[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12511-12512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04354]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-028]
Hydrofluorocarbon Blends From the People's Republic of China:
Scope Ruling on Unpatented R-421A; Affirmative Preliminary
Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order for
Unpatented R-421A; and Extension of Time Limit for Final Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that imports of unpatented R-421A from the People's Republic of China
(China) are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) order on HFC blends
from China. As a result, imports of blends of unpatented R-421A from
China will be subject to suspension of liquidation effective June 18,
2019. We invite interested parties to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable March 3, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Medley or Manuel Rey, AD/CVD
Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4987 or (202) 482-3342,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 18, 2019, Commerce initiated an anti-circumvention inquiry
to determine whether blends of unpatented R-421A from China, that are
further processed into finished HFC blends in the United States,\1\ are
circumventing the Order on HFC blends from China.\2\ Additionally, in
our Notice of Initiation, we stated that, as part of this anti-
circumvention inquiry,\3\ we would also address both a covered
merchandise referral from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP),\4\
and a scope inquiry filed by Choice Refrigerants under 19
CFR.225(c).\5\ As part of this preliminary determination, we also have
made a final scope finding. With respect to the covered merchandise
referral, we will inform CBP of our findings at the conclusion of this
anti-circumvention proceeding. For a complete description of the events
that followed the initiation of this inquiry, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.\6\
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\1\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of
China: Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry of Antidumping Duty
Order; Unpatented R-421A, 84 FR 28281 (June 18, 2019) (Notice of
Initiation).
\2\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of
China: Antidumping Duty Order, 81 FR 55436 (October 16, 2017)
(Order).
\3\ See Notice of Initiation, 84 FR 28281, 28283-84.
\4\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of
China: Notice of Covered Merchandise Referral, 83 FR 9277 (March 5,
2018).
\5\ See Choice Refrigerants' Letter, ``Application for Scope
Ruling on Exclusion of Patented HFC Blends from Antidumping Duty
Order A-570-028: Hydrofluorocarbon Blends and Components Thereof
from the People's Republic of China,'' dated November 30, 2017.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary
Decision Memorandum for Scope Ruling and Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
of the Antidumping Duty Order on Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the
People's Republic of China; Unpatented R-421A'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The products subject to this order are HFC blends. HFC blends
covered by the scope are R-404A, R-407A, R-407C, R-410A, and R-507A.\7\
HFC blends covered by the scope of the Order are currently classified
in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at
subheadings 3824.78.0020 and 3824.78.0050. Although the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the scope is dispositive.
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\7\ For a complete description of the scope of the order, see
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Merchandise Subject to the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
This anti-circumvention inquiry covers imports of unpatented R-
421A, a blend of HFC components R-125 (also known as Pentafluoroethane)
and R-134a (also known as 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane), from China that
are further processed in the United States to create an HFC blend that
would be subject to the Order.\8\
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\8\ The scope of the order explicitly excludes Choice[supreg] R-
421A (also referred to as ``patented R-421A''). The scope also only
covers five HFC blends; R-421A is not one of the covered blends.
Patented R-421A is a blend of 58 percent R-125, and 42 percent R-
134a, with a lubricant added to it. The patent holder for R-421A is
Choice Refrigerants.
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Methodology
Commerce made this preliminary finding of circumvention in
accordance with section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(Act) and 19 CFR 351.225(g). We relied on information placed on the
record by the American HFC Coalition (the petitioners) and information
placed on the record by LM Supply Inc. and Cool Master USA, LLC, the
importers of the merchandise in question, and their affiliated
blenders, BMP USA Inc. (BMP USA) and IGas USA, Inc. Further, because
certain interested parties did not cooperate to the best of their
abilities in responding to Commerce's requests for information, we have
based parts of our preliminary determination on the facts available,
with adverse inferences, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) 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 http://access.trade.gov, and to all parties in the
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Commerce building. In
addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can
be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed
and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are
identical in content. A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum is attached at the Appendix to this notice.
Scope Ruling and Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Circumvention
As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we determine,
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(k), that because the scope only covers five
HFC blends, and unpatented R-421A is not one of the five blends, that
consequently, unpatented R-421A is not covered by the scope of the
Order within the meaning of 19 CFR
[[Page 12512]]
351.225(k). Accordingly, because unpatented R-421A is not specifically
excluded from the Order, a circumvention analysis and determination is
warranted for the unpatented R-421A blends, under 19 CFR 351.225(g).
As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we
preliminarily determine, pursuant to section 781(a) of the Tariff Act,
that imports of unpatented R-421A from China are circumventing the
Order.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.225(l)(2), Commerce will instruct CBP
to suspend liquidation of all unpatented R-421A (as defined in the
Merchandise Subject to the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry section above)
from China that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after June 18, 2019, the date of initiation of this
anti-circumvention inquiry.\9\ CBP shall require cash deposits in
accordance with those rates prevailing at the time of entry, depending
upon the exporter in question. At this time, we have not included a
certification requirement; however, based upon comments from interested
parties, we may add such a certification requirement for the final
determination.
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\9\ See, e.g., Anti-circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping
Duty Order on Certain Pasta from Italy: Affirmative Preliminary
Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping Duty Order, 63 FR
18364, 18366 (April 15, 1998), unchanged in Anti-Circumvention
Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order on Certain Pasta from Italy:
Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping
Duty Order, 63 FR 54672, 54675-6 (October 13, 1998).
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Public Comment
Interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than
14 days after the date of publication of this notice.\10\ Rebuttal
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no
later than five days after the time limit for filing case briefs.\11\
Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of
authorities.\12\ Case and rebuttal briefs should be filed
electronically via ACCESS.\13\
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\10\ Commerce is exercising its discretion, under 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(ii), to alter the time limit for filing of case
briefs.
\11\ Commerce is exercising its discretion, under 19 CFR
351.309(d)(1), to alter the time limit for filing of rebuttal
briefs.
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
\13\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically and
received successfully in its entirety, via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time within 14 days after the date of publication of this notice.\14\
Hearing requests should contain: (1) The party's name, address, and
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to
issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made,
parties will be notified of the date and time for the hearing to be
held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20230.\15\
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\14\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
\15\ Id.
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Postponement of Final Determination
Section 781(f) of the Act provides that, to the maximum extent
practicable, Commerce shall make its anti-circumvention determinations
within 300 days from the date of initiation of the inquiry. We
determine that it is not practicable to make a final determination in
this anti-circumvention inquiry by the current deadline of April 13,
2020, because Commerce will require additional time to notify the U.S.
International Trade Commission (ITC), and to review and analyze case
and rebuttal briefs. Therefore, we are extending the time period for
issuing the final determination in this inquiry by 45 days, to May 28,
2020.
Notification to the ITC
Consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, Commerce is notifying
the ITC of this affirmative preliminary determination to include the
merchandise subject to this inquiry within the AD order on HFC blends
from China. Pursuant to section 781(e) of the Act, the ITC may request
consultations concerning Commerce's proposed inclusion of the subject
merchandise. These consultations must be concluded within 15 days after
the date of the request. If, after consultations, the ITC believes that
a significant injury issue is presented by the proposed inclusion, it
will have 60 days to provide written advice to Commerce.
Notification to Interested Parties
This notice is published in accordance with section 781(a) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.225(g).
Dated: February 25, 2020.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Merchandise Subject to the Scope and Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Statutory and Regulatory Framework for Scope Inquiry
VI. Interested Party Scope Comments
VII. Commerce's Scope Determination
VIII. Period of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
IX. Surrogate Countries and Methodology for Valuing Inputs From
China
X. Statutory and Regulatory Framework for Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
XI. Use of Facts Available With An Adverse Inference
XII. Allegations of Circumvention as Identified in the Initiation of
Inquiry
XIII. Anti-Circumvention Analysis
XIV. Intent To Consider Certification Requirement
XV. Country-Wide Determination
XVI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2020-04354 Filed 3-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P