Notice2021-20539
Certain Aluminum Foil From the Republic of Armenia: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
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Published
September 23, 2021
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of certain aluminum foil (aluminum foil) from the Republic of Armenia (Armenia) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation, January 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020.
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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 52882-52884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20539]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-831-804]
Certain Aluminum Foil From the Republic of Armenia: Final
Affirmative 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 certain aluminum foil (aluminum foil) from the Republic of Armenia
(Armenia) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at
less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation, January 1,
2020, through June 30, 2020.
DATES: Applicable September 23, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Collins or George McMahon,
AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6250 or (202)
482-1167, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 4, 2021, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of
aluminum foil from Armenia, and the postponement of the final
determination until September 16, 2021.\1\ We invited interested
parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination. A summary of the
events that occurred since Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination may be found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Armenia:
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of
Provisional Measures, 86 FR 23672 (May 4, 2021), (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of
Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Armenia,'' 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
Armenia. 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 the 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
antidumping or countervailing duty investigations of aluminum foil from
Armenia, Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, and the
Republic of 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, Commerce is not modifying the scope
language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice or Preliminary
Determination, which was unchanged from the Initiation Notice. 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).
\4\ See Certain Aluminum Foil from the Republic of Armenia,
Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, and the
Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations, 85 FR 67711 (October 26, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
\5\ Id.
\6\ See 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, ``Certain Aluminum Foil from the
Republic of Armenia, Brazil, the Sultanate of Oman, the Russian
Federation, and the Republic of Turkey--Petitioners' Final Scope
Comments,'' dated September 8, 2021.
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Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs that were
submitted by parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum is attached to this notice as Appendix II. 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/index.html">http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html</a>.
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 an on-site
verification to verify the information relied upon in making this final
determination with respect to Rusal Armenal CJSC (Armenal), in
accordance with section 782(i) of the
[[Page 52883]]
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\10\
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\10\ See Commerce's Letter, dated June 15, 2021; see also
Armenal Letter, ``Certain Aluminum Foil from Armenia: RUSAL Armenal
Response to Questionnaire in Lieu of Verification,'' dated June 24,
2021.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our analysis of information provided at Commerce's request
by Armenal after the Preliminary Determination,\11\ the comments
received, our findings related to our request for information in lieu
of verification, and our correction of ministerial errors timely
alleged following the Preliminary Determination,\12\ we have made
certain changes to the margin calculations for Armenal. For a
discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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\11\ See Armenal Letter, ``Certain Aluminum Foil from Armenia:
RUSAL Armenal Supplemental Section D Questionnaire Response,'' dated
May 7, 2021.
\12\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Aluminum Foil from Armenia:
Allegation of a Ministerial Error in the Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Sales in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation,''
dated May 28, 2021.
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Separate Rate Companies
No party commented on our preliminary separate rate determination
with respect to the mandatory respondent.\13\ Thus, there is no basis
to reconsider our preliminary determination with respect to separate
rate status, and we have continued to grant Armenal a separate rate in
this final determination. In light of these changes to the margin
calculations and the resulting revised estimated weighted average
dumping margin for Armenal, we have also revised the Armenia-wide rate.
For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
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\13\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 10-15.
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Combination Rates
Consistent with the Preliminary Determination and Policy Bulletin
05.1,\14\ Commerce calculated combination (producer/exporter) rates for
the respondent that is eligible for a separate rate in this
investigation.
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\14\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1,
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination
Rates in Antidumping Investigations Involving Non-Market Economy
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on
Commerce's website at <a href="http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf">http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
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Final Determination
The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as
follows:
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Estimated
weighted-average
Producer Exporter dumping margin
(percent)
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Rusal Armenal CJSC.............. Rusal Products 29.11
GmbH.
Rusal Armenal CJSC.............. Rusal Marketing 29.11
GmbH.
Armenia-Wide Entity............. .................. 29.11
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Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculations performed in this final
determination within five days of the date of publication of this
notice to parties in this proceeding in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b).
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 the liquidation of all appropriate entries of subject
merchandise, as described in Appendix I of this notice, entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 4, 2021, the
date of publication in the Federal Register of the affirmative
Preliminary Determination.
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 weighted average amount by which NV exceeds U.S. price, as
indicated in the chart above, as follows: (1) For the producer/exporter
combinations listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is equal
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed for that
combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of Armenia
producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that have not
established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash deposit
rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin
established for the Armenia-wide entity; and (3) for all third-county
exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the table
above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable to the
Armenia producer/exporter combination (or the Armenia-wide entity) that
supplied that third-country exporter. These suspension of liquidation
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the
International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. Because Commerce's final determination
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 or sales (or the likelihood of
sales) for importation of aluminum foil no later than 45 days after
this final determination. If the ITC determines that such injury does
not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all cash deposits
posted will be refunded and suspension of liquidation will be lifted.
If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce will issue
an antidumping duty 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 Orders
This notice will serve as a final reminder to the parties subject
to administrative protective order (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 return or 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 a sanctionable violation.
[[Page 52884]]
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) 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. Armenia-Wide Rate
IV. Affiliation
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Surrogate Country Selection
Comment 2: Surrogate Value for Electricity
Comment 3: Conversion Factor for Polyether Packing Tape
Comment 4: Conversion Factor for Sawn Timber
Comment 5: Global Trade Atlas (GTA) Data from South Africa
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2021-20539 Filed 9-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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