ADD investigation of imports of PTFE exported from China PR Russia

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-01102024-257614 EXTRAORDINARY PART I—Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 276] NEW DELHI, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024/ ASVINA 8, 1946 MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (Department of Commerce) (Directorate General of Trade Remedies) INITIATION NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 30 th September, 2024 Case No. AD(OI)-19/2024 Subject:Initiation of anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of "Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)” originating in or exported from China PR and Russia. 1. F. No. 6/21/2024-DGTR-Having regard to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) and the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping duty on Dumped Articles for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995 as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as the “Rules” or the "Anti-dumping Rules”), M/s. Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited (hereinafter also referred to as the “applicant") has filed an application before the Designated Authority (hereinafter referred to as the “Authority"), for initiation of an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of “Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)” (hereinafter referred to as “subject goods" or "product under consideration” or “PUC”), originating in or exported from China PR and Russia (hereinafter referred to as “subject countries"). 2. The applicant has alleged that dumped imports of the subject goods from China PR and Russia are causing material injury and threat of material injury and has requested for imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of the subject goods from the subject countries. A. PRODUCT UNDER CONSIDERATION 3. The product under consideration in the present application is Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The PUC is primarily used in the electronic, mechanical, and chemical industries for its unique characteristics such as chemical inertness, electrical and thermal insulation, low coefficient of friction, nontoxic, nonflammable, resistance to radiation, low level of static and dynamic friction, and outstanding electrical properties over a wide frequency range. 4. The product under consideration is classified under Chapter 39 of the Customs Tariff Act under the sub-heading 39046100. The customs classification is indicative only and not binding on the scope of the product under consideration. 5. The applicant has proposed the following product control numbers (PCNs), in the application filed: +-----+-------------------+------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | S.No.| Parameter | Base | Full Name | +=====+===================+============+======================================================+ | I. | A-PTFE | A-PTFE | Aqueous Dispersion PTFE | +-----+-------------------+------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | ii. | C-PTFE | C-PTFE | Filled Compound PTFE | +-----+-------------------+------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | iii.| D-PTFE | D-PTFE | Fine Powder PTFE | +-----+-------------------+------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | iv. | PTFE | PTFE | Granular PTFE (Suspension Grade) | +-----+-------------------+------------+------------------------------------------------------+ | V. | PT-PTFE | PT-PTFE | Granular Modified PTFE | | | | | (Molding Grade / Low Flow Virgin Grade/Free | | | | | Flow Virgin Grade) | +-----+-------------------+------------+------------------------------------------------------+ 6. The parties to the present investigation may provide their comments on the scope of PUC and proposed PCNs, if any, within 15 days of date of initiation of this investigation. B. LIKE ARTICLE 7. The applicant has stated that there are no significant differences in the article produced by the applicant and exported from the subject countries. The article produced by the applicant and that imported from China PR and Russia are comparable in terms of physical and chemical characteristics, manufacturing process and technology, functions and uses, product specifications, pricing, distribution and marketing, and tariff classification of the subject goods. The subject goods and the article manufactured by the applicant are technically and commercially substitutable. The applicant has claimed that the consumers of the PUC are using the subject goods and the article manufactured by the applicant interchangeably. Thus, for the purposes of initiation of the present investigation, the subject goods produced by the applicant are being treated as “like article" to the product being imported from China PR and Russia. C. SUBJECT COUNTRIES 8. The subject countries for the present investigation are China PR and Russia. D. PERIOD OF INVESTIGATION 9. The period of investigation (POI) for the present investigation is from 1st April 2023- 31st March 2024 (12 months). The injury period for the investigation will include 1st April 2020- 31st March 2021, 1st April 2021-31st March 2022, 1st April 2022-31st March 2023, and the period of investigation. E. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY AND STANDING 10. Rule 2(b) defines domestic industry as follows: "Domestic industry' means the domestic producers as a whole of the like article or domestic producers whose collective output of the said article constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of that article, except when such producers are related to the exporters or importers of the alleged dumped article, or are themselves importers thereof, in which case such producers shall be deemed not to form part of domestic industry " 11. The application has been filed by Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd. The applicant has not imported the subject goods from the subject countries nor is the applicant related to any exporter or importer of subject goods. The applicant has submitted that there is only one other producer of the subject goods in India, Hindustan Fluorocarbons Ltd., which has capacity to produce the subject goods. However, the same has produced negligible quantities, making the applicant the de-facto sole producer of the subject goods in India. 12. On the basis of information available and after due examination, the Authority notes that production by the applicant constitutes “a major proportion” of total Indian production. Thus, the applicant constitutes domestic industry within the meaning of Rule 2(b), and the application satisfies the requirements of standing under Rule 5(3) of the Anti-dumping Rules. F. BASIS OF ALLEGED DUMPING (a) Normal Value for China PR 13. The applicant has cited and relied upon Article 15(a) (i) of China's Accession Protocol. The domestic industry has claimed that the producers in China PR must be asked to demonstrate that market economy conditions prevail in the industry producing the subject goods in terms of Para 8(3) of Annexure I of the Rules with regard to the manufacture, production and sale of the product under consideration. It has been stated by the domestic industry that in case the responding Chinese producers are not able to demonstrate that their costs and price information are market driven, the normal value should be calculated in terms of provisions of para 7 and 8 of Annexure I to the Rules. 14. The applicant has submitted that the imports into India from the EU is to be considered for the purpose of determining normal value. However, it is noted that the subject goods include various grades and the imports of these grades are not significant in volume. Thus, prices from EU is not considered as an appropriate basis for the determination of normal value for China at this stage. The claim shall be further investigated during the course of the investigation. 15. Therefore, the Authority has constructed normal value based on the best estimates of the cost of the production of the domestic industry of the subject goods as per the best information available after duly adjusting the selling, general and administrative expenses with reasonable profits for the purpose of initiation. (b) Normal Value for Russia 16. The applicant has also claimed that the data relating to cost or price in a market economy third country or recourse to other alternative methods is not available for Russia. The normal value has been, thereby, constructed based on the best estimates of the cost of the production of the domestic industry of the subject goods as per the best information available after duly adjusting the selling, general and administrative expenses with reasonable profits. (c) Export Price 17. The CIF price reported for imports into India, as per DG System data has been considered for the determination of export price. Adjustments have been made for ocean freight, marine insurance, handling charges, port expenses and bank charges. There is sufficient prima facie evidence with regard to the net export prices claimed by the applicant. (d) Dumping Margin 18. The normal value and the export price have been compared at ex-factory level, which prima facie shows that the dumping margin is above the de-minimis level and is significant with respect to the product under consideration exported from the subject countries. Thus, there is prima facie evidence that the product under consideration from the subject countries is being dumped in the Indian market by the exporters from the subject countries. G. INJURY AND CAUSAL LINK 19. Information furnished by the applicant has been considered for assessment of injury to the domestic industry on account of dumped imports of the subject goods from the subject countries. The volume of the subject goods from the subject countries has increased in absolute as well as relative terms. The price undercutting from the subject countries is positive. The landed price of the subject imports had the depressing effect on the prices of the domestic industry. The applicant has claimed that because of the adverse volume and price effect of the dumped imports, their performance has deteriorated in respect of market share, cash profit, profits and return on investment etc. The applicant has also claimed that there is a threat of injury to the domestic industry due to the dumped imports from the subject countries. There is sufficient prima facie evidence that the domestic industry has suffered material injury and is facing threat of material injury due to dumped imports from the subject countries to justify the initiation of the anti-dumping investigation. 20. However, in order to examine the threat of material injury to the domestic industry, the Authority may seek post POI data from the applicant domestic industry and the other interested parties for examination. H. INITIATION OF THE ANTI-DUMPING INVESTIGATION 21. On the basis of the duly substantiated written application by the domestic industry, and having satisfied itself, on the basis of the prima facie evidence submitted by the domestic industry, about dumping of the subject goods originating in or exported from the subject countries, injury to the domestic industry and causal link between such alleged dumping and injury, and in accordance with Section 9A of the Act read with Rule 5 of the AD Rules, the Authority, hereby, initiates an investigation to determine the existence, degree and effect of any alleged dumping in respect of the subject goods originating in or exported from the subject countries and to recommend the amount of anti-dumping duty, which if levied, would be adequate to remove the injury to the domestic industry. I. PROCEDURE 22. The provisions stipulated in Rule 6 of the AD Rules shall be followed in this investigation. J. Submission of Information 23. All communication should be sent to the Designated Authority via email at email addresses- [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and dd12- [email protected]. It should be ensured that the narrative part of the submission is in searchable PDF/MS-Word format and data files are in MS-Excel format. 24. The known producers/exporters in the subject countries, the government of the subject countries through its embassy in India, the importers and users in India who are known to be associated with the subject goods are being informed separately to enable them to file all the relevant information within the time limits mentioned in this initiation notification. 25. Any other interested party may also make a submission relevant to the present investigation in the form and manner as prescribed by this initiation notification, the AD Rules, 1995 and the applicable trade notices issued by the Authority within the time limits mentioned in this initiation notification. 26. Any party making any confidential submission before the Authority is required to make a non- confidential version of the same available to the other parties. 27. The interested parties are further advised to keep a regular watch on the official website of DGTR at www.dgtr.gov.in for any updated information with respect to this investigation. Interested parties are directed to regularly visit the website of DGTR (https://dgtr.gov.in) to stay apprised with further developments in the subject investigation and remain informed regarding notices that may be issued from time to time regarding questionnaire formats, PCN methodology, PCN discussion/meeting schedule, notice of oral hearing, corrigendum, amendment notifications, and other such information. This will ensure that all interested parties to the subject investigation remain well aware of the progress and information pertaining to the subject investigation. K. TIME LIMIT 28. Any information relating to the present investigation should be sent to the Designated Authority via email at the email addresses- [email protected], [email protected] [email protected] and [email protected] within thirty (30) days from the date on which it was sent by the Designated Authority or transmitted to the appropriate diplomatic representative of the exporting countries as per Rule 6(4) of the AD Rules. If no information is received within the prescribed time-limit or the information received is incomplete, the Authority may record its findings on the basis of the facts available on record in accordance with the AD Rules. 29. All the interested parties are hereby advised to intimate their interest (including the nature of interest) in the instant matter and file their questionnaire responses within the above time limit. L. SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION ON A CONFIDENTIAL BASIS 30. Any party making any confidential submission or providing information on a confidential basis before the Authority, is required to simultaneously submit a non- confidential version of the same in terms of Rule 7(2) of the AD Rules and the Trade Notices issued in this regard. Failure to adhere to the above may lead to rejection of the response/submissions. 31. The parties making any submission (including Appendices/Annexes attached thereto), before the Authority including questionnaire response, are required to file confidential and non- confidential versions separately. 32. The "confidential" or "non-confidential" submissions must be clearly marked as "confidential" or "non-confidential" at the top of each page. Any submission made without such marking shall be treated as non-confidential by the Authority, and the Authority shall be at liberty to allow the other interested parties to inspect such submissions. 33. The confidential version shall contain all information that is by nature confidential and/or other information which the supplier of such information claims as confidential. For information that is claimed to be confidential by nature or the information on which confidentiality is claimed because of other reasons, the supplier of the information is required to provide a good cause statement along with the supplied information as to why such information cannot be disclosed. 34. The non-confidential version is required to be a replica of the confidential version with the confidential information preferably indexed or blanked out (in case indexation is not feasible) and summarized depending upon the information on which confidentiality is claimed. The non- confidential summary must be in sufficient detail to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information furnished on confidential basis. However, in exceptional circumstances, the party submitting the confidential information may indicate that such information is not susceptible to summary, and a statement of reasons why summarization is not possible must be provided to the satisfaction of the Authority. 35. The interested parties can offer their comments on the issues of confidentiality claimed by the other interested parties within 7 days from the date of circulation of the non-confidential version of the documents. 36. The Authority may accept or reject the request for confidentiality on examination of the nature of the information submitted. If the Authority is satisfied that the request for confidentiality is not warranted or if the supplier of the information is either unwilling to make the information public or to authorize its disclosure in generalized or summary form, it may disregard such information. 37. Any submission made without a meaningful non-confidential version thereof or without a good cause statement on the confidentiality claim shall not be taken on record by the Authority. M. INSPECTION OF PUBLIC FILE 38. A list of registered interested parties will be uploaded on the DGTR's website along with the request therein to all of them to email the non-confidential version of their submissions/response/information to all other interested parties. Failure to circulate non- confidential version of submissions/response/information might lead to consideration of an interested party as non-cooperative. N. NON-COOPERATION 39. In case any interested party refuses access to, or otherwise does not provide necessary information within a reasonable period or within the time stipulated by the Authority in this initiation notification, or significantly impedes the investigation, the Authority may declare such interested party as non-cooperative and record its findings based on the facts available and make such recommendations to the Central Government as deemed fit. DARPAN JAIN, Designated Authority Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-110054.