87 FR 158 pgs. 50604-50606 - Sodium Nitrite From India: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
Type: NOTICEVolume: 87Number: 158Pages: 50604 - 50606
Pages: 50604, 50605, 50606Docket number: [A-533-906]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2022-17721 Filed 8-16-22; 8:45 am]
Agency: Commerce Department
Sub Agency: International Trade Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-533-906]
Sodium Nitrite From India: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that sodium nitrite from India is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES:
Applicable August 17, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patrick Barton, or Joy Zhang, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0012 or (202) 482-1168, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
[top] This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this investigation on February 8, 2022. 1 On June 8, 2022, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until August 11, 2022. 2 For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 3 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
Footnotes:
1 ? See Sodium Nitrite from India and the Russian Federation: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 87 FR 7122 (February 8, 2022) ( Initiation Notice ).
2 ? See Sodium Nitrite from India: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 87 FR 34851 (June 8, 2022).
3 ? See Memorandum, "Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Sodium Nitrite from India" dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is sodium nitrite from India. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations, 4 the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( i.e., scope). 5 No interested parties submitted comments on the scope of this investigation.
Footnotes:
4 ? See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
5 ? See Initiation Notice.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Normal value is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
Commerce calculated an individual estimated weighted-average dumping margin for Deepak Nitrite Limited (Deepak), the only individually examined exporter/producer in this investigation. Because the only individually calculated dumping margin is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated for Deepak is the margin assigned to all other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist:
| Exporter/producer | Estimated weighted-average dumping margin | Cash deposit rate (adjusted for subsidy offset(s)) (percent)? 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Deepak Nitrite Limited | 58.13 | 57.24 |
| All Others | 58.13 | 57.24 |
Suspension of Liquidation?
Footnotes:
6 ? See Memorandum, "Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Sodium Nitrite from India: Preliminary Determination Analysis Memorandum for Deepak Nitrite Limited," dated concurrently with this memorandum.
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register . Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margins determined in this preliminary 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 company-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.
Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce preliminarily made an affirmative determination for countervailable export subsidies, Commerce has offset the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the appropriate CVD rate. Any such adjusted cash deposit rate may be found in the "Preliminary Determination" section, above.
Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting estimated antidumping duty cash deposits unadjusted for countervailed export subsidies at the time that the provisional CVD measures expire.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.
Public Comment
[top] Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in this investigation. 7 Rebuttal briefs may be submitted seven days after the date that case briefs are due. Note that Commerce
Footnotes:
7 ? See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).
8 ? See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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 the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 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 August 10, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Deepak requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months. 9 In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date of publication of this preliminary determination.
Footnotes:
9 ? See Deepak's Letter, "Sodium Nitrite from India; A-533-906; Request to Extend Date for Final Determination and Agreement to Extend Provisional Measures," dated August 10, 2022.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary determination. If the 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 the final determination whether imports of sodium nitrite from India are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
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) and 19 CFR 351.210(g).
Dated: August 11, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I-Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is sodium nitrite in any form, at any purity level. In addition, the sodium nitrite covered by this investigation may or may not contain an anticaking agent. Examples of names commonly used to reference sodium nitrite are nitrous acid, sodium salt, anti-rust, diazotizing salts, erinitrit, and filmerine. Sodium nitrite's chemical composition is NaNO2, and it is generally classified under subheading 2834.10.1000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). The American Chemical Society Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) has assigned the name "sodium nitrite" to sodium nitrite. The CAS registry number is 7632-00-0. For purposes of the scope of this investigation, the narrative description is dispositive, not the tariff heading, CAS registry number or CAS name, which are provided for convenience and customs purposes.
Appendix II-List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures
VI. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inferences
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-17721 Filed 8-16-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P