[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 89 (Thursday, May 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26408-26410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-10635]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-992]


Monosodium Glutamate From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, and Postponement 
of Final Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that monosodium glutamate (MSG) from the People's Republic 
of China (PRC) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States 
at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act). The period of investigation is January 1, 2013, 
through June 30, 2013. The estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
of sales at LTFV are shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section 
of this notice. We invite interested parties to comment on this 
preliminary determination. The final determination will be issued not 
later than 135 days after publication of this preliminary determination 
in the Federal Register.

DATES: Effective: May 8, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Milton Koch, Brandon Steele, or Jun 
Jack Zhao, AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 
(202) 482-2584, (202) 482-4956, or (202) 482-1396, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers MSG, whether or not blended 
or in solution with other products. Specifically, MSG that has been 
blended or is in solution with other product(s) is included in this 
scope when the resulting mix contains 15 percent or more of MSG by dry 
weight.\1\
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    \1\ See Appendix I for a complete description of the scope of 
this investigation.
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Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to the Department's regulations,\2\ 
a period of time was set aside in our Initiation Notice for parties to 
raise product coverage issues, and we encouraged interested parties to 
submit comments within 20 calendar days of the signature date of that 
notice.\3\ No scope comments were submitted regarding this 
investigation.
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    \2\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296, 
27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \3\ See Monosodium Glutamate From the People's Republic of 
China, and the Republic of Indonesia: Initiation of Antidumping Duty 
Investigations, 78 FR 65278 (October 31, 2013) (Initiation Notice).
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this antidumping duty investigation in 
accordance with section 731 of the Act. Export prices (EPs) and 
constructed export prices (CEPs) are being 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 (NV) is 
calculated in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary

[[Page 26409]]

Decision Memorandum.\4\ The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public 
document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (IA ACCESS). IA ACCESS is available to registered users at 
https://iaaccess.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the 
Department's Central Records Unit, located at room 7046 of the main 
Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be found at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \4\ See the Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to 
Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, 
``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the 
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Monosodium Glutamate from the 
People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum) which is hereby adopted by this 
notice.
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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.\5\ This practice is described in 
Policy Bulletin 05.1.\6\
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    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 78 FR 65282.
    \6\ See 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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination

    The Department preliminarily determines that MSG from the PRC is 
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at LTFV, as 
provided in section 733(b) of the Act.
    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
            Exporter                     Producer         dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Langfang Meihua Bio-Technology   Tongliao Meihua                   52.24
 Co., Ltd./Meihua Group           Biological SCI-TECH
 International Trading (Hong      Co., Ltd./Meihua
 Kong) Limited.                   Holdings Group Co.,
                                  Ltd., Bazhou Branch.
Fujian Province Jianyang Wuyi    Fujian Province                   52.24
 MSG Co., Ltd..                   Jianyang Wuyi MSG Co.,
                                  Ltd..
Neimenggu Fufeng                 Neimenggu Fufeng                  52.24
 Biotechnologies Co., Ltd..       Biotechnologies Co.,
                                  Ltd..
Baoji Fufeng Biotechnologies     Baoji Fufeng                      52.24
 Co., Ltd..                       Biotechnologies Co.,
                                  Ltd..
PRC-wide Entity *..............  .......................          52.27
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* The PRC-wide entity includes Shandong Linghua Monosodium Glutamate
  Incorporated Company, a mandatory respondent in this investigation.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    On April 11, 2014, Petitioner filed a timely critical circumstances 
allegation, pursuant to section 773(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.206(c)(1), alleging that critical circumstances exist with respect 
to imports of MSG from the PRC.\7\ We preliminarily determine that 
critical circumstances exist for the Meihua Group,\8\ the separate rate 
companies,\9\ and the PRC-wide entity. A discussion of our 
determination can be found in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 
the section, ``Critical Circumstances.''
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    \7\ See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce, ``Monosodium 
Glutamate from China: Petitioner's Critical Circumstances 
Allegations,'' dated April 11, 2014. Petitioner is Ajinomoto North 
America Inc. (Petitioner).
    \8\ Langfang Meihua Bio-Technology Co., Ltd.; Meihua Group 
International Trading (Hong Kong) Limited; Tongliao Meihua 
Biological SCI-TECH Co., Ltd.; and Meihua Holdings Group Co., Ltd., 
Bazhou Branch (collectively, the Meihua Group).
    \9\ Fujian Province Jianyang Wuyi MSG Co., Ltd.; Neimenggu 
Fufeng Biotechnologies Co., Ltd.; and Baoji Fufeng Biotechnologies 
Co., Ltd. (collectively, the separate rate companies).
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties in this 
proceeding 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 Enforcement and Compliance 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, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\10\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding 
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) a statement of the 
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and, (3) a table of 
authorities. The summary should be limited to five pages total, 
including footnotes.
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    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), 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 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce. All documents 
must be filed electronically using IA ACCESS. An electronically filed 
request must be received successfully in its entirety by IA ACCESS, by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice.\11\ Requests should contain the party's 
name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, and a 
list of the issues to be discussed. 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 date 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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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Pursuant to a request from the Meihua Group, a respondent in this 
investigation, we are postponing the final determination.\12\ 
Accordingly, we will issue our final determination no later than 135 
days after the date of publication of this preliminary determination, 
pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act.\13\ Further, the

[[Page 26410]]

Meihua Group requested to extend the application of the provisional 
measures prescribed under section 733(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(e)(2), from a four-month period to not more than six-months. 
Suspension of liquidation will be extended accordingly.
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    \12\ See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce, ``Monosodium 
Glutamate from the People's Republic of China: Request for Extension 
of the Final Determination,'' dated April 23, 2014.
    \13\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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Suspension of Liquidation

    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of (a) 
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. As described above, we 
preliminarily find that critical circumstances exist for imports 
produced or exported by the Meihua Group, the separate rate companies, 
and the PRC-wide entity. For the Meihua Group, the separate rate 
companies, and the PRC-wide entity, in accordance with section 
733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to 
unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before 
the publication of this notice.
    We will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for all suspended 
entries at an ad valorem rate equal to the weighted-average dumping 
margins, as indicated in the chart above.\14\ These suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \14\ 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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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify 
the information from the Meihua Group in making our final 
determination.

International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we will notify 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 MSG, or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation, 
of the merchandise under consideration within 45 days of our final 
determination.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: May 1, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers monosodium glutamate 
(MSG), whether or not blended or in solution with other products. 
Specifically, MSG that has been blended or is in solution with other 
product(s) is included in this scope when the resulting mix contains 
15% or more of MSG by dry weight. Products with which MSG may be 
blended include, but are not limited to, salts, sugars, starches, 
maltodextrins, and various seasonings. Further, MSG is included in 
this investigation regardless of physical form (including, but not 
limited to, substrates, solutions, dry powders of any particle size, 
or unfinished forms such as MSG slurry), end-use application, or 
packaging.
    MSG has a molecular formula of 
C5H8NO4Na, a Chemical Abstract 
Service (CAS) registry number of 6106-04-3, and a Unique Ingredient 
Identifier (UNII) number of W81N5U6R6U.
    Merchandise covered by the scope of this investigation is 
currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the 
United States at subheading 2922.42.10.00. Merchandise subject to 
the investigation may also enter under HTS subheadings 
2922.42.50.00, 2103.90.72.00, 2103.90.74.00, 2103.90.78.00, 
2103.90.80.00, and 2103.90.90.91. The tariff classifications, CAS 
registry number, and UNII number are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes; however, the written description of the scope is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

1. Summary
2. Background
3. Period of Investigation
4. Scope of the Investigation
5. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
6. Discussion of the Methodology
    a. Non Market Economy
    b. Surrogate Country
    c. Separate Rates
    d. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences
    e. Date of Sale
    f. Co-product/By-product Analysis
    g. Fair Value Comparisons
    h. Determination of Comparison Method
    i. Export Price
    j. Normal Value
    k. Factor Valuation Methodology
7. Currency Conversion
8. Critical Circumstances
9. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2014-10635 Filed 5-7-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P