[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 70 (Friday, April 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20248-20249]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07605]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-028]


Hydrofluorocarbon Blends From the People's Republic of China: 
Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Circumvention of the 
Antidumping Duty Order for HFC Components; and Extension of Time Limit 
for Final Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that imports of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) components R-32 
(difluoromethane), R-125 (pentafluoroethane), and R-143a (1,1,1-
trifluoroethane) from the People's Republic of China (China) are 
circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) order on HFC blends from China. 
As a result, imports of R-32, R-125, and R-143a from China will be 
subject to suspension of liquidation effective June 18, 2019. We invite 
interested parties to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable April 10, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Luberda or Jacob Garten, AD/
CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2185 or (202) 
482-3342, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On June 18, 2019, Commerce initiated an anti-circumvention inquiry 
to determine whether imports of certain HFC components (i.e., R-32, R-
125, and R-143a) from China, that are further processed into finished 
HFC blends in the United States,\1\ are circumventing the Order on HFC 
blends from China.\2\ For a complete description of the events that 
followed the initiation of this inquiry, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\
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    \1\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of 
China: Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry of Antidumping Duty 
Order; Components, 84 FR 28273 (June 18, 2019).
    \2\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of 
China: Antidumping Duty Order, 81 FR 55436 (October 16, 2017) 
(Order).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Decision Memorandum for Anti-
Circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order on 
Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of China: HFC 
Components'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The products subject to the Order are HFC blends. HFC blends 
covered by the scope are R-404A, R-407A, R-407C, R-410A, and R-507A/R-
507.\4\ HFC blends covered by the scope of the Order are currently 
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) at subheadings 3824.78.0020 and 3824.78.0050. Although the 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the scope is dispositive.
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    \4\ For a complete description of the scope of the order, see 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Merchandise Subject to the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry

    This anti-circumvention inquiry covers imports of the HFC 
components R-32 (difluoromethane), R-125 (pentafluoroethane), and R-
143a (1,1,1-trifluoroethane), from China that are further processed in 
the United States to create an HFC blend that would be subject to the 
Order.

Methodology

    Commerce made this preliminary finding of circumvention in 
accordance with section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act) and 19 CFR 351.225(g). We relied on information placed on the 
record by the American HFC Coalition (the petitioners); by Arkema Inc., 
BMP USA Inc., IGas USA, Inc., and their affiliated importers, National 
Refrigerants, Inc. (collectively, U.S. importers and blenders); and by 
Zhejiang Quzhou Juxin Fluorine Chemical Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Sanmei 
Chemical Ind. Co., Ltd., and T.T. International Co., Ltd. 
(collectively, Chinese producers and/or exporters). Further, because 
Golden G Imports LLC and Taizhou Qingsong Refrigerant New Material Co., 
Ltd. did not cooperate to the best of their ability in responding to 
Commerce's requests for information, we have based parts of our 
preliminary determination on the facts available, with adverse 
inferences, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 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. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic 
versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is attached at the Appendix to this notice.

Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Circumvention

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we 
preliminarily determine, pursuant to section 781(a) of the Act, that 
imports of HFC components R-32, R-125, and R-143a from China, that are 
further processed in the United States into finished HFC blends subject 
to the Order are circumventing the Order.

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.225(l)(2), Commerce will instruct CBP 
to suspend liquidation of all HFC components R-32, R-125, and R-143a 
(as defined in the Merchandise Subject to the Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiry section above) from China that are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after June 18, 2019, the date of 
initiation of this anti-circumvention inquiry.\5\ CBP shall require 
cash deposits in accordance with those rates prevailing at the time of 
entry, depending upon the exporter in question, under the HFC blends 
Order. The suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.
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    \5\ See, e.g., Anti-circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping 
Duty Order on Certain Pasta from Italy: Affirmative Preliminary 
Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order, 63 FR 
18364, 18366 (April 15, 1998), unchanged in Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Pasta from Italy: 
Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping 
Duty Order, 63 FR 54672, 54675-6 (October 13, 1998).
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    We received comments from multiple parties with respect to 
certification regimes to exclude certain imports of

[[Page 20249]]

HFC components from the Order.\6\ At this time, we have not included a 
certification requirement; however, we invite further comments on this 
issue, and based upon any such comments, we may consider such a 
certification requirement for the final determination.
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    \6\ See, e.g., Hudson Technologies Company's Letter, 
``Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of China, 
Anti-Circumvention Inquiry--HFC Components (A-570-028): Hudson 
Technology Company's Pre-Preliminary Determination Comments,'' dated 
March 6, 2020.
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Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than 
14 days after the date of publication of this notice.\7\ Rebuttal 
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no 
later than seven days after the time limit for filing case briefs.\8\ 
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.\9\ Case and rebuttal briefs should be filed electronically 
via ACCESS.\10\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of 
its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information, until May 19, 2020, unless extended.\11\
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    \7\ Commerce is exercising its discretion, under 19 CFR 
351.309(c)(1)(ii), to alter the time limit for filing of case 
briefs.
    \8\ Commerce is exercising its discretion, under 19 CFR 
351.309(d)(1), to alter the time limit for filing of rebuttal 
briefs.
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
    \11\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020).
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    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 and 
received successfully in its entirety, via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Time within 14 days after the date of publication of this notice.\12\ 
Hearing requests should contain: (1) The party's name, address, and 
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of 
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to 
issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, 
parties will be notified of the date and time for the hearing to be 
held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230.\13\
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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \13\ Id.
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Postponement of Final Determination

    Section 781(f) of the Act provides that, to the maximum extent 
practicable, Commerce shall make its anti-circumvention determinations 
within 300 days from the date of initiation of the inquiry. We 
determine that it is not practicable to make a final determination in 
this anti-circumvention inquiry by the current deadline of April 13, 
2020, because Commerce will require additional time to notify the U.S. 
International Trade Commission (ITC), and to review and analyze case 
and rebuttal briefs. Therefore, we are extending the time period for 
issuing the final determination in this inquiry by 80 days, to July 2, 
2020.

Notification to the ITC

    Consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, Commerce is notifying 
the ITC of this affirmative preliminary determination to include the 
merchandise subject to this inquiry within the AD order on HFC blends 
from China. Pursuant to section 781(e) of the Act, the ITC may request 
consultations concerning Commerce's proposed inclusion of the subject 
merchandise. These consultations must be concluded within 15 days after 
the date of the request. If, after consultations, the ITC believes that 
a significant injury issue is presented by the proposed inclusion, it 
will have 60 days to provide written advice to Commerce.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice is published in accordance with section 781(a) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.225(g).

    Dated: April 3, 2020.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Merchandise Subject to the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Period of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
VI. Surrogate Countries and Methodology for Valuing Inputs From 
China
VII. Statutory and Regulatory Framework for Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiry
VIII. Use of Facts Available With An Adverse Inference
IX. Allegations of Circumvention as Identified in the Initiation of 
Inquiry
X. Anti-Circumvention Analysis
XI. Intent to Consider Certification Requirement
XII. Country-Wide Determination
XIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2020-07605 Filed 4-9-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P