[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 41 (Thursday, March 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8837-8839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04137]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-357-820]


Biodiesel From Argentina: Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances, in Part

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports 
of biodiesel from Argentina are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 
735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The period of 
investigation (POI) is January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016. The 
final weighted-average dumping margins are listed below in the section 
entitled ``Final Determination Margins.''

DATES: Applicable March 1, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Lindgren, 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) 482-3870.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On October 31, 2017, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
preliminary affirmative determination of sales at LTFV and the 
preliminary affirmative determination of critical circumstances, in 
part, in the antidumping duty (AD) investigation of biodiesel from 
Argentina.\1\ On December 8, 2017, Commerce published a postponement 
notice, extending the due date of the final LTFV determination until 
February 15, 2018.\2\ Commerce invited comments from interested parties 
on the Preliminary Determination.\3\ The petitioner, LDC Argentina S.A. 
(LDC), and the Vicentin Group filed case and rebuttal briefs.\4\ 
Commerce exercised its discretion to toll deadlines affected by the 
closure of the Federal Government from January 20 through 22, 2018. The 
revised deadline for the final determination of this investigation is 
now February 20, 2018.\5\ A summary of the events that occurred since 
Commerce published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full 
discussion of the issues raised by interested parties for this final 
determination, may be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
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 
it is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 
of the main Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Biodiesel from Argentina: Preliminary Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary Affirmative Determination 
of Critical Circumstances, in Part, 82 FR 50391 (October 31, 2017) 
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
    \2\ See Biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia: Postponement of 
Final Determinations of Sales in Less Than Fair Value Investigations 
and Extension of Provisional Measures, 82 FR 57952 (December 8, 
2017).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Case Brief Schedule for the Antidumping 
Duty Investigation of Biodiesel from Argentina,'' dated December 1, 
2017.
    \4\ The petitioner is the National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade 
Coalition, which is an ad hoc association comprised of domestic 
producers of biodiesel, as well as one trade association. See, e.g., 
Biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia; Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Petitions, dated March 23, 2017. The Vicentin 
Group consists of the following companies: Vicentin S.A.I.C., Renova 
S.A., Oleaginosa Moreno Hermanos S.A., Molinos Agro S.A., Patagonia 
Energia S.A., VFG Inversiones y Actividades Especiales S.A., 
Vicentin S.A.I.C. Sucursal Uy, Trading Company X, and Molinos 
Overseas Commodities S.A. See, e.g., Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
at ``Affiliation and Collapsing.''
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the 
Federal Government,'' dated January 23, 2018. All deadlines in this 
segment of the proceeding have been extended by 3 days. If the new 
deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with Commerce's 
practice, the deadline will become the next business day. See Notice 
of Clarification: Application of ``Next Business Day'' Rule for 
Administrative Determination Deadlines Pursuant to the Tariff Act of 
1930, as Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2005).
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Affirmative Determination in the Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Biodiesel from Argentina,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision 
Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is biodiesel from 
Argentina. Commerce did not receive any scope comments subsequent to 
the Preliminary Determination and, therefore, the scope has not been 
updated since the Preliminary Determination. See the scope in Appendix 
I to this notice.

Period of Investigation

    The POI is January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), we conducted the cost and sales verifications in Buenos 
Aires, Argentina, and Kansas City, Missouri, between October 30, 2017, 
and November 17, 2017. We used standard verification procedures, 
including an examination of relevant accounting and production records, 
and original source documents provided by the respondents.

Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part

    In the Preliminary Determination, in accordance with section 
733(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, Commerce found that critical 
circumstances existed for LDC and ``all other'' producers or exporters 
not individually examined and found that critical circumstances did not 
exist for the Vicentin Group. Commerce received no comments concerning 
the preliminary critical circumstances determination. Thus, for this 
final determination, Commerce continues to find that, in accordance 
with section 735(a)(3) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, critical 
circumstances exist for LDC and ``all other'' producers or exporters 
and do not exist for the Vicentin Group. For further discussion of 
Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in 
this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, 
which is hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the issues raised is 
attached to this notice as Appendix II.

[[Page 8838]]

Use of Facts Available and Adverse Facts Available

    For purposes of this final determination, Commerce relied, in part, 
on facts available with adverse inferences when calculating the margins 
for LDC and the Vicentin Group, pursuant to sections 776(a)(2)(A)-(C) 
and 776(b) of the Act. For further information, see the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of the comments received and our findings at 
verification, we made certain changes to the margin calculations. For a 
discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated ``all-
others'' rate for exporters and producers not individually investigated 
shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins established for individually 
investigated exporters and producers, excluding any margins that are 
zero or de minimis or any margins determined entirely under section 776 
of the Act. We calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average 
of the dumping margins calculated for the mandatory respondents using 
each company's publicly-ranged values for the merchandise under 
consideration, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, as 
referenced in the ``Final Determination Margins'' section below.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ For more detail on this calculation, see Memorandum, 
``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Biodiesel from Argentina: Final 
Determination Calculation for the `All Others' Rate,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice (Final All-Others Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Determination Margins

    The weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ As noted above, Commerce preliminarily determined that 
Vicentin S.A.I.C., and companies Renova S.A., Oleaginosa Moreno 
Hermanos S.A., Molinos Agro S.A., Patagonia Energia S.A., VFG 
Inversiones y Actividades Especiales S.A., Vicentin S.A.I.C. 
Sucursal Uy, Trading Company X, and Molinos Overseas Commodities 
S.A. are a single entity. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 
``Affiliation and Collapsing.'' This determination has not been 
changed for the purposes of the final determination.
    \9\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation 
of Biodiesel from Argentina: Vicentin Group Final Determination 
Analysis,'' dated concurrently with this notice (Vicentin Final 
Analysis Memorandum).
    \10\ See Final All-Others Memorandum.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Cash deposit rate
                                  Estimated weighted-    (adjusted for
      Exporter or producer          average dumping   subsidy offset(s))
                                   margin (percent)        (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LDC Argentina S.A...............               60.44               60.44
Vicentin S.A.I.C.\8\............               86.41           \9\ 86.23
All-Others......................               74.73          \10\ 74.63
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    We will disclose the calculations performed within five days of any 
public announcement of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(e)(2) of the Act, for this final 
determination, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of biodiesel, as 
described in the Appendix I to this notice, produced or exported by LDC 
and ``all other'' exporters and producers not individually examined, 
which were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after August 2, 2017 (90 days prior to the date of publication of the 
Preliminary Determination), because we continue to find that critical 
circumstances exist with regard to imports from produced or exported by 
LDC and ``all other'' exporters and producers not individually 
examined.
    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will 
instruct U.S. CBP to continue to suspend liquidation of all appropriate 
entries of biodiesel from Argentina, as described in Appendix I of this 
notice, which were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after October 31, 2017, the date of publication of 
the Preliminary Determination.
    Furthermore, pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.210(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit 
for such entries of merchandise equal to the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: (1) The 
cash deposit rate for the respondents listed above will be equal to the 
respondent-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a 
respondent identified above but the producer is, then the cash deposit 
rate will be equal to the respondent-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject 
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and 
exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin. Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated 
antidumping duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a 
companion countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional 
measures are in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce made an affirmative 
determination for countervailable export subsidies, Commerce has offset 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the appropriate CVD 
rate.\11\ Any such adjusted cash deposit rate may be found in the 
``Final Determination Margins'' section, above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Biodiesel from Argentina: LDC Argentina S.A. Final 
Determination Analysis,'' dated concurrently with this notice; see 
also Vicentin Final Analysis Memorandum; Final All-Others 
Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    These instructions will stay in effect until further notice.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this 
proceeding is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2)(B) of 
the Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the 
domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or 
threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of biodiesel from 
Argentina no later than 45 days after our final determination. If the 
ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury does 
not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and all cash deposits will 
be refunded. If the

[[Page 8839]]

ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce will issue an 
antidumping duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further 
instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on all imports of the 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation, as discussed above in the ``Continuation of Suspension of 
Liquidation'' section.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice will serve as the only reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of return/destruction or 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 determination and notice in 
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(c).

    Dated: February 20, 2018.
Prentiss Lee Smith,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is biodiesel, which is 
a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids 
derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, including biologically-
based waste oils or greases, and other biologically-based oil or fat 
sources. The investigation covers biodiesel in pure form (B100) as 
well as fuel mixtures containing at least 99 percent biodiesel by 
volume (B99). For fuel mixtures containing less than 99 percent 
biodiesel by volume, only the biodiesel component of the mixture is 
covered by the scope of the investigation.
    Biodiesel is generally produced to American Society for Testing 
and Materials International (ASTM) D6751 specifications, but it can 
also be made to other specifications. Biodiesel commonly has one of 
the following Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers, generally 
depending upon the feedstock used: 67784-80-9 (soybean oil methyl 
esters); 91051-34-2 (palm oil methyl esters); 91051-32-0 (palm 
kernel oil methyl esters); 73891-99-3 (rapeseed oil methyl esters); 
61788-61-2 (tallow methyl esters); 68990-52-3 (vegetable oil methyl 
esters); 129828-16-6 (canola oil methyl esters); 67762-26-9 
(unsaturated alkylcarboxylic acid methyl ester); or 68937-84-8 
(fatty acids, C12-C18, methyl ester).
    The B100 product subject to the investigation is currently 
classifiable under subheading 3826.00.1000 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), while the B99 product is 
currently classifiable under HTSUS subheading 3826.00.3000. Although 
the HTSUS subheadings, ASTM specifications, and CAS numbers are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in 
Part
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Whether It Is Appropriate To Adjust Normal Value for 
the Renewable Identification Number Value
    Comment 2: Whether the Determination To Disregard Home Market 
Prices Due to Particular Market Situation Contradicts Commerce 
Precedent
    Comment 3: Whether the Particular Market Situation Permits 
Disregarding Raw Material Costs
    Comment 4: Whether the Particular Market Situation Adjustment 
for Soybean Export Tax Results in Double Counting
    Comment 5: Whether To Adjust the Constructed Value Profit 
Calculation
    Comment 6: Whether Commerce's Use of Its Inflation Methodology 
Should Be Determined on a Country-Wide or Company-Specific Basis
    Comment 7: Whether It Is Appropriate To Index Costs for 
Inflation if Commerce Finds a Particular Market Situation
    Comment 8: Whether To Deduct Export Taxes From Gross Unit Prices
    Comment 9: Whether To Apply Adverse Facts Available to Certain 
Unreported LDC Expenses
    Comment 10: Whether To Apply Facts Available to LDC's Unreported 
U.S. Sales
    Comment 11: Treatment of Vicentin Group's EPA-Related Soybean 
Expenses
    Comment 12: Whether To Apply Adverse Facts Available to 
Molinos's Export Expenses
    Comment 13: Whether To Adjust Patagonia's Costs for the Change 
in Biodiesel Finished Goods Inventories
    Comment 14: Whether To Reduce Patagonia's Byproduct Offset by 
Commissions Paid on the Sales of the Byproduct
    Comment 15: Whether To Adjust Vicentin's Reported Costs for an 
Unreconcilable Cost Difference
    Comment 16: Whether Elements of the Renova Transfer Price to 
Actual Processing Cost Comparison Are on an Inconsistent Basis and 
Require Adjustment
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2018-04137 Filed 2-28-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P