[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46577-46579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20044]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-880]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Barium Carbonate From the People's Republic of China

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final determination of sales at less than fair value.

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EFFECTIVE DATE: August 5, 2003.
SUMMARY: We determine that barium carbonate from the People's Republic 
of China (PRC) is being sold, or is likely to be sold, in the United 
States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 735 of 
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended the Act. The estimated margins of 
sales at LTFV are shown in the Final Determination of Investigation 
section of this notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Layton or Tisha Loeper-Viti at 
(202) 482-0371 or (202) 482-7425, respectively; AD/CVD Enforcement, 
Office 5, Group II, Import Administration, Room 1870, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Case History

    The preliminary determination in this investigation was published 
on March 17, 2003. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: Barium 
Carbonate from the People's Republic of China, 68 FR 12664 (March 17, 
2003) (Preliminary Determination). Since the preliminary determination, 
the following events have occurred.
    We conducted verification of the questionnaire responses of Qingdao 
Red Star Chemical Import & Export Co., Ltd. (Qingdao Red Star)\1\ from 
June 25 through June 30, 2003. Qingdao Red Star filed surrogate value 
information and data on April 23 and 28, 2003, and the petitioner \2\ 
filed surrogate value information and data on April 28, 2003. Because 
of the unique circumstances surrounding this investigation, which led 
to a delay in the scheduling of verification,\3\ and because both 
parties also suggested surrogate information after the regulatory 
deadline for filing such information, we have accepted the information 
for consideration in this final determination.
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    \1\ Guizhou Red Star Development Co., Ltd. (Guizhou Red Star), 
was the producer of the subject merchandise sold by Qingdao Red Star 
during the period of investigation (POI).
    \2\ The petitioner is Chemical Products Corporation.
    \3\ There was a delay in conducting the verification due to the 
SARS epidemic in the PRC.
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    On July 18, 2003, Qingdao Red Star and the petitioner filed case 
briefs. Both parties filed rebuttal briefs on July 23, 2003. A public 
hearing was held on July 25, 2003.

Scope of Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is barium carbonate, 
regardless of form or grade. The product under investigation is 
currently classifiable under subheading 2836.60.0000 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS 
subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the scope of this proceeding is dispositive.

Period of Investigation (POI)

    The POI is January 1, 2002, through June 30, 2002.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this proceeding and to which we have responded are listed in the 
Appendix to this notice and addressed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum, which is hereby adopted by this notice. Parties can find a 
complete discussion of the issues raised in this investigation and the 
corresponding recommendations in this public memorandum which is on 
file in the Central Records Unit (CRU), room B-099 of the main 
Department building. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the Internet at http://ia.ita.doc.gov. The paper copy and electronic version of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Non-Market Economy

    The Department has treated the PRC as a non-market economy (NME) 
country in all its past antidumping investigations. See e.g., Notice of 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Ferrovanadium 
from the

[[Page 46578]]

People's Republic of China, 67 FR 71137, 71138 (Nov. 29, 2002); and 
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain 
Circular Welded Carbon-Quality Steel Pipe from the People's Republic of 
China, 67 FR 36570, 36571 (May 24, 2002). An NME country designation 
remains in effect until it is revoked by the Department. See section 
771(18)(C) of the Act. The respondent in this investigation has not 
requested revocation of the PRC's NME status. Therefore, we have 
continued to treat the PRC as an NME country in this investigation. For 
further details, see the Preliminary Determination.

Separate Rates

    In our Preliminary Determination, we found that Qingdao Red Star 
met the criteria for the application of a separate, company-specific 
antidumping duty rate. We have not received any other information since 
the preliminary determination which would warrant reconsideration of 
our separates rates determination with respect to this company. For a 
complete discussion of the Department's determination that the 
respondent is entitled to a separate rate, see the Preliminary 
Determination.

The PRC-Wide Rate

    In the preliminary determination, we found that the use of the PRC-
wide rate was appropriate for other exporters in the PRC based on our 
presumption that those respondents who failed to demonstrate 
entitlement to a separate rate constitute a single enterprise under 
common control by the Chinese government. We applied facts otherwise 
available in calculating the PRC-wide rate because no other Chinese 
producer or exporter responded to our requests for information. We 
found that the failure of parties at issue to respond significantly 
impedes this proceeding because the Department cannot accurately 
determine a margin for these parties and causes the Department to find 
that these parties failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of 
their ability to comply with a request for information. Therefore, in 
applying facts otherwise available for the calculation of the PRC-rate, 
pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act we have used ``information that 
is adverse to the interests of that party as facts otherwise 
available.'' Adverse inferences are appropriate ``to ensure that the 
party does not obtain a more favorable result by failing to cooperate 
than if it had cooperated fully.'' See Statement of Administrative 
Action (SAA) accompanying the URAA, H.R. Doc. No. 103-316, at 870 
(1994). The PRC-wide rate applies to all entries of the merchandise 
under investigation except for entries from Qingdao Red Star.
    When analyzing the petition for purposes of the initiation, the 
Department reviewed all of the data upon which the petitioners relied 
in calculating the estimated dumping margin and determined that the 
margin in the petition was appropriately calculated and supported by 
adequate evidence in accordance with the statutory requirements for 
initiation. In order to corroborate the petition margin for purposes of 
using it as adverse facts available, we examined the price and cost 
information provided in the petition in the context of our preliminary 
determination. For further details, see Memorandum to Gary Taverman, 
Director, Office 5, from David Layton, Tisha Loeper-Viti and Kristina 
Boughton, Case Analysts, Re: Corroboration of Secondary Information, 
dated March 10, 2003, (Corroboration Memorandum). We received no 
comments on this decision and continue to find in this final 
determination that the rate contained in the petition, as recalculated, 
has probative value. With one adjustment for a clerical error, and 
additional adjustments to the petition information noted below, we have 
continued to apply this rate in the final determination. For further 
discussion, see the Preliminary Determination.
    Since the preliminary determination, we have obtained new 
information regarding several surrogate values and factors applied in 
Chinese production. In order to take into account the more recent 
information, we recalculated the petition margin using, where possible, 
revised surrogate values and revised factors to value the petitioner's 
consumption rates. As a result of this recalculation, the PRC-wide rate 
is, for the final determination, 81.30 percent. See Corroboration 
Memorandum, and Memorandum to Gary Taverman, Director, Office 5, from 
David Layton, Case Analyst, Re: Recalculated PRC-Wide Rate, dated July 
30, 2003, (Final PCR-Wide Rate Memo).

Surrogate Country

    For purposes of the final determination, we continue to find that 
India remains the appropriate primary surrogate country for the PRC. 
For further discussion and analysis regarding the surrogate country 
selection for the PRC, see the Preliminary Determination. Consistent 
with the preliminary determination, where we were unable to value 
factor inputs using surrogate values in India, we have relied on 
Indonesia as the secondary surrogate country.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we verified the 
information submitted by the respondents for use in our final 
determination. We used standard verification procedures including 
examination of relevant accounting and production records, and original 
source documents provided by the respondents. For changes from the 
Preliminary Determination as a result of verification, see the Changes 
Since the Preliminary Determination section, below. See also Memorandum 
from Scott Lindsay and Kristina Boughton, International Trade 
Compliance Analysts to Gary Taverman, Office Director: Verification of 
Sales and Factors of Production Data Submitted by Qingdao Red Star 
Chemical Import & Export Co., Ltd., dated July 11, 2003.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our findings at verification and on our analysis of the 
comments received, we have made the following adjustments to the 
calculation methodologies used in the preliminary determination. These 
adjustments are discussed in detail in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum and in the Memorandum to Gary Taverman, Director, Office 5, 
from Tisha Loeper-Viti, International Trade Compliance Analyst, Re: 
Factors of Production Valuation for Final Determination, dated July 30, 
2003, (Factors of Production Memorandum).
    1. We have valued carbon dioxide as a direct input of Qingdao Red 
Star's barium carbonate production, instead of the upstream inputs used 
in Qingdao Red Star's self-produced carbon dioxide. See Issues and 
Decision Memorandum at Comment 3.
    2. We valued an additional raw material input that was not valued 
in the preliminary determination. See id. at Comment 4.
    3. We valued the financial ratios on the basis of a single Indian 
producer of barium carbonate for a fiscal year more contemporaneous 
with the POI. See id. at Comment 6.
    4. We used recalculated consumption ratios for all factors based on 
the total production of barium carbonate during the POI including 
``off-grade'' barium carbonate. See id. at Comment 5.
    5. We updated the valuation of rail freight charges using a 
different source for rail rates. See id. at Comment 7.
    6. We updated the valuation of truck freight rates. See id. at 
Comment 8.
    7. We deducted from U.S. price an amount for brokerage and handling 
charges. See id. at Comment 9.

[[Page 46579]]

    8. We deducted from U.S. price an amount for seaport charges. See 
Factors of Production Memorandum.
    9. We updated all surrogate values based on the Monthly Statistics 
of the Foreign Trade of India. See id.
    10. As a result of verification findings, we adjusted the reported 
direct labor hours to account for contract labor. See the Factors of 
Production Memorandum.
    11. We corrected our calculation of electricity. See the Factors of 
Production Memorandum.
    12. We corrected a ministerial error from the preliminary 
determination, where we inadvertently failed to weight-average U.S. 
prices in the margin calculation. See Issues and Decision Memorandum at 
Comment 10.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, we are 
directing the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP) to 
continue the suspension of liquidation of entries of subject 
merchandise from the PRC, that are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after March 17, 2003 (the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register). 
We will instruct the BCBP to require a cash deposit or the posting of a 
bond equal to the weighted-average amount by which normal value exceeds 
the U.S. price, as indicated in the chart below. These suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Final Determination of Investigation

    We determine that the following weighted-average percentage margins 
exist for the period January 1, 2002 through June 30, 2002:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                   Manufacturer/exporter                        margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qingdao Red Star Chemical Import & Export Co...............        34.44
PRC-Wide Rate..............................................        81.30
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The PRC-wide rate applies to all entries of the merchandise under 
investigation except for entries from Qingdao Red Star.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine, within 45 days, 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines that material 
injury, or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding 
will be terminated and all securities posted will be refunded or 
cancelled. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the 
Department will issue an antidumping duty order directing BCBP 
officials to assess antidumping duties on all imports of subject 
merchandise entered for consumption on or after the effective date of 
the suspension of liquidation.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Order (APO)

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to APO of 
their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary 
information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. 
Timely notification of return/destruction of APO materials or 
conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to 
comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable 
violation.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: July 30, 2003.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Grant Aldonas, Under Secretary.

Appendix--Decision Memorandum

Comment 1: Surrogate Value of Barite Ore
Comment 2: Surrogate Values of Two Types of Coal
Comment 3: Valuation of Carbon Dioxide
Comment 4: Valuation of a Minor Input
Comment 5: Granting Offsets for Byproducts
Comment 6: Calculation of Financial Ratios
Comment 7: Valuation of Rail Freight
Comment 8: Valuation of Truck Freight
Comment 9: Deduction of Brokerage and Handling
Comment 10: Use of Weighted-Average U.S. Prices in Margin 
Calculation
Comment 11: Reported Consumption of Coal 1
Comment 12: Consumption Quantity Questions

[FR Doc. 03-20044 Filed 8-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P