Notice2022-13562
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber From Mexico: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
June 24, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (AB rubber) from Mexico is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 121 (Friday, June 24, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 121 (Friday, June 24, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37829-37831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-13562]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-201-855]
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber From Mexico: Final Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (AB rubber) from Mexico is being, or is
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV).
The period of investigation is April 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.
DATES: Applicable June 24, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis McClure or Faris Montgomery,
AD/CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5973
or (202) 482-1537, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 2, 2022, Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination in the LTFV investigation of AB rubber from Mexico, in
which we also postponed the final determination until June 17, 2022.\1\
Commerce invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary
Determination; \2\ we
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received no comments from interested parties. However, as a result of
the minor corrections presented to Commerce in the sole mandatory
respondent's response to the in lieu of on-site verification
questionnaire, Commerce has made certain changes to the Preliminary
Determination, as discussed below.
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\1\ See Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from Mexico: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional
Measures, 87 FR 5790 (February 2, 2022) (Preliminary Determination),
and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ Id.
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Scope Comments
On January 26, 2022, we issued the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum.\3\ Interested parties submitted case and rebuttal briefs
concerning the scope of this investigation.\4\ For a summary of the
product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the
record of this investigation, and accompanying analysis of all comments
timely received, see the Final Scope Memorandum.\5\ Based on the
comments received from interested parties, we are revising the scope of
this investigation as it appeared in the Preliminary Determination.\6\
The scope in the appendix reflects these changes.
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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,''
dated January 26, 2022 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
\4\ See ARLANXEO Emulsion Rubber France S.A.S.'s Letter, ``Scope
Brief,'' dated February 25, 2022; and Zeon Chemicals L.P. and Zeon
GP, LLC (collectively, the petitioner)'s Letter, ``Petitioner's
Rebuttal Scope Brief,'' dated March 4, 2022.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of
Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber from France, the Republic of Korea,
and Mexico: Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Final Scope Memorandum).
\6\ See Preliminary Determination, 87 FR at 5792. Specifically,
we added language to the scope that clarified that AB Rubber
products that include a third component that is not methacrylic acid
or isoprene are not covered by the scope. See Final Scope
Memorandum.
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is AB rubber from Mexico.
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see the
appendix to this notice.
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, in accordance with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act).\7\
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\7\ See Commerce's Letter, ``In Lieu of On-Site Verification
Questionnaire,'' dated March 2, 2022.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V.'s (Negromex's) in lieu of
on-site verification questionnaire response,\8\ we accepted minor
corrections to Negromex's reported sales data \9\ and included these
changes in the margin calculations for the final determination.\10\
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\8\ See Negromex's Letter, ``In Lieu of Verification
Questionnaire Response,'' dated March 10, 2022.
\9\ See Negromex's Letter, ``Post-Verification Data
Corrections,'' dated May 9, 2022.
\10\ For a discussion of the minor verification corrections
accepted for the final determination, see memorandum, ``Final
Determination Calculation Memorandum for Industrias Negromex S.A. de
C.V.,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters
not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
exporters and producers individually investigated excluding rates that
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the
Act. Section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act provides that, if the estimated
weighted-average dumping margins for all individually investigated
exporters and producers are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely
under section 776 of the Act, then Commerce may use any reasonable
method to establish the estimated all-others rate, including averaging
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins determined for the
individually investigated exporters and producers.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-
average dumping margin for the sole mandatory respondent Negromex, that
is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise
available. Accordingly, the estimated weighted-average dumping margin
calculated for Negromex is the margin assigned to all other producers
and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated weighted-average
dumping margins exist:
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Estimated
weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Industrias Negromex S.A. de C.V............................. 18.45
All Others.................................................. 18.45
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in this
final determination within five days of any 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
Consistent with the Preliminary Determination,\11\ Commerce will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of AB rubber from
Mexico, as described in the Appendix to this notice, which are entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after February 2,
2022, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the
Federal Register.
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\11\ See Preliminary Determination, 87 FR at 5791.
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Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), upon publication of this notice, Commerce will instruct CBP
to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-average
dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: (1) the
cash deposit rate for the respondent listed above will be equal to the
company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin determined
in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a respondent
identified above but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will
be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping
margin established for that producer of the subject merchandise; 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
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative
determination of sales at LTFV. We will allow the ITC access to all
privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided
the ITC confirms it will not
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disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative
protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
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 AB Rubber from Mexico 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 February 2, 2022, effective date of the
suspension of liquidation.
Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders
This notice will serve as a reminder to the parties subject to 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 terms of an APO
is a violation which is 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, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: June 17, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix--Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is commonly referred
to as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber or nitrile rubber (AB Rubber).
AB Rubber is a synthetic rubber produced by the emulsion
polymerization of butadiene and acrylonitrile with or without the
incorporation of a third component selected from methacrylic acid or
isoprene. AB Rubber products that include a third component that is
not methacrylic acid or isoprene are not covered by the scope. This
scope covers AB Rubber in solid or non-aqueous liquid form. The
scope also includes carboxylated AB Rubber.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation is AB Rubber in
latex form (commonly classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS) subheading 4002.51.0000). Latex AB Rubber
is commonly either (a) acrylonitrile/butadiene polymer in latex form
or (b) acrylonitrile/butadiene/methacrylic acid polymer in latex
form. The broader definition of latex refers to a water emulsion of
a synthetic rubber obtained by polymerization.
Also excluded from the scope of this investigation is: (a) AB
Rubber containing additives incorporated during the compounding,
mixing, molding, or use of AB Rubber comprising greater than twenty
percent of the total weight of the product. Additives would include,
but are not limited to, fillers (e.g., carbon black, silica, clay);
reinforcement agents (e.g., fibers, carbon black, silica);
vulcanization agents (e.g., sulfur, sulfur complexes, peroxide); or
AB Rubber containing extension oils making up greater than forty
percent of the total weight of the product. Such products would be
generally classified under HTSUS subheading 4005; (b) AB Rubber
containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC) making up greater than twenty
percent of total weight of the product; (c) hydrogenated AB Rubber
(commonly referred to as HNBR) produced by subsequent dissolution
and hydrogenation of AB Rubber; (d) reactive liquid polymers
containing acrylonitrile and butadiene with amine, epoxy, carboxyl
or methacrylate vinyl chemical functionality.
Subject merchandise includes material matching the above
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed
in a third country, including by modifying physical form or
packaging with another product, or performing any other finishing,
packaging, or processing that would not otherwise remove the
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the
country of manufacture of the AB Rubber.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is classified in
the HTSUS at subheading 4002.59.0000. While the HTSUS subheading
numbers are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the merchandise under investigation is
dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2022-13562 Filed 6-23-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on June 24, 2022.
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