[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 71 (Thursday, April 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25568-25571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07683]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-028]


Antidumping Duty Order on Hydrofluorocarbon Blends From the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Circumvention With Respect to R-410B, R-407G, and a Certain Custom 
Blend From the People's Republic of China

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that imports of R-410B, R-407G, and a custom 
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) blend of 50-percent R-125 and 50-percent R-134a 
(custom HFC blend) which are blended in the People's Republic of China 
(China) using China-origin HFC components and further processed in the 
United States, are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) order on HFC 
blends from China. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable April 11, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Nathan, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3834.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 19, 2016, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
AD order on HFC blends from China.\1\

[[Page 25569]]

On July 7, 2023, Commerce initiated a country-wide circumvention 
inquiry to determine whether imports of R-410B, R-407G, and a custom 
HFC blend which are blended in China using China-origin HFC components 
and further processed in the United States are circumventing the Order 
and, accordingly, should be covered by the scope of the Order, pursuant 
to section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) and 
19 CFR 351.226(h).\2\ In September 2023, Commerce selected the 
following two mandatory respondents in this circumvention inquiry: HFC 
Investments LLC (HFC Investments) and TT International Co., Ltd. 
(TTI).\3\ On November 20, 2023, Commerce extended the deadline for 
issuing the preliminary determination in this circumvention inquiry 
until March 1, 2024.\4\ On February 27, 2024, Commerce further extended 
the deadline for the preliminary determination until April 5, 2024.\5\ 
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation 
of this circumvention inquiry, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\6\
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    \1\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of 
China: Antidumping Duty Order, 81 FR 55436 (August 19, 2016) 
(Order).
    \2\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of 
China: Initiation of Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty 
Order, 88 FR 43275 (July 7, 2023) (Initiation Notice).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated September 
21, 2023; see also Commerce's Letter, ``U.S. Custom Blends Initial 
Questionnaire,'' dated September 21, 2023.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Preliminary Determination in 
Circumvention Inquiry,'' dated November 20, 2023.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Preliminary Determination in 
Circumvention Inquiry,'' dated February 27, 2024.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Decision Memorandum for the 
Circumvention Inquiry with Respect to U.S. Custom Blends,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by the Order is certain HFC blends. For a 
complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\7\
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    \7\ Id. at 3-4.
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Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry

    This circumvention inquiry covers imports of R-410B, R-407G, and a 
certain custom HFC blend which are blended in China using China-origin 
HFC components and further processed in the United States (inquiry 
merchandise).

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this circumvention inquiry in accordance 
with section 781(a) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.226. For a complete 
description of the methodology underlying this circumvention inquiry, 
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of topics discussed in 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included in Appendix I 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 Circumvention Determination

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce 
preliminarily determines that R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC 
blend which are blended in China using China-origin HFC components and 
further processed in the United States are circumventing the Order on a 
country-wide basis. As a result, in accordance with section 781(a) of 
the Act, we preliminarily determine that the inquiry merchandise should 
be included within the scope of the Order. See the ``Suspension of 
Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements'' section below for details 
regarding suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements. See 
the ``Certifications'' and ``Certification Requirements'' sections 
below for details regarding the use of certifications for inquiry 
merchandise imported from China.

Suspension of Liquidation

    Based on the preliminary affirmative country-wide determination of 
circumvention for China, in accordance with section 19 CFR 
351.226(l)(2), Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) to continue the suspension of liquidation of previously suspended 
entries and to suspend liquidation and require a cash deposit of 
estimated duties on unliquidated entries of R-410B, R-407G, and a 
certain custom HFC blend that were entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after July 7, 2023, the date of 
publication of the initiation of this circumvention inquiry in the 
Federal Register.\8\
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    \8\ See Initiation Notice.
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    The blends subject to this inquiry not further processed in the 
United States are not subject to this inquiry. Therefore, cash deposits 
are not required for such merchandise under the Order. If an importer 
imports R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend subject to this 
inquiry from China and claims that they will not be further processed 
into subject merchandise in the United States, in order to not be 
subject to the Order's cash deposit requirements, the importer is 
required to meet the certification and documentation requirements 
described in the ``Certifications'' and ``Certification Requirements'' 
sections below.
    Where no certification is provided for an entry, and the Order 
potentially applies to that entry, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to 
suspend the entry and collect cash deposits: (1) for entries of R-410B, 
R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend for which the exporter has a 
company-specific cash deposit rate under the AD Order, the cash deposit 
rate will be the company-specific AD cash deposit rate established for 
that company in the most recently completed segment of the proceeding; 
(2) for all Chinese exporters of R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom 
HFC blend that do not have a company-specific cash deposit rate under 
the AD Order, the AD cash deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate 
for the China-wide entity (i.e., 216.37 percent); \9\ (3) for all non-
Chinese exporters of R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend 
which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be 
the rate applicable to the Chinese exporter that supplied that non-
Chinese exporter. These suspension of liquidation instructions and cash 
deposit requirements will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \9\ See Order.
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Certified Entries

    Entries for which the importer has met the certification 
requirements described below and in Appendix II to this notice will not 
be subject to either the suspension of liquidation or the cash deposit 
requirements described above. Failure to comply with the applicable 
requisite certification requirements may result in the merchandise 
being subject to duties.

Certifications

    To administer the preliminary affirmative country-wide 
determination of circumvention, Commerce established importer 
certifications, which allow companies to certify that specific entries 
of R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend are not subject to 
suspension of liquidation or the collection of cash deposits pursuant

[[Page 25570]]

to this preliminary affirmative country-wide determination of 
circumvention because the merchandise is not further processed into 
subject HFC blends in the United States (see Appendix II to this 
notice).
    Importers that claim that their entries of merchandise subject to 
this inquiry from China are not subject to suspension of liquidation or 
the collection of cash deposits because the merchandise is not further 
processed into subject merchandise in the United States must complete 
the applicable certification and meet the certification and 
documentation requirements described below, as well as the requirements 
identified in the importer certification.

Certification Requirements

    Importers are required to complete and maintain the applicable 
importer certification and retain all supporting documentation. The 
importer certification must be completed, signed, and dated by the time 
the entry summary is filed for the relevant entry. The importer, or the 
importer's agent, must submit the importer's certification to CBP as 
part of the entry process by uploading it into the document imaging 
system (DIS) in ACE. Where the importer uses a broker to facilitate the 
entry process, the importer should obtain the entry summary number from 
the broker. Agents of the importer, such as brokers, however, are not 
permitted to certify on behalf of the importer.
    Additionally, the claims made in the certification and any 
supporting documentation are subject to verification by Commerce and/or 
CBP. Importers are required to maintain the certifications and 
supporting documentation until the later of: (1) the date that is five 
years after the latest entry date of the entries covered by the 
certification; or (2) the date that is three years after the conclusion 
of any litigation in United States courts regarding such entries.
    For all R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend from China 
that was entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption during 
the period July 7, 2023 (the date of initiation of this circumvention 
inquiry), through the date of publication of the preliminary 
determination in the Federal Register, where the entry has not been 
liquidated (and entries for which liquidation has not become final), 
the relevant certification should be completed and signed as soon as 
practicable, but not later than 45 days after the date of publication 
of this preliminary determination in the Federal Register. For such 
entries, importers have the option to complete a blanket certification 
covering multiple entries, individual certifications for each entry, or 
a combination thereof.
    For unliquidated entries (and entries for which liquidation has not 
become final) of R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend from 
China that were declared as non-AD type entries (e.g., type 01) and 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption in the United 
States during the period July 7, 2023 (the date of initiation of this 
circumvention inquiry), through the date of publication of the 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register, for which no 
importer certification may be made, importers must file a Post Summary 
Correction with CBP, in accordance with CBP's regulations, regarding 
conversion of such entries from non-AD type entries to AD type entries 
(e.g., type 01 to type 03). The importer should pay cash deposits on 
those entries consistent with the regulations governing post summary 
corrections that require payment of additional duties.
    If it is determined that an importer has not met the certification 
and/or related documentation requirements for certain entries, Commerce 
intends to instruct CBP to suspend, pursuant to this preliminary 
affirmative country-wide determination of circumvention and the 
Order,\10\ all unliquidated entries for which these requirements were 
not met and to require the importer to post applicable cash deposits 
equal to the rate noted above.
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    \10\ See Order.
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    Interested parties may comment on these certification requirements, 
and on the certification language contained in Appendix II to this 
notice in their case briefs.

Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than 
14 days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register.\11\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed no later than five days after the date for filing 
case briefs.\12\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs in these proceedings must submit: (1) a statement of the issue; 
(2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\13\ Case and rebuttal briefs should be filed using ACCESS.
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    \11\ Commerce is exercising its discretion, under 19 CFR 
351.309(C)(1)(ii), to alter the time limit for filing case briefs.
    \12\ 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 Procedures).
    \13\ 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 circumvention inquiry, we instead 
request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their 
briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their 
briefs.\14\ Further, we request that interested parties limit their 
public executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not 
including citations. We intend to use the public executive summaries as 
the basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision 
memorandum that will accompany the final determination in this 
investigation. We request that interested parties include footnotes for 
relevant citations in the public 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).\15\
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    \14\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \15\ See APO and Service Procedures.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain: 
(1) the requesting party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the 
number of individuals from the requesting party that will attend the 
hearing and whether any of those individuals is a foreign national; and 
(3) a list of the issues that the party intends to discuss at the 
hearing. Oral presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues 
raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce 
intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. 
Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the 
hearing two days before the scheduled date of the hearing.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    Consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, Commerce will notify the 
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of this preliminary 
determination to

[[Page 25571]]

include the merchandise subject to this circumvention inquiry within 
the Order. Pursuant to section 781(e) of the Act, the ITC may request 
consultations concerning Commerce's proposed inclusion of the inquiry 
merchandise. If, after consultations, the ITC believes that a 
significant injury issue is presented by the proposed inclusion, it 
will have 60 days from the date of notification by Commerce to provide 
written advice.

Notification to Interested Parties

    Commerce is issuing and publishing this determination in accordance 
with sections 781(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(g)(1).

    Dated: April 4, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry
V. Period of Circumvention Inquiry
VI. Surrogate Country and Methodology for Valuing Inputs From China
VII. Statutory and Regulatory Framework for the Circumvention 
Inquiry
VIII. Statutory Analysis for the Circumvention Inquiry
IX. Summary of Statutory Analysis
X. Country-wide Affirmative Determination of Circumvention
XI. Certification Requirement
XII. Recommendation

Appendix II

Importer Certification

    I hereby certify that:
    A. My name is {IMPORTING COMPANY OFFICIAL'S NAME{time}  and I am 
an official of {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time} , located at 
{ADDRESS of IMPORTING COMPANY{time} ;
    B. I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding the 
importation into the Customs territory of the United States of the 
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) blend R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom 
HFC blend produced in China that entered under the entry number(s) 
identified below, and which are covered by this certification. 
``Direct personal knowledge'' refers to facts the certifying party 
is expected to have in its own records. For example, the importer 
should have direct personal knowledge of the importation of the 
product, including the exporter's and/or foreign seller's identity 
and location;
    C. If the importer is acting on behalf of the first U.S. 
customer, include the following sentence as paragraph C of this 
certification:
    The R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend covered by 
this certification were imported by {NAME OF IMPORTING 
COMPANY{time}  on behalf of {NAME OF U.S. CUSTOMER{time} , located 
at {ADDRESS OF U.S. CUSTOMER{time} .
    If the importer is not acting on behalf of the first U.S. 
customer, include the following sentence as paragraph C of this 
certification:
    {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  is not acting on behalf of the 
first U.S. customer.
    D. The R-410B, R-407G, and a certain custom HFC blend covered by 
this certification was shipped to {NAME OF PARTY IN THE UNITED 
STATES TO WHOM THE MERCHANDISE WAS FIRST SHIPPED{time}  located at 
{U.S. ADDRESS TO WHICH MERCHANDISE WAS SHIPPED{time} .
    E. Select the appropriate statement below:
    ___ I have direct personal knowledge of the facts regarding the 
end use of the imported products covered by this certification 
because my company is the end user of the imported product covered 
by this certification and I certify that the R-410B, R-407G, and a 
certain custom HFC blend will not be used to produce subject 
merchandise. ``Direct Personal knowledge'' includes information 
contained within my company's books and records.
    ___ I have personal knowledge of the facts regarding the end use 
of the imported products covered by this certification because my 
company is not the end user of the imported product covered by this 
certification. However, I have been able to contact the end user of 
the imported product and confirm that it will not use this product 
to produce subject merchandise. The end user of the imported product 
is {COMPANY NAME{time}  located at {ADDRESS{time} . ``Personal 
knowledge'' includes facts obtained from another party (e.g., 
correspondence received by the importer from the end user of the 
product).
    F. This certification applies to the following entries (repeat 
this block as many times as necessary):
    Entry Summary #:
    Entry Summary Line Item #:
    Foreign Seller:
    Foreign Seller's Address:
    Foreign Seller's Invoice #:
    Foreign Seller's Invoice Line Item #:
    Producer:
    Producer's Address:
    G. I understand that {NAME OF IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  is 
required to maintain a copy of this certification and sufficient 
documentation supporting this certification (i.e., documents 
maintained in the normal course of business, or documents obtained 
by the certifying party, for example, product data sheets, chemical 
testing specifications, productions records, invoices, etc.) for the 
later of: (1) the date that is five years after the date of the 
latest entry covered by the certification or; (2) the date that is 
three years after the conclusion of any litigation in the United 
States courts regarding such entries;
    H. I understand that {IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  is required to 
submit a copy of the importer certification as part of the entry 
summary by uploading them into the document imaging system (DIS) in 
ACE, and to provide U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and/or 
the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) with the importer 
certification, and any supporting documentation, upon request of 
either agency;
    I. I understand that the claims made herein, and the 
substantiating documentation, are subject to verification by CBP 
and/or Commerce;
    J. I understand that failure to maintain the required 
certification and supporting documentation, or failure to 
substantiate the claims made herein, or not allowing CBP and/or 
Commerce to verify the claims made herein, may result in a de facto 
determination that all entries to which this certification applies 
are within the scope of the antidumping duty (AD) order on HFC 
blends from China. I understand that such finding will result in:
    (i) suspension of liquidation of all unliquidated entries (and 
entries for which liquidation has not become final) for which these 
requirements were not met;
    (ii) the importer being required to post the cash deposits 
determined by Commerce; and
    (iii) the importer no longer being allowed to participate in the 
certification process.
    K. I understand that agents of the importer, such as brokers, 
are not permitted to make this certification. Where a broker or 
other party was used to facilitate the entry process, {NAME OF 
IMPORTING COMPANY{time}  obtained the entry summary number and date 
of entry summary from that party.
    L. This certification was completed and signed on, or prior to, 
the date of the entry summary if the entry date is more than 14 days 
after the date of publication of the notice of Commerce's 
preliminary determination of circumvention in the Federal Register. 
If the entry date is on or before the 14th day after the date of 
publication of the notice of Commerce's preliminary determination of 
circumvention in the Federal Register, this certification was 
completed and signed by no later than 45 days after publication of 
the notice of Commerce's preliminary determination of circumvention 
in the Federal Register.
    M. I am aware that U.S. law (including, but not limited to, 18 
U.S.C. 1001) imposes criminal sanctions on individuals who knowingly 
and willfully make materially false statements to the U.S. 
government.

Signature
{NAME OF COMPANY OFFICIAL{time} 
{TITLE OF COMPANY OFFICIAL{time} 
{DATE{time} 

[FR Doc. 2024-07683 Filed 4-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P