[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31949-31951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-14729]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-071]


Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products From the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary 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) preliminarily 
determines that sodium gluconate, gluconic acid, and derivative 
products from the People's Republic of China (China) are, or are likely 
to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The 
period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2017, through September 30, 
2017. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable July 10, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Magd Zalok or Stephen Bailey, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office IV, Enforcement & Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4162 or (202) 482-0193 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is in accordance with section 733(b) 
of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the 
notice of initiation of this investigation on January 4, 2018.\1\ On 
May 1, 2018, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this 
investigation.\2\ Commerce has exercised its discretion to toll 
deadlines for the duration of the closure of the Federal Government 
from January 20 through 22, 2018.\3\ The revised deadline for the 
preliminary determination for this investigation is now July 2, 2018.
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    \1\ See Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products 
from France and the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 83 FR 516 (January 4, 2018) 
(Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products 
from the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 83 FR 19050 
(May 1, 2018).
    \3\ See Memorandum, for The Record from Christian Marsh, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of 
the Federal Government,'' (Tolling Memorandum), dated January 23, 
2018. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been 
extended by 3 days.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\4\ A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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 https://access.trade.gov, and to all parties in the 
Central Records Unit, room B8024 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 and the electronic versions of the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination of the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Sodium 
Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products from People's 
Republic of China (Preliminary Decision Memorandum), dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice. See also 
Appendix I.
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are sodium gluconate, 
gluconic acid, and derivative products from China. For a complete 
description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I to this 
notice.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (scope).\6\ On January 9, 2018, and 
January 19, 2018, Commerce received scope comments and rebuttal 
comments, respectively.\7\ For further details, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum accompanying this notice. However, Commerce is not 
preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. See the scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296, 
27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice.
    \7\ See Letter from Jungbunzlauer S.A. to Commerce, 
``Investigations Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative 
Products from France and China--Junsbunzlauers Comments regarding 
Scope,'' dated January 9, 2018, and PMP's Letter to Commerce, 
``Countervailing and Antidumping Duty Investigation of Sodium 
Gluconate, Gluconic Acid and Derivative Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Petitioner's Rebuttal Comments on Scope 
Comments,'' dated January 19, 2018.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
Commerce preliminarily has relied upon facts otherwise available, with 
adverse inferences, for the China-wide entity. The China-wide entity 
includes mandatory respondents Shandong Fuyang Biotechnology Co., Ltd./
Shandong Fuyang Biology Starch Co., Ltd. (Shandong Fuyang) \8\ Qingdao

[[Page 31950]]

Dongxiao Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Qingdao Dongxiao),\9\ Zhejiang Tianyi 
Food Additives Co., Ltd. (Tianyi Food) \10\ and Dezhou Huiyang 
Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Dezhou Huiyang).\11\ These companies failed to 
respond to Commerce's requests for information and withdrew from 
participation in this investigation. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Sodium Gluconate, Gluconic Acid, and Derivative Products from the 
People's Republic of China: Respondent Selection,'' dated January 
17, 2018 (Initial Respondent Selection Memorandum). See also 
Shandong Fuyang letter, ``Notice of Non-Participation in 
Investigation,'' dated March 30, 2018.
    \9\ See Qingdao Dongxiao, see the Initial Respondent Selection 
Memorandum and Qingdao Dongxiao's Letter, ``Withdrawal from 
Participation,'' dated February 14, 2018.
    \10\ See Tianyi Food, see Commerce's Memorandum, ``Selection of 
Additional Respondent,'' dated March 5, 2018 and Tianyi Food's 
Letter, ``Withdrawal from Participation,'' dated March 8, 2018.
    \11\ See Dezhou Huiyang's Commerce's Memorandum, ``Selection of 
Additional Respondent,'' dated March 9, 2018 and Dezhou Huiyang's 
Letter, ``Dezhou Huiyang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Withdrawal of 
Participation in Antidumping Duty Investigation,'' dated March 13, 
2018.
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Separate Rate

    In proceedings involving NME countries, Commerce maintains a 
rebuttable presumption that all companies within the country are 
subject to government control and, therefore, should be assessed a 
single weighted-average dumping margin.\12\ Commerce's policy is to 
assign all exporters of subject merchandise that are in an NME country 
this single rate unless an exporter can demonstrate that it is 
sufficiently independent so as to be entitled to a separate rate.\13\ 
Commerce preliminarily finds that the evidence placed on the record of 
this investigation by Anhui Xingzhou Medicine Food Co., Ltd. (Xingzhou 
Medicine) \14\ demonstrates an absence of de jure and de facto 
government control. Commerce assigned Xingzhou Medicine a separate 
rate, which is the petition rate, because it is the only rate available 
on the record of this proceeding. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \12\ See, e.g., Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, and 
Strip from the People's Republic of China: Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 73 FR 55039, 55040 (September 24, 
2008).
    \13\ See Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Sparklers from the People's Republic of China, 56 FR 20588, 20589 
(May 6, 1991) (Sparklers).
    \14\ See, e.g., Xingzhou Medicine's Letter, ``Xingzhou Medicine 
Separate Rate Application,'' dated February 5, 2018; Commerce's 
Letter, ``1st Supplemental Questionnaire Regarding the Separate Rate 
Application for Anhui Xingzhou Medicine Food Co., Ltd.,'' dated 
February 27, 2018; Xingzhou Medicine's Letter, ``Supplemental SRA 
Questionnaire Response,'' dated March 6, 2018; Commerce's Letter, 
``2nd Supplemental Questionnaire regarding the Separate Rate 
Application for Anhui Xingzhou Medicine Food Co., Ltd.,'' dated 
March 22, 2018. and Xingzhou Medicine's Letter, ``Second 
Supplemental SRA Questionnaire Response,'' dated March 29, 2018.
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Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\15\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\16\ Because Commerce preliminarily 
determined that these mandatory respondents should be considered part 
of the China-wide entity, and assigned, as adverse facts available, the 
petition rate to the China-wide entity, Commerce did not calculate 
producer/exporter combination rates for those companies.
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    \15\ See Initiation Notice at 42652-53.
    \16\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on 
Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
    \17\ The China-wide Entity includes Dezhou Huiyang, Qingdao 
Dongxiao, Shandong Fuyang, and Tianyi Food.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
            Exporter                     Producer             average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Anhui Xingzhou Medicine Food     Xiwang Pharmaceutical            213.15
 Co., Ltd.                        Co., Ltd.
Anhui Xingzhou Medicine Food     Zhucheng Shuguang                213.15
 Co., Ltd.                        Biotech Co., Ltd.
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                 China-wide Entity \17\                           213.15
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation 
section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, 
as discussed below. Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash 
deposit equal to the weighted average amount by which normal value 
exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) For 
the producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the cash 
deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of 
China producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that have 
not established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-
country exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the 
table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable 
to the China producer/exporter combination (or the China-wide entity) 
that supplied that third-country exporter.
    As described in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in this 
preliminary determination, no adjustments pursuant to sections 777A(f) 
and 772(c)(1)(C) of the Act are being made for cash deposit purposes.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of its 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). However,

[[Page 31951]]

because Commerce preliminarily determined that the mandatory 
respondents should be considered to be part of the China-wide entity, 
and assigned the China-wide entity an AFA rate based solely on the 
petition, there are no calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not 
provide information requested by Commerce and Commerce preliminarily 
determines in accordance with section 776(b) of the Act that each of 
the mandatory respondents to have been uncooperative, verification will 
not be conducted.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination, 
unless the Secretary alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to 
issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days 
after the deadline date for case briefs.\18\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each 
argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the 
argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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    \18\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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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. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, 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.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the 
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make 
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date 
of this preliminary determination.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination of sales at LTFV. If the final determination is 
affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after 
the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final 
determination whether imports of the subject merchandise are materially 
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: July 2, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of the investigation covers all grades of sodium 
gluconate, gluconic acid, liquid gluconate, and glucono delta 
lactone (GDL) (collectively GNA Products), regardless of physical 
form (including, but not limited to substrates; solutions; dry 
granular form or powders, regardless of particle size; or as a 
slurry). The scope also includes GNA Products that have been blended 
or are in solution with other product(s) where the resulting mix 
contains 35 percent or more of sodium gluconate, gluconic acid, 
liquid gluconate, and/or GDL by dry weight.
    Sodium gluconate has a molecular formula of 
NaC<INF>6</INF>H<INF>11</INF>O<INF>7</INF>. Sodium gluconate has a 
Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) registry number of 527-07-1, and can 
also be called ``sodium salt of gluconic acid'' and/or sodium 2, 3, 
4, 5, 6 pentahydroxyhexanoate. Gluconic acid has a molecular formula 
of C<INF>6</INF>H<INF>12</INF>O<INF>7</INF>. Gluconic acid has a CAS 
registry number of 526-95-4, and can also be called 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 
pentahydroxycaproic acid. Liquid gluconate is a blend consisting 
only of gluconic acid and sodium gluconate in an aqueous solution. 
Liquid gluconate has CAS registry numbers of 527-07-1, 526-95-4, and 
7732-18-5, and can also be called 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-pentahydroxycaproic 
acid-hexanoate. GDL has a molecular formula of 
C<INF>6</INF>H<INF>10</INF>O<INF>6</INF>. GDL has a CAS registry 
number of 90-80-2, and can also be called d-glucono-1,5-lactone.
    The merchandise covered by the scope of the investigation is 
currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS) under subheadings 2918.16.1000, 2918.16.5010, and 
2932.20.5020. Merchandise covered by the scope may also enter under 
HTSUS subheadings 2918.16.5050, 3824.99.2890, and 3824.99.9295. 
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 Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Discussion of the Methodology
    A. Non-Market Economy Country
    B. Surrogate Country and Surrogate Value Comments
    C. Separate Rates
    D. China-Wide Entity
    E. Use of Facts Otherwise Available With an Adverse Inference
VII. Adjustment Under Section 777(A)(f) of the Act
VIII. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies
IX. Verification
X. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2018-14729 Filed 7-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P