[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 236 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63479-63482]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26652]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-831]


Fresh Garlic From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016-2017

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that exporters of fresh garlic from the People's Republic of China 
(China) sold merchandise in the United States at prices below normal 
value (NV) during the period of review (POR), November 1, 2016, through 
October 31, 2017. We invite interested parties to comment on these 
preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable December 10, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Wallace or Alexander Cipolla, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,

[[Page 63480]]

DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6251 or (202) 482-4956.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On January 11, 2018, Commerce initiated the twenty-third 
administrative review of fresh garlic from China with respect to 53 
companies and invited interested parties to comment.\1\ Commerce 
exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the closure 
of the Federal Government from January 20 through January 22, 2018. As 
a result, all deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been 
extended by three days.\2\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 1329 (January 11, 2018).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the 
Federal Government,'' dated January 23, 2018 (Tolling Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by the order includes all grades of garlic, 
whole or separated into constituent cloves. Fresh garlic that are 
subject to the order are currently classified under the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 0703.20.0010, 
0703.20.0020, and 0703.20.0090. Although the HTSUS numbers are provided 
for convenience and customs purposes, the written product description 
remains dispositive. For a full description of the scope of this order, 
please see ``Scope of the Order'' in the accompanying Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results and Final Rescission, In Part, of the 2016-2017 Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review: Fresh Garlic from the People's Republic 
of China'' (November 30, 2018) (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

    On January 11, 2018, Commerce initiated a review of 53 companies in 
this administrative review.\4\ The mandatory respondents are Shandong 
Jinxiang Zhengyang Import & Export Co., Ltd. (Zhengyang) and Qingdao 
Sea-line International Trading Co. Ltd. (Sea-line). Between March 27, 
2018, and April 12, 2018, review requests were timely withdrawn for 
twelve companies.\5\ Commerce is, therefore, partially rescinding this 
administrative review with respect to the companies listed in Appendix 
I, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).
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    \4\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 1329 (January 11, 2018).
    \5\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 3.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting these reviews in accordance with sections 
751(a)(1)(B) and 751(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act) and 19 CFR 351.214. Export prices were calculated in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Because China is a non-
market economy (NME) within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, 
NV has been calculated in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, which is hereby 
adopted by 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 http://access.trade.gov and is available to all parties in the Central Records 
Unit, room B8024 of the main Commerce building. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    As discussed at ``Preliminary Determination of No Shipments'' in 
the accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum, the QTF-Entity \6\ 
and Jining Shengtai Fruits and Vegetables Co., Ltd. (Shengtai) filed 
``no shipment'' certifications stating that they had no entries into 
the United States of subject merchandise during the POR. Accordingly, 
we requested that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) conduct a 
query of potential shipments made by the QTF-Entity and Shengtai. Based 
on the company certifications and our analysis of CBP information, we 
preliminarily determine that the companies listed in Appendix III did 
not have any shipments of subject merchandise during the POR. In 
addition, we find that it is appropriate to complete the administrative 
review with respect to these companies and intend to issue appropriate 
instructions to CBP based on the final results of the administrative 
review.\7\
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    \6\ The QTF-Entity includes Qingdao Lianghe International Trade 
Co., Ltd. (Lianghe); Qingdao Xintianfeng Foods Co., Ltd. (QXF); 
Qingdao Tiantaixing Foods Co., Ltd. (QTF); Qingdao Tianhefeng Foods 
Co., Ltd. (QTHF); Qingdao Beixing Trading Co., Ltd. (QBT); Hebei 
Golden Bird Trading Co., Ltd.; and Huamei Consulting. See 
Memorandum, ``23rd Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty 
Order on Fresh Garlic from the People's Republic of China: Status of 
the QTF-Entity,'' dated October 22, 2018 at Attachment.
    \7\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694, 65694-95 (October 24, 2011); see 
also ``Assessment Rates'' section below.
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Verification

    As provided in section 19 CFR 351.307, we intend to verify 
information relied upon in the final results of the review.

Preliminary Determination of Separate Rates for Non-Selected Companies

    In accordance with section 777A(c)(2)(B) of the Act, Commerce 
employed a limited examination methodology, as we determined that it 
would not be practicable to examine individually all companies for 
which a review request was made.\8\ There were six exporters of subject 
merchandise from China that have demonstrated their eligibility for a 
separate rate but were not selected for individual examination in this 
review. These six exporters are listed in Appendix II.
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    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Selection of Respondents for Individual 
Examination,'' dated February 28, 2018.
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    Neither the Act nor Commerce's regulations address the 
establishment of the rate applied to individual companies not selected 
for examination where Commerce limited its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. 
Commerce's practice in cases involving limited selection based on 
exporters accounting for the largest volume of imports has been to look 
to section 735(c)(5) of the Act for guidance, which provides 
instructions for calculating the all-others rate in an investigation. 
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act instructs Commerce to use rates 
established for individually investigated producers and exporters, 
excluding any rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on 
facts available in investigations. In this review, we calculated 
weighted-average dumping margins for Zhengyang and Sea-line, and 
consistent with our practice, calculated an all-others rate for the 
companies to which it granted separate rate status, but which it did 
not individually examine.\9\
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    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Calculation of the Preliminary Dumping 
Margin for Separate Rate Recipients,'' dated November 30, 2018.
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China-Wide Entity

    Commerce's policy regarding conditional review of the China-wide 
entity applies to this administrative

[[Page 63481]]

review.\10\ Under this policy, the China-wide entity will not be under 
review unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce self-
initiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested, and 
Commerce did not self-initiate, a review of the China-wide entity for 
this POR, the entity is not under review and the entity's rate (i.e., 
$4.71/kg) is not subject to change.\11\ Aside from the no shipments 
companies discussed below, and the companies for which the review is 
being rescinded, Commerce considers all other companies for which a 
review was requested, and which did not preliminarily qualify for a 
separate rate, to be part of the China-wide entity. For additional 
information, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \10\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in 
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty 
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity 
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
    \11\ See Fresh Garlic from the People's Republic of China: Final 
Results and Partial Rescission of the 13th Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review and New Shipper Reviews, 74 FR 29174 (June 19, 
2009).
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Preliminary Results of Administrative Review

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following weighted-
average dumping margins exist for the administrative review covering 
the period November 1, 2016, through October 31, 2017:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                          average margin
                        Exporter                           (dollars per
                                                             kilogram)
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Shandong Jinxiang Zhengyang Import & Export Co., Ltd....            2.87
Qingdao Sea-Line International Trading Co., Ltd.........            4.60
Chengwu County Yuanxiang Industry & Commerce Co., Ltd...            3.69
Jining Alpha Food Co., Ltd..............................            3.69
Qingdao Maycarrier Import & Export Co., Ltd.............            3.69
Shandong Chenhe International Trading Co., Ltd..........            3.69
Shandong Happy Foods Co., Ltd...........................            3.69
Weifang Hongqiao International Logistics Co., Ltd.......            3.69
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Disclosure, Public Comment and Opportunity To Request a Hearing

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations used in our analyses 
to parties in this review within five days of the date of publication 
of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted by 
interested parties no later than seven days after the date on which the 
final verification report is issued in these proceedings and rebuttal 
briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no 
later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.\12\ 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case 
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding 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.\13\ Any electronically 
filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by 
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by the date and time it 
is due.
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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309. See also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310, any interested party may request a 
hearing within 30 days of publication of this notice. Hearing requests 
should contain the following information: (1) The party's name, 
address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) 
a list of the issues to be discussed. Oral presentations will be 
limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs. If a party 
requests a hearing, Commerce will inform parties of the scheduled date 
for the hearing which will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time and 
location to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing.
    Commerce intends to issue the final results of these reviews, 
including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in any 
written briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication 
of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce will determine, and 
CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered 
by this review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b). For the companies 
for which this review is rescinded, antidumping duties shall be 
assessed at rates equal to the cash deposit of estimated antidumping 
duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for 
consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i). Commerce 
intends to issue appropriate assessment instructions with respect to 
the companies for which this review is rescinded to CBP 15 days after 
the publication of this notice. For the remaining companies subject to 
review, Commerce will direct CBP to assess rates based on the per-unit 
(i.e., per kilogram) amount on each entry of the subject merchandise 
during the POR. Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to 
CBP 15 days after the publication date of the final results of review.
    Pursuant to Commerce's assessment practice in NME cases, for 
merchandise that was not reported in the U.S. sales databases submitted 
by an exporter individually examined during this review, but that 
entered under the case number of that exporter (i.e., at the 
individually-examined exporter's cash deposit rate), Commerce will 
instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at the NME-wide rate. In 
addition, if Commerce determines that an exporter under review had no 
shipments of the subject merchandise, any suspended entries that 
entered under that exporter's case number (i.e., at that exporter's 
rate) will be liquidated at the China-wide rate.\14\
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    \14\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Non-Market 
Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this review for shipments of the 
subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by 
sections 751(a)(2)

[[Page 63482]]

of the Act: (1) For the companies listed above, the cash deposit rate 
will be the rate established in these final results of review (except, 
if the rate is zero or de minimis, then zero cash deposit will be 
required for that company); (2) for previously investigated or reviewed 
Chinese and non-Chinese exporters not listed above that have separate 
rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the exporter-specific 
rate published for the most recent period; (3) for all Chinese 
exporters of subject merchandise which have not been found to be 
entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the China-
wide rate of 4.71 U.S. dollars per kilogram; 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 that supplied that non-Chinese exporter. These 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary 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 Commerce's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.213(h) and 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: November 30, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary of Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Companies for Which Administrative Reviews Have Been Rescinded

1. Foshan Fuyi Food Co., Ltd.
2. Jining Shunchang Import & Export Co., Ltd.
3. Jinxiang Feiteng Import & Export Co., Ltd.
4. Jinxiang Hejia Co., Ltd.
5. Jinxiang Kingkey Trade Co., Ltd.
6. Qingdao Joinseafoods
7. Shenzhen Bainong Co., Ltd.
8. Shenzhen Xinboda Industrial Co., Ltd.
9. Shijiazhuang Goodman Trading Co., Ltd.
10. Weifang Naike Food Co., Ltd.
11. Zhengzhou Harmoni Spice Co., Ltd.
12. Zhengzhou Yudishengjin Agricultural Trade Co., Ltd.

Appendix II

Non-Selected Separate Rate Companies

1. Chengwu County Yuanxiang Industry & Commerce Co., Ltd
2. Jining Alpha Food Co., Ltd.
3. Qingdao Maycarrier Import & Export Co., Ltd.
4. Shandong Chenhe International Trading Co., Ltd.
5. Shandong Happy Foods Co., Ltd.
6. Weifang Hongqiao International Logistics Co., Ltd.

Appendix III

Companies That Have Certified No Shipments

1. QTF-Entity
2. Jining Shengtai Fruits & Vegetables Co., Ltd.
[FR Doc. 2018-26652 Filed 12-7-18; 8:45 a.m.]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P