[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23681-23683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09320]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-523-815]


Certain Aluminum Foil From the Sultanate of Oman: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain aluminum foil (aluminum foil) from the Sultanate of Oman 
(Oman) 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 June 30, 2020. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable May 4, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin A. Smith or Alexander 
Cipolla, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-2181 
or 202-482-4956.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). On September 
29, 2020, the Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group and 
its individual members \1\ (collectively, the petitioners) requested 
the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum 
foil from five countries.\2\ On October 19, 2020, Commerce initiated 
the antidumping duty investigation on aluminum foil from Oman.\3\ On 
February 17, 2021, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of 
this investigation, and the revised deadline is now April 27, 2021.\4\ 
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation 
of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ A 
list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included as Appendix

[[Page 23682]]

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/.
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    \1\ The individual members of the Aluminum Association Trade 
Enforcement Group include Granges Americas Inc, JW Aluminum Company 
and Novelis Corporation. The petitioners indicated that Novelis 
Corporation acquired Aleris Corporation (including all of Aleris' 
aluminum foil-related operations), effective April 14, 2020.
    \2\ See Petitioners' submission, ``Certain Aluminum Foil from 
Armenia, Brazil, Oman, Russia, and Turkey--Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated 
September 29, 2020.
    \3\ See Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Armenia, 
Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, and the 
Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 85 FR 67711 (October 26, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
    \4\ See Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Armenia, 
Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, and the 
Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in 
the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 86 FR 9909 (February 17, 
2021).
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain 
Aluminum Foil from the Sultanate of Oman,'' dated concurrently with, 
and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is aluminum foil from 
Oman. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\6\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\7\ Interested parties 
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. For a summary of the scope comments and rebuttal 
responses submitted to the record for this investigation, and 
accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, 
see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\8\ As discussed in the 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce is preliminarily not 
modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.
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    \6\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \7\ See Initiation Notice.
    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Investigations of Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of 
Armenia, Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, and 
the Republic of Turkey: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' 
dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by this notice 
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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    The Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum establishes the deadline 
to submit scope case briefs.\9\ There will be no further opportunity 
for comments on scope-related issues.
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    \9\ Case briefs, other written comments, and rebuttal briefs 
submitted by parties in response to this preliminary LTFV 
determination should not include scope-related issues. See 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, and ``Public Comment'' 
section of this notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated export prices in accordance 
with section 772(a) of the Act. Normal value (NV) is calculated in 
accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in 
the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers 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 and producers 
individually investigated, excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, 
or determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, the ``all others'' rate is based on the 
dumping margin calculated for Oman Aluminium Rolling Company LLC 
(OARC), the only entity selected for individual examination and for 
which Commerce calculated a margin.\10\
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    \10\ See section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist: \11\
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    \11\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oman Aluminium Rolling Company LLC..........................        4.03
All Others..................................................        4.03
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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), where appropriate, Commerce will instruct CBP to require a 
cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or 
the estimated all-others rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate 
for the respondent listed above will be equal to the company-specific 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin determined in this 
preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is not a 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.
    To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of export 
subsidies countervailed in a companion countervailing duty (CVD) 
proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, 
where we preliminarily make an affirmative determination for 
countervailable export subsidies, we offset the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin by the appropriate CVD rate. However, in the 
companion CVD preliminary determination, we did not countervail any 
export subsidies.\12\ Accordingly, we made no adjustment for export 
subsidy offsets to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin.
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    \12\ See Certain Aluminum Foil from the Sultanate of Oman: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 86 FR 12913 (March 5, 2021).
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    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis to 
interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days 
of any 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

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination. 
Normally, Commerce verifies information using standard procedures, 
including an onsite examination of original accounting, financial, and 
sales documentation. However, due to current travel restrictions in 
response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Commerce is unable to conduct 
on-site verification of this investigation. Accordingly, we intend to 
verify the information relied upon in making the final determination 
through alternative means in lieu of an on-site verification.

[[Page 23683]]

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be 
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. A 
timeline for the submission of case briefs and written comments will be 
provided to interested parties at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, 
limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted not later 
than seven days after the deadline date for case briefs.\13\ 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.\14\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \14\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020).
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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 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.

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 April 22, 2021, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), OARC requested 
that Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional 
measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\15\ In 
accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce 
will make its final determination not later than 135 days after the 
date of publication of this preliminary determination, pursuant to 
section 735(a)(2) of the Act.
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    \15\ See OARC's Letter, ``Certain Aluminum Foil from Oman: 
Request for Postponement of Final Determination,'' dated April 22, 
2021.
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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, then 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 aluminum foil from Oman 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: April 27, 2021.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is aluminum foil 
having a thickness of 0.2 mm or less, in reels exceeding 25 pounds, 
regardless of width. Aluminum foil is made from an aluminum alloy 
that contains more than 92 percent aluminum. Aluminum foil may be 
made to ASTM specification ASTM B479, but can also be made to other 
specifications. Regardless of specification, however, all aluminum 
foil meeting the scope description is included in the scope, 
including aluminum foil to which lubricant has been applied to one 
or both sides of the foil.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation is aluminum foil 
that is backed with paper, paperboard, plastics, or similar backing 
materials on one side or both sides of the aluminum foil, as well as 
etched capacitor foil and aluminum foil that is cut to shape. Where 
the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is within the 
scope if application of either the nominal or actual measurement 
would place it within the scope based on the definitions set forth 
above. The products under investigation are currently classifiable 
under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheadings 7607.11.3000, 7607.11.6090, 7607.11.9030, 7607.11.9060, 
7607.11.9090, and 7607.19.6000.
    Further, merchandise that falls within the scope of this 
proceeding may also be entered into the United States under HTSUS 
subheadings 7606.11.3060, 7606.11.6000, 7606.12.3045, 7606.12.3055, 
7606.12.3091, 7606.12.3096, 7606.12.6000, 7606.91.3095, 
7606.91.6095, 7606.92.3035, and 7606.92.6095. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings 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. Affiliation
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2021-09320 Filed 5-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P