[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 31 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6513-6515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02915]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-985]


Xanthan Gum From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of 
the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and Final Determination of 
No Shipments; 2015-2016

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that Deosen 
Biochemical Ltd./Deosen Biochemical (Ordos) Ltd. (collectively, Deosen) 
made sales of xanthan gum from the People's Republic of China (China) 
at prices below normal value (NV) and that Neimenggu Fufeng 
Biotechnologies Co., Ltd./Shandong Fufeng Fermentation Co., Ltd./
Xinjiang Fufeng Biotechnologies Co., Ltd. (collectively, Fufeng) did 
not. We continue to find that the four companies which were not 
selected for individual examination have demonstrated their eligibility 
for separate rates in the final results. These four companies are CP 
Kelco (Shandong) Biological Company Limited (CP Kelco Shandong, 
Jianlong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (a.k.a. Inner Mongolia Jianlong 
Biochemical Co., Ltd.) (Jianlong), Meihua Group International Trading 
(Hong Kong) Limited/Xinjiang Meihua Amino Acid Co., Ltd./Langfang 
Meihua Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. (collectively, Meihua), and Shanghai 
Smart Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Smart). We also continue to find 
that A.H.A. International Co., Ltd. (AHA) made no shipments of subject 
merchandise during the period of review (POR), i.e., July 1, 2015, 
through June 30, 2016.

DATES: Applicable February 14, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Smith or Michael Bowen, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1766 and (202) 
482-0768, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 7, 2017, Commerce published the Preliminary Results.\1\ 
For events occurring subsequent to the Preliminary Results, see the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\ Commerce conducted this 
administrative review in accordance with section 751 of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act).
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    \1\ See Xanthan Gum from the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review 
and Preliminary Determination of No Shipments; 2015-2016, 82 FR 
36746 (August 7, 2017) (Preliminary Results), and accompanying 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Xanthan Gum from the People's Republic of 
China: Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final Results of the 
Third Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated concurrently 
with this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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    Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by 
the closure of the Federal Government from January 20 through 22, 2018. 
If the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with 
Commerce's practice, the deadline will become the next business day. 
The revised deadline for the final results of this review is now 
February 6, 2018.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum for The Record from Christian Marsh, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of 
the Federal Government'' (Tolling Memorandum) dated January 23, 
2018. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been 
extended by 3 days.
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Scope of the Order \4\
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    \4\ A full description of the scope of the order is contained in 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    The product covered by the order includes dry xanthan gum, whether 
or not coated or blended with other products. Xanthan gum is included 
in this order regardless of physical form, including, but not limited 
to, solutions, slurries, dry powders of any particle size, or unground 
fiber.
    Merchandise covered by the scope of the order is classified in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States at subheading 
3913.90.20. This tariff classification is provided for convenience and 
customs purposes; however, the written description of the scope is 
dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs filed by 
interested parties are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, 
which is hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the issues that 
parties raised, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum, follows as an appendix to this notice. The Issues and 
Decision Memorandum is a public document, and is on file electronically 
via Enforcement and Compliance's 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 Issues and 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The paper copy and electronic copy of the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

    Based on a review of the record and comments received from 
interested parties regarding our Preliminary Results, and for the 
reasons explained in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, we made one 
change to our preliminary calculation of the weighed-average dumping 
margin for the mandatory respondent, Fufeng.\5\
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    \5\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 6.
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Final Determination of No Shipments

    In the Preliminary Results, Commerce determined that AHA had no 
shipments of subject merchandise during the POR.\6\ As we have not 
received any information to contradict our preliminary finding, we 
determine that AHA had no shipments of subject merchandise during the 
POR, and we intend to issue appropriate instructions to U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) that are consistent with our ``automatic 
assessment'' clarification for these final results of 
review.7 8
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    \6\ See Preliminary Results, 82 FR at 36746.
    \7\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694, 65694-95 (October 24, 2011) 
(Assessment Notice); see also ``Assessment Rates'' section of this 
notice.
    \8\ For any shipment made by Deosen during the POR, which 
involved AHA, we intend to liquidate those entries at Deosen's 
importer-specific assessment rate. See Issues and Decision 
Memorandum for further discussion.
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Methodology

    In the Preliminary Results, Commerce determined that two mandatory 
respondents, Deosen and Fufeng, and four other companies \9\ not 
selected for individual review demonstrated their eligibility for 
separate rates. We continue to find that these six companies, listed in 
the table in the ``Final Results'' section of this notice, are eligible 
for separate rate status. We

[[Page 6514]]

assigned the non-selected companies a weighted-average dumping margin 
of 9.30 percent--the rate calculated for Deosen in this review.\10\ 
Fufeng has a weighted-average margin of zero; accordingly, no 
antidumping duty liability will apply to Fufeng for the POR. 
Additionally, the Department relied, in part, on facts otherwise 
available with an adverse inference pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) 
of the Act in determining Deosen's weighted-average dumping margin for 
the POR. See Issues and Decision Memorandum for further discussion.
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    \9\ These four companies are: CP Kelco Shandong, Jianlong, 
Meihua, and Shanghai Smart.
    \10\ See Stainless Steel Bar from India: Final Results of the 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 77 FR 39467 (July 3, 2012), 
and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at 12.
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Final Results of Review

    We determine that the following weighted-average dumping margins 
exist for the period July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                        Exporters                         dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Deosen Biochemical Ltd./Deosen Biochemical (Ordos) Ltd..            9.30
Neimenggu Fufeng Biotechnologies Co., Ltd. (aka Inner               0.00
 Mongolia Fufeng Biotechnologies Co., Ltd.)/Shandong
 Fufeng Fermentation Co., Ltd./Xinjiang Fufeng
 Biotechnologies Co., Ltd...............................
CP Kelco (Shandong) Biological Company Limited..........            9.30
Jianlong Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (aka Inner Mongolia                9.30
 Jianlong Biochemical Co., Ltd.)........................
Meihua Group International Trading (Hong Kong) Limited/             9.30
 Langfang Meihua Bio-Technology Co., Ltd./Xinjiang
 Meihua Amino Acid Co., Ltd.............................
Shanghai Smart Chemicals Co., Ltd.......................            9.30
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment Rates

    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b), 
Commerce determined, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all 
appropriate entries of subject merchandise in accordance with these 
final results of review. We intend to issue appropriate assessment 
instructions directly to CBP 15 days after publication of these final 
results.
    For Deosen, which has a weighted-average dumping margin above zero 
or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 percent), we calculated importer- 
(or customer-) specific duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the 
total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's (or customer's) 
examined sales to the total entered value of those sales, in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). For Fufeng, whose weighted-average dumping 
margin is zero, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate 
entries without regard to antidumping duties.
    For the respondents which were not selected for individual 
examination in this administrative review and which qualified for a 
separate rate, the assessment rate is equal to the weighted-average 
dumping margin assigned to Deosen, or 9.30 percent.
    Consistent with Commerce's assessment practice in non-market 
economy cases, for entries that were not reported in the U.S. sales 
databases submitted by Deosen or Fufeng, Commerce will instruct CBP to 
liquidate such entries at the China-wide rate.\11\ Additionally, as 
noted above, Commerce determines that AHA had no shipments of the 
subject merchandise during the POR. As a result, any suspended entries 
of subject merchandise from AHA (which do not involve Deosen) will be 
liquidated at the China-wide rate.
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    \11\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Assessment 
Notice.
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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 from China 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 the companies 
listed above that have a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be 
that rate established in the final results of this review (except, if 
the rate is zero or de minimis, then the cash deposit rate will be zero 
required); (2) for previously investigated or reviewed Chinese and non-
Chinese exporters that received a separate rate in a prior segment of 
this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the existing 
exporter-specific rate; (3) for all Chinese exporters of subject 
merchandise that have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, 
the cash deposit rate will be the rate for the China-wide entity, which 
is 154.07 percent; and (4) for all non-Chinese exporters of subject 
merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit 
rate will be the rate applicable to the Chinese exporter(s) that 
supplied that non-Chinese exporter. These deposit requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as the only 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 Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Order

    This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to 
judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with 
the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).


[[Page 6515]]


    Dated: February 6, 2018.
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--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Results
V. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Separate Rate Status for Jianlong
    Comment 2: Separate Rate Status for Meihua
    Comment 3: Application of Partial Adverse Facts Available to 
Deosen
    Comment 4: Rate Assignment for Meihua Based on Its Voluntary 
Respondent Status Request
    Comment 5: Rate Assignment for Separate Rate Applicants
    Comment 6: Clerical Error Regarding Fufeng's U.S. Packing 
Expenses
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2018-02915 Filed 2-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P