Notice2021-20535
Certain Aluminum Foil From the Republic of Turkey: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
Primary source
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Published
September 23, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain aluminum foil (aluminum foil) from the Republic of Turkey (Turkey) during the period of investigation, January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 182 (Thursday, September 23, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 182 (Thursday, September 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52884-52886]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20535]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-489-845]
Certain Aluminum Foil From the Republic of Turkey: Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters
of certain aluminum foil (aluminum foil) from the Republic of Turkey
(Turkey) during the period of investigation, January 1, 2019, through
December 31, 2019.
DATES: Applicable September 23, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Whitley Herndon or Eliza Siordia, 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) 482-6274 or (202)
482-3878, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 5, 2021, Commerce published the Preliminary Determination
in the Federal Register.\1\ In the Preliminary Determination, and in
accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce aligned the final
determination of this countervailing duty (CVD) investigation with the
final determination in the companion antidumping duty (AD)
investigation of aluminum foil from Turkey.
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\1\ See Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Turkey:
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and
Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty
Determination, 86 FR 12911 (March 5, 2021) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the
Preliminary Determination may be found in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.\2\ The Issues and 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 <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at <a href="http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/">http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/</a>.
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\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of
Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Turkey,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is aluminum foil from
Turkey. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation,
see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\3\ the
Initiation Notice \4\ set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain interested
parties commented on the scope of this investigation as it appeared in
the Initiation Notice, and we addressed these comments in the
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ Interested parties were
provided an opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum.\7\ We received no scope case briefs requesting changes to
the scope of the investigation from interested parties in any of the AD
or CVD investigations of aluminum foil from the Republic of Armenia,
Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, and Turkey.
Additionally, we received a letter from the petitioners \8\ urging
Commerce to maintain the same scope language which was set forth in
both the Initiation Notice or Preliminary Determination.\9\
Accordingly,
[[Page 52885]]
Commerce is not modifying the scope language as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice or Preliminary Determination. See Appendix I for the
final scope of the investigation.
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\3\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\4\ See Certain Aluminum Foil from the Sultanate of Oman and the
Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Countervailing Duty
Investigations, 85 FR 68287 (October 28, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
\5\ Id., 85 FR at 68288.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Determination and
Comment Period,'' dated September 3, 2021 (containing the
Memorandum, ``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations of
Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Armenia, Brazil, the
Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of
Turkey: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated April 27,
2021 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum)).
\7\ Id.
\8\ The Aluminum Association Trade Enforcement Working Group and
its individual members, Granges America Inc., JW Aluminum Company
and Novelis Corporation constitute the petitioners.
\9\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Petitioners' Final Scope
Comments,'' dated September 8, 2021.
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Verification
Commerce was unable to conduct on-site verification of the
information relied upon in making its final determination in this
investigation. However, we took additional steps in lieu of on-site
verification to verify the information relied upon in making this final
determination, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Act.\10\
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\10\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Turkey--Request for
Documentation,'' dated March 15, 2021.
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Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in
the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in this investigation, are
discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. For a list of the
issues raised by parties, and to which we responded in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum, see Appendix II of this notice.
Methodology
Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section
701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable,
Commerce determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial
contribution by an ``authority'' that gives rise to a benefit to the
recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\11\ For a full description
of the methodology underlying our final determination, see the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. Commerce notes that, in making these findings,
it relied, in part, on facts otherwise available and, because Commerce
finds that the Government of Turkey did not act to the best of its
ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, Commerce
drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the
facts otherwise available.\12\ For further information, see the section
entitled ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse
Inferences'' in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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\11\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
\12\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from
parties, we made certain changes to the subsidy rate calculations for
Assan Aluminyum Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Assan) and its cross-owned
affiliates Ispak Esnek Ambalaj Sanayi A.S., Kibar Holding, and Kibar
Dis Ticaret A.S. (Kibar Dis). For a discussion of these changes, see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that in the final
determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate
for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount
equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any
rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely under section 776 of
the Act.
In this investigation, we continue to calculate the all-others rate
using the estimated weighted-average rate calculated for Assan and its
cross-owned affiliates.\13\
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\13\ Commerce also selected Kibar Dis as a mandatory company
respondent in this investigation. However, Commerce has found Kibar
Dis to be a cross-owned affiliate of Assan, and we are not
calculating a separate subsidy rate for Kibar Dis.
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Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following countervailable subsidy
rates exist:
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Subsidy rate
Producer/exporter (percent)
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Assan Aluminyum Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S \14\.............. 2.60
All Others.............................................. 2.60
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Disclosure
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\14\ Commerce has found Kibar Dis, Kibar Holding, and Ispak
Esnek Ambalaj Sanayi A.S. to be cross-owned, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.525(b)(6)(vi), with Assan Aluminyum Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.
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Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties its calculations
and analysis performed in this final determination within five days of
its 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).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary Determination and pursuant to
sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce instructed U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries
of subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation
section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after March 5, 2021, the date of publication of the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register. In accordance with section
703(d) of the Act, effective July 3, 2021, we instructed CBP to
discontinue the suspension of liquidation of all entries at that time,
but to continue the suspension of liquidation of all entries from March
5, 2021, through July 2, 2021.
If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a CVD order, reinstate
the suspension of liquidation, and require a cash deposit of estimated
countervailing duties for such entries of subject merchandise in the
amounts indicated above, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act.
If the ITC determines that material injury, or threat of material
injury, does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all
estimated duties deposited or securities posted as a result of the
suspension of liquidation will be refunded or canceled.
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its final affirmative determination that countervailable
subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of aluminum
foil from Turkey. As Commerce's final determination is affirmative, in
accordance with section 705(b) of the Act, the ITC will determine,
within 45 days, whether the domestic industry in the United States is
materially injured or threatened with material injury. In addition, we
are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and non-proprietary
information related to this investigation. We will allow the ITC access
to all privileged and business proprietary information in our files,
provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information,
either publicly or under an administrative protective order (APO),
without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement
and Compliance.
Notification Regarding APO
In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties
subject to the APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction
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 terms
of an
[[Page 52886]]
APO is a violation which is subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
705(d) and 771(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: September 16, 2021.
James Maeder,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is aluminum foil
having a thickness of 0.2 mm or less, in reels exceeding 25 pounds,
regardless of width. Aluminum foil is made from an aluminum alloy
that contains more than 92 percent aluminum. Aluminum foil may be
made to ASTM specification ASTM B479, but can also be made to other
specifications. Regardless of specification, however, all aluminum
foil meeting the scope description is included in the scope,
including aluminum foil to which lubricant has been applied to one
or both sides of the foil.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation is aluminum foil
that is backed with paper, paperboard, plastics, or similar backing
materials on one side or both sides of the aluminum foil, as well as
etched capacitor foil and aluminum foil that is cut to shape. Where
the nominal and actual measurements vary, a product is within the
scope if application of either the nominal or actual measurement
would place it within the scope based on the definitions set forth
above. The products under investigation are currently classifiable
under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
subheadings 7607.11.3000, 7607.11.6090, 7607.11.9030, 7607.11.9060,
7607.11.9090, and 7607.19.6000.
Further, merchandise that falls within the scope of this
proceeding may also be entered into the United States under HTSUS
subheadings 7606.11.3060, 7606.11.6000, 7606.12.3045, 7606.12.3055,
7606.12.3091, 7606.12.3096, 7606.12.6000, 7606.91.3095,
7606.91.6095, 7606.92.3035, and 7606.92.6095. Although the HTSUS
subheadings 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. Subsidies Valuation Information
IV. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse
Inferences
V. Analysis of the Programs
VI. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether to Revise the Sales Denominators
Comment 2: Whether to Use Total Sales as the Denominator for the
Exemptions on Exchange Tax for Foreign Exchange Transactions
Comment 3: How to Compute the Benefit Calculation for the
Rediscount Loan Program and the Export-Oriented Working Capital
Credit Program
Comment 4: Whether to Apply Adverse Facts Available (AFA) to
``Other'' Subsidy Programs
Comment 5: Whether Certain Ministerial Errors Exist
Comment 6: Whether the Value-Added-Tax (VAT) Exemption on the
Acquisition of Operating Rights Provided a Measurable Benefit to
Assan
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2021-20535 Filed 9-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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