Referral Request for
EAPA Investigation 8143 Involving the Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Orders on Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's
Republic of China,'' dated December 1, 2025 (Covered Merchandise
Referral Letter). The covered merchandise referral and any
supporting documents will be made available on Enforcement and
Compliance's Antidumping Duty 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>.
\3\ See Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination, Final Negative Critical Circumstances Determination,
74 FR 64045 (December 7, 2009), as amended in Certain Oil Country
Tubular Goods from the People's Republic of China: Amended Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Countervailing
Duty Order, 75 FR 3203 (January 20, 2010) (CVD Order); see also
Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's Republic of
China: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances and Final
Determination of Targeted Dumping, 75 FR 20335 (April 19, 2010), as
amended in Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from the People's
Republic of China: Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order, 75 FR 28551 (May 21, 2010)
(AD Order) (collectively, AD/CVD Orders).
\4\ See Covered Merchandise Referral Letter at 2. ``A steel
billet is a cylindrical steel bar that does not have a hole in it.''
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Initiation of Covered Merchandise Inquiry
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.227(b)(1), Commerce is hereby
notifying interested parties that it is initiating a covered
merchandise inquiry to determine whether the merchandise subject to the
referral is covered merchandise within the meaning of section 517(a)(3)
of the Act. Additionally, Commerce intends to provide interested
parties with the opportunity to participate in this segment of the
proceeding, including through the submission of comments and factual
information, and, if appropriate, verification. In accordance with 19
CFR 351.227(m)(2), Commerce is initiating a single inquiry regarding
the merchandise described in the covered merchandise referral on the
record of the AD proceeding. Upon issuance of a final covered
merchandise determination, Commerce will include a copy of the
determination on the record of the CVD proceeding.
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.227(d)(1), within 30 days of the date
of publication of this notice, interested parties are permitted one
opportunity to submit comments and factual information addressing the
initiation. Within 14 days of the filing of such comments, any
interested party is permitted one opportunity to submit comments and
factual information to rebut, clarify, or correct factual information
submitted by the other interested parties.
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.227(d)(2), following initiation of a
covered merchandise inquiry, Commerce may also issue questionnaires and
verify submissions
[[Page 61376]]
received, where appropriate. Commerce may limit issuance of
questionnaires to a reasonable number of respondents. Questionnaire
responses are due on the date specified by Commerce. Within 14 days
after a questionnaire response has been filed with Commerce, an
interested party other than the original submitter is permitted one
opportunity to submit comments and factual information to rebut,
clarify, or correct factual information contained in the questionnaire
response. Within seven days of the filing of such rebuttal,
clarification, or correction, the original submitter is permitted one
opportunity to submit comments and factual information to rebut,
clarify, or correct factual information submitted in the interested
party's rebuttal, clarification, or correction.
In certain circumstances, Commerce may issue a preliminary
determination as to whether there is a reasonable basis to believe or
suspect that the product that is subject to the covered merchandise
inquiry is covered by the scope of the AD/CVD orders. Pursuant to 19
CFR 351.227(c), Commerce intends to issue a final determination within
120 days of the publication of this notice (this deadline may be
extended if Commerce determines that good cause exists to warrant an
extension). Promptly after publication of Commerce's final
determination, Commerce will convey a copy of the final determination
in the manner prescribed by section 516A(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act to all
parties to the proceeding and Commerce will transmit its final
determination to CBP in accordance with section 517(b)(4)(B) of the
Act.\5\
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\5\ See also 19 CFR 351.227(e)(2).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.227(d)(5), during the pendency of this
proceeding, Commerce may rescind, in whole or in part, a covered
merchandise inquiry. Situations in which Commerce may rescind a covered
merchandise inquiry include if CBP withdraws its covered merchandise
referral or if Commerce determines that it can address CBP's covered
merchandise referral in another segment of the proceeding. In
accordance with 19 CFR 351.227(c)(3), Commerce may align the deadlines
of this covered merchandise inquiry with the deadlines of another
segment of the proceeding if it determines it is appropriate to do so.
Parties are hereby notified that this may be the only notice that
Commerce publishes in the Federal Register concerning this covered
merchandise referral. Except as indicated below, interested parties
that wish to participate in this segment of the proceeding and receive
notice of the final determination, must submit their letters of
appearance as discussed below. Further, any representative of an
interested party desiring access to business proprietary information in
this segment of the proceeding must file an application for access to
business proprietary information under administrative protective order
(APO), as discussed below.
Scope of the AD/CVD Orders
The merchandise covered by the AD/CVD Orders are certain OCTG,
which are hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including
oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other than cast iron) or steel
(both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or welded, regardless of end
finish (e.g., whether or not plain end, threaded, or threaded and
coupled) whether or not conforming to American Petroleum Institute
(API) or non-API specifications, whether finished (including limited
service OCTG products) or unfinished (including green tubes and limited
service OCTG products), whether or not thread protectors are attached.
The scope of the AD/CVD Orders also covers OCTG coupling stock.
Excluded from the scope of the AD/CVD Orders are casing or tubing
containing 10.5 percent or more by weight of chromium; drill pipe;
unattached couplings; and unattached thread protectors.
The merchandise covered by the AD/CVD Orders is currently
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.10.10, 7304.29.10.20,
7304.29.10.30, 7304.29.10.40, 7304.29.10.50, 7304.29.10.60,
7304.29.10.80, 7304.29.20.10, 7304.29.20.20, 7304.29.20.30,
7304.29.20.40, 7304.29.20.50, 7304.29.20.60, 7304.29.20.80,
7304.29.31.10, 7304.29.31.20, 7304.29.31.30, 7304.29.31.40,
7304.29.31.50, 7304.29.31.60, 7304.29.31.80, 7304.29.41.10,
7304.29.41.20, 7304.29.41.30, 7304.29.41.40, 7304.29.41.50,
7304.29.41.60, 7304.29.41.80, 7304.29.50.15, 7304.29.50.30,
7304.29.50.45, 7304.29.50.60, 7304.29.50.75, 7304.29.61.15,
7304.29.61.30, 7304.29.61.45, 7304.29.61.60, 7304.29.61.75,
7305.20.20.00, 7305.20.40.00, 7305.20.60.00, 7305.20.80.00,
7306.29.10.30, 7306.29.10.90, 7306.29.20.00, 7306.29.31.00,
7306.29.41.00, 7306.29.60.10, 7306.29.60.50, 7306.29.81.10, and
7306.29.81.50.
The OCTG coupling stock covered by the AD/CVD Orders may also enter
under the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.00.24, 7304.39.00.28,
7304.39.00.32, 7304.39.00.36, 7304.39.00.40, 7304.39.00.44,
7304.39.00.48, 7304.39.00.52, 7304.39.00.56, 7304.39.00.62,
7304.39.00.68, 7304.39.00.72, 7304.39.00.76, 7304.39.00.80,
7304.59.60.00, 7304.59.80.15, 7304.59.80.20, 7304.59.80.25,
7304.59.80.30, 7304.59.80.35, 7304.59.80.40, 7304.59.80.45,
7304.59.80.50, 7304.59.80.55, 7304.59.80.60, 7304.59.80.65,
7304.59.80.70, and 7304.59.80.80.
The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs
purposes only, the written description of the scope of the AD/CVD
Orders is dispositive.
Merchandise Subject to the Covered Merchandise Inquiry
The covered merchandise inquiry will address whether the scope
covers the OCTG produced by Boly Pipe in Thailand out of steel billets
\6\ from China. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.227(m)(1), Commerce will
consider, based on the available record evidence, whether the final
determination in the covered merchandise inquiry should be applied on a
(i) producer-specific, exporter-specific, importer-specific basis, or
some combination thereof; or (ii) on a country-wide basis, regardless
of the producer, exporter, or importer, to all products from the same
country with the same relevant physical characteristics as the product
at issue.
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\6\ See Covered Merchandise Referral Letter at 2. ``A steel
billet is a cylindrical steel bar that does not have a hole in it.''
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Filing Requirements
All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically via
ACCESS, unless an exception applies.\7\ An electronically filed
document must be received successfully in its entirety by the
applicable deadline. Note that Commerce has temporarily modified
certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business
proprietary information until further
[[Page 61377]]
notice.\8\ Each submission must be placed on the record of the segment
of the proceeding for the AD Order (i.e., A-570-943), ACCESS Covered
Merchandise Inquiry segment ``CMI--CBP EAPA Inv. No. 8143.''
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\7\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011), as amended in Enforcement
and Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046
(November 20, 2014), for details of Commerce's electronic filing
requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on help using
ACCESS can be found at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx</a> and a
handbook can be found at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20Filing%20Procedures.pdf">https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20Filing%20Procedures.pdf</a>.
\8\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due
to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); see also Temporary Rule
Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID19; Extension of
Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.227(l)(1), Commerce will notify CBP
of the initiation of the covered merchandise inquiry and direct CBP to
continue to suspend liquidation of entries of products subject to the
covered merchandise inquiry that were already subject to the suspension
of liquidation, and to apply the cash deposit rate that would be
applicable if the product were determined to be covered by the scope of
the AD/CVD Orders. Should Commerce issue preliminary or final covered
merchandise determinations, Commerce will follow the suspension of
liquidation rules under 19 CFR 351.227(l)(2)-(4). In accordance with 19
CFR 351.227(l)(5), nothing in this section affects CBP's authority to
take any additional action with respect to the suspension of
liquidation or related measures.
Notification to Interested Parties
Interested parties that wish to participate in this segment of the
proceeding and be added to the public service list for this segment of
the proceeding must file a letter of appearance in accordance with 19
CFR 351.103(d)(1), with one exception: the relevant parties to CBP's
EAPA investigation publicly identified by CBP in the covered
merchandise referral referenced above are not required to submit a
letter of appearance and will be added to the public service list for
this segment of the proceeding by Commerce.
Commerce placed an APO on the record on December 4, 2025.\9\
Commerce intends to place the business proprietary versions of the
documents (if any) contained in the covered merchandise referral on the
record of this proceeding in ACCESS.
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\9\ See the Administrative Protective Order, ``Request for
Establishment of Administrative Protective Order Case Name from
Country (A-570-943/C-570-944),'' dated December 4, 2025.
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Representatives of interested parties must submit applications for
disclosure under the APO in accordance with the procedures outlined in
Commerce's regulations at 19 CFR 351.305. Those procedures apply to
this segment of the proceeding, with one exception: APO applicants
representing the parties that have been identified by CBP as an
importer in the covered merchandise referral (referenced above) are
exempt from the additional filing requirements for importers pursuant
to 19 CFR 351.305(d).
This notice is issued and published pursuant to section 517(b)(4)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.227(b).
Dated: December 22, 2025.
Scot Fullerton,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Operations.
[FR Doc. 2025-24069 Filed 12-30-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 31, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.