[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 147 (Monday, August 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50544-50547]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17660]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 731-TA-825-826 (Third Review)]


Certain Polyester Staple Fiber From Korea and Taiwan: Institution 
of Five-Year Reviews

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted 
reviews pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930 (``the Act''), as amended, 
to determine whether revocation of the antidumping duty orders on 
certain polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan would be likely to 
lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to the 
Act, interested parties are requested to respond to this notice by 
submitting the information specified below to the Commission.

DATES: Effective August 1, 2016. To be assured of consideration, the 
deadline for responses is August 31, 2016. Comments on the adequacy of 
responses may be filed with the Commission by October 14, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193), Office of 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information 
on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-
1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special 
assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the 
Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning 
the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server 
(http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this proceeding may be 
viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background: On May 25, 2000, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
issued antidumping duty orders on imports of certain polyester staple 
fiber from Korea and Taiwan (65 FR 33807). Following first five-year 
reviews by Commerce and the Commission, effective April 3, 2006, 
Commerce issued a continuation of the antidumping duty orders on 
imports of certain polyester staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan (71 FR 
16558). Following second five-year reviews by Commerce and the 
Commission, effective September 30, 2011, Commerce issued a 
continuation of antidumping duty orders on imports of certain polyester 
staple fiber from Korea and Taiwan (76 FR 60802). The Commission is now 
conducting third reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of the Act, as 
amended (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)), to determine whether revocation of the 
orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of 
material injury to the domestic industry within a reasonably 
foreseeable time. Provisions concerning the conduct of this proceeding 
may be found in the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure at 19 
CFR parts 201, subparts A and B and 19 CFR part 207, subparts A and F. 
The Commission will assess the adequacy of interested party responses 
to this notice of institution to determine whether to conduct full or 
expedited reviews. The Commission's determinations in any expedited 
reviews will be based on the facts available, which may include 
information provided in response to this notice.
    Definitions: The following definitions apply to these reviews:
    (1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is 
within the scope of the five-year reviews, as defined by the Department 
of Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Countries in these reviews are Korea and Taiwan.
    (3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product 
or

[[Page 50545]]

products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original 
determinations, the Commission found that there were two Domestic Like 
Products corresponding to (1) low-melt fiber and (2) conventional 
polyester staple fiber (all subject polyester staple fiber except for 
low-melt fiber). However, the Commission made a negative determination 
with respect to low-melt fiber. One Commissioner defined the Domestic 
Like Product differently in the original determinations. In its full 
first five-year review determinations and its expedited second five-
year review determinations, the Commission defined the Domestic Like 
Product to be all certain conventional polyester staple fiber, 
coextensive with the scope of the orders under review.
    (4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the 
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of 
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total 
domestic production of the product. In its original determinations, the 
Commission defined two Domestic Industries: (1) All domestic producers 
of low-melt fiber and (2) all domestic producers of conventional 
polyester staple fiber. However, the Commission made a negative 
determination with respect to low-melt fiber in the original 
investigations. One Commissioner defined the Domestic Industry 
differently in the original determinations. In its full first five-year 
review determinations and its expedited second five-year review 
determinations, the Commission defined the Domestic Industry as all 
domestic producers of certain conventional polyester staple fiber, 
coextensive with the scope of the orders under review.
    (5) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or 
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject 
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or 
through its selling agent.
    Participation in the proceeding and public service list: Persons, 
including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the 
merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the proceeding as parties must 
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as 
provided in Sec.  201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later than 
21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The 
Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names and 
addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to 
the proceeding.
    Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission 
five-year reviews are advised that they may appear in a review even if 
they participated personally and substantially in the corresponding 
underlying original investigation or an earlier review of the same 
underlying investigation. The Commission's designated agency ethics 
official has advised that a five-year review is not the same particular 
matter as the underlying original investigation, and a five-year review 
is not the same particular matter as an earlier review of the same 
underlying investigation for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 207, the post 
employment statute for Federal employees, and Commission rule at Sec.  
201.15(b) (19 CFR 201.15(b)), 79 FR 3246 (Jan. 17, 2014), 73 FR 24609 
(May 5, 2008). Consequently, former employees are not required to seek 
Commission approval to appear in a review under Commission rule 19 CFR 
201.15, even if the corresponding underlying original investigation or 
an earlier review of the same underlying investigation was pending when 
they were Commission employees. For further ethics advice on this 
matter, contact Carol McCue Verratti, Deputy Agency Ethics Official, at 
202-205-3088.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and APO service list: Pursuant 
to Sec.  207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make 
BPI submitted in this proceeding available to authorized applicants 
under the APO issued in the proceeding, provided that the application 
is made no later than 21 days after publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. Authorized applicants must represent interested 
parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to the 
proceeding. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary 
for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Certification: Pursuant to Sec.  207.3 of the Commission's rules, 
any person submitting information to the Commission in connection with 
this proceeding must certify that the information is accurate and 
complete to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In making the 
certification, the submitter will acknowledge that information 
submitted in response to this request for information and throughout 
this proceeding or other proceeding may be disclosed to and used: (i) 
By the Commission, its employees and Offices, and contract personnel 
(a) for developing or maintaining the records of this or a related 
proceeding, or (b) in internal investigations, audits, reviews, and 
evaluations relating to the programs, personnel, and operations of the 
Commission including under 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S. 
government employees and contract personnel, solely for cybersecurity 
purposes. All contract personnel will sign appropriate nondisclosure 
agreements.
    Written submissions: Pursuant to Sec.  207.61 of the Commission's 
rules, each interested party response to this notice must provide the 
information specified below. The deadline for filing such responses is 
August 31, 2016. Pursuant to Sec.  207.62(b) of the Commission's rules, 
eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule 207.62(b)(1)) may 
also file comments concerning the adequacy of responses to the notice 
of institution and whether the Commission should conduct expedited or 
full reviews. The deadline for filing such comments is October 14, 
2016. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of Sec.  
201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain BPI must 
also conform with the requirements of Sec. Sec.  201.6, 207.3, and 
207.7 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's Handbook on E-Filing, 
available on the Commission's Web site at http://edis.usitc.gov, 
elaborates upon the Commission's rules with respect to electronic 
filing. Also, in accordance with Sec. Sec.  201.16(c) and 207.3 of the 
Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the proceeding 
must be served on all other parties to the proceeding (as identified by 
either the public or APO service list as appropriate), and a 
certificate of service must accompany the document (if you are not a 
party to the proceeding you do not need to serve your response).
    No response to this request for information is required if a 
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) number is not 
displayed; the OMB number is 3117-0016/USITC No. 16-5-364, expiration 
date June 30, 2017. Public reporting burden for the request is 
estimated to average 15 hours per response. Please send comments 
regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the Office of 
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20436.
    Inability to provide requested information: Pursuant to Sec.  
207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any interested party that cannot 
furnish the information requested by this notice in the requested form 
and manner shall

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notify the Commission at the earliest possible time, provide a full 
explanation of why it cannot provide the requested information, and 
indicate alternative forms in which it can provide equivalent 
information. If an interested party does not provide this notification 
(or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the notification 
inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to this notice, 
the Commission may take an adverse inference against the party pursuant 
to section 776(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677e(b)) in making its 
determinations in the reviews.
    Information To Be Provided in Response to This Notice of 
Institution: If you are a domestic producer, union/worker group, or 
trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more 
than one Subject Country; or produce Subject Merchandise in more than 
one Subject Country, you may file a single response. If you do so, 
please ensure that your response to each question includes the 
information requested for each pertinent Subject Country. As used 
below, the term ``firm'' includes any related firms.
    (1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World 
Wide Web address) and name, telephone number, fax number, and Email 
address of the certifying official.
    (2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is an 
interested party under 19 U.S.C. 1677(9) and if so, how, including 
whether your firm/entity is a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like 
Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a U.S. importer of the Subject 
Merchandise, a foreign producer or exporter of the Subject Merchandise, 
a U.S. or foreign trade or business association (a majority of whose 
members are interested parties under the statute), or another 
interested party (including an explanation). If you are a union/worker 
group or trade/business association, identify the firms in which your 
workers are employed or which are members of your association.
    (3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to 
participate in this proceeding by providing information requested by 
the Commission.
    (4) A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the 
antidumping duty orders on the Domestic Industry in general and/or your 
firm/entity specifically. In your response, please discuss the various 
factors specified in section 752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675a(a)) 
including the likely volume of subject imports, likely price effects of 
subject imports, and likely impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on 
the Domestic Industry.
    (5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of 
the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related parties and the 
nature of the relationship as defined in section 771(4)(B) of the Act 
(19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
    (6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of 
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in 
each Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries after 2010.
    (7) A list of 3-5 leading purchasers in the U.S. market for the 
Domestic Like Product and the Subject Merchandise (including street 
address, World Wide Web address, and the name, telephone number, fax 
number, and Email address of a responsible official at each firm).
    (8) A list of known sources of information on national or regional 
prices for the Domestic Like Product or the Subject Merchandise in the 
U.S. or other markets.
    (9) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product, 
provide the following information on your firm's operations on that 
product during calendar year 2015, except as noted (report quantity 
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you 
are a union/worker group or trade/business association, provide the 
information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers 
are employed/which are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product 
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm to produce the Domestic Like 
Product (i.e., the level of production that your establishment(s) could 
reasonably have expected to attain during the year, assuming normal 
operating conditions (using equipment and machinery in place and ready 
to operate), normal operating levels (hours per week/weeks per year), 
time for downtime, maintenance, repair, and cleanup, and a typical or 
representative product mix);
    (c) the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the 
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s);
    (d) the quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company 
transfers of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s); 
and
    (e) the value of (i) net sales, (ii) cost of goods sold (COGS), 
(iii) gross profit, (iv) selling, general and administrative (SG&A) 
expenses, and (v) operating income of the Domestic Like Product 
produced in your U.S. plant(s) (include both U.S. and export commercial 
sales, internal consumption, and company transfers) for your most 
recently completed fiscal year (identify the date on which your fiscal 
year ends).
    (10) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of 
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from any Subject Country, 
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that 
product during calendar year 2015 (report quantity data in pounds and 
value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/business association, 
provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are 
members of your association.
    (a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including 
antidumping duties) of U.S. imports and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise from each 
Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') imports;
    (b) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
duties) of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject Merchandise imported 
from each Subject Country; and
    (c) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping 
duties) of U.S. internal consumption/company transfers of Subject 
Merchandise imported from each Subject Country.
    (11) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business 
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in any 
Subject Country, provide the following information on your firm's(s') 
operations on that product during calendar year 2015 (report quantity 
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, landed and duty-paid at 
the U.S. port but not including antidumping duties). If you are a 
trade/business association, provide the information, on an aggregate 
basis, for the firms which are members of your association.
    (a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in each Subject 
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm(s) to produce the Subject 
Merchandise in each Subject Country (i.e., the level of production that 
your establishment(s) could reasonably have expected to attain during 
the year, assuming normal operating conditions (using equipment and 
machinery in place and ready to operate), normal operating levels 
(hours per week/weeks per year), time for

[[Page 50547]]

downtime, maintenance, repair, and cleanup, and a typical or 
representative product mix); and
    (c) the quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United 
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the 
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise 
from each Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') exports.
    (12) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand 
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have 
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject 
Merchandise in each Subject Country after 2010, and significant 
changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a reasonably 
foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include technology; 
production methods; development efforts; ability to increase production 
(including the shift of production facilities used for other products 
and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs into production); 
and factors related to the ability to shift supply among different 
national markets (including barriers to importation in foreign markets 
or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions to consider 
include end uses and applications; the existence and availability of 
substitute products; and the level of competition among the Domestic 
Like Product produced in the United States, Subject Merchandise 
produced in each Subject Country, and such merchandise from other 
countries.
    (13) (OPTIONAL) A statement of whether you agree with the above 
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you 
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why 
and provide alternative definitions.

    Authority: This proceeding is being conducted under authority of 
title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published 
pursuant to Sec.  207.61 of the Commission's rules.

    By order of the Commission.
Lisa R. Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2016-17660 Filed 7-29-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 7020-02-P