Notice2022-02061
Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions From the Russian Federation: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
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Published
February 2, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that urea ammonium nitrate solutions (UAN) from the Russian Federation are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 22 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5785-5787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02061]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-821-831]
Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions From the Russian Federation:
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional
Measures
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that urea ammonium nitrate solutions (UAN) from the Russian Federation
are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than
fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2020,
through March 31, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on
this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable February 2, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krisha Hill or Drew Jackson, AD/CVD
Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4037 or (202) 482-4406,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on July 26,
2021.\1\ On November 23, 2021, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination in this investigation until January 26, 2022.\2\ For a
complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this
investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ A list of
the sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is in Appendix II
to this notice. 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 <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
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\1\ See Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions from the Russian
Federation and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: Initiation of
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 86 FR 40008 (July 26, 2021)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions from the Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago and the Russian Federation: Postponement of
Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations, 86 FR 66530 November 23, 2021).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Urea
Ammonium Nitrate Solutions from the Russian Federation,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are UAN from Russia. For
a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix
I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ in
the Initiation Notice, Commerce set aside a period of time for parties
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ No
interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice. Commerce is not preliminarily
modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\5\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated constructed export prices
in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Commerce calculated
normal value in accordance with section 773 of the Act. Furthermore,
pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily
based the dumping margins for PJSC Kuibyshev Azot and SBU Azot upon
facts otherwise available, with adverse inferences, because these
companies failed to timely respond to Commerce's quantity and value
questionnaire. For a full description of the methodology underlying the
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in
the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually
examined. This rate shall be equal to the weighted average of the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters
and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de
minimis dumping margins, and any dumping margins determined entirely
under section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margins for the mandatory respondents, Public Joint
Stock Company Acron (Acron) and EuroChem,\6\ that are not zero, de
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce
calculated the all-others rate by weight averaging the estimated
weighted-average dumping margins that it calculated for the
individually examined respondents. Commerce weight averaged these
dumping margins by the publicly-ranged total values of their sales of
subject merchandise to the United States during the POI.\7\
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\6\ We used ``EuroChem'' to refer to the collapsed entity
comprising the following companies: Azot, Joint Stock Company; Joint
Stock Company ``Nevinnomyssky Azot''; Mineral and Chemical Company
EuroChem, Joint Stock Company; and EuroChem Trading Rus, Limited
Liability Company.
\7\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally
calculates (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (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. Commerce then
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. 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). As complete publicly ranged sales data was
available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged
sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of
the data, please see the All-Others Rate Calculation Memorandum.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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\8\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Urea
Ammonium Nitrate Solutions from the Russian Federation: Preliminary
Calculations and Analysis for PJSC Acron,'' dated concurrently with
this memorandum; see also Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation of Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions from the Russian
Federation: Preliminary Calculations and Analysis for EuroChem,''
dated concurrently with this memorandum; and Memorandum,
``Preliminary Determination Calculation for the All-Others,'' dated
concurrently with this memorandum.
[[Page 5786]]
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Cash deposit rate
Estimated (adjusted for
Exporter/producer weighted-average subsidy
dumping margin offset(s))
(percent) (percent) \8\
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Public Joint Stock Company Acron.. 9.15 9.01
Azot, Joint Stock Company/Joint 23.98 23.98
Stock Company ``Nevinnomyssky
Azot''/Mineral and Chemical
Company EuroChem, Joint Stock
Company/EuroChem Trading Rus,
Limited Liability Company........
PJSC Kuibyshev Azot *............. 127.19 127.10
SBU Azot *........................ 127.19 127.10
All Others........................ 15.48 15.39
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* Rate is based on facts otherwise available with an adverse inference.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant
to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will
instruct CBP to require the following cash deposits for such entries:
(1) The cash deposit rate for each of the respondents listed in the
table above is the company-specific cash deposit rate listed for the
respondent in the table; (2) if the exporter is not a respondent listed
in the table above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate is
the company-specific cash deposit rate listed for the producer of the
subject merchandise in the table above; and (3) the cash deposit rate
for all other producers and exporters is the ``All Others'' cash
deposit rate listed in the table above.
Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion
countervailing duty (CVD) investigation when CVD provisional measures
are in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce made a preliminary
affirmative determination of countervailable export subsidies in the
companion CVD investigation, we offset the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins listed in the table above by the appropriate CVD rates
to determine the cash deposit rates. Any such adjusted cash deposit
rate may be found in the table in the ``Preliminary Determination''
section above.
Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting estimated
antidumping duty cash deposits unadjusted for countervailed export
subsidies at the time that the provisional CVD measures expired. These
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until
further notice.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its preliminary calculations and
related analysis to interested parties within five days of any public
announcement of the preliminary determination or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.
Normally, Commerce verifies information using standard procedures,
including an on-site examination of original accounting, financial, and
sales documentation. However, due to current travel restrictions in
response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Commerce is unable to conduct
on-site verification in this investigation. Accordingly, we intend to
verify the information relied upon in making the final determination
through alternative means in lieu of an on-site verification.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. A timeline for the
submission of case briefs and written comments will be provided to
interested parties at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues
raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after
the deadline date for case briefs.\9\ Note that Commerce has
temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents
containing business proprietary information, until further notice.\10\
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation 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.
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\9\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
\10\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020) (Temporary Rule); and
Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-
19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Requests for a hearing should contain: (1) The requesting party's name,
address, and telephone number; (2) the number of individuals from the
requesting party that will attend the hearing, including, whether any
individuals are foreign nationals; and (3) a list of the issues the
party intends to discuss at the hearing. If a request for a hearing is
made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date and time of
the hearing two days before the scheduled hearing date.
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register
if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request
for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the
event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such
postponement is made by the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of
Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for
postponement of the final determination be accompanied by a request for
extension of provisional measures from a four-
[[Page 5787]]
month period to a period not more than six months in duration.
On January 14, 2022, and January 20, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.210(e), Acron and EuroChem, respectively, requested that Commerce
postpone the final determination in this investigation up to 135 days
after publication of this notice and that provisional measures be
extended to a period not to exceed six months.\11\ Additionally, on
January 21, 2022, the petitioner requested that Commerce postpone the
final determination in this investigation in the event of a negative
preliminary determination.\12\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary
determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for
a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3)
no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the
final determination in this investigation and extending the provisional
measures from a four-month period to a period not greater than six
months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final determination in this
investigation no later than 135 days after the date of publication of
this preliminary determination in the Federal Register.
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\11\ See Acron's Letter, ``Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions from
the Russian Federation: Request for Extension of Final Determination
an Provisional Measures,'' dated January 14, 2022; see also
EuroChem's Letter, ``Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions from the
Russian Federation,'' dated January 21, 2022.
\12\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Urea Ammonium Nitrate Solutions
from the Russian Federation (A-821-831): Petitioner's Request for
Postponement of Final Antidumping Determination,'' dated January 21,
2022.
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International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will
determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this
preliminary determination, or 45 days after the final determination,
whether U.S. imports of UAN are materially injuring, or threaten
material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: January 26, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is all mixtures of
urea and ammonium nitrate in aqueous or ammonia solution, regardless
of nitrogen concentration by weight, and regardless of the presence
of additives, such as corrosion inhibiters and soluble micro or
macronutrients (UAN).
Subject merchandise includes merchandise matching the above
description that has been processed in a third country, including by
commingling, diluting, adding or removing additives, or performing
any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise
from the scope of the investigations if performed in the subject
country.
The scope also includes UAN that is commingled with UAN from
sources not subject to this investigation. Only the subject
component of such commingled products is covered by the scope of
this investigation.
The covered merchandise is currently classified in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at
subheading 3102.80.0000. Although the HTSUS subheading is provided
for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the
scope is dispositive.
Appendix II--List of Sections in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inferences
VI. Affiliation/Single Entity
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies in
Companion CVD Investigation
X. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-02061 Filed 2-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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