82_FR_40911 82 FR 40746 - Biodiesel From the Republic of Indonesia: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination

82 FR 40746 - Biodiesel From the Republic of Indonesia: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 165 (August 28, 2017)

Page Range40746-40748
FR Document2017-18167

The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and/or exporters of biodiesel from the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesia). The period of investigation is January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 165 (Monday, August 28, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40746-40748]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18167]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-560-831]


Biodiesel From the Republic of Indonesia: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty 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/or exporters of biodiesel from the Republic of Indonesia 
(Indonesia). The period of investigation is January 1, 2016, through 
December 31, 2016. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: August 28, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene Calvert or Joseph Traw, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3586 or (202) 482-6079, 
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). The Department 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 19, 
2017.\1\ On June 5, 2017, the Department postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation until no later than August 20, 
2017. However, because August 20, 2017, falls on a Sunday, the 
preliminary determination was postponed until August 21, 2017.\2\ A 
complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this 
investigation can be found in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ 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 
parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Department 
of Commerce building. A complete version of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum can also be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the

[[Page 40747]]

Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia: Initiation of 
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 82 FR 18423 (April 19, 2017) 
(Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Biodiesel From Argentina and Indonesia: Postponement of 
Preliminary Determinations of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 82 
FR 25773 (June 5, 2017); see also Notice of Clarification: 
Application of ``Next Business Day'' Rule for Administrative 
Determination Deadlines Pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930, As 
Amended, 70 FR 24533 (May 10, 2005).
    \3\ See Department Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty 
Investigation of Biodiesel from the Republic of Indonesia,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is biodiesel from 
Indonesia. A complete description of the scope of this investigation is 
included as Appendix I to this notice.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to the Department's regulations,\4\ 
the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for interested parties 
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ No 
interested party commented on the scope of this investigation as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties: Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice at the section, ``Comments on Scope of 
the Investigations.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    The Department is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found to be 
countervailable, the Department preliminarily determines that there is 
a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution provided by an ``authority'' 
that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and 771(D) of the Act (regarding 
financial contribution); see also section 771(5)(E) of the Act 
regarding benefit, and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding 
specificity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    We preliminarily determine that countervailable subsidies are being 
provided with respect to the manufacture, production, or exportation of 
the subject merchandise. In accordance with sections 703(d) and 
705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, for companies not individually examined, we 
apply an ``all-others'' rate, which is normally calculated by weighting 
the subsidy rates of the individually-examined company respondents by 
those companies' exports of the subject merchandise to the United 
States during the period of investigation. Under section 
705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the ``all-others'' rate should exclude zero 
and de minimis rates or any rates based solely on the facts otherwise 
available calculated for the producers/exporters individually 
investigated. Neither of the individually-examined company respondents' 
rates in in this preliminary determination is zero, de minimis, or 
based entirely on facts otherwise available. Accordingly, in this 
preliminary determination, we have calculated the ``all-others'' rate 
by weight averaging the calculated subsidy rates of the two 
individually examined company respondents. In order to ensure that 
business proprietary information is not disclosed through the all-
others rate, we are using a weighted average of the publicly-ranged 
information provided by Musim Mas and Wilmar Trading for their sales of 
subject merchandise to the United States during the POI. The Department 
preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable 
subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PT Musim Mas............................................           68.28
Wilmar Trading PTE Ltd..................................           41.06
All-Others..............................................           44.92
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and 703(d)(2) of the Act, 
we are directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 
liquidation of all entries of biodiesel from Indonesia 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 equal to the subsidy rates indicated above.

Disclosure

    The Department intends to disclose to interested parties the 
calculations performed in connection of this preliminary determination 
within five days of its public announcement.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify 
the information submitted by the respondents prior to making our final 
determination.

Public Comment and Request for Hearing

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance via ACCESS 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 by no later than five days after the 
deadline for case briefs.\8\ A table of contents, list of authorities 
used, and an executive summary of issues should accompany any briefs 
submitted to the Department, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 19 
CFR 351.309(d)(2). This summary should be limited to five pages, 
including footnotes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ 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 case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, via ACCESS. An 
electronically-filed request must be successfully received, in its 
entirety, by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days after the 
date of the 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 hearing is requested, the 
Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a date 
and time to be determined. Parties will be notified of the date, time, 
and location of any hearing via ACCESS. Parties should confirm by 
telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing date two days 
before the scheduled date of the hearing.

U.S. International Trade Commission

    Pursuant to section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the U.S. 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of this preliminary 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,\9\ the ITC will make its final 
determination within 45 days after the Department makes its final 
determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ As of the signing of this notice, the petitioner (the 
National Biodiesel Fair Trade Coalition) had not requested that the 
date of the final determination of this investigation be aligned 
with the date of the final determination of the companion 
antidumping investigation, pursuant to section 705(a)(1) of the Act. 
Therefore, the current date for the final determination of this 
investigation is 75 days from the signature of this preliminary 
determination, November 6, 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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


[[Page 40748]]


     Dated: August 21, 2017.
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.

Appendix I--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Injury Test
VI. New Subsidy Allegation
VII. Subsidies Valuation
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Calculation of All-Others Rate
X. ITC Notification
XI. Disclosure and Public Comment
XII. Verification
XIII. Conclusion
    Appendix I--List of Additional Companies Preliminarily Found to 
be Cross-Owned with Musim Mas and Intibenua
    Appendix II--List of Additional Companies Preliminarily Found to 
be Cross-Owned with Wilmar Trading

Appendix II--Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is biodiesel, which is 
a fuel comprised of mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids 
derived from vegetable oils or animal fats, including biologically-
based waste oils or greases, and other biologically based oil or fat 
sources. This investigation covers biodiesel in pure form (B100) as 
well as fuel mixtures containing at least 99 percent biodiesel by 
volume (B99). For fuel mixtures containing less than 99 percent 
biodiesel by volume, only the biodiesel component of the mixture is 
covered by the scope of this investigation.
    Biodiesel is generally produced to American Society for Testing 
and Materials International (ASTM) D6751 specifications, but it can 
also be made to other specifications. Biodiesel commonly has one of 
the following Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbers, generally 
depending upon the feedstock used: 67784-80-9 (soybean oil methyl 
esters); 91051-34-2 (palm oil methyl esters); 91051-32-0 (palm 
kernel oil methyl esters); 73891-99-3 (rapeseed oil methyl esters); 
61788-61-2 (tallow methyl esters); 68990-52-3 (vegetable oil methyl 
esters); 129828-16-6 (canola oil methyl esters); 67762-26-9 
(unsaturated alkylcarboxylic acid methyl ester); or 68937-84-8 
(fatty acids, C12-C18, methyl ester).
    The B100 product subject to this investigation is currently 
classifiable under subheading 3826.00.1000 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), while the B99 product is 
currently classifiable under HTSUS subheading 3826.00.3000. Although 
the HTSUS subheadings, ASTM specifications, and CAS numbers are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2017-18167 Filed 8-25-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P



                                                    40746                        Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 165 / Monday, August 28, 2017 / Notices

                                                    above as seating capacity permits.                       DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                 certification of eligibility to apply for
                                                    Members of the public seeking to attend                                                                         Trade Adjustment Assistance from the
                                                    the meeting in person must register at                   Economic Development Administration                    firms listed below. Accordingly, EDA
                                                    https://bbgboardmeetingaugust2017.                                                                              has initiated investigations to determine
                                                    eventbrite.com by 12:00 p.m. (EDT) on                    Notice of Petitions by Firms for
                                                                                                                                                                    whether increased imports into the
                                                    August 29. For more information, please                  Determination of Eligibility To Apply
                                                                                                                                                                    United States of articles like or directly
                                                    contact BBG Public Affairs at (202) 203–                 for Trade Adjustment Assistance
                                                                                                                                                                    competitive with those produced by
                                                    4400 or by email at pubaff@bbg.gov.                                                                             each of these firms contributed
                                                                                                             AGENCY:Economic Development
                                                    CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION:                                                                            importantly to the total or partial
                                                                                                             Administration, Commerce.
                                                    Persons interested in obtaining more                                                                            separation of the firm’s workers, or
                                                    information should contact Oanh Tran                     ACTION: Notice and opportunity for
                                                                                                                                                                    threat thereof, and to a decrease in sales
                                                    at (202) 203–4545.                                       public comment.
                                                                                                                                                                    or production of each petitioning firm.
                                                    Oanh Tran,                                               SUMMARY:  Pursuant to section 251 of the               SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                    Managing Director.                                       Trade Act 1974, as amended, the
                                                    [FR Doc. 2017–18310 Filed 8–24–17; 4:15 pm]              Economic Development Administration
                                                    BILLING CODE 8610–01–P                                   (EDA) has received petitions for

                                                      LIST OF PETITIONS RECEIVED BY EDA FOR CERTIFICATION ELIGIBILITY TO APPLY FOR TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE
                                                                                                                      [7/27/2017 through 8/14/2017]

                                                                                                                                 Date accepted
                                                               Firm name                               Firm address                    for                                     Product(s)
                                                                                                                                  investigation

                                                    Wasatch Photonics, Inc ...........    1305 North 1000 West, Suite                     8/3/2017     The firm manufactures holographic gratings, spectroscopic
                                                                                            120, Logan, UT 84321.                                        instruments, and optical coherence tomography solutions.
                                                    Electro-Hydraulic Automation,         1620 Blairs Ferry Road NE.,                     8/7/2017     The firm manufactures hydraulic and pneumatic power units.
                                                      Inc.                                  Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.



                                                       Any party having a substantial                        SUMMARY:   The Department of Commerce                  Sunday, the preliminary determination
                                                    interest in these proceedings may                        (the Department) preliminarily                         was postponed until August 21, 2017.2
                                                    request a public hearing on the matter.                  determines that countervailable                        A complete description of the events
                                                    A written request for a hearing must be                  subsidies are being provided to                        that followed the initiation of this
                                                    submitted to the Trade Adjustment                        producers and/or exporters of biodiesel                investigation can be found in the
                                                    Assistance for Firms Division, Room                      from the Republic of Indonesia                         Preliminary Decision Memorandum.3 A
                                                    71030, Economic Development                              (Indonesia). The period of investigation               list of topics discussed in the
                                                    Administration, U.S. Department of                       is January 1, 2016, through December                   Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
                                                    Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, no                       31, 2016. Interested parties are invited               included as Appendix II to this notice.
                                                    later than ten (10) calendar days                        to comment on this preliminary                         The Preliminary Decision Memorandum
                                                    following publication of this notice.                    determination.                                         is a public document and is on file
                                                       Please follow the requirements set                    DATES: August 28, 2017.                                electronically via Enforcement and
                                                    forth in EDA’s regulations at 13 CFR                                                                            Compliance’s Antidumping and
                                                                                                             FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                    315.9 for procedures to request a public                                                                        Countervailing Duty Centralized
                                                                                                             Gene Calvert or Joseph Traw, AD/CVD
                                                    hearing. The Catalog of Federal                                                                                 Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
                                                                                                             Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and
                                                    Domestic Assistance official number                                                                             ACCESS is available to registered users
                                                                                                             Compliance, International Trade
                                                    and title for the program under which                                                                           at http://access.trade.gov, and is
                                                                                                             Administration, U.S. Department of
                                                    these petitions are submitted is 11.313,                                                                        available to parties in the Central
                                                                                                             Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
                                                    Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms.                                                                          Records Unit, room B8024 of the main
                                                                                                             NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
                                                                                                                                                                    Department of Commerce building. A
                                                    Irette Patterson,                                        (202) 482–3586 or (202) 482–6079,
                                                                                                                                                                    complete version of the Preliminary
                                                    Program Analyst.                                         respectively.
                                                                                                                                                                    Decision Memorandum can also be
                                                    [FR Doc. 2017–17616 Filed 8–25–17; 8:45 am]              SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                             accessed directly at http://
                                                    BILLING CODE 3510–WH–P
                                                                                                             Background                                             enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed
                                                                                                                                                                    and electronic versions of the
                                                                                                                This preliminary determination is
                                                    DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                   made in accordance with section 703(b)                    2 See Biodiesel From Argentina and Indonesia:

                                                                                                             of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended                  Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of
                                                    International Trade Administration                       (the Act). The Department published the                Countervailing Duty Investigations, 82 FR 25773
                                                                                                                                                                    (June 5, 2017); see also Notice of Clarification:
                                                                                                             notice of initiation of this investigation
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                                    Application of ‘‘Next Business Day’’ Rule for
                                                    [C–560–831]                                              on April 19, 2017.1 On June 5, 2017, the               Administrative Determination Deadlines Pursuant
                                                                                                             Department postponed the preliminary                   to the Tariff Act of 1930, As Amended, 70 FR 24533
                                                    Biodiesel From the Republic of                           determination of this investigation until              (May 10, 2005).
                                                                                                                                                                       3 See Department Memorandum, ‘‘Decision
                                                    Indonesia: Preliminary Affirmative                       no later than August 20, 2017. However,
                                                    Countervailing Duty Determination                                                                               Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative
                                                                                                             because August 20, 2017, falls on a                    Determination of the Countervailing Duty
                                                                                                                                                                    Investigation of Biodiesel from the Republic of
                                                    AGENCY:  Enforcement and Compliance,                       1 See Biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia:        Indonesia,’’ dated concurrently with, and hereby
                                                    International Trade Administration,                      Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 82   adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision
                                                    Department of Commerce.                                  FR 18423 (April 19, 2017) (Initiation Notice).         Memorandum).



                                               VerDate Sep<11>2014   18:45 Aug 25, 2017   Jkt 241001    PO 00000   Frm 00003   Fmt 4703    Sfmt 4703   E:\FR\FM\28AUN1.SGM   28AUN1


                                                                                  Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 165 / Monday, August 28, 2017 / Notices                                                      40747

                                                    Preliminary Decision Memorandum are                     calculated the ‘‘all-others’’ rate by                  This summary should be limited to five
                                                    identical in content.                                   weight averaging the calculated subsidy                pages, including footnotes.
                                                                                                            rates of the two individually examined                     Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c)
                                                    Scope of the Investigation
                                                                                                            company respondents. In order to                       interested parties who wish to request a
                                                      The product covered by this                           ensure that business proprietary                       hearing, limited to issues raised in case
                                                    investigation is biodiesel from                         information is not disclosed through the               and rebuttal briefs, must submit a
                                                    Indonesia. A complete description of                    all-others rate, we are using a weighted               written request to the Assistant
                                                    the scope of this investigation is                      average of the publicly-ranged                         Secretary for Enforcement and
                                                    included as Appendix I to this notice.                  information provided by Musim Mas                      Compliance, U.S. Department of
                                                    Scope Comments                                          and Wilmar Trading for their sales of                  Commerce, via ACCESS. An
                                                                                                            subject merchandise to the United                      electronically-filed request must be
                                                      In accordance with the Preamble to                    States during the POI. The Department                  successfully received, in its entirety, by
                                                    the Department’s regulations,4 the
                                                                                                            preliminarily determines that the                      ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time,
                                                    Initiation Notice set aside a period of
                                                                                                            following estimated countervailable                    within 30 days after the date of the
                                                    time for interested parties to raise issues
                                                                                                            subsidy rates exist:                                   publication of this notice. Requests
                                                    regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).5
                                                                                                                                                                   should contain the party’s name,
                                                    No interested party commented on the                                                              Subsidy rate
                                                                                                                      Company                                      address, and telephone number, the
                                                    scope of this investigation as it appeared                                                         (percent)   number of participants, whether any
                                                    in the Initiation Notice.
                                                                                                            PT Musim Mas .....................               68.28
                                                                                                                                                                   participant is a foreign national, and a
                                                    Methodology                                             Wilmar Trading PTE Ltd. ......                   41.06 list of the issues to be discussed. If a
                                                       The Department is conducting this                    All-Others ..............................        44.92 hearing is requested, the Department
                                                    investigation in accordance with section                                                                       intends to hold the hearing at the U.S.
                                                    701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy                    In accordance with sections                         Department of Commerce, 1401
                                                    programs found to be countervailable,                   703(d)(1)(B) and 703(d)(2) of the Act, we Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
                                                    the Department preliminarily                            are directing U.S. Customs and Border                  DC 20230, at a date and time to be
                                                    determines that there is a subsidy, i.e.,               Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation determined. Parties will be notified of
                                                    a financial contribution provided by an                 of all entries of biodiesel from Indonesia the date, time, and location of any
                                                    ‘‘authority’’ that gives rise to a benefit to           that are entered, or withdrawn from                    hearing via ACCESS. Parties should
                                                    the recipient, and that the subsidy is                  warehouse, for consumption, on or after confirm by telephone the date, time, and
                                                    specific.6                                              the date of the publication of this notice location of the hearing date two days
                                                                                                            in the Federal Register, and to require                before the scheduled date of the hearing.
                                                    Preliminary Determination and
                                                    Suspension of Liquidation                               a cash deposit equal to the subsidy rates U.S. International Trade Commission
                                                                                                            indicated above.
                                                       We preliminarily determine that                                                                                 Pursuant to section 703(f) of the Act,
                                                    countervailable subsidies are being                     Disclosure                                             we will notify the U.S. International
                                                    provided with respect to the                               The Department intends to disclose to Trade Commission (ITC) of this
                                                    manufacture, production, or exportation                 interested parties the calculations                    preliminary determination. In addition,
                                                    of the subject merchandise. In                          performed in connection of this                        we are making available to the ITC all
                                                    accordance with sections 703(d) and                     preliminary determination within five                  non-privileged and non-proprietary
                                                    705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, for companies                  days of its public announcement.              7        information relating to this
                                                    not individually examined, we apply an                                                                         investigation. We will allow the ITC
                                                    ‘‘all-others’’ rate, which is normally                  Verification                                           access to all privileged and business
                                                    calculated by weighting the subsidy
                                                                                                               As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the proprietary information in our files,
                                                    rates of the individually-examined
                                                                                                            Act, we intend to verify the information provided the ITC confirms that it will
                                                    company respondents by those                                                                                   not disclose such information, either
                                                                                                            submitted by the respondents prior to
                                                    companies’ exports of the subject                                                                              publicly or under an administrative
                                                                                                            making our final determination.
                                                    merchandise to the United States during                                                                        protective order, without the written
                                                    the period of investigation. Under                      Public Comment and Request for                         consent of the Assistant Secretary for
                                                    section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the                 Hearing                                                Enforcement and Compliance.
                                                    ‘‘all-others’’ rate should exclude zero                                                                            In accordance with section 705(b)(2)
                                                    and de minimis rates or any rates based                    Case briefs or other written comments
                                                                                                                                                                   of the Act, if our final determination is
                                                    solely on the facts otherwise available                 may be submitted to the Assistant
                                                                                                                                                                   affirmative,9 the ITC will make its final
                                                    calculated for the producers/exporters                  Secretary for Enforcement and
                                                                                                                                                                   determination within 45 days after the
                                                    individually investigated. Neither of the               Compliance via ACCESS no later than
                                                                                                                                                                   Department makes its final
                                                    individually-examined company                           seven days after the date on which the
                                                                                                                                                                   determination.
                                                    respondents’ rates in in this preliminary               last verification report is issued in this
                                                                                                                                                                       This determination is issued and
                                                    determination is zero, de minimis, or                   investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to
                                                                                                                                                                   published pursuant to sections 703(f)
                                                    based entirely on facts otherwise                       issues raised in case briefs, may be
                                                                                                                                                                   and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR
                                                    available. Accordingly, in this                         submitted by no later than five days
                                                                                                                                                                   351.205(c).
                                                    preliminary determination, we have                      after the deadline for case briefs.8 A
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                            table of contents, list of authorities used,              9 As of the signing of this notice, the petitioner
                                                       4 See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties:     and an executive summary of issues                     (the National Biodiesel Fair Trade Coalition) had
                                                    Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997)           should accompany any briefs submitted not requested that the date of the final
                                                    (Preamble).                                             to the Department, pursuant to 19 CFR                  determination of this investigation be aligned with
                                                       5 See Initiation Notice at the section, ‘‘Comments
                                                                                                            351.309(c)(2) and 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2). the date of the final determination of the
                                                    on Scope of the Investigations.’’                                                                              companion antidumping investigation, pursuant to
                                                       6 See sections 771(5)(B) and 771(D) of the Act                                                              section 705(a)(1) of the Act. Therefore, the current
                                                                                                              7 See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
                                                    (regarding financial contribution); see also section                                                           date for the final determination of this investigation
                                                    771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit, and section       8 See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303        is 75 days from the signature of this preliminary
                                                    771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.               for general filing requirements.                       determination, November 6, 2017.



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                                                    40748                        Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 165 / Monday, August 28, 2017 / Notices

                                                      Dated: August 21, 2017.                               DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE                                 II to this notice. The Preliminary
                                                    Gary Taverman,                                                                                                 Decision Memorandum is a public
                                                    Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping              International Trade Administration                     document and is on file electronically
                                                    and Countervailing Duty Operations,                     [C–357–821]                                            via Enforcement and Compliance’s
                                                    performing the non-exclusive functions and                                                                     Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
                                                    duties of the Assistant Secretary for                   Biodiesel From Argentina: Preliminary                  Centralized Electronic Service System
                                                    Enforcement and Compliance.                                                                                    (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to
                                                                                                            Affirmative Countervailing Duty
                                                    Appendix I—List of Topics Discussed in                  Determination and Preliminary                          registered users at http://
                                                    the Preliminary Decision Memorandum                     Affirmative Critical Circumstances                     access.trade.gov, and is available to all
                                                                                                            Determination, in Part                                 parties in the Central Records Unit,
                                                    I. Summary                                                                                                     room B8024 of the main Department of
                                                    II. Background                                          AGENCY:  Enforcement and Compliance,                   Commerce building. In addition, a
                                                    III. Scope Comments                                     International Trade Administration,
                                                    IV. Scope of the Investigation                                                                                 complete version of the Preliminary
                                                                                                            Department of Commerce.                                Decision Memorandum can be accessed
                                                    V. Injury Test                                          SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
                                                    VI. New Subsidy Allegation                                                                                     directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/
                                                    VII. Subsidies Valuation
                                                                                                            (the Department) preliminarily                         frn/. The signed and electronic versions
                                                    VIII. Analysis of Programs                              determines that countervailable                        of the Preliminary Decision
                                                    IX. Calculation of All-Others Rate                      subsidies are being provided to                        Memorandum are identical in content.
                                                    X. ITC Notification                                     producers and exporters of biodiesel
                                                    XI. Disclosure and Public Comment                       from Argentina. The period of                          Scope of the Investigation
                                                    XII. Verification                                       investigation is January 1, 2016, through
                                                    XIII. Conclusion                                        December 31, 2016.                                       The product covered by this
                                                       Appendix I—List of Additional Companies                                                                     investigation is biodiesel from
                                                                                                            DATES: August 28, 2017.
                                                    Preliminarily Found to be Cross-Owned with                                                                     Argentina. For a complete description of
                                                    Musim Mas and Intibenua                                 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elfi                  the scope of this investigation, see
                                                       Appendix II—List of Additional                       Blum-Page or Kathryn Wallace, AD/CVD                   Appendix I.
                                                    Companies Preliminarily Found to be Cross-              Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and
                                                    Owned with Wilmar Trading                               Compliance, International Trade                        Scope Comments
                                                    Appendix II—Scope of the Investigation                  Administration, U.S. Department of
                                                                                                            Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue                       In accordance with the preamble to
                                                       The product covered by this investigation            NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone:                  the Department’s regulations,4 the
                                                    is biodiesel, which is a fuel comprised of              (202) 482–0197 or (202) 482–6251,                      Initiation Notice set aside a period of
                                                    mono-alkyl esters of long chain fatty acids
                                                                                                            respectively.                                          time for parties to raise issues regarding
                                                    derived from vegetable oils or animal fats,                                                                    product coverage, (i.e., scope).5 No
                                                    including biologically-based waste oils or              SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                             interested party commented on the
                                                    greases, and other biologically based oil or fat                                                               scope of the investigation as it appeared
                                                    sources. This investigation covers biodiesel            Background
                                                                                                                                                                   in the Initiation Notice.
                                                    in pure form (B100) as well as fuel mixtures               This preliminary determination is
                                                    containing at least 99 percent biodiesel by             made in accordance with section 703(b)                 Methodology
                                                    volume (B99). For fuel mixtures containing              of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
                                                    less than 99 percent biodiesel by volume,                                                                        The Department is conducting this
                                                                                                            (the Act). The Department published the
                                                    only the biodiesel component of the mixture                                                                    investigation in accordance with section
                                                    is covered by the scope of this investigation.          notice of initiation of this investigation
                                                                                                            on April 19, 2017.1 On June 5, 2017, the               701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy
                                                       Biodiesel is generally produced to                                                                          programs found countervailable, the
                                                    American Society for Testing and Materials              Department postponed the preliminary
                                                    International (ASTM) D6751 specifications,              determination of this investigation to                 Department preliminarily determines
                                                    but it can also be made to other                        August 20, 2017. However, because                      that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial
                                                    specifications. Biodiesel commonly has one              August 20, 2017, falls on a Sunday, the                contribution by an ‘‘authority’’ that
                                                    of the following Chemical Abstracts Service             preliminary determination was                          gives rise to a benefit to the recipient,
                                                    (CAS) numbers, generally depending upon                 postponed until August 21, 2017.2 A                    and that the subsidy is specific.6
                                                    the feedstock used: 67784-80-9 (soybean oil
                                                                                                            complete description of the events that                  In making these findings, the
                                                    methyl esters); 91051-34-2 (palm oil methyl
                                                    esters); 91051-32-0 (palm kernel oil methyl             followed the initiation of this                        Department relied, in part, on facts
                                                    esters); 73891-99-3 (rapeseed oil methyl                investigation, see the Preliminary                     available and, because one or more
                                                    esters); 61788-61-2 (tallow methyl esters);             Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics                 respondents did not act to the best of
                                                    68990-52-3 (vegetable oil methyl esters);               discussed in the Preliminary Decision                  their ability to respond to the
                                                    129828-16-6 (canola oil methyl esters);                 Memorandum is included as Appendix                     Department’s requests for information,
                                                    67762-26-9 (unsaturated alkylcarboxylic acid                                                                   an adverse inference was drawn, where
                                                    methyl ester); or 68937-84-8 (fatty acids,                 1 See Biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia:       appropriate, in selecting from among the
                                                    C12–C18, methyl ester).                                 Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 82   facts otherwise available.7 For further
                                                       The B100 product subject to this                     FR 18423 (April 19, 2017) (Initiation Notice).
                                                                                                                                                                   information, see ‘‘Use of Facts
                                                    investigation is currently classifiable under              2 See Biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia:

                                                    subheading 3826.00.1000 of the Harmonized               Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of          Otherwise Available and Adverse
                                                    Tariff Schedule of the United States                    Antidumping Duty Investigations, 82 FR 25773           Inferences’’ in the Preliminary Decision
asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES




                                                    (HTSUS), while the B99 product is currently             (June 5, 2017); see also Notice of Clarification:      Memorandum.
                                                                                                            Application of ‘‘Next Business Day’’ Rule for
                                                    classifiable under HTSUS subheading                     Administrative Determination Deadlines Pursuant
                                                    3826.00.3000. Although the HTSUS                        to the Tariff Act of 1930, As Amended, 70 FR 24533
                                                                                                                                                                     4 See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties,

                                                    subheadings, ASTM specifications, and CAS               (May 10, 2005).                                        Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
                                                    numbers are provided for convenience and                   3 See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for           5 See Initiation Notice.

                                                    customs purposes, the written description of            the Preliminary Determination of the                     6 See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act

                                                    the scope is dispositive.                               Countervailing Duty Investigation of Biodiesel from    regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E)
                                                                                                            Argentina,’’ dated concurrently with, and hereby       of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of
                                                    [FR Doc. 2017–18167 Filed 8–25–17; 8:45 am]             adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision          the Act regarding specificity.
                                                    BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P                                  Memorandum).                                             7 See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.




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Document Created: 2017-08-28 11:30:01
Document Modified: 2017-08-28 11:30:01
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
DatesAugust 28, 2017.
ContactGene Calvert or Joseph Traw, AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3586 or (202) 482-6079, respectively.
FR Citation82 FR 40746 

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