[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 156 (Tuesday, August 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65845-65848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17998]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-533-824]


Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip From India: 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and 
Rescission of Review, in Part; 2022-2023

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that certain producers and/or exporters subject to this 
administrative review made sales of subject merchandise at less than 
normal value during the period of review (POR) July 1, 2022, through 
June 30, 2023. We are also rescinding the review with respect to 
certain companies. Interested parties are invited to comment on these 
preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable August 13, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacqueline Arrowsmith or Jacob Saude, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5255 
or (202) 482-0981, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 1, 2002, Commerce published the antidumping duty order on 
polyethylene terepthalate film, sheet, and strip (PET film) from 
India.\1\
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    \1\ See Notice of Amended Final Antidumping Duty Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: 
Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip from India, 67 FR 
44175 (July 1, 2002) (Order).
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    On September 11, 2023, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), 
Commerce initiated an administrative review of Cosmo First Ltd. India 
(Cosmo First), Chiripal Poly Films Limited (Chiripal), Ester Industries 
Ltd. (Ester), Garware Polyester Ltd. (Garware Polyester),\2\ Jindal 
Poly Films Ltd., Jindal Poly Films Ltd. (India); Jindal Poly Films, 
Polyplex

[[Page 65846]]

Corporation Ltd. (Polyplex), SRF Ltd./SRF Limited of India/SRF Limited 
Packaging Films (SRF),\3\ and Vacmet India Limited (Vacmet India).\4\ 
Commerce selected Jindal and SRF for individual examination as 
mandatory respondents.\5\ Pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce extended the 
deadline for the preliminary results until July 30, 2024.\6\ On July 
22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative 
proceeding by seven days.\7\ The deadline for the preliminary results 
is now August 6, 2024.
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    \2\ On May 21, 2024, Commerce published its final results of the 
changed circumstances review (CCR) for Garware Polyester, in which 
we found that Garware Hi-Tech Films Limited (Garware Hi-Tech) is the 
successor-in-interest to Garware Polyester. See Polyethylene 
Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip from India: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 89 FR 44638 (May 21, 
2024). Because the effective date of the CCR was after the POR of 
this administrative review, Commerce has continued to refer to the 
company as Garware Polyester in this review.
    \3\ Commerce erroneously excluded ``SRF Limited Packaging 
Films'' as an additional name attributed to SRF in the initiation 
notice. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 62322 (September 11, 2023) (Initiation 
Notice). In the last administrative review, Commerce found, based on 
information provided by SRF, that SRF is most appropriately reviewed 
as SRF Limited/SRF Limited of India/SRF Limited Packaging Films. See 
Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip from India: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; Second Correction 
2021-2022, 89 FR 7684, 7685 (February 5, 2024).
    \4\ See Initiation Notice. Commerce erroneously included Jindal 
Poly Films Ltd. (India); Jindal Poly Films as a separate company 
subject to this administrative review. We clarify here that Jindal 
Poly Films Ltd. and its counsel have identified Jindal as all three 
names in this proceeding (and past proceedings). As such, Commerce 
is treating the company as doing business as all three names (i.e., 
Jindal Poly Films Ltd., Jindal Poly Films Ltd. (India), and Jindal 
Poly Films. See Jindal's Letter, ``Entry of Appearance on Behalf of 
M/S Jindal Poly Films Limited,'' dated February 23, 2024, at 1 (``We 
are authorized by Jindal Poly Films Limited India''); see also 
Jindal's Letter, ``Submission of Section-A Initial Questionnaire 
Response,'' dated February 23, 2024 at 2 (``. . . could cause 
substantial harm to Jindal Poly Films''); and Jindal's Letter, 
``Extension Request to submit Response to Section B to D of Initial 
Questionnaire for the Producers and/or Exporters of PET Film by 
Jindal Poly Films Limited,'' dated March 7, 2023, at 1 (``On behalf 
of Jindal Poly Films Limited . . .'').
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated January 31, 
2024.
    \6\ See Memoranda, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023,'' 
dated March 19, 2024; and ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated July 9, 
2024.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
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    For a detailed description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\8\ 
A list of 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 available 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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    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order 
on Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and Strip from India; 
2022-2023,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise subject to the Order is PET film. The product is 
currently classifiable under subheading 3920.62.00.90 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS 
subheading is provided for convenience and for customs purposes, the 
written product description remains dispositive. For a complete 
description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or in part, if a party who requested 
the review withdraws the request within 90 days of the date of 
publication of the notice of initiation. All requests for an 
administrative review of Cosmo First, Chiripal, Ester, Garware 
Polyester, Vacmet India, and Polyplex were timely withdrawn.\9\ As a 
result, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), we are rescinding this 
administrative review with respect to these companies. Accordingly, the 
companies that remain subject to the instant review are Jindal and SRF.
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    \9\ See Cosmo First's Letter, ``Withdrawal Request for 
Administrative Review of Antidumping Duty of Cosmo First Ltd and 
Rescind the Antidumping duty Admin Review of Cosmo for the POR July 
1, 2022 to June 30, 2023,'' dated December 9, 2023; see also 
Chiripal's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for Anti-Dumping Duty 
Admin Review of Chiripal Poly Films Limited (Chiripal),'' dated 
December 11, 2023; DuPont Teijin Films, Mitsubishi Chemical America, 
Inc.--Polyester Film Division, and SKC, Inc.'s Letter, ``Withdrawal 
of Request for Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated 
December 11, 2023; Polyplex USA LLC's Letter, ``Withdrawal of 
Request for Review for Polyplex USA LLC,'' dated November 29, 2023.
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Successor-in-Interest

    As part of its section A response, Jindal Poly Films Limited/Jindal 
Poly Films/Jindal Poly Films Limited India (collectively, Jindal) 
reported that during the POR, it transferred its ``plastic film 
business'' to JPFL Films Private Limited (JPFL).\10\ We requested 
additional information, which Jindal submitted in response to a 
supplemental questionnaire.\11\ After analyzing the information on the 
record of this review, Commerce has determined that further information 
is required to make a determination as to whether JPFL is the 
successor-in-interest to Jindal, and we intend to request further 
information via supplemental questionnaires. Commerce will issue its 
preliminary findings with respect to this issue subsequent to these 
preliminary results.
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    \10\ See Jindal's Letters, ``Submission of Section-A Initial 
Questionnaire Response'' dated February 23, 2024; and ``Submission 
of Section A and C of First Supplemental Questionnaire Response,'' 
dated May 30, 2024, at 1 (agreeing to make public information 
relating to transfer of business from Jindal to JPFL).
    \11\ See Jindal's Letter, ``Submission of Response to Question 2 
of Section A First Supplemental Questionnaire related to the Changed 
circumstances review,'' dated June 10, 2024.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with sections 
751(a)(1)(B) and (2) of the Act. We calculated export price in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. We calculated normal value 
in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying these preliminary results, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    We preliminarily determine the following estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins exist for the period July 1, 2022, through June 30, 
2023:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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Jindal Poly Films Ltd./Jindal Poly Films/Jindal Poly Films          0.00
 Limited India \12\.........................................
SRF Ltd./SRF Limited of India/SRF Limited Packaging Films...        1.15
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Disclosure and Public Comment
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    \12\ See footnote 3, supra, for explanation of the company name.
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    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations 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).
    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.\13\ Commerce will 
notify interested parties of the deadline for submission of case 
briefs. Rebuttal

[[Page 65847]]

briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not 
later than five days after the date for filing case briefs.\14\ 
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.\15\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii); see also 19 CFR 351.303 for 
general filing requirements.
    \14\ 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).
    \15\ 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.\16\ 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 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).\17\
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    \16\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \17\ 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, filed 
electronically, using ACCESS. Hearing requests should contain the 
party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues raised 
in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs. An electronically filed request must be received successfully 
in its entirety by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days of 
the publication date of this notice. If a request for a hearing is 
made, parties will be notified of the time and date of the hearing.\18\
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    \18\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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Final Results of Review

    Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), Commerce intends to issue the final 
results of this administrative review, including the results of its 
analysis of the issues raised by the parties in any written briefs, no 
later than 120 days after the date of publication of these preliminary 
results.

Assessment Rates

    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(1), upon issuing the final results, 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. Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 
no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the final 
results of this administrative 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).
    If Jindal or SRF's weighted-average dumping margin is not zero or 
de minimis (i.e., less than 0.50 percent) in the final results of this 
review, Commerce intends to calculate importer-specific assessment 
rates on the basis of the ratio of the total amount of dumping 
calculated for each importer's examined sales to the total entered 
value of those sales. Where we do not have entered values for all U.S. 
sales to a particular importer, we will calculate an importer-specific, 
per-unit assessment rate on the basis of the ratio of the total amount 
of dumping calculated for the importer's examined sales to the total 
quantity of those sales.\19\ To determine whether an importer-specific, 
per-unit assessment rate is de minimis, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.106(c)(2), we also will calculate an importer-specific ad valorem 
ratio based on estimated entered values. If Jindal or SRF's weighted-
average dumping margin is zero or de minimis or where an importer-
specific ad valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we will 
instruct CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to 
antidumping duties.\20\
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    \19\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \20\ See 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2); see also Antidumping Proceeding: 
Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and Assessment 
Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 
8101, 8103 (February 14, 2012).
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    In accordance with Commerce's ``automatic assessment'' practice, 
for entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by Jindal or 
SRF for which the respondent did not know that the merchandise was 
destined for the United States, we intend to instruct CBP to liquidate 
those entries at the all-others rate in the original less-than-fair-
value investigation (i.e., 5.71 percent) if there is no rate for the 
intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.\21\ The final 
results of this administrative review shall be the basis for the 
assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise under review 
and for future cash deposits of estimated antidumping duties, where 
applicable.
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    \21\ 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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    For the companies for which we are rescinding this administrative 
review, antidumping duties shall be assessed at rates equal to the cash 
deposit of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, 
or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during the period of 
review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i). For these 
companies, Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no 
earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of these preliminary 
results in the Federal Register.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of the final 
results of this administrative review, as provided for by section 
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the company-specific cash deposit rate for 
Jindal and SRF will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin for 
each company established in the final results of this review (except, 
if that rate is de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), 
then the cash deposit rate will be zero); (2) for producers or 
exporters not covered in this review but covered in a prior segment of 
the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-
specific rate published for the most recently-completed segment of this 
proceeding in which they were reviewed; (3) if the exporter is not a 
firm covered in this review or a prior segment of the proceeding but 
the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate 
established for the most recently

[[Page 65848]]

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 5.71 percent, the all-others rate 
established in the less-than-fair-value investigation.\22\ These cash 
deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
further notice.
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    \22\ See Order.
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Notification to Importers

    This notice also 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 and/or countervailing 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 and/or countervailing 
duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping 
duties, and/or an increase in the amount of antidumping duties by the 
amount of countervailing 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)(2) and 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: August 6, 2024.
Scot Fullerton,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Successor-in-Interest Analysis
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-17998 Filed 8-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P