Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 68780-68785 [E9-30849]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 248 (Tuesday, December 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68780-68785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30849]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-892]


Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is currently 
conducting an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on 
carbazole violet pigment 23 (CVP 23) from the People's Republic of 
China (PRC). The period of review (POR) is December 1, 2007 through 
November 30, 2008. We have preliminarily determined that Trust Chem 
Co., Ltd. (Trust Chem) made sales of subject merchandise to the United 
States below normal value (NV). The preliminary results are listed 
below in the section entitled ``Preliminary Results of the Review.'' If 
these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of this 
review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
assess antidumping duties against the entered value of each entry of 
the subject merchandise made during the POR, where applicable.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results. We intend to issue the final results no later than 120 days 
from the date of publication of this notice.

DATES: Effective Date: December 29, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deborah Scott or Robert James, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 7, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
2657 or (202) 482-0649, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On December 29, 2004, the Department published in the Federal 
Register an antidumping duty order on CVP 23 from the PRC. See 
Antidumping Duty Order: Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 From the People's 
Republic of China, 69 FR 77987 (December 29, 2004). On December 1, 
2008, the Department published a notice of opportunity to request an 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on CVP 23 from the 
PRC for the POR December 1, 2007 through November 30, 2008. See 
Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended 
Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative Review, 73 FR 
72764 (December 1, 2008). On December 30, 2008, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.213(b), Trust Chem requested that the Department conduct an 
administrative review of its sales of subject merchandise. In response 
to this request, the Department initiated an administrative review of 
Trust Chem on February 2, 2009. See Initiation of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews and Requests for Revocation 
in Part, 74 FR 5821 (February 2, 2009).
    On February 5, 2009, the Department issued its standard non-market 
economy (NME) antidumping duty questionnaire, including the separate 
rates section of that questionnaire, to Trust Chem. On March 17, 2009, 
Trust Chem submitted its questionnaire response for sections A, C, and 
D, as well as its sales and cost reconciliations. On July 2, 2009, the 
Department issued a supplemental questionnaire to Trust Chem, to which 
Trust Chem responded on July 31, 2009. The Department issued additional 
supplemental questionnaires to Trust Chem on September 9, 2009, October 
15, 2009, and November 18, 2009 \1\; Trust Chem filed its responses to 
these supplemental questionnaires on September 25, 2009, October 30, 
2009, and December 1, 2009, respectively.
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    \1\ The Department issued an addendum to its November 18, 2009 
supplemental questionnaire on November 20, 2009.
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    On August 7, 2009, the Department extended the deadline for the 
preliminary results to December 22, 2009. See Carbazole Violet Pigment 
23 from the People's Republic of China: Extension of Time Limit for 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 74 FR 
39622 (August 7, 2009).

Period of Review

    The POR covers December 1, 2007 through November 30, 2008.

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by this order is carbazole violet pigment 
23 identified as Color Index No. 51319 and Chemical Abstract No. 6358-
30-1, with the chemical name of diindolo [3,2-b:3',2'-m] 
triphenodioxazine, 8,18-dichloro-5, 15-diethy-5,15-dihydro-, and 
molecular formula of 
C34H22Cl2N4O2.\2\
 The subject merchandise includes the crude pigment in any form (e.g., 
dry

[[Page 68781]]

powder, paste, wet cake) and finished pigment in the form of presscake 
and dry color. Pigment dispersions in any form (e.g., pigments 
dispersed in oleoresins, flammable solvents, water) are not included 
within the scope of this order. The merchandise subject to this order 
is classifiable under subheading 3204.17.9040 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description 
of the scope of this order is dispositive.
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    \2\ The bracketed section of the product description, [3,2-
b:3',2'-m], is not business proprietary information, but is part of 
the chemical nomenclature.
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Non-Market Economy Country Status

    In every case conducted by the Department involving the PRC, the 
PRC has been treated as an NME country. See, e.g., Tapered Roller 
Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, From the People's 
Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review, 74 FR 3987 (January 22, 2009). In accordance with section 
771(18)(C)(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), any 
determination that a foreign country is an NME country shall remain in 
effect until revoked by the administering authority. See, e.g., Glycine 
from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review, 74 FR 15930, 15932 (April 8, 2009) (Glycine 
Preliminary Results), unchanged in Glycine From the People's Republic 
of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 74 
FR 41121 (August 14, 2009) (Glycine Final Results). None of the parties 
to this proceeding has contested such treatment. Accordingly, we 
calculated NV in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, which 
applies to NME countries.

Surrogate Country

    When the Department investigates imports from an NME country, 
section 773(c)(1) of the Act directs it to base NV, in most 
circumstances, on the NME producer's factors of production (FOPs), 
valued in a surrogate market economy (ME) country or countries 
considered by the Department to be appropriate. In accordance with 
section 773(c)(4) of the Act, in valuing the FOPs, the Department shall 
utilize, to the extent possible, the prices or costs of the FOPs in one 
or more ME countries that are: (1) At a level of economic development 
comparable to that of the NME country; and (2) significant producers of 
comparable merchandise.
    On July 29, 2009, the Department issued a memorandum listing India, 
the Philippines, Indonesia, Colombia, Thailand, and Peru as 
economically-comparable surrogate countries for this review. See 
Memorandum from Kelly Parkhill, Acting Director, Office of Policy, to 
Richard Weible, Director, Office 7, AD/CVD Operations, Import 
Administration, dated July 29, 2009 (Surrogate Country Memorandum). On 
August 4, 2009, we issued a letter to interested parties inviting them 
to comment on the Department's surrogate country selection and to 
submit publicly-available information to value the FOPs, and attached 
the Surrogate Country Memorandum to the letter. On September 8, 2009, 
Nation Ford Chemical Company and Sun Chemical Corporation 
(collectively, petitioners) and Trust Chem submitted information for 
the Department to consider in valuing the FOPs. All proposed surrogate 
value data submitted by both parties were from Indian sources. In 
addition, petitioners specifically stated that India was the best 
choice for the surrogate country based on the reasons outlined in the 
original investigation of CVP 23 from the PRC.
    In this case, we find that India is the most appropriate surrogate 
country for purposes of valuing the FOPs for the merchandise under 
consideration. India meets the requirements for surrogate country 
selection provided under section 773(c)(4) of the Act. First, the 
Department has already determined that India is at a level of economic 
development comparable to that of the PRC in terms of per capita gross 
national income. See the Surrogate Country Memorandum. Second, in light 
of the companion antidumping duty order on CVP 23 from India and 
concurrent administrative review, we know that India is a significant 
producer of the subject merchandise. Furthermore, the Department 
selected India as the surrogate country in past segments of this case, 
and both Trust Chem and petitioners submitted surrogate values based 
solely on Indian data.
    Given that (1) India meets the criteria listed in sections 
773(c)(4)(A) and (B) of the Act, (2) we have used India as the 
surrogate country in past reviews of CVP 23 from China, and (3) 
interested parties placed only Indian surrogate value information on 
the record of this review, we have selected India as the surrogate 
country for purposes of these preliminary results. The sources of the 
surrogate factor values are discussed under the ``Normal Value'' 
section below and in the Memorandum to the File through Robert James, 
Program Manager, AD/CVD Operations, Office 7, from Deborah Scott, 
International Trade Compliance Analyst, AD/CVD Operations, Office 7, 
``2007-2008 Administrative Review of Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 from 
the People's Republic of China: Surrogate Values for the Preliminary 
Results,'' dated December 22, 2009 (Surrogate Values Memorandum).
    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(ii), for the final results 
of an antidumping administrative review, interested parties may submit 
publicly available information to value the FOPs within 20 days after 
the date of publication of the preliminary results. The Department 
notes that 19 CFR 351.301(c)(1) permits new information only insofar as 
it rebuts, clarifies, or corrects information previously placed on the 
record. The Department generally will not accept the submission of 
additional, previously absent-from-the-record alternative surrogate 
value information pursuant to 19 CFR 351.301(c)(1). See Glycine from 
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review and Final Rescission, in Part, 72 FR 58809 
(October 17, 2007) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at 
Comment 2.

Separate Rate

    A designation of a country as an NME remains in effect until it is 
revoked by the Department. See section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act. 
Accordingly, there is a rebuttable presumption that all companies 
within the PRC are subject to government control and, thus, should be 
assessed a single antidumping duty rate. It is the Department's 
standard policy to assign all exporters of the merchandise subject to 
review in NME countries a single rate unless an exporter can 
affirmatively demonstrate an absence of government control, both in law 
(de jure) and in fact (de facto), with respect to exports. To establish 
whether a company is sufficiently independent to be entitled to a 
separate, company-specific rate, the Department analyzes each exporting 
entity in an NME country under the test established in the Final 
Determination of Sales at Less than Fair Value: Sparklers from the 
People's Republic of China, 56 FR 20588 (May 6, 1991) (Sparklers), as 
amplified by the Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than 
Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from the People's Republic of China, 59 FR 
22585 (May 2, 1994) (Silicon Carbide). However, if the Department 
determines that a company is wholly foreign-owned or located in a 
market economy, then a separate-rate analysis is not necessary to 
determine whether it is independent from government control.

[[Page 68782]]

A. Absence of De Jure Control

    The Department considers the following de jure criteria in 
determining whether an individual company may be granted a separate 
rate: (1) An absence of restrictive stipulations associated with an 
individual exporter's business and export licenses; (2) any legislative 
enactments decentralizing control of companies; and (3) any other 
formal measures by the government decentralizing control of companies. 
See Sparklers, 56 FR at 20589.
    In this review, Trust Chem submitted a complete response to the 
separate rates section of the Department's NME questionnaire. See Trust 
Chem's March 17, 2009 section A questionnaire response (AQR). The 
evidence Trust Chem submitted in the instant review includes PRC 
government laws and regulations on corporate ownership and control 
(i.e., the Company Law of the People's Republic of China and the 
Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China), its business 
license, and narrative information regarding the company's operations 
and selection of management. See Trust Chem's AQR at 2-6 and Appendices 
A-1 and A-2. The information provided by Trust Chem supports a finding 
of a de jure absence of governmental control over its export activities 
for the following reasons. First, other than limiting Trust Chem to 
activities referenced in its business license, we found no restrictive 
stipulations associated with Trust Chem's business license. Second, 
there are no controls on exports of subject merchandise, such as quotas 
applied to, or licenses required for, exports of the subject 
merchandise to the United States. Third, the PRC laws placed on the 
record of this review demonstrate the government of the PRC has passed 
legislation decentralizing control of companies. No party submitted 
information to the contrary. Accordingly, we preliminarily find an 
absence of de jure control.

B. Absence of De Facto Control

    The absence of de facto governmental control over exports generally 
is based on whether the respondent: (1) Sets its own export prices 
independent of the government and other exporters; (2) retains the 
proceeds from its export sales and makes independent decisions 
regarding the disposition of profits or financing of losses; (3) has 
the authority to negotiate and sign contracts and other agreements; and 
(4) has autonomy from the government regarding the selection of 
management. See Silicon Carbide, 59 FR at 22587; Sparklers, 56 FR at 
20589; and Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Furfuryl Alcohol From the People's Republic of China, 60 FR 
22544, 22545 (May 8, 1995).
    In the instant review, Trust Chem submitted evidence indicating an 
absence of de facto governmental control over its export activities. 
Specifically, this evidence indicates: (1) Trust Chem independently set 
prices for sales to the United States and these prices are not subject 
to review by any government organization; (2) there is no restriction 
on the company's use of export revenues; (3) Trust Chem's shareholders 
decide how the company's profits are used; (4) the company has a 
general manager with the authority to bind the company contractually to 
sell subject merchandise and set the price; (5) the general manager is 
selected by Trust Chem's shareholders, and the general manager appoints 
the department managers; and (6) Trust Chem did not coordinate with 
other exporters or producers to set prices or to determine the markets 
to which the companies will sell subject merchandise. See Trust Chem's 
AQR at 6-8 and Appendix A-3.
    Therefore, in the absence of either de jure or de facto government 
control over Trust Chem's export activities, the Department 
preliminarily finds that Trust Chem has established prima facie 
evidence that it qualifies for a separate rate under the criteria 
established in Silicon Carbide and Sparklers.

Fair Value Comparisons

    To determine whether Trust Chem's sales of the subject merchandise 
to the United States were made at a price below NV, we compared its 
U.S. prices to NV, as described in the ``United States Price'' and 
``Normal Value'' sections of this notice below.

United States Price

    In accordance with section 772(a) of the Act, we based U.S. prices 
on the export price (EP) of Trust Chem's sales to the United States 
because the first sale to an unaffiliated party was made before the 
date of importation and the use of constructed export price was not 
otherwise warranted. We calculated EP based on free-on-board (FOB) 
Shanghai prices to unaffiliated purchasers in the United States. In 
accordance with section 772(c)(2)(A) of the Act, we made deductions for 
movement expenses, which consisted of foreign inland freight from the 
plant to the port of exportation. Foreign inland freight was provided 
by an NME vendor and, thus, we based the deduction for this movement 
expense on values from a surrogate country. To value truck freight 
expenses, we used a per-unit average rate calculated from data obtained 
from the Web site https://www.infobanc.com/logistics/logtruck.htm. The 
logistics section of this Web site contains inland freight truck rates 
between many large Indian cities. Since the truck rate value is based 
on an annual per-unit rate which includes four months of transactions 
falling in the POR, we are treating the derived average rate as 
contemporaneous. See Surrogate Values Memorandum at Exhibit 12.

Normal Value

A. Methodology

    Section 773(c)(1) of the Act provides that the Department shall 
determine NV using a FOP methodology if the merchandise is exported 
from an NME and the information does not permit the calculation of NV 
using home-market prices, third-country prices, or constructed value 
under section 773(a) of the Act. The Department bases NV on the FOPs 
because the presence of government controls on various aspects of NMEs 
renders price comparisons and the calculation of production costs 
invalid under the Department's normal methodologies.

B. Factor Valuations

    In accordance with section 773(c)(1) of the Act, we calculated NV 
based on FOPs reported by Trust Chem for the POR. To calculate NV, we 
multiplied the reported per-unit factor consumption rates by publicly-
available Indian surrogate values. In selecting the surrogate values, 
we considered the quality, specificity, and contemporaneity of the 
data. As appropriate, we adjusted input prices by including freight 
costs to make them delivered prices. Specifically, we added to Indian 
import surrogate values a surrogate freight cost using the shorter of 
the reported distance from the domestic supplier to the production 
factory or the distance from the nearest seaport to the production 
factory where appropriate. This adjustment is in accordance with the 
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in Sigma Corp. v. 
United States, 117 F.3d 1401, 1407-1408 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Where we did 
not use Indian import data, we calculated freight based on the reported 
distance from the supplier to the factory.
    With regard to surrogate values from import statistics, we 
disregard prices that we have reason to believe or suspect may be 
subsidized, such as the prices of inputs from Indonesia, South Korea 
and Thailand. We have found in other proceedings that these countries

[[Page 68783]]

maintain broadly available, non-industry-specific export subsidies and, 
therefore, it is reasonable to infer that all exports to all markets 
from these countries may be subsidized. See Notice of Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Negative Final 
Determination of Critical Circumstances: Certain Color Television 
Receivers From the People's Republic of China, 69 FR 20594 (April 16, 
2004) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 7 
(CTVs from the PRC). The legislative history provides guidance that in 
making its determination as to whether input values may be subsidized, 
the Department is not required to conduct a formal investigation. See 
H.R. Rep. 100-576 at 590-91 (1988), reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 
1547, 1623. Instead, the Department is to base its decision on 
information that is available to it at the time it makes its 
determination. Therefore, based on the information currently available, 
we have not used prices from these countries in calculating the 
surrogate values based on Indian import data. We have also disregarded 
Indian import data from countries that the Department has previously 
determined to be NME countries, as well as imports from unspecified 
countries. See CTVs from the PRC.
    It is the Department's practice to calculate price index adjustors 
to inflate or deflate, as appropriate, surrogate values that are not 
contemporaneous with the POR using the wholesale price index (WPI) for 
the subject country. See, e.g., Glycine Preliminary Results, 74 FR 
15936, unchanged in Glycine Final Results. Therefore, where we could 
not obtain publicly-available information contemporaneous with the POR 
with which to calculate surrogate values, we adjusted the surrogate 
values using the WPI for India. Surrogate values denominated in foreign 
currencies were converted into U.S. dollars (USD) using the applicable 
average exchange rate based on exchange-rate data from the Department's 
Web site. See Surrogate Values Memorandum.
    Except where discussed below, the Department valued the raw 
material and packing inputs with which Trust Chem produced the 
merchandise under review during the POR using weighted-average unit 
import values for the period December 1, 2007 through November 30, 2008 
derived from the Monthly Statistics of the Foreign Trade of India, as 
published by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and 
Statistics of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of 
India and compiled by the World Trade Atlas (WTA), available at https://www.gtis.com/wta.htm. For a detailed description of all the surrogate 
values used for Trust Chem, see Surrogate Values Memorandum.

Raw Materials

    Trust Chem reported that it sourced one raw material input, 
carbazole, from a supplier in a ME country and paid for this input in a 
ME currency. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.408(c)(1), when a respondent 
sources inputs from a ME supplier in meaningful quantities (i.e., not 
insignificant quantities), we use the actual price paid by the 
respondent for those inputs, except when prices may have been distorted 
by findings of dumping and/or subsidies by the PRC. Trust Chem's 
reported information demonstrates that the company purchased a 
significant quantity (i.e., 33 percent or more) of carbazole from ME 
suppliers. Thus, in accordance with the policy outlined in Antidumping 
Methodologies: Market Economy Inputs, Expected Non-Market Economy 
Wages, Duty Drawback; and Request for Comments, 71 FR 61716, 61717-19 
(October 19, 2006), we have used the actual ME purchases of this input 
to value carbazole for these preliminary results. We added an amount 
for freight based on Indian surrogate values to account for delivery 
from the Chinese port to the production factory. For information 
regarding the ME price used to value carbazole, see Surrogate Values 
Memorandum.
    To value hydrochloric acid for these preliminary results, the 
Department used prices from the Indian periodical Chemical Weekly based 
on the reasoning laid out in First Administrative Review of Certain 
Activated Carbon from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 74 FR 57995 (November 10, 2009) 
(Activated Carbon) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at 
Comment 3d. In the instant case, as in Activated Carbon, the respondent 
reported the specific concentration levels (i.e., 15 and 30 percent) of 
the hydrochloric acid used to produce CVP 23. Furthermore, the WTA data 
do not include information about the purity level of hydrochloric acid, 
while we know the prices reported in Chemical Weekly for hydrochloric 
acid in liquid form reflect a 30 to 33 percent purity level. See 
Activated Carbon and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at 
Comment 3d; see also Certain Helical Spring Lock Washers From the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review, 74 FR 57653, 57656 (November 9, 2009) (Helical 
Spring Lock Washers Preliminary Results) (stating the Department was 
recently ``informed by representatives of Chemical Weekly that the 
reported price for hydrochloric acid in liquid form reflects a 30-33 
percent purity level.'') For hydrochloric acid 15 percent, we made an 
adjustment to account for the difference between Trust Chem's reported 
concentration level and the known concentration level reflected in the 
Chemical Weekly data. It was not necessary to make an adjustment for 
hydrochloric acid 30 percent because the reported purity level is 
equivalent to that represented in the Chemical Weekly data.
    Similarly, the Department used Chemical Weekly prices to value 
calcium chloride for these preliminary results. We have determined 
Chemical Weekly represents the best data source to value calcium 
chloride because Chemical Weekly specifies the concentration level of 
this chemical input, Trust Chem reported the purity level of this 
input, and the WTA data do not include information about its purity 
level. We made an adjustment to account for the difference between the 
concentration level the respondent reported for calcium chloride and 
the concentration level reflected in the Chemical Weekly data.
    Finally, for these preliminary results, we used Chemical Weekly to 
value polyethylene glycol and dimethylformamide because we have 
determined the HTS numbers for these inputs are basket categories, and 
product-specific prices were available from Chemical Weekly. Although 
Trust Chem reported the purity levels of these two inputs, we have not 
made an adjustment to account for differences in concentration levels 
because the Department has recently determined that where Chemical 
Weekly does not specify the purity level for a particular chemical, the 
purity level is unknown. See Helical Spring Lock Washers Preliminary 
Results, 74 FR at 57656 (stating that based on recent statements by 
representatives of Chemical Weekly, ``unless the price quotes from 
Chemical Weekly indicate the purity level, the Department will treat 
the purity level of chemicals sold in either liquid or solid form as 
unknown.'').
    For each input valued using Chemical Weekly data, we made an 
adjustment to remove taxes, in accordance with the Department's 
practice. See Activated Carbon and accompanying Issues and Decision 
Memorandum at Comment 3d. For more information regarding the surrogate 
values used for hydrochloric acid, calcium chloride, polyethylene

[[Page 68784]]

glycol, and dimethylformamide, see Surrogate Values Memorandum at 
Exhibits 3 through 6.

Energy

    Trust Chem reported the consumption of water, electricity, steam 
coal, and steam as energy inputs consumed in the production of CVP 23. 
To value electricity, we used price data for small, medium, and large 
industries, as published by the Central Electricity Authority of the 
Government of India (CEA) in its publication entitled ``Electricity 
Tariff & Duty and Average Rates of Electricity Supply in India,'' dated 
March 2008. These electricity rates represent actual country-wide, 
publicly-available information on tax-exclusive electricity rates 
charged to industries in India. As the CEA publication is 
contemporaneous with the POR, we are not adjusting for inflation. See 
Surrogate Values Memorandum at Exhibit 8.
    To value water, the Department used the revised Maharashtra 
Industrial Development Corporation water rates, which are available at 
https://www.midcindia.com/MIDC Web site. The Department found this 
source to be the best available information since it includes a wide 
range of industrial water rates. Since the water rates were for a 
period that occurred after the POR, the Department deflated the 
surrogate value for water to be contemporaneous with the POR. See 
Surrogate Values Memorandum at Exhibit 9.
    To value steam coal, we used data from Coal India Limited (CIL), 
available at https://www.coalindia.nic.in. The Department has recently 
determined that CIL data are superior values for steam coal as compared 
to Indian import statistics (i.e., WTA data). See Glycine Final Results 
and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 5. Because 
the average coal price was for December 2007, which is the first month 
of the POR, we treated the value for steam coal as contemporaneous with 
the POR. See Surrogate Values Memorandum at Exhibit 10.
    We calculated the surrogate value for steam based upon the April 
2007-March 2008 financial statement of Hindalco Industries Limited. See 
1-Hydroxyethylidene-1, 1-Diphosphonic Acid from the People's Republic 
of China: Final Determination of Sales at Less than Fair Value, 74 FR 
10545 (March 11, 2009), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum 
at Comment 4. Since the value for steam is based on an annual period 
which overlaps with four months of the POR, we are treating the steam 
rate as contemporaneous. See Surrogate Values Memorandum at Exhibit 11.

Financial Ratios

    To value the surrogate financial ratios for factory overhead, 
selling, general and administrative expenses, and profit, the 
Department relied on publicly-available information contained in the 
financial statements for Pidilite Industries Limited (Pidilite), an 
Indian producer of CVP 23. Petitioners submitted Pidilite's annual 
reports for fiscal years 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 in Exhibit 1 of their 
September 8, 2009 surrogate value submission. Trust Chem proposed the 
Department use financial ratios based on Pidilite's 2007-2008 annual 
report and provided this annual report in its September 8, 2009 
surrogate value submission. The 2008-2009 annual report is for the 
period April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009, which covers 8 of the 12 months 
of the POR. See Surrogate Values Memorandum at Exhibit 13. Pidilite's 
financial statements reference certain ``export incentives.'' In 
addition, there is a countervailing duty cash deposit rate in effect 
for Pidilite. See Carbazole Violet Pigment 23 from India: Notice of 
Countervailing Duty Order, 69 FR 77995 (December 29, 2004). The 
Department prefers to base its financial ratio calculations on 
contemporaneous, publicly available, and subsidy-free financial 
statements of companies producing comparable merchandise from the 
surrogate country. For these preliminary results, however, we are using 
Pidilite's 2008-2009 financial statements as the basis for the 
financial ratios employed in our analysis because they are the only 
financial statements provided on the record. For the final results, we 
invite interested parties to submit additional financial statements to 
the record for consideration. We will then examine again whether it is 
appropriate to use Pidilite's financial statements to calculate the 
surrogate financial ratios.

Wage Rate

    Section 773(c)(1) of the Act provides that where the subject 
merchandise is exported from an NME country, ``the valuation of factors 
of production shall be based on the best available information 
regarding the values of such factors in a ME country or countries 
considered to be appropriate by the administering authority.'' While 
the Act does not define ``best available information,'' it provides 
that the Department, ``in valuing factors of production under paragraph 
(1), shall utilize, to the extent possible, the prices or costs of 
factors of production in one or more market economy countries that are 
(A) at a level of economic development comparable to that of the 
nonmarket economy country, and (B) significant producers of comparable 
merchandise.'' See section 773(c)(4) of the Act. In accordance with the 
guidance provided, and discretion afforded pursuant to section 773(c) 
of the Act, the Department calculates the labor wage rate using a 
regression analysis. This is in contrast to the Department's valuation 
of other FOPs primarily because wage rates are less a function of 
economic comparability, and more a function of other social and 
political factors. 19 CFR 351.408(c)(3) provides that the Department 
will use regression-based wage rates reflective of the observed 
relationship between wages and national income in ME countries. In 
addition, 19 CFR 351.408(c)(3) provides that the calculated wage rate 
will be applied in NME proceedings each year, will be based on current 
data, and will be made available to the public. Therefore, consistent 
with our practice, we have used our regression-based methodology to 
calculate the surrogate value for labor in the preliminary results of 
this review. See, e.g., Activated Carbon and accompanying Issues and 
Decision Memorandum at Comment 3a. For these preliminary results, we 
used the PRC's regression-based wage rate published on Import 
Administration's Web site. See ``Expected Wages of Selected Non-Market 
Economy Countries'' (available at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/wages/07wages/2009-2007-wages.html). Consistent with our practice, we have not 
adjusted the wage rate for inflation. Since this regression-based wage 
rate does not separate the labor rates into different skill levels or 
types of labor, we have applied the same wage rate to all skill levels 
and types of labor. See also Surrogate Values Memorandum.

Movement Expenses

    To value truck freight, we used a per-unit average rate calculated 
from data on the following Web site: https://www.infobanc.com/logistics/logtruck.htm. The logistics section of this Web site contains inland 
freight truck rates between many large Indian cities. Since the truck 
rate value represents an annual per-unit rate which includes four 
months of transactions falling in the POR, we are treating the derived 
average rate as contemporaneous. See Surrogate Values Memorandum at 
Exhibit 12.

Currency Conversion

    We made currency conversions into USD, in accordance with section

[[Page 68785]]

773A(a) of the Act, based on the exchange rates in effect on the dates 
of the U.S. sales, as certified by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    The Department has determined that the following preliminary 
dumping margin exists for the period December 1, 2007 through November 
30, 2008:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Weighted-Average Margin
             Manufacturer/Exporter                      (Percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trust Chem Co., Ltd............................                    29.57
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department will disclose calculations performed for these 
preliminary results to the parties within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 
Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments no 
later than 30 days after the date of publication of these preliminary 
results of review. See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii). Rebuttal briefs and 
rebuttals to written comments, limited to issues raised in such briefs 
or comments, may be filed no later than five days after the time limit 
for filing the case briefs. See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    Parties who submit argument in this proceeding 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. See 19 CFR 
351.309(c)(2). Executive summaries should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. Further, we request that parties submitting 
briefs and rebuttal briefs provide the Department with a copy of the 
public version of such briefs on diskette. An interested party may 
request a hearing within 30 days of publication of these preliminary 
results. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). Requests should contain the following 
information: (1) The party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) 
the number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be 
discussed. Oral presentations will be limited to issues raised in the 
briefs. If we receive a request for a hearing, we intend to hold the 
hearing seven days after the deadline for submission of the rebuttal 
briefs at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. The Department intends to issue the 
final results of this administrative review, which will include the 
results of its analysis of issues raised in any such comments, within 
120 days of publication of these preliminary results, pursuant to 
section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

    The Department will determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping 
duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise in accordance 
with the final results of this review. Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(1), we will calculate importer-specific (or customer-
specific) ad valorem duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the 
total amount of the dumping duties calculated for the examined sales to 
the total entered value of those same sales, where appropriate. We will 
instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries 
covered by this review if any importer-specific assessment rate 
calculated in the final results of this review is above de minimis. The 
Department intends to issue appropriate assessment instructions to CBP 
15 days after the date of publication of the final results of review.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of the administrative review for 
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the 
final results, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For 
subject merchandise exported by Trust Chem, the cash deposit rate will 
be that established in the final results of this review; (2) for 
previously reviewed or investigated companies not listed above that 
have separate rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the 
company-specific rate published for the most recent period; (3) for all 
other PRC exporters of subject merchandise which have not been found to 
be entitled to a separate rate the cash deposit rate will be the PRC-
wide rate of 241.32 percent; and (4) for all non-PRC exporters of 
subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable 
to the PRC exporter that supplied that non-PRC exporter. These deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.

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 the Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    This administrative review and this notice are in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: December 22, 2009.
John M. Andersen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.
[FR Doc. E9-30849 Filed 12-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P