[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31297-31300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13983]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-097]


Polyester Textured Yarn From the People's Republic of China: 
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 polyester textured yarn (yarn) from

[[Page 31298]]

the People's Republic of China (China) is being, or is likely to be, 
sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of 
investigation (POI) is April 1, 2018 through September 30, 2018. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable July 1, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Gorelik or Jinny Ahn, 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) 482-6905 or (202) 
482-0339, 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 November 
19, 2018.\1\ Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines 
affected by the partial federal government closure from December 22, 
2018 through the resumption of operations on January 29, 2019.\2\ The 
revised tolled deadline for this preliminary determination was May 6, 
2019. In response to the petitioners' request, Commerce postponed the 
preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised 
deadline is now June 25, 2019.\3\ On April 18, 2019, Commerce issued 
its preliminary critical circumstances determination that critical 
circumstances exist for imports from all producers and exporters of the 
subject merchandise from China.\4\
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    \1\ See Polyester Textured Yarn from India and the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 83 FR 58223 (November 19, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum to the Record from 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, ``Deadlines 
Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated 
January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding 
have been extended by 40 days.
    \3\ See Polyester Textured Yarn from India and the People's 
Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the 
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 84 FR 16843 (April 23, 2019).
    \4\ See Polyester Textured Yarn from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances in the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Investigations, 84 FR 16840 (April 23, 2019) (Preliminary 
Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\5\ 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 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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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Polyester 
Textured Yarn from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is polyester textured 
yarn from China. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I and ``Scope Comments'' section.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\6\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (scope).\7\ Certain interested 
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice. 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 Scope Decision Memorandum.\8\ 
Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice to exclude bulk continuous filament yarn.
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    \6\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \7\ See Initiation Notice, 83 FR at 58233.
    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Polyester Textured Yarn from India and the 
People's Republic of China: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for 
the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated April 26, 2019 (Preliminary 
Scope Decision Memorandum).
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    On May 2, 2019, the petitioners requested that Commerce include an 
additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheading in the scope language. We intend to address this request in 
the final determinations of this and the concurrent AD and CVD 
investigations of yarn from India and China.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. In addition, pursuant to sections 776(a) and 
(b) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily has relied upon facts otherwise 
available, with adverse inferences, for the China-wide entity. The 
China-wide entity includes each of the companies selected for 
individual examination: Fujian Zhengqi Hi-tech Fiber Technology Co., 
Ltd, Suzhou Shenghong Fiber Co., Ltd., and the single entity comprising 
Fujian Billion Polymerization Fiber Technology Industrial Co., Ltd. and 
its affiliate Fujian Baikai Textile Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. As adverse 
facts available (AFA) for the China-wide entity, we have assigned the 
highest margin alleged in the Petition of 77.15 percent.\9\
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    \9\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Polyester Textured Yarn from the 
People's Republic of China and India--Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated October 18, 2018 
(Petition); see also Petitioners' Letter, ``Polyester Textured Yarn 
from the People's Republic of China--Petitioners' Supplement for 
Volume II Regarding China Antidumping Duties,'' dated October 29, 
2018, at 7 and Exhibit AD-PRC-Supp-5; Initiation Checklist, dated 
November 7, 2018, at 12.
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    We preliminarily find that Jiangsu Hengli Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd. 
(Hengli), which was not selected for individual examination in this 
investigation, has demonstrated eligibility for a separate rate. 
However, because none of the mandatory respondents are receiving a 
separate rate and we are determining the China-wide rate based on AFA, 
we look to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act for guidance and are, 
consistent with that provision, using ``any reasonable method'' to 
determine the rate for exporters that are not being individually 
examined and found to be entitled to a separate rate. As ``any 
reasonable method,'' we find it appropriate to assign the simple 
average of the Petition rates (i.e., 76.07 percent) \10\ to Hengli, 
consistent with our practice.\11\ For a full description of the 
methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination,

[[Page 31299]]

see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \10\ Id. The individual Petition rates, as initiated, are 74.98 
percent and 77.15 percent. The simple average of these two Petition 
margins is 76.07 percent.
    \11\ See, e.g., Carton-Closing Staples from the People's 
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value, 83 FR 13236, 13238 (March 28, 2018).
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\12\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\13\
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    \12\ See Initiation Notice at 58227.
    \13\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' dated April 5, 2005 (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available 
on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
dumping margins exist:

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                                                                                                   Cash deposit
                                                                                                  rate (adjusted
                                                                                     Estimated      for export
                   Producer                                 Exporter              Dumping Margin      subsidy
                                                                                     (percent)       offsets)
                                                                                                     (percent)
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Jiangsu Hengli Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd........  Jiangsu Hengli Chemical Fiber              76.07           65.39
                                                 Co., Ltd.
                                                                                 -------------------------------
    China-wide Entity \14\....................  ................................           77.15           66.47
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    \14\ The China-wide entity includes: (1) The single entity 
comprising Fujian Billion Polymerization Fiber Technology Industrial 
Co., Ltd. and its affiliate Fujian Baikai Textile Chemical Fiber 
Co., Ltd.; (2) Suzhou Shenghong Fiber Co., Ltd.; (3) Fujian Zhengqi 
Hi-tech Fiber Technology Co., Ltd.; (4) Chori (China) Co., Ltd.; (5) 
Jinjiang Jinfu Chemical Fiber and Polymer Co., Ltd.; (6) Jiangsu 
Guowang High-Technique Fiber Co., Ltd.; and (7) Pujiang Fairy Home 
Textile Co., Ltd. In addition, 33 companies named in the Petition 
did not respond to our request for quantity and value information 
and two companies that submitted quantity and value data did not 
submit separate rate applications. Those companies are also part of 
the China-wide entity and are identified in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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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 subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation 
section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, 
as discussed below. 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 dumping margins, as indicated in the 
chart above, as follows: (1) For the producer/exporter combination 
listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is equal to the 
estimated dumping margin listed for that combination in the table; (2) 
for all combinations of Chinese producers/exporters of the subject 
merchandise that have not established eligibility for their own 
separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated 
dumping margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all 
third-county exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in 
the table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate 
applicable to the Chinese producer/exporter combination (or the China-
wide entity) that supplied that third-country exporter.
    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances,\15\ any suspension of 
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of 
(a) the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension 
of liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily 
found that critical circumstances exist for all imports of subject 
merchandise from China. In accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the 
Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries 
from all exporters and producers of the subject merchandise from China 
that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice.
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    \15\ See Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances 
Determination, 84 FR at 16842.
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    To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic 
subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion CVD 
proceeding when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, 
where Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative determination for 
domestic subsidy pass-through or export subsidies, Commerce has offset 
the calculated estimated dumping margin by the appropriate rates. As 
noted in the chart of estimated dumping margins above, we adjusted the 
cash deposit rates in this preliminary determination for export 
subsidies determined in the companion CVD investigation.
    Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation 
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV 
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting cash 
deposits at a rate equal to the estimated dumping margins assigned in 
this preliminary determination unadjusted for the export subsidies at 
the time the CVD provisional measures expire. These suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of its 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). However, because Commerce 
preliminarily applied AFA to the China-wide entity, of which the three 
mandatory respondents are a part, in accordance with section 776 of the 
Act, and the applied AFA rate is based solely on the Petition, and the 
rate assigned to the sole separate rate company is a simple average of 
the Petition rates, there are no calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because the only rates established in this investigation are based 
on the Petition rates, we do not intend to conduct verification.

Public Comment

    As stated in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, all 
interested parties will have the opportunity to

[[Page 31300]]

submit case and rebuttal briefs on the preliminary scope 
determination.\16\ Case briefs regarding scope issues may be submitted 
within 10 days after the date of publication of this notice in the 
Federal Register. Rebuttal briefs regarding scope issues, limited to 
those issues which are raised in the scope case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for scope 
case briefs. All scope case and rebuttal briefs must be filed 
identically on the records of this investigation and the concurrent AD 
and CVD investigations of yarn from India and China.
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    \16\ See Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.
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    Case briefs or other written comments regarding non-scope issues 
may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance no later than 30 days after the date of publication of the 
preliminary determination, unless the Secretary alters the time limit. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case 
briefs.\17\ 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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    \17\ 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 petitioners. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), Commerce requires 
that requests by respondents for postponement of a final antidumping 
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 June 14, 2019, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Fujian Billion 
requested, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, 
that Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional 
measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\18\ On June 
18, 2019, the petitioners also filed a request to postpone the final 
determination in the event of a negative preliminary determination.\19\ 
In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii) and (e)(2), 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's 
final determination will publish no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \18\ See Letter from Fujian Billion, ``Request for Extension of 
Final Determination and Provisional Measures,'' dated June 14, 2019.
    \19\ See Letter from the Petitioners, ``Request to Extend the 
Antidumping Duty Final Determinations,'' dated June 18, 2019.
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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 imports of the subject merchandise are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

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: June 25, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation, polyester 
textured yarn, is synthetic multifilament yarn that is manufactured 
from polyester (polyethylene terephthalate). Polyester textured yarn 
is produced through a texturing process, which imparts special 
properties to the filaments of the yarn, including stretch, bulk, 
strength, moisture absorption, insulation, and the appearance of a 
natural fiber. This scope includes all forms of polyester textured 
yarn, regardless of surface texture or appearance, yarn density and 
thickness (as measured in denier), number of filaments, number of 
plies, finish (luster), cross section, color, dye method, texturing 
method, or packing method (such as spindles, tubes, or beams).
    Excluded from the scope of the investigation is bulk continuous 
filament yarn that: (a) Is polyester synthetic multifilament yarn; 
(b) has denier size ranges of 900 and above; (c) has turns per meter 
of 40 and above; and (d) has a maximum shrinkage of 2.5 percent.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is properly 
classified under subheadings 5402.33.3000 and 5402.33.6000 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 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. Selection of Respondents
VI. Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Adjustment Under Section 777(A)(f) of the Act
IX. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies
X. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2019-13983 Filed 6-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P