2014-08932. Countervailing Duty Investigation of 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Determination

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (the “Department”) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane (“tetrafluoroethane”) from the People's Republic of China (the “PRC”). We invite interested parties to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES:

Effective Date: April 18, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Katie Marksberry and Josh Startup, AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone [phone] or 202.482.5260, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of the Investigation

The product subject to this investigation is 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane, R-134a, or its chemical equivalent, regardless of form, type, or purity level. The chemical formula for 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane is CF₃-CH₂ F, and the Chemical Abstracts Service (“CAS”) registry number is CAS 811-97-2.

1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane is sold under a number of trade names including Klea 134a and Zephex 134a (Mexichem Fluor); Genetron 134a (Honeywell); Suva 134a, Dymel 134a, and Dymel P134a (DuPont); Solkane 134a (Solvay); and Forane 134a (Arkema). Generically, 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane has been sold as Fluorocarbon 134a, R-134a, HFC-134a, HF A-134a, Refrigerant 134a, and UN3159.

Merchandise covered by the scope of this investigation is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) at subheading 2903.39.2020. Although the HTSUS subheading and CAS registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope is dispositive.

Methodology

The Department is conducting this countervailing duty (“CVD”) investigation in accordance with section 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the “Act”). For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memo.^[1] The Preliminary Decision Memo is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (“IA ACCESS”). IA ACCESS is available to registered users at http://iaaccess.trade.gov,, and is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room 7046 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memo can be accessed directly on the Internet at http://trade.gov/​enforcement. The signed Preliminary Decision Memo and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memo are identical in content.

The Department notes that, in making these findings, we relied, in part, on facts available and, because one or more respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond to the Department's requests for information, we drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.^[2] For further information, see “Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences” in the Preliminary Decision Memo.

Alignment

As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memo, in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), we are aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping duty (“AD”) investigation of 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane from the PRC.^[3] Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than August 4, 2014, unless postponed.

Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we calculated an individual rate for each producer/exporter of the subject merchandise individually investigated. We preliminarily determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be:

Company	Subsidy rate
T.T. International Co., Ltd	28.74 percent.
JUHUA (including Zhejiang Quhua Fluor-Chemistry Co., Ltd., and other Juhua Stock Companies)	4.04 percent.
Jiangsu Bluestar Green Technology Co., Ltd	1.35 percent.
All Others	16.39 percent.

In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (2) of the Act, we are directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of all entries of tetrafluoroethane from the PRC that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register, and to require a cash deposit for such entries of merchandise in the amounts indicated above.

In accordance with sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, for companies not investigated, we apply an “all-others” rate, which is normally calculated by weighting the subsidy rates of the individual companies selected as respondents by those companies' exports of the subject merchandise to the United States. Under section 705(c)(5)(i) of the Act, the all-others rate should exclude zero and de minimis rates calculated for the exporters and producers individually investigated. Where the rates for the investigated companies are all zero or de minimis, section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act instructs the Department to establish an all-others rate using “any reasonable method.” Notwithstanding the language of section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, we have not calculated the “all-others” rate by weight averaging the rates of the two individually investigated respondents, because doing so risks disclosure of proprietary information. Therefore, and consistent with the Department's practice, for the “all-others” rate, we calculated a simple average of the two responding firms' rates.^[4]

Disclosure and Public Comment

The Department intends to disclose calculations performed for this preliminary determination to the parties within five days of the date of public announcement of this determination in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 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 final verification report is issued in this proceeding, and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.^[5] A table of contents, list of authorities used and an executive summary of issues should accompany any briefs submitted to the Department. This summary should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes.

Interested parties who wish to request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, filed electronically using IA ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic records system, IA ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.^[6] Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number; the number of participants; and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a date, time and location to be determined. Parties will be notified of the date, time and location of any hearing.

International Trade Commission Notification

In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) of our determination. In addition, we are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and non-proprietary information relating to this investigation. We will allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative protective order, without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

In accordance with section 705(b)(2) of the Act, if our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its final determination within 45 days after the Department makes its final determination.

This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

Dated: April 11, 2014.

Paul Piquado,

Assistant Secretary, for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memo

1. Summary

2. Background

3. Scope Comments

4. Scope of the Investigation

5. Alignment

6. Respondent Selection

7. Injury Test

8. Application of Countervailing Duty Law to Imports From the PRC

9. Subsidies Valuation

10. Benchmarks and Discount Rates

11. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences

12. Analysis of Programs

13. Verification

14. Conclusion

Footnotes

1.  See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, “Countervailing Duty Investigation of 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane from the People's Republic of China: Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination,” dated concurrently with this notice (“Preliminary Decision Memo”).

2.  See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.

3.  See 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigation, 78 FR 73832 (December 9, 2013).

4.  See, e.g., Countervailing Duty Investigation of Chlorinated Isocyanurates From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Determination, 79 FR 10097 (February 24, 2014).

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

6.  See 19 CFR 351.310(c).