Implementation of Determinations Pursuant to Section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

On April 1, 2016 and May 26, 2016, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) directed the Department of Commerce (the Department) to implement its determinations under section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), regarding 15 countervailing duty (CVD) investigations, which render them not inconsistent with the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement findings in United States—Countervailing Duty Measures on Certain Products from China, WT/DS437 (December 18, 2014) (DS437). See Attachment for a listing of the 15 CVD investigations at issue in DS437. The Department issued its final determinations in these section 129 proceedings on March 31, 2016, April 26, 2016, and May 19, 2016. The Department is now implementing these final determinations.

DATES:

The effective date for the determination covering the Group One Investigations and the Wire Strand investigation with respect to the public body and input specificity analyses is April 1, 2016, and the effective date for the determinations covering the Group Two Investigations and Wire Strand with respect to the land specificity analysis is May 26, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Eric B. Greynolds or Kristen Johnson, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6071 or (202) 482-4793, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On April 27, 2015, the Department informed interested parties that it was initiating proceedings under section 129 of the URAA to implement the recommendations and rulings of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in DS437. Given the number of CVD investigations and complexity of the issues involved in this dispute, the Department addressed each of the issues and conclusions of the panel and Appellate Body in DS437 through separate preliminary determination memoranda. Specifically, the Department issued preliminary determinations regarding: (1) Export Restraints; (2) Land; (3) Public Bodies and Input Specificity; and (4) Benefit (Market Distortion).

The Department invited interested parties to comment on each of the section 129 preliminary determinations. After receiving comments and rebuttal comments from the interested parties, the Department issued final determinations on March 31, 2016, April 26, 2016, and May 19, 2016.

On April 1, 2016, USTR notified the Department that, consistent with section 129(b)(3) of the URAA, consultations with the Department and the appropriate congressional committees with respect to the March 31, 2016, determinations, had been completed and USTR directed the Department to implement those determinations in accordance with section 129(b)(4) of the URAA. As explained below, those determinations applied to Lawn Groomers, Kitchen Shelving, Steel Cylinders, Print Graphics, Aluminum Extrusions, Thermal Paper, and Citric Acid (“Group One Investigations”), as well as Wire Strand with respect to the Department's public body and input specificity analyses.

On May 26, 2016, USTR notified the Department that, consistent with section 129(b)(3) of the URAA, consultations with the Department and the appropriate congressional committees with respect to the April 26, 2016, and May 19, 2016, determinations had been completed and USTR directed the Department to implement those determinations in accordance with section 129(b)(4) of the URAA. Those determinations apply to Pressure Pipe, Line Pipe, OCTG, Solar Panels, Seamless Pipe, and Magnesia Bricks (“Group Two Investigations”) and Wire Strand with respect to the Department's land specificity analysis. Also on May 26, 2016, in accordance with section 129(b)(4) of the URAA, USTR directed the Department to implement those determinations as well.

Nature of the Proceedings

Section 129 of the URAA governs the nature and effect of determinations issued by the Department to implement findings by WTO dispute settlement panels and the Appellate Body. Specifically, section 129(b)(2) of the URAA provides that “notwithstanding any provision of the Tariff Act of 1930,” upon a written request from USTR, the Department shall issue a determination that would render its actions not inconsistent with an adverse finding of a WTO panel or the Appellate Body. The Statement of Administrative Action, U.R.A.A., H. Doc. 316, Vol. 1, 103d Cong. (1994) (SAA), variously refers to such a determination by the Department as a “new,” “second,” and “different” determination. After consulting with the Department and the appropriate congressional committees, USTR may direct the Department to implement, in whole or in part, the new determination made under section 129 of the URAA. Pursuant to section 129(c) of the URAA, the new determination shall apply with respect to unliquidated entries of the subject merchandise that are entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after the date on which USTR directs the Department to implement the new determination. The new determination is subject to judicial review, separate and apart from judicial review of the Department's original determination.

Final Determinations: Analysis of Comments Received

The issues raised in the comments and rebuttal comments submitted by interested parties to these proceedings are addressed in the respective final determinations. The issues included in the respective final determinations are as follows: (1) Export Restraints (Magnesia Bricks and Seamless Pipe); (2) Land (Thermal Paper, Line Pipe, Citric Acid, OCTG, Wire Strand, and Seamless Pipe); (3) Public Bodies and Input Specificity (Pressure Pipe, Line Pipe, Lawn Groomers, Kitchen Shelving, OCTG, Wire Strand, Seamless Pipe, Print Graphics, Aluminum Extrusions, Steel Cylinders, and Solar Panels); and (4) Benefit (Market Distortion) (Pressure Pipe, Line Pipe, OCTG, and Solar Panels). Separately, the Department issued a memorandum regarding Drill Pipe, concluding that because the order for Drill Pipe had been revoked pursuant to a final and conclusive decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, there is no longer a need for the Department to issue a determination in connection with this proceeding to render it not inconsistent with the findings in WTO DS437. The final determinations are public documents and are 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 and is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, complete versions of the final determinations can be accessed directly on the Internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed versions of the final determinations and the electronic versions of the final determinations are identical in content.

Final Determinations: Recalculated Countervailing Duty Rates

The recalculated CVD rates, as included in the final determinations and which remain unchanged from the preliminary determinations for each company, are listed below. As indicated, we made changes to the net subsidy rates in certain proceedings (i.e., Line Pipe, OCTG, Magnesia Bricks, and Seamless Pipe). As noted above, the CVD order for Drill Pipe including the corresponding CVD rates have been revoked independently from this Section 129 proceeding. The net subsidy rates for the remaining CVD proceedings in DS437 are unchanged.

Implementation of the Revised Cash Deposit Requirements

As noted above, on April 1, 2016 and May 26, 2016, in accordance with sections 129(b)(4) and 129(c)(1)(B) of the URAA, USTR directed the Department to implement these final determinations. With respect to all of the investigations except for Magnesia Bricks and Seamless Pipe, the Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require a cash deposit for estimated countervailing duties at the appropriate rate for each exporter/producer specified above, for entries of subject merchandise, entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after April 1, 2016, and May 26, 2016, respectively unless the applicable cash deposit rates have been superseded by intervening segments or revised based on a redetermination of the investigation as a result of domestic litigation. For Magnesia Bricks and Seamless Pipe, the Department's determinations are that there are insufficient bases on which to initiate investigations into the export restraint programs. As a result, the Department intends to reduce all cash deposit rates in these two proceedings applicable as of May 26, 2016. As noted above, the order on Drill Pipe and corresponding cash deposits instructions have been revoked independently from these Section 129 proceedings. This notice of implementation of these section 129 final determinations is published in accordance with section 129(c)(2)(A) of the URAA.