[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8252-8254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02909]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-580-899]
Acetone From the Republic of Korea: 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 imports
of acetone from the Republic of Korea (Korea) are being, or are likely
to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The
period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2018 through December 31,
2018. For information on the estimated weighted-average dumping margins
of sales at LTFV, see the ``Final Determination'' section of this
notice.
DATES: Applicable February 13, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Carey, AD/CVD Operations, Office
VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3964.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 24, 2019, Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination of this LTFV investigation.\1\ The petitioner in this
investigation is the Coalition for
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Acetone Fair Trade (the petitioner).\2\ The mandatory respondents in
this investigation are LG Chem, Ltd. (LG Chem) and Kumho P&B Chemicals,
Inc. (KPB). We held a public hearing on January 23, 2020, to address
issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs.\3\ A complete summary of
the events that occurred since publication of 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.\4\ 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
http://access.trade.gov, and to all parties in the Central Records
Unit, room B-8024 of the main Commerce building. In addition, a
complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed
at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic
versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in
content.
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\1\ See Acetone from the Republic of Korea: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional
Measures, 84 FR 50005 (September 24, 2019) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ The members of the Coalition for Acetone Fair Trade are
AdvanSix Inc., Altivia Petrochemicals, LLC, and Olin Corporation.
\3\ See Hearing Transcript, ``Public Hearing in the Matter of
the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Acetone from the Republic
of Korea'' (January 23, 2020).
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination in the Antidumping Duty
Investigation of Acetone from the Republic of Korea,'' issued
concurrently with, and adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The scope of the investigation covers acetone from Korea. Commerce
received no scope comments and has not updated the scope of the
investigation since the Preliminary Determination. For a complete
description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I to this
notice.
Analysis of Comments Received
The issues raised in the case briefs and rebuttal briefs submitted
by interested parties in this investigation are discussed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. For a list of the issues raised by parties and
responded to by Commerce in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see
Appendix II to this notice.
Verification
Between October 21 and November 19, 2019, we conducted cost and
sales verifications of mandatory respondents, LG Chem and its wholly-
owned affiliate, LG Chem America, Inc., and KPB, in accordance with
section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\5\
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\5\ See Memorandum, ``Verification of the Cost Response of LG
Chem, Ltd. in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Acetone from the
Republic of Korea, dated December 17, 2019; Memorandum,
``Verification of the Cost Response of Kumho P&B Chemicals, Inc. in
the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Acetone from the Republic of
Korea, dated December 18, 2019; Memorandum, ``Verification of the
Questionnaire Responses of LG Chem, Ltd. and LG Chem America, Inc.
in the Antidumping Duty Less Than Fair Value Investigation of
Acetone from the Republic of Korea,'' dated December 23, 2019; and
Memorandum, ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of Kumho
P&B Chemicals, Inc. in the Antidumping Duty Less Than Fair Value
Investigation of Acetone from the Republic of Korea,'' dated
December 23, 2019.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our analysis of the comments received and our findings at
verification, we made certain changes to the margin calculations since
the Preliminary Determination. These changes are discussed in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 735(c)(1)(B)(i)(II) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide
that Commerce shall determine an estimated weighted-average dumping
margin rate for all other exporters and producers not individually
examined (the all-others rate). This rate shall be an amount equal to
the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins
established for exporters and producers individually examined,
excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under
section 776 of the Act. However, when the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins for each of the exporters and producers individually
examined are zero, de minimis, or determined under section 776 of the
Act, Commerce shall use any reasonable method to establish the all-
others rate, including averaging the estimated weighted-average dumping
margins for the exporters and producers individually examined.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated individual estimated
weighted-average dumping margins of 47.86 percent for KPB and 25.05
percent for LG Chem, the two individually examined companies. Commerce
calculated the rate for the companies not selected for individual
examination using a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins calculated for KPB and LG Chem, and each company's
publicly-ranged U.S. sale quantities for the merchandise under
consideration.\6\ This rate was assigned to all other producers or
exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
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\6\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally
calculates (A) a weighted average of the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents (as directed
by the statute) based on the actual reported U.S. sale quantities
for each respondent; (B) a simple average of the estimated weighted-
average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; and
(C) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping
margins calculated for the examined respondents using each company's
publicly-ranged U.S. sale quantities for the merchandise under
consideration. Because the calculation in (A) includes business
proprietary information (BPI) which could be revealed by publicly
releasing the results of this calculation, Commerce then compares
the calculation results of (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate
closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all other producers
or exporters not subject to individual examination. See Ball
Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and
the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, and
Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 (September 1,
2010). For a complete analysis including the BPI data, see
Memorandum, ``Final Determination Calculation for the `All-Others'
Rate,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Final Determination
Pursuant to section 735 of the Act, Commerce determines the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins to be:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
weighted-
average
Producer or exporter dumping
margins
(percent)
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Kumho P&B Chemicals, Inc................................ 47.86
LG Chem, Ltd............................................ 25.05
All Others.............................................. 33.10
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Disclosure
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b), we will disclose the
calculations performed within five days of any public announcement of
this determination.
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of acetone from Korea,
as described in Appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after September 24,
2019, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination.
In addition, pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.210(d), Commerce will instruct CBP
[[Page 8254]]
to require a cash deposit for such entries of merchandise equal to the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin as follows: (1) The cash
deposit rate for the companies listed in the table above will be equal
to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin
identified for that company in the table; (2) if the exporter is not a
company listed in the table above, but the producer is, then the cash
deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin listed for that producer of the subject
merchandise in the above table; 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 (ITC)
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the
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 of acetone from Korea 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 such injury does exist, Commerce will issue an
antidumping 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, as discussed above in
the ``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.
Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Order (APO)
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
APO of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary
information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/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 violation subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: February 6, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is all grades of
liquid or aqueous acetone. Acetone is also known under the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) name
propan-2-one. In addition to the IUPAC name, acetone is also
referred to as [beta]-ketopropane (or beta-ketopropane), ketone
propane, methyl ketone, dimethyl ketone, DMK, dimethyl carbonyl,
propanone, 2-propanone, dimethyl formaldehyde, pyroacetic acid,
pyroacetic ether, and pyroacetic spirit. Acetone is an isomer of the
chemical formula C3H6O, with a specific
molecular formula of CH3COCH3 or
(CH3)2CO.
The scope covers both pure acetone (with or without impurities)
and acetone that is combined or mixed with other products,
including, but not limited to, isopropyl alcohol, benzene, diethyl
ether, methanol, chloroform, and ethanol. Acetone that has been
combined with other products is included within the scope,
regardless of whether the combining occurs in third countries.
The scope also includes acetone that is commingled with acetone
from sources not subject to this investigation.
For combined and commingled products, only the acetone component
is covered by the scope of this investigation. However, when acetone
is combined with acetone components from sources not subject to this
investigation, those third country acetone components may still be
subject to other acetone investigations.
Notwithstanding the foregoing language, an acetone combination
or mixture that is transformed through a chemical reaction into
another product, such that, for example, the acetone can no longer
be separated from the other products through a distillation process
(e.g., methyl methacrylate (MMA) or Bisphenol A (BPA)), is excluded
from this investigation.
A combination or mixture is excluded from these investigations
if the total acetone component (regardless of the source or sources)
comprises less than 5 percent of the combination or mixture, on a
dry weight basis.
The Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number for acetone
is 67-64-1.
The merchandise covered by this investigation is currently
classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) subheadings 2914.11.1000 and 2914.11.5000. Combinations or
mixtures of acetone may enter under subheadings in Chapter 38 of the
HTSUS, including, but not limited to, those under heading
3814.00.1000, 3814.00.2000, 3814.00.5010, and 3814.00.5090. The list
of items found under these HTSUS subheadings is non-exhaustive.
Although these HTSUS subheadings and CAS registry number are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: LG Chem's Joint Cost Allocation Methodology
Comment 2: KPB's Cost Allocation Method
Comment 3: KPB's Purchases from Affiliates
Comment 4: LG Chem's Non-Operating Expenses
Comment 5: LG Chem's G&A Expense Ratio Calculation
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2020-02909 Filed 2-12-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P