The Commerce Department is postponing until March 4 its preliminary determinations in the countervailing duty investigations on ferrosilicon from Russia and Venezuela (C-821-820, C-307-824). The agency’s preliminary findings were originally due Jan. 13, but the domestic petitioners requested an extension. Commerce also said it needs more time to review information "critical to the proceedings." Commerce may begin to require CV duty cash deposits when it publishes its preliminary determination in the Federal Register.
The Commerce Department will not suspend liquidation and impose a countervailing duty cash deposit requirement on imports of oil country tubular goods from Turkey (C-489-817), after finding no countervailable subsidization in its preliminary CV duty determination. The agency calculated de minimis CV duty rates for all respondents. Commerce will revisit the issue when it issues its final determination, and may at that point suspend liquidation and impose CV duty cash deposit requirements if it finds subsidization. Commerce may also require antidumping duty cash deposits as a result of its concurrent AD duty investigation on OCTG from Turkey. The final determination in both investigations are currently due by April 29, although Commerce will issue its preliminary AD duty determination and require AD duty cash deposits beforehand..
A countervailing duty cash deposit requirement will take effect Dec. 23 for imports of oil country tubular goods from India (C-533-858), after the Commerce Department found illegal subsidization of Indian producers in its preliminary determination. The agency assigned a CV duty cash deposit rates of 3.5% to most Indian companies. Jindal SAW will not yet be subject to suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements because Commerce calculated a de minimis CV duty rate for the company, although that could change in the final determination.
The Commerce Department published notices in the Dec. 19 Federal Register on the following AD/CV duty proceedings (any notices that announce changes to AD/CV duty rates, scope, affected firms, or effective dates will be detailed in another ITT article):
The Commerce Department issued the preliminary results of its antidumping duty administrative review on diamond sawblades from China (A-570-900). The agency assigned AD rates to 21 companies. Commerce also determined that two companies, Qingdao Shinhan Diamond Industrial and Saint-Gobain Abrasives (Shanghai), had no shipments to the U.S. during the period of review. If that finding is finalized, both companies will retain the AD rates set for them in previous reviews. These preliminary results are not in effect. Commerce may modify them in the final results of this review and change the estimated AD cash deposit rate for the following companies:
Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile agreed to a spectrum swap involving AWS-1 and PCS licenses. The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on the proposal Wednesday. The companies are set to exchange 5 to 20 MHz of PCS spectrum in 153 counties across 47 cellular market areas, the document states. In 11 counties in Texas, Verizon would assign 20 MHz of PCS spectrum to T-Mobile, and would receive 10 MHz of PCS spectrum in return. Verizon would also assign 5 to 10 MHz of PCS spectrum to T-Mobile in another 34 counties. “Preliminary review of the applications indicates that, post-transaction, Verizon Wireless would hold 67 to 149 megahertz of spectrum and T-Mobile would hold 30 to 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 518 counties covering parts or all of 133 Cellular Market Areas,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1bdMlHJ). Petitions to deny are due Jan. 6, oppositions Jan. 16, and replies Jan. 24. “There will be no loss of an existing service provider in any of the market areas subject to these transactions,” the companies explained in a public interest statement filed at the FCC. “The VZW Licensees are using some of their Exchange Licenses to provide service to customers. The VZW Licensees will continue to provide service on exchanged spectrum or other spectrum currently held by Cellco [a Verizon subsidiary]. Similarly, the T-Mobile Licensees are currently using some of their Exchange Licenses to provide service to customers. The T-Mobile Licensees will continue to provide service on exchanged spectrum or other spectrum currently held by the T-Mobile Licensees or their affiliates."
The Commerce Department is postponing until March 17 its preliminary determination in the countervailing duty investigations on non-oriented electrical steel (NOES) from China, South Korea, and Taiwan (C-570-997, C-580-873, C-583-852). Although the agency’s preliminary findings were originally due Jan. 10, the domestic petitioner, AK Steel, requested the extension. Commerce may begin to require CV duty cash deposits when it publishes its preliminary determination in the Federal Register.
A countervailing duty cash deposit requirement will take effect Dec. 19 for imports of steel threaded rod from India (C-533-856), after the Commerce Department found illegal subsidization of Indian producers in its preliminary determination. The agency assigned CV duty cash deposit rates of 8.13 to 38.98 percent. Babu Exports didn't respond to Commerce's questionnaires, so the agency assigned it a high CV duty rate based on adverse facts available. This merchandise is also the subject of an antidumping duty investigation, with the preliminary AD duty determination due in February (see 13112725).
The Commerce Department will require cash deposits of estimated countervailing duties on imports of oil country tubular goods from India, but not Turkey, it said in a Dec. 17 fact sheet announcing its preliminary CV duty determinations. Commerce found illegal subsidization of OCTG exporters in India, and calculated CV rates of zero to 3.5% for Indian exporters. But Commerce calculated no such countervailable subsidization of Turkish exporters, and so will not require CV duty cash deposits on Turkish OCTG at this time. Commerce may still impose CV duties on Turkish OCTG in its final determination, currently due in April.
A listing of recent antidumping and countervailing duty messages from the Commerce Department posted to CBP's website Dec. 17, along with the case number(s) and CBP message number, is provided below. The messages are available by searching for the listed CBP message number at addcvd.cbp.gov. (CBP occasionally adds backdated messages without otherwise indicating which message was added. ITT will include a message date in parentheses in such cases.)