[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 1, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18277-18279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-07257]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-896]
Magnesium Metal From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2012-2013
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, formerly Import Administration,
International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') is conducting the
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on magnesium metal
from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''). The period of review
(``POR'') is April 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013. This review covers
one PRC company, Tianjin Magnesium International, Co., Ltd. (``TMI'').
The Department preliminarily finds that TMI did not have reviewable
entries during the POR. We invite interested parties to comment on
these preliminary results.
DATES: Effective Date: April 1, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel LaCivita or Brendan Quinn, AD/
CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4243
or (202) 482-5848, respectively.
Scope of the Order
The product covered by this antidumping duty order is magnesium
metal from the PRC, which includes primary and secondary alloy
magnesium metal, regardless of chemistry, raw material source, form,
shape, or size. Magnesium is a metal or alloy containing by weight
primarily the element magnesium. Primary magnesium is produced by
decomposing raw materials into magnesium metal. Secondary magnesium is
produced by recycling magnesium-based scrap into magnesium metal. The
magnesium covered by this order includes blends of primary and
secondary magnesium.
The subject merchandise includes the following alloy magnesium
metal products made from primary and/or secondary magnesium including,
without limitation, magnesium cast into ingots, slabs, rounds, billets,
and other shapes; magnesium ground, chipped, crushed, or machined into
rasping, granules, turnings, chips, powder, briquettes, and other
shapes; and products that contain 50 percent or greater, but less than
99.8 percent, magnesium, by weight, and that have been entered into the
United States as conforming to an ``ASTM Specification for Magnesium
Alloy'' \1\ and are thus outside the scope of the existing antidumping
orders on magnesium from the PRC (generally referred to as ``alloy''
magnesium).
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\1\ The meaning of this term is the same as that used by the
American Society for Testing and Materials in its Annual Book for
ASTM Standards: Volume 01.02 Aluminum and Magnesium Alloys.
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The scope of this order excludes: (1) All forms of pure magnesium,
including chemical combinations of magnesium and other material(s) in
which the pure magnesium content is 50 percent or greater, but less
than 99.8 percent, by weight, that do not conform to an ``ASTM
Specification for Magnesium Alloy'' \2\; (2) magnesium that is in
liquid or molten form; and (3) mixtures containing 90 percent or less
magnesium in granular or powder form by weight and one or more of
certain non-magnesium granular materials to make magnesium-based
reagent mixtures, including lime, calcium metal, calcium silicon,
calcium carbide, calcium carbonate, carbon, slag coagulants, fluorspar,
nephaline syenite, feldspar, alumina (Al203), calcium aluminate, soda
ash, hydrocarbons, graphite, coke, silicon, rare earth metals/
mischmetal, cryolite, silica/fly ash, magnesium oxide, periclase,
ferroalloys, dolomite lime, and colemanite.\3\
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\2\ The material is already covered by existing antidumping
orders. See Notice of Antidumping Duty Orders: Pure Magnesium from
the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation and Ukraine;
Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value: Antidumping Duty Investigation of Pure Magnesium from the
Russian Federation, 60 FR 25691 (May 12, 1995); and Antidumping Duty
Order: Pure Magnesium in Granular Form from the People's Republic of
China, 66 FR 57936 (November 19, 2001).
\3\ This third exclusion for magnesium-based reagent mixtures is
based on the exclusion for reagent mixtures in the 2000-2001
investigations of magnesium from China, Israel, and Russia. See
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Pure Magnesium
in Granular Form From the People's Republic of China, 66 FR 49345
(September 27, 2001); Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value: Pure Magnesium From Israel, 66 FR 49349 (September 27, 2001);
Final Determination of Sales at Not Less Than Fair Value: Pure
Magnesium From the Russian Federation, 66 FR 49347 (September 27,
2001). These mixtures are not magnesium alloys, because they are not
combined in liquid form and cast into the same ingot.
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The merchandise subject to this order is classifiable under items
8104.19.00, and 8104.30.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (``HTSUS''). Although the HTSUS items are provided for
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the
merchandise is dispositive.
Background
On April 2, 2013, the Department published a notice of opportunity
to request an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on
magnesium metal from the PRC for the period April 1, 2012 through March
31, 2013.\4\ On April 30, 2013, U.S. Magnesium LLC (``U.S.
Magnesium''), a domestic producer and Petitioner in the underlying
investigation of this case, made a timely request that the Department
conduct an administrative review of TMI.\5\ On June 3, 2013, in
accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(``the Act''), the Department published in the Federal Register a
notice of initiation of this antidumping duty administrative review.\6\
On July 23, 2013, TMI submitted a letter to the Department certifying
that it did not export magnesium metal for consumption in the United
States during the POR.\7\
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\4\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative
Review, 78 FR 19645 (April 2, 2013).
\5\ See letter from U.S. Magnesium, ``Magnesium Metal from the
People's Republic of China: Request for Administrative Review,''
dated April 30, 2013.
\6\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 78 FR
33052 (June 3, 2013).
\7\ See letter from TMI, ``Magnesium Metal from the People's
Republic of China; A-570-896; Certification of No Sales by Tianjin
Magnesium International, Co., Ltd.,'' dated July 23, 2012
{sic{time} , at 1.
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On January 6, 2014, the Department placed on the record information
[[Page 18278]]
obtained in response to the Department's query to U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (``CBP'') concerning imports into the United States
of subject merchandise during the POR.\8\ This information indicates
that there were no entries of subject merchandise during the POR that
had been exported by TMI. In addition, on January 16, 2014, we notified
CBP that we were in receipt of a no-shipment certification from TMI and
requested CBP to report any contrary information within 10 days.\9\ CBP
did not report any contrary information.
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\8\ See Memorandum to the File, ``2012-2013 Administrative
Review of Magnesium Metal from the People's Republic of China: U.S.
Customs and Border Protection Data,'' dated January 6, 2014 (``CBP
Query'').
\9\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Magnesium Metal from the
People's Republic of China: 12-13 Administrative Review: Placing No-
Shipment Inquiry on the Record,'' dated January 17, 2014, at
Attachment 1 Customs Message 4016312, ``No Shipments Inquiry,''
dated January 16, 2014.
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As explained in the memorandum from the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, the Department has exercised its discretion
to toll deadlines for the duration of the closure of the Federal
Government from October 1, through October 16, 2013.\10\ Thus, all
deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 16
days. The revised deadline for the preliminary results of review was
established as Thursday, January 16, 2014.\11\ On January 7, 2014, we
extended the deadline for the preliminary results by 120 days.\12\ The
preliminary results of this review are due no later than May 16,
2014.\13\
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\10\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Magnesium Metal From the
People's Republic of China: Tolling of Deadlines for Shutdown of the
Federal Government,'' dated December 29, 2013.
\11\ Id.
\12\ See Memorandum to Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations,
entitled ``Magnesium Metal from the People's Republic of China:
Extension of Deadline for the Preliminary Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review,'' dated January 7, 2014.
\13\ Id.
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Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
As noted in the ``Background'' section above, TMI submitted a
timely-filed certification indicating that it had no shipments of
subject merchandise to the United States during the POR. In addition,
CBP did not provide any evidence that contradicts TMI's claim of no
shipments. Further, on January 6, 2014, the Department released to
interested parties the results of a CBP query that it intended to use
for corroboration of TMI's no shipment claims.\14\ The Department
received no comments from interested parties concerning the results of
the CBP query.
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\14\ See CBP Query.
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Based on TMI's certification and our analysis of CBP information,
we preliminarily determine that TMI did not have any reviewable entries
during the POR. In addition, the Department finds that consistent with
its recently announced refinement to its assessment practice in non-
market economy (``NME'') cases, it is appropriate not to rescind the
review in this circumstance but, rather, to complete the review with
respect to TMI and issue appropriate instructions to CBP based on the
final results of the review.\15\
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\15\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011) and the
``Assessment Rates'' section, below.
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Public Comment
Interested parties are invited to comment on the preliminary
results and may submit case briefs and/or written comments within 30
days of the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(ii). Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the
case briefs, will be due five days after the due date for case briefs,
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d). Parties who submit case or rebuttal
briefs in this proceeding are requested to submit with each argument a
statement of the issue, a summary of the argument not to exceed five
pages, and a table of statutes, regulations, and cases cited, in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2).
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing or to participate if one is requested, must submit a
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, filed electronically using
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (``IA ACCESS''). IA ACCESS is
available to registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov and in the
Central Records Unit, Room 7046 of the main Department of Commerce
building. An electronically filed document must be received
successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic records
system, IA ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice.\16\ Requests should
contain: (1) The party's name, address and telephone number; (2) the
number of participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed.
Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the
respective case briefs. The Department intends to issue the final
results of this administrative review, including the results of its
analysis of the issues raised in any written briefs, not later than 120
days after the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to section
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
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\16\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Assessment Rates
Upon issuance of the final results, the Department will determine,
and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries
covered by this review. The Department intends to issue assessment
instructions to CBP 15 days after the publication date of the final
results of this review. Additionally, pursuant to a recently announced
refinement to its assessment practice in NME cases, if the Department
continues to determine that an exporter under review had no shipments
of the subject merchandise, any suspended entries that entered under
that exporter's case number (i.e., at that exporter's rate) will be
liquidated at the PRC-wide rate. For a full discussion of this
practice, see Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of
Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the final results of this administrative review for all
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as
provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For TMI, which
claimed no shipments, the cash deposit rate will remain unchanged from
the rate assigned to TMI in the most recently completed review of the
company; (2) for previously investigated or reviewed PRC and non-PRC
exporters who are not under review in this segment of the proceeding
but who have separate rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to be
the exporter-specific rate published for the most recent period; (3)
for all PRC exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found
to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the
PRC-wide rate of 141.49 percent; and (4) for all non-PRC exporters of
subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash
deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the PRC exporter(s) that
supplied that non-PRC exporter. These deposit requirements, when
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.
[[Page 18279]]
Notification to Importers
This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this period. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of double antidumping duties.
This administrative review and notice are in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213.
Dated: March 26, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-07257 Filed 3-31-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P