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AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that producers and/or exporters subject to this administrative review made sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023. We are also rescinding the review with respect to certain companies. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.
DATES:
Applicable September 13, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Fred Baker or Theodora Mattei, 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) 482-2924 or (202) 482-4834, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 24, 2017, Commerce published in the Federal Register the antidumping duty order on finished carbon steel flanges from India. On August 2, 2023, Commerce published a notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the Order. On October 18, 2023, Commerce initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on finished carbon steel flanges from India, in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). On December 11, 2023, Commerce selected Norma Group and R. N. Gupta & Co., Ltd. (RNG) as mandatory respondents in this administrative review. On April 10, 2024, in accordance with section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), Commerce extended the time period for issuing these preliminary results until no later than August 30, 2024. On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. The deadline for these preliminary results is now September 6, 2024.
See Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India and Italy: Antidumping Duty Orders,82 FR 40136 (August 24, 2017) ( Order).
See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 50840 (August 2, 2023).
See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 71829 (October 18, 2023).
In prior segments of this proceeding, we determined that Norma (India) Limited, USK Exports Private Limited, Uma Shanker Khandelwal & Co., and Bansidhar Chiranjilal were affiliated and should be treated as a single entity (Norma Group). See, e.g., Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination,82 FR 9719 (February 8, 2017), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum, at 4-5, unchanged in Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,82 FR 29483 (June 29, 2017). In this review, Norma (India) Limited and its affiliated entities have affirmed that the factual basis on which Commerce made its prior determinations has not changed. See Norma Group's Letter, “2nd Supplemental Response Section A, C and D of Anti-Dumping duty Original Questionnaire,” dated June 26, 2024, at S2-3. Therefore, Commerce continues to treat these four companies as a single entity.
See Memorandum, “Respondent Selection,” dated December 11, 2023 (Respondent Selection Memorandum). The Respondent Selection Memorandum incorrectly identified the number of companies on which we initiated as 41; we initiated the review on 42 companies after collapsing the four Norma Group companies as described above.
See Memorandum, “Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,” dated April 10, 2024.
See Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024.
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix I 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). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Finished Carbon Steel Flanges from India; 2022-2023,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by the Order is finished carbon steel flanges. For a complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Rescission, in Part, of Administrative Review
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), Commerce will rescind an administrative review when there are no entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which liquidation is suspended. Normally, upon completion of an administrative review, the suspended entries are liquidated at the assessment rate calculated for the review period. Therefore, for an administrative review of a company to be conducted, there must be a reviewable, suspended entry to be liquidated at the newly calculated assessment rate.
See, e.g., Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Greece: Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023,89 FR 4274 (January 23, 2024).
See19 CFR 351.212(b)(2).
See19 CFR 351.212(d)(3).
Based on our analysis of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) information, we determined that 27 companies had no entries of subject merchandise during the POR. On December 15, 2023, we notified parties that we intended to rescind this administrative review with respect to the 27 companies, because those companies had no reviewable, suspended entries of subject merchandise; and we invited parties to comment. No parties commented on the notification of intent to rescind the review, in part. Accordingly, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3) and (d)(4), we are rescinding the administrative review with respect to the 27 companies (listed in Appendix III of this notice) that had no reviewable, suspended entries of subject merchandise during the POR.
See Appendix III (listing the 27 companies).
See Memorandum, “Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, in Part,” dated December 15, 2023.
Additionally, Aditya Forge Limited (Aditya), withdrew its request for a review of its entries. Therefore, because Aditya was the only company that requested a review of Aditya's entries, and it timely withdrew its request, we are rescinding the review with respect to Aditya in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).
See Appendix III.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with sections 751(a)(1)(B) and (2) of the Act. Export price is calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. NV is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying these preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Rate for Non-Selected Companies
The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment of a rate to be applied to companies not selected for individual examination when Commerce limits its examination in an administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a market economy investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for companies which were not selected for individual examination in an administrative review. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-others rate is normally “an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely {on the basis of facts available}.”
In this administrative review, we preliminarily calculated weighted-average dumping margins for Norma Group and RNG that are not zero, de minimis ( i.e., less than 0.5 percent), or determined entirely on the basis of facts available. Accordingly, consistent with guidance in section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, Commerce is preliminarily assigning to the companies not individually examined a margin of 2.89 percent, which is the weighted average of the dumping margins calculated for Norma Group margin and RNG based on publicly ranged U.S. sales values. The companies not selected for individual examination are listed in Appendix II.
See Memorandum, “Calculation of Margin for Respondents Not Selected for Individual Examination,” dated concurrently with this notice.
Preliminary Results of Review
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist for the period August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023:
See Appendix II for a list of companies not selected for individual examination.