[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26002-26004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12008]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-301-803]
Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts From Colombia: Affirmative
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Negative
Determination of Critical Circumstances
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that citric
acid and certain citrate salts (citric acid) from Colombia are being,
or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair
[[Page 26003]]
value (LTFV) during the period of investigation (POI) April 1, 2016,
through March 31, 2017. In addition, we determine that critical
circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of the subject
merchandise.
DATES: Applicable June 5, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Moore, AD/CVD Operations,
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3692.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Commerce published the Preliminary Determination of sales at LTFV
of citric acid from Colombia on January 8, 2018, in which we also
postponed the final determination until May 26, 2018.\1\ We invited
interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination.
Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all 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 May 29, 2018.\2\
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\1\ See Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from Colombia:
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value, Preliminary Negative Critical Circumstances Determination,
and Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures, 83 FR 791 (January 8, 2018) (Preliminary Determination),
and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ 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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A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the
Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues
raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum, which is adopted by this notice.\3\
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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than- Fair-Value
Investigation of Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from
Colombia,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this
notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is citric acid from
Colombia. For a full description of the scope of this investigation,
see the ``Scope of the Investigation'' in Appendix I of this notice.
Scope Comments
Prior to the Preliminary Determination, we issued a Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum.\4\ We subsequently invited parties to submit
additional scope comments in their case briefs, but received none.
Therefore, for the final determination, we continue to find that the
scope of the investigation as defined in the Initiation Notice \5\ and
the Preliminary Determination \6\ remains applicable. See Appendix I.
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\4\ See Memorandum ``Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for the
Preliminary Determinations,'' dated December 1, 2017 (Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum).
\5\ See Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from Belgium,
Colombia, and Thailand: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations, 82 FR 29828 (June 30, 2017) (Initiation Notice) and
accompanying Initiation Checklist.
\6\ See Preliminary Determination, 83 FR at 793.
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Verification
As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), in January and February 2018, we conducted verification of
the sales and cost information submitted by Sucroal S.A. (Sucroal) for
use in our final determination. We used standard verification
procedures, including an examination of relevant accounting and
production records, and original source documents provided by Sucroal.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by the
interested parties are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
A list of the issues addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is
attached to this notice at Appendix II. 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 https://access.trade.gov, and it is available to
all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B-8024 of the main
Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the
Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed and electronic
versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in
content.
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
Sucroal. These changes are discussed in the ``Changes Since the
Preliminary Determination'' section of the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
In accordance with section 733(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206,
we preliminarily found that critical circumstances do not exist for the
mandatory respondent, Sucroal or for exporters and producers not
individually examined (i.e., ``all-others'').\7\ Commerce received no
comments regarding this issue after the Preliminary Determination.
Therefore, for the final determination, our determination remains
unchanged and we continue to find, in accordance with section 735(a)(3)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206(e), that critical circumstances do not
exist for Sucroal or the companies covered by the ``all others'' rate.
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\7\ See Preliminary Determination, 83 FR at 791; Preliminary
Decision Memorandum, at 6-10.
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All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that, in the final
determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated weighted-average
dumping margin for all-other 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 or producers individually examined, excluding rates that are
zero, de minimis or determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
Commerce calculated an individual estimated weighted-average
dumping margin for Sucroal, the only individually examined exporter/
producer in this investigation. Because the only individually
calculated dumping margin is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely
under section 776 of the Act, the estimated weighted-average dumping
margin calculated for Sucroal is the margin assigned to all-other
producers and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
Final Determination
The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
weighted-
Exporter/Producer average
dumping margin
(percent)
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Sucroal S.A............................................. 28.48
[[Page 26004]]
All-Others.............................................. 28.48
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties its calculations
and analysis performed in this final determination within five days of
any public announcement in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, for this final
determination, we will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
to continue to suspend liquidation of all entries of citric acid from
Colombia, as described in Appendix I of this notice, which are entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after January 8,
2018, the date of publication in the Federal Register of the
affirmative Preliminary Determination.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.10(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 estimate 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 the producer of the subject
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and
exporters will equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average
dumping margin. These suspension of liquidation instructions will
remain in effect until further notice.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the
International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. Because Commerce's final determination
in this investigation is affirmative, in accordance with section
735(b)(2) 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, or
sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation of citric acid from
Colombia no later than 45 days after this final determination. If the
ITC determines that such injury does not exist, this proceeding will be
terminated and all cash deposits posted will be refunded or canceled.
If the 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 a reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of propriety information disclosed under APO
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of
return or destruction of APO materials, or conversion to judicial
protective order, is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the
regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: May 29, 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 I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation includes all
grades and granulation sizes of citric acid, sodium citrate, and
potassium citrate in their unblended forms, whether dry or in
solution, and regardless of packaging type. The scope also includes
blends of citric acid, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate; as
well as blends with other ingredients, such as sugar, where the
unblended form(s) of citric acid, sodium citrate, and potassium
citrate constitute 40 percent or more, by weight, of the blend.
The scope also includes all forms of crude calcium citrate,
including dicalcium citrate monohydrate, and tricalcium citrate
tetrahydrate, which are intermediate products in the production of
citric acid, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate.
The scope includes the hydrous and anhydrous forms of citric
acid, the dihydrate and anhydrous forms of sodium citrate, otherwise
known as citric acid sodium salt, and the monohydrate and
monopotassium forms of potassium citrate. Sodium citrate also
includes both trisodium citrate and monosodium citrate which are
also known as citric acid trisodium salt and citric acid monosodium
salt, respectively.
The scope does not include calcium citrate that satisfies the
standards set forth in the United States Pharmacopeia and has been
mixed with a functional excipient, such as dextrose or starch, where
the excipient constitutes at least 2 percent, by weight, of the
product.
Citric acid and sodium citrate are classifiable under
2918.14.0000 and 2918.15.1000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS), respectively. Potassium citrate and crude
calcium citrate are classifiable under 2918.15.5000 and, if included
in a mixture or blend, 3824.99.9295 of the HTSUS. Blends that
include citric acid, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate are
classifiable under 3824.99.9295 of the HTSUS. Although the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the merchandise is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
VI. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Date of Sale
Comment 2: Whether to Include Minor Corrections from the Sales
Verification
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2018-12008 Filed 6-4-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P