Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products From Taiwan: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016-2017

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that producers/exporters subject to this review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) June 2, 2016, through June 30, 2017.

DATES:

Applicable December 17, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Shanah Lee or Emily Halle, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6386 or (202) 482-0176, respectively.

Background

On August 10, 2018, Commerce published the Preliminary Results for this administrative review. We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Results. This review covers four respondents: Chung Hung Steel Corporation, Prosperity, SYSCO, and Yieh Phui/Synn. We received case briefs from AK Steel Corporation, California Steel Industries, Inc., Steel Dynamics Inc., ArcelorMittal USA LLC, Nucor Corporation (collectively, the petitioners), United States Steel Corporation (U.S. Steel), Prosperity Tieh Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Prosperity), Sheng Yu Steel Co., Ltd. (SYSCO), Toyota Tsusho America, Inc. (TAI), and Yieh Phui Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Yieh Phui) and Synn Industrial Co., Ltd. (collectively, Yieh Phui/Synn). We received rebuttal briefs from the petitioners, U.S. Steel, and SYSCO. Commerce conducted this review in accordance with section 751 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).

Scope of the Order

The product covered by the order is 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 subject merchandise is currently classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 7210.30.0030, 7210.30.0060, 7210.41.0000, 7210.49.0030, 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. The products subject to the orders 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.

Analysis of Comments Received

All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to this review are addressed in the accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum, which is hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the issues which parties raised, and to which we respond in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, is attached at the Appendix. 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 https://access.trade.gov and in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and the electronic version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

Based on a review of the record and comments received from interested parties regarding our Preliminary Results, we made certain changes to the preliminary weighted-average margin calculations for Prosperity, SYSCO, and Yieh Phui/Synn. For detailed information, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Final Results of the Administrative Review

We determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the respondents for the period June 2, 2016, through June 30, 2017.

Assessment Rates

Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), Commerce will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise in accordance with the final results of this review.

For Prosperity, SYSCO, and Yieh Phui/Synn, we calculated importer-specific assessment rates on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of antidumping duties calculated for each importer's examined sales and the total entered value of the sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by Prosperity, SYSCO, or Yieh Phui/Synn for which the producer did not know its merchandise was destined for the United States, 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.

For the companies which were not selected for individual review, we will assign an assessment rate based on the average of the cash deposit rates calculated for Prosperity, SYSCO, or Yieh Phui/Synn. 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.

We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after publication of the final results of this review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of this notice for all shipments of certain corrosion-resistant steel products from Taiwan entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for the companies listed above will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margins established in the final results of this administrative review; (2) for merchandise exported by producers or exporters not covered in this review but covered in a prior completed segment of the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original investigation but the producer has been covered in a prior complete segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent period for the producer of the merchandise; (4) the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 10.34 percent, the all-others rate determined in the less-than-fair-value investigation. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

This notice also 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 the Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Administrative Protective Order

This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 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), which continues to govern business proprietary information in this segment of the proceeding. Timely written notification of the return/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.

This notice is published in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary

II. Background

III. Scope of the Order

IV. Margin Calculations

V. Discussion of the Issues

Comment 1: Whether to Use Quarterly Costs for Yieh Phui/Synn and Prosperity

Comment 2: Minor Corrections to Prosperity's Preliminary Results

Comment 3: Whether to Adjust Prosperity's Material Cost for Scrap

Comment 4: Whether to Grant Certain Post-Sale Price Adjustments to SYSCO

Comment 5: Company-Specific Assessment Rate

Comment 6: Whether to Apply Partial Facts Available to Calculate the Indirect Selling Expenses of SYSCO's Affiliated Reseller

Comment 7: Correct Conversion of SYSCO's Commission

Comment 8: Corrections to Yieh Phui/Synn's Preliminary Results

Comment 9: Yieh Phui/Synn's Correct Date of Sale

VI. Recommendation