[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87848-87850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-25640]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-557-827]


Dioctyl Terephthalate From Malaysia: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final 
Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP) from Malaysia is being, or 
are 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 November 5, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathan Araya, 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) 482-3401.

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 April 22, 2024.\1\ On July 18, 2024, Commerce postponed the 
preliminary determination of this investigation until October 29, 
2024.\2\ On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this 
administrative proceeding by seven days.\3\ The deadline for the 
preliminary determination is now October 29, 2024.
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    \1\ See Dioctyl Terephthalate from Malaysia, Poland, Taiwan, and 
the Republic of Turkiye: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 89 FR 29285 (April 22, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Dioctyl Terephthalate from Malaysia, Poland, Taiwan, and 
the Republic of Turkiye: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations 
in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 89 FR 59891 (July 24, 
2024).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
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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

[[Page 87849]]

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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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination in the Less Than Fair Value Investigation 
of Dioctyl Terephthalate from Malaysia,'' 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 DOTP from Malaysia. 
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see 
Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ in 
the Initiation Notice, Commerce set aside a period of time for parties 
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ No 
interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice. Therefore, 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, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 29286.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has 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.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that, in 
a preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for all exporters and producers not individually examined. 
This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters 
and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de 
minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 
of the Act.
    Commerce calculated an estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
for UPC Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. (UPC MY), the only individually 
examined exporter/producer in this investigation. Because the only 
individually calculated dumping margin is not zero, de minimis, or 
based entirely on facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin calculated for UPC MY is the margin assigned to 
all other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of 
the Act.

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Estimated
                                                               weighted-
                                                                average
                      Exporter/producer                         dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPC Chemicals (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd............................        6.97
All Others..................................................        6.97
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 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 estimated weighted-
average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows: 
(1) the cash deposit rate for the respondent listed above will be equal 
to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
determined in this preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is 
not a respondent identified above, but the producer is, then the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin established for that producer of the subject 
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and 
exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin. These suspension of liquidation instructions will 
remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
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 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.\7 \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.\8\ Interested parties who submit case or rebuttal 
briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing 
each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\9\
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements).
    \8\ 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).
    \9\ 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 briefs 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.\10\ 
Further, we request that interested parties limit their public 
executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not 
including citations. We intend to use the public

[[Page 87850]]

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 service of documents in 19 CFR 
351.303(f).\11\
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    \10\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \11\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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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 the party's name, address, and telephone 
number, the number of participants and 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 
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.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations 
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    On October 15, 2024, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), UPC MY 
requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and that 
provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six 
months.\12\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce 
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \12\ See UPC MY's Letter, ``UPC Chemicals (Malaysia) SDN Bhd.'s 
Request to Postpone Final Antidumping Duty Determination,'' dated 
October 15, 2024.
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U.S. International Trade Commission Notification (ITC)

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the 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 these imports of DOTP from 
Malaysia 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: October 29, 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 covered by this investigation is dioctyl 
terephthalate (DOTP), regardless of form. DOTP that has been blended 
with other products is included within this scope when such blends 
include constituent parts that have not been chemically reacted with 
each other to produce a different product. For such blends, only the 
DOTP component of the mixture is covered by the scope of the 
investigations.
    DOTP that is otherwise subject to this investigation is not 
excluded when commingled with DOTP from sources not subject to these 
investigations. Commingled refers to the mixing of subject and non-
subject DOTP. Only the subject component of such commingled products 
is covered by the scope of these investigations.
    DOTP has the general chemical formulation of 
C<INF>6</INF>H<INF>4</INF> 
(C<INF>8</INF>H<INF>17</INF>COO)<INF>2</INF> and a chemical name of 
``bis (2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate'' and has a Chemical Abstract 
Service (CAS) registry number of 6422-86-2. Regardless of the label, 
all DOTP is covered by this investigation.
    Subject merchandise is currently classified under subheading 
2917.39.2000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Subject merchandise may also enter under subheadings 
2917.39.7000 or 3812.20.1000 of the HTSUS. While the CAS registry 
number and HTSUS classifications are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this 
investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-25640 Filed 11-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P