Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Austria: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Austria 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, 2025, through March 31, 2026. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 212 (Wednesday, November 4, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 212 (Wednesday, November 4, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69528-69531]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22531]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-433-814]


Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods From Austria: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value, 
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that certain oil country tubular goods (OCTG) from Austria 
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, 2025, 
through March 31, 2026. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable November 4, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madeleine Feely or Lingjun Wang, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0121 or (202) 
482-2316, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 28, 
2026.\1\ On August 28, 2026, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
October 29, 2026.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from Austria, Taiwan, 
and the United Arab Emirates: Initiation of Less-Than- Fair-Value 
Investigations, 91 FR 22806 (April 28, 2026) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from Austria, Taiwan, and the 
United Arab Emirates: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in 
the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 91 FR 55517 (August 28, 
2026).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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), which 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/frnotices">https://access.trade.gov/frnotices</a>.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation 
of Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from Austria,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is OCTG from Austria. For 
a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix 
I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice, whereby they requested that Commerce find 
certain mechanical pipe products to be outside the scope of this 
investigation. These products include: mechanical pipe for oilfield 
tools, mechanical pipe for perforating guns, and expandable mechanical 
pipe.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 91 FR 22807.
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    We note that there is an ongoing scope inquiry related to the 
antidumping duty orders on OCTG from Argentina and Mexico with respect 
to these same mechanical pipe products.\6\

[[Page 69529]]

In that inquiry, Commerce preliminarily found that the products were 
outside the scope of the orders,\7\ based on comments identical to the 
scope comments received in this investigation. Consistent with that 
finding, Commerce preliminarily finds and clarifies that mechanical 
pipe for oilfield tools, mechanical pipe for perforating guns, and 
expandable mechanical pipe are outside the scope of this investigation. 
Because this is a clarification, Commerce is not preliminarily 
modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. 
See the scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \6\ See Oil Country Tubular Goods from Argentina, Mexico, and 
the Russian Federation: Antidumping Duty Orders and Amended Final 
Affirmative Antidumping Duty Determination for the Russian 
Federation, 87 FR 70785 (November 21, 2022).
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Ruling on Mechanical 
Pipe,'' dated July 16, 2026 (ACCESS barcode: 4936900-01).
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    The final determination in the above-referenced scope inquiry is 
currently scheduled to be made no later than December 22, 2026.\8\ We 
intend to consider that final determination when making a final scope 
ruling in this investigation. Case briefs or other written comments 
regarding the scope of this investigation may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the preliminary determination of this investigation. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs regarding 
the scope of this investigation, may be filed not later than five days 
after the date for filing of the scope-related case briefs.\9\ Pursuant 
to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing 
regarding the scope of this investigation, limited to issues raised in 
the scope case and rebuttal briefs, may do so in accordance with the 
instructions detailed below within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice.
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    \8\ Id. at 2.
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Service Procedures).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Constructed export prices have been calculated 
in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal value is calculated 
in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that, in 
the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin, i.e., the all-others rate, for all 
exporters and producers not individually examined. This rate shall be 
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-
average dumping margins established for exporters and producers 
individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis margins, 
and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-
average dumping margin for voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co. KG 
(voestalpine) that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts 
otherwise available. Therefore, Commerce is using the individual 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin for voestalpine as the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and 
exporters.

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     Weighted-average
       Producer or exporter           dumping margin   Cash deposit rate
                                        (percent)          (percent)
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voestalpine Tubulars GmbH & Co. KG              47.21              47.21
All Others........................              47.21              47.21
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of all entries of OCTG, as described in Appendix I, entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant 
to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit as follows: (1) for subject 
merchandise exported by the company listed above, the cash deposit rate 
will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin determined in this preliminary determination; (2) if the 
exporter is not a company 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.
    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 preliminarily 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 would be 
found in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section above. However, in 
the corresponding CVD preliminary determination, Commerce found no 
export subsidies, thus no adjustment is necessary here.\10\
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    \10\ See Certain Oil Country Tubular Goods from Austria: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 91 FR 56618 (September 3, 2026) and accompanying 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    These suspension of liquidation instructions and cash deposit 
requirements will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties for this preliminary determination 
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if 
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial 
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent

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with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete 
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR 
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce 
will address such allegations in the final determination together with 
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments, unrelated to scope, may be 
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no 
later than seven days after the date on which the last verification 
report is issued in this investigation. A timeline for the submission 
of case briefs and written comments will be notified to interested 
parties at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in 
the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date 
for filing case briefs.\11\ Interested parties who submit case briefs 
or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of 
contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\12\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Service Procedures).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iii), we 
request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their 
briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their 
briefs.\13\ Further, we request that interested parties limit their 
executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not 
including citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the 
basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision 
memorandum that will accompany the final determination in this 
investigation. We request that interested parties include footnotes for 
relevant citations in the executive summary of each issue. Note that 
Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the 
service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\14\
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    \13\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \14\ See APO and Service Procedures.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of 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. 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 by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations 
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    On October 27, 2026, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), voestalpine 
requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and that 
provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six 
months.\15\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce 
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \15\ See voestalpine's Letter, ``Request to Postpone Final 
Determination,'' dated October 27, 2026.
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the ITC of its preliminary determination. If the final determination is 
affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after 
the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final 
determination whether these imports are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: October 29, 2026.
Scot Fullerton,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain oil 
country tubular goods (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 investigation also covers OCTG coupling stock.
    Subject merchandise includes material matching the above 
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed 
in a third country, including by performing any heat treatment, 
cutting, upsetting, threading, coupling, or any other finishing, 
packaging, or processing that would not otherwise remove the 
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the 
country of manufacture of the OCTG.
    Excluded from the scope of the investigation are: casing, 
tubing, or coupling stock containing10.5 percent or more by weight 
of chromium; drill pipe; unattached couplings; and unattached thread 
protectors.
    The merchandise subject to the investigation is currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.1010, 7304.29.1020, 
7304.29.1030, 7304.29.1040, 7304.29.1050, 7304.29.1060, 
7304.29.1080, 7304.29.2010, 7304.29.2020, 7304.29.2030, 
7304.29.2040, 7304.29.2050, 7304.29.2060, 7304.29.2080, 
7304.29.3110, 7304.29.3120, 7304.29.3130, 7304.29.3140, 
7304.29.3150, 7304.29.3160, 7304.29.3180, 7304.29.4110, 
7304.29.4120, 7304.29.4130, 7304.29.4140, 7304.29.4150, 
7304.29.4160,

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7304.29.4180, 7304.29.5015, 7304.29.5030, 7304.29.5045, 
7304.29.5060, 7304.29.5075, 7304.29.6115, 7304.29.6130, 
7304.29.6145, 7304.29.6160, 7304.29.6175, 7305.20.2000, 
7305.20.4000, 7305.20.6000, 7305.20.8000, 7306.29.1030, 
7306.29.1090, 7306.29.2000, 7306.29.3100, 7306.29.4100, 
7306.29.6010, 7306.29.6050, 7306.29.8110, and 7306.29.8150.
    The merchandise subject to the investigation may also enter 
under the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.0024, 7304.39.0028, 
7304.39.0032, 7304.39.0036, 7304.39.0040, 7304.39.0044, 
7304.39.0048, 7304.39.0052, 7304.39.0056, 7304.39.0062, 
7304.39.0068, 7304.39.0072, 7304.39.0076, 7304.39.0080, 
7304.59.6000, 7304.59.8015, 7304.59.8020, 7304.59.8025, 
7304.59.8030, 7304.59.8035, 7304.59.8040, 7304.59.8045, 
7304.59.8050, 7304.59.8055, 7304.59.8060, 7304.59.8065, 
7304.59.8070, 7304.59.8080, 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6090, 
7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5090, 7306.50.5050, and 7306.50.5070.
    The HTSUS subheadings and specifications above are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of 
the scope of the investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies in the 
Companion Countervailing Duty Investigation
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2026-22531 Filed 11-3-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P


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