South Korea Roller Bearings: New AD Duty Investigation Deadlines & Scope
The Commerce Department issued a Federal Register notice on its recently initiated antidumping duty investigation on tapered roller bearings from South Korea (A-580-894) (here). The agency will determine whether imports of merchandise subject to this investigation are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The International Trade Commission will conduct a concurrent investigation to determine whether imports of dumped tapered roller bearings are injuring U.S. industry. If the ITC finds no injury in its preliminary injury determination, due Aug. 14, the investigation will immediately end. If Commerce finds dumping in the preliminary determinations of this investigation, currently due in December, it will set AD 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 duty order making duties permanent and beginning a process of annual administrative reviews to set final assessments of AD duties on importers and potentially change AD duty cash deposit rates.
Respondent Selection
Commerce said it will pick South Korean exporters for individual investigation based on CBP import data. Commerce intends to complete selection of respondents by Aug. 14, it said.
Scope of the AD/CVD Investigations
The scope of this investigation is certain tapered roller bearings. The scope covers all tapered roller bearings with a nominal outside cup diameter of eight inches and under, regardless of type of steel used to produce the bearing, whether of inch or metric size, and whether the tapered roller bearing is a thrust bearing or not. Certain tapered roller bearings include: Finished cup and cone assemblies entering as a set, finished cone assemblies entering separately, and finished parts (cups, cones, and tapered rollers). Certain tapered roller bearings are sold individually as a set (cup and cone assembly), as a cone assembly, as a finished cup, or packaged as a kit with one or several tapered roller bearings, a seal and grease. The scope of the investigation includes finished rollers and finished cones that have not been assembled with rollers and a cage. Certain tapered roller bearings can be a single row or multiple rows (e.g., two- or four-row), and a cup can handle a single cone assembly or multiple cone assemblies.
Finished cups, cones and rollers differ from unfinished cups, cones and rollers in that they have undergone further processing after heat treatment, including, but not limited to, final machining, grinding, and/or polishing. Mere heat treatment of a cup, cone or roller (without any further processing after heat treatment) does not render the cup, cone or roller a finished part for the purpose of this investigation. Finished tapered roller bearing parts are understood to mean parts which, at the time of importation, are ready for assembly (if further assembly is required) and require no further finishing or fabrication, such as grinding, lathing, machining, polishing, heat treatment, etc. Finished parts may require grease, bolting and/or pressing as part of final assembly, and the requirement that these processes be performed, subsequent to importation, does not remove an otherwise finished tapered roller bearing from the scope.
Tapered roller bearings that have a nominal outer cup diameter of eight inches and under that may be used in wheel hub units, rail bearings or other housed bearings, but entered separately, are included in the scope to the same extent as described above. All tapered roller bearings meeting the written description above, and not otherwise excluded, are included, regardless of coating.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are:
- Unfinished parts of tapered roller bearings (cups, cones, and tapered rollers)
- Cages, whether finished or unfinished
- The non-tapered roller bearing components of subject kits (e.g., grease, seal)
- Tapered roller bearing wheel hub units, rail bearings and other housed tapered roller bearings (flange, take up cartridges and hanger units incorporating tapered rollers).
Tapered roller bearings subject to this investigation are primarily classifiable under subheadings 8482.20.0040, 8482.20.0061, 8482.20.0070, 8482.20.0081, 8482.91.0050, 8482.99.1550 and 8482.99.1580 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Parts may also enter under 8482.99.4500. While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and for customs purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise is dispositive.
Comments on the scope of this investigation are due Aug. 7.
Investigations Timetable
| Event | AD Duty |
|---|---|
| Petitions filed | 06/28/17 |
| DOC initiation date | 07/18/17 |
| ITC prelim determinations* | 08/14/17 |
| DOC prelim determinations† | 12/05/17 |
| DOC final determinations† | 02/20/18 |
| ITC final determinations‡ | 04/05/18 |
| Issuance of orders+ | 04/12/18 |
*If the ITC makes a negative determination of injury, the investigations are terminated.
†These deadlines may be extended under the governing statute.
‡This will take place only in the event of Commerce Department final affirmative determinations.
+This will take place only in the event of Commerce and ITC final affirmative determinations.
(See 1707030043 for a summary of the Commerce Department's receipt of the petition underlying the initiation of this investigation.)
The Commerce Department fact sheet on the initiation of these investigations is (here).
(Federal Register 07/25/17)