89 FR 148 pgs. 62718-62721 - Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts From Thailand: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
Type: NOTICEVolume: 89Number: 148Pages: 62718 - 62721
Pages: 62718, 62719, 62720, 62721Docket number: [A-549-833]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2024-16994 Filed 7-31-24; 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-549-833]
Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts From Thailand: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2022-2023
AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
[top] The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain producers/
DATES:
Applicable August 1, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Joy Zhang or Matthew Palmer, 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) 482-1168 or (202) 482-1678, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On July 25, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register the antidumping duty order on citric acid from Thailand. 1 On July 3, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the Order. 2 On September 11, 2023, based on timely requests for review, in accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), Commerce initiated an administrative review of the Order covering three companies. 3 Pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, Commerce extended the deadline for the preliminary results until July 30, 2024. 4 On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. 5 The deadline for the preliminary results of this administrative review is now August 6, 2024. For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 6
Footnotes:
1 ? See Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from Belgium, Colombia and Thailand: Antidumping Duty Orders, 83 FR 35214 (July 25, 2018) ( Order ).
2 ? See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 42693 (July 3, 2023).
3 ? See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 62322 (September 11, 2023).
4 ? See Memorandum, "Extension of Deadline for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review," dated March 1, 2024.
5 ? See Memorandum, "Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings," dated July 22, 2024.
6 ? See Memorandum, "Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from Thailand; 2022-2023," dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by this Order is citric acid from Thailand. For a full description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 751(a) of the Act. Export price and constructed export price are calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. NV is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as an appendix to this notice.
Rate for Non-Selected Companies
The Act and Commerce's regulations do not directly address the establishment of a rate to be applied to individual companies not selected for examination when Commerce limits its examination in an administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a market economy investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for companies which were not selected for individual review in an administrative review. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-others rate is normally "an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely {on the basis of facts available}."
In this administrative review, we preliminarily calculated dumping margins of zero percent for both COFCO Biochemical (Thailand) Co., Ltd. (COFCO) and Sunshine Biotech International Co., Ltd. (Sunshine). Thus, in accordance with the expected method, and consistent with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in Albemarle, 7 we preliminarily assigned to the non-selected company a zero percent rate, based on the rates calculated for the two mandatory respondents.
Footnotes:
7 ?S ee Albemarle Corp. v. United States, 821 F.3d 1345, 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ( Albemarle ) (holding that Commerce may only use "other reasonable methods" if it reasonably concludes that the expected method is "not feasible" or "would not be reasonably reflective of potential dumping margins").
Preliminary Results of the Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the period July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023:
| Producer/exporter | Weighted- average dumping margin (percent) |
|---|---|
| COFCO Biochemical (Thailand) Co., Ltd | 0.00 |
| Sunshine Biotech International Co., Ltd | 0.00 |
| Xitrical Group Co. LTD | 0.00 |
Disclosure and Public Comment
Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations performed for these preliminary results within five days of the date of publication of this notice. 8 Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing case briefs. 9 Interested parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities. 10
Footnotes:
8 ? See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
9 ? See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
10 ? See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
[top] As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs. 11 Further, we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary of each issue
Footnotes:
11 ?We use the term "issue" here to describe an argument that Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
12 ? See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final Rule, 88 FR 67069 (September 29, 2023).
Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, using Enforcement and Compliance's ACCESS system within 30 days of publication of this notice. 13 Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the case and rebuttal briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, we will inform parties of the scheduled date for the hearing at a time and location to be determined. 14 Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing no fewer than two days before the scheduled date. Parties are reminded that all briefs and hearing requests must be filed electronically using ACCESS and received successfully in their entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
Footnotes:
13 ? See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
14 ? See 19 CFR 351.310.
Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), Commerce will issue the final results of this administrative review, including the results of our analysis of the issues raised by the parties in their case briefs, not later than 120 days after the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
Verification
On December 18, 2023, the petitioners, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, Incorporated, and Primary Products Ingredients Americas LLC, requested that Commerce conduct verification of COFCO's and Sunshine's responses. 15 Accordingly, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Act, Commerce conducted on-site verifications of the information and data submitted by COFCO and Sunshine. 16
Footnotes:
15 ? See Petitioners' Letter, "Petitioners' Request For Verification," dated December 18, 2023.
16 ? See Memoranda, "Sales Verification of Sunshine Biotech International Co., Ltd.," dated June 20, 2024; and "Verification of the Sales Response of COFCO in the Antidumping Administrative Review of Citric Acid from Thailand," dated June 20, 2024.
Assessment Rates
Upon issuing the final results, Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. If the weighted-average dumping margin for companies listed above are not zero or de minimis ( i.e., less than 0.5 percent), we will calculate importer-specific ad valorem AD assessment rates based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's examined sales to the total entered value of those same sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). 17 If the respondent has not reported entered values, we will calculate a per-unit assessment rate for each importer by dividing the total amount of dumping calculated for the examined sales made to that importer by the total quantity associated with those sales. To determine whether an importer-specific, per-unit assessment rate is de minimis, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2), we also will calculate an importer-specific ad valorem ratio based on estimated entered values. Where either the respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties. The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable. 18
Footnotes:
17 ?In the preliminary results, Commerce applied the assessment rate calculation method adopted in Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012).
18 ? See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
In accordance with Commerce's "automatic assessment" practice, for entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by each respondent which did not know that its merchandise was destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate entries not reviewed at the all-others rate established in the original less-than-fair value (LTFV) investigation ( i.e., 11.25 percent) if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.
Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal Register . If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired ( i.e., within 90 days of publication).
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following deposit requirements will be effective for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the final results of this administrative review, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the companies listed above will be that established in the final results of this review, except if the rate is less than 0.50 percent and, therefore, de minimis within the meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rate will be zero; (2) for previously investigated or reviewed companies not covered in this review, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific cash deposit rate published for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding in which the company participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, or the LTFV investigation, but the manufacturer is, then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent segment for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers or exporters will continue to be 11.25 percent, the all-others rate established in the LTFV investigation. 19 These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.
Footnotes:
19 ? See Order.
Notification to Importers
[top] This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: July 25, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix-List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Application of Facts Available
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-16994 Filed 7-31-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P