[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 20 (Monday, February 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5098-5101]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01767]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-028]


Hydrofluorocarbon Blends and Components Thereof From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 
in Part, and Postponement of Final Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that hydrofluorocarbon blends and components thereof (HFCs) 
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 period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2014, through 
March 31, 2015. The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the 
``Preliminary Determination'' section of this notice. The final 
determination will be issued 135 days after publication of this 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register. Interested parties 
are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective date: February 1, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis McClure or Elizabeth Eastwood, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
5973 or (202) 482-3874, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department initiated this investigation on July 22, 2015.\1\ 
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation 
of this investigation, see the memorandum that is dated concurrently 
with this determination and hereby adopted by this notice.\2\ 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 https://access.trade.gov, 
and 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 found at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.
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    \1\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends and Components Thereof From the 
People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation, 80 FR 43387 (July 22, 2015) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Determination of 
the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Hydrofluorocarbon Blends and 
Components Thereof 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 Enforcement and Compliance, dated concurrently with this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are HFCs. For a full 
description of the scope of this investigation, see the ``Scope of the 
Investigation,'' in Appendix I of this notice.

Scope Comments

    Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the 
investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. We have 
addressed some comments raised by interested parties but intend to 
address the rest of the comments at a later point in the investigation. 
For discussion of those comments, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

Methodology

    The Department conducted this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. We calculated export prices 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) was 
calculated in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in 
Part

    On November 30, 2015, the petitioner timely filed an amendment to 
the petition, pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.206(c)(2)(i), alleging that critical circumstances exist with 
respect to imports of the merchandise under consideration.\3\ We

[[Page 5099]]

preliminarily determine that critical circumstances do not exist for 
Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co., Ltd./Huantai Dongyue International Trade 
Co., Ltd. (Dongyue), and non-individually examined companies, but do 
exist with respect to T.T. International Co., Ltd. (T.T. International) 
and the PRC-wide entity. For a full description of the methodology and 
results of our analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \3\ See Letter from Petitioner to the Department, Re: 
``Hydrofluorocarbon Blends and Components Thereof from the People's 
Republic of China: Critical Circumstances Allegation,'' November 30, 
2015.
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\4\ the Department stated that it would 
calculate combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a 
separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 05.1 describes 
this practice.\5\
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    \4\ See Initiation Notice, 80 FR at 43391.
    \5\ See Enforcement and Compliance'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://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination

    The preliminary weighted-average antidumping duty (AD) margin 
percentages are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
            Exporter                     Producer             average
                                                            margin  (%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co.,   Shandong Dongyue                  92.88
 Ltd/Huantai Dongyue              Chemical Co., Ltd.
 International Trade Co., Ltd.
Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co.,   Jiangsu Melian Chemical           92.88
 Ltd/Huantai Dongyue              Co., Ltd.
 International Trade Co., Ltd.
Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co.,   Jiangxi Gemei Fluorine            92.88
 Ltd/Huantai Dongyue              Chemical Co., Ltd.
 International Trade Co., Ltd.
Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co.,   Liaocheng Fuer New                92.88
 Ltd/Huantai Dongyue              Material Technology
 International Trade Co., Ltd.    Co., Ltd.
Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co.,   Zhejiang Quzhou Juxin             92.88
 Ltd/Huantai Dongyue              Fluorine Chemical Co.,
 International Trade Co., Ltd.    Ltd.
Shandong Dongyue Chemical Co.,   Zhejiang Sanmei                   92.88
 Ltd/Huantai Dongyue              Chemical Ind. Co., Ltd.
 International Trade Co., Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd....  Sinochem Environmental            91.99
                                  Protection Chemicals
                                  (Taicang) Co., Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd....  Zhejiang Lantian                  91.99
                                  Environmental
                                  Protection Fluorine
                                  Materials Co., Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd....  Jinhua Yonghe                     91.99
                                  Fluorochemical Co.,
                                  Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd....  Zhejiang Sanmei                   91.99
                                  Chemical Industry Co.,
                                  Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd....  Shandong Huaan New                91.99
                                  Material Co., Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd....  Zhejiang Zhonglan                 91.99
                                  Refrigeration
                                  Technology Co., Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd....  Dongyang Weihua                   91.99
                                  Refrigerants Co., Ltd.
Daikin Fluorochemicals (China)   Daikin Fluorochemicals            92.60
 Co., Ltd.                        (China) Co., Ltd.
Jinhua Yonghe Fluorochemical     Zhejiang Yonghe                   92.60
 Co., Ltd.                        Refrigerant Co., Ltd.
Shandong Huaan New Material      Shandong Huaan New                92.60
 Co., Ltd.                        Material Co., Ltd.
Weitron International            Zhejiang Lantian                  92.60
 Refrigeration Equipment          Environmental
 (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.              Protection Fluoro
                                  Material Co., Ltd.
Weitron International            Sinochem Environmental            92.60
 Refrigeration Equipment          Protection Chemicals
 (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.              (Taicang) Co., Ltd.
Weitron International            Zhejiang Quzhou                   92.60
 Refrigeration Equipment          Lianzhou Refrigerants
 (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.              Co., Ltd.
Weitron International            Zhejiang Sanmei                   92.60
 Refrigeration Equipment          Chemical Industry Co.,
 (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.              Ltd.
Zhejiang Yonghe Refrigerant      Jinhua Yonghe                     92.60
 Co., Ltd.                        Fluorochemical Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical         Zhejiang Sanmei                   92.60
 Industry Co., Ltd.               Chemical Industry Co.,
                                  Ltd.
Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical         Jiangsu Sanmei                    92.60
 Industry Co., Ltd.               Chemicals Co., Ltd.
PRC-Wide Entity \6\............  .......................          210.46
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.\7\ A 
table of contents, list of authorities used, and an executive summary 
of issues should accompany any briefs submitted to the Department.
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    \6\ This also includes Sinchem Lantian Trade Co., Ltd., Sinochem 
Environmental Protection Chemicals (Taicang) Co. Ltd., Zhejiang 
Lantian Environmental Protection Fluoro Material Co., Ltd., Zhejiang 
Quhua Fluor-Chemistry Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Quzhou Lianzhou 
Refrigerants Co., Ltd.
    \7\ 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 at 
Enforcement and Compliance's electronic records system, ACCESS. An 
electronically-filed document must be received successfully in its 
entirety by the Department's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 
p.m. Eastern Standard Time, within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice.\8\ Hearing requests should contain the 
party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, and a list of the issues you

[[Page 5100]]

intend to present 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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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, the Department 
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 
liquidation of all entries of HFCs from the PRC, as described in 
Appendix I of this notice, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register.
    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. We preliminarily find 
that critical circumstances exist for imports of HFCs from the PRC 
produced or exported by the T.T. International Co., Ltd. and the PRC-
wide entity. Accordingly, for T.T. International Co., Ltd. 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.
    Pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), 
the Department will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit \9\ equal to 
the weighted-average amount by which NV exceeds U.S. price, as 
indicated in the chart above, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for 
the exporter/producer combinations listed in the table above will be 
the rate the Department determines in this preliminary determination; 
(2) for all combinations of PRC exporters/producers of merchandise 
under consideration that have not received their own separate rate 
above, the cash-deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate established 
for the PRC-wide entity; and (3) for all non-PRC exporters of 
merchandise under consideration which have not received their own 
separate rate above, the cash-deposit rate will be the cash deposit 
rate applicable to the PRC exporter/producer combination that supplied 
that non-PRC exporter.
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    \9\ 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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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) requires that requests by 
respondents for postponement of a final determination be accompanied by 
a request for extension of provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not more than six months in duration.
    Respondents Dongyue and T.T. International requested that, in the 
event of an affirmative preliminary determination in this 
investigation, the Department postpone its final determination by 60 
days (i.e., to 135 days after publication of the preliminary 
determination), and agreed 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 a period not to exceed six 
months.\10\ In addition, the petitioners \11\ also requested that, in 
the event of a negative preliminary determination, the Department 
postpone its final determination to 135 days after the date of 
publication of the preliminary determination.\12\
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    \10\ See letters from Dongyue and T.T. International, 
respectively, entitled, ``Request for Postponement of Final 
Determination: Antidumping Duty Investigation on Hydrofluorocarbon 
Blends and Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China,'' 
dated January 13, 2016, and ``Hydroflourocarbon Blends and 
Componenents Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Request to 
Postpone Final Determination,'' dated January 14, 2016.
    \11\ The petitioners in this proceeding are American HFC 
Coalition and District Lodge 154 of the International Association of 
Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
    \12\ See letter from the petitioners entitled, 
``Hydrofluorocarbon Blends and Components Thereof from the People's 
Republic of China: Petitioner's Request for Extension of the 
Antidumping Investigation Final Determination,'' dated January 13, 
2016.
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    In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because (1) our preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, we are postponing the final determination 
until no later than 135 days after the publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register and extending the provisional measures from a 
four-month period to a period not greater than six months. 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\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2) and (e).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we are notifying the 
ITC of our affirmative preliminary 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 HFCs, or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation, 
of the merchandise under consideration before the later of 120 days 
after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after our 
final determination. Because we are postponing the deadline for our 
final determination to 135 days from the date of publication of this 
preliminary determination, as discussed above, the ITC will make its 
final determination no later than 45 days after 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: January 21, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The products subject to this investigation are blended 
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and single HFC components of those blends 
thereof, whether or not imported for blending. HFC blends covered by 
the scope are R-404, a zeotropic mixture consisting of 52 percent 
1,1,1 Trifluoroethane, 44 percent Pentafluoroethane, and 4 percent 
1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane; R-407A, a zeotropic mixture of 20 percent 
Difluoromethane, 40 percent Pentafluoroethane, and 40 percent 
1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane; R-407C, a zeotropic mixture of 23 percent

[[Page 5101]]

Difluoromethane, 25 percent Pentafluoroethane, and 52 percent 
1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane; R-410A, a zeotropic mixture of 50 percent 
Difluoromethane and 50 percent Pentafluoroethane; and R-507A, an 
azeotropic mixture of 50 percent Pentafluoroethane and 50 percent 
1,1,1-Trifluoroethane also known as R-507. The foregoing percentages 
are nominal percentages by weight. Actual percentages of single 
component refrigerants by weight may vary by plus or minus two 
percent points from the nominal percentage identified above.\14\
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    \14\ R-404A is sold under various trade names, including 
Forane[supreg] 404A, Genetron[supreg] 404A, Solkane[supreg] 404A, 
Klea[supreg] 404A, and Suva[supreg] 404A. R-407A is sold under 
various trade names, including Forane[supreg] 407A, Solkane[supreg] 
407A, Klea[supreg] 407A, and Suva[supreg] 407A. R-407C is sold under 
various trade names, including Forane[supreg] 407C, Genetron[supreg] 
407C, Solkane[supreg] 407C, Klea[supreg] 407C and Suva[supreg] 407C. 
R-410A is sold under various trade names, including EcoFluor R410, 
Forane[supreg] 410A, Genetron[supreg] R410A and AZ-20, 
Solkane[supreg] 410A, Klea[supreg] 410A, Suva[supreg] 410A, and 
Puron[supreg]. R-507A is sold under various trade names, including 
Forane[supreg] 507, Solkane[supreg] 507, Klea[supreg] 507, 
Genetron[supreg] AZ-50, and Suva[supreg] 507. R-32 is sold under 
various trade names, including Solkane[supreg] 32, Forane[supreg]32, 
and Klea[supreg] 32. R-125 is sold under various trade names, 
including Solkane[supreg] 125, Klea[supreg] 125, 
Genetron[supreg]125, and Forane[supreg] 125. R-143a is sold under 
various trade names, including Solkane[supreg] 143a, 
Genetron[supreg] 143a, and Forane[supreg] 125.
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    The single component HFCs covered by the scope are R-32, R-125, 
and R-143a. R-32 or Difluoromethane has the chemical formula CH2F2, 
and is registered as CAS No. 75-10-5. It may also be known as HFC-
32, FC-32, Freon-32, Methylene difluoride, Methylene fluoride, 
Carbon fluoride hydride, halocarbon R32, fluorocarbon R32, and UN 
3252. R-125 or 1,1,1,2,2- Pentafluoroethane has the chemical formula 
CF3CHF2 and is registered as CAS No. 354-33-6. R-125 may also be 
known as R-125, HFC-125, Pentafluoroethane, Freon 125, and Fc-125, 
R-125. R-143a or 1,1,1-Trifluoroethane has the chemical formula 
CF3CH3 and is registered as CAS No. 420-46-2. R-143a may also be 
known as R-143a, HFC-143a, Methylfluoroform, 1,1,1-Trifluoroform, 
and UN2035.
    Excluded from this investigation are blends of refrigerant 
chemicals that include products other than HFCs, such as blends 
including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) or hydrochlorofluorocarbons 
(HCFCs).
    Also excluded from this investigation are patented HFC blends, 
such as ISCEON[supreg] blends, including MO99TM (RR-
438A), MO79 (R-422A), MO59 (R-417A), MO49PlusTM (R-437A) 
and MO29TM (R-4 22D), Genetron[supreg] 
PerformaxTM LT (R-407F), Choice[supreg] R-421A, and 
Choice[supreg] R-421B.
    HFC blends covered by the scope of this investigation are 
currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS) at subheadings 3824.78.0020 and 3824.78.0050. Single 
component HFCs are currently classified at subheadings 2903.39.2035 
and 2903.39.2045, HTSUS.\15\ Although the HTSUS subheadings and CAS 
registry numbers are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the scope is dispositive.
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    \15\ We note that HFC blends were classified at HTSUS subheading 
3824.78.0020 and single component HFCs were classified at HTSUS 
subheading 2903.39.2030 in 2015.
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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. Scope Comments
6. Selection of Respondents and Treatment of Voluntary Respondents
7. Critical Circumstances
8. Discussion of the Methodology
    a. Non-market Economy Country
    b. Surrogate Country
    c. Surrogate Value Comments
    d. Separate Rates
    e. Margin for the Separate Rate Companies
    f. Combination Rates
    g. The PRC-Wide Entity
    h. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences
    i. Date of Sale
    j. Fair Value Comparisons
    k. Export Price
    l. Normal Value
    m. Factor Valuation Methodology
    n. By-Products
    o. Comparisons to Normal Value
    p. Currency Conversion
9. Verification
10. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2016-01767 Filed 1-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P