[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8720-8722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01955]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-832]


Pure Magnesium From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2015-2016

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') is conducting an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on pure magnesium 
from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''), covering the period May 
1, 2015, through April 30, 2016. The Department preliminarily 
determines that Tianjin Magnesium International, Co., Ltd. (``TMI'') 
and Tianjin Magnesium Metal, Co., Ltd. (``TMM'') (collectively ``TMI/
TMM'') \1\ did not have reviewable entries during the period of review 
(``POR''). We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary 
results.
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    \1\ In the 2011-2012 administrative review of the order, the 
Department determined TMM and TMI to be collapsed and treated as a 
single company for purposes of the proceeding and, because there 
were no changes to the facts which supported that decision since 
that determination was made, we continue to find that these 
companies are part of a single entity for this administrative 
review. See Pure Magnesium From the People's Republic of China: 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2011-2012, 
79 FR 94 (January 2, 2014) and accompanying Issues and Decision 
Memorandum at Comment 5.

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DATES: Effective January 30, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James Terpstra or Brendan Quinn, AD/

[[Page 8721]]

CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3965 or (202) 
482-5848, respectively.

Background

    On May 2, 2016, the Department published a notice of opportunity to 
request an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on pure 
magnesium from the PRC for the POR.\2\ On May 31, 2016, in response to 
a timely request from Petitioner,\3\ and in accordance with section 
751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the ``Act''), and 19 CFR 
351.221(c)(1)(i), we initiated an administrative review of the 
antidumping duty order on pure magnesium from the PRC with respect to 
TMI and TMM.\4\
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    \2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review, 81 FR 26206 (May 2, 2016).
    \3\ See letter from U.S. Magnesium, ``Pure Magnesium from the 
People's Republic of China: Request for Administrative Review,'' 
dated May 31, 2016.
    \4\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 81 FR 44260 (July 7, 2016) (``Initiation 
Notice'').
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Scope of the Order

    Merchandise covered by the order is pure magnesium regardless of 
chemistry, form or size, unless expressly excluded from the scope of 
the order. Pure magnesium is a metal or alloy containing by weight 
primarily the element magnesium and produced by decomposing raw 
materials into magnesium metal. Pure primary magnesium is used 
primarily as a chemical in the aluminum alloying, desulfurization, and 
chemical reduction industries. In addition, pure magnesium is used as 
an input in producing magnesium alloy. Pure magnesium encompasses 
products (including, but not limited to, butt ends, stubs, crowns and 
crystals) with the following primary magnesium contents:
    (1) Products that contain at least 99.95% primary magnesium, by 
weight (generally referred to as ``ultra pure'' magnesium);
    (2) Products that contain less than 99.95% but not less than 99.8% 
primary magnesium, by weight (generally referred to as ``pure'' 
magnesium); and
    (3) Products that contain 50% or greater, but less than 99.8% 
primary magnesium, by weight, and that do not conform to ASTM 
specifications for alloy magnesium (generally referred to as ``off-
specification pure'' magnesium).
    ``Off-specification pure'' magnesium is pure primary magnesium 
containing magnesium scrap, secondary magnesium, oxidized magnesium or 
impurities (whether or not intentionally added) that cause the primary 
magnesium content to fall below 99.8% by weight. It generally does not 
contain, individually or in combination, 1.5% or more, by weight, of 
the following alloying elements: Aluminum, manganese, zinc, silicon, 
thorium, zirconium and rare earths.
    Excluded from the scope of the order are alloy primary magnesium 
(that meets specifications for alloy magnesium), primary magnesium 
anodes, granular primary magnesium (including turnings, chips and 
powder) having a maximum physical dimension (i.e., length or diameter) 
of one inch or less, secondary magnesium (which has pure primary 
magnesium content of less than 50% by weight), and remelted magnesium 
whose pure primary magnesium content is less than 50% by weight.
    Pure magnesium products covered by the order are currently 
classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(``HTSUS'') subheadings 8104.11.00, 8104.19.00, 8104.20.00, 8104.30.00, 
8104.90.00, 3824.90.11, 3824.90.19 and 9817.00.90. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the scope is dispositive.

Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    We received timely submissions from TMM and TMI certifying that 
they did not have sales, shipments, or exports of subject merchandise 
to the United States during the POR.\5\ In order to examine TMM's and 
TMI's claim, we sent an inquiry to CBP requesting that it provide any 
information contrary to these no-shipments claims.\6\ We received none. 
On August 15, 2016, Petitioner submitted public information it alleged 
contradicts TMM's and TMI's certifications of no shipments of subject 
merchandise during the POR.\7\
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    \5\ See Letter from TMM, ``Pure Magnesium from the People's 
Republic of China; A-570-832; Certification of No Sales by Tianjin 
Magnesium Metal Co., Ltd.,'' dated July 25, 2016, at 1. See letter 
from TMI, ``Pure Magnesium from the People's Republic of China; A-
570-832; Certification of No Sales by Tianjin Magnesium 
International, Co., Ltd.,'' dated August 1, 2016.
    \6\ See No Shipments Memo at Attachment 2. See also CBP message 
6273308, dated September 29, 2016.
    \7\ See letter from Petitioner, ``Pure Magnesium from the 
People's Republic of China: Response to TMM/TMI's No Shipment 
Certifications,'' dated August 15, 2016, at Exhibits 1, 2, and 3. We 
provided the information submitted by Petitioner to CBP on November 
4, 2016. See the Department's letter to Alexander Amdur, Director, 
AD/CVD Policy & Programs Division, Office of International Trade 
U.S. Customs & Border Protection, from Wendy J. Frankel Director, 
Customs Liaison Unit, ``Pure Magnesium from the People's Republic of 
China and Magnesium Metal from the People's Republic of China,'' 
dated November 4, 2016, at Attachment II.
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    Because we have not received information to the contrary from CBP, 
consistent with our practice, we preliminarily determine that TMI/TMM 
had no shipments and, therefore, no reviewable entries during the POR. 
Further, consistent with our practice in non-market economy (``NME'') 
cases, the Department is not rescinding this review, but intends to 
complete the review with respect to TMI/TMM and issue appropriate 
instructions to CBP based on the final results of the review.\8\
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    \8\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694, 65694-95 (October 24, 2011) and 
the ``Assessment Rates'' section, below.
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Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.\9\ Rebuttals to case briefs, which must be limited to issues 
raised in the case briefs, must be filed within five days after the 
date for filing case briefs.\10\ Parties who submit arguments in this 
proceeding are requested to submit with each argument: (a) A statement 
of the issue, (b) a brief summary of the argument, and (c) a table of 
authorities.\11\ Parties submitting briefs should do so pursuant to the 
Department's electronic filing system: Enforcement and Compliance's 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (``ACCESS'').\12\ ACCESS is available to registered users at 
https://access.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the 
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce 
building.
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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1)(2).
    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2), (d)(2).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), 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 
within 30 days of the date 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 issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will 
be limited to those

[[Page 8722]]

raised in the respective case briefs. If a request for a hearing is 
made, parties will be notified of the time and date of the hearing 
which will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230.
    Unless extended, we intend to issue the final results of this 
administrative review, including our analysis of all issues raised in 
any written brief, not later than 120 days of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register, 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.\13\ We intend to issue assessment instructions 
to CBP 15 days after the publication date of the final results of this 
review. Pursuant to the Department's practice in NME cases, if the 
Department continues to determine in the final results that that TMI/
TMM had no shipments of subject merchandise, any suspended entries 
during the POR from TMI/TMM will be liquidated at the PRC-wide 
rate.\14\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \14\ 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 administrative review for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as 
provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For TMI/TMM, which 
claimed no shipments, the cash deposit rate will remain unchanged from 
the rate assigned to TMI/TMM in the most recently completed review of 
the company; (2) for previously investigated or reviewed PRC and non-
PRC exporters who are not under review in this segment of the 
proceeding but who 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 that have not 
been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate 
will be the PRC-wide rate of 111.73 percent; 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(s) that supplied that non-PRC exporter. These deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement off antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this period. Failure to comply with this 
requirement may result in the Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    This notice is issued in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 
777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: January 24, 2017.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2017-01955 Filed 1-27-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P