Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products From the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 3284-3287 [2017-00428]
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 7 / Wednesday, January 11, 2017 / Notices
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
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
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V. Application of the Countervailing Duty
Law to Imports From the PRC
VI. Subsidy Valuation
VII. Benchmarks and Discount Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
Adverse Inferences
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Analysis of Comments
Comment 1: Whether the Export Buyer’s
Credit Program Was Used by
Respondents
Comment 2: Policy Loans for Geogrids
Industry
Comment 3: Whether the Provision of
Polypropylene for LTAR Is Specific
Comment 4: Whether To Attribute
Polypropylene LTAR Benefits to Only
Polypropylene Products
Comment 5: Whether To Use a Different
Polypropylene Benchmark
Comment 6: Whether To Remove Certain
Freight Expenses From the
Polypropylene Benchmark
Comment 7: Whether To Exclude NonProduction Related Income From the
Denominator
Comment 8: Whether To Exclude Negative
Offsets in the Benefit Calculation for
Electricity
Comment 9: Whether To Apply AFA to
BOSTD’s Electricity
Comment 10: Whether To Include Certain
Loans in the Subsidy Calculations
Comment 11: Whether To Include Certain
Electricity Funds
Comment 12: Whether the Department’s
Finding of Critical Circumstance for
BOSTD Is Contrary to Law
Comment 13: Land-Use Rights for LTAR,
Plant and Equipment for LTAR, and
Installment Plans for Land-Use Rights
XI. Recommendation
AGENCY:
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
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[FR Doc. 2017–00429 Filed 1–10–17; 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: Final Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Department) determines that certain
biaxial integral geogrid products
(geogrids) are being, or are likely to be,
sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV), as provided in section
735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act). The final weightedaverage dumping margins for the
investigation on geogrids from the PRC
are listed in the ‘‘Final Determination
Margins’’ section of this notice.
DATES: Effective January 11, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia
Hancock or Susan Pulongbarit, AD/CVD
Operations, Office V, Enforcement and
Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
(202) 482–1394 or (202) 482–4031,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 22, 2016, the Department
published its Preliminary
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Determination.1 We invited interested
parties to comment on our Preliminary
Determination of sales at LTFV. For a
list of the parties that filed case and
rebuttal briefs, see the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.2
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (POI) is
July 1, 2015, through December 31,
2015. This period corresponds to the
two most recent fiscal quarters prior to
the month of the filing of the petition,
which was January 2016.3
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this
investigation are geogrids from the
People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Subject geogrids enter the United States
through Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS) statistical
subheading 3926.90.9995, but may also
enter through HTSUS subheadings
3920.20.0050 and 3925.90.0000. While
HTSUS subheadings are provided for
convenience and Customs purposes, the
written description of the scope of this
investigation is dispositive.
No interested party commented on the
scope of this investigation. For a
complete description of the scope of the
investigation, see Appendix I to this
notice.
Analysis of Comments Received
We addressed all issues raised by
parties in case and rebuttal briefs in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum.4
Appendix II to this notice includes a list
of the issues which the parties raised
and to which the Department responded
in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum. The Issues and 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. The Issues
and Decision Memorandum is available
1 See 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, 81 FR 56584 (August 22, 2015)
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
2 See Memorandum from Gary Taverman,
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations,
to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, ‘‘Issues and Decision
Memorandum for the Final Determination of the
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Biaxial
Integral Geogrid Products from the People’s
Republic of China,’’ dated concurrently with this
notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
3 See 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1).
4 See Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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to all parties in the Central Records
Unit, room B8024 of the main
Department of Commerce building. In
addition, a complete version of the
Issues and Decision Memorandum is
available at https://
enforcement.trade.gov/frn/.
The signed and electronic versions of
the Issues and Decision Memorandum
are identical in content.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i) of the
Act, in September 2016, the Department
conducted verification of the
information submitted by BOSTD
Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd. (BOSTD)
and Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd.
(Taian Modern) for use in the final
determination. We issued our
verification reports on November 4,
2016, and November 14, 2016.5 The
Department used standard verification
procedures, including examination of
relevant accounting and production
records and original source documents
provided by respondents.6
Changes Since the Preliminary
Determination
Based on the Department’s analysis of
the comments received and our findings
at verification, we find that BOSTD and
Taian Modern failed to cooperate by not
acting to the best of their ability in this
proceeding and, pursuant to section
776(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.308(a),
we based BOSTD’s and Taian Modern’s
respective dumping margins on total
adverse facts available (AFA). For
further discussion, see the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice,7 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.8 In
5 See the Department’s two memoranda regarding:
‘‘Verification of the Sales and Factors Response of
Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd. (Taian Modern) in
the Antidumping Duty Less Than Fair Value
Investigation of Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid
Products from the People’s Republic of China,’’
dated November 4, 2016 (Taian Modern Verification
Report); and ‘‘Verification of the Sales and Factors
Responses of BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd.
(BOSTD) in the Antidumping Investigation of
Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the
People’s Republic of China,’’ dated November 15,
2016 (BOSTD Verification Report).
5 Id.
6 Id.
7 See Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products
from the People’s Republic of China: Initiation of
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 81 FR 7755,
7756 (February 16, 2016) (Initiation Notice).
8 See Enforcement and Compliance’s Policy
Bulletin No. 05.1, regarding, ‘‘Separate-Rates
Practice and Application of Combination Rates in
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20:24 Jan 10, 2017
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this case, because neither respondent
qualified for a separate rate,
combination rates were not calculated.
Final Affirmative Determination of
Critical Circumstances, in Part
For the Preliminary Determination,
the Department found that critical
circumstances existed with respect to
imports of geogrids from the PRC
produced or exported by Taian Modern
and the PRC-wide entity, but not with
respect to imports of geogrids from
BOSTD.9 We are not modifying our final
critical circumstances finding for the
PRC-wide entity (which now includes
Taian Modern and BOSTD). Thus,
pursuant to section 735(a)(3) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.206, we find that
critical circumstances exist with respect
to all exports of subject merchandise in
this investigation. For further
discussion, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comments 1, 9 and 13.
fully cooperated.11 Specifically, it is the
Department’s practice to select, as an
AFA rate, the higher of: (a) The highest
dumping margin alleged in the petition;
or, (b) the highest calculated dumping
margin of any respondent in the
investigation.12 There are no calculated
margins for any respondents in this
investigation. Therefore, as AFA, the
Department has assigned to the PRCwide entity the rate of 372.81 percent,
which is the highest dumping margin
alleged in the petition. The dumping
margin for the PRC-wide entity applies
to all entries of the merchandise under
investigation.13
Final Determination
The Department determines that the
estimated final weighted-average
dumping margins are as follows:
Exporter
Producer
Weightedaverage
margin
(percent)
PRC-Wide Entity 14
................
372.81
PRC-Wide Entity
In this final determination, as
discussed above, we are applying a rate
based entirely on adverse facts available
to the PRC-wide entity (which now
includes the two mandatory
respondents). Additionally, as
explained in the Preliminary
Determination, the Department did not
receive timely responses to its Q&V
questionnaire or separate rate
applications from the PRC exporters
and/or producers of subject
merchandise that were named in the
petition and to which the Department
issued Q&V questionnaires.10 As these
non-responsive PRC companies did not
demonstrate that they are eligible for
separate rate status, the Department
continues to consider them to be part of
the PRC-wide entity.
PRC-Wide Rate
For the final determination, we
assigned as the AFA rate for the PRCwide entity the highest dumping margin
from the petition, i.e., 372.81 percent. In
selecting this AFA rate for the PRC-wide
entity, the Department’s practice is to
select a rate that is sufficiently adverse
to ensure that the uncooperative party
does not obtain a more favorable result
by failing to cooperate than if it had
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/bull051.pdf.
9 See Preliminary Determination, and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum
at 7–10.
10 See Preliminary Determination, and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum
at 16–17 (Separate Rate).
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14 As
discussed above, the PRC-wide entity
includes BOSTD and Taian Modern.
Disclosure
Because our final determination is
based entirely on AFA, there are no
calculations to disclose.
Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation
In accordance with section
735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend
liquidation of all appropriate entries of
geogrids from the PRC as described in
the ‘‘Scope of the Investigation’’ section,
which were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after
August 22, 2016, the date of publication
in the Federal Register of the
Preliminary Determination. For entries
made by Taian Modern and the PRCwide entity, in accordance with section
735(c)(4)(A) of the Act, because we
11 See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement
of Final Determination: Purified
Carboxymethylcellulose from Finland, 69 FR 77216
(December 27, 2004), unchanged in Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Purified Carboxymethylcellulose from Finland, 70
FR 28279 (May 17, 2005).
12 See, e.g., Certain Stilbenic Optical Brightening
Agents from the People’s Republic of China: Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 77
FR 17436, 17438 (March 26, 2012); Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Certain Cold-Rolled Flat-Rolled Carbon Quality
Steel Products from the People’s Republic of China,
65 FR 34660 (May 31, 2000), and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum.
13 For a detailed discussion, see Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
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continue to find that critical
circumstances exist, we will instruct
CBP to continue to suspend liquidation
of all appropriate entries of geogrids
from the PRC which were entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after May 24, 2016,
which is 90 days prior to the date of
publication in the Federal Register of
the Preliminary Determination.
Provisional measures were not imposed
retrospectively for BOSTD because of
the Department’s preliminary negative
critical circumstances determination
with respect to it. However, the final
affirmative critical circumstances
determination now applies to BOSTD as
it is now being treated as part of the
PRC-wide entity. Accordingly, pursuant
to section 735(c)(4)(C) of the Act, the
Department will instruct CBP to
suspend liquidation of all entries of
geogrids from the PRC from BOSTD,
which were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after
90-days prior to the date of publication
of this final determination in the
Federal Register.
Further, pursuant to section
735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, the
Department will instruct CBP to require
a cash deposit 15 equal to the amount by
which the normal value exceeds U.S.
price, adjusted where appropriate for
export subsidies and estimated domestic
subsidy pass-through. For all
combinations of PRC exporters/
producers of merchandise under
consideration, the cash deposit rate will
be equal to the dumping margin
established for the PRC-wide entity.
As we stated in the Preliminary
Determination, consistent with our
practice, where the product under
investigation is also subject to a
concurrent countervailing duty
investigation, we instruct CBP to require
a cash deposit equal to the amount by
which the normal value exceeds the
export price or constructed export price,
less the amount of the countervailing
duty determined to constitute an export
subsidy.16 In this LTFV investigation,
for the PRC-wide entity, which received
an AFA rate, 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.17 Here,
15 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).
16 See Preliminary Determination, 81 FR at
56585–6.
17 See, e.g., Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light
Truck Tires from the People’s Republic of China:
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that rate is zero and, thus, no
adjustment is necessary for the PRCwide rate.18 Furthermore, the
Department did not adjust the final
determination AD cash deposit rates for
estimated domestic subsidy passthrough because respondents provided
no reliable, accurate information to
support an adjustment, pursuant to
section 777A(f) of the Act.19
International Trade Commission
Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of
the Act, we notified the International
Trade Commission (ITC) of the final
affirmative determination of sales at
LTFV. As the Department’s final
determination is affirmative, in
accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the
Act, the ITC will determine, within 45
days, whether the domestic industry in
the United States is materially injured,
or threatened with material injury, by
reason of imports of geogrids for sale
from the PRC, or sales (or the likelihood
of sales) for importation, of geogrids
from the PRC. If the ITC determines that
such injury does not exist, this
proceeding will be terminated and all
securities posted will be refunded or
canceled. If the ITC determines that
such injury does exist, the Department
will issue an antidumping duty order
directing CBP to assess, upon further
instruction by the Department,
antidumping duties on all imports of the
subject merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the effective
date of the suspension of liquidation.
Return or Destruction of Proprietary
Information
This notice also serves as a reminder
to the parties subject to administrative
protective order (APO) of their
responsibility concerning the
disposition of propriety information
disclosed under APO in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely written
notification of return or destruction of
APO materials or conversion to judicial
protective order is hereby requested.
Failure to comply with the regulations
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.
18 See Countervailing Duty Investigation of
Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the
People’s Republic of China: Final Affirmative
Determination and Final Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part, dated concurrently with this
notice.
19 See Issues and Decision Memorandum at
Comments 1 and 9 for further discussion of our
findings to apply total AFA to BOSTD and Taian
Modern.
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and terms of an APO is a sanctionable
violation.
This determination is issued and
published in accordance with sections
735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: January 4, 2017.
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
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—Issues and Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
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II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Changes Since the Preliminary
Determination
VI. Application of Adverse Facts Available
VII. Affirmative Finding of Critical
Circumstances
VIII. List of Comments
IX. Discussion of the Issues
Company-Specific Issues
BOSTD
Comment 1: Application of Total Adverse
Facts Available (AFA) to BOSTD
Comment 2: Moot Arguments for BOSTD
Taian Modern
Comment 3: Application of Total AFA to
Taian Modern
Comment 4: Moot Arguments for Taian
Modern
General Issues
Comment 5: Selection of AFA Rate to PRCWide Entity
Comment 6: Critical Circumstances
Comment 7: Moot Arguments for General
Issues
[FR Doc. 2017–00428 Filed 1–10–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
RIN 0648–XF130
Endangered and Threatened Species;
Take of Anadromous Fish
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Application for one
enhancement permit renewal.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given that
NMFS has received, from the United
States Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation), a permit application
(16608–2R) to enhance the propagation
and survival of species listed under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973,
as amended. Under permit application
16608–2R, Reclamation is requesting
renewal of permit 16608, for a five year
period, to continue implementation of
the San Joaquin River Restoration
Program (SJRRP) Steelhead Monitoring
Program. The permit application may be
viewed online at: https://
apps.nmfs.noaa.gov/preview/preview_
open_for_comment.cfm.
DATES: Comments or requests for a
public hearing on the applications must
be received at the appropriate address or
fax number (see ADDRESSES) no later
than 5 p.m. Pacific standard time on
February 10, 2017.
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SUMMARY:
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Written comments on the
application should be submitted to the
California Central Valley Office, NMFS,
650 Capitol Mall, Suite 5–100,
Sacramento, CA 95814. Comments may
also be submitted via fax to 916–930–
3629 or by email to Jeff.Abrams@
noaa.gov (include the permit number in
the subject line of the fax or email).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff
Abrams, Sacramento, CA (ph.: 916–930–
3714, Fax: 916–930–3629, email:
Jeff.Abrams@noaa.gov). Permit
application instructions are available
from the address above, or online at
https://apps.nmfs.noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ADDRESSES:
Species Covered in This Notice
The following listed species are
covered in this notice:
Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus
tshawytscha): Threatened Central Valley
(CV) spring-run;
Steelhead (O. mykiss): Threatened
California Central Valley (CCV).
Authority
Enhancement permits are issued in
accordance with Section 10(a)(1)(A) of
the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531 et. seq) and
regulations governing listed fish and
wildlife permits (50 CFR parts 222–227).
NMFS issues permits based on findings
that such permits: (1) Are applied for in
good faith; (2) if granted and exercised,
would not operate to the disadvantage
of the listed species that are the subject
of the permit; and (3) are consistent
with the purposes and policy of Section
2 of the ESA. The authority to take
listed species is subject to conditions set
forth in the permits.
Anyone requesting a hearing on an
application listed in this notice should
set out the specific reasons why a
hearing on that application would be
appropriate (see ADDRESSES). Such
hearings are held at the discretion of the
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries,
NMFS.
Permit Application(s) Received
Permit 16608–2R
Reclamation has applied for an
enhancement permit under Section
10(a)(1)(A) of the ESA for a period of 5
years that would allow take of adult
CCV steelhead, and adult CV spring-run
Chinook salmon. Actions taken
pursuant to the application are designed
to monitor for the presence of CCV
steelhead that may be attracted into the
SJRRP Restoration Area (Restoration
Area), and to relocate those captured
fish to locations with better access to
suitable spawning habitat. Prior to the
completion of ongoing SJRRP efforts to
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3287
improve fish passage, fish that are
attracted into the Restoration Area will
not have access to spawning habitat
upstream. The proposed activities are
intended to benefit listed species by
relocating captured steelhead back to
areas where they have access to
spawning habitat in the Merced River or
other San Joaquin River tributaries. The
proposed monitoring would further
benefit steelhead by providing data on
the distribution of steelhead and their
use of the Restoration Area in order to
inform future ESA consultations and
SJRRP management actions. While adult
CV spring-run Chinook salmon are not
the target species for these efforts, some
may be captured during permitted
activities. The post capture handling of
CV spring-run Chinook salmon is
covered under ESA Section 10(a)(1)(A)
permit 17781.
Listed fish would be captured by:
Boat mounted electrofisher, fyke net,
and trammel net. Handling would
include conducting length
measurements, gender identification,
tissue and scale collection, checking for
the presence of tags, and tagging by
Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT).
Captured steelhead would be
transported by tank truck and released
in the San Joaquin River downstream of
the mouth of the Merced River.
Observe/harass take may occur at occur
at temporary weirs with electronic fish
counting devices installed. Recaptured
steelhead would be identified by the
presence of a PIT tag. All persons
implementing proposed activities would
follow appropriate protocols to
minimize injury to captured fish,
including: Handling live steelhead with
extreme care, monitoring water
temperature to the maximum extent
possible during sampling and
processing procedures, maintaining
adequate circulation and replenishment
of water in holding units, following the
NMFS 2000 electrofishing guidelines,
and checking all traps at least daily. In
addition, when a sample is comprised of
a mix of species, any captured steelhead
would be processed first, and steelhead
rescued at the capture site would be
allowed to recover to the maximum
extent possible prior to being released
into the mainstem San Joaquin River.
The applicants are not proposing to kill
any of the fish they capture, but a small
number may die as an unintended result
of the activities.
Public Comments Solicited
NMFS invites the public to comment
on the permit application and
associated HGMPs during a 30 day
public comment period beginning on
the date of this notice. This notice is
E:\FR\FM\11JAN1.SGM
11JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3284-3287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00428]
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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: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Department) determines that
certain biaxial integral geogrid products (geogrids) are being, or are
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV),
as provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act). The final weighted-average dumping margins for the investigation
on geogrids from the PRC are listed in the ``Final Determination
Margins'' section of this notice.
DATES: Effective January 11, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia Hancock or Susan Pulongbarit,
AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1394 or (202)
482-4031, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 22, 2016, the Department published its Preliminary
Determination.\1\ We invited interested parties to comment on our
Preliminary Determination of sales at LTFV. For a list of the parties
that filed case and rebuttal briefs, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.\2\
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\1\ See 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, 81
FR 56584 (August 22, 2015) (Preliminary Determination) and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Associate Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final
Determination of the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain
Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the People's Republic of
China,'' dated concurrently with this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
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Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2015, through December
31, 2015. This period corresponds to the two most recent fiscal
quarters prior to the month of the filing of the petition, which was
January 2016.\3\
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\3\ See 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are geogrids from the
People's Republic of China (PRC). Subject geogrids enter the United
States through Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
statistical subheading 3926.90.9995, but may also enter through HTSUS
subheadings 3920.20.0050 and 3925.90.0000. While HTSUS subheadings are
provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the written description
of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
No interested party commented on the scope of this investigation.
For a complete description of the scope of the investigation, see
Appendix I to this notice.
Analysis of Comments Received
We addressed all issues raised by parties in case and rebuttal
briefs in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\4\ Appendix II to this
notice includes a list of the issues which the parties raised and to
which the Department responded in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
The Issues and 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. The
Issues and Decision Memorandum is available
[[Page 3285]]
to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main
Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the
Issues and Decision Memorandum is available at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic
versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in
content.
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\4\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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Verification
As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, in September 2016, the
Department conducted verification of the information submitted by BOSTD
Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd. (BOSTD) and Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd.
(Taian Modern) for use in the final determination. We issued our
verification reports on November 4, 2016, and November 14, 2016.\5\ The
Department used standard verification procedures, including examination
of relevant accounting and production records and original source
documents provided by respondents.\6\
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\5\ See the Department's two memoranda regarding: ``Verification
of the Sales and Factors Response of Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd.
(Taian Modern) in the Antidumping Duty Less Than Fair Value
Investigation of Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the
People's Republic of China,'' dated November 4, 2016 (Taian Modern
Verification Report); and ``Verification of the Sales and Factors
Responses of BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd. (BOSTD) in the
Antidumping Investigation of Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid
Products from the People's Republic of China,'' dated November 15,
2016 (BOSTD Verification Report).
\5\ Id.
\6\ Id.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on the Department's analysis of the comments received and our
findings at verification, we find that BOSTD and Taian Modern failed to
cooperate by not acting to the best of their ability in this proceeding
and, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.308(a), we
based BOSTD's and Taian Modern's respective dumping margins on total
adverse facts available (AFA). For further discussion, see the Issues
and Decision Memorandum.
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice,\7\ 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.\8\ In this case, because neither respondent qualified
for a separate rate, combination rates were not calculated.
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\7\ See Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the
People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation, 81 FR 7755, 7756 (February 16, 2016) (Initiation
Notice).
\8\ 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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Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part
For the Preliminary Determination, the Department found that
critical circumstances existed with respect to imports of geogrids from
the PRC produced or exported by Taian Modern and the PRC-wide entity,
but not with respect to imports of geogrids from BOSTD.\9\ We are not
modifying our final critical circumstances finding for the PRC-wide
entity (which now includes Taian Modern and BOSTD). Thus, pursuant to
section 735(a)(3) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, we find that critical
circumstances exist with respect to all exports of subject merchandise
in this investigation. For further discussion, see the Issues and
Decision Memorandum at Comments 1, 9 and 13.
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\9\ See Preliminary Determination, and accompanying Preliminary
Decision Memorandum at 7-10.
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PRC-Wide Entity
In this final determination, as discussed above, we are applying a
rate based entirely on adverse facts available to the PRC-wide entity
(which now includes the two mandatory respondents). Additionally, as
explained in the Preliminary Determination, the Department did not
receive timely responses to its Q&V questionnaire or separate rate
applications from the PRC exporters and/or producers of subject
merchandise that were named in the petition and to which the Department
issued Q&V questionnaires.\10\ As these non-responsive PRC companies
did not demonstrate that they are eligible for separate rate status,
the Department continues to consider them to be part of the PRC-wide
entity.
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\10\ See Preliminary Determination, and accompanying Preliminary
Decision Memorandum at 16-17 (Separate Rate).
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PRC-Wide Rate
For the final determination, we assigned as the AFA rate for the
PRC-wide entity the highest dumping margin from the petition, i.e.,
372.81 percent. In selecting this AFA rate for the PRC-wide entity, the
Department's practice is to select a rate that is sufficiently adverse
to ensure that the uncooperative party does not obtain a more favorable
result by failing to cooperate than if it had fully cooperated.\11\
Specifically, it is the Department's practice to select, as an AFA
rate, the higher of: (a) The highest dumping margin alleged in the
petition; or, (b) the highest calculated dumping margin of any
respondent in the investigation.\12\ There are no calculated margins
for any respondents in this investigation. Therefore, as AFA, the
Department has assigned to the PRC-wide entity the rate of 372.81
percent, which is the highest dumping margin alleged in the petition.
The dumping margin for the PRC-wide entity applies to all entries of
the merchandise under investigation.\13\
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\11\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination:
Purified Carboxymethylcellulose from Finland, 69 FR 77216 (December
27, 2004), unchanged in Notice of Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value: Purified Carboxymethylcellulose from Finland,
70 FR 28279 (May 17, 2005).
\12\ See, e.g., Certain Stilbenic Optical Brightening Agents
from the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, 77 FR 17436, 17438 (March 26, 2012); Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Certain Cold-Rolled
Flat-Rolled Carbon Quality Steel Products from the People's Republic
of China, 65 FR 34660 (May 31, 2000), and accompanying Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\13\ For a detailed discussion, see Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
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Final Determination
The Department determines that the estimated final weighted-average
dumping margins are as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-
average
Exporter Producer margin
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRC-Wide Entity \14\........................... ......... 372.81
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\14\ As discussed above, the PRC-wide entity includes BOSTD and Taian
Modern.
Disclosure
Because our final determination is based entirely on AFA, there are
no calculations to disclose.
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of geogrids from the PRC
as described in the ``Scope of the Investigation'' section, which were
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after
August 22, 2016, the date of publication in the Federal Register of the
Preliminary Determination. For entries made by Taian Modern and the
PRC-wide entity, in accordance with section 735(c)(4)(A) of the Act,
because we
[[Page 3286]]
continue to find that critical circumstances exist, we will instruct
CBP to continue to suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of
geogrids from the PRC which were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption on or after May 24, 2016, which is 90 days prior to the
date of publication in the Federal Register of the Preliminary
Determination. Provisional measures were not imposed retrospectively
for BOSTD because of the Department's preliminary negative critical
circumstances determination with respect to it. However, the final
affirmative critical circumstances determination now applies to BOSTD
as it is now being treated as part of the PRC-wide entity. Accordingly,
pursuant to section 735(c)(4)(C) of the Act, the Department will
instruct CBP to suspend liquidation of all entries of geogrids from the
PRC from BOSTD, which were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after 90-days prior to the date of publication of
this final determination in the Federal Register.
Further, pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, the
Department will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit \15\ equal to
the amount by which the normal value exceeds U.S. price, adjusted where
appropriate for export subsidies and estimated domestic subsidy pass-
through. For all combinations of PRC exporters/producers of merchandise
under consideration, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the dumping
margin established for the PRC-wide entity.
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\15\ 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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As we stated in the Preliminary Determination, consistent with our
practice, where the product under investigation is also subject to a
concurrent countervailing duty investigation, we instruct CBP to
require a cash deposit equal to the amount by which the normal value
exceeds the export price or constructed export price, less the amount
of the countervailing duty determined to constitute an export
subsidy.\16\ In this LTFV investigation, for the PRC-wide entity, which
received an AFA rate, 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.\17\ Here, that rate is zero and, thus, no
adjustment is necessary for the PRC-wide rate.\18\ Furthermore, the
Department did not adjust the final determination AD cash deposit rates
for estimated domestic subsidy pass-through because respondents
provided no reliable, accurate information to support an adjustment,
pursuant to section 777A(f) of the Act.\19\
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\16\ See Preliminary Determination, 81 FR at 56585-6.
\17\ 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.
\18\ See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Biaxial
Integral Geogrid Products from the People's Republic of China: Final
Affirmative Determination and Final Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part, dated concurrently with this notice.
\19\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comments 1 and 9 for
further discussion of our findings to apply total AFA to BOSTD and
Taian Modern.
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International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we notified the
International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. As the Department's final determination
is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the
ITC will determine, within 45 days, whether the domestic industry in
the United States is materially injured, or threatened with material
injury, by reason of imports of geogrids for sale from the PRC, or
sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation, of geogrids from
the PRC. If the ITC determines that such injury does not exist, this
proceeding will be terminated and all securities posted will be
refunded or canceled. If the ITC determines that such injury does
exist, the Department will issue an antidumping duty order directing
CBP to assess, upon further instruction by the Department, antidumping
duties on all imports of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the
suspension of liquidation.
Return or Destruction of Proprietary Information
This notice also serves as a reminder to the parties subject to
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of propriety information disclosed under APO
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely written notification of
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.
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: January 4, 2017.
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--Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
[[Page 3287]]
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Application of Adverse Facts Available
VII. Affirmative Finding of Critical Circumstances
VIII. List of Comments
IX. Discussion of the Issues
Company-Specific Issues
BOSTD
Comment 1: Application of Total Adverse Facts Available (AFA) to
BOSTD
Comment 2: Moot Arguments for BOSTD
Taian Modern
Comment 3: Application of Total AFA to Taian Modern
Comment 4: Moot Arguments for Taian Modern
General Issues
Comment 5: Selection of AFA Rate to PRC-Wide Entity
Comment 6: Critical Circumstances
Comment 7: Moot Arguments for General Issues
[FR Doc. 2017-00428 Filed 1-10-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
