84 FR 32712 - Magnesium From Israel: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that magnesium from Israel 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 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32712-32714]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14557]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-508-812]


Magnesium From Israel: 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 Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that magnesium from Israel 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 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable July 9, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Hansen, 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) 482-3683.

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 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 
April 23, 2019, at the request of the petitioner, Commerce postponed 
the preliminary determination of this investigation, and the revised 
deadline is now July 1, 2019.\3\ For a complete description of the 
events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ 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, 
and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main 
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 the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \1\ See Magnesium from Israel: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigation, 83 FR 58533 (November 20, 2018) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum to the Record 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 in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 84 FR 16845 
(April 23, 2019).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Magnesium 
from Israel'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

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

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 interested party 
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. Therefore, Commerce is not preliminarily modifying 
the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the 
scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice, 83 FR at 58534.
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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. Constructed export prices 
have been calculated in accordance with section 772(b) 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)(A)(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. Commerce calculated an individual estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin for Dead Sea Magnesium, Ltd. (DSM), the 
only individually examined exporter/producer in this investigation. 
Because the only individually calculated dumping margin is not zero, de 
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available, the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin calculated for DSM is the margin 
assigned to all other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.

Preliminary Determination

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

[[Page 32713]]

period October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
                    Exporter/producer                         average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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Dead Sea Magnesium, Ltd.................................          193.24
All Others..............................................          193.24
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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 respondent listed above will be equal 
to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
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.
    Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping 
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce preliminarily made an 
affirmative determination for countervailable export subsidies, 
Commerce has offset the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by 
the appropriate CVD rate. In the concurrent countervailing duty 
investigation of magnesium from Israel, Commerce preliminarily did not 
find any export subsidies.\7\ Accordingly, we did not make an 
adjustment to the cash deposit rate.
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    \7\ See Magnesium From Israel: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final 
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 84 FR 20092 
(May 8, 2019).
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    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed 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 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.\8\ 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.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    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.

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 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 20, 2019, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), DSM requested that 
Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional measures 
be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\9\ 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 
exporter accounts 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.
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    \9\ See DSM's Letter, ``Re: Magnesium from Israel: Request for 
Postponement of Final Determination,'' dated May 20, 2019.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine 75 days after the final determination whether these imports 
are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. 
industry.\10\
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    \10\ See section 735(b)(3) of the Act.
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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).


[[Page 32714]]


    Dated: July 1, 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 (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 any other shapes). Magnesium is a metal or alloy 
containing at least 50 percent by actual weight 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: (1) Products that contain at least 99.95 percent 
magnesium, by actual 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 actual 
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 actual weight, whether or not conforming to an ``ASTM 
Specification for Magnesium Alloy.''
    The scope of this investigation excludes mixtures containing 90 
percent or less magnesium in granular or powder form by actual 
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, nepheline 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 8104.11.0000, 8104.19.0000, and 8104.30.0000 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. Period of Investigation
IV. Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Scope Comments
VII. Product Characteristics
VIII. Discussion of the Methodology
IX. Date of Sale
X. Product Comparisons
XI. Export Price and Constructed Export Price
XII. Normal Value
XIII. Currency Conversion
XIV. Verification
XV. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2019-14557 Filed 7-8-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P