Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-To-Length Plate From Italy: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2018-2019

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that producers and/or exporters subject to this administrative review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value during the period of review (POR), May 1, 2018, through April 30, 2019. Additionally, Commerce determines that a company for which we initiated a review had no shipments during the POR.

DATES:

Applicable March 24, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alice Maldonado or David Crespo, AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4682 or (202) 482-3693, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This review covers seven producers and/or exporters of the subject merchandise. Commerce selected two companies, NLMK Verona SpA (NVR) and Officine Tecnosider s.r.l. (OTS), for individual examination. The producers and/or exporters not selected for individual examination are listed in the “Final Results of the Review” section of this notice.

On July 22, 2020, Commerce published the Preliminary Results. In August 2020, certain of the petitioners and NVR submitted case and rebuttal briefs. For a description of the events that occurred since the Preliminary Results, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum. On July 21, 2020, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative reviews by an additional 60 days. On December 30, 2020, we extended the deadline for the final results by 60 days, until March 18, 2021. The deadline for the final results of this review is now March 18, 2021.

Commerce conducted this administrative review in accordance with section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).

Scope of the Order

The products covered by the order are certain carbon and alloy steel hot-rolled or forged flat plate products not in coils, whether or not painted, varnished, or coated with plastics or other non-metallic substances from Italy. Products subject to the order are currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item numbers: 7208.40.3030, 7208.40.3060, 7208.51.0030, 7208.51.0045, 7208.51.0060, 7208.52.0000, 7211.13.0000, 7211.14.0030, 7211.14.0045, 7225.40.1110, 7225.40.1180, 7225.40.3005, 7225.40.3050, 7226.20.0000, and 7226.91.5000. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise subject to this scope is dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs are listed in the appendix to this notice and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. 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 http://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html.

Determination of No Shipments

As noted in the Preliminary Results, we received a no shipment claim from one company involved in this administrative review, Lyman Steel Company (Lyman). In the Preliminary Results, we preliminarily determined that Lyman had no reviewable transactions during the POR. We received no comments from interested parties with respect to this claim. Therefore, because the record indicates that this company did not export subject merchandise to the United States during the POR, we continue to find that Lyman had no reviewable transactions during the POR. Accordingly, consistent with Commerce's practice, we intend to instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate any existing entries of merchandise produced by Lyman, but exported by other parties, at the rate for the intermediate reseller, if available, or at the all-others rate.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

Based on a review of the record and comments received from interested parties regarding our Preliminary Results, we made no changes to the preliminary weighted-average margin calculations for OTS, NVR, or for those companies not selected for individual review.

Final Results of the Review

We continue to assign the following weighted-average dumping margins to the firms listed below for the period May 1, 2018, through April 30, 2019:

Assessment Rates

Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), Commerce has determined, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise in accordance with the final results of this review.

Where the respondent did not report entered value or reported amounts based on average data, we calculated the entered value in order to calculate the assessment rate. Where either the respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), or an importer-specific rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.

For the companies which were not selected for individual review, we will assign an assessment rate based on the publicly-ranged weighted average of the cash deposit rates calculated for NVR and OTS. The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.

Commerce's “automatic assessment” will apply to entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by companies included in these final results of review for which the reviewed companies did not know that the merchandise they sold to the intermediary (e.g., a reseller, trading company, or exporter) was destined for the United States. In such instances, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction. As indicated above, for Lyman, we will instruct CBP to liquidate any existing entries of merchandise produced by Lyman, but exported by other parties, at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.

Consistent with its recent notice, Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for each specific company listed above will be that established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent and, therefore, de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for previously investigated companies not participating in this review, the cash deposit will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, or the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation, but the manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent segment for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 6.08 percent, the all-others rate established in the LTFV investigation. These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

This notice serves as a final reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Order

This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3), which continues to govern business proprietary information in this segment of the proceeding. Timely written notification of return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

This notice is being issued in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.213.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary

II. Background

III. Scope of the Order

IV. Discussion of the Issues

Comment 1: NVR's Sales of Non-Prime and Overrun Merchandise

Comment 2: NVR's Cost Differences Unrelated to Defined Physical Characteristics

Comment 3: NVR's Costs for Merchandise Produced Prior to the Period of Review (POR)

Comment 4: Whether Section 232 Duties Should be Deducted from U.S. Price

V. Recommendation