[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 67 (Friday, April 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20856-20857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07347]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-549-833]


Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts From Thailand: Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that Sunshine Biotech International Co., Ltd. made sales of 
subject merchandise at less than normal value (NV) during the July 1, 
2021, through June 30, 2022, period of review (POR) and that COFCO 
Biochemical (Thailand) Co., Ltd. did not. Interested parties are 
invited to comment on these preliminary results of review.

DATES: Applicable April 7, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joy Zhang or Alex 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) 482-1168 or (202) 482-4956, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On September 6, 2022, based on timely requests for review, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), we initiated an administrative 
review of the antidumping duty order on citric acid and certain citrate 
salts (citric acid) from Thailand.\1\ The period of review is July 1, 
2021, through June 30, 2022. For a complete description of the events 
that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\2\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 54463 (September 6, 2022) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Citric Acid and 
Certain Citrate Salts from Thailand; 2021-2022,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order \3\
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    \3\ See Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from Belgium, 
Colombia, and Thailand: Antidumping Duty Orders, 83 FR 35214 (July 
25, 2018) (Order).
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    The merchandise covered by this Order is citric acid and sodium 
citrate. For a full description of the scope of the Order, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For a 
full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of the topics discussed in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as the appendix 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 http://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.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the 
following weighted-average dumping margins for the period July 1, 2021, 
through June 30, 2022:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                    Producer or exporter                       dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
COFCO Biochemical (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (COFCO).............        0.00
Sunshine Biotech International Co., Ltd....................        0.78
Xitrical Group Co., Ltd....................................        0.78
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rate for Company Not Individually Examined

    The statute and Commerce's regulations do not identify the dumping 
margin to apply to respondents not selected for individual examination 
when Commerce limits its examination in an administrative review 
pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Generally, when calculating 
margins for non-selected respondents, Commerce looks to section 
735(c)(5) of the Act for guidance, which provides instructions for 
calculating the all-others rate in an investigation. Section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that when calculating the all-others 
rate, Commerce will exclude any zero and de minimis weighted-average 
dumping margins, as well as any weighted-average dumping margins based 
on total facts available. Where the dumping margins for individually 
examined respondents are all zero, de minimis, or based entirely on 
facts available, section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that Commerce 
may use ``any reasonable method to establish the estimated all-others 
rate for exporters and producers not individually investigated, 
including averaging the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
determined for the exporters and producers individually investigated.'' 
We are preliminarily applying to Xitrical Group Co. Ltd, (the sole 
company not selected for individual examination) the weighted-average 
dumping margin of Sunshine Biotech International Co., Ltd., which is 
not zero, de minimis, or determined entirely on the basis of facts 
available.

Disclosure

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed for these 
preliminary results to interested parties within five days after 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b).

Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case 
briefs to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance not 
later than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice, unless 
Commerce alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues 
raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than seven days after 
the date for filing case briefs.\4\ Parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in this administrative review are encouraged to submit 
with each argument: (1) a statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary 
of the

[[Page 20857]]

argument; and (3) a table of authorities.\5\ Note that Commerce has 
temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents 
containing business proprietary information, until further notice.\6\
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    \4\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
    \6\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due 
to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); 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, must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received successfully 
in its entirety via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice.\7\ Requests should 
contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the 
number of participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. 
Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the 
respective case briefs. Commerce intends to issue the final results of 
this administrative review, including the results of its analysis of 
the issues raised in any written briefs, not later than 120 days after 
the date of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal 
Register, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, unless extended.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce will determine, and 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping 
duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review.\8\ If a 
respondent's weighted-average dumping margin for companies listed above 
is above de minimis in the final results of this review, we will 
calculate importer-specific assessment rates based on the ratio of the 
total amount of dumping calculated for each importer's examined sales 
and the total entered value of the sales in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(1).\9\ If a respondent's weighted-average dumping margin or 
an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis in the final 
results of review, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate 
entries without regard to antidumping duties in accordance with the 
Final Modification for Reviews.\10\ The final results of this 
administrative review shall be the basis for the assessment of 
antidumping duties on entries of merchandise under review and for 
future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b).
    \9\ In these preliminary results, Commerce applied the 
assessment rate calculation method adopted in Antidumping 
Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and 
Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Duty Proceedings; Final 
Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012) (Final Modification for 
Reviews).
    \10\ See Final Modification for Reviews, 77 FR at 8103; see also 
19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
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    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier 
than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this 
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the 
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will 
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties 
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 
90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the companies 
listed above will be that established in the final results of this 
review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent and, therefore, de 
minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the 
cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for previously investigated or 
reviewed companies not covered in this review, the cash deposit rate 
will continue to be the company-specific cash deposit rate published 
for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in which the 
company participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this 
review, or the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation, but the 
manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
established for the most recent segment for the manufacturer of the 
merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers 
or exporters will continue to be 11.25 percent, the all-others rate 
established in the LTFV investigation.\11\ These deposit requirements, 
when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.
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    \11\ See Order.
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Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this period of review. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    Commerce is issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: April 3, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2023-07347 Filed 4-6-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P