[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5136-5139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01014]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-121]


Difluoromethane (R-32) From the People's Republic of China: Final 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
difluoromethane (R-32) from the People's Republic of China (China) is 
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is July 1, 2019 through 
December 31, 2019. The final dumping margins of sales at LTFV are 
listed below in the ``Final Determination'' section of this notice.

DATES: Applicable January 19, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joshua Tucker or William Miller, 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) 482-2044 or (202) 
482-3906, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 27, 2020, Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination of sales at LTFV of R-32 from China,\1\ in which we also 
postponed the final determination to January 11, 2021. The petitioner 
in this investigation is Arkema Inc. The mandatory respondents in this 
investigation are Taizhou Qingsong Refrigerant New Material Co., Ltd. 
(Taizhou Qingsong) and Zibo Feiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd. (Zibo Feiyuan).
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    \1\ See Difluoromethane (R-32) from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination, 85 FR 52950 
(August 27, 2020) (Preliminary Determination), and accompanying 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the 
Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues 
raised by the parties for this final determination are discussed in the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\ 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. 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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    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation of Difluoromethane (R-32) from the People's Republic 
of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is R-32 from China. For a 
complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix 
I.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in 
this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. 
A list of the issues raised is attached to this notice as Appendix II.

Verification

    Commerce normally verifies information relied upon in making its 
final determination, pursuant to section 782(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act). However, due to current travel restrictions 
in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Commerce was unable to 
conduct on-site verification in this investigation.\3\ Consistent with 
section 776(a)(2)(D) of the Act, Commerce relied on the information 
submitted on the record, which we used in making our Preliminary 
Determination, as facts available in making our final determination.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Cancelation of Verification and Briefing 
Schedule,'' dated October 21, 2020.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties, we made no changes to the antidumping duty margin calculations 
for Taizhou Qingsong and Zibo Feiyuan.

China-Wide Entity and the Use of Adverse Facts Available

    We continue to find that the use of adverse facts available (AFA), 
pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, is warranted in 
determining the rate for the China-wide entity.\4\ In selecting the AFA 
rate for the China-wide entity, Commerce's practice is to select a rate 
that is sufficiently adverse to ensure that the uncooperative party 
does not obtain a more favorable result by failing to cooperate than if 
it had fully cooperated.\5\ As AFA, we assigned the

[[Page 5137]]

China-wide entity a dumping margin of 221.06 percent, which is the 
highest calculated rate in this investigation. Because this constitutes 
primary information, the statutory corroboration requirement in section 
776(c) of the Act does not apply.
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    \4\ The China-wide entity includes those companies who did not 
submit a separate rate application, and those companies Commerce 
determined were ineligible to receive a separate rate.
    \5\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: 
Purified Carboxymethyl Cellulose from Finland, 69 FR 77216 (December 
27, 2004), unchanged in Notice of Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Purified Carboxymethyl Cellulose from Finland, 
70 FR 28279 (May 17, 2005).
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Separate Rates

    For the final determination, we continue to find that Taizhou 
Qingsong, Zibo Feiyuan, Icool International (Hong Kong) Limited, Ninhua 
Group Co., Ltd., Shandong Huaan New Material Co., Ltd., T.T. 
International Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co. Ltd. are 
eligible for separate rates. Generally, Commerce looks to section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating 
the all-others rate in an investigation, for guidance when calculating 
the rate for separate rate respondents that we did not individually 
examine. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that the estimated all-
others rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters 
and producers individually investigated, excluding zero or de minimis 
margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of 
Act.\6\ In this proceeding, Commerce calculated above de minimis rates 
that are not based entirely on facts available for Taizhou Qingsong and 
Zibo Feiyuan, the two mandatory respondents under individual 
examination. Thus, looking to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act for 
guidance, and consistent with our practice,\7\ based on publicly ranged 
sales data, we assigned the weighted-average of these mandatory 
respondents' rates as the rate for non-individually examined companies 
that have qualified for a separate rate.
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    \6\ See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, 
Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews and Rescission of Reviews in 
Part, 73 FR 52823, 52824 (September 11, 2008), and accompanying 
Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 16.
    \7\ See, e.g., Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value and Partial Affirmative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances: Certain Polyester Staple Fiber from the People's 
Republic of China, 71 FR 77373, 77377 (December 26, 2006), unchanged 
in Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Partial 
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain 
Polyester Staple Fiber from the People's Republic of China, 72 FR 
19690 (April 19, 2007).
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\8\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. For a list of 
the respondents that established eligibility for their own separate 
rates and the exporter/producer combination rates applicable to these 
respondents, see Appendix III.
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    \8\ See Initiation Notice, 84 FR at 7335.
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Final Determination

    The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
             Producer                     Exporter            average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taizhou Qingsong Refrigerant New    Taizhou Qingsong              161.49
 Material Co., Ltd..                 Refrigerant New
                                     Material Co., Ltd..
Zibo Feiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd....  Zibo Feiyuan                  221.06
                                     Chemical Co., Ltd..
Zibo Feiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd....  T.T. International            221.06
                                     Co., Ltd..
Producers Supplying the Non-        Non-Individually              196.19
 Individually--Examined Exporters    Examined Exporters
 Receiving Separate Rates (see       Receiving Separate
 Appendix III).                      Rates (see Appendix
                                     III).
China-Wide Entity.................  ....................          221.06
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a final determination, in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce made no changes to its 
Preliminary Determination margin calculations for the mandatory 
respondents in this investigation, there are no calculations to 
disclose.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to 
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of R-32 from Taizhou 
Qingsong and Zibo Feiyuan, the separate rates companies, and the China-
wide entity.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, upon the 
publication of this notice, Commerce will instruct CBP to require a 
cash deposit equal to the weighted-average amount by which NV exceeds 
U.S. price as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the exporter/
producer combination listed in the table above or in Appendix III will 
be the rate identified for that combination in that table or Appendix 
III; (2) for all combinations of exporters/producers of merchandise 
under consideration that have not received their own separate rate, the 
cash deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate established for the 
China-wide entity; and (3) for all non-Chinese exporters of the 
merchandise under consideration which have not received their own 
separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate 
applicable to the Chinese exporter/producer combination that supplied 
that non-Chinese exporter. These suspension of liquidation instructions 
will remain in effect until further notice.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. Because the 
final determination in this proceeding is affirmative, in accordance 
with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the ITC will make its final 
determination as to whether the domestic industry in the United States 
is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of 
imports of R-32 from China no later than 45 days after our final 
determination. If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of 
material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and 
all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC determines that such 
injury does exist, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order 
directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, 
antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective 
date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in the 
``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.

[[Page 5138]]

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury 
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties 
subject to an administrative protective order (APO) of their 
responsibility concerning the destruction of proprietary information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 
written notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or 
conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to 
comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a violation which is 
subject to sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

    Dated: January 11, 2021.
Joseph A. Laroski Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is difluoromethane 
(R-32), or its chemical equivalent, regardless of form, type or 
purity level. R-32 has the Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry 
number of 75-10-5 and the chemical formula CH2 F2. R-32 is also 
referred to as difluoromethane, HFC-32, FC-32, Freon-32, methylene 
difluoride, methylene fluoride, carbon fluoride hydride, halocarbon 
R32, fluorocarbon R32, and UN 3252. Subject merchandise also 
includes R-32 and unpurified R-32 that are processed in a third 
country or the United States, including, but not limited to, 
purifying or any other processing that would not otherwise remove 
the merchandise from the scope of this investigation if performed in 
the country of manufacture of the in-scope R-32. R-32 that has been 
blended with products other than pentafluoroethane (R-125) is 
included within this scope if such blends contain 85% or more by 
volume on an actual percentage basis of R-32. In addition, R-32 that 
has been blended with any amount of R-125 is included within this 
scope if such blends contain more than 52% by volume on an actual 
percentage basis of R-32. Whether R-32 is blended with R-125 or 
other products, only the R-32 component of the mixture is covered by 
the scope of this investigation. The scope also includes R-32 that 
is commingled with R-32 from sources not subject to this 
investigation. Only the subject component of such commingled 
products is covered by the scope of this investigation.
    Excluded from the current scope is merchandise covered by the 
scope of the antidumping order on hydrofluorocarbon blends from the 
People's Republic of China. See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the 
People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order, 81 FR 55436 
(August 19, 2016) (the Blends Order).
    R-32 is classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS) subheading 2903.39.2035. Other merchandise 
subject to the current scope, including the abovementioned blends 
that are outside the scope of the Blends Order, may be classified 
under 2903.39.2045 and 3824.78.0020. The HTSUS subheadings and CAS 
registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes. 
The written description of the scope of the investigation is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. China-Wide Rate
IV. Calculation Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Whether to Apply Partial AFA to Taizhou Qingsong and 
Zibo Feiyuan for Reporting Issues
    Comment 2: Selection of the Primary Surrogate Country
    Comment 3: Calculation of the Surrogate Value for Russian Truck 
Freight
VI. Recommendation

Appendix III

Separate Rate Companies

------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Exporter                             Producer
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Producers supplying the non-
Non-individually examined exporters    individually--examined exporters
      receiving separate rates             receiving separate rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Changshu 3F Zhonghao New Chemical
 Limited.                             Materials Co., Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Zhejiang Zhiyang Chemical Co., Ltd.
 Limited.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Taizhou Huasheng New Refrigeration
 Limited.                             Material Co., Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Zhejiang Lishui Fuhua Chemical Co.,
 Limited.                             Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Zibo Feiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.
 Limited.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Jiangsu Meilan Chemical Co., Ltd.
 Limited.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Taizhou Qingsong Refrigerant New
 Limited.                             Material Co., Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Industry
 Limited.                             Co., Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Shandong Huaan New Material Co.,
 Limited.                             Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Liaocheng Fuer New Materials
 Limited.                             Technology Co., Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Ruyuan Dongyangguang Fluorine Co.,
 Limited.                             Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Shandong Xinlong Science Technology
 Limited.                             Co., Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Linhai Limin Chemicals Co., Ltd.
 Limited.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Dongyang Weihua Refrigerants Co.,
 Limited.                             Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Zhejiang Fulai Refrigerant Co.,
 Limited.                             Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Zhejiang Guomao Industrial Co.,
 Limited.                             Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Zhejiang Yonghe Refrigerant Co.,
 Limited.                             Ltd.
Icool International (Hong Kong)      Shanghai Aohong Chemical Co., Ltd.
 Limited.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Changshu 3F Zhonghao New Chemical
                                      Materials Co., Ltd
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Zhejiang Zhiyang Chemical Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Taizhou Huasheng New Refrigeration
                                      Material Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Zhejiang Lishui Fuhua Chemical Co.,
                                      Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Zibo Feiyuan Chemical Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Jiangsu Meilan Chemical Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Taizhou Qingsong Refrigerant New
                                      Material Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Industry
                                      Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Shandong Huaan New Material Co.,
                                      Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Liaocheng Fuer New Materials
                                      Technology Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Ruyuan Dongyangguang Fluorine Co.,
                                      Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Shandong Xinlong Science Technology
                                      Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Linhai Limin Chemicals Co., Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Dongyang Weihua Refrigerants Co.,
                                      Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Zhejiang Fulai Refrigerant Co.,
                                      Ltd.

[[Page 5139]]

 
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Zhejiang Guomao Industrial Co.,
                                      Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Zhejiang Yonghe Refrigerant Co.,
                                      Ltd.
Ninhua Group Co., Ltd..............  Shanghai Aohong Chemical Co., Ltd.
Shandong Huaan New Material Co.,     Shandong Huaan New Material Co.,
 Ltd.                                 Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd........  Sinochem Lantian Fluoro Materials
                                      Co., Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd........  Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Industry
                                      Co., Ltd.
T.T. International Co., Ltd........  Shandong Huaan New Material Co.,
                                      Ltd.
Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co.,   Jiangsu Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co.,
 Ltd.                                 Ltd.
Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co.,   Fujian Qingliu Dongying Chemical
 Ltd.                                 Co., Ltd.
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[FR Doc. 2021-01014 Filed 1-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P