[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 237 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89050-89053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29569]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-831]


Fresh Garlic From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 
Results and Partial Rescission of the 21st Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review; 2014-2015

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) is conducting the 21st 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on fresh garlic 
from the People's Republic of China (PRC), covering the period of 
review (POR) November 1, 2014, through October 31, 2015. This review 
covers 42 manufacturers/exporters of subject merchandise. We 
preliminarily find that the mandatory respondents Zhengzhou Harmoni 
Spice Co., Ltd (Harmoni) and Qingdao Tiantaixing Foods Co., Ltd. (QTF) 
each failed to cooperate to the best of its ability. As a result, we 
preliminarily find that Harmoni has not rebutted the presumption that 
it is part of the PRC-wide entity, and we preliminarily base QTF's 
dumping margin on adverse facts available. In addition, we 
preliminarily find that voluntary respondent Shenzhen Xinboda 
Industrial Co., Ltd. (Xinboda) made sales of subject merchandise at 
less than normal value (NV). We invite interested parties to comment on 
these preliminary results.

DATES: Effective December 9, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Wallace or Alexander Cipolla, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
6251 or (202) 482-4956.

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by the order includes all grades of garlic, 
whole or separated into constituent cloves. Fresh garlic that are 
subject to the order are currently classified under the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 0703.20.0010, 
0703.20.0020, and 0703.20.0090. Although the HTSUS numbers are provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the written product description 
remains dispositive. For a full description of the scope of this order, 
please see ``III. Scope of the Order'' in the accompanying Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\1\
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    \1\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, 
``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the 2014-2015 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Fresh Garlic From the 
People's Republic of China'' (December 5, 2016) (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

    On January 7, 2016, the Department initiated a review of 42 
companies in this proceeding.\2\ On March 11, 2016, withdrawal requests 
were timely filed for 14 companies.\3\ The Department is, therefore, 
partially rescinding this review with respect to the companies listed 
in Appendix I, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).
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    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 81 FR 736 (January 7, 2016) (Initiation 
Notice). For a list of the 42 companies, see id. at 81 FR 738-739.
    \3\ See Letter from Petitioners, ``21st Administrative Review of 
the Antidumping Duty Order on Fresh Garlic From the People's 
Republic of China--Petitioners' Withdrawal of Certain Requests for 
Administrative Review,'' (March 11, 2016).
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Affiliation

    For the reasons set forth in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
and in accordance with 19 CFR 351.401(f), and the Department's 
practice, we are treating QTF, Qingdao Tianhefeng Foods Co., Ltd. 
(QTHF), Qingdao Beixing Trading Co., Ltd. (QBT), Qingdao Lianghe 
International Trade Co., Ltd. (Lianghe), and Qingdao Xintianfeng Foods 
Co., Ltd (QXF) as a single entity, for the purposes of this preliminary 
determination.\4\
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    \4\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum ``Affiliations'' 
section.
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export 
prices were calculated in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. 
Because the PRC is a non-market economy (NME) within the meaning of 
section 771(18) of the Act, NV has been calculated in accordance with 
section 773(c) of the Act. We relied, in part, on the facts available, 
with adverse inferences, for our preliminary determination, in 
accordance with section 776 of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, which is hereby 
adopted by this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public 
document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's

[[Page 89051]]

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 on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.

PRC-Wide Entity

    The Department's policy regarding conditional review of the PRC-
wide entity applies to this administrative review.\5\ Under this 
policy, the PRC-wide entity will not be under review unless a party 
specifically requests, or the Department self-initiates, a review of 
the entity. Because no party requested a review of the PRC-wide entity 
in this review, the entity is not under review and the entity's rate 
(i.e., $4.71/kg) is not subject to change. Aside from the no shipments 
companies discussed below, and the companies for which the review is 
being rescinded, the Department considers all other companies for which 
a review was requested, and which did not preliminarily qualify for a 
separate rate, to be part of the PRC-wide entity. For additional 
information, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in 
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty 
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity 
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
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Preliminary Determination of Separate Rates for Non-Selected Companies

    In accordance with section 777A(c)(2)(B) of the Act, the Department 
employed a limited examination methodology, as it determined that it 
would not be practicable to examine individually all companies for 
which a review request was made.\6\ There were five exporters of 
subject merchandise from the PRC that have demonstrated their 
eligibility for a separate rate but were not selected for individual 
examination in this review. These five exporters are listed in Appendix 
II.
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    \6\ See Memorandum to Edward Yang, ``Administrative Review of 
the Antidumping Duty Order on Fresh Garlic From the People's 
Republic of China: Respondent Selection Memorandum,'' dated March 1, 
2016.
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    Neither the Act nor the Department's regulations address the 
establishment of the rate applied to individual companies not selected 
for examination where the Department limited its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. The 
Department's practice in cases involving limited selection based on 
exporters accounting for the largest volume of imports has been to look 
to section 735(c)(5) of the Act for guidance, which provides 
instructions for calculating the all-others rate in an investigation. 
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act instructs the Department to use rates 
established for individually investigated producers and exporters, 
excluding any rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on 
facts available in investigations. In this review, we calculated a 
preliminary weighted-average dumping margin for Xinboda, while we 
preliminarily determined that the application of facts available with 
adverse inferences is warranted for Harmoni and QTF. Therefore for the 
preliminary results, the Department has preliminarily determined to 
assign Xinboda's rate to the non-selected separate-rate companies.

Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    The companies listed in Appendix III timely filed ``no shipment'' 
certifications stating that they had no entries into the United States 
of subject merchandise during the POR. Consistent with its practice, 
the Department asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
conduct a query of potential shipments made by these companies. CBP 
provided information \7\ that indicated that one of the companies had 
shipments into the United States during the POR. In addition, the 
Department has found two of these companies to be a part of the QTF 
entity, discussed further in the ``Affiliations'' section of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Based on the certifications by the 
remaining companies and our analysis of CBP information, we 
preliminarily determine that the companies listed in Appendix III did 
not have any reviewable transactions during the POR. In addition, the 
Department finds that consistent with its refinement to its assessment 
practice in NME cases, further discussed below, it is appropriate not 
to preliminarily rescind the review, in part, in these circumstances, 
but rather to complete the review with respect to these 10 companies, 
and issue appropriate instructions to CBP based on the final results of 
the review.\8\
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    \7\ See Memorandum from Alexander Cipolla, ``21st Administrative 
Review of Fresh Garlic From the People's Republic of China: 
Concerning Shenzhen Yuting Foodstuff Co., Ltd.'s No Shipment 
Certification,'' dated December 5, 2016.
    \8\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694, 65694-95 (October 24, 2011); see 
also ``Assessment Rates'' section below.
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Preliminary Results of Review

    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist for the period November 1, 2014, 
through October 31, 2015:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Weighted- average
                       Exporter                         margin (dollars
                                                         per kilogram)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shenzhen Xinboda Industrial Co., Ltd.................               2.27
Jinan Farmlady Trading Co., Ltd......................               2.27
Jining Alpha Food Co., Ltd...........................               2.27
Shandong Jinxiang Zhengyang Import & Export Co., Ltd.               2.27
Shenzhen Bainong Co., Ltd............................               2.27
Weifang Hongqiao International Logistics Co., Ltd....               2.27
Qingdao Tiantaixing Foods Co., Ltd...................               4.71
PRC-Wide Rate........................................               4.71
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[[Page 89052]]

Disclosure, Public Comment and Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    The Department intends to disclose the calculations used in our 
analysis to parties in this review within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    Interested parties may submit written comments (case briefs) no 
later than 30 days after the date of publication of these preliminary 
results of review, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(ii) and rebuttal 
comments (rebuttal briefs) within five days after the time limit for 
filing case briefs, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.(d)(1). Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.309(d)(2), rebuttal briefs must be limited to issues raised in the 
case briefs. Parties who submit arguments are requested to submit with 
the argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the 
argument; and, (3) a table of authorities. See 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements). All electronically filed documents must 
be received successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic 
records system, ACCESS.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310, any interested party may request a 
hearing within 30 days of publication of this notice. Hearing requests 
should contain the following information: (1) The party's name, 
address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) 
a list of the issues to be discussed. Oral presentations will be 
limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs. Id. If a 
party requests a hearing, the Department will inform parties of the 
scheduled date for the hearing which will be held 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.
    The Department intends to issue the final results of this review, 
including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in any 
written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication 
of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results, the Department will determine, 
and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries 
covered by this review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b). For the 
companies for which this review is rescinded, antidumping duties shall 
be assessed at rates equal to the cash deposit of estimated antidumping 
duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for 
consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i).\9\ The 
Department will direct CBP to assess rates based on the per-unit (i.e., 
per kilogram) amount on each entry of the subject merchandise during 
the POR. The Department intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 
15 days after the publication date of the final results of review.
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    \9\ If our determination in the final results is to rescind this 
administrative review with respect to Kaihua, then we will not issue 
liquidation instructions for Jinxiang Kaihua Import & Export Co., 
unless the preliminary injunction entered on October 22, 2015, in 
Court of International Trade case number 15-00289 has lifted.
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    The Department announced a refinement to its assessment practice in 
NME cases. Pursuant to this refinement in practice, for merchandise 
that was not reported in the U.S. sales databases submitted by an 
exporter individually examined during this review, but that entered 
under the case number of that exporter (i.e., at the individually-
examined exporter's cash deposit rate), the Department will instruct 
CBP to liquidate such entries at the NME-wide rate. In addition, if the 
Department determines that an exporter under review had no shipments of 
the subject merchandise, any suspended entries that entered under that 
exporter's case number (i.e., at that exporter's rate) will be 
liquidated at the PRC-wide rate.\10\
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    \10\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Non-Market 
Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this review for shipments of the 
subject merchandise from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by 
sections 751(a)(2) of the Act: (1) For the companies listed above, the 
cash deposit rate will be the rate established in these final results 
of review (except, if the rate is zero or de minimis, then zero cash 
deposit will be required for that company); (2) for previously 
investigated or reviewed PRC and non-PRC exporters not listed above 
that have separate rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the 
exporter-specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) for 
all PRC exporters of subject merchandise which have not been found to 
be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the PRC-
wide rate of 4.71 U.S. dollars per kilogram; and (4) for all non-PRC 
exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own 
rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the PRC 
exporter that supplied that non-PRC exporter. These requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in the Department's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.213(h) and 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: December 5, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Companies For Which Reviews Have Been Rescinded

1. Anqiu Friend Food Co., Ltd.
2. Jinxiang Chengda Import & Export Co., Ltd.
3. Jinxiang Infarm Fruits & Vegetables Co., Ltd.
4. Jinxiang Tianma Freezing Storage Co., Ltd.
5. Nanyang Nianfeng Food Co., Ltd.
6. Qingdao Jia Shan Trade Co.
7. Qingdao Ritai Food Co., Ltd.
8. Shandong Helu International Trade Co., Ltd.
9. Shandong Libaqiang
10. Shandong Longtai Fruits and Vegetables Co., Ltd.
11. Weifang Naike Foodstuffs Co., Ltd.
12. Weifang Shennong Foodstuff Co., Ltd.
13. Weifang Wangyuan Food Co., Ltd.
14. Zhengzhou Xiwannian Food Co., Ltd.

Appendix II--Non-Selected Separate Rate Companies

1. Jinan Farmlady Trading Co., Ltd.
2. Jining Alpha Food Co., Ltd.
3. Shandong Jinxiang Zhengyang Import & Export Co., Ltd.
4. Shenzhen Bainong Co., Ltd.
5. Weifang Hongqiao International Logistics Co., Ltd.

Appendix III--Companies That Have Certified No Shipments

1. Jining Yifa Garlic Produce Co., Ltd.
2. Jining Shengtai Fruits & Vegetables Co., Ltd.
3. Jining Shunchang Import & Export Co., Ltd.
4. Jinxiang Guihua Food Co., Ltd.
5. Jinxiang Richfar Fruits & Vegetables Co., Ltd.
6. Qingdao Maycarrier Import & Export Co., Ltd.
7. Qingdao Sea-Line International Trading

[[Page 89053]]

Co., Ltd.
8. Shandong Chenhe International Trading Co., Ltd.
9. Shijiazhuang Goodman Trading Co., Ltd.
10. Yantai Jinyan Trading, Inc.

[FR Doc. 2016-29569 Filed 12-8-16; 8:45 a.m.]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P