Polyethylene Terephthalate Sheet From the Sultanate of Oman: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 44278-44279 [2020-15897]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44278-44279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15897]



[[Page 44278]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-523-813]


Polyethylene Terephthalate Sheet From the Sultanate of Oman: 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
polyethylene terephthalate sheet (PET sheet) from the Sultanate of Oman 
(Oman) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less 
than fair value (LTFV) during the period of investigation (POI), July 
1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.

DATES: Applicable July 22, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Renkey, 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) 482-2312.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On March 3, 2020, Commerce published the Preliminary Determination 
in this investigation.\1\ A summary of the events that occurred since 
Commerce published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full 
discussion of the issues raised by parties for this final 
determination, may be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Polyethylene Terephthalate Sheet from the Sultanate of 
Oman: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less than 
Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of 
Provisional Measures, 85 FR 12513 (March 3, 2020) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Determination in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
Polyethylene Terephthalate Sheet from the Sultanate of Oman,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and 
Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Period of Investigation

    The POI is July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is PET sheet from Oman. 
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see 
Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    On February 25, 2020, we issued a Preliminary Scope Memorandum.\3\ 
We received no scope case briefs from interested parties. Therefore, 
Commerce has made no changes to the scope of this investigation since 
the Preliminary Determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of 
Polyethylene Terephthalate Sheet from the Republic of Korea and the 
Sultanate of Oman: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated 
February 25, 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case briefs and rebuttal briefs submitted 
by interested parties in this proceeding are discussed in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues raised by parties and 
responded to by Commerce in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is 
attached to this notice as Appendix II. The Issues and Decision 
Memorandum is a public document and is available 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. In addition, a complete 
version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and 
electronic versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical 
in content.

Verification

    Commerce normally verifies information relied upon in making its 
final determination, pursuant to section 782(i)(1) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act). However, during the course of this 
investigation, we were unable to conduct verification.\4\ Pursuant to 
section 776(a)(2)(D) of the Act, in situations where information has 
been provided but the information cannot be verified, Commerce will use 
``facts otherwise available'' in reaching the applicable determination. 
Accordingly, we relied on the information submitted on the record, 
which we used in making our Preliminary Determination (and as further 
developed via responses to subsequent supplemental questionnaires and 
factual information submitted on the record), as facts available in 
making our final determination.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
Polyethylene Terephthalate Sheet from the Sultanate of Oman,'' dated 
April 9, 2020.
    \5\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of the comments received and additional 
information obtained since our preliminary findings, we made certain 
changes to the margin calculations for OCTAL SAOC--FZC (OCTAL) since 
the Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of these changes, see 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters 
not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
individually investigated exporters and producers, excluding any 
margins that are zero or de minimis or any margins determined entirely 
under section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-
average dumping margin for OCTAL that is not zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce determined the all-
others rate using the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
calculated for OCTAL, the sole respondent.

Final Determination

    The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
OCTAL SAOC--FZC (OCTAL).....................................        4.74
All Others..................................................        4.74
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    We intend to disclose to interested parties the calculations and 
analysis performed in this final determination within five days of any 
public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five 
days of the date of the publication of this notice to parties in this 
proceeding in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue the 
suspension of liquidation of all appropriate entries of PET sheet, as 
described in Appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for

[[Page 44279]]

consumption on or after March 3, 2020, the date of publication of the 
Preliminary Determination of this investigation in the Federal 
Register. Further, Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit 
equal to the estimated amount by which the normal value exceeds the 
U.S. price as shown above.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, we will instruct 
CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated amount by which 
the normal value exceeds the U.S. price as follows: (1) The cash 
deposit rate for the respondent listed above will be equal to the 
respondent-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a 
respondent identified above but the producer is, then the cash deposit 
rate will be equal to the respondent-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject 
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and 
exporters will be equal to the all others estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin. These suspension of liquidation instructions will 
remain in effect until further notice.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this 
proceeding is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the 
Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the 
domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or 
threatened with material injury, by reason of imports, or sales (or the 
likelihood of sales) for importation of PET sheet no later than 45 days 
after our final determination. If the ITC determines that material 
injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will 
be terminated, and all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC 
determines that material injury or threat of material injury does 
exist, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order directing CBP to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, 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.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 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 the terms of an APO is a violation subject to sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing this determination and notice in 
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(c).

    Dated: July 16, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is raw, 
pretreated, or primed polyethylene terephthalate sheet, whether 
extruded or coextruded, in nominal thicknesses of equal to or 
greater than 7 mil (0.007 inches or 177.8 [micro]m) and not 
exceeding 45 mil (0.045 inches or 1143 [micro]m) (PET sheet). The 
scope includes all PET sheet whether made from prime (virgin) inputs 
or recycled inputs, as well as any blends thereof. The scope 
includes all PET sheet meeting the above specifications regardless 
of width, color, surface treatment, coating, lamination, or other 
surface finish.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is properly 
classified under statistical reporting number 3920.62.0090 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although 
the HTSUS statistical reporting number is provided for convenience 
and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Whether to Apply a Downward Adjustment to OCTAL's 
Reported Gross Unit Price for its U.S. Sales to Customer A
    Comment 2: Treatment of Merchandise with Non-Conformities and/or 
Material Defects
    Comment 3: Clerical Error in the Calculation for Certain 
Movement Expenses
    Comment 4: Date of Sale for Comparison Market and U.S. Sales
    Comment 5: Whether Commerce Should Use Zeroing in Its Margin 
Calculation via the
    Average-to-Transaction Methodology
    Comment 6: Whether the Interim Closing Adjustment from OCTAL's 
Cost Reconciliation Should Be Added to or Subtracted from the Cost 
of Manufacturing
    Comment 7: Whether OCTAL's Cyclone-Related Expenses Should Be 
Excluded from the Reported Costs
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2020-15897 Filed 7-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P