[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 62 (Tuesday, March 31, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17866-17867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06639]



[[Page 17866]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-423-814, A-580-899, A-791-824]


Acetone From Belgium, the Republic of South Africa, and the 
Republic of Korea: Antidumping Duty Orders

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), 
Commerce is issuing antidumping duty orders on acetone from Belgium, 
the Republic of South Africa (South Africa), and the Republic of Korea 
(Korea).

DATES: Applicable March 31, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alex Cipolla at (202) 482-4956 
(Belgium), Caitlin Monks (202) 482-2670 (South Africa), or Sean Carey 
at (202) 482-3964 (Korea), AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement 
and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(c), on February 13, 
2020, Commerce published its affirmative final determinations in the 
less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigations of acetone from Belgium, 
South Africa, and Korea.\1\ On March 17, 2020, the ITC notified 
Commerce of its final affirmative determinations that an industry in 
the United States is materially injured within the meaning of section 
735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, by reason of the LTFV imports of acetone 
from Belgium, South Africa, and Korea.\2\
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    \1\ See Acetone from Belgium: Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, 85 FR 8249 (February 13, 2020); see also 
Acetone from the Republic of South Africa: Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 85 FR 8247 (February 13, 2020); and 
Acetone from the Republic of Korea: Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, 85 FR 8252 (February 13, 2020) (collectively, 
Final Determinations).
    \2\ See ITC's Letter dated March 17, 2020 (ITC Notification 
Letter).
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Scope of the Orders

    The merchandise covered by these orders is acetone from Belgium, 
Korea, and South Africa. For a complete description of the scope of the 
orders, see the Appendix to this notice.

Antidumping Duty Orders

    On March 17, 2020, in accordance with sections 735(b)(1)(A)(i) and 
735(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final 
determinations that an industry in the United States is materially 
injured by reason of imports of acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South 
Africa.\3\ Therefore, in accordance with sections 735(c)(2) and 736 of 
the Act, Commerce is issuing these antidumping duty orders. Because the 
ITC determined that imports of acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South 
Africa are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of 
such merchandise from Belgium, Korea, and South Africa, which are 
entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject to the 
assessment of antidumping duties.
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    \3\ See ITC Notification Letter.
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    As a result of the ITC's final affirmative determinations, in 
accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further instruction 
by Commerce, antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the normal 
value of the merchandise exceeds the export price or constructed export 
price of the merchandise, for all relevant entries of acetone from 
Belgium, Korea, and South Africa. Antidumping duties will be assessed 
on unliquidated entries of acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South 
Africa entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after September 24, 2019, the date of publication of the Preliminary 
Determinations,\4\ but will not include entries occurring after the 
expiration of the provisional measures period and before publication in 
the Federal Register of the ITC's injury determination, as further 
described below.
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    \4\ See Acetone from Belgium: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of 
Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 84 FR 
49999 (September 24, 2019); see also Acetone from the Republic of 
Korea: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of 
Provisional Measures, 84 FR 50005 (September 24, 2019); and Acetone 
from the Republic of South Africa: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales and Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of 
Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 84 FR 
49984 (September 24, 2019) (collectively, Preliminary 
Determinations).
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 736 of the Act, Commerce will instruct 
CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of subject merchandise 
(i.e., acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South Africa), effective on the 
date of publication of the ITC final determinations in the Federal 
Register, and to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce pursuant 
to section 736(a)(1) of the Act, antidumping duties for each entry of 
the subject merchandise equal to the amount by which the normal value 
of the merchandise exceeds the export price or constructed export price 
of the merchandise, adjusted by the amount of export subsidies, where 
appropriate. We intend to instruct CBP to require, at the same time as 
importers would normally deposit estimated import duties on this 
merchandise, cash deposits for each entry of subject merchandise equal 
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins listed below. These 
instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further 
notice. The all-others rates apply to all other producers or exporters 
not specifically listed.

Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins

    The estimated weighted-average dumping margins for each antidumping 
duty order are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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                                 Belgium
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INEOS Europe AG/INEOS Phenol Belgium NV.....................       28.10
All Others..................................................       28.10
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                                  Korea
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kumho P&B Chemicals, Inc....................................       47.86
LG Chem, Ltd................................................       25.05
All Others..................................................       33.10
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                              South Africa
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sasol South Africa Limited..................................      414.92
All Others..................................................      314.51
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Provisional Measures

    Section 733(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation 
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in 
effect for more than four months, except that Commerce may extend the 
four-month period to no more than six months at the request of 
exporters representing a significant proportion of exports of the 
subject merchandise. Commerce's Preliminary Determinations were 
published on September 24, 2019.\5\ In the Preliminary Determinations, 
Commerce postponed the Final Determinations, and extended

[[Page 17867]]

the provisional measures period to six months. Commerce's Final 
Determinations were published on February 13, 2020.\6\ As such, the 
six-month period beginning on the date of publication of the 
Preliminary Determinations ends on March 22, 2020.
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    \5\ See Preliminary Determinations.
    \6\ See Final Determinations.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, Commerce 
instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation, and to 
liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, unliquidated entries 
of acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South Africa entered or withdrawn 
from warehouse for consumption after March 22, 2020, the date on which 
the provisional measures expired, through the day preceding the date of 
publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determinations in the 
Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will resume on the date of 
publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determinations in the 
Federal Register.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the antidumping duty orders with respect to 
acetone from Belgium, Korea, and South Africa, pursuant to section 
736(a) of the Act. Interested parties can find a list of antidumping 
duty orders currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    These orders are published in accordance with section 736(a) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: March 25, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--Scope of the Orders

    The merchandise covered by these orders is all grades of liquid 
or aqueous acetone. Acetone is also known under the International 
Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) name propan-2-one. In 
addition to the IUPAC name, acetone is also referred to as [beta]-
ketopropane (or beta-ketopropane), ketone propane, methyl ketone, 
dimethyl ketone, DMK, dimethyl carbonyl, propanone, 2-propanone, 
dimethyl formaldehyde, pyroacetic acid, pyroacetic ether, and 
pyroacetic spirit. Acetone is an isomer of the chemical formula 
C3H6O, with a specific molecular formula of 
CH3COCH3 or (CH3)2CO.
    The scope covers both pure acetone (with or without impurities) 
and acetone that is combined or mixed with other products, 
including, but not limited to, isopropyl alcohol, benzene, diethyl 
ether, methanol, chloroform, and ethanol. Acetone that has been 
combined with other products is included within the scope, 
regardless of whether the combining occurs in third countries.
    The scope also includes acetone that is commingled with acetone 
from sources not subject to these orders.
    For combined and commingled products, only the acetone component 
is covered by the scope of these orders. However, when acetone is 
combined with acetone components from sources not subject to this 
investigation, those third country acetone components may still be 
subject to other acetone orders.
    Notwithstanding the foregoing language, an acetone combination 
or mixture that is transformed through a chemical reaction into 
another product, such that, for example, the acetone can no longer 
be separated from the other products through a distillation process 
(e.g., methyl methacrylate (MMA) or Bisphenol A (BPA)), is excluded 
from these orders.
    A combination or mixture is excluded from these orders if the 
total acetone component (regardless of the source or sources) 
comprises less than 5 percent of the combination or mixture, on a 
dry weight basis.
    The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number for acetone 
is 67-64-1.
    The merchandise covered by these orders is currently 
classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) subheadings 2914.11.1000 and 2914.11.5000. Combinations or 
mixtures of acetone may enter under subheadings in Chapter 38 of the 
HTSUS, including, but not limited to, those under heading 
3814.00.1000, 3814.00.2000, 3814.00.5010, and 3814.00.5090. The list 
of items found under these HTSUS subheadings is non-exhaustive. 
Although these HTSUS subheadings and CAS registry number are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope of these orders is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2020-06639 Filed 3-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P