[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 41 (Thursday, March 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12627-12629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04415]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-427-831]


Methionine From France: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Partial Affirmative Determination of 
Critical Circumstances

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that methionine from France is being, or is likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV). Commerce also 
preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist with respect 
to certain imports of subject merchandise. The period of investigation 
is July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020. Interested parties are invited 
to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable March 4, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Shaykin, 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) 482-2638.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
initiated this LTFV investigation on August 18, 2020.\1\ On December 
14, 2020, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination in this 
investigation and the revised deadline is now February 24, 2021.\2\ For 
a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of 
this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ A list 
of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included 
as Appendix II 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 
https://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.
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    \1\ See Methionine from France, Japan, and Spain: Initiation of 
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 85 FR 52324 (August 25, 2020) 
(Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Methionine From France, Japan and Spain: Postponement of 
Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 85 FR 80774 (December 14, 2020).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Methionine from France,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby 
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation is methionine from 
France. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ No interested 
parties commented on the scope of this investigation as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice.\6\ Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the 
scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the scope 
in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ Sumitomo's September 8, 2020 scope comments pertain to the 
product characteristics, and not the scope of the investigation.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with 
adverse inferences, for Adisseo France SAS and Commentry (collectively, 
Adisseo France), the two companies selected for individual examination 
in this investigation.\7\ For a full description of the methodology 
underlying the preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ For the purposes of this investigation, we have considered 
Adisseo France's responses to Commerce's requests for information on 
behalf of both Commentry and Adisseo France SAS. For a full 
discussion on respondent selection in this investigation, see the 
Preliminary Determination Memorandum at 2.
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Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    On February 1, 2021, the petitioner \8\ timely filed a critical 
circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.206(c)(1), alleging that critical circumstances exist with 
respect to imports of the subject merchandise from France.
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    \8\ The petitioner is Novus International, Inc.
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    Section 733(e)(1) of the Act provides that Commerce will 
preliminarily determine that critical circumstances exist in an LTFV 
investigation if there is a reasonable basis to believe or suspect 
that: (A) There is a history of dumping and material injury by reason 
of dumped imports in the United States or elsewhere of the subject 
merchandise, or the person by whom, or for whose account, the 
merchandise was imported knew or should have known that the exporter 
was selling the subject merchandise at less than its fair value and 
that there was likely to be material injury by reason of such sales; 
and (B) there have been massive imports of the

[[Page 12628]]

subject merchandise over a relatively short period.
    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, 
Commerce preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist 
with respect to imports of methionine produced and exported by Adisseo 
France. Furthermore, we preliminarily determine that critical 
circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of methionine 
produced and exported by all other producers and exporters from France. 
For a full description of Commerce's preliminary critical circumstances 
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Section 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act provides that in the 
preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters 
not individually examined. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, 
this rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters or 
producers individually investigated, excluding rates that are zero, de 
minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. Pursuant 
to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins established for all exporters and producers 
individually examined are zero, de minimis, or determined based 
entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any reasonable 
method to establish the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for 
all other producers or exporters.
    Commerce has preliminarily determined the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin for Adisseo France entirely under section 776 of 
the Act. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, Commerce's normal 
practice under these circumstances has been to calculate the all-others 
rate as a simple average of the alleged dumping margins from the 
petition. However, because there is only one dumping margin alleged in 
the Petition (i.e., 16.17 percent),\9\ we used that rate as the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and 
exporters. For a full description of the methodology underlying 
Commerce's analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \9\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitions for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties: Methionine from France, Japan, and Spain,'' 
dated July 29, 2020 (Petition); see also Initiation Notice, 85 FR at 
52327, and accompanying France-specific Initiation Checklist.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter or producer                        dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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Adisseo France SAS and Commentry............................       43.82
All Others..................................................       16.17
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit as 
follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for Adisseo France will be equal to 
the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
determined in this preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is 
not the respondent identified above, but the producer is, then the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject 
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and 
exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin.
    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, the suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a) 
The date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. As noted above, Commerce 
preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of 
subject merchandise produced and exported by Adisseo France. In 
accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of 
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of shipments of 
methionine that were produced and exported by Adisseo France that were 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
date which is 90 days before the publication date of this notice in the 
Federal Register.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties any calculations 
performed in connection with this preliminary determination within five 
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    Because Adisseo France did not provide all of the information 
requested by Commerce and affirmatively stated that it would no longer 
participate in this investigation, we will not conduct verification as 
part of this investigation.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be 
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no 
later than 21 days after the date of publication of the preliminary 
determination.\10\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in these 
case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the 
deadline date for case briefs.\11\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 
(d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 
investigation 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. Commerce has modified certain of its requirements 
for serving documents containing business proprietary information until 
further notice.\12\
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    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); and 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements). Commerce has exercised its discretion 
under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i) to alter the time limit for submission 
of case briefs.
    \11\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and Temporary Rule 
Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of 
Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020) (collectively, 
Temporary Rule).
    \12\ See Temporary Rule.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of

[[Page 12629]]

Commerce, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. 
Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone 
number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a 
foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a 
request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at 
a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone 
the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the 
scheduled date of the hearing.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations 
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    On February 5, 2021, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Adisseo France 
requested a postponement of the final determination of this 
investigation in the case of an affirmative determination by 
Commerce.\13\ Furthermore, pursuant to section 733(d) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.210(e)(2), Adisseo France agreed to an extension of provisional 
measures in this investigation from a period of four to no more than 
six months.\14\ The petitioner submitted an opposition to Adisseo 
France's postponement because of Adisseo France's withdrawal from the 
investigation.\15\
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    \13\ See Adisseo France's Letter, ``Methionine from France: 
Request for Postponement of Final Determination and Provisional 
Measures Period,'' dated February 5, 2021, at 1.
    \14\ Id. at 2.
    \15\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Methionine from France: 
Opposition to Extension of Final Determination,'' dated February 9, 
2021.
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    Ordinarily, in accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), Commerce will grant an extension if: (1) The 
preliminary determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter, 
and in this case producer, accounts for a significant proportion of 
exports of subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling reasons for 
denial exist. In this investigation, Commerce has determined that 
Adisseo France's withdrawal provides a compelling reason to deny 
Adisseo France's request for postponement, because Adisseo France 
represents both mandatory respondents and has withdrawn from this 
investigation.\16\ Furthermore, Adisseo France has indicated that it 
will no longer respond to Commerce's requests for information.\17\ 
Therefore, because Commerce will not receive further information from 
Adisseo France for the remainder of this investigation nor conduct 
verification, Commerce will not be postponing its final determination 
in this investigation. Moreover, because the final determination will 
not be postponed, Commerce will not be extending provisional measures. 
Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination no later than 
75 days after the date of publication of this preliminary 
determination, pursuant to section 735(a)(1) of the Act.
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    \16\ See Adisseo France's Letter, ``Methionine from France: 
Withdrawal from Investigation and Withdrawal of Proprietary 
Information,'' dated January 22, 2021.
    \17\ Id. at 2.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination 
whether imports of methionine from France are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: February 24, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is methionine and 
dl-Hydroxy analogue of dl-methionine, also known as 2-Hydroxy 4-
(Methylthio) Butanoic acid (HMTBa), regardless of purity, particle 
size, grade, or physical form. Methionine has the chemical formula 
C5H11NO2S, liquid HMTBa has the 
chemical formula C5H10O3S, and dry 
HMTBa has the chemical formula 
(C5H9O3S)2Ca.
    Subject merchandise also includes methionine processed in a 
third country including, but not limited to, refining, converting 
from liquid to dry or dry to liquid form, or any other processing 
that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of 
these investigations if performed in the country of manufacture of 
the in-scope methionine or dl-Hydroxy analogue of dl-methionine.
    The scope also includes methionine that is commingled (i.e., 
mixed or combined) with methionine from sources not subject to these 
investigations. Only the subject component of such commingled 
products is covered by the scope of these investigations.
    Excluded from this investigation is United States Pharmacopoeia 
(USP) grade methionine. In order to qualify for this exclusion, USP 
grade methionine must meet or exceed all of the chemical, purity, 
performance, and labeling requirements of the United States 
Pharmacopeia and the National Formulary for USP grade methionine.
    Methionine is currently classified under subheadings 
2930.40.0000 and 2930.90.4600 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS). Methionine has the Chemical Abstracts 
Service (CAS) registry numbers 583-91-5, 4857-44-7, 59-51-8 and 922-
50-9. While the HTSUS subheadings and CAS registry numbers 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 Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of Investigation
V. Scope Comments
VI. Return of Record Information
VII. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inferences
VIII. All-Others Rate
IX. Critical Circumstances
X. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2021-04415 Filed 3-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P