[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5796-5798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02113]



[[Page 5796]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-912]


Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber From the Republic of Korea: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in 
Part, 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 acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (AB rubber) from the Republic of 
Korea (Korea) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States 
at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is 
April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited 
to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable February 2, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Kinter, 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) 482-1413.

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 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on July 27, 
2021.\1\ On November 17, 2021, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now 
January 26, 2022.\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 https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \1\ See Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from France, the Republic 
of Korea, and Mexico: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 86 FR 40192 (July 27, 2021) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from France, the Republic 
of Korea, and Mexico: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of 
Antidumping Duty Investigations, 86 FR 64185 (November 17, 2021).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from the Republic of Korea,'' 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 AB rubber from Korea. 
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\ in 
the Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a period of time for parties 
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain 
interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product 
coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for 
this preliminary determination, and accompanying analysis of all 
comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum.\6\ Based on Commerce's analysis of the parties' comments, 
Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared 
in the Initiation Notice. See the revised 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\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of 
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from France, the Republic of Korea, 
and Mexico: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated 
concurrently with this preliminary determination (Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export price in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Normal value is calculated 
in accordance with section 773 of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to 
section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce has preliminarily relied 
upon facts otherwise available to assign the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin to mandatory respondent LG Chemical, Ltd. (LG Chem) 
because it did not submit a response to Commerce's antidumping duty 
questionnaire. Further, Commerce preliminarily determined that LG Chem 
failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to comply 
with a request for information and is using an adverse inference when 
selecting from among the facts otherwise available, in accordance with 
section 776(b) of the Act. For a full description of the methodology 
underlying the preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in 
Part

    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, 
Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances do not exist 
for Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd. (Kumho), but do exist for LG Chem and 
the companies covered by the all-others rate. For a full description of 
the methodology and results of Commerce's critical circumstances 
analysis, 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. 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 any zero 
and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily assigned a rate based 
entirely on facts available to LG Chem. Therefore, the only rate that 
is not zero, de minimis or based entirely on facts otherwise available 
is the rate calculated for Kumho. Consequently, the rate calculated for 
Kumho is also assigned as the rate for all other producers and 
exporters.

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd................................       19.20
LG Chemical, Ltd............................................       35.21
All Others..................................................       19.20
------------------------------------------------------------------------


[[Page 5797]]

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 equal to the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: 
(1) The cash deposit rate for the respondents listed above will be 
equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins 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.
    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any 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. Commerce preliminarily 
finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject 
merchandise produced or exported by LG Chem and the companies covered 
by the all-others rate. In accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the 
Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries 
of shipments of subject merchandise from the producers or exporters 
identified in this paragraph that were entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before 
the publication of this notice. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed 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 on-site 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 in 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.

Public Comment

    The deadlines for the submission of case and rebuttal briefs with 
respect to scope issues are specified in the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum. Interested parties will be notified of the deadline for the 
submission of case briefs with respect to non-scope issues at a later 
date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in non-scope-related 
case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the 
deadline date for case briefs.\7\ Note that Commerce has temporarily 
modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing 
business proprietary information, until further notice.\8\ 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.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \8\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due 
to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020) (Temporary Rule); and 
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, 
parties will be notified of the time and date for the hearing.\9\
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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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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 no 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 January 14, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Kumho requested 
that Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional 
measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\10\ 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 exporter accounts 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 no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \10\ See Kumho's Letter, ``Request to Postpone the Final 
Determination,'' dated January 14, 2022.
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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 these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

[[Page 5798]]

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: January 26, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is commonly referred 
to as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber or nitrile rubber (AB Rubber). 
AB Rubber is a synthetic rubber produced by the emulsion 
polymerization of butadiene and acrylonitrile with or without the 
incorporation of a third component selected from methacrylic acid or 
isoprene. This scope covers AB Rubber in solid or non-aqueous liquid 
form. The scope also includes carboxylated AB Rubber.
    Excluded from the scope of this investigation is AB Rubber in 
latex form (commonly classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS) subheading 4002.51.0000). Latex AB Rubber 
is commonly either (a) acrylonitrile/butadiene polymer in latex form 
or (b) acrylonitrile/butadiene/methacrylic acid polymer in latex 
form. The broader definition of latex refers to a water emulsion of 
a synthetic rubber obtained by polymerization.
    Also excluded from the scope of this investigation is: (a) AB 
Rubber containing additives incorporated during the compounding, 
mixing, molding, or use of AB Rubber comprising greater than twenty 
percent of the total weight of the product. Additives would include, 
but are not limited to, fillers (e.g. carbon black, silica, clay); 
reinforcement agents (e.g. fibers, carbon black, silica); 
vulcanization agents (e.g. sulfur, sulfur complexes, peroxide); or 
AB Rubber containing extension oils making up greater than forty 
percent of the total weight of the product. Such products would be 
generally classified under HTSUS subheading 4005; (b) AB Rubber 
containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) making up greater than twenty 
percent of total weight of the product; (c) hydrogenated AB Rubber 
(commonly referred to as AB Rubber) produced by subsequent 
dissolution and hydrogenation of AB Rubber; (d) reactive liquid 
polymers containing acrylonitrile and butadiene with amine, epoxy, 
carboxyl or methacrylate vinyl chemical functionality.
    Subject merchandise includes material matching the above 
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed 
in a third country, including by modifying physical form or 
packaging with another product, or performing any other finishing, 
packaging, or processing that would not otherwise remove the 
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the 
country of manufacture of the AB Rubber.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is classified in 
the HTSUS at subheading 4002.59.0000. While the HTSUS subheading 
numbers are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise under investigation is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inferences
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Date of Sale
VII. Product Comparisons
VIII. Export Price
IX. Normal Value
X. Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances
XI. Currency Conversion
XII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-02113 Filed 2-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P