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China Geogrid Products: Prelim AD Cash Deposit Rates Take Effect, Retroactive for Some

The Commerce Department made a preliminary affirmative antidumping determination that biaxial integral geogrid products from China (A-570-036) are being sold in the U.S. at less than fair value (here). The agency found "critical circumstances" for Taian Modern Plastic and all "China-wide rate" companies that did not demonstrate independence from state control, finding they increased exports to the U.S. before this preliminary determination to get in as much merchandise as possible before AD duty cash deposit requirements were imposed. As a result, Commerce will impose retroactive AD duty cash requirements on entries from Taian Modern Plastic and the China-wide companies effective May 24, 2016. For BOSTD, Commerce made no finding of critical circumstances, and will impose no AD duty cash deposit requirement until further notice.

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Biaxial integral geogrid products from China are also subject to an ongoing countervailing duty investigation. Commerce ordered suspension of liquidation and the collection of CV duty cash deposits for entries of merchandise subject to these investigations in its preliminary CV duty determination, issued in June and subsequently amended (see 1606230015 and 1607250018).

Commerce Preliminarily Clarifies Scope

In response to comments from both domestic manufacturers and a Chinese exporter, Commerce is clarifying language in the scope requiring molecular orientation of the geogrid material. The amended section is as follows (new text underlined):

“The products covered have integral strands that have been stretched to induce molecular orientation into the material (as evidenced by the strands being thinner in width toward the middle between the junctions than at the junctions themselves.”

AD Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements

Commerce will instruct CBP to suspend liquidation for all entries of subject merchandise from China, except entries from BOSTD, that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 24 (note that liquidation for some or all of these companies may already be suspended due to Commerce's CV duty investigation). Commerce will also require AD duty cash deposits as follows:

ExporterProducerAD RateSus. Liq.
BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd.BOSTD Geosynthetics Qingdao Ltd.zero*N/A
Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd.Taian Modern Plastic Co., Ltd.38.92%05/24/16
China-wide entity66.74%05/24/16

*Companies that received a zero rate in this preliminary determination will not be subject to AD duty suspension of liquidation and cash deposit requirements until further notice. If any of these companies' zero rates are confirmed in Commerce's final determination, they will be permanently exempt from any AD duty order issued in connection with this investigation.

(The period of investigation is 07/01/15 - 12/31/15. See Commerce's notice for more information, including the scope, suspension of liquidation, detailed cash deposit instructions, etc. See 1602120014 for a summary of initiation of this investigation, and 1601140034 for the underlying petition.)

AD/CVD Operations contact -- Susan Pulongbarit (202) 482-4031

(Federal Register 08/22/16)