Notice2022-23427
Certain Superabsorbent Polymers From the Republic of Korea: Final 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
October 27, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain superabsorbent polymers (SAP) 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 October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2022)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 207 (Thursday, October 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65035-65037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-23427]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-580-914]
Certain Superabsorbent Polymers 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 U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
certain superabsorbent polymers (SAP) 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
October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021.
DATES: Applicable October 27, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles DeFilippo or Elfi Blum, 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) 482-3979 or (202) 482-0197,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 7, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register its
preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of SAP
from Korea, in which it also postponed the final determination until
October 20, 2022.\1\ We invited interested parties to comment on the
Preliminary Determination. A summary of the events that occurred since
Commerce published 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.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Certain Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic of
Korea: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination and extension of
Provisional Measures, 87 FR 34647 (June 7, 2022) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Final
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain
Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic of Korea,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and
Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are SAP from Korea. For
a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see appendix
I.
[[Page 65036]]
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope
comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum to address these comments.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Superabsorbent Polymers from the
Republic of Korea: Preliminary Scope Decision,'' dated April 29,
2022, (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We received comments from interested parties on the Preliminary
Scope Decision Memorandum,\4\ which we addressed in a Final Scope
Decision Memorandum.\5\ Commerce is not modifying the scope language as
it appeared in the correction to the Preliminary Determination. See
Appendix I for the final scope of the investigation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See LGC's Letter, ``Superabsorbent Polymers from the
Republic of Korea: LGC's Scope Brief,'' dated May 9, 2022; see also
Ad Hoc Coalition of American SAP Producers' (Petitioner) Letter,
``Certain Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic of Korea--
Petitioner's Scope Rebuttal Brief,'' dated May 16, 2022.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Superabsorbent Polymers from the Republic
of Korea: Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Final Scope Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by
interested 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="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
Verification
Commerce conducted verification of the information relied upon in
making its final determination in this investigation, in accordance
with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Specifically, Commerce conducted on-site verifications of the home
market sales, U.S. sales, and cost of production responses submitted by
LG Chem, Ltd. (LGC) and its U.S. affiliate, LG Chem America Inc.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our analysis of the comments received and additional
information obtained since the Preliminary Determination, we made
certain changes to the margin calculation for this final determination.
For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
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
individually-investigated exporters and producers, excluding rates that
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the
Act, i.e., facts otherwise available.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated an individual estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for LGC, the only individually-examined
exporter/producer in this investigation. Because the only individually
calculated dumping margin is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on
facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average dumping
margin calculated for LGC 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 for the period October 1, 2020, through September
30, 2021:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LG Chem, Ltd............................................... 17.64
All Others................................................. 17.64
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties 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
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 entries of subject merchandise, as described
in appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after June 7, 2022, the date of
publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register.
This suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until
further notice.
Pursuant to sections 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.210(d), upon the publication of this notice, we will
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for estimated antidumping duties
for such entries as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the
respondent listed in the table above is the company-specific estimated
weighted-average dumping margin determined in this final determination;
(2) if the exporter is not 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 the producer of the
subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other
producers and exporters will be the all-others estimated weighted-
average dumping margin listed above.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its final
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this
investigation 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 SAP no later than 45 days after
this final determination. If the ITC determines that such injury does
not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, 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 in the ``Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation'' section above.
[[Page 65037]]
Administrative Protective Order
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
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 the 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 sanctionable
violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: October 20, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is superabsorbent
polymers (SAP), which is cross-linked sodium polyacrylate most
commonly conforming to Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry
number 9003-04-7, where at least 90 percent of the dry matter, by
weight on a nominal basis, corrected for moisture content, is
comprised of a polymer with a chemical formula of
(C<INF>3</INF>H<INF>3</INF>O<INF>2</INF>Na<INF>x</INF>H<INF>1-x</INF>
)<INF>n</INF>, where x is within a range of 0.00-1.00 and there is
no limit to n. The subject merchandise also includes merchandise
with a chemical formula of
{(C<INF>2</INF>H<INF>3</INF>)COONa<INF>y</INF>H(<INF>1-y</INF>){time}
<INF>n</INF>, where y is within a range of 0.00-1.00 and there is no
limit to n. The subject merchandise includes SAP which is fully
neutralized as well as SAP that is not fully neutralized.
The subject merchandise may also conform to CAS numbers 25549-
84-2, 77751-27-0, 9065-11-6, 9033-79-8, 164715-58-6, 445299-36-5,
912842-45-6, 561012-86-0, 561012-85-9, or 9003-01-4.
All forms and sizes of SAP, regardless of packaging type,
including but not limited to granules, pellets, powder, fibers,
flakes, liquid, or gel are within the scope of this investigation.
The scope also includes SAP whether or not it incorporates additives
for anticaking, anti-odor, anti-yellowing, or similar functions.
The scope also includes SAP that is combined, commingled, or
mixed with other products after final sieving. For such combined
products, only the SAP component is covered by the scope of this
investigation. SAP that has been combined with other products is
included within the scope, regardless of whether the combining
occurs in third countries. A combination is excluded from this
investigation if the total SAP component of the combination
(regardless of the source or sources) comprises less than 50 percent
of the combination, on a nominal dry weight basis.
SAP is classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS) subheading 3906.90.5000. SAP may also enter
the United States under HTSUS 3906.10.0000. Although the HTSUS
subheadings and CAS registry numbers are provided for convenience
and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise 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 from the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Model Match and Product Characteristics
Comment 2: Contract Prices for International and U.S. Inland
Freight
Comment 3: Affiliated Party U.S. Freight Costs
Comment 4: Foreign Exchange Gains and Losses
Comment 5: Impairment Losses
Comment 6: Depreciation of Non-operating Assets and Inventory
Valuation Losses
Comment 7: Constructed Export Price (CEP) Offset
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2022-23427 Filed 10-26-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 27, 2022.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.