The Department of Commerce (DOC) International Trade Administration (ITA) last week reported that it has made changes to its margin calculations for the antidumping duty order imposed on solid urea imports from the Russian Federation. The urea covered by the order was produced by MCC EuroChem and involved a period of review from July 1, 2008, through June 30, 2009.
ITA said its new weighted-average margin on solid urea exported by EuroChem for the period of review is 21.79 percent, rather than the 20.92 percent dumping margin established in its preliminary finding. ITA also reported that it has revised the date of sale for U.S. transactions involving the subject merchandise to the actual date of contract, rather than the date of shipment.
ITA said it made the changes based on case briefs and rebuttal briefs received on June 30 and July 12, 2010, from EuroChem and the Ad Hoc Committee of Domestic Nitrogen Producers (Committee), whose urea-producing members include CF Industries Inc. and PCS Nitrogen. ITA held a public hearing on the case on July 13, 2010.
The DOC published its preliminary results for the case on April 15, 2010 (GM May 10, p. 10), in which it determined that EuroChem had sold solid urea in the U.S. market at less than normal value during the period of review. According to a Federal Register notice, the Committee requested the review on July 31, 2009, and the DOC published a notice on Aug. 25, 2009, saying that it was initiating such a review.
In 2008 (GM May 26, 2008), the DOC awarded EuroChem zero percent weighted-average margins on solid urea imports from the Russian Federation under a “new shipper review.” EuroChem successfully argued at that time that it had never been affiliated with any Russian exporter or producer who exported solid urea to the U.S. during the antidumping duty order period of investigation.
This claim was contested by the Committee, which argued that EuroChem was not eligible for a new-shipper review because its factories existed and produced urea during the period of investigation, and because it was affiliated with entities that were part of the non-market-economy entity that produced and exported subject merchandise during the period of investigation.
The ITA also reported recently that it was accepting requests for an administrative review of antidumping duties imposed on solid agricultural grade ammonium nitrate imports from the Ukraine for a period of review from Sept. 1, 2009, through Aug. 31, 2010. Interested parties must make their request no later than Sept. 30, 2010, and must specify individual producers or exporters and why the DOC should conduct such a review.
Each year during the anniversary month of the publication of past trade actions, interested parties may request DOC review of the previous trade action. September is listed as Ukraine AN’s anniversary month. Ukraine imports currently have a duty of 156.29 percent. Russian product has a duty of 253.9 percent, but only after the first 150,000 mt imported. TFI confirmed that there have been no AN imports from Ukraine or Russia for the 24-months ending in June 2010.
Six copies of the request should be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Room 1870, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230. The Department also asks parties to serve a copy of their requests to the Office of Antidumping/Countervailing Operations, Attention: Sheila Forbes, in room 3065 of the main Commerce Building. In addition, a copy of each request must be served on every party on the DOC’s service list.
In other news, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has scheduled an expedited five-year review concerning the antidumping duty order on potassium permanganate – a strong oxidizing agent – from China. The review will determine whether revocation of the antidumping duty order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to domestic producers of the chemical within a reasonably foreseeable time. Comments from interested parties are due on or before Sept. 8, 2010.
The ITA in August (GM Aug. 2, p. 9) issued a countervailing duty order on certain potassium phosphate salts from China. The order was based on affirmative final determinations made by the DOC and the ITC in June (GM, June 7, p. 10) that China was providing countervailable subsidies to producers and exporters of the subject merchandise during a specific period of investigation, and that this merchandize is likely to be sold in the U.S. at less than fair market value. The investigation determined a subsidy rate of 109.11 percent ad valorem for Chinese producer/exporters, and percentage weighted average margins of 69.58 percent and 95.4 percent.