[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 189 (Monday, October 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67807-67809]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-21290]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 701-TA-590 and 731-TA-1397 (Review)]


Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products From 
China; 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 antidumping and countervailing 
duty orders on sodium gluconate, gluconic acid, and derivative products 
from China 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 October 2, 2023. To be assured of consideration, the 
deadline for responses is November 1, 2023. Comments on the adequacy of 
responses may be filed with the Commission by December 12, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence Jones (202-205-3358), 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 November 13, 2018, the Department of Commerce 
(``Commerce'') issued antidumping and countervailing duty orders on 
imports of sodium gluconate, gluconic acid, and derivative products 
from China (83 FR 56299). The Commission is conducting 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 or expedited reviews. The Commission's 
determinations in any expedited reviews will be based on the facts 
available, which may include information provided in response to this 
notice.
    Definitions.--The following definitions apply to these reviews:
    (1) Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is 
within the scope of the five-year reviews, as defined by Commerce.
    (2) The Subject Country in these reviews is China.
    (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 
determinations, the Commission defined a single Domestic Like Product 
corresponding to the range of sodium gluconate, gluconic acid, and 
derivative products within Commerce's scope.
    (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 determinations, the 
Commission defined the Domestic Industry as PMP Fermentation Products, 
the sole domestic producer of the Domestic Like Product during the 
original investigations.
    (5) The Order Date is the date that the antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders under review became effective. In these 
reviews, the Order Date is November 13, 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

[[Page 67808]]

corresponding underlying original investigation or an earlier review of 
the 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 section 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 section 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 section 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 on or before 5:15 p.m. on November 1, 2023. Pursuant to 
section 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 expedited or full reviews. The 
deadline for filing such comments is on or before 5:15 p.m. on December 
12, 2023. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of 
section 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain 
BPI must also conform with the requirements of sections 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 sections 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. 23-5-580, expiration 
date June 30, 2026. 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 section 
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 section 776(b) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677e(b)) in 
making its determinations in the reviews.
    Information to be Provided in Response to this Notice of 
Institution: 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/reports/response_noi_worksheet, where one can download and complete the 
``NOI worksheet'' Excel form for the subject proceeding, 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 
antidumping and countervailing duty orders on the Domestic Industry in 
general and/or your firm/entity specifically. In your response, please 
discuss the various factors specified in section 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 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 the 
Subject Country that currently export or have exported Subject 
Merchandise to the United States or other countries since the Order 
Date.

[[Page 67809]]

    (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 dry 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 the Subject Country, 
provide the following information on your firm's(s') operations on that 
product during calendar year 2022 (report quantity data in dry 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 the 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 the 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 the Subject Country.
    (11) If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business 
association of producers or exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the 
Subject Country, provide the following information on your firm's(s') 
operations on that product during calendar year 2022 (report quantity 
data in dry 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 the Subject 
Country accounted for by your firm's(s') production;
    (b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm(s) to produce the Subject 
Merchandise in the 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 the 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 the 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 the 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 section 207.61 of the Commission's rules.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: September 25, 2023.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2023-21290 Filed 9-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P