Notice2023-27129
Antidumping Duty Order on Hydrofluorocarbon Blends From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Circumvention With Respect to R-410A and R-407C From Malaysia
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
December 11, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that imports of R-410A and R-407C, completed in Malaysia using the People's Republic of China (China)-origin components, and exported from Malaysia, as specified below, are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) order on hydrofluorocarbon blends (HFC blends) from China.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 236 (Monday, December 11, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 236 (Monday, December 11, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 85876-85878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27129]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-028]
Antidumping Duty Order on Hydrofluorocarbon Blends From the
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of
Circumvention With Respect to R-410A and R-407C From Malaysia
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that imports of R-410A and R-407C, completed in Malaysia
using the People's Republic of China (China)-origin components, and
exported from Malaysia, as specified below, are circumventing the
antidumping duty (AD) order on hydrofluorocarbon blends (HFC blends)
from China.
DATES: Applicable December 11, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Xiao, AD/CVD Operations, Office
II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2273.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 19, 2016, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
AD order on HFC blends from China.\1\ On July 7, 2023, Commerce
initiated a country-wide circumvention inquiry to determine whether
imports of R-410A and R-407C, completed in Malaysia using HFC
components, R-32 (difluoromethane), R-125 (pentafluoroethane), and R-
134a (1,1,1,2 tetrafluoroethane) (collectively, China-origin
components) manufactured in China, are circumventing the Order and,
accordingly, should be covered by the scope of the Order.\2\ The sole
respondent in this circumvention inquiry is Juara Teguh Resources PLT
(Juara) \3\ For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this circumvention inquiry, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\4\
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\1\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of
China: Antidumping Duty Order, 81 FR 55436 (August 19, 2016)
(Order).
\2\ See Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's Republic of
China: Initiation of Circumvention Inquiries on the Antidumping Duty
Order, 88 FR 43275 (July 7, 2023) (Initiation Notice).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated August 14;
see also Commerce's Letter, ``Custom Blends from Malaysia Initial
Questionnaire,'' dated August 23, 2023 (Initial Questionnaire).
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Hydrofluorocarbon Blends from the People's
Republic of China: Preliminary Decision Memorandum for the
Circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order with Respect to
Imports of R-410A and R-407C from Malaysia,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by the Order is certain HFC blends. For a
complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.\5\
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\5\ Id. at 2-3.
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Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiries
This circumvention inquiry covers R-410A and R-407C, completed in
Malaysia using China-origin HFC components and subsequently exported
from Malaysia to the United States.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this circumvention inquiry in accordance
with section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act),
and 19 CFR 351.226. For a complete description of the methodology
underlying this circumvention inquiry, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum. A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is included in the appendix 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>.
Preliminary Circumvention Determination
As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, and based on
the ``Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)'' section, Commerce
preliminarily determines that R-410A and R-407C completed in Malaysia
using HFC components from China, that are subsequently exported from
Malaysia to the United States, are circumventing the Order on a
country-wide basis. As a result, in accordance with section 781(b) of
the Act, we preliminarily determine that the inquiry merchandise should
be included within the scope of the Order. See the ``Suspension of
Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements'' section below for details
regarding suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements. See
the ``Certified Entries'' section below for details regarding
Commerce's preliminary decision concerning certifications for inquiry
merchandise exported from Malaysia.
Use of AFA
Pursuant to section 776(a) of the Act, if the necessary information
is not available on the record, or an interested party withholds
requested information, fails to provide requested information by the
deadline or in the form and manner requested, or significantly impedes
a proceeding, Commerce shall use the facts otherwise available in
reaching the applicable determination. Moreover, pursuant to section
776(b) of the Act, Commerce may use inferences adverse to the interests
of an interested party in selecting from among the facts otherwise
available if the party fails to cooperate by not acting to the best of
its ability to provide requested information.
We requested information from Juara. In the Initial Questionnaire,
Commerce explained that, if the company to which Commerce issued the
questionnaire fails to respond to the questionnaire, or fails to
provide the requested information, Commerce may find that the company
failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to comply
with the
[[Page 85877]]
request for information, and may use an inference that is adverse to
the company's interests in selecting from the facts otherwise
available.\6\ Juara received, but failed to respond to, Commerce's
questionnaire.\7\
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\6\ See Initial Questionnaire at 3.
\7\ See Memorandum, ``Delivery Confirmation,'' dated September
1, 2023.
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Therefore, we preliminarily find that Juara failed to provide
requested information by the deadline or in the form and manner
requested, and significantly impeded this inquiry. Moreover, we find
that Juara failed to cooperate to the best of its ability to provide
the requested information because it did not provide a response to
Commerce's initial questionnaire. Consequently, we used adverse
inferences with respect to Juara in selecting from among the facts
otherwise available on the record, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b)
of the Act. For details regarding the AFA used in this preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, based on AFA,
we preliminarily determine that Juara exported inquiry merchandise and
that U.S. entries of that merchandise are circumventing the Order.
Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements
Based on the preliminary affirmative country-wide determination of
circumvention for Malaysia in accordance with 19 CFR 351.226(l)(2), we
will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend
liquidation and require a cash deposit of estimated duties on
unliquidated entries of R-410A and R0407C, completed in Malaysia using
China-origin components, that were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after July 7, 2023, the date of
publication of the initiation of this circumvention inquiry in the
Federal Register.\8\ CBP shall require cash deposits in accordance with
the rate established for the China-wide entity, i.e., 216.37
percent,\9\ for entries of such merchandise produced in Malaysia.
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\8\ See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 43275.
\9\ See Order, 81 FR at 55438.
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Commerce has established the following third-country case number
for Malaysia in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) for such
entries: A-557-300-000. For Juara, Commerce will direct CBP, for all
entries of R-410A or R-407C from Malaysia produced or exported by
Juara, to suspend liquidation and require a cash deposit at the rate
established for the China-wide entity, i.e., 216.37 percent, under this
third country case number.
R-410A and R-407C produced in Malaysia that is not from China-
origin HFC blends is not subject to this inquiry. Therefore, cash
deposits are not required for such merchandise under the Order. These
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until
further notice.
Certified Entries
At this time, Commerce has not included a certification
requirement. We invite interested parties to comment on this matter.
Public Comment
Interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than
14 days after the date of publication of this notice.\10\ Rebuttal
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no
later than five days after the date for filing case briefs.\11\
Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in these
proceedings must submit: (1) a statement of the issue; (2) a brief
summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.\12\
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\10\ Commerce is exercising its discretion, under 19 CFR
351.309(C)(1)(ii), to alter the time limit for filing case briefs.
\11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29,
2023).
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes. In these circumvention inquiries, we
instead request that interested parties provide at the beginning of
their briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their
briefs.\13\ Further, we request that interested parties limit their
executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not
including citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the
basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision
memorandum that will accompany the final determination in this
circumvention inquiry. We request that interested parties include
footnotes for relevant citations in the executive summary of each
issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements
pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\14\
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\13\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\14\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final
Rule, 88 FR 67069 (September 29, 2023).
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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 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 and whether any of those individuals
is a foreign national; and (3) a list of the issues that 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, time, and
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date of the
hearing.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
Consistent with section 781(e) of the Act, Commerce will notify the
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of this preliminary
determination to include the merchandise subject to this circumvention
inquiry within the Order. Pursuant to section 781(e) of the Act, the
ITC may request consultations concerning Commerce's proposed inclusion
of the inquiry merchandise. If, after consultations, the ITC believes
that a significant injury issue is presented by the proposed inclusion,
it will have 60 days from the date of notification by Commerce to
provide written advice.
Notification to Interested Parties
Commerce is issuing and publishing this determination in accordance
with section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.226(g)(1).
Dated: December 4, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Merchandise Subject to the Circumvention Inquiry
V. Period of the Circumvention Inquiry
VI. Application of Facts Available and Use of
[[Page 85878]]
Adverse Inferences
VII. Statutory and Regulatory Framework for the Circumvention
Inquiry
VIII. Analysis of Statutory Criteria for the Circumvention Inquiry
IX. Summary of Statutory Analysis
X. Country-Wide Affirmative Determination of Circumvention
XI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2023-27129 Filed 12-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 11, 2023.
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