[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37829-37831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13562]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-201-855]


Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber From Mexico: Final Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (AB rubber) from Mexico is being, or is 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). 
The period of investigation is April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.

DATES: Applicable June 24, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis McClure or Faris Montgomery, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5973 
or (202) 482-1537, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On February 2, 2022, Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination in the LTFV investigation of AB rubber from Mexico, in 
which we also postponed the final determination until June 17, 2022.\1\ 
Commerce invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary 
Determination; \2\ we

[[Page 37830]]

received no comments from interested parties. However, as a result of 
the minor corrections presented to Commerce in the sole mandatory 
respondent's response to the in lieu of on-site verification 
questionnaire, Commerce has made certain changes to the Preliminary 
Determination, as discussed below.
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    \1\ See Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from Mexico: Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional 
Measures, 87 FR 5790 (February 2, 2022) (Preliminary Determination), 
and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ Id.
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Scope Comments

    On January 26, 2022, we issued the Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ Interested parties submitted case and rebuttal briefs 
concerning the scope of this investigation.\4\ For a summary of the 
product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the 
record of this investigation, and accompanying analysis of all comments 
timely received, see the Final Scope Memorandum.\5\ Based on the 
comments received from interested parties, we are revising the scope of 
this investigation as it appeared in the Preliminary Determination.\6\ 
The scope in the appendix reflects these changes.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' 
dated January 26, 2022 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
    \4\ See ARLANXEO Emulsion Rubber France S.A.S.'s Letter, ``Scope 
Brief,'' dated February 25, 2022; and Zeon Chemicals L.P. and Zeon 
GP, LLC (collectively, the petitioner)'s Letter, ``Petitioner's 
Rebuttal Scope Brief,'' dated March 4, 2022.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of 
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from France, the Republic of Korea, 
and Mexico: Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Final Scope Memorandum).
    \6\ See Preliminary Determination, 87 FR at 5792. Specifically, 
we added language to the scope that clarified that AB Rubber 
products that include a third component that is not methacrylic acid 
or isoprene are not covered by the scope. See Final Scope 
Memorandum.
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is AB rubber from Mexico. 
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see the 
appendix to this notice.

Verification

    Commerce was unable to conduct on-site verification of the 
information relied upon in making its final determination in this 
investigation. However, we took additional steps in lieu of an on-site 
verification to verify the information relied upon in making this final 
determination, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act).\7\
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    \7\ See Commerce's Letter, ``In Lieu of On-Site Verification 
Questionnaire,'' dated March 2, 2022.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V.'s (Negromex's) in lieu of 
on-site verification questionnaire response,\8\ we accepted minor 
corrections to Negromex's reported sales data \9\ and included these 
changes in the margin calculations for the final determination.\10\
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    \8\ See Negromex's Letter, ``In Lieu of Verification 
Questionnaire Response,'' dated March 10, 2022.
    \9\ See Negromex's Letter, ``Post-Verification Data 
Corrections,'' dated May 9, 2022.
    \10\ For a discussion of the minor verification corrections 
accepted for the final determination, see memorandum, ``Final 
Determination Calculation Memorandum for Industrias Negromex S.A. de 
C.V.,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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All-Others Rate

    Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters 
not individually investigated shall be 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. Section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that, if the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins for all individually investigated 
exporters and producers are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely 
under section 776 of the Act, then Commerce may use any reasonable 
method to establish the estimated all-others rate, including averaging 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins determined for the 
individually investigated exporters and producers.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-
average dumping margin for the sole mandatory respondent Negromex, that 
is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise 
available. Accordingly, the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
calculated for Negromex is the margin assigned to all other producers 
and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.

Final Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V.............................       18.45
All Others..................................................       18.45
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Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in this 
final 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).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    Consistent with the Preliminary Determination,\11\ Commerce will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to 
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of AB rubber from 
Mexico, as described in the Appendix to this notice, which are entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after February 2, 
2022, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the 
Federal Register.
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    \11\ See Preliminary Determination, 87 FR at 5791.
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    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(d), upon publication of this notice, 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 final 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. 
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 
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. We will allow the ITC access to all 
privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided 
the ITC confirms it will not

[[Page 37831]]

disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative 
protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
    Because Commerce's final determination 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 or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation 
of AB Rubber from Mexico no later than 45 days after this final 
determination. If the ITC determines that such injury does not exist, 
this proceeding will be terminated, and all cash deposits posted will 
be refunded and suspension of liquidation will be lifted. 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 February 2, 2022, effective date of the 
suspension of liquidation.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice will serve as a reminder to the parties subject to APO 
of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary 
information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of return or 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: June 17, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--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. AB Rubber products that include a third component that is 
not methacrylic acid or isoprene are not covered by the scope. 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 HNBR) 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.

[FR Doc. 2022-13562 Filed 6-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P