2022-13543. Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber From the Russian Federation: 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 Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (ESBR) from the Russian Federation (Russia) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is October 01, 2020, through September 30, 2021. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES:

Applicable June 27, 2022.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Caitlin Monks or Zachary Le Vene, AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone] or [phone], respectively.

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 December 10, 2021.^[1] On March 31, 2022, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until June 14, 2022.^[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. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/​public/​FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.

Scope of the Investigation

The products covered by this investigation are ESBR from Russia. 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] On January 10, 2022, we received timely filed comments from the petitioner regarding the product characteristics and the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.^[6] On January 21, 2022, Commerce determined the product characteristics applicable to this investigation.^[7] 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 (NV) 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 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 Public Joint Stock Company SIBUR Holding, Joint Stock Company Voronezhsintezkauchuk, and SIBUR International GmbH (collectively, SIBUR) and for LLC TATNEFT-AZS Center, LLC Togliattikauchuk, Tolyattisintez, and Public Joint Stock Company TATNEFT (collectively, TATNEFT) 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 individually examined respondents using the publicly ranged total values of each respondent's sales of the merchandise under consideration to the United States during the POI.^[8]

Preliminary Determination

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

Exporter/producer	Estimated weighted-average dumping margin (percent)
Public Joint Stock Company SIBUR Holding/Joint Stock Company Voronezhsintezkauchuk/SIBUR International GmbH 9	18.75
LLC TATNEFT-AZS Center/LLC Togliattikauchuk/Tolyattisintez/Public Joint Stock Company TATNEFT 10	8.14
All Others	12.41

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. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and related analysis 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 the Federal Register 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. Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the submission of such case briefs and written comments at a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline date for case briefs.^[11] 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 in the Federal Register . 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 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 in the Federal Register 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 May 26, 2022, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), SIBUR and TATNEFT separately requested that, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination in this investigation, 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 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 in the Federal Register , pursuant to 735(a)(2) of the Act.

International Trade Commission Notification

In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary determination. If Commerce's 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 imports of ESBR from Russia 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: June 14, 2022.

Lisa W. Wang,

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I—Scope of the Investigation

The products covered by this investigation are cold-polymerized emulsion styrene-butadiene rubber (ESB rubber). The scope of the investigation includes, but is not limited to, ESB rubber in primary forms, bales, granules, crumbs, pellets, powders, plates, sheets, strip, etc. ESB rubber consists of non-pigmented rubbers and oil-extended non-pigmented rubbers, both of which contain at least one percent of organic acids from the emulsion polymerization process.

ESB rubber is produced and sold in accordance with a generally accepted set of product specifications issued by the International Institute of Synthetic Rubber Producers (IISRP). The scope of the investigation covers grades of ESB rubber included in the IISRP 1500 and 1700 series of synthetic rubbers. The 1500 grades are light in color and are often described as “Clear” or “White Rubber.” The 1700 grades are oil-extended and thus darker in color, and are often called “Brown Rubber.”

Specifically excluded from the scope of this investigation are products which are manufactured by blending ESB rubber with other polymers, high styrene resin master batch, carbon black master batch ( i.e., IISRP 1600 series and 1800 series) and latex (an intermediate product).

The products subject to this investigation are currently classifiable under subheadings 4002.19.0015 and 4002.19.0019 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). ESB rubber is described by Chemical Abstracts Services (CAS) Registry No. 9003-55-8. This CAS number also refers to other types of styrene butadiene rubber. Although the HTSUS subheadings and CAS registry number 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. Scope of the Investigation

V. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures

VI. Affiliation and Single Entity Treatment

VII. Discussion of the Methodology

VIII. Currency Conversion

IX. Verification

X. Recommendation

Footnotes

1.   See Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Czech Republic, Italy, and the Russian Federation: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 86 FR 70447 (December 10, 2021) ( Initiation Notice ).

2.   See Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 87 FR 18767 (March 31, 2022).

3.   See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Russian Federation” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

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

5.   See Initiation Notice.

6.   See Petitioner's Letter, “Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from Czech Republic, Italy, and Russian Federation: Petitioner's Comments on Scope and Product Characteristics,” dated January 10, 2022.

7.   See Memorandum, “Product Characteristics for Sections B-D Questionnaire,” dated January 21, 2022.

8.  With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally calculates (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sale values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See 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). As complete publicly ranged sales data was available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data, see the Preliminary All-Others Rate Calculation Memorandum.

9.  Commerce preliminarily determines that Public Joint Stock Company SIBUR Holding/Joint Stock Company Voronezhsintezkauchuk/SIBUR International GmbH are a single entity. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

10.  Commerce preliminarily determines that LLC TATNEFT-AZS Center, LLC Togliattikauchuk, and Public Joint Stock Company TATNEFT are a single entity. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

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

12.   See SIBUR's Letter, “Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Russian Federation: Request for Extension of Final Determination and Provisional Measures,” dated May 26, 2022; see also TATNEFT's Letter, “Antidumping Duty Investigation of Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Russian Federation: Request for Postponement of Final Determination and Provisional Measures Period,” dated May 26, 2022.