[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33236-33238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14863]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-045]


1-Hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-Diphosphonic Acid From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review; 2016-2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that 
exporters of 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-Diphosphonic Acid (HEDP) from the 
People's Republic of China (China) sold subject merchandise in the 
United States at prices below normal value during the period of review 
(POR) November 4, 2016 through April 30, 2018. We invite all interested 
parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable July 12, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jasun Moy or Kabir Archuletta, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-8194, or (202) 482-2593, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Commerce is conducting an administrative review of the antidumping 
duty order on HEDP from China in accordance with section 751(a) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\1\ This review covers one 
producer/exporter of subject merchandise, Henan Qingshuiyuan Technology 
Co., Ltd. (Qingshuiyuan). On December 17, 2018, Commerce exercised its 
discretion to extend the deadline for the preliminary results.\2\ 
Additionally, 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 27, 2019, 
resulting in a revised deadline of July 10, 2019.\3\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 32270 (July 12, 2018) (Initiation); 
see also 1-Hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-Diphosphonic Acid from the 
People's Republic of China: Amended Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, and Antidumping Duty Order, 82 FR 22807 (May 
18, 2017) (Order).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated December 
17, 2018.
    \3\ 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.

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[[Page 33237]]

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are HEDP. The products are 
currently classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 2931.90.9043, 2811.19.6090 and 
2931.90.9041. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written product description of 
the scope of the order remains dispositive. For a full description of 
the scope, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of 1-
Hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-Diphosphonic Acid from the People's Republic 
of China; 2016-2018,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted 
by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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China-Wide Entity

    Commerce's policy regarding conditional review of the China-wide 
entity applies to this administrative review.\5\ 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 a review of the China-wide entity in this review, 
the entity is not under review and the entity's rate (i.e., 167.58 
percent) is not subject to change.\6\
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    \5\ 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).
    \6\ See Order.
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Separate Rates

    Commerce preliminarily determines that information placed on the 
record by Qingshuiyuan demonstrates that this entity is entitled to 
separate rate status.\7\ For additional information, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \7\ See Qingshuiyuan's September 18, 2018 Section A 
Questionnaire Response at 2-14.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Act. We calculated constructed export prices and 
export prices in accordance with section 772 of the Act. Because China 
is a non-market economy (NME) within the meaning of section 771(18) of 
the Act, normal value has been calculated in accordance with section 
773(c) of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying the 
preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of 
the topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included 
as an Appendix to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a 
public document and is made available to the public 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 B8024 of the main Commerce building. In 
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
available at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and 
electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    Based on the evidence provided by Qingshuiyuan, we preliminarily 
find that the evidence supports the absence of du jure and de facto 
government control. Based on the absence of both de jure and de facto 
government control with respect to the companies' exports of the 
merchandise under review, we preliminarily find that Qingshuiyuan has 
established that it qualifies for a separate rate.
    We preliminarily determine that the following weighted-average 
dumping margin exists for the period November 4, 2016 through April 30, 
2018:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                          Exporter                             dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Henan Qingshuiyuan Technology Co., Ltd.....................      397.20
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Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping 
duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.\8\ If 
Qingshuiyuan's weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or de 
minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 percent) in the final results of this 
review, Commerce will calculate an importer-specific ad valorem 
assessment rate based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping 
calculated for the importer's examined sales to the total entered value 
of those sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). We will 
instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries 
covered by this review when the importer-specific assessment rate 
calculated in the final results of this review is not zero or de 
minimis. If Qingshuiyuan's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or 
de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries 
without regard to antidumping duties. In accordance with section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, the final results of this review shall be the 
basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of 
merchandise covered by this review where applicable.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
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    For entries that were not reported in the U.S. sales data submitted 
by companies individually examined during this review, Commerce will 
instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at the rate for the China-wide 
entity.\9\ Additionally, 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 cash deposit rate) will be liquidated at the rate for the 
China-wide entity.\10\ We intend to issue instructions to CBP 15 days 
after the publication date of the final results of this review.
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    \9\ Id.
    \10\ Id.
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
finals results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for Qingshuiyuan 
will be the rate established in the final results of this review 
(except, if the ad valorem rate is de minimis, then the cash deposit 
rate will be zero); (2) for previously investigated or reviewed Chinese 
and non-Chinese exporters not listed above that have received a 
separate rate in a prior segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit 
rate will continue to be the existing exporter-specific cash deposit 
rate published for the most recently completed period; (3) for all 
Chinese exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be 
entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate for 
the China-wide entity; and (4) for all non-Chinese exporters of subject 
merchandise which have not received their own separate rate, the cash 
deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the Chinese exporter that 
supplied that non-

[[Page 33238]]

Chinese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed for these 
preliminary results to the parties within ten days of the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 
Interested parties are invited to comment on the preliminary results 
and may submit case briefs and/or written comments, filed 
electronically using ACCESS, within 30 days of the date of publication 
of this notice, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii). Rebuttal briefs, 
limited to issues raised in the case briefs, will be due five days 
after the due date for case briefs, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d). 
Parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this review are requested 
to submit with each argument a statement of the issue, a summary of the 
argument not to exceed five pages, and a table of statutes, 
regulations, and cases cited, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2).
    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.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCES. An electronically filed document must be received successfully 
in its entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) The 
party's name, address and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants; and (3) whether any participant is a foreign national; 
and (4) a list of issues parties intend to discuss. Issues raised in 
the hearing will be limited to those raised in the respective case and 
rebuttal briefs.\11\ 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 date and time to be 
determined.\12\ Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final 
results of this administrative review, which will include the results 
of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs, within 120 days of 
publication of these preliminary results, pursuant to section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Notification to Importers

    This notice also 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 POR. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement 
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of doubled 
antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This administrative review and notice are issued and published in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: July 8, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-14863 Filed 7-11-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P