[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77824-77826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21828]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-518-001]


Melamine From Qatar: Preliminary Negative Determination of Sales 
at Less Than Fair Value

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that melamine from Qatar is not being, or is not likely to 
be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The 
period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 
2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable September 24, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Hart, 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) 482-1058.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made 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 in the Federal 
Register on March 11, 2024.\1\ On June 24, 2024, Commerce postponed the 
preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised 
deadline was September 11, 2024.\2\ On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled 
certain deadlines in this proceeding by seven days until September 18, 
2024.\3\ 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. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \1\ See Melamine from Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, 
Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
investigations, 89 FR 17413 (March 11, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Melamine from Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, 
Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 89 FR 
52437 (June 24, 2024).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Negative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Melamine from Qatar,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted 
by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is melamine from Qatar. 
For a full description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix 
I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ we 
set aside a period of time, as stated in the Initiation Notice, for 
parties to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ No 
interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice. Commerce is not modifying the scope 
language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the complete 
description of the scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 17413.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated export prices in accordance 
with section 772(a) of the Act. Normal value is calculated in 
accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin exists for the period, January 1, 2023, 
through December 31, 2023: \7\
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    \7\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce preliminarily collapsed the following companies and treated 
them as a single entity: Qatar Melamine Company (QMC); Qatar 
Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company 
(Muntajat) Q.P.J.S.C. (Muntajat); and Qatar Fertiliser Company 
P.S.C. (QAFCO).

[[Page 77825]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Weighted- average    Cash deposit rate
       Exporter/producer          dumping margin   (adjusted for subsidy
                                    (percent)       offset(s)) (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qatar Melamine Company; Qatar               *0.80  Not Applicable.
 Chemical and Petrochemical
 Marketing and Distribution
 Company (Muntajat)
 Q.P.J.S.C.; Qatar Fertiliser
 Company (P.S.C.).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* de minimis.

    For this preliminary determination, Commerce calculated a de 
minimis estimated weighted-average dumping margin for the only 
individually examined respondent, the single entity consisting of QMC, 
Muntajat, and QAFCO. Consistent with section 733(b)(3) of the Act, 
Commerce disregards de minimis rates and preliminarily determines that 
the single entity with a de minimis rate has not made sales of subject 
merchandise at LTFV.
    Consistent with section 733(d) of the Act, Commerce has not 
calculated an estimated weighted-average dumping margin for all other 
producers and exporters because it has not made an affirmative 
preliminary determination of sales at LTFV.

Critical Circumstances Allegation

    On June 17, 2024, the petitioner alleged that critical 
circumstances exist with respect to imports of melamine from Qatar.\8\ 
Commerce issued a questionnaire to the respondents requesting 
information regarding their exports of melamine to the United States 
from October 2022 to February 2024 and establishing an ongoing 
requirement for the respondents to provide monthly data during the 
investigation.\9\ On June 24, 2024 and August 15, 2024, the respondents 
provided a timely response.\10\ Section 733(e)(1) of the Act provides 
that Commerce, upon receipt of a timely-filed allegation of critical 
circumstances, will determine whether there is a reasonable basis to 
believe or suspect that: (A)(i) there is a history of dumping and 
material injury by reason of dumped imports in the United States or 
elsewhere of the subject merchandise; or (ii) the person by whom, or 
for whose account, the merchandise was imported knew or should have 
known that the exporter was selling the subject merchandise at LTFV and 
that there was likely to be material injury by reason of such sales; 
and (B) there have been massive imports of the subject merchandise over 
a relatively short period. However, as stated above, because Commerce 
preliminarily calculated a de minimis rate for the sole mandatory 
respondent, single entity consisting of QMC, Muntajat, and QAFCO, the 
entity has not made sales of subject merchandise at LTFV. Therefore, 
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(e), the respondent will not be subject to 
provisional measures under sections 703(d) or section 733(d) of the 
Act. Consequently, Commerce has not conducted a critical circumstances 
analysis for this preliminary determination.
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    \8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Allegation of 
Critical Circumstances,'' dated June 17, 2024 (Critical 
Circumstances Allegation).
    \9\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Request for Monthly Quantity and 
Value Shipment Data,'' dated June 17, 2024.
    \10\ See QMC's and Muntajat's Letter, ``Response to Request for 
Monthly Quantity and Value Shipment Data,'' dated June 24, 2024, and 
August 15, 2024.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    Because Commerce has made a negative preliminary determination of 
sales at LTFV with regard to subject merchandise, Commerce will not 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation or to 
require a cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties for entries of 
melamine from Qatar.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed in connection with this preliminary determination to 
interested parties 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 the Federal Register, in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b).
    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if 
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial 
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent 
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete 
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR 
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce 
will address such allegations in the final determination together with 
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in 
this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the 
case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for 
filing case briefs.\11\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents 
listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\12\
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    \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) (APO and Service Final Rule).
    \12\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (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 this investigation, 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 public executive summaries as the basis 
of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum 
that will accompany the final determination in this investigation. We 
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant 
citations in the public executive summary of each issue. Note that 
Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the

[[Page 77826]]

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 must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
filed electronically via ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the 
party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants and whether any participant is a foreign national; and (3) 
a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will 
be limited to those raised in the respective case briefs. An 
electronically filed hearing request must be received successfully in 
its entirety via ACCESS by 5 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice.

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.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. 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 these imports of melamine from Qatar are materially injuring, 
or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This preliminary 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: September 18, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to this investigation is melamine 
(Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number 108-78-01, 
molecular formula C<INF>3</INF> H<INF>6</INF> N<INF>6</INF>). 
Melamine is also known as 2,4,6-triamino-s-triazine; 1,3,5-Triazine-
2,4,6-triamine; Cyanurotriamide; Cyanurotriamine; Cyanuramide; and 
by various brand names. Melamine is a crystalline powder or granule. 
All melamine is covered by the scope of this investigation 
irrespective of purity, particle size, or physical form. Melamine 
that has been blended with other products is included within this 
scope when such blends include constituent parts that have been 
intermingled, but that have not been chemically reacted with each 
other to produce a different product. For such blends, only the 
melamine component of the mixture is covered by the scope of this 
investigation. Melamine that is otherwise subject to this 
investigation is not excluded when commingled with melamine from 
sources not subject to this investigation. Only the subject 
component of such commingled products is covered by the scope of 
this investigation.
    The subject merchandise is provided for in subheading 
2933.61.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading and CAS registry number are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Affiliation and Single Entity Treatment
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Particular Market Situation
VII. Currency Conversion
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-21828 Filed 9-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P