[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22674-22675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06948]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-423-813]


Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts From Belgium: Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that Citribel nv. (Citribel) did not sell subject 
merchandise in the United States at prices below normal value during 
the July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, period of review (POR). We 
invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable April 2, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Cohen, 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) 482-4521.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 25, 2018, Commerce published the antidumping duty (AD) 
order on citric acid and certain citrate salts (citric acid) from 
Belgium in the Federal Register.\1\ On September 11, 2023, pursuant to 
section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), 
Commerce initiated an AD administrative review of the Order.\2\ During 
the course of this administrative review, Citribel responded to 
Commerce's questionnaire and supplemental questionnaires. For further 
details, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\
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    \1\ See Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from Belgium, 
Colombia and Thailand: Antidumping Duty Orders, 83 FR 35214 (July 
25, 2018) (Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 62332 (September 11, 2023) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Citric Acid 
and Certain Citrate Salts from Belgium; 2022-2023,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by this Order includes all grades and 
granulation sizes of citric acid, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate 
in their unblended forms, whether dry or in solution, and regardless of 
packaging type. 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) of the Act. Export price has been calculated in accordance with 
section 772(a) of the Act, and normal value was calculated in 
accordance with section 773 of 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 attached as an 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 https://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

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin exists for the period July 1, 2022, 
through June 30, 2023:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                     Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Citribel nv................................................        0.00
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties for these preliminary results 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 the Federal Register in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case 
briefs to Commerce no later than 30 days after the date of publication 
of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing 
case briefs.\4\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing 
each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\5\
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    \4\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
    \5\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an 
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that 
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, 
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\6\ Further, we 
request that interested parties limit their executive summary of each 
issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We intend to 
use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries 
included in the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the 
final results in this administrative review. We request that interested 
parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the executive 
summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its 
requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 
351.303(f).\7\
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    \6\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \7\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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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. 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. An electronically filed 
hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety by 
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time 
within 30 days after the date of publication of

[[Page 22675]]

this notice. Commerce intends to issue the final results of this 
administrative review, including the results of our analysis of the 
issues raised in any the written briefs, no later than 120 days after 
the date of publication of this notice, unless otherwise extended.\8\
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    \8\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h).
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Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of the administrative review, Commerce shall 
determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. If the weighted-average 
dumping margin for Citribel (i.e., the sole individually-examined 
respondent in this review) is not zero or de minimis (i.e., greater 
than or equal to 0.5 percent) in the final results of this review, we 
will calculate importer-specific ad valorem assessment rates for the 
merchandise based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping 
calculated for the examined sales made during the POR to each importer 
and the total entered value of those same sales, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.212(b)(1). Where an importer-specific ad valorem assessment 
rate is zero or de minimis in the final results of the review, we will 
instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to 
antidumping duties.\9\ If Citribel's weighted-average dumping margin is 
zero or de minimis in the final results of the review, we will instruct 
CBP not to assess duties on any of its entries in accordance with the 
Final Modification for Reviews, i.e., ``{w{time} here the weighted-
average margin of dumping for the exporter is determined to be zero or 
de minimis, no antidumping duties will be assessed.'' \10\
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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
    \10\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8102 (February 14, 
2012) (Final Modification for Reviews).
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    For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by 
Citribel for which the producer did not know its merchandise was 
destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate 
unreviewed entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the 
intermediate company (or companies) involved in the transaction.\11\
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    \11\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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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 cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this administrative review 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 Citribel will be 
equal to the weighted-average dumping margin established in the final 
results of this administrative 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 reviewed or investigated companies not listed above, the 
cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific 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, a prior review, or in the investigation but the 
producer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the 
most recently completed segment of this proceeding for the producer of 
the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers 
or exporters will continue to be the all-others rate of 19.30 percent, 
the rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation of this 
proceeding.\12\ These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.
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    \12\ See Order, 83 FR at 35215.
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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 review period. 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

    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.213(h)(1).

    Dated: March 27, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy 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. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-06948 Filed 4-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P