Oil Country Tubular Goods From Four Countries: New AD/CVD Investigations Deadlines & Scope

The Commerce Department issued Federal Register notices on its recently initiated antidumping investigations on oil country tubular goods from Argentina (A-357-824), Mexico (A-201-856) and Russia (A-821-833) and countervailing duty investigations on oil country tubular goods from South Korea (C-580-913) and Russia (C-821-834).

The International Trade Commission will conduct a concurrent investigation to determine whether imports of dumped and illegally subsidized oil country tubular goods are injuring U.S. industry. If the ITC finds no injury in its preliminary injury determination, due Nov. 22, the investigations will immediately end. If Commerce finds dumping or illegal subsidization in the preliminary determinations of these investigations, due in December for CV duties and March for AD duties, it will set AD and/or CV duty cash deposit requirements for imports of merchandise subject to the investigation. If both Commerce and the ITC reach affirmative final determinations, Commerce will issue an AD and/or CV duty order making duties permanent and beginning a process of annual administrative reviews to set final assessments of AD/CV duties on importers and potentially change AD/CV duty cash deposit rates.

AD/CVD Respondent Selection

Commerce said it will rely on CBP data to pick the respondents for the CVD investigations and for all of the AD duty investigations. Parties wishing to comment regarding the CBP data and respondent selection must do so within three business days of the publication date of the notice of initiation of these CVD and AD investigations, i.e., Nov. 4.

Scope of the AD/CVD Investigations

"The merchandise covered by the investigations is certain oil country tubular goods (OCTG), which are hollow steel products of circular cross-section, including oil well casing and tubing, of iron (other than case iron) or steel (both carbon and alloy), whether seamless or welded, regardless of end finish ( e.g., whether or not plain end, threaded, or threaded and coupled) whether or not conforming to American Petroleum Institute (API) or non-API specifications, whether finished (including limited service OCTG products) or unfinished (including green tubes and limited service OCTG products), whether or not thread protectors are attached. The scope of the investigations also covers OCTG coupling stock.

"Subject merchandise includes material matching the above description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed in a third country, including by performing any heat treatment, cutting, upsetting, threading, coupling, or any other finishing, packaging, or processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigations if performed in the country of manufacture of the OCTG.

"Excluded from the scope of the investigations are: casing or tubing containing 10.5 percent or more by weight of chromium; drill pipe; unattached couplings; and unattached thread protectors.

"The merchandise subject to these investigations is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item numbers: 7304.29.1010, 7304.29.1020, 7304.29.1030, 7304.29.1040, 7304.29.1050, 7304.29.1060, 7304.29.1080, 7304.29.2010, 7304.29.2020, 7304.29.2030, 7304.29.2040, 7304.29.2050, 7304.29.2060, 7304.29.2080, 7304.29.3110, 7304.29.3120, 7304.29.3130, 7304.29.3140, 7304.29.3150, 7304.29.3160, 7304.29.3180, 7304.29.4110, 7304.29.4120, 7304.29.4130, 7304.29.4140, 7304.29.4150, 7304.29.4160, 7304.29.4180, 7304.29.5015, 7304.29.5030, 7304.29.5045, 7304.29.5060, 7304.29.5075, 7304.29.6115, 7304.29.6130, 7304.29.6145, 7304.29.6160, 7304.29.6175, 7305.20.2000, 7305.20.4000, 7305.20.6000, 7305.20.8000, 7306.29.1030, 7306.29.1090, 7306.29.2000, 7306.29.3100, 7306.29.4100, 7306.29.6010, 7306.29.6050, 7306.29.8110, and 7306.29.8150.

"The merchandise subject to the investigations may also enter under the following HTSUS item numbers: 7304.39.0024, 7304.39.0028, 7304.39.0032, 7304.39.0036, 7304.39.0040, 7304.39.0044, 7304.39.0048, 7304.39.0052, 7304.39.0056, 7304.39.0062, 7304.39.0068, 7304.39.0072, 7304.39.0076, 7304.39.0080, 7304.59.6000, 7304.59.8015, 7304.59.8020, 7304.59.8025, 7304.59.8030, 7304.59.8035, 7304.59.8040, 7304.59.8045, 7304.59.8050, 7304.59.8055, 7304.59.8060, 7304.59.8065, 7304.59.8070, 7304.59.8080, 7305.31.4000, 7305.31.6090, 7306.30.5055, 7306.30.5090, 7306.50.5050, and 7306.50.5070.

"The HTSUS subheadings and specifications above are provided for convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the investigations is dispositive."

Comments on the scope are due by Nov. 15.

Investigations Timetable

These deadlines may be, and usually are, extended. The Commerce Department fact sheet on the initiation of these investigations is here. See 2110080024 for a summary of the Commerce Department's receipt of the petition underlying the initiation of this investigation.