[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 81 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23322-23324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09610]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-937]


Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review; 2012-2013

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is conducting 
the fourth administrative review (``AR'') of the antidumping duty order 
on citric acid and certain citrate salts (``citric acid'') from the 
People's Republic of China (``PRC''). The Department reviewed two 
companies, Yixing-Union

[[Page 23323]]

Biochemical Co., Ltd. (``Yixing-Union'') and Laiwu Taihe Biochemistry 
Co., Ltd. (``Taihe''), as mandatory respondents for individual 
examination. The period of review (``POR'') for the AR is May 1, 2012, 
through April 30, 2013.\1\ The Department preliminarily determines that 
both Yixing-Union and Taihe made sales of subject merchandise at less 
than normal value (``NV''). Interested parties are invited to comment 
on these preliminary results.
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    \1\ The Department initiated administrative reviews of Yixing 
Union, Taihe, and RZBC Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd., and RZBC (Juxian) Co., 
Ltd. (collectively, ``RZBC''). However, RZBC and Archer Daniels 
Midland Company, Cargill, Incorporated, and Tate & Lyle Ingredients 
Americas, Inc. (collectively, ``Petitioners'') timely withdrew their 
requests for an administrative review of RZBC. There were no other 
requests for review of RZBC, hence the Department did not 
individually examine RZBC.

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DATES: Effective Date: April 28, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krisha Hill or Maisha Cryor, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 
Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4037 or (202) 
482-5831, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order include the hydrous and anhydrous 
forms of citric acid, the dihydrate and anhydrous forms of sodium 
citrate, otherwise known as citric acid sodium salt, and the 
monohydrate and monopotassium forms of potassium citrate.\2\ Sodium 
citrate also includes both trisodium citrate and monosodium citrate, 
which are also known as citric acid trisodium salt and citric acid 
monosodium salt, respectively. Citric acid and sodium citrate are 
classifiable under 2918.14.0000 and 2918.15.1000 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS''), respectively. 
Potassium citrate and crude calcium citrate are classifiable under 
2918.15.5000 and 3824.90.9290 of the HTSUS, respectively. Blends that 
include citric acid, sodium citrate, and potassium citrate are 
classifiable under 3824.90.9290 of the HTSUS. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise is dispositive.\3\
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    \2\ See ``Decision Memorandum for Preliminary Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Citric Acid and Certain 
Citrate Salts from the People's Republic of China'' from James 
Maeder, Director, Office II, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, issued concurrently with this notice (``Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum''), for a complete description of the Scope of 
the Order.
    \3\ See Citric Acid and Certain Citrate Salts from Canada and 
the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Orders, 74 FR 25703 
(May 29, 2009).
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Extension of Deadlines for Preliminary Results

    As explained in the memorandum from the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, the Department exercised its discretion to 
toll deadlines for the duration of the closure of the Federal 
Government from October 1, through October 16, 2013.\4\ Therefore, all 
deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 16 
days. If the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance 
with the Department's practice, the deadline will become the next 
business day. Additionally, on January 17, 2014, we extended the 
deadline for the preliminary results until April 18, 2014.\5\
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    \4\ See Memorandum for the Record from Paul Piquado, Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by 
the Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated October 18, 2013.
    \5\ See Memorandum from Krisha Hill through Abdelali Elouaradia 
to Christian Marsh regarding '' ``Citric Acid and Certain Citrate 
Salts from the People's Republic of China: Extension of Deadline for 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' 
dated January 17, 2014.
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Methodology

    The Department is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''). The 
Department calculated export prices in accordance with section 772 of 
the Act. Because the PRC is a nonmarket economy (``NME'') within the 
meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, the Department calculated normal 
value in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, which is hereby 
adopted with 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 (``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. In addition, a 
complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed 
directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Preliminary Results of Review

    The Department preliminarily determines that the following 
weighted-average dumping margins exist for the period May 1, 2012, 
through April 30, 2013.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                        Exporter                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Yixing-Union Biochemical Co., Ltd.......................            6.80
Laiwu Taihe Biochemistry Co., Ltd.......................            2.15
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department will disclose calculations performed for these 
preliminary results to parties within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 
Interested parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days after 
the date of publication of these preliminary results of review.\6\ 
Rebuttals to case briefs may be filed no later than five days after the 
written comments are filed and all rebuttal comments must be limited to 
comments raised in the case briefs.\7\ A table of contents, list of 
authorities used, and an executive summary of issues should accompany 
any briefs submitted to the Department. This summary should be limited 
to five pages total, including footnotes.
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    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c).
    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
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    Any interested party may request a hearing within 30 days of 
publication of this notice.\8\ Hearing requests should contain the 
following information: (1) The party's name, address, and telephone 
number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of the issues to 
be discussed. Oral presentations will be limited to issues raised in 
the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be 
notified of the time and date for the hearing to be held at the U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230.\9\
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    All submissions, with limited exceptions, must be filed 
electronically using IA ACCESS. An electronically filed document must 
be received successfully in its entirety by 5 p.m. Eastern Time 
(``ET'') on the due date. Documents excepted from the electronic 
submission requirements must be filed

[[Page 23324]]

manually (i.e., in paper form) with the APO/Dockets Unit in Room 1870 
and stamped with the date and time of receipt by 5 p.m. ET on the due 
date.\10\
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    \10\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011).
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    The Department will issue the final results of this AR, which will 
include the results of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs 
received, within 120 days of publication of these preliminary results, 
pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act, unless that time is 
extended.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuing the final results of this review, the Department will 
determine, and Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') shall assess, 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries.\11\ The Department 
intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the 
publication date of the final results of this review.
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b).
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    For each individually examined respondent in this review whose 
weighted-average dumping margin is above de minimis (i.e., 0.5 percent) 
in the final results of this review, the Department will calculate 
importer-specific assessment rates on the basis of the ratio of the 
total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's examined sales to 
the total entered value of those sales, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(1).\12\ Where an importer- (or customer-) specific ad 
valorem rate is greater than de minimis, the Department will instruct 
CBP to collect the appropriate duties at the time of liquidation.\13\ 
Where either a respondent's weighted average dumping margin is zero or 
de minimis, or an importer- (or customer-) specific ad valorem dumping 
margin is zero or de minimis, the Department will instruct CBP to 
liquidate appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.\14\
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    \12\ In these preliminary results, the Department applied the 
assessment rate calculation method adopted in Antidumping 
Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and 
Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings: Final 
Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
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    The Department announced a refinement to its assessment practice in 
NME cases. Pursuant to this refinement in practice, for entries that 
were not reported in the U.S. sales database submitted by companies 
individually examined during the administrative review, the Department 
will instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at the PRC-wide rate. 
Additionally, if the Department determines that an exporter had no 
shipments of 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.\15\
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    \15\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Non-Market 
Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this review for shipments of the 
subject merchandise from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by 
sections 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For the companies listed above 
that have a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be that rate 
established in the final results of these reviews (except, if the rate 
is zero or de minimis, then a zero cash deposit will be required); (2) 
for previously investigated or reviewed PRC and non-PRC exporters 
listed above that received a separate rate in a prior segment of this 
proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the existing 
exporter-specific rate; (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 rate for the PRC-wide entity; 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 that supplied that non-PRC exporter.
    These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect 
until further notice.

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 review period. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in the Department's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213.

    Dated: April 18, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

Summary
Background
Scope of the Order
Discussion of the Methodology
Duty Absorption
Non-Market Economy Country Status
Separate Rates
Surrogate Country
Surrogate Value Comments
Date of Sale
Normal Value Comparisons
Determination of the Comparison Method
U.S. Price
Normal Value
Factor Valuations
Currency Conversion
Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2014-09610 Filed 4-25-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P