[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42790-42792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19287]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-351-849, A-580-890, A-201-848, A-455-805]


Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber From Brazil, the Republic of 
Korea, Mexico, and Poland: Antidumping Duty Orders

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission (the 
ITC), the Department is issuing antidumping duty orders on emulsion 
styrene-butadiene rubber (ESB rubber) from Brazil, the Republic of 
Korea (Korea), Mexico, and Poland.

DATES: Applicable September 12, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Drew Jackson at (202) 482-4406, 
(Brazil); Carrie Bethea at (202) 482-1491, (Korea); Julia Hancock, 
(202) 482-1394 (Mexico); Stephen Bailey at (202) 482-0193, (Poland), 
AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(c), on July 19, 2017, 
the Department published affirmative final determinations in the less-
than-fair-value (LTFV) investigations of ESB rubber from Brazil, Korea, 
Mexico, and Poland.\1\ On September 1, 2017, the ITC notified the 
Department of its affirmative determination that an industry in the 
United States is materially injured within the meaning of section 
735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, by reason of the LTFV imports of ESB rubber 
from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland, and its determination that 
critical circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of subject 
merchandise from Korea subject to the Department's affirmative critical 
circumstances determination.\2\
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    \1\ See Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from Brazil: Final 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final 
Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances, 82 FR 33048 (July 
19, 2017) (Brazil Final); Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the 
Republic of Korea: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value, and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances, in Part, 82 FR 33045 (July 19, 2017) (Korea Final); 
Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from Mexico: Final Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 82 FR 33062 (July 
19, 2017) (Mexico Final); and Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from 
Poland: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, 82 FR 33061 (July 19, 2017) (Poland Final).
    \2\ See Letter to Gary Taverman, Acting Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance, from Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, 
Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission, regarding 
emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and 
Poland (September 1, 2017) (ITC Letter).
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    For Mexico, on July 17, 2017, we received comments from Industrias 
Negromex S.A. de C.V. (Negromex), the sole mandatory respondent in the 
Mexico investigation, that we made ministerial errors in our final 
determination.\3\ The allegations raised by Negromex in its comments do 
not result in a change to Negromex's margin from the final 
determination. As such, we are not amending Negromex's margin from the 
final determination.\4\
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    \3\ See Mexico Final.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Emulsion 
Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from Mexico: Ministerial Error Allegations 
Memorandum,'' dated August 22, 2017.
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Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by these orders are cold-polymerized emulsion 
styrene-butadiene rubber. For a complete description of the scope of 
these orders, see the Appendix to this notice.

Antidumping Duty Orders

    In accordance with sections 735(b)(1)(A)(i) and 735(d) of the Act, 
the ITC notified the Department of its final determinations in these 
investigations, in which it found that an industry in the United States 
is materially injured by reason of imports of ESB rubber from Brazil, 
Korea, Mexico, and Poland. The ITC also notified the Department of its 
determination that critical circumstances do not exist with respect to 
imports of ESB rubber from Korea subject to the Department's critical 
circumstances finding.\5\ Therefore, in accordance with section 
735(c)(2) of the Act, the Department is issuing these antidumping duty 
orders. Because the ITC determined that imports of ESB rubber from 
Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland are materially injuring a U.S. 
industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from Brazil, Korea, 
Mexico, and Poland, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption, are subject to the assessment of antidumping duties.
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    \5\ See ITC Letter.
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    As a result of the ITC's final determination, in accordance with 
section 736(a)(1) of the Act, the Department will direct U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further instruction by the 
Department, antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the normal 
value of the merchandise exceeds the export price (or constructed 
export price) of the merchandise, for all relevant entries of ESB 
rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland. Antidumping duties will 
be assessed on unliquidated entries of ESB rubber from Brazil, Korea, 
Mexico, and Poland entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after February 24, 2017, the date of publication of 
the preliminary determinations,\6\ but will

[[Page 42791]]

not include entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional 
measures period and before publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination as further described below.
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    \6\ See Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from Brazil: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances, 
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional 
Measures, 82 FR 11538 (February 24, 2017) (Brazil Preliminary 
Determination); Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Republic 
of Korea: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value, Affirmative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances, in Part, Postponement of Final Determination, and 
Extension of Provisional Measures, 82 FR 11536 (February 24, 2017) 
(Korea Preliminary Determination); Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber 
from Mexico: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension 
of Provisional Measures, 82 FR 11534 (February 24, 2017) (Mexico 
Preliminary Determination); and Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber 
from Poland: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension 
of Provisional Measures, 82 FR 11531 (February 24, 2017) (Poland 
Preliminary Determination).
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department 
will instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation on all relevant 
entries of ESB rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland. These 
instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further 
notice.
    The Department will also instruct CBP to require cash deposits 
equal to the amounts as indicated below. Accordingly, effective on the 
date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury 
determinations, CBP will require, at the same time as importers would 
normally deposit estimated duties on this subject merchandise, a cash 
deposit equal to the cash deposit rates listed below.\7\ The relevant 
all-others rates apply to all producers or exporters not specifically 
listed, as appropriate.
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    \7\ See section 736(a)(3) of the Act.
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Provisional Measures

    Section 733(d) of the Act states that instructions issued pursuant 
to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect 
for more than four months, except where exporters representing a 
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise request 
the Department to extend that four-month period to no more than six 
months. At the request of exporters that account for a significant 
proportion of ESB rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland, the 
Department extended the four-month period to six months in each 
case.\8\ In the underlying investigations, the Department published the 
preliminary determinations on February 24, 2017. Therefore, the 
extended period, beginning on the date of publication of the 
preliminary determination, ended on August 24, 2017. Furthermore, 
section 737(b) of the Act states that the collection of final, 
estimated cash deposits will begin on the date of publication of the 
ITC's final injury determination.
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    \8\ See Brazil Preliminary Determination; Korea Preliminary 
Determination; Mexico Preliminary Determination; and Poland 
Preliminary Determination.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Act and our 
practice, the Department will instruct CBP to terminate the suspension 
of liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, 
unliquidated entries of ESB rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and 
Poland entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption after 
August 24, 2017, the date on which the provisional measures expired, 
until and through the day preceding the date of publication of the 
ITC's final injury determinations in the Federal Register. Suspension 
of liquidation will resume on the date of publication of the ITC's 
final determination in the Federal Register.

Critical Circumstances

    With regard to the ITC's negative critical circumstances 
determination on imports of subject merchandise from Korea, the 
Department will instruct CBP to lift suspension and to refund any cash 
deposits made to secure the payment of estimated antidumping duties 
with respect to entries of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after November 26, 2016 (i.e., 90 
days prior to the date of publication of the preliminary 
determinations), but before February 24, 2017, (i.e., the date of 
publication of the preliminary determinations).

Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins

    The weighted-average antidumping duty margin percentages and cash 
deposit rates are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter or producer                        dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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                                 Brazil
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ARLANXEO Brasil S.A.........................................       19.61
All-Others..................................................       19.61
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                                  Korea
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LG Chem, Ltd................................................        9.66
Daewoo International Corporation............................    ** 44.30
Kumho Petrochemical Co, Ltd.................................    ** 44.30
All-Others..................................................        9.66
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                                 Mexico
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Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V.--Planta Altamira (Negromex)       19.52
All-Others..................................................       19.52
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                                 Poland
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Synthos Dwory...............................................       25.43
All-Others..................................................       25.43
------------------------------------------------------------------------
** (AFA).

    This notice constitutes the antidumping duty orders with respect to 
ESB rubber from Brazil, Korea, Mexico, and Poland pursuant to section 
736(a) of the Act. Interested parties can find a list of antidumping 
duty orders currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    These orders are published in accordance with section 736(a) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: September 6, 2017.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by these orders are cold-polymerized 
emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber. The scope of the orders includes, 
but is not limited to, ESB rubber in primary forms, bales, granules, 
crumbs, pellets, powders, plates, sheets, strip, etc. ESB rubber 
consists of non-pigmented rubbers and oil-extended non-pigmented 
rubbers, both of which contain at least one percent of organic acids 
from the emulsion polymerization process.
    ESB rubber is produced and sold in accordance with a generally 
accepted set of product specifications issued by the International 
Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP). The scope of the 
investigations covers grades of ESB rubber included in the IISRP 
1500 and 1700 series of synthetic rubbers. The 1500 grades are light 
in color and are often described as ``Clear'' or ``White Rubber.'' 
The 1700 grades are oil-extended and thus darker in color, and are 
often called ``Brown Rubber.''
    Specifically excluded from the scope of these orders are 
products which are manufactured by blending ESB rubber with other 
polymers, high styrene resin master batch, carbon black master batch 
(i.e., IISRP 1600 series and 1800 series) and latex (an intermediate 
product).
    The products subject to these orders are currently classifiable 
under subheadings 4002.19.0015 and 4002.19.0019 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). ESB rubber is 
described by Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) Registry No. 9003-55-
8. This CAS number also refers to other types of styrene butadiene 
rubber. Although the HTSUS subheadings and CAS registry number are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written

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description of the scope of these investigations is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2017-19287 Filed 9-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P