[Federal Register: May 17, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 94)]
[Notices]
[Page 28275-28277]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17my05-40]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
(A-421-811)
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Purified Carboxymethylcellulose from the Netherlands
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On December 16, 2004, the U.S. Department of Commerce (the
Department) made its preliminary determination in the antidumping duty
investigation of purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) from the
Netherlands, which was amended on February 3, 2005, pursuant to
comments received by Noviant B.V. We gave interested parties an
opportunity to comment on the preliminary and amended determinations.
Based upon the results of verification and our analysis of the comments
received, we have made certain changes. We continue to find that
purified CMC from the Netherlands was sold in the United States below
normal value during the period of investigation. The final weighted-
average dumping margins are listed below in the section entitled
``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation.''
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 17, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angelica Mendoza, John Drury, David
Kurt Kraus or Judy Lao, AD/CVD
[[Page 28276]]
Operations, Office 7, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue,
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3019, (202) 482-0195,
(202) 482-7871, or (202) 482-7924, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 16, 2004, the Department determined that purified CMC
from the Netherlands is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United
States at less than fair value (LTFV), as provided in section 735(a) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). See Preliminary
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of
Final Determination: Purified Carboxymethylcellulose from the
Netherlands, 69 FR 77205 (December 27, 2004) (Preliminary
Determination). The two companies that the Department is investigating
are Noviant B.V. (Noviant) and Akzo Nobel Surface Chemistry (ANSC). The
Department released disclosure materials to interested parties on
December 21, 2004.
On December 27, 2004, respondent Noviant submitted a letter to the
Department alleging significant ministerial errors as defined by
section 351.224(g) of the Department's regulations. On December 30,
2004, Aqualon Company (petitioner) also submitted a letter to the
Department alleging an additional ministerial error. ANSC did not
allege ministerial errors with respect to the Department's calculation
of its preliminary dumping margin.
On January 21, 2005, petitioner and Noviant requested that a public
hearing be held for this case. From January 31, 2005, through February
4, 2005, Department officials verified constructed value information
submitted by Noviant. See Memorandum to Neal M. Halper, Director,
Office of Accounting, through Theresa L. Caherty, Program Manager,
``Verification Report on the Constructed Value Data Submitted by
Noviant BV,'' dated March 17, 2005.
On February 3, 2005, the Department published its amended
preliminary determination of the antidumping duty investigation of
purified CMC from the Netherlands. See Amended Preliminary
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Purified
Carboxymethylcellulose from the Netherlands, 70 FR 5609 (February 3,
2005) (Amended Preliminary Determination). See also Memorandum to
Richard O. Weible, Director, Office 7, ``Allegation of Significant
Ministerial Errors; Preliminary Determination in the Antidumping Duty
Investigation of Purified Carboxymethylcellulose from the Netherlands''
dated January 27, 2005, a public version of which is on file in room B-
099 of the main Commerce building. Since the Amended Preliminary
Determination, the following events have occurred:
From February 14, 2005, through February 16, 2005, the Department
verified U.S. sales information submitted by Noviant Inc. See the
Memorandum to the File, through Abdelali Elouaradia, Program Manager,
Office 7, ``Verification of U.S. Sales Information Submitted by Noviant
Inc.,'' dated March 17, 2005. From February 21, 2005, through February
23, 2005, the Department verified U.S. sales information submitted by
Akzo Nobel Cellulosic Specialties, Inc. (AN-US), ANSC's U.S. affiliate.
See the Memorandum to the File, through Abdelali Elouaradia, Program
Manager, Office 7, ``Verification of U.S. Sales Information Submitted
by AN-US,'' dated March 24, 2005. From February 21, 2005, through
February 25, 2005, Department officials verified third country and U.S.
sales information submitted by Noviant. See the Memorandum to the File,
through Abdelali Elouaradia, Program Manager, Office 7, ``Verification
of Third Country and U.S. Sales Information Submitted by Noviant B.V.
(Noviant BV),'' dated March 17, 2005. From February 28, 2005, to March
4, 2005, Department officials verified home and U.S. market sales data
submitted by ANSC. See the Memorandum to the File, through Abdelali
Elouaradia, Program Manager, Office 7, ``Verification of Home Market
and U.S sales in the Netherlands,'' dated March 31, 2005.
On March 24, 2005, petitioner submitted comments for consideration
in the Department's final margin calculation for Noviant and withdrew
its request for a public hearing; and Noviant submitted its case brief.
On March 25, 2005, Noviant withdrew its January 21, 2005, request for a
public hearing. Since both parties withdrew their hearing requests, we
did not hold a public hearing for this case. On March 29, 2005,
petitioner filed its rebuttal brief in response to arguments made by
Noviant in its case brief. Noviant did not file a rebuttal brief. On
April 6, 2005, ANSC filed its case brief regarding the Department's
March 31, 2005, verification report. Petitioner did not file any briefs
or rebuttal briefs to coincide with ANSC's submission.
Scope of Investigation
For purposes of this investigation, the products covered are all
purified carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), sometimes also referred to as
purified sodium CMC, polyanionic cellulose, or cellulose gum, which is
a white to off-white, non-toxic, odorless, biodegradable powder,
comprising sodium CMC that has been refined and purified to a minimum
assay of 90 percent. Purified CMC does not include unpurified or crude
CMC, CMC Fluidized Polymer Suspensions, and CMC that is cross-linked
through heat treatment. Purified CMC is CMC that has undergone one or
more purification operations which, at a minimum, reduce the remaining
salt and other by-product portion of the product to less than ten
percent.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is classified in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheading
3912.31.00. This tariff classification is provided for convenience and
customs purposes; however, the written description of the scope of this
investigation is dispositive.
Period of Investigation
The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2003, through March
31, 2004. This period corresponds to the four most recent fiscal
quarters prior to the filing of the petition on June 9, 2004.
Fair Value Comparisons
We calculated constructed export price, export price, and normal
value based on the same methodologies used in the Preliminary
Determination and Amended Preliminary Determination for Noviant.
However, we made the following changes:
Noviant
We used the third country and U.S. sales databases submitted by
Noviant after verification, which included revisions for minor
corrections and findings from verification. We revised our treatment of
the indirect selling expense calculation of Noviant Pte., an affiliate
of Noviant that handles all of its sales to Asia. See the Memorandum
from Barbara E. Tillman to Joseph A. Spetrini, ``Issues and Decision
Memorandum for the Final Determination of the Antidumping Duty
Investigation of Purified Carboxymethylcellulose from the
Netherlands,'' dated May 10, 2005 (Decision Memo) at Comment 2. We
corrected an inadvertent error in the Department's preliminary
calculation of certain movement expenses incurred on sales by Noviant,
which was not
[[Page 28277]]
corrected in our Amended Preliminary Determination. See Decision Memo
at Comment 3. We applied facts available to account for certain
unreported U.S. sales of subject merchandise. We made an adjustment to
account for the bad debt expenses incurred by Noviant. We revised
Noviant's reported inventory carrying costs to reflect corrections
presented at verification and to correct for errors discovered in our
preliminary inventory carrying cost calculations. We used the shipment
dates as the date of sale for sales where the date of shipment occurred
prior to the issuance of an invoice. For a detailed discussion of the
changes made to Noviant's final margin calculation, see the Memorandum
to File, through Abdelali Elouaradia, Program Manager, Office 7,
``Noviant's Final Determination Calculation Memorandum,'' dated May 10,
2005.
ANSC
We used the U.S. database submitted by ANSC after verification in
our margin calculations, which includes the minor corrections presented
at verification. We made no changes to ANSC's final margin calculation,
see the Memorandum to File, through Abdelali Elouaradia, Program
Manager, Office 7, ``ANSC's Final Determination Calculation
Memorandum,'' dated May 10, 2005.
Constructed Value
We calculated constructed value (CV) for Noviant based on the same
methodologies used in the Preliminary Determination. However, we
revised Noviant's general and administrative (G&A), research and
development (R&D) and financial expense ratios consistent with the
summary of findings section of the cost verification report. See
Memorandum to Neal Halper, Director, Office of Accounting, through
Theresa L. Caherty, Program Manager, ``Constructed Value Calculation
Adjustments for the Final Determination - Noviant BV,'' dated May 10,
2005.
Verifications
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we verified the
information submitted by the respondents during January and February
2005. We used standard verification procedures, including examination
of relevant accounting and production records, as well as original
source documents provided by the respondents.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the petitioner's and the respondents' case and
rebuttal briefs are addressed in the May 10, 2005, Decision Memo, which
is hereby adopted by this notice. Attached to this notice as an
appendix is a list of the issues that the petitioner and the
respondents have raised and to which we have responded in the Decision
Memo. Parties can find a complete discussion of all issues raised in
this investigation and the corresponding recommendations in this public
memorandum, which is on file in the Department's Central Record Unit
(CRU), room B-099 of the main Commerce building. In addition, a
complete version of the Decision Memo can be accessed directly on the
Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/summary/list.htm. The paper copy and
electronic version of the Decision Memo are identical in content.
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, we are
directing the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all imports of subject merchandise from the
Netherlands that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after December 27, 2004, the date of publication of
the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register. The CBP shall
continue to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal to
the weighted-average amount by which the NV exceeds the EP or CEP, as
indicated in the chart below. These suspension-of-liquidation
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
The weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-Average Margin
Manufacturer/Exporter POI (percent)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Akzo Nobel Surface Chemistry........................ 04/01/03 - 03/31/04 13.39
Noviant BV.......................................... 04/01/03 - 03/31/04 14.88
All Others.......................................... 04/01/03 - 03/31/04 14.57
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See Memoranda to the File, Final Determination Analysis for ANSC
and Noviant, respectively, dated May 10, 2005. Public versions of our
analysis memoranda are on file in the CRU.
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the
U.S. 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 threatening
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.
Notification to Interested Parties
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 section 351.305 of the Department's regulations.
Timely notification of return or 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 in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: May 10, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
APPENDIX
List of Issues
Noviant
1. Request for Scope Modification to Exclude Certain CMC Products
2. Treatment of Noviant Pte. Ltd.'s Indirect Selling Expenses
3. Ministerial Error Allegation Relating to Noviant's Net U.S.
Price Calculations
ANSC
4. ANSC's Reporting Methodology for Certain U.S. Sales
[FR Doc. E5-2466 Filed 5-16-05; 8:45 am]