[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 150 (Monday, August 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38007-38009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16662]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-549-838]


Glycine From Thailand: Final Negative Countervailing Duty 
Determination and Final Negative Critical Circumstances Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
countervailable subsidies are not being provided to producers and 
exporters of glycine from Thailand. In addition, we determine that 
critical circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of the 
subject merchandise. The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 
2017 through December 31, 2017.

DATES: Applicable August 5, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Ayache, 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) 482-2623.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The petitioners in this investigation are GEO Specialty Chemicals, 
Inc. and Chattem Chemicals, Inc. (collectively, the petitioners). In 
addition to the Royal Thai Government (RTG), the mandatory respondent 
in this investigation is Newtrend Food Ingredient (Thailand) Co., Ltd. 
(Newtrend Thailand).
    The events that occurred since Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination \1\ are discussed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.\2\
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    \1\ See Glycine from Thailand: Preliminary Negative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Negative Critical 
Circumstances Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination 
with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 83 FR 44861 (September 4, 
2018) (Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum (PDM).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Glycine from Thailand: Issues and Decision 
Memorandum for the Final Negative Determination of the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation,'' dated concurrently with, and 
hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and 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.\3\ Commerce revised 
the deadline

[[Page 38008]]

for the final determination in this investigation to April 24, 2019.
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    \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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    On March 18, 2019, the petitioners submitted new factual 
information (NFI) on the record of this investigation, which included 
the notice of U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP's) commencement 
of a formal investigation and imposition of interim measures (CBP 
Interim Measures) under Title IV, Section 421 of the Trade Facilitation 
and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (also referred to as the Enforce and 
Protect Act or EAPA).\4\ Commerce accepted the NFI and provided 
interested parties with an opportunity to comment. On April 24, 2019, 
Commerce postponed until further notice the issuance of the final 
determination in this investigation, in order to further investigate 
this matter.\5\ We subsequently issued to Newtrend Thailand additional 
requests for sales and cost information relevant to this matter. 
Newtrend Thailand timely responded to these requests for information, 
and Commerce subsequently conducted verification of the additional 
information submitted.
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    \4\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Glycine from Thailand: Request to 
Accept U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Interim Measures,'' 
dated March 18, 2019.
    \5\ See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to 
Jeffrey I. Kessler, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, ``Postponement of the Final Determinations in the Less-
Than-Fair Value and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Glycine 
from Thailand,'' dated April 24, 2019.
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    We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary 
Determination and on events that occurred since the publication of that 
determination. A detailed summary of the events that occurred in this 
investigation since Commerce published the Preliminary Determination, 
as well as a full discussion of the issues raised by parties for this 
final determination, can be found in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is glycine from Thailand. 
For a full description of the scope of this investigation, see the 
``Scope of the Investigation'' in Appendix I of this notice.

Scope Comments

    We invited parties to comment on Commerce's Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum.\6\ Commerce reviewed the briefs submitted by 
interested parties, considered the arguments therein, and made no 
changes to the scope of the investigation. For further discussion, see 
Commerce's Scope Comments Final Decision Memorandum.\7\
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Glycine from India, Japan, the People's 
Republic of China and Thailand: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum 
for the Preliminary Determinations,'' dated August 27, 2018 
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Glycine from India, Japan, the People's 
Republic of China and Thailand: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum 
for the Final Determinations,'' dated April 24, 2019.
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Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    The subsidy programs under investigation and the issues raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in this investigation are 
discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum accompanying this 
notice. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum is attached to this notice at Appendix II. The Issues and 
Decision Memorandum also discusses the comments we received since the 
Preliminary Determination and Post-Preliminary Determination \8\ 
regarding the subsidy rates calculated for the mandatory respondent and 
all other producers/exporters. The Issues and 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 Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed 
directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed and 
electronic versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical 
in content.
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    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Post-
Preliminary Analysis in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of 
Glycine from Thailand,'' dated February 21, 2019.
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Methodology

    Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section 
701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each of the 
subsidy programs found countervailable, Commerce determines that there 
is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that 
gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\9\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
final determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    \9\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, during November 2018 and 
June 2019, Commerce conducted verifications of the information reported 
by the RTG and Newtrend Thailand. We used standard verification 
procedures, including an examination of relevant accounting records and 
original source documents provided by Newtrend Thailand.\10\
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    \10\ For a discussion of our verification findings, see the 
following Memoranda,''Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of 
the Royal Thai Government,'' and ``Verification of the Questionnaire 
Responses of Newtrend Food Ingredient (Thailand) Co., Ltd.,'' both 
dated December 7, 2018; ``Verification of the Questionnaire Response 
of Newtrend Food Ingredient (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in the 
Countervailing Investigation of Glycine from Thailand with Respect 
to the Transshipment Allegation,'' and ``2nd Verification of Cost 
Response of Newtrend Food Ingredient (Thailand) Co., Ltd. in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation of Glycine from Thailand,'' both 
dated June 20, 2019.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties, our verification findings, and the minor corrections presented 
at verification, we made no changes to the respondents' subsidy rate 
calculations. For a discussion of the issues, see the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.

Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In the Preliminary Determination, Commerce explained that a finding 
of critical circumstances is only relevant if, due to an affirmative 
preliminary or affirmative final determination, there is a suspension 
of liquidation.\11\ However, Commerce preliminarily determined that 
Newtrend Thailand did not receive any subsidies. Thus, Commerce issued 
a negative Preliminary Determination, did not suspend liquidation, and 
preliminarily found that critical circumstances did not exist.\12\
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    \11\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 3.
    \12\ See Preliminary Determination, 83 FR at 44862, and PDM at 
3.
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    For this final determination, we find that Newtrend Thailand 
received a de minimis net subsidy rate and, thus, we have issued a 
negative final determination. Accordingly, we continue to find that 
critical circumstances do not exist.

[[Page 38009]]

Final Determination

    In accordance with section 705(c)(l)(B)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated a rate for Newtrend Thailand, the sole producer/exporter of 
the subject merchandise under investigation. Commerce determines the 
total estimated net countervailable subsidy rate to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                        Company                           (percent) (de
                                                             minimis)
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Newtrend Food Ingredient (Thailand) Co., Ltd...........            0.06
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    Commerce has not calculated an all-others rate because it has not 
reached an affirmative final determination. In the Preliminary 
Determination, the total net countervailable subsidy rate for Newtrend 
Thailand was zero and, therefore, we did not suspend liquidation. With 
respect to the final determination, because the rate for Newtrend 
Thailand is de minimis, we are not directing CBP to suspend liquidation 
of entries of glycine from Thailand.

Disclosure

    Commerce will disclose the calculations performed within five days 
of the date of publication of this notice to parties in this proceeding 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the ITC of its determination. As our final determination is negative, 
this proceeding is terminated.

Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of return or destruction of APO materials, or conversion 
to judicial protective order, is hereby requested. Failure to comply 
with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable 
violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination and this notice are issued and published 
pursuant to sections 705(d) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: July 29, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is glycine at any 
purity level or grade. This includes glycine of all purity levels, 
which covers all forms of crude or technical glycine including but 
not limited to sodium glycinate, glycine slurry and any other forms 
of amino acetic acid or glycine. Subject merchandise also includes 
glycine and precursors of dried crystalline glycine that are 
processed in a third country, including, but not limited to, 
refining or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the 
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the 
country of manufacture of the in-scope glycine or precursors of 
dried crystalline glycine. Glycine has the Chemical Abstracts 
Service (CAS) registry number of 56-40-6. Glycine and glycine slurry 
are classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) subheading 2922.49.4300. Sodium glycinate is classified in 
the HTSUS under 2922.49.8000. While the HTSUS subheadings and CAS 
registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the scope of this investigation is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Subsidies Valuation
V. Analysis of Programs
VI. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Whether to Apply Adverse Facts Available (AFA) to 
Newtrend Thailand for Third-Country Affiliates Disclosed at 
Verification
    Comment 2: Whether Bangkok Bank is an Authority
    Comment 3: Whether the Provision of Electricity for Less than 
Adequate Remuneration (LTAR) is Countervailable
    Comment 4: Whether Commerce Should Have Used Thai Electricity 
Export Prices as a Benchmark in the Provision of Electricity for 
LTAR Benefit Calculation
    Comment 5: Whether the Exemptions of Import Duty on Raw or 
Essential Materials Imported for Use in Production for Export 
(Investment Promotion Act (IPA) Section 36) Program is 
Countervailable
    Comment 6: Application of AFA
    Comment 7: CBP Interim Measures
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-16662 Filed 8-2-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P