[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 91 (Thursday, May 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39582-39584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10067]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-028]
Hydrofluorocarbon Blends From the People's Republic of China:
Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission 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 no companies under review qualify for a separate rate
and that these companies are, therefore, considered to be part of the
People's Republic of China (China)-wide entity. Additionally, Commerce
is partially rescinding this review with respect to: companies for
which all review requests were timely withdrawn; and a company with no
entries of subject merchandise during the period of review (POR),
August 1, 2022, through July 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited
to comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable May 9, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melissa Porpotage, AD/CVD Operations,
Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1413.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 2, 2023, Commerce published a notice of opportunity to
request an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on
hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) blends from China.\1\ Commerce received timely
requests for an administrative review from the American HFC Coalition
(the petitioner), and two Chinese companies. On October 18, 2023,
Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of initiation of an
administrative review of the Order for the period August 1, 2022,
through July 31, 2023, covering 19 companies, in accordance with
section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) and 19
CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i).\2\
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\1\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 50840 (August 2,
2023); see also Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic
of China: Antidumping Duty Order, 81 FR 55436 (August 19, 2016)
(Order).
\2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 71829 (October 18, 2023) (Initiation
Notice).
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On December 4 and 8, 2023, the two Chinese companies that requested
their own reviews, Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang
Sanmei) and ICool Chemical Co., Ltd. (ICool Chemical), filed timely
withdrawals of their respective review requests.\3\ On January 16,
2024, the petitioner filed a timely withdrawal of its review request
for Zhejiang Sanmei.\4\ Therefore, because all review requests for
Zhejiang Sanmei and ICool Chemical have been withdrawn, Commerce is
rescinding the review for these the two companies, as discussed below.
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\3\ See Zhejiang Sanmei's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for
Administrative Review,'' dated December 4, 2023; see also ICool
Chemical's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for Administrative
Review,'' dated December 8, 2023.
\4\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Partial Withdrawal of Request for
Administrative Review,'' dated January 16, 2024.
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Finally, on January 16, 2024, we issued a memorandum notifying
interested parties of our intent to rescind the review of certain
companies subject to the review because they had no suspended entries
during the POR.\5\ We received no comments from interested parties on
our intent to rescind.
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\5\ See Memorandum, ``Notice of Intent to Rescind Review, In
Part,'' dated January 16, 2024 (Intent to Rescind Memorandum).
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Respondent Selection
On October 25, 2023, Commerce released U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) entry data in order to select respondents for
individual examination.\6\ On November 1, 2023, we received comments
regarding respondent selection from the petitioner.\7\ However, we did
not select any mandatory respondents for individual examination because
only Zhejiang Sanmei and ICool Chemical timely filed separate rate
applications and were, therefore, eligible for individual examination.
However, as noted above, we are rescinding this review for Zhejiang
Sanmei and ICool Chemical. No other company under review timely filed a
separate rate application and/or certification; therefore, no company
remaining under review is eligible for individual examination.\8\ As
such, there is no decision memorandum accompanying this notice.
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\6\ See Memorandum, ``Release of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection Entry Data,'' dated October 25, 2023.
\7\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Comments Regarding CBP Data and
Respondent Selection,'' dated November 1, 2023.
\8\ See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 71830, where Commerce noted
that ``{e{time} xporters and producers must file a timely Separate
Rate Application or Certification if they want to be considered for
individual examination.'' See also, e.g., Certain Cased Pencils from
the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022, 88 FR 60636 (September 5,
2023), unchanged in Certain Cased Pencils From the People's Republic
of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review;
2021-2022, 88 FR 78721 (November 16, 2023).
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Scope of the Order
The products subject to the Order are HFC blends. HFC blends
covered by the scope are R-404A, a zeotropic mixture consisting of 52
percent 1,1,1-Trifluoroethane, 44 percent Pentafluoroethane, and 4
percent 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane; R-407A, a zeotropic mixture of 20
percent Difluoromethane, 40 percent Pentafluoroethane, and 40 percent
1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane; R-407C, a zeotropic mixture of 23 percent
Difluoromethane, 25 percent Pentafluoroethane, and 52 percent 1,1,1,2-
Tetrafluoroethane; R-410A, a zeotropic mixture of 50 percent
Difluoromethane and 50 percent Pentafluoroethane; and R-507A, an
azeotropic mixture of 50 percent Pentafluoroethane and 50 percent
1,1,1-Trifluoroethane also known as R-507. The foregoing percentages
are nominal percentages by weight. Actual percentages of single
component refrigerants by weight may vary by plus or minus two percent
points from the nominal percentage identified above.\9\
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\9\ R-404A is sold under various trade names, including
Forane[supreg] 404A, Genetron[supreg] 404A, Solkane[supreg] 404A,
Klea[supreg] 404A, and Suva[supreg]404A. R-407A is sold under
various trade names, including Forane[supreg] 407A, Solkane[supreg]
407A, Klea[supreg]407A, and Suva[supreg]407A. R-407C is sold under
various trade names, including Forane[supreg] 407C, Genetron[supreg]
407C, Solkane[supreg] 407C, Klea[supreg] 407C and Suva[supreg] 407C.
R-410A is sold under various trade names, including EcoFluor R410,
Forane[supreg] 410A, Genetron[supreg] R410A and AZ-20,
Solkane[supreg] 410A, Klea[supreg] 410A, Suva[supreg] 410A, and
Puron[supreg]. R-507A is sold under various trade names, including
Forane[supreg] 507, Solkane[supreg] 507, Klea[supreg]507,
Genetron[supreg]AZ-50, and Suva[supreg]507. R-32 is sold under
various trade names, including Solkane[supreg]32, Forane[supreg]32,
and Klea[supreg]32. R-125 is sold under various trade names,
including Solkane[supreg]125, Klea[supreg]125, Genetron[supreg]125,
and Forane[supreg]125. R-143a is sold under various trade names,
including Solkane[supreg]143a, Genetron[supreg]143a, and
Forane[supreg]125.
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Any blend that includes an HFC component other than R-32, R-125, R-
143a, or R-134a is excluded from the scope of the Order.
Excluded from the Order are blends of refrigerant chemicals that
include products other than HFCs, such as
[[Page 39583]]
blends including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFCs), hydrocarbons (HCs), or hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs).
Also excluded from the Order are patented HFC blends, including,
but not limited to, ISCEON[supreg] blends, including MO99\TM\ (R-438A),
MO79 (R-422A), MO59 (R-417A), MO49Plus\TM\ (R-437A) and MO29\TM\ (R-4
22D), Genetron[supreg] PerformaxTM LT (R-407F), Choice[supreg] R-421A,
and Choice[supreg] R-421B.
HFC blends covered by the scope of the Order are currently
classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) at subheadings 3827.61.0000, 3827.63.0000, 3827.64.0000,
3827.65.0000, 3827.68.0000, 3827.69.0000. Although the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the scope is dispositive.\10\
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\10\ See Order, 81 FR at 55436-37.
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Rescission of Administrative Review, In Part
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an
administrative review, in whole or in part, if the party that requested
the review withdraws its request within 90 days of the publication of
the notice of initiation of the requested review. Because interested
parties withdrew all requests for administrative review of Zhejiang
Sanmei and ICool Chemical within 90 days of the date of publication of
the Initiation Notice, Commerce is rescinding this review with respect
to these companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).
Moreover, Commerce notified all interested parties of its intent to
rescind this administrative review for companies with an existing
separate rate because there were no reviewable, suspended entries from
these companies during the POR.\11\ No interested party submitted
comments. Therefore, in the absence of any suspended entries of subject
merchandise from Zhejiang Yonghe Refrigerant Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang
Yonghe) during the POR, we are rescinding this administrative review
for Zhejiang Yonghe in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3). However,
we are not rescinding this administrative review for Daikin
Fluorochemicals (China) Co., Ltd., a company that was also listed in
the Intent to Rescind Memorandum, because this company subsequently
lost its eligibility for a separate rate.\12\
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\11\ See Intent to Rescind Memorandum.
\12\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of
China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review;
2021-2022, 89 FR 16724, 16726 (March 8, 2024).
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China-Wide Entity
In accordance with Commerce's policy, the China-wide entity will
not be under review unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce
self-initiates, a review of the entity.\13\ Because no party requested
a review of the China-wide entity, the entity is not under review and
the entity's rate of 216.37 percent is not subject to change.\14\
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\13\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
\14\ See Order, 81 FR at 55438.
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Preliminary Results of Review
Commerce finds that, because none of the remaining companies under
review submitted a timely separate rate application or certification,
none of these companies has established its eligibility for a separate
rate. Therefore, we consider the companies listed in the appendix to be
part of the China-wide entity for these preliminary results, and thus,
subject to the China-wide entity rate.
Disclosure and Public Comment
Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations
performed in connection with the 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 the notice of
preliminary results in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily determined that
each of the companies listed in the appendix is part of the China-wide
entity, there are no calculations to disclose.
Interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than
30 days after the date of publication of this notice.\15\ Rebuttal
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no
later than five days after the deadline for filing case briefs.\16\
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.\17\
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\15\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
\16\ 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).
\17\ 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 briefs 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.\18\ 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 results in this administrative review. 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).\19\
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\18\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\19\ See APO and Service Final Rule, 88 FR at 67069.
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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 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. If a
request for a hearing is made, Commerce will inform parties of the
scheduled date for the hearing.\20\
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\20\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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Assessment Rates
Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.212(b)(1), Commerce will determine, and CBP shall assess,
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise
covered by this review. For the companies for which Commerce is
rescinding this administrative review, Commerce will instruct CBP to
assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries at a rate equal to
the cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties required at the time
of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during the
period August
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1, 2022, through July 31, 2023, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.212(c)(1)(i). Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to
CBP regarding these entries no earlier than 35 days after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
If we continue to treat the companies identified in the appendix as
part of the China-wide entity in the final results, we will instruct
CBP to apply an ad valorem assessment rate of 216.37 percent to all
entries of subject merchandise during the POR which were produced and/
or exported by those companies. For the China-wide entity, 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). The final results of this review shall be the basis for
the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered
by the final results of this review and for future deposits of
estimated duties, where applicable.
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the final results of this administrative review for
shipments of the subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as
provided by sections 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for previously
investigated or reviewed Chinese and non-Chinese exporters not
discussed above that have separate rates, the cash deposit rate will
continue to be equal to the exporter-specific weighted-average dumping
margin published of the most recently-completed segment of this
proceeding; (2) for all Chinese exporters of subject merchandise that
have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit
rate will be the rate for the China-wide entity, 216.37 percent; and
(3) for all non-Chinese exporters of subject merchandise 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 cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain
in effect until further notice.
Final Results of Review
Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final
results of this administrative review, including the results of its
analysis of issues raised by the parties in the written comments,
within 120 days of publication of these preliminary results in the
Federal Register, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.213(h)(1).
Notification to Importers
This notice also 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
These preliminary results are issued and published in accordance
with sections 751(a)(1)(B) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.221(b)(4).
Dated: May 2, 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
Companies Under Review Determined To Be Part of the China-Wide Entity
1. Changzhou Vista Chemical Co., Ltd.
2. Daikin Fluorochemicals (China) Co., Ltd.
3. Dongyang Weihua Refrigerants Co., Ltd.
4. Hanzhou Icetop Refrigeration Co., Ltd.
5. Jiangsu Sanmei Chemicals Co., Ltd.
6. Oasis Chemical Co., Limited
7. Puremann, Inc.
8. Sinochem Environmental Protection Chemicals (Taicang) Co., Ltd.
9. Superfy Industrial Limited
10. Tianjin Synergy Gases Products, Co., Ltd
11. Weitron International Refrigeration Equipment (Kunshan) Co.,
Ltd.
12. Weitron International Refrigeration Equipment Co., Ltd.
13. Yangfar Industry Co., Ltd.
14. Zhejiang Lantian Environmental Protection Fluoro Material Co.
Ltd.
15. Zhejiang Quzhou Lianzhou Refrigerants Co., Ltd.
16. Zhejiang Zhonglan Refrigeration Technology Co., Ltd.
[FR Doc. 2024-10067 Filed 5-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P