Carbon and Alloy Wire Rod from Ukraine Antidumping Investigation Preliminary Determination Memo
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A-823-816 Investigation POI: 1/01/2016-12/31/2016 Public Document ADCVD OV: JEH, AC, CC October 24, 2017 MEMORANDUM TO: Gary Taverman Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance FROM: James Maeder Senior Director performing the duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations SUBJECT: Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Ukraine I. SUMMARY The Department of Commerce (Department) preliminarily determines that carbon and alloy steel wire rod (wire rod) from Ukraine is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 733 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are shown in the “Preliminary Determination” section of the accompanying Federal Register notice. II. BACKGROUND On March 28, 2017, the Department received an antidumping duty (AD) petition concerning imports of wire rod from Ukraine,1 which was filed in proper form on behalf of Charter Steel, Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc., Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., and Nucor Corporation, (collectively, the petitioners). The Department initiated the investigations on April 17, 2017.2 1 See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of the U.S. International Trade Commission, “Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Belarus, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Republic of South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom – Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,” dated March 28, 2017 (the Petitions). 2 See Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Belarus, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and United Kingdom: Initiation of Less- Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 82 FR 19207 (April 26, 2017) (Initiation Notice). In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that, where appropriate, it intended to select respondents based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for certain of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings listed in the scope of the investigation.3 Accordingly, on April 19, 2017, the Department released the CBP entry data to all interested parties under an administrative protective order, and requested comments regarding the data and respondent selection.4 On April 27, 2017, we received comments on behalf of the petitioners regarding the respondent selection process.5 On May 5, 2017, we received rebuttal comments from Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) Yenakiieve Steel (Yenakiieve) regarding the respondent selection process.6 On May 8, 2017, the petitioners submitted a letter requesting that the Department reject Yenakiieve’s rebuttal comments because they contained new factual information that did not rebut or clarify the petitioners’ April 27, 2017, comments.7 On May 10, 2017, Yenakiieve filed a letter requesting that the Department accept its rebuttal comments because they were timely filed and were submitted to rebut Nucor’s respondent selection comments.8 On May 22, 2017, the Department limited the number of respondents selected for individual examination to the two largest publicly identifiable producers/exporters of the merchandise under consideration by volume, ArcelorMittal Steel Kryvyi Rih OJSC (AMKR) and Yenakiieve.9 Also in the Initiation Notice, the Department notified parties of an opportunity to comment on the scope of the investigation, as well as the appropriate physical characteristics of wire rod to be reported in response to the Department’s AD questionnaire.10 The Department received a number of timely scope comments on the record of this investigation, as well as on the records of the companion wire rod investigations following Belarus, Italy, Korea, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.11 On April 26, 2017, the Department issued a letter to interested parties identifying the list of physical characteristics that the Department proposed using to identify specific products of wire rod, and provided deadlines for 3 See Initiation Notice, 82 FR at 19211. 4 See Memorandum to The File, entitled “Certain Carbon and Alloy Wire Rod from Ukraine: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Data for Respondent Selection Purposes,” dated April 19, 2017 (CBP Data). 5 See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from the petitioners, entitled, “Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Ukraine: Respondent Selection Comments,” dated April 26, 2017. 6 See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from Yenakiieve “Re: Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Ukraine: Rebuttal Comments on Respondent Selection” (May 5, 2017) (Yenakiieve Respondent Selection Rebuttal Comments). 7 See Letter from Nucor Corporation, “Request to Reject Yenakiieve/Makiivka's Rebuttal Respondent Selection Comments,” dated May 8, 2017. 8 See Letter from Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) Yenakiieve Steel (including its Makiivka branch, PJSC Makiivka Iron and Steel Works), “Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Ukraine: Response to Petitioners’ May 8 Letter,” dated May 10, 2017. 9 See Memorandum to Gary Taverman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, entitled, “Investigation of Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Ukraine: Respondent Selection,” dated May 22, 2017. 10 See Initiation Notice at 19208. 11 For further discussion of these comments, see Memorandum, “Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Belarus, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, the Republic of Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination,” dated August 7, 2017 (Preliminary Scope Memorandum). 2 interested parties to submit comments on the proposed product characteristics.12 On May 10, 2017, the petitioners and various other interested parties in this investigation and the companion AD investigations of wire rod submitted comments regarding the physical characteristics of the merchandise under consideration to be used for reporting purposes.13 On May 15, 2017, the petitioners and various other interested parties filed rebuttal comments.14 Based on the comments, the Department issued the AD questionnaire to AMKR and Yenakiieve, which identified the product characteristics15 On May 18, 2017, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) preliminarily determined that there is a reasonable indication that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports of wire rod from Ukraine.16 On June 20, 2017, after receiving multiple extensions, AMKR submitted its response to Section A of the AD questionnaire. Subsequently, on June 29, 2017, AMKR requested that the Department toll the deadlines of the preliminary determination and other sections of the AD questionnaire due to the cyberattack on AMKR’s computer system.17 On June 30, 2017, Department officials met with AMKR’s counsel to discuss the cyberattack on its computer system and AMKR’s request that the Department toll the deadline of the preliminary determination.18 In light of the cyberattack on AMKR’s computer system, the Department granted AMKR extensions to submit its responses to sections B through D of the original questionnaire and the supplemental section A questionnaire.19 Between July 7, 2017, and August 12 See Letter to All Interested Parties from Elizabeth Eastwood, Program Manager, Office II, dated April 26, 2017. 13 See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from the petitioners, entitled, “Carbon and Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Belarus, Italy, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, the Republic of South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom – Comments on the Department’s Proposed Product Comparison Hierarchy” dated May 10, 2017; and Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from POSCO, entitled, “Comments on Product Characteristics and Model Match Methodology,” dated May 10, 2017. 14 See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from British Steel, entitled, “British Steel’s Rebuttal Comments on Product Characteristics,” dated May 15, 2017; Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from the petitioners, entitled, “Petitioners’ Rebuttal Comments in Response to POSCO’s May 10, 2017 Letter,” dated May 15, 2017; and Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from CELSA, entitled, “Spain: Rebuttal Comments Regarding Product-Matching Characteristics,” dated May 15, 2017. 15 See Letters to AMKR and Yenakiieve from Paul Walker, Program Manager, Office V, regarding the AD questionnaire, dated May 23, 2017 (AMKR AD Questionnaire) (Yenakiieve AD Questionnaire). On June 1, 2017, the Department issued a memorandum correcting a typographical error in the product characteristic for minimum specified sulfur content. See Memorandum to the File, entitled, “Correction of Typographical Errors in Field 3.11 (Minimum Specified Sulfur Content),” dated June 1, 2017. 16 See Carbon and Certain Alloy Steel Wire Rod from Belarus, Italy, Korea, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom; Determinations, 82 FR 22846 (May 18, 2017) (ITC Preliminary Affirmative Injury Determination); see also “International Trade Commission