Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products From the People's Republic of China: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part, and Postponement of Final Determination, 56584-56586 [2016-20024]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 162 / Monday, August 22, 2016 / Notices
requirements, when imposed, shall
remain in effect until further notice.
Notifications
This notice serves as a final 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 Department’s presumption
that reimbursement of antidumping
duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of doubled antidumping
duties.
In accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3), this notice also serves as
a reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective order (APO) of
their responsibility concerning the
return or destruction of proprietary
information disclosed under APO,
which continues to govern business
proprietary information in this segment
of the proceeding. Timely written
notification of the return or destruction
of APO materials, or conversion to
judicial protective order, is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the
regulations and terms of an APO is a
sanctionable violation.
These final results of this AR and
notice are published in accordance with
sections 751(a)(l) and 777(i)(l) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.213(h).
Dated: August 15, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2016–20009 Filed 8–19–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–570–036]
Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid
Products From the People’s Republic
of China: Affirmative Preliminary
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value, Affirmative Determination
of Critical Circumstances, in Part, and
Postponement of Final Determination
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(‘‘Department’’) preliminarily
determines that certain biaxial integral
geogrid products (‘‘geogrids’’) from the
People’s Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’) are
being, or are likely to be, sold in the
United States at less than fair value
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AGENCY:
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(‘‘LTFV’’). The period of investigation
(‘‘POI’’) is July 1, 2015, through
December 31, 2015. The estimated
weighted-average dumping margins are
shown in the ‘‘Preliminary
Determination’’ section of this notice.
Interested parties are invited to
comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES:
Effective August 22, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Pulongbarit or Julia Hancock,
AD/CVD Operations, Office V,
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202)
482–4031 or (202) 482–1394,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Department published the notice
of initiation of this investigation on
February 16, 2016.1 For a complete
description of the events that followed
the initiation of this investigation, see
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
which is dated concurrently with this
determination and hereby adopted by
this notice.2 A list of topics included in
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
is included as Appendix II to this
notice. The Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is a public document and
is on file electronically via Enforcement
and Compliance’s Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Centralized
Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
ACCESS is available to registered users
at https://access.trade.gov, and to all
parties in the Central Records Unit,
room B8024 of the main Department of
Commerce building. In addition, a
complete version of the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum can be found at
https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The
signed Preliminary Decision
Memorandum and the electronic
version of the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum are identical in content.
1 See Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products
From the People’s Republic of China: Initiation of
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 81 FR 7755
(February 16, 2016) (‘‘Initiation Notice’’).
2 See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Operations, to Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance ‘‘Decision Memorandum for the
Preliminary Determination in the Antidumping
Duty Investigation of Certain Biaxial Integral
Geogrid Products from the People’s Republic of
China,’’ dated concurrently with and hereby
adopted by this notice (‘‘Preliminary Decision
Memorandum’’).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this
investigation is geogrids from the PRC.
For a full description of the scope of this
investigation, see the ‘‘Scope of the
Investigation,’’ in Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to
the Department’s regulations,3 the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of
time for parties to raise issues regarding
product coverage (i.e., scope).4 Certain
interested parties commented on the
scope of the investigation as it appeared
in the Initiation Notice, as well as
additional language proposed by the
Department. For a summary of the
product coverage comments and
rebuttal responses submitted to the
record for this preliminary
determination, and accompanying
discussion and analysis of all comments
timely received, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.5 The
Department is preliminarily modifying
the scope language as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice to clarify the definition
of the term ‘‘molecular orientation’’ as it
relates to geogrids covered by the scope
of this investigation. See ‘‘Scope of the
Investigation,’’ in Appendix I, which
includes the additional clarifying
language.
Methodology
The Department is conducting this
investigation in accordance with section
731 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (‘‘the Act’’). We calculated
export prices in accordance with section
772(a) of the Act. Because the PRC is a
non-market economy within the
meaning of section 771(18) of the Act,
we calculated normal value (‘‘NV’’) in
accordance with section 773(c) of the
Act. For a full description of the
methodology underlying our
preliminary conclusions, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Affirmative Determination
of Critical Circumstances, in Part
On May 2, 2016, Petitioner timely
filed an amendment to the Petition,
pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.206(c)(2)(i), alleging
that critical circumstances exist with
respect to imports of the merchandise
under consideration.6 We preliminarily
3 See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
4 See Initiation Notice, 80 FR at 37229.
5 See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
6 See Letter from Petitioner, ‘‘Amendment to
Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and
Countervailing Duties: Biaxial Integral Geogrid
Products from the People’s Republic of China’’
(May 2, 2016) (‘‘CC Allegation’’).
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determine that critical circumstances
exist for Taian Modern 7 and the PRCwide entity. However, for BOSTD,8 we
preliminarily determine that critical
circumstances do not exist. For a full
description of the methodology and
results of our analysis, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
separate rate in this investigation. Policy
Bulletin 05.1 describes this practice.9
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice, the
Department stated that it would
calculate combination rates for the
respondents that are eligible for a
Preliminary Determination
The Department preliminarily
determines that the following weightedaverage dumping margins exist:
Weightedaverage
dumping margin
(percent)
Exporter
Producer
BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd .........................................
Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd ..................................................
PRC-Wide Entity .......................................................................
BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd .......................................
Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd ................................................
..................................................................................................
00.00
38.92
66.74
In accordance with section 733(d)(2)
of the Act, we will direct U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend
liquidation of all entries of geogrids
from the PRC as described in the scope
of the investigation section entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register except for those produced and
exported by BOSTD. Because the
estimated preliminary weighted-average
dumping margin for BOSTD is zero, we
are not directing CBP to suspend
liquidation of entries of the
merchandise it produced and exported.
Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides
that, given an affirmative determination
of critical circumstances, any
suspension of liquidation shall apply to
unliquidated entries of merchandise
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption on or after the later of
(a) the date which is 90 days before the
date on which the suspension of
liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the
date on which notice of initiation of the
investigation was published. We
preliminarily find that critical
circumstances exist for imports of
geogrids from the PRC produced or
exported by Taian Modern and the PRCwide entity. Accordingly, for Taian
Modern and the PRC-wide entity, in
accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of
the Act, the suspension of liquidation
shall apply to unliquidated entries of
merchandise entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or
after the date which is 90 days before
the publication of this notice.
Pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), the
Department will instruct CBP to require
a cash deposit 10 equal to the weightedaverage amount by which the NV
exceeds U.S. price as follows: (1) The
cash deposit rate for the exporter/
producer combination listed in the table
above will be the rate identified for that
combination in the table; (2) for all
combinations of PRC exporters/
producers of merchandise under
consideration that have not received
their own separate rate above, the cashdeposit rate will be the cash deposit rate
established for the PRC-wide entity,
66.74 percent; and (3) for all non-PRC
exporters of the merchandise under
consideration which have not received
their own separate rate above, the cashdeposit rate will be the cash deposit rate
applicable to the PRC exporter/producer
combination that supplied that non-PRC
exporter. These suspension of
liquidation instructions will remain in
effect until further notice.
We normally adjust antidumping duty
cash deposit rates by the amount of
export subsidies, where appropriate. In
the companion CVD investigation, we
preliminarily found that Taian Modern
did not receive export subsidies.
Therefore, no offset to Taian Modern’s
cash deposit rates for export subsidies is
necessary.11 With respect to BOSTD,
because it is receiving a zero margin,
there is no cash deposit rate for BOSTD
and therefore no need to make an offset
to its’ cash deposit rate.12 For the PRCwide entity, which received an adverse
facts available rate based on information
contained in the Petition, as an
extension of the adverse inference found
necessary pursuant to section 776(b) of
the Act, the Department has adjusted
the PRC-wide entity’s AD cash deposit
rate by the lowest export subsidy rate
determined for any party in the
companion CVD proceeding.13 Here,
that rate is zero and thus, no adjustment
is necessary for the PRC-wide rate.14 15
Pursuant to section 777A(f) of the Act,
we normally adjust preliminary cash
deposit rates for estimated domestic
subsidy pass-through, where
appropriate. However, in this case there
7 Taian Modem Plastic Co., Ltd. (‘‘Taian
Modern’’).
8 BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd. (‘‘BOSTD’’).
9 See Enforcement and Compliance’s Policy
Bulletin No. 05.1, regarding, ‘‘Separate-Rates
Practice and Application of Combination Rates in
Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market
Economy Countries,’’ (April 5, 2005) (Policy
Bulletin 05.1), available on the Department’s Web
site at https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.
pdf.
10 See Modification of Regulations Regarding the
Practice of Accepting Bonds During the Provisional
Measures Period in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042
(October 3, 2011).
11 See Countervailing Duty Investigation of
Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products From the
People’s Republic of China: Preliminary
Determination and Alignment of Final
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty
Determination, 81 FR 4292 (June 24, 2016) and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum
(‘‘Geogrids CVD Preliminary Determination’’)
(unchanged in Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid
Products From the People’s Republic of China:
Amended Preliminary Results of Countervailing
Duty Investigation, 81 FR 48384 (July 25, 2016)
(‘‘Geogrids Amended CVD Preliminary
Determination’’)).
12 See Aluminum Extrusions From the People’s
Republic of China: Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and
Rescission, in Part; 2013–2014, 80 FR 32347 (June
8, 2015) unchanged at Aluminum Extrusions From
the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2013–
2014, 80 FR 75060 (December 1, 2015).
13 See, e.g., Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light
Truck Tires From the People’s Republic of China:
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value; Preliminary Affirmative Determination
of Critical Circumstances; In Part and
Postponement of Final Determination, 80 FR 4250
(January 27, 2015), and accompanying Issues and
Decision Memorandum at 35.
14 Id.
15 See Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the
People’s Republic of China: Antidumping Duty
Investigation, 77 FR 60673 (October 4, 2012)
(‘‘unchanged in Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks form
the People’s Republic of China: Investigation, Final
Determination, 78 FR 13019 (February 26, 2013).
Because the lowest export subsidy rate determined
for any party in the companion CVD investigation,
which is 0.00 percent for Taian Modern, the
Department is not adjusting the cash deposit rate
applicable to the PRC-wide entity. See Geogrids
CVD Preliminary Determination at 31–2 (Foreign
Trade Promotion Fund section).
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 162 / Monday, August 22, 2016 / Notices
is no basis to grant a domestic subsidy
pass-through adjustment. See
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Disclosure and Public Comment
We intend to disclose the calculations
performed to interested parties in this
proceeding within five days of the date
of announcement of this preliminary
determination in accordance with 19
CFR 351.224(b). Interested parties may
submit case briefs, rebuttal briefs, and
hearing requests.16 For a schedule of the
deadlines for filing case briefs, rebuttal
briefs, and hearing requests, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum at
Section IX.
Postponement of Final Determination
and Extension of Provisional Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides
that a final determination may be
postponed until not later than 135 days
after the date of the publication of the
preliminary determination if, in the
event of an affirmative preliminary
determination, a request for such
postponement is made by exporters who
account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise, or in
the event of a negative preliminary
determination, a request for such
postponement is made by Petitioners. 19
CFR 351.210(e)(2) requires that requests
by respondents for postponement of a
final antidumping determination be
accompanied by a request for extension
of provisional measures from a fourmonth period to a period not more than
six months in duration.
On July 11, 2016, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.210(b) and (e), Taian Modern
requested that, contingent upon an
affirmative preliminary determination of
sales at LTFV, the Department postpone
the final determination and that
provisional measures be extended to a
period not to exceed six months.17
In accordance with section
735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because (1) our
preliminary determination is
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters
account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise; and
(3) no compelling reasons for denial
exist, we are postponing the final
determination and extending the
provisional measures from a four-month
period to a period not greater than six
months. Accordingly, we will make our
final determination no later than 120
days after the date of publication of this
16 See
19 CFR 351.309(c)–(d), 19 CFR 351.310(c).
Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from
Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd.,’’Certain Biaxial
Integral Geogrid Products from the People’s
Republic of China: Request to Extend Final
Determination’’ (July 11, 2016).
17 See
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preliminary determination, pursuant to
section 735(a)(2) of the Act.18
International Trade Commission (ITC)
Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of
the Act, we will notify the ITC of our
affirmative preliminary determination of
sales at LTFV. If our final determination
is affirmative, the ITC will determine
before the later of 120 days after the date
of this preliminary determination or 45
days after our final determination
whether these imports are materially
injuring, or threaten material injury to,
the U.S. industry.
This determination is issued and
published in accordance with sections
733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: August 16, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.
Appendix I—Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by the scope are
certain biaxial integral geogrid products.
Biaxial integral geogrid products are a
polymer grid or mesh material (whether or
not finished, slit, cut-to-length, attached to
woven or non-woven fabric or sheet material,
or packaged) in which four-sided openings in
the form of squares, rectangles, rhomboids,
diamonds, or other four-sided figures
predominate. The products covered have
integral strands that have been stretched to
induce molecular orientation into the
material (as evidenced by the strands being
thinner in width toward the middle between
the junctions than at the junctions
themselves) constituting the sides of the
openings and integral junctions where the
strands intersect. The scope includes
products in which four-sided figures
predominate whether or not they also contain
additional strands intersecting the four-sided
figures and whether or not the inside corners
of the four-sided figures are rounded off or
not sharp angles. As used herein, the term
‘‘integral’’ refers to strands and junctions that
are homogenous with each other. The
products covered have a tensile strength of
greater than 5 kilonewtons per meter
(‘‘kN/m’’) according to American Society for
Testing and Materials (‘‘ASTM’’) Standard
Test Method D6637/D6637M in any direction
and average overall flexural stiffness of more
than 100,000 milligram-centimeter according
to the ASTM D7748/D7748M Standard Test
Method for Flexural Rigidity of Geogrids,
Geotextiles and Related Products, or other
equivalent test method standards.
Subject merchandise includes material
matching the above description that has been
finished, packaged, or otherwise further
processed in a third country, including by
trimming, slitting, coating, cutting, punching
holes, stretching, attaching to woven or nonwoven fabric or sheet material, or any other
finishing, packaging, or other further
18 See
PO 00000
also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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Sfmt 4703
processing that would not otherwise remove
the merchandise from the scope of the
investigations if performed in the country of
manufacture of the biaxial integral geogrid.
The products subject to the scope are
currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (‘‘HTSUS’’)
under the following subheading:
3926.90.9995. Subject merchandise may also
enter under subheadings 3920.20.0050 and
3925.90.0000. The HTSUS subheadings set
forth above are provided for convenience and
U.S. Customs purposes only. The written
description of the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Postponement of Final Determination and
Extension of Provisional Measures
V. Scope Comments
VI. Selection of Respondents
VII. Preliminary Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part
VIII. Scope of the Investigation
IX. Discussion of the Methodology
a. Non-Market Economy Country
b. Surrogate Country and Surrogate Values
Comments
c. Separate Rates
d. Combination Rates
e. Affiliation
f. The PRC-wide Entity
g. Application of Facts Available and
Adverse Inferences
h. Date of Sale
i. Comparisons to Fair Value
X. Currency Conversion
XI. Export Subsidy Adjustment
XII. Adjustment Under Section 777a(f) of the
Act
XIII. Disclosure and Public Comment
XIV. Verification
XV. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2016–20024 Filed 8–19–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A–570–985]
Xanthan Gum From the People’s
Republic of China: Rescission of 2014–
2015 Antidumping Duty New Shipper
Review
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(‘‘Department’’) finds that the sale made
by Inner Mongolia Jianlong Biochemical
Co., Ltd. (‘‘IMJ’’) is a non-bona fide sale.
Therefore, we are rescinding this new
shipper review (‘‘NSR’’).
DATES: Effective August 22, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick O’Connor, AD/CVD Operations,
AGENCY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 162 (Monday, August 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56584-56586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20024]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-036]
Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products From the People's
Republic of China: Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part, and Postponement of Final Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') preliminarily
determines that certain biaxial integral geogrid products
(``geogrids'') from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') are being,
or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value
(``LTFV''). The period of investigation (``POI'') is July 1, 2015,
through December 31, 2015. The estimated weighted-average dumping
margins are shown in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section of this
notice. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Effective August 22, 2016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Pulongbarit or Julia Hancock,
AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4031 or (202) 482-1394, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Department published the notice of initiation of this
investigation on February 16, 2016.\1\ For a complete description of
the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum, which is dated concurrently with this
determination and hereby adopted by this notice.\2\ A list of topics
included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix
II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public
document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service
System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov, and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room
B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a
complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be found at
https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary Decision
Memorandum and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products From the
People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation, 81 FR 7755 (February 16, 2016) (``Initiation
Notice'').
\2\ See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to
Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance
``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid
Products from the People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently
with and hereby adopted by this notice (``Preliminary Decision
Memorandum'').
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is geogrids from the PRC.
For a full description of the scope of this investigation, see the
``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to the Department's regulations,\3\
the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\4\ Certain interested
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in
the Initiation Notice, as well as additional language proposed by the
Department. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal
responses submitted to the record for this preliminary determination,
and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely
received, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ The Department is
preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice to clarify the definition of the term ``molecular
orientation'' as it relates to geogrids covered by the scope of this
investigation. See ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I, which
includes the additional clarifying language.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296,
27323 (May 19, 1997).
\4\ See Initiation Notice, 80 FR at 37229.
\5\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Methodology
The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''). We
calculated export prices in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act.
Because the PRC is a non-market economy within the meaning of section
771(18) of the Act, we calculated normal value (``NV'') in accordance
with section 773(c) of the Act. For a full description of the
methodology underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in
Part
On May 2, 2016, Petitioner timely filed an amendment to the
Petition, pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.206(c)(2)(i), alleging that critical circumstances exist with
respect to imports of the merchandise under consideration.\6\ We
preliminarily
[[Page 56585]]
determine that critical circumstances exist for Taian Modern \7\ and
the PRC-wide entity. However, for BOSTD,\8\ we preliminarily determine
that critical circumstances do not exist. For a full description of the
methodology and results of our analysis, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
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\6\ See Letter from Petitioner, ``Amendment to Petition for the
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Biaxial
Integral Geogrid Products from the People's Republic of China'' (May
2, 2016) (``CC Allegation'').
\7\ Taian Modem Plastic Co., Ltd. (``Taian Modern'').
\8\ BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd. (``BOSTD'').
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Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that it would
calculate combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a
separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 05.1 describes
this practice.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1,
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on
the Department's Web site at https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination
The Department preliminarily determines that the following
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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Weighted- average dumping margin
Exporter Producer (percent)
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BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd.......... BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd.. 00.00
Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd............ Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd.... 38.92
PRC-Wide Entity.......................... ................................. 66.74
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Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, we will direct
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all
entries of geogrids from the PRC as described in the scope of the
investigation section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register except for those produced and exported by BOSTD.
Because the estimated preliminary weighted-average dumping margin for
BOSTD is zero, we are not directing CBP to suspend liquidation of
entries of the merchandise it produced and exported.
Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation
shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of (a)
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of
liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the date on which notice of
initiation of the investigation was published. We preliminarily find
that critical circumstances exist for imports of geogrids from the PRC
produced or exported by Taian Modern and the PRC-wide entity.
Accordingly, for Taian Modern and the PRC-wide entity, in accordance
with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation
shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is
90 days before the publication of this notice.
Pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d),
the Department will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit \10\ equal
to the weighted-average amount by which the NV exceeds U.S. price as
follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the exporter/producer
combination listed in the table above will be the rate identified for
that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of PRC
exporters/producers of merchandise under consideration that have not
received their own separate rate above, the cash-deposit rate will be
the cash deposit rate established for the PRC-wide entity, 66.74
percent; and (3) for all non-PRC exporters of the merchandise under
consideration which have not received their own separate rate above,
the cash-deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate applicable to the
PRC exporter/producer combination that supplied that non-PRC exporter.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
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\10\ See Modification of Regulations Regarding the Practice of
Accepting Bonds During the Provisional Measures Period in
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042
(October 3, 2011).
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We normally adjust antidumping duty cash deposit rates by the
amount of export subsidies, where appropriate. In the companion CVD
investigation, we preliminarily found that Taian Modern did not receive
export subsidies. Therefore, no offset to Taian Modern's cash deposit
rates for export subsidies is necessary.\11\ With respect to BOSTD,
because it is receiving a zero margin, there is no cash deposit rate
for BOSTD and therefore no need to make an offset to its' cash deposit
rate.\12\ For the PRC-wide entity, which received an adverse facts
available rate based on information contained in the Petition, as an
extension of the adverse inference found necessary pursuant to section
776(b) of the Act, the Department has adjusted the PRC-wide entity's AD
cash deposit rate by the lowest export subsidy rate determined for any
party in the companion CVD proceeding.\13\ Here, that rate is zero and
thus, no adjustment is necessary for the PRC-wide rate.14 15
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\11\ See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Biaxial
Integral Geogrid Products From the People's Republic of China:
Preliminary Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With
Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 81 FR 4292 (June 24, 2016) and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (``Geogrids CVD
Preliminary Determination'') (unchanged in Certain Biaxial Integral
Geogrid Products From the People's Republic of China: Amended
Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 81 FR
48384 (July 25, 2016) (``Geogrids Amended CVD Preliminary
Determination'')).
\12\ See Aluminum Extrusions From the People's Republic of
China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
and Rescission, in Part; 2013-2014, 80 FR 32347 (June 8, 2015)
unchanged at Aluminum Extrusions From the People's Republic of
China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review;
2013-2014, 80 FR 75060 (December 1, 2015).
\13\ See, e.g., Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires
From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Preliminary Affirmative Determination
of Critical Circumstances; In Part and Postponement of Final
Determination, 80 FR 4250 (January 27, 2015), and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum at 35.
\14\ Id.
\15\ See Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People's Republic
of China: Antidumping Duty Investigation, 77 FR 60673 (October 4,
2012) (``unchanged in Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks form the People's
Republic of China: Investigation, Final Determination, 78 FR 13019
(February 26, 2013). Because the lowest export subsidy rate
determined for any party in the companion CVD investigation, which
is 0.00 percent for Taian Modern, the Department is not adjusting
the cash deposit rate applicable to the PRC-wide entity. See
Geogrids CVD Preliminary Determination at 31-2 (Foreign Trade
Promotion Fund section).
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Pursuant to section 777A(f) of the Act, we normally adjust
preliminary cash deposit rates for estimated domestic subsidy pass-
through, where appropriate. However, in this case there
[[Page 56586]]
is no basis to grant a domestic subsidy pass-through adjustment. See
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Disclosure and Public Comment
We intend to disclose the calculations performed to interested
parties in this proceeding within five days of the date of announcement
of this preliminary determination in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Interested parties may submit case briefs, rebuttal briefs, and hearing
requests.\16\ For a schedule of the deadlines for filing case briefs,
rebuttal briefs, and hearing requests, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum at Section IX.
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\16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)-(d), 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by
Petitioners. 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2) requires that requests by respondents
for postponement of a final antidumping determination be accompanied by
a request for extension of provisional measures from a four-month
period to a period not more than six months in duration.
On July 11, 2016, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(b) and (e), Taian
Modern requested that, contingent upon an affirmative preliminary
determination of sales at LTFV, the Department postpone the final
determination and that provisional measures be extended to a period not
to exceed six months.\17\
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\17\ See Letter to the Secretary of Commerce from Taian Modern
Plastic Co., Ltd.,''Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from
the People's Republic of China: Request to Extend Final
Determination'' (July 11, 2016).
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In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because (1) our preliminary determination is
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for a significant
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling
reasons for denial exist, we are postponing the final determination and
extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period
not greater than six months. Accordingly, we will make our final
determination no later than 120 days after the date of publication of
this preliminary determination, pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the
Act.\18\
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\18\ See also 19 CFR 351.210(e).
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International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we will notify the
ITC of our affirmative preliminary determination of sales at LTFV. If
our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before
the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination
or 45 days after our final determination whether these imports are
materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: August 16, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by the scope are certain biaxial integral
geogrid products. Biaxial integral geogrid products are a polymer
grid or mesh material (whether or not finished, slit, cut-to-length,
attached to woven or non-woven fabric or sheet material, or
packaged) in which four-sided openings in the form of squares,
rectangles, rhomboids, diamonds, or other four-sided figures
predominate. The products covered have integral strands that have
been stretched to induce molecular orientation into the material (as
evidenced by the strands being thinner in width toward the middle
between the junctions than at the junctions themselves) constituting
the sides of the openings and integral junctions where the strands
intersect. The scope includes products in which four-sided figures
predominate whether or not they also contain additional strands
intersecting the four-sided figures and whether or not the inside
corners of the four-sided figures are rounded off or not sharp
angles. As used herein, the term ``integral'' refers to strands and
junctions that are homogenous with each other. The products covered
have a tensile strength of greater than 5 kilonewtons per meter
(``kN/m'') according to American Society for Testing and Materials
(``ASTM'') Standard Test Method D6637/D6637M in any direction and
average overall flexural stiffness of more than 100,000 milligram-
centimeter according to the ASTM D7748/D7748M Standard Test Method
for Flexural Rigidity of Geogrids, Geotextiles and Related Products,
or other equivalent test method standards.
Subject merchandise includes material matching the above
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise further
processed in a third country, including by trimming, slitting,
coating, cutting, punching holes, stretching, attaching to woven or
non-woven fabric or sheet material, or any other finishing,
packaging, or other further processing that would not otherwise
remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigations if
performed in the country of manufacture of the biaxial integral
geogrid.
The products subject to the scope are currently classified in
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'')
under the following subheading: 3926.90.9995. Subject merchandise
may also enter under subheadings 3920.20.0050 and 3925.90.0000. The
HTSUS subheadings set forth above are provided for convenience and
U.S. Customs purposes only. The written description of the scope is
dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
V. Scope Comments
VI. Selection of Respondents
VII. Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part
VIII. Scope of the Investigation
IX. Discussion of the Methodology
a. Non-Market Economy Country
b. Surrogate Country and Surrogate Values Comments
c. Separate Rates
d. Combination Rates
e. Affiliation
f. The PRC-wide Entity
g. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences
h. Date of Sale
i. Comparisons to Fair Value
X. Currency Conversion
XI. Export Subsidy Adjustment
XII. Adjustment Under Section 777a(f) of the Act
XIII. Disclosure and Public Comment
XIV. Verification
XV. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2016-20024 Filed 8-19-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
