Petition Filed for New AD/CV Duties on Hexamine From 4 Countries
A domestic producer recently filed petitions with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission requesting new antidumping duties on granular hexamethylenetetramine, known as hexamine, from China, Germany, India, and Saudi Arabia, as well as countervailing duties on hexamine from China and India. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers. Bakelite requested the investigation.
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Hexamine is commonly utilized in sectors such as explosives and munitions, resins, rubber and tires, energy, and other applications, the petition said. Bakelite said it intends "to include granular hexamine produced from any method in the scope of these proceedings." Hexamine is listed under Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) number 100-97-0.
Proposed Scope
The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:
The scope of the Order covers hexamine in granular form or powder, regardless of particle size, or as a slurry, stabilized or unstabilized, whether or not blended, mixed, pulverized, or grounded with other products, containing more than 50 percent hexamine by weight.
Hexamine is the common name for hexamethylene tetramine (Chemical Abstract Service # 100-97-0), and is also referred to as 1,3,5,7- tetraazaadamantanemethenamine; HMT; HMTA; 1,3,5,7-tetraazatricyclo {3.3.1.13,7} decane; 1,3,5,7-tetraaza adamantane; hexamethylenamine. Hexamine has the chemical formula C6H12N4.
Granular hexamine that has been blended with other product(s) is included in this scope when the resulting mix contains 50 percent or more of hexamine by weight, which include but are not limited to, (1) inert additives that do not react with hexamine; (2) co-reactants that react with hexamine when heated; and (3) additives that undergo self-condensation or reaction with other components when utilized in a mixture. Examples of such inert additives include, but are not limited to: precipitated silica, benzoic acid, aluminum silicate, diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), calcium carbonate, magnesium stearate, citric acid, and metal oxides. Examples of such co-reactants include, but are not limited to: phenolic resins, alkylphenol novolacs, boron-modified novolac, phosphorous-modified novolac, rubber modified novolac, CNSL-novolac, tannin, lignin, tung oil, limonene-phenol condensate, resorcinol novolac, aniline-PF condensate, dicy-UF condensate, and 1,3-dihydroxybenzene. Examples of such additives that undergo self-condensation or reaction with other components when utilized in a mixture include, but are not limited to polyvinyl alcohol, urea, ammonium nitrate, and zinc dinitramide.
Subject merchandise includes merchandise matching the above description that has been processed in a third country, including by commingling, diluting, adding or removing additives, or performing any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigations if performed in the subject country.
Hexamine that has been blended with other products is included within this scope when such blends include constituent parts that have been intermingled, but that have not been chemically reacted with each other to produce a different product.
Excluded from this scope is pharmaceutical hexamine in tablet or capsule form.
Merchandise covered by the scope of this petition can be classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (“HTS”) of the United States under the subheadings 2933.69.5000. This tariff classification is provided for convenience and customs purposes; however, the written description of the scope is dispositive.
Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support
The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic-like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate an antidumping duty investigation. Commerce will accept comments on industry support until Oct. 11.