Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 78778-78789 [2016-27004]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 217 (Wednesday, November 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78778-78789]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-27004]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Reviews

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has received 
requests to conduct administrative reviews of various antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders and findings with September anniversary 
dates. In accordance with the Department's regulations, we are 
initiating those administrative reviews.

DATES: Effective November 9, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brenda E. Waters, Office of AD/CVD 
Operations, Customs Liaison Unit, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, telephone: 
(202) 482-4735.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Department has received timely requests, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.213(b), for administrative reviews of various antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders and findings with September anniversary 
dates.
    All deadlines for the submission of various types of information, 
certifications, or comments or actions by the Department discussed 
below refer to the number of calendar days from the applicable starting 
time.

[[Page 78779]]

Notice of No Sales

    If a producer or exporter named in this notice of initiation had no 
exports, sales, or entries during the period of review (``POR''), it 
must notify the Department within 30 days of publication of this notice 
in the Federal Register. All submissions must be filed electronically 
at https://access.trade.gov in accordance with 19 CFR 351.303.\1\ Such 
submissions are subject to verification in accordance with section 
782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''). Further, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.303(f)(1)(i), a copy must be served on every 
party on the Department's service list.
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    \1\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011).
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Respondent Selection

    In the event the Department limits the number of respondents for 
individual examination for administrative reviews initiated pursuant to 
requests made for the orders identified below, the Department intends 
to select respondents based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(``CBP'') data for U.S. imports during the period of review. We intend 
to place the CBP data on the record within five days of publication of 
the initiation notice and to make our decision regarding respondent 
selection within 30 days of publication of the initiation Federal 
Register notice. Comments regarding the CBP data and respondent 
selection should be submitted seven days after the placement of the CBP 
data on the record of this review. Parties wishing to submit rebuttal 
comments should submit those comments five days after the deadline for 
the initial comments.
    In the event the Department decides it is necessary to limit 
individual examination of respondents and conduct respondent selection 
under section 777A(c)(2) of the Act:
    In general, the Department has found that determinations concerning 
whether particular companies should be ``collapsed'' (i.e., treated as 
a single entity for purposes of calculating antidumping duty rates) 
require a substantial amount of detailed information and analysis, 
which often require follow-up questions and analysis. Accordingly, the 
Department will not conduct collapsing analyses at the respondent 
selection phase of this review and will not collapse companies at the 
respondent selection phase unless there has been a determination to 
collapse certain companies in a previous segment of this antidumping 
proceeding (i.e., investigation, administrative review, new shipper 
review or changed circumstances review). For any company subject to 
this review, if the Department determined, or continued to treat, that 
company as collapsed with others, the Department will assume that such 
companies continue to operate in the same manner and will collapse them 
for respondent selection purposes. Otherwise, the Department will not 
collapse companies for purposes of respondent selection. Parties are 
requested to (a) identify which companies subject to review previously 
were collapsed, and (b) provide a citation to the proceeding in which 
they were collapsed. Further, if companies are requested to complete 
the Quantity and Value (``Q&V'') Questionnaire for purposes of 
respondent selection, in general each company must report volume and 
value data separately for itself. Parties should not include data for 
any other party, even if they believe they should be treated as a 
single entity with that other party. If a company was collapsed with 
another company or companies in the most recently completed segment of 
this proceeding where the Department considered collapsing that entity, 
complete Q&V data for that collapsed entity must be submitted.

Deadline for Withdrawal of Request for Administrative Review

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), a party that has requested a 
review may withdraw that request within 90 days of the date of 
publication of the notice of initiation of the requested review. The 
regulation provides that the Department may extend this time if it is 
reasonable to do so. In order to provide parties additional certainty 
with respect to when the Department will exercise its discretion to 
extend this 90-day deadline, interested parties are advised that the 
Department does not intend to extend the 90-day deadline unless the 
requestor demonstrates that an extraordinary circumstance has prevented 
it from submitting a timely withdrawal request. Determinations by the 
Department to extend the 90-day deadline will be made on a case-by-case 
basis.

Separate Rates

    In proceedings involving non-market economy (``NME'') countries, 
the Department begins with a rebuttable presumption that all companies 
within the country are subject to government control and, thus, should 
be assigned a single antidumping duty deposit rate. It is the 
Department's policy to assign all exporters of merchandise subject to 
an administrative review in an NME country this single rate unless an 
exporter can demonstrate that it is sufficiently independent so as to 
be entitled to a separate rate.
    To establish whether a firm is sufficiently independent from 
government control of its export activities to be entitled to a 
separate rate, the Department analyzes each entity exporting the 
subject merchandise under a test arising from the Final Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers from the People's Republic 
of China, 56 FR 20588 (May 6, 1991), as amplified by Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from 
the People's Republic of China, 59 FR 22585 (May 2, 1994). In 
accordance with the separate rates criteria, the Department assigns 
separate rates to companies in NME cases only if respondents can 
demonstrate the absence of both de jure and de facto government control 
over export activities.
    All firms listed below that wish to qualify for separate rate 
status in the administrative reviews involving NME countries must 
complete, as appropriate, either a separate rate application or 
certification, as described below. For these administrative reviews, in 
order to demonstrate separate rate eligibility, the Department requires 
entities for whom a review was requested, that were assigned a separate 
rate in the most recent segment of this proceeding in which they 
participated, to certify that they continue to meet the criteria for 
obtaining a separate rate. The Separate Rate Certification form will be 
available on the Department's Web site at https://enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-rate.html on the date of publication of this Federal 
Register notice. In responding to the certification, please follow the 
``Instructions for Filing the Certification'' in the Separate Rate 
Certification. Separate Rate Certifications are due to the Department 
no later than 30 calendar days after publication of this Federal 
Register notice. The deadline and requirement for submitting a 
Certification applies equally to NME-owned firms, wholly foreign-owned 
firms, and foreign sellers who purchase and export subject merchandise 
to the United States.
    Entities that currently do not have a separate rate from a 
completed segment of the proceeding \2\ should timely file a

[[Page 78780]]

Separate Rate Application to demonstrate eligibility for a separate 
rate in this proceeding. In addition, companies that received a 
separate rate in a completed segment of the proceeding that have 
subsequently made changes, including, but not limited to, changes to 
corporate structure, acquisitions of new companies or facilities, or 
changes to their official company name,\3\ should timely file a 
Separate Rate Application to demonstrate eligibility for a separate 
rate in this proceeding. The Separate Rate Status Application will be 
available on the Department's Web site at https://enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-rate.html on the date of publication of this Federal 
Register notice. In responding to the Separate Rate Status Application, 
refer to the instructions contained in the application. Separate Rate 
Status Applications are due to the Department no later than 30 calendar 
days of publication of this Federal Register notice. The deadline and 
requirement for submitting a Separate Rate Status Application applies 
equally to NME-owned firms, wholly foreign-owned firms, and foreign 
sellers that purchase and export subject merchandise to the United 
States.
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    \2\ Such entities include entities that have not participated in 
the proceeding, entities that were preliminarily granted a separate 
rate in any currently incomplete segment of the proceeding (e.g., an 
ongoing administrative review, new shipper review, etc.) and 
entities that lost their separate rate in the most recently 
completed segment of the proceeding in which they participated.
    \3\ Only changes to the official company name, rather than trade 
names, need to be addressed via a Separate Rate Application. 
Information regarding new trade names may be submitted via a 
Separate Rate Certification.
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    For exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate status 
application or certification and subsequently are selected as mandatory 
respondents, these exporters and producers will no longer be eligible 
for separate rate status unless they respond to all parts of the 
questionnaire as mandatory respondents.

Initiation of Reviews

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), we are initiating 
administrative reviews of the following antidumping and countervailing 
duty orders and findings. We intend to issue the final results of these 
reviews not later than September 30, 2017.
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Duty Absorption Reviews

    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 19 CFR 351.211 or a 
determination under 19 CFR 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. 
2002), 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.

Gap Period Liquidation

    For the first administrative review of any order, there will be no 
assessment of antidumping or countervailing duties on entries of 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption during the relevant provisional-measures ``gap'' period, of 
the order, if such a gap period is applicable to the POR.

Administrative Protective Orders and Letters of Appearance

    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
administrative protective orders in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On 
January 22, 2008, the Department published Antidumping and

[[Page 78789]]

Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Documents Submission Procedures; APO 
Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January 22, 2008). Those procedures apply to 
administrative reviews included in this notice of initiation. Parties 
wishing to participate in any of these administrative reviews should 
ensure that they meet the requirements of these procedures (e.g., the 
filing of separate letters of appearance as discussed at 19 CFR 
351.103(d)).

Revised Factual Information Requirements

    On April 10, 2013, the Department published Definition of Factual 
Information and Time Limits for Submission of Factual Information: 
Final Rule, 78 FR 21246 (April 10, 2013), which modified two 
regulations related to antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings: 
The definition of factual information (19 CFR 351.102(b)(21)), and the 
time limits for the submission of factual information (19 CFR 351.301). 
The final rule identifies five categories of factual information in 19 
CFR 351.102(b)(21), which are summarized as follows: (i) Evidence 
submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence submitted in 
support of allegations; (iii) publicly available information to value 
factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the adequacy of 
remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence placed on the 
record by the Department; and (v) evidence other than factual 
information described in (i)-(iv). The final rule requires any party, 
when submitting factual information, to specify under which subsection 
of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information is being submitted and, if the 
information is submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct factual 
information already on the record, to provide an explanation 
identifying the information already on the record that the factual 
information seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct. The final rule also 
modified 19 CFR 351.301 so that, rather than providing general time 
limits, there are specific time limits based on the type of factual 
information being submitted. These modifications are effective for all 
segments initiated on or after May 10, 2013. Please review the final 
rule, available at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/2013/1304frn/2013-08227.txt, prior to submitting factual information in this segment.
    Any party submitting factual information in an antidumping duty or 
countervailing duty proceeding must certify to the accuracy and 
completeness of that information.\10\ Parties are hereby reminded that 
revised certification requirements are in effect for company/government 
officials as well as their representatives. All segments of any 
antidumping duty or countervailing duty proceedings initiated on or 
after August 16, 2013, should use the formats for the revised 
certifications provided at the end of the Final Rule.\11\ The 
Department intends to reject factual submissions in any proceeding 
segments if the submitting party does not comply with applicable 
revised certification requirements.
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    \10\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \11\ See Certification of Factual Information To Import 
Administration During Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (``Final Rule''); see also 
the frequently asked questions regarding the Final Rule, available 
at https://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.
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Revised Extension of Time Limits Regulation

    On September 20, 2013, the Department modified its regulation 
concerning the extension of time limits for submissions in antidumping 
and countervailing duty proceedings: Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 
20, 2013). The modification clarifies that parties may request an 
extension of time limits before a time limit established under Part 351 
expires, or as otherwise specified by the Secretary. In general, an 
extension request will be considered untimely if it is filed after the 
time limit established under Part 351 expires. For submissions which 
are due from multiple parties simultaneously, an extension request will 
be considered untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. on the due date. 
Examples include, but are not limited to: (1) Case and rebuttal briefs, 
filed pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309; (2) factual information to value 
factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c), or to measure the adequacy of 
remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2), filed pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.301(c)(3) and rebuttal, clarification and correction filed pursuant 
to 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(iv); (3) comments concerning the selection of a 
surrogate country and surrogate values and rebuttal; (4) comments 
concerning U.S. Customs and Border Protection data; and (5) quantity 
and value questionnaires. Under certain circumstances, the Department 
may elect to specify a different time limit by which extension requests 
will be considered untimely for submissions which are due from multiple 
parties simultaneously. In such a case, the Department will inform 
parties in the letter or memorandum setting forth the deadline 
(including a specified time) by which extension requests must be filed 
to be considered timely. This modification also requires that an 
extension request must be made in a separate, stand-alone submission, 
and clarifies the circumstances under which the Department will grant 
untimely-filed requests for the extension of time limits. These 
modifications are effective for all segments initiated on or after 
October 21, 2013. Please review the final rule, available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm, prior to 
submitting factual information in these segments.
    These initiations and this notice are in accordance with section 
751(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1675(a)) and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i).

    Dated: November 2, 2016.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2016-27004 Filed 11-8-16; 8:45 am]
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