[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 157 (Friday, August 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48810-48812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-20088]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-025]


Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Polyethylene 
Terephthalate Resin From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of certain polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 
resin from the People's Republic of China (the PRC). We invite 
interested parties to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: August 14, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yasmin Nair or Ilissa Shefferman, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone 202.482.3813 
or 202.482.4684, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is PET resin. The 
merchandise subject to this investigation is properly classified under 
subheading 3907.60.00.30 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 
merchandise under investigation is dispositive.\1\
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    \1\ For a complete description of the Scope of the Order, see 
Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to Ronald K. 
Lorentzen, Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination 
in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Polyethylene 
Terephthalate Resin from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this countervailing duty (CVD) 
investigation in accordance with section 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, 
as amended (the Act). For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, we preliminarily determine that there is a subsidy, 
i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives rise to a 
benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\2\ For a 
full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 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 (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 
registered users at http://access.trade.gov, and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Department 
of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://trade.gov/enforcement. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and 
the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.
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    \2\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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    The Department notes that, in making this preliminary 
determination, we

[[Page 48811]]

relied, in part, on facts available and, because one or more 
respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond to the 
Department's requests for information, we drew an adverse inference 
where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise 
available.\3\ For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise 
Available and Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \3\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), we are aligning 
the final CVD determination in this investigation with the final 
determination in the companion antidumping duty (AD) investigation of 
PET resin from the PRC based on a request made by Petitioners.\4\ 
Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same 
date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be 
issued no later than December 21, 2015,\5\ unless postponed.
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    \4\ DAK Americas, LLC, M&G Chemicals, and Nan Ya Plastics 
Corporation, America (collectively, Petitioners); see also Letter 
from Petitioners dated, July 31, 2015.
    \5\ We note that the current deadline for the final AD 
determination is December 20, 2015, which is a Sunday. Pursuant to 
Department practice, the signature date will be the next business 
day, which is Monday, December 21, 2015. See Notice of 
Clarification: Application of ``Next Business Day'' Rule for 
Administrative Determination Deadlines Pursuant to the Tariff Act of 
1930, As Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2005).
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Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated an individual rate for each exporter/producer of the subject 
merchandise individually investigated. We preliminarily determine the 
countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Exporter/producer                        (percent)
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Jiangyin Xingyu New Material Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Xingye              4.27
 Plastic Co., Ltd., Jiangyin Xingjia Plastic Co., Ltd.,
 Jiangyin Xingtai New Material Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Xingye
 Polarization Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Sanfangxiang Group Co.,
 Ltd., Jiangyin Hailun Petrochemicals Co., Ltd.,
 Jiangyin Xinlun Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., Jiangyin
 Huasheng Polymer Co., Ltd., Jiangsu SanFangxiang
 International Trading Co., Ltd., Jiangyin HuaYi
 Polymerization Co., Ltd., Jiangyin Xingsheng Plastic
 Co., Ltd., Jiangyin Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., Jiangyin
 Huaxing Synthetic Co., Ltd., Jiangyin Bolun Chemical
 Fiber Co., Ltd. (collectively, Xingyu).................
Dragon Special Resin (Xiamen) Co., Ltd.; Xiang Lu                  18.88
 Petrochemicals Co., Ltd.; Xianglu Petrochemicals
 (Zhangzhou) Co., Ltd.; and Xiamen Xianglu Chemical
 Fiber Company Limited (collectively, Dragon)...........
All-Others..............................................           11.58
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we 
are directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation 
of all entries of PET resin from the PRC that are entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of the publication 
of this notice in the Federal Register, and to require a cash deposit 
for such entries of merchandise in the amounts indicated above.
    Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act state that, for 
companies not investigated, we determine an ``all-others rate,'' by 
weighting the subsidy rates of the individual company subsidy rate of 
each of the companies investigated by each company's exports of subject 
merchandise to the United States excluding rates that are zero or de 
minimis or any rates determined entirely on the facts available. 
Notwithstanding the language of section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
have not calculated the ``all-others'' rate by weight-averaging the 
rates of the two individually investigated respondents, because doing 
so risks disclosure of proprietary information. Therefore, for the 
``all-others'' rate, we calculated a simple average of the two 
responding companies' rates.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify 
the information submitted by the respondents prior to making our final 
determination.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department will disclose calculations performed for this 
preliminary determination to the parties within five days of the date 
of public announcement of this determination in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b). Case briefs or other written comments for all non-scope 
issues 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.\6\ A table of 
contents, list of authorities used and an executive summary of issues 
should accompany any briefs submitted to the Department. This summary 
should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes.
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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, filed electronically using 
ACCESS. An electronically filed request for a hearing must be received 
successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic records 
system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice.\7\ 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 date and time to be determined. Parties 
will be notified of the date and time of any hearing. The hearing will 
be limited to issues raised in the respective briefs.\8\
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \8\ Id.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. In addition, 
we are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and non-
proprietary information relating to this investigation. We will allow 
the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary information 
in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such 
information, either publicly or under an administrative

[[Page 48812]]

protective order, without the written consent of the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
    In accordance with section 705(b)(2) of the Act, if our final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its final determination 
within 45 days after the Department makes its final determination.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: August 7, 2015.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
    A. Case History
    B. Period of Investigation
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Alignment
VI. Respondent Selection
VII. Injury Test
VIII. Application of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports From the 
PRC
IX. Subsidies Valuation
    A. Allocation Period
    B. Attribution of Subsidies
    C. Denominators
X. Benchmarks and Discount Rates
    A. Short-Term RMB-Denominated Loans
    B. Long-Term RMB-Denominated Loans
    C. Foreign Currency-Denominated Loans
    D. Discount Rates
    E. Input Benchmarks
XI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
XII. Analysis of Programs
    A. Programs Preliminarily Determined To Be Countervailable
    1. Policy Loans to the PET Resin Industry
    2. Preferential Export Financing
    3. Export Seller's Credits
    4. Import Tariff and Value-Added Tax (VAT) Exemptions on 
Imported Equipment in Encouraged Industries
    5. Provision of Inputs for LTAR
    a. Provision of MEG and PTA for LTAR
    b. Provision of Electricity for LTAR
    6. Energy Savings Technology Reform
    7. 2013 Annual Incentive Funds Stable Foreign Trade Policy
    8. Export Credit Insurance
    9. Import/Export Credit Insurance/2013 Foreign Trade Policy 
Award
    10. Transition Gold Support
    11. Overseas Investment Discount (Jiangsu Province DOC)
    12. Energy Saving
    13. Technology Reform Interest Subsidy
    14. 2012 and 2013 Refund of Land Use Tax
    15. Income Tax Deduction for New High-Technology Enterprise 
(HNTE)
    16. Project Subsidy From Haicang Bureau of Science and 
Technology
    17. Other Subsidy: Bounty for Enterprise With Production and 
Sales Growth: 0.02 Percent Ad Valorem
    18. Other Subsidy: 2013 Enterprise Financing Subsidy: 0.02 
Percent Ad Valorem
    19. Other Subsidy: Subsidy Income in the Fourth Quarter of 2013: 
0.01 Percent Ad Valorem
    20. Other Subsidy: Subsidy for Social Security: 0.03 Percent Ad 
Valorem
    21. Other Subsidy: Bounty for Enterprise With Production and 
Sales Growth: 0.01 Percent Ad Valorem
    22. Other Subsidy: 2013 Export Credit Insurance Premium Subsidy: 
0.01 percent Ad Valorem
    23. Other Subsidy: Subsidy for Social Security Premium of 
Employees: 0.01 Percent Ad Valorem
    B. Programs Preliminary Determined Not To Be Used During the POI
    1. International Market Exploration Fund (SME Fund)
    2. City Construction Tax and Education Fees Exemptions for FIEs
    3. Xiamen Municipality Support for Pivotal Manufacturing 
Industries
    4. Xinghuo Development Zone Recycling Economic Construction 
Specialized Fund
    5. Science & Technology Awards
    6. Yangpu Economic Development Zone Preferential Tax Policies
    7. Xinghuo Development Zone Industrial Structural Adjustment 
Fund
    8. Income Tax Credits for Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs) 
and Certain
    Domestically-Owned Companies Purchasing Domestically-Produced 
Equipment
    9. VAT Subsidies for FIEs
    10. Provision of Land for LTAR to Enterprises in Xinghuo 
Development Zone, Fengxian District, Shanghai Municipality
    11. Provision of Land for LTAR to Enterprises in Yangpu Economic 
Development Zone, Hainan Province
    C. Programs With No Measurable Benefit
    1. GOC and Sub-Central Government Subsidies for the Development 
of Famous Brands and China World Top Brands
    2. Income Tax Deductions for Research and Development Expenses 
Under the Enterprise Income Tax Law
    3. VAT Refunds for FIEs Purchasing Domestically-Produced 
Equipment
    D. Programs for Which Additional Information Is Needed
    1. Provisions of Land for LTAR to Enterprises in Haicang 
Investment Zone, Xiamen, Fuijian Province
    2. New Subsidy Allegations
    3. Additional Cross-Owned Companies
XIII. ITC Notification
XIV. Disclosure and Public Comment
XV. Verification
XVI. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2015-20088 Filed 8-13-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P