[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 138 (Thursday, July 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34343-34344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15189]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-523-810]


Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin From the Sultanate of Oman: 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2017-
2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that OCTAL SAOC-FZC (OCTAL) did not make sales of subject merchandise 
at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) May 1, 2017 
through April 30, 2018. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
these preliminary results of review.

DATES: Applicable July 18, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Hill, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3518.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On May 1, 2018, Commerce notified interested parties of the 
opportunity to request an administrative review of the antidumping duty 
(AD) order on polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin) from the 
Sultanate of Oman (Oman).\1\ Commerce received timely requests from DAK 
Americas, LLC, Indorama Ventures USA, Inc., and Nan Ya Plastics 
Corporation, America (collectively, the petitioners), and OCTAL to 
conduct an administrative review of OCTAL during the POR.\2\ On July 
12, 2018, Commerce published a notice initiating an AD administrative 
review of PET resin from Oman covering OCTAL for the POR.\3\ OCTAL and 
the petitioners filed numerous submissions in this review which are 
discussed in the accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative 
Review, 83 FR 19047 (May 1, 2018).
    \2\ See Petitioners' Request for Review dated May 31, 2018; see 
also OCTAL's Request for Review dated May 31, 2018.
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 32270 (July 12, 2018).
    \4\ For a full discussion of the background, see Memorandum, 
``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Results of the 2017-2018 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Polyethylene Terephthalate 
Resin from the Sultanate of Oman,'' dated concurrently with, and 
hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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.\5\ If the new 
deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with Commerce's 
practice, the deadline will become the next business day. Based on 
tolling, the revised deadline for the preliminary results was March 12, 
2019. However, on March 4, 2019, Commerce extended the deadline for 
issuing the preliminary results of this review. The current deadline 
for issuing the preliminary results of review is July 10, 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by this order is PET resin having an 
intrinsic viscosity of at least 0.70, but not more than 0.88, 
deciliters per gram. The merchandise subject to this order is properly 
classified under subheadings 3907.60.00.30, 3907.61.0000, 3907.61.0010, 
3907.61.0050, 3907.69.0000, 3907.69.0010, and 3907.69.0050 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).\6\ Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the merchandise covered by this 
order is dispositive. For a full description of the scope of the order, 
see Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ On January 27, 2017, Commerce added HTS numbers 3907.61.0000 
and 3907.69.0000 to the Case Reference File. See Commerce Memorandum 
re: ``Request from Customs and Border Protection to Update the ACE 
Case Reference File: Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin form the 
Sultanate of Oman (A-523-810) dated January 31, 2017. Further, on 
February 28, 2019, Commerce added HTS numbers 3907.61.0010, 
3907.61.0050, 3907.69.0010 and 3907.69.0050 to the Case Reference 
File. See Commerce Memorandum re: ``Request from U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection to Update the ACE Case Reference File: 
Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin form the Sultanate of Oman (A-523-
810) dated February 28, 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price 
and constructed export price have been calculated in accordance with 
section 772 of the Act. Normal value was calculated in accordance with 
section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A 
list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
attached as an appendix 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 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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision

[[Page 34344]]

Memorandum and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Results of Review

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following weighted-
average dumping margin exists for the period May 1, 2017 through April 
30, 2018:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                              Weighted-average  margin
           Manufacturer/exporter                      (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OCTAL SAOC-FZC............................  0.07 (de minimis).
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations used in our analysis 
to interested parties in this review within five 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 of 
this review. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties 
may submit case briefs no later than 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised 
in the case briefs, may be filed no later than five days after the time 
limit for filing case briefs.\7\ Parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are requested to submit with each 
brief: (1) A statement of the issue, (2) a brief summary of the 
argument, and (3) a table of authorities.\8\ Executive summaries should 
be limited to five pages total, including footnotes.\9\ Case and 
rebuttal briefs should be filed using ACCESS.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \9\ Id.
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may request a 
hearing within 30 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register. If a hearing is requested, Commerce will notify interested 
parties of the hearing date and time. Interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCESS 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) a list of the issues to 
be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those 
raised in the respective case and rebuttal briefs.
    We intend to issue the final results of this administrative review, 
including the results of our analysis of issues raised by the parties 
in the written comments, within 120 days of publication of these 
preliminary results in the Federal Register, unless otherwise 
extended.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.213(h)(1).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce will determine, and 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on 
all appropriate entries in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). We 
will calculate importer-specific assessment rates equal to the ratio of 
the total amount of dumping calculated for examined sales with a 
particular importer to the total entered value of the sales in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). Where the respondent's weighted-
average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer-specific 
assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to 
liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties. 
The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment 
of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise under review and for 
future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.
    For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by the 
respondent for which it did not know that its merchandise was destined 
for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed 
entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the intermediate 
company(ies) involved in the transaction.
    We intend to issue instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of 
publication of the final results of this review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of PET resin from Oman entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of the notice of 
the final results of this administrative review, as provided for by 
section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for OCTAL 
will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin established in the 
final results of this review (except, if the rate is zero or de 
minimis, no cash deposit will be required); (2) for merchandise 
exported by manufacturers or exporters not covered in this review but 
covered in a prior segment of the proceeding, the cash deposit rate 
will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the most 
recently completed segment of this proceeding in which the manufacturer 
or exporter participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in 
this review, a prior review, or the less-than-fair-value investigation, 
but the manufacturer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
established in the most recently completed segment of the proceeding 
for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate 
for all other manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 7.62 
percent ad valorem, the all-others rate established in the less-than-
fair-value investigation.\12\ These cash deposit requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See Certain Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin from Canada, 
the People's Republic of China, India, and the Sultanate of Oman: 
Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Determination (Sultanate of 
Oman) and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 27979 (May 6, 2016).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) 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.

Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results of administrative review are issued and 
published in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

    Dated: July 10, 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. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-15189 Filed 7-17-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P