Notice of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet and Strip from India, 20863-20865 [E5-1921]
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20863
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 77 / Friday, April 22, 2005 / Notices
Antidumping Duty Proceedings
Period to be Reviewed
Tehran Nima Trading Company, Inc.,/Nima Trading Company.
TURKEY: Certain Welded Carbon Steel Standard Pipe.
C–489–502 ..............................................................................................................
The Borusan Group.
Suspension Agreements.
None..
During any administrative review
covering all or part of a period falling
between the first and second or third
and fourth anniversary of the
publication of an antidumping duty
order under section 351.211 or a
determination under section
351.218(f)(4) to continue an order or
suspended investigation (after sunset
review), the Secretary, if requested by a
domestic interested party within 30
days of the date of publication of the
notice of initiation of the review, will
determine, consistent with FAG Italia
v.United States, 291 F.3d 806 (Fed. Cir.
202), as appropriate, whether
antidumping duties have been absorbed
by an exporter or producer subject to the
review if the subject merchandise is
sold in the United States through an
importer that is affiliated with such
exporter or producer. The request must
include the name(s) of the exporter or
producer for which the inquiry is
requested.
Interested parties must submit
applications for disclosure under
administrative protective orders in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.305.
These initiations and this notice are
in accordance with section 751(a) of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19
U.S.C. 1675(a)), and 19 CFR
351.221(c)(1)(i).
Dated: April 15, 2005.
Holly A. Kuga,
Senior Office Director, Office 4 for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E5–1922 Filed 4–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–122–822]
Notice of Extension of Time Limit for
Preliminary Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review:
Corrosion–Resistant Carbon Steel Flat
Products From Canada
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 22, 2005.
AGENCY:
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1/1/04 – 12/31/04
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Candice Kenney Weck or Sean Carey,
Office of AD/CVD Operations, Office 6,
Import Administration, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department
of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20230, at (202) 482–0938 or (202)
482–3964, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Department of Commerce (the
Department) received timely requests
for administrative review of the
antidumping duty order on corrosion–
resistant carbon steel flat products from
Canada, with respect to Dofasco Inc.
(‘‘Dofasco’’), Impact Steel Canada, Ltd.
(‘‘Impact Steel’’), and Stelco Inc.
(‘‘Stelco’’). On September 22, 2004, the
Department published a notice of
initiation of this administrative review
for the period of August 1, 2003,
through July 31, 2004 (69 FR 56745). On
April 7, 2005, the Department rescinded
the administrative review of Impact
Steel (70 FR 17648) because Impact
Steel timely withdrew its request and no
other party had requested an
administrative review of Impact Steel.
After this rescission, the companies still
subject to review are Stelco and
Dofasco.
Extension of Time Limits for
Preliminary Results
Pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act),
the Department shall issue preliminary
results in an administrative review of an
antidumping duty order within 245
days after the last day of the anniversary
month of the date of publication of the
order. The Act further provides,
however, that the Department may
extend that 245-day period to 365 days
if it determines it is not practicable to
complete the review within the
foregoing time period.
In light of the complexity of analyzing
both companies’ cost calculations and
Dofasco’s various U.S. channels of
distribution and sales terms, it is not
practicable to complete this review by
the current deadline of May 3, 2005.
Therefore, in accordance with section
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, the Department
is extending the time limit for the
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preliminary results until August 31,
2005, which is 365 days after the last
day of the anniversary month of the date
of publication of the order. The final
results continue to be due 120 days after
the publication of the preliminary
results, in accordance with section
351.213 (h) of the Department’s
regulations.
This notice is issued and published in
accordance to sections 751(a)(1) and
777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: April 15, 2005.
Barbara E. Tillman,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E5–1919 Filed 4–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–533–824]
Notice of Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review: Polyethylene
Terephthalate Film, Sheet and Strip
from India
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On September 21, 2004, the
Department of Commerce (the
Department) initiated a changed
circumstances review of polyethylene
terephthalate film, sheet and strip (PET
film) from India in order to determine
whether Jindal Poly Films Limited is the
successor–in-interest for purposes of
antidumping duties to Jindal Polyester
Limited. See Notice of Initiation of
Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review: Polyethylene
Terephthalate Film, Sheet and Strip
(PET Film) from India, 69 FR 56406
(September 21, 2004). Jindal Polyester
Limited changed its name to Jindal Poly
Films Limited on April 19, 2004. We
preliminarily determine that Jindal Poly
Films Limited is the successor–ininterest to Jindal Polyester Limited for
purposes of determining antidumping
duty liability. Interested parties are
invited to comment on these
preliminary results.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 22, 2005.
AGENCY:
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20864
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 77 / Friday, April 22, 2005 / Notices
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey Pedersen or Kavita Mohan, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 4, Import
Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230;
telephone (202) 482–2769 and (202)
482–3542, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 1, 2002, the Department
published the antidumping duty order
on PET film from India in the Federal
Register (67 FR 44175). On July 29,
2004, Jindal Polyester Limited/Jindal
Poly Films Limited (Jindal) requested
that the Department conduct an
expedited changed circumstances
review of the antidumping duty order
on PET film from India. In its request,
Jindal claimed that Jindal Poly Films
Limited is the successor–in-interest to
Jindal Polyester Limited, and, as such,
is entitled to receive the same
antidumping treatment accorded to
Jindal Polyester Limited. On August 25,
2004, DuPont Teijin Films, Mitsubishi
Polyester Film of America and Toray
Plastics (America), Inc. (petitioners)
notified the Department that they
oppose Jindal’s request for expedited
action in this review and provided the
Department with information indicating
the Jindal underwent changes in
addition to its name change. On
September 21, 2004, the Department
published in the Federal Register a
notice of its initiation of the instant
changed circumstances review in which
it refused Jindal’s request for expedited
action, noting that additional
information was needed in order for the
Department to make its preliminary
determination.
Scope of the Order
The products covered by this order
are all gauges of raw, pretreated, or
primed PET film, whether extruded or
coextruded. Excluded are metallized
films and other finished films that have
had at least one of their surfaces
modified by the application of a
performance–enhancing resinous or
inorganic layer of more than 0.00001
inches thick. Imports of PET film are
classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
under item number 3920.62.00. HTSUS
subheadings are provided for
convenience and customs purposes. The
written description of the scope of this
order is dispositive.
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Preliminary Results of Changed
Circumstances Review
In making a successor–in-interest
determination, the Department
examines several factors including, but
not limited to, changes in: (1)
Management; (2) production facilities;
(3) supplier relationships; and (4)
customer base. See Brass Sheet and
Strip from Canada: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 57 FR 20460, 20462 (May 13,
1992) (Canadian Brass). While no one
single factor, or combination of factors,
will necessarily prove to be dispositive,
the Department will generally consider
a new company to be the successor–ininterest to its predecessor company if its
resulting operations are essentially the
same as those of its predecessor. See,
e.g., Canadian Brass at 20460, and Final
Results of Changed Circumstances
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review: Industrial Nitrocellulose From
Korea, 65 FR 2115, 2116 (January 13,
2000). Therefore, if there is evidence
demonstrating that, with respect to the
production and sale of subject
merchandise, a new company
essentially operates as the same
business entity as the former company,
the Department will assign the new
company the cash deposit rate of its
predecessor.
Although Jindal reported that it
simply changed its name from Jindal
Polyester Limited to Jindal Poly Films
Limited, the petitioners placed
documents on the record indicating
that, in addition to Jindal’s name
change, the company experienced a
change in management,1 and undertook
an expansion and restructuring of its
operations in connection with its
acquisition of Rexor, S.A., France
(Rexor), a French processor (not
producer) of PET film. See Petitioners’
August 25, 2004, letter at 3–4.2
In response to the Department’s
questionnaires, Jindal reported that it
changed its name to Jindal Poly Films
Limited in April 2004 to reflect its
increased presence in the film business
(both PET film and non–subject
polypropylene (BOPP) film). This
increased presence has been manifested
through the establishment of two new
production lines in India (a BOPP film
(non–subject merchandise) line, which
began production on March 18, 2003,
and a PET film line, which began
1 On June 29, 2004, Mr. S. Mittal, a non-executive
Director, resigned from the Board of Directors and
was replaced by Mr. J. Bansal (also a non-executive
director). See Exhibit 1 of petitioners’ August 25,
2004, letter.
2 Although these changes occurred both before
and after the name change, we have considered the
changes in our analysis.
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production on February 28, 2004), as
well as Jindal’s November 26, 2003,
acquisition of Rexor, a subsidiary
company in France that coats and
metalizes PET film.
According to Jindal, its name change
has not been accompanied by any
change to its legal or corporate
structure, or ownership. Jindal stated
that the name change was not part of an
agreement made with Rexor. Moreover,
Jindal reported that the expansion of its
production lines has not caused it to
change suppliers of the inputs used in
the production of PET film nor has it
resulted in changes to its relationships
or contracts with suppliers. Further,
Jindal claimed that its increased
production capacity (which did not
result in the production of new types of
PET film) has had little impact on its
customer base. Although there have
been some changes in Jindal’s U.S.
customer base during the time period
that it added the new PET film
production line, Jindal noted that the
total number of its U.S. customers has
remained the same. Also, apart from
acquiring a few new home market
customers, Jindal reported that there
have not been any significant changes to
its Indian customer base. With respect
to The Economic Times report that
Jindal plans to market its value–added
polyester products in the United States
under the Rexor name (see Petitioners’
August 25, 2004, letter at Exhibit 3),
Jindal noted that these value–added
products are not subject merchandise.
Further, Jindal contended that the
name change did not result in any
changes in the functions, authorities,
duties, or responsibilities of any of its
officers, executive board, or Board of
Directors. The changes to the Board of
Directors that occurred were, according
to Jindal, in the ordinary course of
business and unrelated to the name
change. Thus, Jindal contends that,
other than the new production line set
up in Nashik India, there were no
changes to its operations that produced
or sold subject merchandise.3
The Department finds that, with
respect to the production and sale of
subject merchandise, the operations of
Jindal Poly Films Limited are essentially
the same as those of Jindal Polyester
Limited.4 Jindal’s 2003–2004 Annual
3 Jindal did note, however, that, prior to the name
change, it created two divisions in Nashik, for
accounting purposes. See Jindal’s December 7,
2004, questionnaire response at 2.
4 Consistent with Departmental practice, in
reaching this determination, we focused our
analysis on Jindal’s operations that produced or
sold merchandise within the scope of the
antidumping duty order on PET film from India.
See Industrial Phosphoric Acid From Israel; Final
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 77 / Friday, April 22, 2005 / Notices
Report notes that the company’s name
change is meant to reflect its recent
expansion in the film business,
specifically mentioning its acquisition
of Rexor in France. See Jindal’s
December 6, 2004, questionnaire
response at Exhibit N–3 (page 20 of
Jindal Poly Films Limited’s 2003–2004
Annual Report). However, we found no
evidence of any material change in
Jindal’s management structure that was
associated with the name change. We
compared lists of Jindal’s upper and
lower level managers before and after
the acquisition of Rexor and found the
management to be substantially the
same. See Jindal’s January 7, 2005,
questionnaire response at Exhibits 10
and 11. Furthermore, Jindal reported
that the new production line at Nashik
was managed by the same upper and
lower level managers that ran its
existing production line at Nashik. See
Jindal’s February 8, 2005, questionnaire
response at 3. Additionally, the record
indicates that there have been no
changes in Jindal’s supplier
relationships and no significant changes
to Jindal’s customer base in the United
States or India. Thus, despite the
expansion that was associated with the
name change (the new PET film
production line at Nashik increased
Jindal’s production capacity by more
than 60 percent), the Department finds
that Jindal continued to essentially
operate as it had prior to the addition of
the new production line.
Further, we did not find any evidence
that Jindal’s acquisition of Rexor
affected its operations with respect to
the sale of subject merchandise to the
United States. See the Memorandum to
the File from Jeff Pedersen regarding
Rexor’s Impact on Jindal Poly Films
Limited’s Sales Operations, dated
concurrently with this notice. Also,
Rexor’s descriptions of its product lines
at its Web site (https://www.rexor.com/)
almost exclusively concern non–subject
merchandise and the intended audience
appears to be European customers.
Thus, with respect to subject
merchandise, the record does not
indicate that Jindal’s expansion of its
film business has transformed its
operations to such an extent that Jindal
Poly Films Limited should not be
viewed as a continuation of Jindal
Polyester Limited for antidumping
purposes.
Results of Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review, 59 FR 6944, 6945 (February
14, 1994) wherein the Department stated ‘‘that an
inquiry into the validity of a claim of successorship
to a respondent company should focus on that
company’s sales and production of the merchandise
encompassed by the order.’’
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Therefore, we preliminarily determine
that Jindal Poly Films Limited is the
successor–in-interest for purposes of
antidumping duties to Jindal Polyester
Limited and should receive the same
antidumping duty rate as Jindal
Polyester Limited. If these preliminary
results are adopted in our final results
of this changed circumstances review,
we will instruct U.S. Customs and
Border Protection to suspend shipments
of subject merchandise made by Jindal
Poly Films Limited, entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of
publication of the final results of this
changed circumstances review at Jindal
Polyester Limited’s cash deposit rate.
See Granular Polytetrafluoroethylene
Resin from Italy; Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review, 68 FR 25327
(May 12, 2003). This deposit rate shall
remain in effect until publication of the
final results of the next administrative
review in which Jindal Poly Films
Limited participates.
Public Comment
Any interested party may request a
hearing within 10 days of publication of
this notice. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). Any
hearing, if requested, will be held 21
days after the date of publication of this
notice, or the first working day
thereafter. Interested parties may submit
case briefs and/or written comments no
later than 14 days after the date of
publication of this notice. See 19 CFR
351.309(c)(ii). Rebuttal briefs and
rebuttals to written comments, which
must be limited to issues raised in such
briefs or comments, may be filed no
later than 19 days after the date of
publication of this notice. See 19 CFR
351.309(d). Parties who submit
arguments are requested to submit with
the argument (1) a statement of the
issue, (2) a brief summary of the
argument, and (3) a table of authorities.
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e),
we will issue the final results of this
changed circumstances review no later
than 270 days after the date on which
this review was initiated.
We are issuing and publishing this
determination and notice in accordance
with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.216.
Dated: April 15, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E5–1921 Filed 4–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S
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20865
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C–533–842]
Bottle-Grade Polyethylene
Terephthalate (PET) Resin From India:
Amended Final Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On March 21, 2005, the
Department of Commerce (Department)
published in the Federal Register the
final affirmative countervailing duty
determination on bottle-grade
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin
from India for the period from April 1,
2003, to March 31, 2004. Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination: Bottle-Grade
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Resin
from India, 70 FR 13460 (March 21,
2005) (Final Determination). We are
amending our Final Determination to
correct certain ministerial errors alleged
by Reliance Industries Ltd. (Reliance)
pursuant to section 751(h) of the Tariff
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). See
‘‘Amended Final Results of Review’’
section, below.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 22, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Douglas Kirby or Sean Carey at (202)
482–3782 and (202) 482–3964,
respectively; AD/CVD Operations,
Office 6, Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
AGENCY:
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered in this
investigation is polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) bottle-grade resin,
defined as having an intrinsic viscosity
of at least 0.68 deciliters per gram but
not more than 0.86 deciliters per gram.
The scope includes bottle-grade PET
resin that contains various additives
introduced in the manufacturing
process. The scope does not include
post-consumer recycle (PCR) or postindustrial recycle (PIR) PET resin;
however, included in the scope is any
bottle-grade PET resin blend of virgin
PET bottle-grade resin and recycled PET
(RPET). Waste and scrap PET are
outside the scope of the investigation.
Fiber-grade PET resin, which has an
intrinsic viscosity of less than 0.68
decliliters per gram, is also outside the
scope of the investigation.
The merchandise subject to this
investigation is properly classified
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 77 (Friday, April 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20863-20865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-1921]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-533-824]
Notice of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review: Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet and Strip
from India
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On September 21, 2004, the Department of Commerce (the
Department) initiated a changed circumstances review of polyethylene
terephthalate film, sheet and strip (PET film) from India in order to
determine whether Jindal Poly Films Limited is the successor-in-
interest for purposes of antidumping duties to Jindal Polyester
Limited. See Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review: Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet and Strip
(PET Film) from India, 69 FR 56406 (September 21, 2004). Jindal
Polyester Limited changed its name to Jindal Poly Films Limited on
April 19, 2004. We preliminarily determine that Jindal Poly Films
Limited is the successor-in-interest to Jindal Polyester Limited for
purposes of determining antidumping duty liability. Interested parties
are invited to comment on these preliminary results.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 22, 2005.
[[Page 20864]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffrey Pedersen or Kavita Mohan, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 4, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-
2769 and (202) 482-3542, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 1, 2002, the Department published the antidumping duty
order on PET film from India in the Federal Register (67 FR 44175). On
July 29, 2004, Jindal Polyester Limited/Jindal Poly Films Limited
(Jindal) requested that the Department conduct an expedited changed
circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on PET film from
India. In its request, Jindal claimed that Jindal Poly Films Limited is
the successor-in-interest to Jindal Polyester Limited, and, as such, is
entitled to receive the same antidumping treatment accorded to Jindal
Polyester Limited. On August 25, 2004, DuPont Teijin Films, Mitsubishi
Polyester Film of America and Toray Plastics (America), Inc.
(petitioners) notified the Department that they oppose Jindal's request
for expedited action in this review and provided the Department with
information indicating the Jindal underwent changes in addition to its
name change. On September 21, 2004, the Department published in the
Federal Register a notice of its initiation of the instant changed
circumstances review in which it refused Jindal's request for expedited
action, noting that additional information was needed in order for the
Department to make its preliminary determination.
Scope of the Order
The products covered by this order are all gauges of raw,
pretreated, or primed PET film, whether extruded or coextruded.
Excluded are metallized films and other finished films that have had at
least one of their surfaces modified by the application of a
performance-enhancing resinous or inorganic layer of more than 0.00001
inches thick. Imports of PET film are classifiable in the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under item number
3920.62.00. HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs
purposes. The written description of the scope of this order is
dispositive.
Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review
In making a successor-in-interest determination, the Department
examines several factors including, but not limited to, changes in: (1)
Management; (2) production facilities; (3) supplier relationships; and
(4) customer base. See Brass Sheet and Strip from Canada: Final Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 57 FR 20460, 20462 (May 13,
1992) (Canadian Brass). While no one single factor, or combination of
factors, will necessarily prove to be dispositive, the Department will
generally consider a new company to be the successor-in-interest to its
predecessor company if its resulting operations are essentially the
same as those of its predecessor. See, e.g., Canadian Brass at 20460,
and Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review: Industrial Nitrocellulose From Korea, 65 FR
2115, 2116 (January 13, 2000). Therefore, if there is evidence
demonstrating that, with respect to the production and sale of subject
merchandise, a new company essentially operates as the same business
entity as the former company, the Department will assign the new
company the cash deposit rate of its predecessor.
Although Jindal reported that it simply changed its name from
Jindal Polyester Limited to Jindal Poly Films Limited, the petitioners
placed documents on the record indicating that, in addition to Jindal's
name change, the company experienced a change in management,\1\ and
undertook an expansion and restructuring of its operations in
connection with its acquisition of Rexor, S.A., France (Rexor), a
French processor (not producer) of PET film. See Petitioners' August
25, 2004, letter at 3-4.\2\
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\1\ On June 29, 2004, Mr. S. Mittal, a non-executive Director,
resigned from the Board of Directors and was replaced by Mr. J.
Bansal (also a non-executive director). See Exhibit 1 of
petitioners' August 25, 2004, letter.
\2\ Although these changes occurred both before and after the
name change, we have considered the changes in our analysis.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to the Department's questionnaires, Jindal reported
that it changed its name to Jindal Poly Films Limited in April 2004 to
reflect its increased presence in the film business (both PET film and
non-subject polypropylene (BOPP) film). This increased presence has
been manifested through the establishment of two new production lines
in India (a BOPP film (non-subject merchandise) line, which began
production on March 18, 2003, and a PET film line, which began
production on February 28, 2004), as well as Jindal's November 26,
2003, acquisition of Rexor, a subsidiary company in France that coats
and metalizes PET film.
According to Jindal, its name change has not been accompanied by
any change to its legal or corporate structure, or ownership. Jindal
stated that the name change was not part of an agreement made with
Rexor. Moreover, Jindal reported that the expansion of its production
lines has not caused it to change suppliers of the inputs used in the
production of PET film nor has it resulted in changes to its
relationships or contracts with suppliers. Further, Jindal claimed that
its increased production capacity (which did not result in the
production of new types of PET film) has had little impact on its
customer base. Although there have been some changes in Jindal's U.S.
customer base during the time period that it added the new PET film
production line, Jindal noted that the total number of its U.S.
customers has remained the same. Also, apart from acquiring a few new
home market customers, Jindal reported that there have not been any
significant changes to its Indian customer base. With respect to The
Economic Times report that Jindal plans to market its value-added
polyester products in the United States under the Rexor name (see
Petitioners' August 25, 2004, letter at Exhibit 3), Jindal noted that
these value-added products are not subject merchandise.
Further, Jindal contended that the name change did not result in
any changes in the functions, authorities, duties, or responsibilities
of any of its officers, executive board, or Board of Directors. The
changes to the Board of Directors that occurred were, according to
Jindal, in the ordinary course of business and unrelated to the name
change. Thus, Jindal contends that, other than the new production line
set up in Nashik India, there were no changes to its operations that
produced or sold subject merchandise.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Jindal did note, however, that, prior to the name change, it
created two divisions in Nashik, for accounting purposes. See
Jindal's December 7, 2004, questionnaire response at 2.
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The Department finds that, with respect to the production and sale
of subject merchandise, the operations of Jindal Poly Films Limited are
essentially the same as those of Jindal Polyester Limited.\4\ Jindal's
2003-2004 Annual
[[Page 20865]]
Report notes that the company's name change is meant to reflect its
recent expansion in the film business, specifically mentioning its
acquisition of Rexor in France. See Jindal's December 6, 2004,
questionnaire response at Exhibit N-3 (page 20 of Jindal Poly Films
Limited's 2003-2004 Annual Report). However, we found no evidence of
any material change in Jindal's management structure that was
associated with the name change. We compared lists of Jindal's upper
and lower level managers before and after the acquisition of Rexor and
found the management to be substantially the same. See Jindal's January
7, 2005, questionnaire response at Exhibits 10 and 11. Furthermore,
Jindal reported that the new production line at Nashik was managed by
the same upper and lower level managers that ran its existing
production line at Nashik. See Jindal's February 8, 2005, questionnaire
response at 3. Additionally, the record indicates that there have been
no changes in Jindal's supplier relationships and no significant
changes to Jindal's customer base in the United States or India. Thus,
despite the expansion that was associated with the name change (the new
PET film production line at Nashik increased Jindal's production
capacity by more than 60 percent), the Department finds that Jindal
continued to essentially operate as it had prior to the addition of the
new production line.
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\4\ Consistent with Departmental practice, in reaching this
determination, we focused our analysis on Jindal's operations that
produced or sold merchandise within the scope of the antidumping
duty order on PET film from India. See Industrial Phosphoric Acid
From Israel; Final Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances
Review, 59 FR 6944, 6945 (February 14, 1994) wherein the Department
stated ``that an inquiry into the validity of a claim of
successorship to a respondent company should focus on that company's
sales and production of the merchandise encompassed by the order.''
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Further, we did not find any evidence that Jindal's acquisition of
Rexor affected its operations with respect to the sale of subject
merchandise to the United States. See the Memorandum to the File from
Jeff Pedersen regarding Rexor's Impact on Jindal Poly Films Limited's
Sales Operations, dated concurrently with this notice. Also, Rexor's
descriptions of its product lines at its Web site (https://
www.rexor.com/) almost exclusively concern non-subject merchandise and
the intended audience appears to be European customers. Thus, with
respect to subject merchandise, the record does not indicate that
Jindal's expansion of its film business has transformed its operations
to such an extent that Jindal Poly Films Limited should not be viewed
as a continuation of Jindal Polyester Limited for antidumping purposes.
Therefore, we preliminarily determine that Jindal Poly Films
Limited is the successor-in-interest for purposes of antidumping duties
to Jindal Polyester Limited and should receive the same antidumping
duty rate as Jindal Polyester Limited. If these preliminary results are
adopted in our final results of this changed circumstances review, we
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend shipments
of subject merchandise made by Jindal Poly Films Limited, entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of the final results of this changed circumstances review
at Jindal Polyester Limited's cash deposit rate. See Granular
Polytetrafluoroethylene Resin from Italy; Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Changed Circumstances Review, 68 FR 25327 (May 12, 2003). This
deposit rate shall remain in effect until publication of the final
results of the next administrative review in which Jindal Poly Films
Limited participates.
Public Comment
Any interested party may request a hearing within 10 days of
publication of this notice. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). Any hearing, if
requested, will be held 21 days after the date of publication of this
notice, or the first working day thereafter. Interested parties may
submit case briefs and/or written comments no later than 14 days after
the date of publication of this notice. See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(ii).
Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals to written comments, which must be
limited to issues raised in such briefs or comments, may be filed no
later than 19 days after the date of publication of this notice. See 19
CFR 351.309(d). Parties who submit arguments are requested to submit
with the argument (1) a statement of the issue, (2) a brief summary of
the argument, and (3) a table of authorities.
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we will issue the final results
of this changed circumstances review no later than 270 days after the
date on which this review was initiated.
We are issuing and publishing this determination and notice in
accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.216.
Dated: April 15, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E5-1921 Filed 4-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S