[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65035-65037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23427]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-914]


Certain Superabsorbent Polymers From the Republic of Korea: Final 
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 
certain superabsorbent polymers (SAP) from the Republic of Korea 
(Korea) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is 
October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.

DATES: Applicable October 27, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles DeFilippo or Elfi Blum, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3979 or (202) 482-0197, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On June 7, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register its 
preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of SAP 
from Korea, in which it also postponed the final determination until 
October 20, 2022.\1\ We invited interested parties to comment on the 
Preliminary Determination. A summary of the events that occurred since 
Commerce published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full 
discussion of the issues raised by parties for this final 
determination, may be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic of 
Korea: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination and extension of 
Provisional Measures, 87 FR 34647 (June 7, 2022) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Final 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain 
Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic of Korea,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are SAP from Korea. For 
a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see appendix 
I.

[[Page 65036]]

Scope Comments

    During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope 
comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum to address these comments.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Superabsorbent Polymers from the 
Republic of Korea: Preliminary Scope Decision,'' dated April 29, 
2022, (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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    We received comments from interested parties on the Preliminary 
Scope Decision Memorandum,\4\ which we addressed in a Final Scope 
Decision Memorandum.\5\ Commerce is not modifying the scope language as 
it appeared in the correction to the Preliminary Determination. See 
Appendix I for the final scope of the investigation.
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    \4\ See LGC's Letter, ``Superabsorbent Polymers from the 
Republic of Korea: LGC's Scope Brief,'' dated May 9, 2022; see also 
Ad Hoc Coalition of American SAP Producers' (Petitioner) Letter, 
``Certain Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic of Korea--
Petitioner's Scope Rebuttal Brief,'' dated May 16, 2022.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic 
of Korea: Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Final Scope Memorandum).
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by 
interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum is attached to this notice as appendix II. 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 https://access.trade.gov. In 
addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can 
be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Verification

    Commerce conducted verification of the information relied upon in 
making its final determination in this investigation, in accordance 
with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). 
Specifically, Commerce conducted on-site verifications of the home 
market sales, U.S. sales, and cost of production responses submitted by 
LG Chem, Ltd. (LGC) and its U.S. affiliate, LG Chem America Inc.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of the comments received and additional 
information obtained since the Preliminary Determination, we made 
certain changes to the margin calculation for this final determination. 
For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.

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 
individually-investigated exporters and producers, excluding rates that 
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the 
Act, i.e., facts otherwise available.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated an individual estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin for LGC, the only individually-examined 
exporter/producer in this investigation. Because the only individually 
calculated dumping margin is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on 
facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin calculated for LGC 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 for the period October 1, 2020, through September 
30, 2021:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Estimated
                                                              weighted-
                                                               average
                     Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LG Chem, Ltd...............................................        17.64
All Others.................................................        17.64
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties 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

    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 entries of subject merchandise, as described 
in appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after June 7, 2022, the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register. 
This suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.
    Pursuant to sections 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.210(d), upon the publication of this notice, we will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for estimated antidumping duties 
for such entries as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the 
respondent listed in the table above is the company-specific estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin determined in this final determination; 
(2) if the exporter is not 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 the producer of the 
subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other 
producers and exporters will be the all-others estimated weighted-
average dumping margin listed above.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its final 
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this 
investigation 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 SAP no later than 45 days after 
this final determination. If the ITC determines that such injury does 
not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, 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 effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation, as discussed in the ``Continuation of Suspension of 
Liquidation'' section above.

[[Page 65037]]

Administrative Protective Order

    This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an 
administrative protective order (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 the 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 sanctionable 
violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

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

    Dated: October 20, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is superabsorbent 
polymers (SAP), which is cross-linked sodium polyacrylate most 
commonly conforming to Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry 
number 9003-04-7, where at least 90 percent of the dry matter, by 
weight on a nominal basis, corrected for moisture content, is 
comprised of a polymer with a chemical formula of 
(C3H3O2NaxH1-x
)n, where x is within a range of 0.00-1.00 and there is 
no limit to n. The subject merchandise also includes merchandise 
with a chemical formula of 
{(C2H3)COONayH(1-y){time} 
n, where y is within a range of 0.00-1.00 and there is no 
limit to n. The subject merchandise includes SAP which is fully 
neutralized as well as SAP that is not fully neutralized.
    The subject merchandise may also conform to CAS numbers 25549-
84-2, 77751-27-0, 9065-11-6, 9033-79-8, 164715-58-6, 445299-36-5, 
912842-45-6, 561012-86-0, 561012-85-9, or 9003-01-4.
    All forms and sizes of SAP, regardless of packaging type, 
including but not limited to granules, pellets, powder, fibers, 
flakes, liquid, or gel are within the scope of this investigation. 
The scope also includes SAP whether or not it incorporates additives 
for anticaking, anti-odor, anti-yellowing, or similar functions.
    The scope also includes SAP that is combined, commingled, or 
mixed with other products after final sieving. For such combined 
products, only the SAP component is covered by the scope of this 
investigation. SAP that has been combined with other products is 
included within the scope, regardless of whether the combining 
occurs in third countries. A combination is excluded from this 
investigation if the total SAP component of the combination 
(regardless of the source or sources) comprises less than 50 percent 
of the combination, on a nominal dry weight basis.
    SAP is classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
United States (HTSUS) subheading 3906.90.5000. SAP may also enter 
the United States under HTSUS 3906.10.0000. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings and CAS registry numbers are provided for convenience 
and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Changes from the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Model Match and Product Characteristics
    Comment 2: Contract Prices for International and U.S. Inland 
Freight
    Comment 3: Affiliated Party U.S. Freight Costs
    Comment 4: Foreign Exchange Gains and Losses
    Comment 5: Impairment Losses
    Comment 6: Depreciation of Non-operating Assets and Inventory 
Valuation Losses
    Comment 7: Constructed Export Price (CEP) Offset
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2022-23427 Filed 10-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P