[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]
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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\
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\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).
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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.
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\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.
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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.
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\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.
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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:
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Weighted-average margin
Manufacturer/exporter (percent)
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OCTAL SAOC-FZC............................ 0.07 (de minimis).
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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\
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\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.
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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\
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\11\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.213(h)(1).
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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.
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\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).
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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