Saccharin from China - USITC

Quantity and Type of Parts Sourced in the United States. During the review period, PMCsourced the primary raw material input, ***, from *** in China.Other Costs. Besides converting *** to saccharin, there are minimal other costs associated withPMC’s saccharin production.Although the issue is extremely close, we find, on balance, that PMC’s operations, althoughonly batch production and smaller in scale compared to the original investigation, neverthelessconstitute sufficient production-related activities to qualify it as a domestic producer. During the reviewperiod, PMC did produce and sell commercial volumes of saccharin. On the other hand, its employmentand capital investment were low. 53 As noted above, PMC purchases the primary raw material input forproducing saccharin *** from *** and PMC’s *** production process is relatively simple and involvesconsiderably fewer chemical reactions than its former process. The value added by PMC (*** percentof total costs in 2008) may be overstated. 54 Nevertheless, PMC is currently employing workers,operating production equipment to produce saccharin, and it has devoted some capital to bring thisprocess on line rather than cease production entirely. On balance, and based on the record developed inthis review, we find that PMC’s production operations, although limited, are sufficient to qualify PMCas a domestic producer under the traditional six-factor test. 5552(...continued)whether PMC qualifies as a domestic producer. They find based on the Commission’s analysis of the other relevantfactors that PMC does qualify as a domestic producer.53CR/PR at Table C-1.54Commission practice has not clearly established a specific level of U.S. value added, or product finished value,required to qualify as a domestic producer; Aramid Fiber Formed of Poly Para-Phenylene Terephthalamide from theNetherlands, Inv. No. 731-TA-652 (Final), USITC Pub. 2783 at I-8-I-9 & n.34 (June 1994) ("no single factor --including value added -- is determinative and . . . value added information becomes more meaningful when otherproduction activity indicia are taken into account”); Low Fuming Brazing Copper Wire and Rod from New Zealand,Inv. No. 731-TA-246 (Final), USITC Pub. 1779 (November 1985) (the Commission concluded that 20 percent valueadded by flux coaters was sufficient); Low Fuming Brazing Copper Wire and Rod from South Africa, Inv. No. 731-TA-246 (Final), USITC Pub. 1790 (January 1986) (value added in the United States was 10 to 20 percent).The Commission has also stated that a “modest percentage of domestically sourced parts or raw materials asa percentage of cost does not necessarily mean that a firm is not a domestic producer.” Certain All Terrain Vehiclesfrom Japan, Inv. No. 731-TA-388 (Final), USITC Pub. 2163 (March 1989) at 13-14. Conversely, the Commissionhas decided not to include a firm in the domestic industry where its operations contributed only a “minor percentageof the total value” of the product. Certain Radio Paging and Alerting Devices from Japan, Inv. No. 731-TA-102(Final), USITC Pub. 1410 (August 1983) (operations involved assembly and soldering of foreign sourced partsinvolving little technical skill). See also, Color Television Receivers from the Republic of Korea and Taiwan, Inv.Nos. 731-TA-134 and 135 (Final), USITC Pub. 1514 (April 1984) at 7-8 (Commission emphasized for the first timethat no single factor– including value added– is determinative).55Should the order remain in place that long, the Commission will have occasion to revisit the nature of thedomestic industry, conditions of competition in this market, and the question of whether PMC performs sufficientproduction-related activities to qualify as a domestic producer, in the next five-year review. We also note that theCommission may self-initiate a changed circumstances review at an earlier date if it receives information that showschanged circumstances sufficient to warrant a review of its determination. See 19 U.S.C. §1675(b); 19 C.F.R..§207.45. See also, e.g., Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp and Prawns from India and Thailand, Inv. Nos. 751-TA-28-29, USITC Pub. 3813 (Nov. 2005). We also observe that, notwithstanding our finding that PMC is currentlyperforming sufficient production-related activities to qualify as a domestic producer, given the costs and technicalchallenges associated with its production process PMC could reassess its decision to continue producing saccharineven with the order in place.9