[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 119 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37203-37205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14767]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-988]


Silica Bricks and Shapes From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Determination of Antidumping Duty Investigation and 
Postponement of Final Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') preliminarily 
determines that silica bricks and shapes from the People's Republic of 
China (``PRC'') are being, or are 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 weighted-
average dumping margins are shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' 
section of this notice. We intend to issue

[[Page 37204]]

the final determination within 135 days after publication of this 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register.

DATES: Effective Date: June 20, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Pandolph or Jonathan Hill, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 4, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3627 and (202) 482-3518, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by the scope of this investigation are 
refractory bricks and shapes, regardless of size, that contain at least 
90 percent silica (SiO2) where at least 50 percent of the silica 
content, by weight, is crystalline silica, regardless of other 
materials contained in the bricks and shapes. Refractory refers to 
nonmetallic materials having those chemical and physical properties 
that make them applicable for structures, or as components of systems, 
that are exposed to environments above 1000 degrees Fahrenheit (538 
degrees Celsius). The products covered by the scope of this 
investigation are currently classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (``HTSUS'') numbers 6902.20.1020 and 6902.20.5020. 
Because the definition of ``refractory'' in the HTSUS differs from that 
in the scope of this investigation, products covered by the scope of 
this investigation may also enter under HTSUS number 6909.19.5095. 
Although the HTSUS numbers are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope of this proceeding is 
dispositive.
    The scope of this investigation does not cover refractory bricks 
and shapes, regardless of size, that are made, in part, from non-
crystalline silica (commonly referred to as fused silica) where the 
silica content is less than 50 percent, by weight, crystalline silica.

Methodology

    The Department has conducted this antidumping duty investigation in 
accordance with section 731 of the Act. Export prices have been 
calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Because the PRC 
is a non-market economy within the meaning of section 771(18) of the 
Act, normal value has been calculated in accordance with section 773(c) 
of the Act. Specifically, unless specified otherwise, the factors of 
production (``FOPs'') for the respondent, Tianjin New Century 
Refractories Co., Ltd.; Tianjin New World Import & Export Trading Co., 
Ltd.; and XinYi American Advanced Material Co., Ltd. (collectively, 
``New Century Group'') have been valued using data from the primary 
surrogate country, Ukraine, a country comparable economically to the 
PRC and a significant producer of comparable merchandise.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Determination of 
the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Silica Bricks and Shapes from the 
People's Republic of China'' from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to Paul 
Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, dated 
concurrently with this notice (``Preliminary Decision Memorandum'') and 
hereby adopted by this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a 
public document and is on file electronically via Import 
Administration's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized 
Electronic Service System (``IA ACCESS''). IA ACCESS is available to 
registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov, and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, room 7046 of the main Department 
of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the 
Internet at http://www.trade.gov/ia/. The signed Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that it would 
calculate combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a 
separate rate in this investigation.\1\ This practice is described in 
Policy Bulletin 05.1.\2\
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    \1\ See Silica Bricks and Shapes from the People's Republic of 
China: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigation, 77 FR 73982, 
73986 (December 12, 2012) (``Initiation Notice'').
    \2\ See Import Administration's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (``Policy Bulletin 05.1''), available 
on the Department's Web site at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination

    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
              Exporter                      Producer           dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tianjin New Century Refractories     Dengfeng Yuzhong              84.89
 Co., Ltd.; Tianjin New World         Refractories Co. Ltd.
 Import & Export Trading Co., Ltd.;
 and XinYi American Advanced
 Material Co., Ltd.
PRC-wide Entity *..................  ......................        91.16
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The PRC-wide entity includes Shandong Daqiao Co., Ltd.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department intends to disclose calculations performed for this 
preliminary determination to the parties within five days of the date 
of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant 
Secretary for Import Administration via IA ACCESS no later than seven 
days after the date on which the final verification report is issued in 
this proceeding, and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, must be submitted via IA ACCESS no later than five days after 
the deadline for case briefs.\3\ A table of contents, list of 
authorities used, and an executive summary of issues should accompany 
any briefs submitted to the Department. The executive summary should be 
limited to five pages total, including footnotes.
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    \3\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
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    Interested parties, who wish to request a hearing, or to 
participate in a hearing if one is requested, must submit a written 
request to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, filed

[[Page 37205]]

electronically using IA ACCESS. An electronically filed hearing request 
must be received successfully in its entirety by the Department's 
electronic records system, IA ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard 
Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.\4\ 
Hearing requests should contain the party's name, address, and 
telephone number, the number of participants in the hearing, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed at the hearing. If a request for a 
hearing is made, the Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20230, at a time and location to be determined. Parties 
should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the 
hearing, two days before the scheduled date.
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    \4\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    For the final determination in this investigation, interested 
parties may submit publicly available information to value the FOPs 
within 40 days after the publication of this preliminary 
determination.\5\ In accordance with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(1) (2008), for 
the final determination of this investigation, interested parties may 
submit factual information to rebut, clarify, or correct factual 
information submitted by any other interested party less than ten days 
before, on, or after, the applicable deadline for submission of such 
factual information. However, the Department notes that 19 CFR 
351.301(c)(1) (2008) permits new information only insofar as it rebuts, 
clarifies, or corrects information recently placed on the record. The 
Department generally will not accept the submission of additional, 
previously absent-from-the-record alternative surrogate value 
information pursuant to 19 CFR 351.301(c)(1) (2008).\6\ Additionally, 
for each piece of factual information submitted with surrogate value 
rebuttal comments, the interested party must provide a written 
explanation of the information that is already on the record of the 
ongoing proceeding that the factual information intends to rebut, 
clarify, or correct.
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    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(i) (2008).
    \6\ See Glycine from the People's Republic of China: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final 
Rescission, in Part, 72 FR 58809 (October 17, 2007), and 
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, the Department will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to suspend 
liquidation of all entries of silica bricks and shapes from the PRC, as 
described in the ``Scope of the Investigation'' section, entered or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), the Department will instruct CBP to 
require a cash deposit \7\ equal to the weighted-average amount by 
which normal value exceeds U.S. price as follows: (1) The cash deposit 
rate for the exporter/producer combination listed in the table above 
will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin listed for that 
combination in the table; (2) for all other combinations of PRC 
exporters/producers of the merchandise under consideration, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin 
listed in the table above for the PRC-wide entity; and (3) for all non-
PRC exporters of the merchandise under consideration which have not 
received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
applicable to the PRC exporter/producer combination that supplied that 
non-PRC exporter. These cash deposit instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.
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    \7\ See Modification of Regulations Regarding the Practice of 
Accepting Bonds During the Provisional Measures Period in 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042 
(October 3, 2011).
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International Trade Commission (``ITC'') Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
ITC of our preliminary affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. 
Section 735(b)(2) of the Act requires the ITC to make its final 
determination as to whether the domestic industry in the United States 
is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of 
imports of silica bricks and shapes, or sales (or the likelihood of 
sales) for importation, of the merchandise under consideration within 
45 days of our final determination.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    On June 4, 2013, New Century Group requested, pursuant to section 
735(a)(2)(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), that the 
Department postpone its final determination to 135 days after 
publication of the preliminary determination.\8\ Additionally, New 
Century Group requested, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) and section 
733(d) of the Act, that the Department extend the application of the 
provisional measures from a four-month period to a six-month period. In 
accordance with section 735(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b), the 
Department is granting these requests to postpone the final 
determination until no later than 135 days after the publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register because (1) The preliminary 
determination is affirmative, (2) the requesting exporter accounts for 
a significant proportion of exports of the merchandise under 
consideration, and (3) there are no compelling reasons to deny these 
requests. The Department is further extending the application of the 
provisional measures from a four-month period to a six-month period.
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    \8\ See Letter from New Century Group to Dr. Rebecca Blank, 
Acting Secretary of Commerce regarding, ``Silica Bricks and Shapes 
from the People's Republic of China: Request for Postponement of 
Final,'' dated June 4, 2013.
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    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: June 13, 2013.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Scope Comments
2. Respondent Selection
3. Discussion of the Methodology
    a. Non-Market Economy Country
    b. Surrogate Country
    c. Single Entity Treatment
    d. Separate Rates
    e. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences
    f. Date of Sale
    g. Fair Value Comparisons
    h. Factor Valuation Methodology
    i. Currency Conversion
4. Verification

[FR Doc. 2013-14767 Filed 6-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P