84 FR 20092 - Magnesium From Israel: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of magnesium from Israel. The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20092-20093]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2019-09450]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-508-813]


Magnesium From Israel: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and 
exporters of magnesium from Israel. The period of investigation (POI) 
is January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017. Interested parties are 
invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective May 8, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ethan Talbott or Dana Mermelstein, AD/
CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1030 or (202) 
482-1391, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on November 
20, 2018.\1\ Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines 
affected by the partial federal government closure from December 22, 
2018, through the resumption of operations on January 29, 2019.\2\ On 
February 6, 2019, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of 
this investigation until May 2, 2019.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Magnesium from Israel: Initiation of Countervailing Duty 
Investigation, 83 FR 58529 (November 20, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, 
performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by 
the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated January 28, 
2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been 
extended by 40 days.
    \3\ See Magnesium from Israel: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determination of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 83 FR 2157 
(February 6, 2019).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\4\ A list of topics discussed 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 http://access.trade.gov, and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department 
of 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 electronic versions of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Magnesium 
from Israel,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is magnesium from Israel. 
For a full description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix 
I to this notice.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\6\ No parties 
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. As such, we have made no modifications to the scope.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a 
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives 
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is 
aligning the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping 
duty (AD) investigation of Magnesium from Israel based on a request 
made by the petitioner.\8\ 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 September 16, 2019, 
unless postponed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See Letter from the petitioner, ``Petitions for the 
Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of 
Magnesium From Israel,'' dated October 24, 2019. The petitioner is 
US Magnesium LLC.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

All-Others Rate

    Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that, in the 
preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be 
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates 
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any 
zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section 
776 of the Act.
    Commerce calculated an individual estimated countervailable subsidy 
rate for Dead Sea Magnesium, Ltd. (DSM),\9\ the only individually 
examined exporter/producer in this investigation. Because the only 
individually calculated rate is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely 
on facts available, the countervailable subsidy rate calculated for DSM 
is the rate assigned to all other producers and exporters, pursuant to 
section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with 
DSM: Israel Chemicals Ltd., ICL Israel Ltd., Dead Sea Works Ltd., 
Dead Sea Bromine Company Ltd., Rotem Amfert Negev Ltd., Bromine 
Compounds Ltd., and Fertilizers & Chemicals, Ltd.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead Sea Magnesium, Ltd.................................            7.48
All Other Companies.....................................            7.48
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act,

[[Page 20093]]

Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in 
the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), 
Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates 
indicated above.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    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.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its 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.

Notification to Interested Parties

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

     Dated: May 2, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are primary and 
secondary pure and alloy magnesium metal, regardless of chemistry, 
raw material source, form, shape, or size. Magnesium is a metal or 
alloy containing by weight primarily the element magnesium. Primary 
magnesium is produced by decomposing raw materials into magnesium 
metal. Secondary magnesium is produced by recycling magnesium-based 
scrap into magnesium metal. The magnesium covered by this 
investigation also includes blends of primary magnesium, scrap, and 
secondary magnesium.
    The subject merchandise includes the following pure and alloy 
magnesium metal products made from primary and/or secondary 
magnesium, including, without limitation, magnesium cast into 
ingots, slabs, t-bars, rounds, sows, billets, and other shapes, and 
magnesium ground, chipped, crushed, or machined into raspings, 
granules, turnings, chips, powder, briquettes, and other shapes: (1) 
products that contain at least 99.95 percent magnesium, by weight 
(generally referred to as ``ultra-pure'' or ``high purity'' 
magnesium); (2) products that contain less than 99.95 percent but 
not less than 99.8 percent magnesium, by weight (generally referred 
to as ``pure'' magnesium); and (3) chemical combinations of 
magnesium and other material(s) in which the magnesium content is 50 
percent or greater, but less than 99.8 percent, by weight, whether 
or not conforming to an ``ASTM Specification for Magnesium Alloy.''
    The scope of this investigation excludes: (1) magnesium that is 
in liquid or molten form; and (2) mixtures containing 90 percent or 
less magnesium in granular or powder form by weight and one or more 
of certain non-magnesium granular materials to make magnesium-based 
reagent mixtures, including lime, calcium metal, calcium silicon, 
calcium carbide, calcium carbonate, carbon, slag coagulants, 
fluorspar, nephaline syenite, feldspar, alumina (A1203), calcium 
aluminate, soda ash, hydrocarbons, graphite, coke, silicon, rare 
earth metals/mischmetal, cryolite, silica/fly ash, magnesium oxide, 
periclase, ferroalloys, dolomite lime, and colemanite.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation is classifiable 
under items 8104.11.00, 8104.19.00, and 8104.30.00 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS''). Although the HTSUS 
items are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the merchandise under investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Subsidies Valuation
V. Analysis of Programs
VI. ITC Notification
VII. Disclosure and Public Comment
VIII. Verification
IX. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2019-09450 Filed 5-7-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P