[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 87 (Friday, May 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19699-19701]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09516]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-351-852]


Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin From Brazil: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin) from Brazil is being, 
or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value 
(LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2016, through June 
30, 2017.

DATES: Applicable May 4, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elfi Blum-Page or Kathryn Wallace, 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) 482-0197 or (202) 
482-6251, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on October 23, 
2017.\1\ On February 22, 2018, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation.\2\ 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 preliminary determination of this investigation is now April 27, 
2018.\3\
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    \1\ See Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin from Brazil, Indonesia, 
the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 82 FR 48977 (October 23, 2017) 
(Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Polyethylene Terephthalate from Brazil, Indonesia, the 
Republic of Korea, Pakistan, and Taiwan: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determinations of Antidumping Duty Investigations, 83 FR 7655 
(February 22, 2018).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``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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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\4\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 
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 https://access.trade.gov, and 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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic versions of the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin from Brazil'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is PET resin from 
Brazil. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ For a summary of 
the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the 
record for this preliminary determination, and accompanying discussion 
and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum. After evaluating the comments, Commerce is 
preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice to exclude PET-glycol resin. See the revised scope in 
Appendix I to this notice.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Constructed export prices 
have been calculated in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. 
Normal value (NV) is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the 
Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying the 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in 
the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero 
and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margins for Textil de Pernambuco and MGP Brasil that 
are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise 
available. Commerce calculated the all-others' rate using a weighted 
average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated 
for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged

[[Page 19700]]

values for the merchandise under consideration.\7\
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    \7\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a 
simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average 
of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the 
examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sale 
quantities for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See 
Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, 
and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 
(September 1, 2010). As complete publicly ranged sales data was 
available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged 
sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of 
the data, please see the All-Others' Rate Calculation Memorandum.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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Companhia Integrada Textil de Pernambuco....................      226.91
M&G Polimeros Brasil, S.A...................................       24.09
All-Others..................................................       93.60
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant 
to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit 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 company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins determined in this preliminary 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 company-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.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in 
this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\8\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation 
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the 
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 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, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations 
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    On March 29, 2018, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Textil de 
Pernambuco requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and 
that provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six 
months.\9\ On April 12, 2018, the petitioners also requested that 
Commerce postpone the final determination.\10\ In accordance with 
section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: 
(1) The preliminary determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting 
exporter accounts for a significant proportion of exports of the 
subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling reasons for denial exist, 
Commerce is postponing the final determination and extending the 
provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not greater 
than six months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final 
determination no later than 135 days after the date of publication of 
this preliminary determination.
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    \9\ See Textil de Pernambuco's Letter, ``Antidumping Duty 
Investigation of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Resin from Brazil: 
Thailand: Request for Postponement of Final Determination and 
Provisional Measures Period,'' dated March 29, 2018.
    \10\ See also Petitioners' Letter, ``Polyethylene Terephthalate 
(``PET'') Resin from Brazil, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, 
Pakistan, and Taiwan--Petitioners' Request to Extend the Antidumping 
Duty Final Determinations,'' dated April 12, 2018.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

[[Page 19701]]

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: April 27, 2018.
James Maeder,
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations performing the duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is polyethylene 
terephthalate (PET) resin having an intrinsic viscosity of at least 
70, but not more than 88, milliliters per gram (0.70 to 0.88 
deciliters per gram). The scope includes blends of virgin PET resin 
and recycled PET resin containing 50 percent or more virgin PET 
resin content by weight, provided such blends meet the intrinsic 
viscosity requirements above. The scope includes all PET resin 
meeting the above specifications regardless of additives introduced 
in the manufacturing process.
    The scope excludes PET-glycol resin, also referred to as PETG. 
PET-glycol resins are manufactured by replacing a portion of the raw 
material input monoethylene glycol (MEG) with one of five glycol 
modifiers: Cyclohexanedimethanol (CHDM), diethylene glycol (DEG), 
neopentyl glycol (NPG), isosorbide, or spiro glycol. Specifically, 
excluded PET-glycol resins must contain a minimum of 10 percent, by 
weight, of CHDM, DEG, NPG, isosorbide or spiro glycol, or some 
combination of these glycol modifiers. Unlike subject PET resin, 
PET-glycol resins are amorphous resins that are not solid-stated and 
cannot be crystallized or recycled.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is properly 
classified under subheadings 3907.61.0000 and 3907.69.0000 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the merchandise covered by this 
investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
V. Scope Comments
VI. Affiliation
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
    A. Determination of the Comparison Method
    B. Results of the Differential Pricing Analysis
VIII. Date of Sale
IX. Product Comparisons
X. Export Price and Constructed Export Price
XI. Duty Drawback
    A. Duty Exemption Drawback
    B. Duty Suspension Drawback
XII. Normal Value
    A. Sample Sales
    B. Home Market Viability
    C. Affiliated-Party Transactions and Arm's-Length Test
    D. Level of Trade
    E. Calculation of NV Based on Comparison Market Prices
    F. Calculation of NV Based on Constructed Value (CV)
    G. Cost of Production (COP) Analysis
XIII. Currency Conversion
XIV. Verification
XV. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2018-09516 Filed 5-3-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P