[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6790-6792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02081]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation Nos. 701-TA-579-580 and 731-TA-1369-1372 (Review)]
Fine Denier Polyester Staple Fiber From China, India, South
Korea, and Taiwan; Institution of Five-Year Reviews
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted
reviews pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930 (``the Act''), as amended,
to determine whether revocation of the countervailing duty orders and
the antidumping duty orders on fine denier polyester staple fiber (PSF)
from China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan would be likely to lead to
continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to the Act,
interested parties are requested to respond to this notice by
submitting the information specified below to the Commission.
DATES: Instituted February 1, 2023. To be assured of consideration, the
deadline for responses is March 3, 2023. Comments on the adequacy of
responses may be filed with the Commission by April 13, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Cummings (202-708-1666),
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal
on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need
special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact
the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its
internet server (https://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this
proceeding may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS)
at https://edis.usitc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background.--On March 16, 2018, the Department of Commerce
(``Commerce'') issued countervailing duty orders on imports of fine
denier polyester staple fiber from China and India (83 FR 11681). On
July 20, 2018, the Department of Commerce (``Commerce'') issued
antidumping duty orders on imports of fine denier polyester staple
fiber from China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan (83 FR 34545). The
Commission is conducting these reviews pursuant to section 751(c) of
the Act, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1675(c)), to determine whether
revocation of the orders would be likely to lead to continuation or
recurrence of material injury to the domestic industry within a
reasonably foreseeable time. Provisions concerning the conduct of this
proceeding may be found in the Commission's Rules of Practice and
Procedure at 19 CFR part 201, subparts A and B, and 19 CFR part 207,
subparts A and F. The Commission will assess the adequacy of interested
party responses to this notice of institution to determine whether to
conduct full reviews or expedited reviews. The Commission's
determination in any expedited review will be based on the facts
available, which may include information provided in response to this
notice.
Definitions.--The following definitions apply to this review:
(1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is
within the scope of the five-year review, as defined by Commerce.
(2) The Subject Countries in these reviews are China, India, South
Korea, and Taiwan.
(3) The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product
or products which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in
characteristics and uses with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original
determination, the Commission defined the Domestic Like Product as all
domestically produced fine denier polyester staple fiber that
corresponds to Commerce's scope description.
(4) The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the
Domestic Like Product, or those producers whose collective output of
the Domestic Like Product constitutes a major proportion of the total
domestic production of the product. In its original determination, the
Commission defined the Domestic Industry as producers of fine denier
PSF.
(5) The Order Date is the date that the countervailing duty orders
under review became effective and the antidumping duty orders under
review became effective. In these reviews, the countervailing duty
orders Order Date is March 16, 2018, while the antidumping duty orders
Order Date is July 20, 2018.
(6) An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or
through a parent company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject
Merchandise into the United States from a foreign manufacturer or
through its selling agent.
Participation in the proceeding and public service list.--Persons,
including industrial users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the
merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer
organizations, wishing to participate in the proceeding as parties must
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as
provided in Sec. 201.11(b)(4) of the Commission's rules, no later than
21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. The
Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names and
addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to
the proceeding.
Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission
five-year reviews are advised that they may appear in a review even if
they participated personally and substantially in the corresponding
underlying original investigation or an earlier review of the same
underlying investigation. The Commission's designated agency ethics
official has advised that a five-year review is not the same particular
matter as the underlying original investigation, and a five-year review
is not the same particular matter as an earlier review of the same
underlying investigation for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 207, the post-
employment statute for Federal employees, and Commission rule 201.15(b)
(19 CFR 201.15(b)), 79 FR 3246 (Jan. 17, 2014), 73 FR 24609 (May 5,
2008). Consequently, former employees are not required to seek
Commission approval to appear in a review under Commission rule 19 CFR
201.15, even if the corresponding underlying original investigation or
an earlier review of the
[[Page 6791]]
same underlying investigation was pending when they were Commission
employees. For further ethics advice on this matter, contact Charles
Smith, Office of the General Counsel, at 202-205-3408.
Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under
an administrative protective order (APO) and APO service list.--
Pursuant to Sec. 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary
will make BPI submitted in this proceeding available to authorized
applicants under the APO issued in the proceeding, provided that the
application is made no later than 21 days after publication of this
notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants must represent
interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to
the proceeding. A separate service list will be maintained by the
Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
Certification.--Pursuant to Sec. 207.3 of the Commission's rules,
any person submitting information to the Commission in connection with
this proceeding must certify that the information is accurate and
complete to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In making the
certification, the submitter will acknowledge that information
submitted in response to this request for information and throughout
this proceeding or other proceeding may be disclosed to and used: (i)
by the Commission, its employees and Offices, and contract personnel
(a) for developing or maintaining the records of this or a related
proceeding, or (b) in internal investigations, audits, reviews, and
evaluations relating to the programs, personnel, and operations of the
Commission including under 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S.
government employees and contract personnel, solely for cybersecurity
purposes. All contract personnel will sign appropriate nondisclosure
agreements.
Written submissions.--Pursuant to Sec. 207.61 of the Commission's
rules, each interested party response to this notice must provide the
information specified below. The deadline for filing such responses is
March 3, 2023. Pursuant to Sec. 207.62(b) of the Commission's rules,
eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule 207.62(b)(1)) may
also file comments concerning the adequacy of responses to the notice
of institution and whether the Commission should conduct an expedited
or full review. The deadline for filing such comments is April 13,
2023. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of Sec.
201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain BPI must
also conform with the requirements of Sec. Sec. 201.6, 207.3, and
207.7 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's Handbook on Filing
Procedures, available on the Commission's website at https://www.usitc.gov/documents/handbook_on_filing_procedures.pdf, elaborates
upon the Commission's procedures with respect to filings. Also, in
accordance with Sec. Sec. 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's
rules, each document filed by a party to the proceeding must be served
on all other parties to the proceeding (as identified by either the
public or APO service list as appropriate), and a certificate of
service must accompany the document (if you are not a party to the
proceeding you do not need to serve your response).
Please note the Secretary's Office will accept only electronic
filings at this time. Filings must be made through the Commission's
Electronic Document Information System (EDIS, https://edis.usitc.gov).
No in-person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic
filings will be accepted until further notice.
No response to this request for information is required if a
currently valid Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') number is not
displayed; the OMB number is 3117 0016/USITC No. 23-5-557, expiration
date June 30, 2023. Public reporting burden for the request is
estimated to average 15 hours per response. Please send comments
regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate to the Office of
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW,
Washington, DC 20436.
Inability to provide requested information.--Pursuant to Sec.
207.61(c) of the Commission's rules, any interested party that cannot
furnish the information requested by this notice in the requested form
and manner shall notify the Commission at the earliest possible time,
provide a full explanation of why it cannot provide the requested
information, and indicate alternative forms in which it can provide
equivalent information. If an interested party does not provide this
notification (or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the
notification inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to
this notice, the Commission may take an adverse inference against the
party pursuant to Sec. 776(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677e(b)) in
making its determination in the review.
Information to be Provided in Response to this Notice of
Institution: If you are a domestic producer, union/worker group, or
trade/business association; import/export Subject Merchandise from more
than one Subject Country; or produce Subject Merchandise in more than
one Subject Country, you may file a single response. If you do so,
please ensure that your response to each question includes the
information requested for each pertinent Subject Country. As used
below, the term ``firm'' includes any related firms.
Those responding to this notice of institution are encouraged, but
not required, to visit the USITC's website at https://usitc.gov/investigations/import_injury, where one can ``Access responses to
Notice of Institution (NOI) worksheets for five-year reviews (for
active investigations)'' and download and complete the ``NOI
worksheet'' Excel form, to be included as attachment/exhibit 1 of your
overall response.
(1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World
Wide Web address) and name, telephone number, fax number, and Email
address of the certifying official.
(2) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is an
interested party under 19 U.S.C. 1677(9) and if so, how, including
whether your firm/entity is a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like
Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a U.S. importer of the Subject
Merchandise, a foreign producer or exporter of the Subject Merchandise,
a U.S. or foreign trade or business association (a majority of whose
members are interested parties under the statute), or another
interested party (including an explanation). If you are a union/worker
group or trade/business association, identify the firms in which your
workers are employed or which are members of your association.
(3) A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to
participate in this proceeding by providing information requested by
the Commission.
(4) A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the
countervailing duty orders and the antidumping duty orders on the
Domestic Industry in general and/or your firm/entity specifically. In
your response, please discuss the various factors specified in Sec.
752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675a(a)) including the likely volume of
subject imports, likely price effects of subject imports, and likely
impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on the Domestic Industry.
(5) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of
the Domestic Like Product. Identify any known related parties and the
nature of the relationship as defined in
[[Page 6792]]
Sec. 771(4)(B) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).
(6) A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of
the Subject Merchandise and producers of the Subject Merchandise in
each Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject
Merchandise to the United States or other countries since the Order
Date.
(7) A list of 3-5 leading purchasers in the U.S. market for the
Domestic Like Product and the Subject Merchandise (including street
address, World Wide Web address, and the name, telephone number, fax
number, and Email address of a responsible official at each firm).
(8) A list of known sources of information on national or regional
prices for the Domestic Like Product or the Subject Merchandise in the
U.S. or other markets.
(9) If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product,
provide the following information on your firm's operations on that
product during calendar year 2022, except as noted (report quantity
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b. plant). If you
are a union/worker group or trade/business association, provide the
information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers
are employed/which are members of your association.
(a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total U.S. production of the Domestic Like Product
accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
(b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm to produce the Domestic Like
Product (that is, the level of production that your establishment(s)
could reasonably have expected to attain during the year, assuming
normal operating conditions (using equipment and machinery in place and
ready to operate), normal operating levels (hours per week/weeks per
year), time for downtime, maintenance, repair, and cleanup, and a
typical or representative product mix);
(c) the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s);
(d) the quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company
transfers of the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s);
and
(e) the value of (i) net sales, (ii) cost of goods sold (COGS),
(iii) gross profit, (iv) selling, general and administrative (SG&A)
expenses, and (v) operating income of the Domestic Like Product
produced in your U.S. plant(s) (include both U.S. and export commercial
sales, internal consumption, and company transfers) for your most
recently completed fiscal year (identify the date on which your fiscal
year ends).
(10) If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of
U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise from any Subject Country,
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that
product during calendar year 2022 (report quantity data in pounds and
value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/business association,
provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are
members of your association.
(a) The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including
antidumping or countervailing duties) of U.S. imports and, if known, an
estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports of Subject Merchandise
from each Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') imports;
(b) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. commercial shipments of Subject
Merchandise imported from each Subject Country; and
(c) the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping
and/or countervailing duties) of U.S. internal consumption/company
transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from each Subject Country.
(11) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in any
Subject Country, provide the following information on your firm's(s')
operations on that product during calendar year 2022 (report quantity
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, landed and duty-paid at
the U.S. port but not including antidumping or countervailing duties).
If you are a trade/business association, provide the information, on an
aggregate basis, for the firms which are members of your association.
(a) Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total production of Subject Merchandise in each Subject
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
(b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm(s) to produce the Subject
Merchandise in each Subject Country (that is, the level of production
that your establishment(s) could reasonably have expected to attain
during the year, assuming normal operating conditions (using equipment
and machinery in place and ready to operate), normal operating levels
(hours per week/weeks per year), time for downtime, maintenance,
repair, and cleanup, and a typical or representative product mix); and
(c) the quantity and value of your firm's(s') exports to the United
States of Subject Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the
percentage of total exports to the United States of Subject Merchandise
from each Subject Country accounted for by your firm's(s') exports.
(12) Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand
conditions or business cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have
occurred in the United States or in the market for the Subject
Merchandise in each Subject Country since the Order Date, and
significant changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a
reasonably foreseeable time. Supply conditions to consider include
technology; production methods; development efforts; ability to
increase production (including the shift of production facilities used
for other products and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs
into production); and factors related to the ability to shift supply
among different national markets (including barriers to importation in
foreign markets or changes in market demand abroad). Demand conditions
to consider include end uses and applications; the existence and
availability of substitute products; and the level of competition among
the Domestic Like Product produced in the United States, Subject
Merchandise produced in each Subject Country, and such merchandise from
other countries.
(13) (OPTIONAL) A statement of whether you agree with the above
definitions of the Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you
disagree with either or both of these definitions, please explain why
and provide alternative definitions.
Authority: This proceeding is being conducted under authority of
Title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published pursuant
to Sec. 207.61 of the Commission's rules.
By order of the Commission.
Issued: January 27, 2023.
Katherine Hiner,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-02081 Filed 1-31-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P