Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 16, 2016 / Notices 7755 

1See the Petitions for the Imposition of 

Antidumping Duties and Countervailing Duties: 

Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the 

People’s Republic of China, dated January 13, 2016 

(‘‘the Petition’’). 

2 Id. 

3See Volume I of the Petition at 2. 

4See Letters from the Department to Petitioner 

entitled ‘‘Petitions for the Imposition of 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports 

of Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from 

the People’s Republic of China: Supplemental 

Questions,’’ January 15, 2016 (‘‘General Issues 

Supplemental Questionnaire’’); and ‘‘Petition for 

the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Certain 

Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the People’s 

Republic of China,’’ dated January 15, 2016 (‘‘AD 

Supplemental Questionnaire’’). 

5See Petitioner’s Response to the AD 

Supplemental Questionnaire, dated January 20, 

2016 (‘‘AD Petition Supplement’’) and Petitioner’s 

Response to the General Issues Supplemental 

Questionnaire, dated January 20, 2016 (‘‘General 

Issues Supplement’’). 

6See Letter from the Department to Petitioner 

entitled ‘‘Petition for the Imposition of 

Antidumping Duties on Imports of Certain Biaxial 

Integral Geogrid Products from the People’s 

Republic of China: Supplemental Questions,’’ 

January 26, 2016 (‘‘Second AD Supplemental 

Questionnaire’’). 

7See Petitioner’s January 28, 2016 submission 

(‘‘Second AD Petition Supplement’’). 

8See Memorandum to the Record from Ron 

Lorentzen, Acting A/S for Enforcement & 

Compliance, regarding ‘‘Tolling of Administrative 

Deadlines As a Result of the Government Closure 

During Snowstorm Jonas,’’’ dated January 27, 2016. 

9See the ‘‘Determination of Industry Support for 

the Petition’’ section below. 

10See General Issues Supplemental 

Questionnaire and General Issues Supplement. 

11See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing 

Duties, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). 

Comment 5: Whether the Department Used 

the Wrong Figure To Calculate the Duty 

Drawback Subsidy for Jindal 

[FR Doc. 2016–03082 Filed 2–12–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–570–036] 

Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid 

Products From the People’s Republic 

of China: Initiation of Less-Than-FairValue Investigation 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

DATES: Effective date: February 16, 2016. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia 

Hancock at (202) 482–1394 and Susan 

Pulongbarit (202) 482–4031, AD/CVD 

Operations, Enforcement and 

Compliance, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petition 

On January 13, 2016, the Department 

of Commerce (‘‘the Department’’) 

received an antidumping duty (‘‘AD’’) 

petition concerning imports of certain 

biaxial integral geogrid products 

(‘‘geogrids’’) from the People’s Republic 

of China (‘‘PRC’’), filed in proper form 

on behalf of Tensar Corporation 

(‘‘Petitioner’’).1 The AD petition was 

accompanied by a countervailing duty 

(‘‘CVD’’) petition for the PRC.2

Petitioner is a domestic producer of 

geogrids.3

On January 15, 2016, the Department 

requested additional information and 

clarification of certain areas of the 

Petition,4 and Petitioner timely filed 

responses to these requests on January 

20, 2016.5 On January 26, 2016, the 

Department requested additional 

information and clarification on the 

calculation of AD margins,6 and 

Petitioner timely filed a response to this 

request on January 28, 2016.7 On 

January 27, 2016, the Department 

determined to toll all deadlines four 

business days as a result of the Federal 

Government closure during snowstorm 

Jonas, which is applicable to this 

initiation. 

As explained in the memorandum 

from the Acting Assistant Secretary for 

Enforcement and Compliance, the 

Department has exercised its discretion 

to toll all administrative deadlines due 

to the recent closure of the Federal 

Government. All deadlines in this 

segment of the proceeding have been 

extended by four business days. The 

revised deadline for the initiation of this 

investigation is now February 8, 2016.8

In accordance with section 732(b) of 

the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 

‘‘Act’’), Petitioner alleges that imports of 

geogrids from the PRC are being, or are 

likely to be, sold in the United States at 

less-than-fair value within the meaning 

of section 731 of the Act, and that such 

imports are materially injuring, or 

threatening material injury to, an 

industry in the United States. Also, 

consistent with section 732(b)(1) of the 

Act, the Petition is accompanied by 

information reasonably available to 

Petitioner supporting its allegations. 

The Department finds that Petitioner 

filed these Petitions on behalf of the 

domestic industry because Petitioner is 

an interested party as defined in section 

771(9)(C) of the Act. The Department 

also finds that Petitioner demonstrated 

sufficient industry support with respect 

to the initiation of the AD investigation 

that Petitioner is requesting.9

Period of Investigation 

Because the AD Petition was filed on 

January 13, 2015, the period of 

investigation (‘‘POI’’) is, pursuant to 19 

CFR 351.204(b)(1), July 1, 2015, through 

December 31, 2015. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products covered by this 

investigation are geogrids from the PRC. 

For a full description of the scope of this 

investigation, see the ‘‘Scope of the 

Investigation,’’ in Appendix I of this 

notice. 

Comments on Scope of the Investigation 

During our review of the AD and CVD 

Petitions, the Department issued 

questions to, and received responses 

from, Petitioner pertaining to the 

proposed scope to ensure that the scope 

language in the Petition would be an 

accurate reflection of the products for 

which the domestic industry is seeking 

relief.10

As discussed in the preamble to the 

Department’s regulations,11 we are 

setting aside a period for interested 

parties to raise issues regarding product 

coverage (i.e., the scope). The 

Department will consider all comments 

received from parties and, if necessary, 

will consult with parties prior to the 

issuance of the preliminary 

determination. If scope comments 

include factual information (see 19 CFR 

351.102(b)(21)), all such factual 

information should be limited to public 

information. In order to facilitate 

preparation of its questionnaires, the 

Department requests all interested 

parties to submit such comments by 

5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (‘‘ET’’) on 

February 29, 2016, which is 20 calendar 

days from the signature date of this 

notice. Any rebuttal comments, which 

may include factual information, must 

be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 10, 

2016, which is 10 calendar days after 

the initial comments deadline. 

The Department requests that any 

factual information the parties consider 

relevant to the scope of the 

investigations be submitted during this 

time period. However, if a party 

subsequently finds that additional 

factual information pertaining to the 

scope of the investigations may be 

relevant, the party may contact the 

Department and request permission to 

submit the additional information. All 

such comments must be filed on the 

records of each of the concurrent AD 

and CVD investigations. 

Filing Requirements 

All submissions to the Department 

must be filed electronically using 

Enforcement and Compliance’s 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Centralized Electronic Service System 

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12See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures; 

Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR 

39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 

Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System 

Name, 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014) for details 

of the Department’s electronic filing requirements, 

which went into effect on August 5, 2011. 

Information on help using ACCESS can be found at 

https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook 

can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/

Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20

Filling%20Procedures.pdf. 13See section 771(10) of the Act. 

14See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 

2d 1, 8 (CIT 2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. 

v. United States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), 

aff’d 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)). 

15For a discussion of the domestic like product 

analysis in this case, see Antidumping Duty 

Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Biaxial 

Integral Geogrid Products from the People’s 

Republic of China (‘‘PRC AD Initiation Checklist’’), 

at Attachment II, Analysis of Industry Support for 

the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 

Covering Certain Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products 

from the People’s Republic of China (‘‘Attachment 

II’’). This checklist is dated concurrently with this 

notice and on file electronically via ACCESS. 

Access to documents filed via ACCESS is also 

available in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 

of the main Department of Commerce building. 

16See General Issues Supplement, at 13. 

17See Letter from Tenax Corporation, dated 

January 28, 2016. We note that, although this letter 

is dated January 28, 2016, it was filed after 5:00 

p.m. on January 29, 2016 (via ACCESS); therefore, 

we consider it received on the next business day 

(February 1, 2016). 

18See Letter from Tenax Corporation, dated 

February 1, 2016. 

(‘‘ACCESS’’).12 An electronically filed 

document must be received successfully 

in its entirety by the time and date when 

it is due. Documents excepted from the 

electronic submission requirements 

must be filed manually (i.e., in paper 

form) with Enforcement and 

Compliance’s APO/Dockets Unit, Room 

18022, U.S. Department of Commerce, 

14th Street and Constitution Avenue 

NW., Washington, DC 20230, and 

stamped with the date and time of 

receipt by the applicable deadlines. 

Comments on Product Characteristics 

for AD Questionnaires 

The Department requests comments 

from interested parties regarding the 

appropriate physical characteristics of 

geogrids to be reported in response to 

the Department’s AD questionnaires. 

This information will be used to 

identify the key physical characteristics 

of the subject merchandise in order to 

report the relevant factors and costs of 

production as accurately as well as to 

develop appropriate productcomparison criteria. 

Interested parties may provide any 

information or comments that they feel 

are relevant to the development of an 

accurate list of physical characteristics. 

Specifically, they may provide 

comments as to which characteristics 

are appropriate to use as: (1) General 

product characteristics and (2) productcomparison criteria. We note that it is 

not always appropriate to use all 

product characteristics as productcomparison criteria. We base productcomparison criteria on meaningful 

commercial differences among products. 

In other words, although there may be 

some physical product characteristics 

utilized by manufacturers to describe 

geogrids, it may be that only a select few 

product characteristics take into account 

commercially meaningful physical 

characteristics. In addition, interested 

parties may comment on the order in 

which the physical characteristics 

should be used in matching products. 

Generally, the Department attempts to 

list the most important physical 

characteristics first and the least 

important characteristics last. 

In order to consider the suggestions of 

interested parties in developing and 

issuing the AD questionnaires, all 

comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET 

on February 29, 2016, which is twenty 

calendar days from the signature date of 

this notice. Any rebuttal comments 

must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 

4, 2016. All comments and submissions 

to the Department must be filed 

electronically using ACCESS. 

Determination of Industry Support for 

the Petition 

Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires 

that a petition be filed on behalf of the 

domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) 

of the Act provides that a petition meets 

this requirement if the domestic 

producers or workers who support the 

petition account for: (i) At least 25 

percent of the total production of the 

domestic like product; and (ii) more 

than 50 percent of the production of the 

domestic like product produced by that 

portion of the industry expressing 

support for, or opposition to, the 

petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) 

of the Act provides that, if the petition 

does not establish support of domestic 

producers or workers accounting for 

more than 50 percent of the total 

production of the domestic like product, 

the Department shall: (i) Poll the 

industry or rely on other information in 

order to determine if there is support for 

the petition, as required by 

subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine 

industry support using a statistically 

valid sampling method to poll the 

‘‘industry.’’ 

Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines 

the ‘‘industry’’ as the producers as a 

whole of a domestic like product. Thus, 

to determine whether a petition has the 

requisite industry support, the statute 

directs the Department to look to 

producers and workers who produce the 

domestic like product. The International 

Trade Commission (‘‘ITC’’), which is 

responsible for determining whether 

‘‘the domestic industry’’ has been 

injured, must also determine what 

constitutes a domestic like product in 

order to define the industry. While both 

the Department and the ITC must apply 

the same statutory definition regarding 

the domestic like product,13 they do so 

for different purposes and pursuant to a 

separate and distinct authority. In 

addition, the Department’s 

determination is subject to limitations of 

time and information. Although this 

may result in different definitions of the 

like product, such differences do not 

render the decision of either agency 

contrary to law.14

Section 771(10) of the Act defines the 

domestic like product as ‘‘a product 

which is like, or in the absence of like, 

most similar in characteristics and uses 

with, the article subject to an 

investigation under this title.’’ Thus, the 

reference point from which the 

domestic like product analysis begins is 

‘‘the article subject to an investigation’’ 

(i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to 

be investigated, which normally will be 

the scope as defined in the Petition). 

With regard to the domestic like 

product, Petitioner does not offer a 

definition of the domestic like product 

distinct from the scope of the 

investigation. Based on our analysis of 

the information submitted on the 

record, we have determined that 

geogrids, as defined in the scope, 

constitute a single domestic like product 

and we have analyzed industry support 

in terms of that domestic like product.15

In determining whether Petitioner has 

standing under section 732(c)(4)(A) of 

the Act, we considered the industry 

support data contained in the Petition 

with reference to the domestic like 

product as defined in the ‘‘Scope of the 

Investigation,’’ in Appendix I of this 

notice. To establish industry support, 

Petitioner provided its own production 

of the domestic like product in 2015.16

On February 1, 2016, we received a 

letter from the only other known U.S. 

producer of geogrids, Tenax Corporation 

(‘‘Tenax’’), stating that the company 

supports the Petition.17 Tenax also 

provided its own production of the 

domestic like product in 2015.18

Petitioner states that, based on 

reasonably available information 

regarding the U.S. geogrids industry, 

there are no other known producers of 

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19See Volume I of the Petition, at 2–15 and 

Exhibits I–1 through I–4, I–6 through I–34, I–44, 

and I–52 through I–58; see also Letter from Tenax 

Corporation, dated February 1, 2016, at 1. 20See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

II. 21See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also 

PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II. 

22See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

II. 

23 Id. 

24 Id. 

25See Volume I of the Petition, at 34 and Exhibit 

I–4; see also General Issues Supplement, at 19. 

26See Volume I of the Petition, at 24–28, 32–45 

and Exhibits I–4, I–35, I–39 through I–43, I–47, I– 

50, and I–51; see also General Issues Supplement, 

at 13–24 and Exhibits Supp. I–1 through I–5, I–10 

through I–12, and I–43. 

27See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 

III, Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material 

Injury and Causation for the Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering Certain 

Biaxial Integral Geogrid Products from the People’s 

Republic of China. 

28See Volume II of the Petition at 7. 

29 Id. at 2. 

30 Id. at 4. 

31See Volume II of the Petition at Exhibit II–18; 

see also AD Petition Supplement, at 4–5 and 

Exhibit Supp. II–18. 

32See Volume II of the Petition at Exhibit II–18. 

33 Id. 

34See AD Petition Supplement at Exhibits Supp 

II–18 Attachments E–G. 

geogrids in the United States; therefore, 

the Petition is supported by 100 percent 

of the U.S. industry.19

Our review of the data provided in the 

Petition, General Issues Supplement, 

letters from Tenax, and other 

information readily available to the 

Department indicates that Petitioner has 

established industry support.20 First, 

the Petition established support from 

domestic producers (or workers) 

accounting for more than 50 percent of 

the total production of the domestic like 

product and, as such, the Department is 

not required to take further action in 

order to evaluate industry support (e.g., 

polling).21 Second, the domestic 

producers (or workers) have met the 

statutory criteria for industry support 

under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act 

because the domestic producers (or 

workers) who support the Petition 

account for at least 25 percent of the 

total production of the domestic like 

product.22 Finally, the domestic 

producers (or workers) have met the 

statutory criteria for industry support 

under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act 

because the domestic producers (or 

workers) who support the Petition 

account for more than 50 percent of the 

production of the domestic like product 

produced by that portion of the industry 

expressing support for, or opposition to, 

the Petition.23 Accordingly, the 

Department determines that the Petition 

was filed on behalf of the domestic 

industry within the meaning of section 

732(b)(1) of the Act. 

The Department finds that Petitioner 

filed the Petition on behalf of the 

domestic industry because it is an 

interested party as defined in section 

771(9)(C) of the Act and it has 

demonstrated sufficient industry 

support with respect to the AD 

investigation that it is requesting the 

Department initiate.24

Allegations and Evidence of Material 

Injury and Causation 

Petitioner alleges that the U.S. 

industry producing the domestic like 

product is being materially injured, or is 

threatened with material injury, by 

reason of the imports of the subject 

merchandise sold at less than normal 

value (‘‘NV’’). In addition, Petitioner 

alleges that subject imports exceed the 

negligibility threshold provided for 

under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.25

Petitioner contends that the industry’s 

injured condition is illustrated by 

reduced market share; underselling and 

price suppression or depression; 

negative impact on the domestic 

industry’s performance, including 

capacity utilization, shipments, and 

operating income; and lost sales and 

revenues.26 We have assessed the 

allegations and supporting evidence 

regarding material injury, threat of 

material injury, and causation, and we 

have determined that these allegations 

are properly supported by adequate 

evidence and meet the statutory 

requirements for initiation.27

Allegation of Sales at Less-Than-Fair 

Value 

The following is a description of the 

allegation of sales at less-than-fair value 

upon which the Department based its 

decision to initiate the investigation of 

geogrids from the PRC. The sources of 

data for the deductions and adjustments 

relating to U.S. price and NV are 

discussed in greater detail in the 

initiation checklist. 

Export Price 

Petitioner based U.S. prices on 

geogrids produced in and exported from 

the PRC by one producer, Feicheng 

Lianyi Engineering Plastics Co., Ltd. 

(‘‘Feicheng’’), and offered for sale to 

customers in the United States.28

Petitioner made deductions from U.S. 

price for movement expenses consistent 

with the delivery terms. 

Normal Value 

Petitioner stated that the Department 

has found the PRC to be a non-market 

economy (‘‘NME’’) country in every 

administrative proceeding in which the 

PRC has been involved.29 In accordance 

with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, the 

presumption of NME status remains in 

effect until revoked by the Department. 

The presumption of NME status for the 

PRC has not been revoked by the 

Department and, therefore, remains in 

effect for purposes of the initiation of 

this investigation. Accordingly, the NV 

of the product is appropriately based on 

factors of production (‘‘FOP’’) valued in 

a surrogate market economy country, in 

accordance with section 773(c) of the 

Act. In the course of this investigation, 

all parties, and the public, will have the 

opportunity to provide relevant 

information related to the issues of the 

PRC’s NME status and the granting of 

separate rates to individual exporters. 

Petitioner claims that South Africa is 

an appropriate surrogate country 

because it is a market economy that is 

at a level of economic development 

comparable to that of the PRC and it is 

a significant producer of the 

merchandise under consideration.30

Based on the information provided by 

Petitioner, we believe it is appropriate 

to use South Africa as a surrogate 

country for initiation purposes. 

Interested parties will have the 

opportunity to submit comments 

regarding surrogate country selection 

and, pursuant to 19 CFR 

351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an 

opportunity to submit publicly available 

information to value FOPs within 30 

days before the scheduled date of the 

preliminary determination. 

Factors of Production 

Petitioner based the FOPs for 

materials, labor, and energy on its own 

consumption rates for producing 

geogrids.31 Petitioner notes that Tensar, 

like Feicheng, is a large producer of 

geogrids using the same production 

process as Tensar.32 Petitioner valued 

the estimated factors of production 

using surrogate values from South 

Africa.33

Valuation of Raw Materials 

Petitioner valued the FOPs for raw 

materials (e.g., polypropylene, black 

masterbatch) using public import data 

for South Africa from the Global Trade 

Atlas (‘‘GTA’’) from June 2015 through 

November 2015, the most recent POIcontemporaneous data available at the 

time the Petition was filed.34 Petitioner 

excluded all import values from 

countries previously determined by the 

Department to maintain broadly 

available, non-industry-specific export 

subsidies and from countries previously 

determined by the Department to be 

NME countries. In addition, in 

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35See Volume II of the Petition at Exhibit II–18. 

36 Id. 

37 Id. 

38 Id.; see also AD Petition Supplement at 5 and 

Exhibit Supp. II–18 Attachment H(1). 

39See AD Petition Supplement at Exhibits Supp. 

II–18 Attachments M and N. 

40See Volume II of the Petition at Exhibit II–18. 

41 Id. 

42 Id. 

43 Id. 

44See AD Petition Supplement at Exhibit II–18 

Attachment K(3) and K(5); see also Second AD 

Supplemental Questionnaire; Second AD Petition 

Supplement at 1 and Exhibit Second Supp. II–18; 

and PRC AD Initiation Checklist. 

45See PRC AD Initiation Checklist. 

46See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, 

Public Law 114–27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015). 

47See Dates of Application of Amendments to the 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws Made 

by the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, 80 

FR 46793 (August 6, 2015) (‘‘Applicability Notice’’). 

48 Id. at 46794–95. The 2015 amendments may be 

found at https://www.congress.gov/bill/114thcongress/house-bill/1295/text/pl. 

49See Volume I of Petition at Exhibit I–37; see 

also AD Petition Supplement at 1 and Exhibit Supp. 

I–37. 

50See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates 

Practice and Application of Combination Rates in 

Antidumping Investigation Involving Non-Market 

Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at 

http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf 

(Policy Bulletin 05.1). 

51Although in past investigations this deadline 

was 60 days, consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a), 

which states that ‘‘the Secretary may request any 

person to submit factual information at any time 

during a proceeding,’’ this deadline is now 30 days. 

accordance with the Department’s 

practice, the average import value 

excludes imports that were labeled as 

originating from an unidentified 

country. The Department determines 

that the surrogate values used by 

Petitioner are reasonably available, and 

thus, are acceptable for purposes of 

initiation. 

Valuation of Labor 

Petitioner valued labor using 2012 

data for South Africa from the 

International Labor Organization for 

‘‘Manufacturing.’’ 35 Specifically, 

Petitioner relied on data pertaining to 

wages earned by South African workers 

engaged in the manufacturing sector of 

the economy.36 Petitioner inflated the 

wage rate using data for the South 

African Consumer Price Index (‘‘CPI’’) 

published for the POI.37 Next, Petitioner 

converted the wage rates to hourly and 

converted South African Rands (‘‘ZAR’’) 

to U.S. Dollars (‘‘USD’’) using the 

average exchange rate for the POI.38

Valuation of Packing Materials 

Petitioner valued the packing 

materials used by PRC producers based 

on South African import data obtained 

from GTA.39

Valuation of Energy 

Petitioner valued electricity using 

data published by the South African 

electricity producer Eksom.40 The 

Eksom price information was reported 

in South African ZAR/kilowatt hour. 

Petitioner converted the price to USD 

using the average exchange rate during 

the POI.41 Petitioner valued natural gas 

using data from the National Energy 

Regulator of South Africa for natural gas 

provider ROMPCO.42 Petitioner 

converted ZAR/Gigajoule (‘‘GJ’’) to 

USD/therm.43

Valuation of Factory Overhead, Selling, 

General and Administrative (SG&A) 

Expenses, and Profit 

Petitioner relied on surrogate 

financial ratios (i.e., factory overhead, 

SG&A expenses, and profit) it calculated 

using the 2015 audited financial 

statement of Bowler Metcalf, a South 

African producer of comparable 

merchandise (i.e., rigid plastic 

packaging for consumer products).44

Fair Value Comparisons 

Based on the data provided by 

Petitioner, there is reason to believe that 

imports of geogrids from the PRC are 

being, or are likely to be, sold in the 

United States at less-than-fair value. 

Based on comparisons of EP to NV, in 

accordance with section 773(c) of the 

Act, the estimated dumping margin for 

geogrids from the PRC range from 

289.23 to 372.81 percent.45

Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigation 

Based upon the examination of the 

AD Petition on geogrids from the PRC, 

we find that the Petition meets the 

requirements of section 732 of the Act. 

Therefore, we are initiating an AD 

investigation to determine whether 

imports of geogrids from the PRC are 

being, or are likely to be, sold in the 

United States at less-than-fair value. In 

accordance with section 733(b)(1)(A) of 

the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), 

unless postponed, we will make our 

preliminary determination no later than 

140 days after the date of this initiation. 

On June 29, 2015, the President of the 

United States signed into law the Trade 

Preferences Extension Act of 2015, 

which made numerous amendments to 

the AD and CVD law.46 The 2015 law 

does not specify dates of application for 

those amendments. On August 6, 2015, 

the Department published an 

interpretative rule, in which it 

announced the applicability dates for 

each amendment to the Act, except for 

amendments contained in section 771(7) 

of the Act, which relate to 

determinations of material injury by the 

ITC.47 The amendments to sections 

771(15), 773, 776, and 782 of the Act are 

applicable to all determinations made 

on or after August 6, 2015, and, 

therefore, apply to this AD 

investigation.48

Respondent Selection 

Petitioner named 78 companies from 

the PRC as producers/exporters of 

geogrids.49 Following standard practice 

for respondent selection in cases 

involving NME countries, we intend to 

issue quantity and value (‘‘Q&V’’) 

questionnaires to each potential 

respondent, for which the Petitioner has 

provided a complete address, and base 

respondent selection on the responses 

received. In addition, the Department 

will post the Q&V questionnaire along 

with filing instructions on the 

Enforcement and Compliance Web site 

at http://www.trade.gov/enforcement/

news.asp. 

Exporters/producers of geogrids from 

the PRC that do not receive Q&V 

questionnaires by mail may still submit 

a response to the Q&V questionnaire 

and can obtain a copy from the 

Enforcement and Compliance Web site. 

The Q&V response must be submitted 

by all PRC exporters/producers no later 

than February 22, 2016, which is two 

weeks from the signature date of this 

notice. All Q&V responses must be filed 

electronically via ACCESS. 

Separate Rates 

In order to obtain separate-rate status 

in an NME investigation, exporters and 

producers must submit a separate-rate 

application.50 The specific requirements 

for submitting a separate-rate 

application are outlined in detail in the 

application itself, which is available on 

the Department’s Web site at http://

enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-seprate.html. The separate-rate application 

will be due 30 days after publication of 

this initiation notice.51 Exporters and 

producers who submit a separate-rate 

application and have been selected as 

mandatory respondents will be eligible 

for consideration for separate-rate status 

only if they respond to all parts of the 

Department’s AD questionnaire as 

mandatory respondents. The 

Department requires that respondents 

submit a response to both the Q&V 

questionnaire and the separate-rate 

application by their respective 

deadlines in order to receive 

consideration for separate-rate status. 

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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 16, 2016 / Notices 7759 

52See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added). 

53See section 733(a) of the Act. 

54 Id. 

55See 19 CFR 351.301(b). 

56See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2). 

57See section 782(b) of the Act. 

58See Certification of Factual Information to 

Import Administration during Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 

17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also frequently asked 

questions regarding the Final Rule, available at 

http://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_

info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf. 

Use of Combination Rates 

The Department will calculate 

combination rates for certain 

respondents that are eligible for a 

separate rate in an NME investigation. 

The Separate Rates and Combination 

Rates Bulletin states: 

{w}hile continuing the practice of assigning 

separate rates only to exporters, all separate 

rates that the Department will now assign in 

its NME Investigation will be specific to 

those producers that supplied the exporter 

during the period of investigation. Note, 

however, that one rate is calculated for the 

exporter and all of the producers which 

supplied subject merchandise to it during the 

period of investigation. This practice applies 

both to mandatory respondents receiving an 

individually calculated separate rate as well 

as the pool of non-investigated firms 

receiving the weighted-average of the 

individually calculated rates. This practice is 

referred to as the application of ‘‘combination 

rates’’ because such rates apply to specific 

combinations of exporters and one or more 

producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to 

an exporter will apply only to merchandise 

both exported by the firm in question and 

produced by a firm that supplied the exporter 

during the period of investigation.52

Distribution of Copies of the Petition 

In accordance with section 

732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.202(f), a copy of the public version 

of the Petition has been provided to the 

government of the PRC via ACCESS. To 

the extent practicable, we will attempt 

to provide a copy of the public version 

of the Petition to each exporter named 

in the Petition, as provided under 19 

CFR 351.203(c)(2). 

ITC Notification 

We will notify the ITC of our 

initiation, as required by section 732(d) 

of the Act. 

Preliminary Determination by the ITC 

The ITC will preliminarily determine, 

within 45 days after the date on which 

the Petition was filed, whether there is 

a reasonable indication that imports of 

geogrids from the PRC are materially 

injuring or threatening material injury to 

a U.S. industry.53 A negative ITC 

determination will result in the 

investigation being terminated; 54

otherwise, this investigation will 

proceed according to statutory and 

regulatory time limits. 

Submission of Factual Information 

Factual information is defined in 19 

CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) Evidence 

submitted in response to questionnaires; 

(ii) evidence submitted in support of 

allegations; (iii) publicly available 

information to value factors under 19 

CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 

adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 

351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence placed on 

the record by the Department; and (v) 

evidence other than factual information 

described in (i)–(iv). Any party, when 

submitting factual information, must 

specify under which subsection of 19 

CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information is 

being submitted 55 and, if the 

information is submitted to rebut, 

clarify, or correct factual information 

already on the record, to provide an 

explanation identifying the information 

already on the record that the factual 

information seeks to rebut, clarify, or 

correct.56 Time limits for the 

submission of factual information are 

addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, which 

provides specific time limits based on 

the type of factual information being 

submitted. Please review the regulations 

prior to submitting factual information 

in this investigation. 

Extensions of Time Limits 

Parties may request an extension of 

time limits before the expiration of a 

time limit established under 19 CFR 

351, or as otherwise specified by the 

Secretary. In general, an extension 

request will be considered untimely if it 

is filed after the expiration of the time 

limit established under 19 CFR 351 

expires. For submissions that are due 

from multiple parties simultaneously, 

an extension request will be considered 

untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET 

on the due date. Under certain 

circumstances, we may elect to specify 

a different time limit by which 

extension requests will be considered 

untimely for submissions which are due 

from multiple parties simultaneously. In 

such a case, we will inform parties in 

the letter or memorandum setting forth 

the deadline (including a specified time) 

by which extension requests must be 

filed to be considered timely. An 

extension request must be made in a 

separate, stand-alone submission; under 

limited circumstances we will grant 

untimely-filed requests for the extension 

of time limits. Please review Extension 

of Time Limits; Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 

(September 20, 2013), available at 

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013- 

09-20/html/2013-22853.html, prior to 

submitting factual information in this 

investigation. 

Certification Requirements 

Any party submitting factual 

information in an AD or CVD 

proceeding must certify to the accuracy 

and completeness of that information.57

Parties are hereby reminded that revised 

certification requirements are in effect 

for company/government officials, as 

well as their representatives. 

Investigations initiated on the basis of 

petitions filed on or after August 16, 

2013, and other segments of any AD or 

CVD proceedings initiated on or after 

August 16, 2013, should use the formats 

for the revised certifications provided at 

the end of the Final Rule.58 The 

Department intends to reject factual 

submissions if the submitting party does 

not comply with applicable revised 

certification requirements. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

Interested parties must submit 

applications for disclosure under 

administrative protective order (‘‘APO’’) 

in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On 

January 22, 2008, the Department 

published Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 

Documents Submission Procedures; 

APO Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January 

22, 2008). Parties wishing to participate 

in this investigation should ensure that 

they meet the requirements of these 

procedures (e.g., the filing of letters of 

appearance as discussed in 19 CFR 

351.103(d)). 

This notice is issued and published 

pursuant to section 777(i) of the Act. 

Dated: February 8, 2016. 

Paul Piquado, 

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance. 

Appendix I—Scope of the Investigation 

The merchandise covered by the 

investigation is certain biaxial integral 

geogrid products. Biaxial integral geogrid 

products are a polymer grid or mesh material 

(whether or not finished, slit, cut-to-length, 

attached to woven or non-woven fabric or 

sheet material, or packaged) in which foursided openings in the form of squares, 

rectangles, rhomboids, diamonds, or other 

four-sided figures predominate. The products 

covered have integral strands that have been 

stretched to induce molecular orientation 

into the material (as evidenced by the strands 

being thinner toward the middle between the 

junctions than at the junctions themselves) 

constituting the sides of the openings and 

integral junctions where the strands intersect. 

The scope includes products in which foursided figures predominate whether or not 

they also contain additional strands 

intersecting the four-sided figures and 

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7760 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 16, 2016 / Notices 

whether or not the inside corners of the foursided figures are rounded off or not sharp 

angles. As used herein, the term ‘‘integral’’ 

refers to strands and junctions that are 

homogenous with each other. The products 

covered have a tensile strength of greater 

than 5 kilonewtons per meter (‘‘kN/m’’) 

according to American Society for Testing 

and Materials (‘‘ASTM’’) Standard Test 

Method D6637/D6637M in any direction and 

average overall flexural stiffness of more than 

100,000 milligram-centimeter according to 

the ASTM D7748/D7748M Standard Test 

Method for Flexural Rigidity of Geogrids, 

Geotextiles and Related Products, or other 

equivalent test method standards. 

Subject merchandise includes material 

matching the above description that has been 

finished, packaged, or otherwise further 

processed in a third country, including by 

trimming, slitting, coating, cutting, punching 

holes, stretching, attaching to woven or nonwoven fabric or sheet material, or any other 

finishing, packaging, or other further 

processing that would not otherwise remove 

the merchandise from the scope of the 

investigations if performed in the country of 

manufacture of the biaxial integral geogrid. 

The products subject to the scope are 

currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (‘‘HTSUS’’) 

under the following subheading: 

3926.90.9995. Subject merchandise may also 

enter under subheadings 3920.20.0050 and 

3925.90.0000. The HTSUS subheadings set 

forth above are provided for convenience and 

U.S. Customs purposes only. The written 

description of the scope is dispositive. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03086 Filed 2–12–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XD608 

Endangered Species; File No. 19255 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; issuance of a permit, 

and termination of a permit. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that 

the Delaware Department of Natural 

Resources and Environmental Control 

(DNREC) [Responsible Party: Michael 

Stangl], 3002 Bayside Dr., Dover, 

Delaware 19977, has been issued a 

permit to take shortnose (Acipenser 

brevirostrum) and Atlantic (Acipenser 

oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) sturgeon in the 

Delaware River for purposes of scientific 

research. Additionally, Permit No. 

16431, issued to the same Permit Holder 

for study of Atlantic sturgeon, is hereby 

terminated. 

ADDRESSES: The permit and related 

documents are available for review 

upon written request or by appointment 

in the Permits and Conservation 

Division, Office of Protected Resources, 

NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Room 

13705, Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone 

(301) 427–8401; fax (301) 713–0376. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Malcolm Mohead or Rosa L. Gonza ́lez, 

(301) 427–8401. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 17, 2014, notice was 

published in the Federal Register (79 

FR 68413) of a request for a permit to 

conduct research on shortnose sturgeon 

had been submitted by the above-named 

applicant. On June 26, 2015, notice was 

published in the Federal Register (80 

FR 36770) that the application was 

amended to include a request to 

conduct research on Atlantic sturgeon. 

The requested permit has been issued 

under the authority of the Endangered 

Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 

16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and the 

regulations governing the taking, 

importing, and exporting of endangered 

and threatened species (50 CFR parts 

222–226). 

Permit No. 19255 authorizes annual 

takes of endangered shortnose and 

Atlantic sturgeon to document nursery 

areas, individual movement patterns, 

seasonal movements, home ranges, and 

habitat usage(s) in the Delaware River. 

The authorized activities include 

capture of shortnose and Atlantic 

shortnose with gillnets. It also 

authorizes individuals to be weighed, 

measured, marked with Passive 

Integrated Transponder (PIT), T-bar 

tagged, anesthetized, acoustic tagged, 

genetic tissue sampled, gastric lavaged, 

and photographed. It also authorized 

one unintentional mortality per species 

during the life of the permit. Specific 

activities and number of animals 

authorized per species are found on the 

permit. The shortnose sturgeon research 

activities are a continuation of the ones 

authorized under the DNREC expired 

Permit No. 14396 (75 FR 4043). The 

Atlantic sturgeon research activities 

were incorporated from the ones 

authorized under the DNREC Permit No. 

16431 (76 FR 58469), which was set to 

expire April 5, 2017. Permit No. 16431 

was terminated with issuance of Permit 

No. 19225, valid until February 5, 2021. 

Issuance of this permit, as required by 

the ESA, was based on a finding that 

such permit (1) was applied for in good 

faith, (2) will not operate to the 

disadvantage of such endangered or 

threatened species, and (3) is consistent 

with the purposes and policies set forth 

in section 2 of the ESA. 

Dated: February 9, 2016. 

Perry F. Gayaldo, 

Deputy Director, Office of Protected 

Resources, National Marine Fisheries Service. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03026 Filed 2–12–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XE437 

Fisheries of the South Atlantic; 

Southeast Data, Assessment, and 

Review (SEDAR); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of SEDAR 41 Review 

Workshop for South Atlantic red 

snapper and gray triggerfish. 

SUMMARY: The SEDAR 41 assessments of 

the South Atlantic stocks of red snapper 

(Lutjanus campechanus) and gray 

triggerfish (Balistes capriscus) will 

consist of a series of workshops and 

webinars: Data Workshops; an 

Assessment Workshop and webinars; 

and a Review Workshop. See 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. 

DATES: The SEDAR 41 Review 

Workshop will be held on March 15–17, 

2016, from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. and 

March 18, 2016, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. 

The established times may be adjusted 

as necessary to accommodate the timely 

completion of discussion relevant to the 

assessment process. Such adjustments 

may result in the meeting being 

extended from, or completed prior to 

the time established by this notice. 

ADDRESSES: 

Meeting address: The SEDAR 41 

Assessment Workshop will be held at 

the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 4831 Tanger 

Outlet Boulevard, North Charleston, SC 

29418; phone: (843) 744–4422. 

SEDAR address: South Atlantic 

Fishery Management Council, 4055 

Faber Place Drive, Suite 201, N. 

Charleston, SC 29405; 

www.sedarweb.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julia 

Byrd, SEDAR Coordinator, 4055 Faber 

Place Drive, Suite 201, North 

Charleston, SC 29405; phone: (843) 571– 

4366; email: julia.byrd@safmc.net. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Gulf 

of Mexico, South Atlantic, and 

Caribbean Fishery Management 

Councils, in conjunction with NOAA 

Fisheries and the Atlantic and Gulf 

States Marine Fisheries Commissions, 

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