[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 222 (Thursday, November 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81064-81065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27660]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-836]


Glycine From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review

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

SUMMARY: In response to a request from Salvi Chemical Industries Ltd. 
(Salvi), the Department of Commerce (the Department) is initiating a 
changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on glycine 
from the People's Republic of China (PRC).

DATES: Effective November 17, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dena Crossland or Brian Davis, 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-
3362 or (202) 482-7924, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 18, 2016, the Department received a request from Salvi to 
initiate a changed circumstances review in order for the Department to 
determine that the glycine produced by Salvi is no longer processed 
from PRC-origin glycine.\1\ Additionally, Salvi requests that the 
Department determine that importers of glycine from Salvi are eligible 
to participate in a certification process.\2\ Salvi refers to an anti-
circumvention inquiry, where the Department determined that Salvi was 
processing Chinese glycine, and that glycine processed in India of 
Chinese origin does not change country of origin, and, therefore, Salvi 
had circumvented the Order.\3\ As part of our determination, we stated 
that Salvi could not take part in a certification process, whereby 
Salvi's importers could certify that they had not imported Chinese-
origin glycine and would not be subject to the antidumping duty rate 
for Chinese glycine.\4\ This certification process was established to 
ensure that merchandise entering the United States from India was 
properly identified as subject or non-subject merchandise. However, we 
also stated that Salvi could request an administrative review or a 
changed circumstances review to show that it is no longer processing 
PRC-glycine and exporting such glycine from India.\5\ If the Department 
determined that Salvi is no longer processing PRC-origin glycine, and 
instead is producing glycine from raw materials of non-PRC origin, the 
Department could allow the importers of Salvi's product to certify that 
the glycine being produced and exported is not processed PRC-origin 
glycine.\6\
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    \1\ See Letter to the Department of Commerce from Salvi Chemical 
Industries Limited regarding ``Glycine from the People's Republic of 
China: Request for Changed Circumstances Review,'' dated July 18, 
2016.
    \2\ Id.
    \3\ See Glycine From the People's Republic of China: Final 
Partial Affirmative Determination of Circumvention of the 
Antidumping Duty Order, 77 FR 73426 (December 10, 2012) 
(Circumvention Notice) and accompanying Issues and Decision 
Memorandum for the Final Determination of the Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order on Glycine from the People's 
Republic of China. See also Antidumping Duty Order: Glycine From the 
People's Republic of China, 60 FR 16116 (March 29, 1995) (Order) and 
Final Scope Ruling Concerning the Antidumping Duty Order on Glycine 
from the People's Republic of China, Memorandum from Richard Weible 
to Gary Taverman, dated December 3, 2012 (Final Scope Ruling).
    \4\ See Circumvention Notice and Final Scope Ruling.
    \5\ See Final Scope Ruling.
    \6\ Id.
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    On July 26, 2016, the Department received comments from domestic 
interested party, GEO Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (GEO), regarding 
Salvi's request.\7\ On August 29, 2016, we extended the deadline to 
initiate until October 17, 2016, in order to collect information and 
legible exhibits from Salvi, because it did not submit a sufficient 
response, and to consider interested parties' comments.\8\ On September 
9, 2016, we issued a questionnaire to Salvi, to which it responded on 
September 26, 2016.\9\ On October 6, 2016, GEO submitted comments on 
Salvi's questionnaire response.\10\ On October 13, 2016, we determined 
that we had a sufficient request from Salvi and that the deadline for 
initiating a changed circumstances review should be November 10, 
2016.\11\ On October 20, 2016, Salvi placed on the record certain 
information issued by the Department in the recently completed 2014-
2015 administrative review under this antidumping duty order.\12\ On 
October 27, 2016, GEO

[[Page 81065]]

provided comments on Salvi's October 20, 2016 submission.\13\
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    \7\ See Letter to the Department of Commerce from GEO Specialty 
Chemicals, Inc. regarding ``Glycine from the People's Republic of 
China: GEO's Opposition to Salvi's Request for Changed Circumstances 
Review,'' dated July 26, 2016.
    \8\ See Letter from the Department of Commerce to Salvi Chemical 
Industries Limited regarding ``Request for Changed Circumstances 
Review--Glycine from the People's Republic of China,'' dated August 
29, 2016.
    \9\ See Letter from the Department of Commerce to Salvi Chemical 
Industries Limited, dated September 9, 2016 and Letter to the 
Department of Commerce from Salvi Chemical Industries Limited 
regarding ``Glycine from the People's Republic of China: Changed 
Circumstances Review Response,'' dated September 26, 2016.
    \10\ See Letter to the Department of Commerce from GEO Specialty 
Chemicals, Inc. regarding ``Glycine from the People's Republic of 
China: GEO's Comments Regarding Salvi's September 26, 2016 Response 
to the Department September 9, 2016 Questionnaire,'' dated October 
6, 2016.
    \11\ See Memorandum to The File from Dena Crossland, 
International Trade Analyst, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, 
Enforcement and Compliance, regarding ``Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review of Glycine from the People's Republic of 
China'' and on the subject of ``Changed Circumstances Review 
Deadline,'' dated October 13, 2016.
    \12\ See Letter to the Department of Commerce from Salvi 
Chemical Industries Limited regarding ``Glycine from the People's 
Republic of China: Changed Circumstances Review; Placing Information 
from the 2014-2015 Administrative Review on the Administrative 
Record,'' dated October 20, 2016; and Glycine From the People's 
Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review; 2014-2015, 81 FR 72567 (October 20, 2016) and corresponding 
``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final Results of the 
Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order on Glycine from 
the People's Republic of China; 2014-2015.''
    \13\ See Letter to the Department of Commerce from GEO Specialty 
Chemicals, Inc. regarding ``Glycine from the People's Republic of 
China: GEO's Comments Regarding Salvi's October 20, 2016 Placement 
of Information from the 2014-2015 Administrative Review on the 
Record,'' dated October 27, 2016.
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by this antidumping duty order is glycine, 
which is a free-flowing crystalline material, like salt or sugar. 
Glycine is produced at varying levels of purity and is used as a 
sweetener/taste enhancer, a buffering agent, reabsorbable amino acid, 
chemical intermediate, and a metal complexing agent. This proceeding 
includes glycine of all purity levels. Glycine is currently classified 
under subheading 2922.49.4020 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS).\14\ Although the HTSUS subheading is provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
merchandise under the order is dispositive.\15\
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    \14\ In separate scope rulings, the Department determined that: 
(a) D(-) Phenylglycine Ethyl Dane Salt is outside the scope of the 
order and (b) PRC-glycine exported from India remains the same class 
or kind of merchandise as the PRC-origin glycine imported into 
India. See Notice of Scope Rulings and Anticircumvention Inquiries, 
62 FR 62288 (November 21, 1997) and Circumvention Notice, 
respectively.
    \15\ See Order.
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Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), the Department will conduct a changed circumstances review 
upon receipt of information concerning, or a request from an interested 
party of, an antidumping duty order which shows changed circumstances 
sufficient to warrant a review of the order. In accordance with 19 CFR 
351.216(d), based on the information provided by Salvi, the Department 
finds that there is sufficient information to initiate a changed 
circumstances review. Therefore, we are initiating a changed 
circumstances review pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.216(d) to determine whether Salvi is no longer processing PRC-
origin glycine, and instead is producing glycine from raw materials of 
non-PRC origin, and whether it should be able to participate in the 
certification process described in the Final Scope Ruling. The 
Department intends to publish in the Federal Register a notice of 
preliminary results of the antidumping duty changed circumstances 
review in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4) and 19 CFR 
351.221(c)(3)(i), which will set forth the Department's preliminary 
factual and legal conclusions. The Department will issue its final 
results of review in accordance with the time limits set forth in 19 
CFR 351.216(e).
    This notice is in accordance with section 751(b)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: November 10, 2016.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2016-27660 Filed 11-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P