2019-26819. Certain Quartz Surface Products From India: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of ...  

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    AGENCY:

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

    SUMMARY:

    The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain quartz surface products (quartz surface products) from India are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is April 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

    DATES:

    Applicable December 13, 2019.

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    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    Charles Doss or Jean Valdez, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4474 or (202) 482-3855, respectively.

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    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 on June 3, 2019.[1] On October 1, 2019, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now December 4, 2019.[2] For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.[3] 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 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.

    Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain quartz surface products from India. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

    Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,[4] the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).[5] Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the Start Printed Page 68124record for this preliminary determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.[6] Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the scope in Appendix I to this notice.

    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.

    Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances do not exist for mandatory respondents Pokarna Engineered Stone Limited (Pokarna) or Antique Group [7] or with respect to all other producers/exporters. For a full description of the methodology and results of Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

    All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the 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.

    In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margins for Pokarna and Antique Group that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the merchandise under consideration.[8]

    Preliminary Determination

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

    Exporter/producerEstimated weighted- average dumping margin (percent)Cash deposit rate (adjusted for subsidy offset(s)) (percent)
    Antique Marbonite Private Limited, India; Shivam Enterprises (Shivam); and Prism Johnson Limited (Prism Johnson)5.055.05
    Pokarna Engineered Stone Limited2.620.00
    All Others3.130.00

    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 respondents listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margins 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.

    Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, where we preliminarily make an affirmative determination for countervailable export subsidies, we offset the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the appropriate CVD rate. Any such adjusted rates may be found in the “Preliminary Determination” section above.[9]

    Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting estimated antidumping duty cash deposits unadjusted for countervailed export subsidies at the time that the provisional CVD measures expire. 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 Start Printed Page 68125of the date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

    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 case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.[10] 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.

    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.

    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.

    Between November 20 and November 26, 2019, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Pokarna, Antique Group, and Cambria Company LLC (i.e., the petitioner) requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.[11] 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 exporters account 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.

    International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the 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 subject imports 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).

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    Dated: December 4, 2019.

    Jeffrey I. Kessler,

    Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

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    Appendix I

    Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain quartz surface products. Quartz surface products consist of slabs and other surfaces created from a mixture of materials that includes predominately silica (e.g., quartz, quartz powder, cristobalite, glass powder) as well as a resin binder (e.g., an unsaturated polyester). The incorporation of other materials, including, but not limited to, pigments, cement, or other additives does not remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation. However, the scope of the investigation only includes products where the silica content is greater than any other single material, by actual weight. Quartz surface products are typically sold as rectangular slabs with a total surface area of approximately 45 to 60 square feet and a nominal thickness of one, two, or three centimeters. However, the scope of the investigation includes surface products of all other sizes, thicknesses, and shapes. In addition to slabs, the scope of the investigation includes, but is not limited to, other surfaces such as countertops, backsplashes, vanity tops, bar tops, work tops, tabletops, flooring, wall facing, shower surrounds, fire place surrounds, mantels, and tiles. Certain quartz surface products are covered by the investigation whether polished or unpolished, cut or uncut, fabricated or not fabricated, cured or uncured, edged or not edged, finished or unfinished, thermoformed or not thermoformed, packaged or unpackaged, and regardless of the type of surface finish. In addition, quartz surface products are covered by the investigation whether or not they are imported attached to, or in conjunction with, non-subject merchandise such as sinks, sink bowls, vanities, cabinets, and furniture. If quartz surface products are imported attached to, or in conjunction with, such non-subject merchandise, only the quartz surface product is covered by the scope.

    Subject merchandise includes material matching the above description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise fabricated in a third country, including by cutting, polishing, curing, edging, thermoforming, attaching to, or packaging with another product, or any other finishing, packaging, or fabrication that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the quartz surface products. The scope of the investigation does not cover quarried stone surface products, such as granite, marble, soapstone, or quartzite. Specifically excluded from the scope of the investigation are crushed glass surface products. Crushed glass surface products must meet each of the following criteria to qualify for this exclusion: (1) The crushed glass content is greater than any other single material, by actual weight; (2) there are pieces of crushed glass visible across the Start Printed Page 68126surface of the product; (3) at least some of the individual pieces of crushed glass that are visible across the surface are larger than 1 centimeter wide as measured at their widest cross-section (Glass Pieces); and (4) the distance between any single Glass Piece and the closest separate Glass Piece does not exceed three inches.

    The products subject to the scope are currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under the following subheading: 6810.99.0010. Subject merchandise may also enter under subheadings 6810.11.0010, 6810.11.0070, 6810.19.1200, 6810.19.1400, 6810.19.5000, 6810.91.0000, 6810.99.0080, 6815.99.4070, 2506.10.0010, 2506.10.0050, 2506.20.0010, 2506.20.0080, and 7016.90.1050. The HTSUS subheadings set forth above are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes only. 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. Scope Comments

    V. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures

    VI. Single Entity Analysis

    VII. Discussion of the Methodology

    VIII. Date of Sale

    IX. Product Comparisons

    X. Export Price and Constructed Export Price

    XI. Normal Value

    XII. Negative Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances

    XIII. Currency Conversion

    XIV. Adjustment to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies in Companion Countervailing Duty Investigation

    XV. Recommendation

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    Footnotes

    1.  See Certain Quartz Products from India and the Republic of Turkey: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 84 FR 25529 (June 3, 2019) (Initiation Notice).

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    2.  See Certain Quartz Products from India and the Republic of Turkey: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of Antidumping Duty Investigations, 84 FR 52062 (October 1, 2019).

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    3.  See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Quartz Surface Products from India,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

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    4.  See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).

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    5.  See Initiation Notice, 84 FR at 25530.

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    6.  See Memorandum, “Certain Quartz Surface Products: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination,” dated concurrently with this preliminary determination (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).

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    7.  The Antique Group is comprised of Antique Marbonite Private Limited, India (Antique Marbonite) and its affiliates Shivam Enterprises (Shivam) and Prism Johnson Limited (Prism Johnson).

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    8.  See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 (September 1, 2010); see also Memorandum, “Certain Quartz Surface Products from India: Calculation of All-Others' Rate in Preliminary Determination,” dated concurrently with this memorandum.

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    9.  For Antique Group, cash deposit rates are not adjusted for export subsidies, as the subsidy rates found in the companion CVD investigation for the respondent were de minimis. For Pokarna and all other producers/exporters, the preliminary dumping margins are adjusted by 83.79 percent, reflecting the total amount of estimated export subsidies found for each in the companion CVD investigation. As this amount exceeds the estimated preliminary weighted-average dumping margin for Pokarna and all other producers/exporters, the preliminary cash deposit rates for Pokarna and all other producers/exporters is zero.

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    10.  See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).

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    11.  See Pokarna's Letter, “Certain Quartz Surface Products from India: Request for Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures Period in the Antidumping Duty Investigation,” dated November 20, 2019; see also Petitioner's Letter, “Quartz Surface Products from India: Request to Extend the Final Determination,” dated November 20, 2019; and Antique Group's Letter, “Certain Quartz Surface Products from India (A-533-889): Request for Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures Period in the Antidumping Duty Investigation,” dated November 26, 2019.

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    [FR Doc. 2019-26819 Filed 12-12-19; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P

Document Information

Published:
12/13/2019
Department:
International Trade Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
2019-26819
Dates:
Applicable December 13, 2019.
Pages:
68123-68126 (4 pages)
Docket Numbers:
A-533-889
PDF File:
2019-26819.Pdf
Supporting Documents:
» Requests for Nominations: Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee
» Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Drawn Stainless Steel Sinks from the People's Republic of China; Recission
» Determinations of Sales at Less than Fair Value: Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from Brazil, South Africa, and Republic of Turkey
» Meetings: United States Travel and Tourism Advisory Board
» Investigations; Determinations, Modifications, and Rulings, etc.: Solid Fertilizer Grade Ammonium Nitrate from the Russian Federation
» Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Heavy Walled Rectangular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from Republic of Turkey
» Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut-to-Length Plate from People's Republic of China
» Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Pasta from Italy
» Determinations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Truck and Bus Tires From People's Republic of China
» Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Investigations, Orders, or Reviews: Initiation of Five-Year (Sunset) Review