[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48153-48155]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12343]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-523-810]


Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin From the Sultanate of Oman: 
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 OCTAL SAOC FZC (OCTAL), the sole respondent subject to 
this administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on 
polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET resin) from the Sultanate of Oman 
(Oman), did not make sales of subject merchandise at less than normal 
value (NV) during the period of review (POR) May 1, 2022, through April 
30, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on the preliminary 
results of this administrative s review.

DATES: Applicable June 5, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Pedersen or Jonathan Hill, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2769 and (202) 482-3518, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Based on timely requests for review, in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), on July 
6, 2023, Commerce initiated an administrative review of the AD order on 
PET resin from the Oman with respect to OCTAL covering the POR.\1\ On 
January 24, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for these preliminary 
results to May 30, 2024.\2\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 44262, 44267 (July 12, 2023) 
(Initiation); see also Certain Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin from 
Canada, the People's Republic of China, India, and the Sultanate of 
Oman: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Determination (Sultanate 
of Oman) and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 27979 (May 6, 2016) 
(Order). While Commerce initiated this administrative review with 
respect to OCTAL and OCTAL Inc., OCTAL Inc. is OCTAL's affiliated 
U.S. importer, and as such, Commerce should not have included OCTAL 
Inc. in the Initiation. See OCTAL's Letter, ``Section A Response of 
OCTAL SAOC-FZC,'' dated September 5, 2023, at 8.
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated January 
24, 2024.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ 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.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2022-2023 Administrative Review of the Antidumping 
Duty Order on Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin from the Sultanate of 
Oman,'' 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 PET resin having an 
intrinsic viscosity of at least 0.70, but not more than 0.88, 
deciliters per gram. The merchandise subject to the Order is properly 
classified under subheadings 3907.60.00.30, 3907.61.0000, 3907.61.0010, 
3907.61.0050, 3907.69.0000, 3907.69.0010, and 3907.69.0050 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).\4\ Although 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the merchandise covered by the 
Order is dispositive. For a full description of the scope of the Order, 
see Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \4\ Commerce added HTSUS subheadings 3907.61.0000, 3907.69.0000, 
3907.61.0010, 3907.61.0050, 3907.69.0010, and 3907.69.0050 to the 
scope after issuing the Order. See Polyethylene Terephthalate Resin 
from the Sultanate of Oman: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review; 2020-2021, 87 FR 75594 (December 9, 2022).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751 
(a)(1)(B) the Act. We calculated export and constructed export prices 
and NV in accordance with sections 772 and 773 of the Act, 
respectively. For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
preliminary results of review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Results of Review

    We are assigning the following weighted-average dumping margin to 
the company listed below for the period May 1, 2022, through April 30, 
2023:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Weighted-average
                 Producer/exporter                      dumping margin
                                                          (percent)
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OCTAL SAOC FZC.....................................                0.00
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Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations for the preliminary 
results of review to parties to the proceeding within five days of any 
public announcement or, if there is no public

[[Page 48154]]

announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

    Commerce received a timely request from DAK Americas LLC, Indorama 
Ventures USA, Inc., and Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, America 
(collectively, the petitioners) to verify the information submitted in 
this administrative review, pursuant to 19 CFR 307(b)(1)(iv).\5\ 
Commerce does not intend to verify the information submitted by the 
mandatory respondent in the course of this administrative review.
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    \5\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Petitioners' Verification 
Request,'' dated October 18, 2023.
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Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may submit 
case briefs to Commerce no later than 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.\6\ 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.\7\ Interested 
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this review must 
submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of 
authorities.\8\
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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).
    \7\ 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).
    \8\ See 19 351.309(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.\9\ 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).\10\
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    \9\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \10\ See APO and Service Final Rule, 88 FR at 67070.
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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. Requests for a hearing should contain: (1) the 
requesting party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number 
of individuals associated with 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. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised 
in the case and rebuttal 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 in the Federal 
Register. If a hearing is requested, Commerce will announce the date 
and time of the hearing. Parties should confirm the date and time of 
the hearing two days before the scheduled hearing date.

Final Results of Review

    Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final 
results of this administrative review, which will include the results 
of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs, within 120 days of 
publication of these preliminary results of review in the Federal 
Register, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.\11\
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    \11\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; see also 19 CFR 
351.213(h)(1).
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Assessment Rates

    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, the assessment 
of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by this review 
shall be based on the final results of the review.\12\ Therefore, upon 
issuance of the final results of this review, Commerce will determine, 
and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping 
duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise covered by 
this review in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
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    \12\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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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).
    We will calculate importer-specific assessment rates for OCTAL, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\13\ Because OCTAL reported 
entered values for its sales, we will calculate importer-specific ad 
valorem assessment rates for the company by dividing the total amount 
of dumping calculated for all reviewed U.S. sales to the importer by 
the total entered value of the merchandise sold to the importer.\14\
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    \13\ We applied the assessment rate calculation method adopted 
in Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average 
Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
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    Where either OCTAL's ad valorem weighted-average dumping margin is 
zero or de minimis, or an importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate 
is zero or de minimis,\15\ we will instruct CBP to liquidate the 
appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
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    Pursuant to a refinement to Commerce's assessment practice, where 
sales of subject merchandise that was produced or exported by an 
individually examined respondent were not reported in the U.S. sales 
data submitted by the respondent, but the merchandise was entered for 
consumption in the United States during the POR, Commerce will instruct 
CBP to liquidate any entries of such merchandise at the all-others rate 
(i.e., 7.62 percent) \16\ if there is no rate for the intermediate 
company(ies) involved in the transaction.\17\
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    \16\ See Order, 81 FR at 27982.
    \17\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be in effect for all 
shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of the notice of 
the final results of this administrative review in the Federal 
Register, as provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the 
cash deposit rate for OCTAL will be equal to the weighted-average 
dumping margin established for the company in the final results of this 
review, except if the weighted-average dumping margin

[[Page 48155]]

is less than 0.50 percent, and, therefore, de minimis within the 
meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), the cash deposit rate will be zero; 
(2) for previously investigated or reviewed companies that are not 
covered by this review, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the 
company's cash deposit rate from the most recently completed segment of 
the proceeding in which it was examined; (3) if the exporter is not 
covered by this review, and does not have a cash deposit rate from a 
completed segment of this proceeding, but the producer of the subject 
merchandise does have a cash deposit rate, then the cash deposit rate 
will be the producer's cash deposit rate from the most recently 
completed segment of the proceeding in which it was examined; and (4) 
the cash deposit rate for all other producers or exporters will 
continue to be 7.62 percent, the all-others rate established in the 
less-than-fair-value investigation.\18\ These cash deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.
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    \18\ See Order, 81 FR at 27982.
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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) 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 of review 
in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 
CFR 351.213(h)(2) and 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: May 30, 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. 2024-12343 Filed 6-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P