03-9735. Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Polyvinyl Alcohol from Germany

AGENCY:

Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

April 21, 2003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mike Strollo or Patrick Connolly at [phone] or [phone], respectively, Office of AD/CVD Enforcement, Office 2, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

FINAL DETERMINATION:

We determine that polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) from Germany is being sold, or is likely to be sold, in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). The estimated margins of sales at LTFV are shown in the “Suspension of Liquidation” section of this notice.

Background

The preliminary determination in this investigation was issued on February 12, 2003. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Polyvinyl Alcohol from Germany, 68 FR 7980 (Feb. 19, 2003) (Preliminary Determination).

Since the preliminary determination, the following events have occurred. On March 3, 2003, the petitioners agreed to revise the scope of the companion case on PVA from Japan to exclude certain types of PVA covalently bonded with diacetoneacrylamide. The petitioners' submission was made in response to a request by Japan VAM and POVAL Co., Ltd., one of the mandatory respondents in the companion Japanese case.

Because these comments relate to PVA in general, we find that they are applicable to this proceeding. Accordingly, as we did in the preliminary determination, we have modified the scope to conform to that set forth in the companion Japanese proceeding, as described below. See the Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Polyvinyl Alcohol from Japan, published in the Federal Register concurrently with this notice.

Scope of Investigation

The merchandise covered by this investigation is PVA. This product consists of all PVA hydrolyzed in excess of 80 percent, whether or not mixed or diluted with commercial levels of defoamer or boric acid, except as noted below.

The following products are specifically excluded from the scope of this investigation:

(1) PVA in fiber form.

(2) PVA with hydrolysis less than 83 mole percent and certified not for use in the production of textiles.

(3) PVA with hydrolysis greater than 85 percent and viscosity greater than or equal to 90 cps.

(4) PVA with a hydrolysis greater than 85 percent, viscosity greater than or equal to 80 cps but less than 90 cps, certified for use in an ink jet application.

(5) PVA for use in the manufacture of an excipient or as an excipient in the manufacture of film coating systems which are components of a drug or dietary supplement, and accompanied by an end-use certification.

(6) PVA covalently bonded with cationic monomer uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration equal to or greater than one mole percent.

(7) PVA covalently bonded with carboxylic acid uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration equal to or greater than two mole percent, certified for use in a paper application.

(8) PVA covalently bonded with thiol uniformly present on all polymer chains, certified for use in emulsion polymerization of non-vinyl acetic material.

(9) PVA covalently bonded with paraffin uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration equal to or greater than one mole percent.

(10) PVA covalently bonded with silan uniformly present on all polymer chains certified for use in paper coating applications.

(11) PVA covalently bonded with sulfonic acid uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration level equal to or greater than one mole percent.

(12) PVA covalently bonded with acetoacetylate uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration level equal to or greater than one mole percent.

(13) PVA covalently bonded with polyethylene oxide uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration level equal to or greater than one mole percent.

(14) PVA covalently bonded with quaternary amine uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration level equal to or greater than one mole percent.

(15) PVA covalently bonded with diacetoneacrylamide uniformly present on all polymer chains in a concentration level greater than three mole percent, certified for use in a paper application.

The merchandise under investigation is currently classifiable under subheading 3905.30.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise under investigation is dispositive.

Period of Investigation

The POI is July 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002. This period corresponds to the four most recent fiscal quarters prior to the month of the filing of the petition (i.e., September 2002).

Facts Available

In the preliminary determination, we based the dumping margin for the two mandatory respondents in this case, Clariant GMBH (Clariant) and Kuraray Specialties Europe GMBH (Kuraray Europe), on adverse facts available pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act. The use of adverse facts available was warranted because Clariant and Kuraray Europe, as mandatory respondents, failed to supply the information requested in the antidumping duty questionnaires issued to them. Therefore, we found that Clariant and Kuraray Europe failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of their ability. As a result, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act, we used an adverse inference in selecting from the facts available. Specifically, we assigned Clariant and Kuraray Europe the highest margin stated in the notice of initiation (i.e., 19.05 percent). We continue to find this margin corroborated, pursuant to section 776(c) of the Act. A complete explanation of both the selection and application of facts available can be found in the Preliminary Determination, 68 FR at 7981-82.

No interested parties have commented on the use of adverse facts available for Clariant and Kuraray Europe in this investigation, or to the choice of the facts available margin. Accordingly, for the final determination, we are continuing to use the highest margin stated in the notice of initiation for both Clariant and Kuraray Europe. See the Preliminary Determination, 68 FR at 7983.

We have left unchanged from the preliminary determination the “All Others Rate” in this investigation. See the Preliminary Determination, 68 FR at 7983.

Analysis of Comments Received

We received no comments from interested parties in response to our preliminary determination. We did not hold a hearing because none was requested.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we are directing the Customs Service to continue to suspend all entries of PVA from Germany, that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after February 19, 2003, the date of publication of our preliminary determination. The Customs Service shall continue to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal to the estimated amount by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. price as shown below. These instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.

The dumping margins are provided below:

Manufacturer/exporter	Margin ­(percent)
Clariant GMBH	19.05
Kuraray Specialties Europe GMBH	19.05
All Others	10.75

ITC Notification

In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. As our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will, within 45 days, determine whether these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry. If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and all securities posted will be refunded or canceled. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the Department will issue an antidumping duty order directing the Customs Service to assess antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation.

Notification Regarding APO

This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Timely notification of return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

Dated: April 14, 2003.

Joseph A. Spetrini,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.