Notice2024-04392
Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 1, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of aluminum lithographic printing plates (printing plates) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 42 (Friday, March 1, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 42 (Friday, March 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15134-15136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04392]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-157]
Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates From the People's Republic
of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination,
and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty
Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to
producers and exporters of aluminum lithographic printing plates
(printing plates) from the People's Republic of China (China). The
period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through December 31,
2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable March 1, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terre Keaton Stefanova, AD/CVD
Operations Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
[[Page 15135]]
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1280.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this countervailing duty
investigation on October 25, 2023.\1\ On December 7, 2023, Commerce
postponed the preliminary determination until February 26, 2024.\2\
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\1\ See Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the People's
Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation,
88 FR 73313 (October 25, 2023) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the People's
Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 88 FR 85219 (December 7, 2023).
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to
registered users at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly
at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the People's Republic
of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation are printing plates from
China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation,
see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\5\ No interested
party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\5\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is
specific.\6\
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\6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part,
on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents
and the Government of China did not act to the best of their ability to
respond to Commerce's requests for information, it drew an adverse
inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise
available.\7\ For further information, see the ``Use of Facts Otherwise
Available and Adverse Inferences'' section in the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
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\7\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment
In accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(4), Commerce is aligning the final determination in this
investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping
duty investigation of printing plates from China based on a request
made by Eastman Kodak Company (the petitioner).\8\ Consequently, the
final countervailing duty determination will be issued on the same date
as the final antidumping duty determination, which is currently
scheduled to be issued no later than July 9, 2024, unless postponed.
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\8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Request to Align
Final Countervailing Duty Determination With the Companion
Antidumping Duty Final Determinations,'' dated February 12, 2024.
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All-Others Rate
Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the
preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any
zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section
776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily assigned a rate based
entirely on facts available to Shanghai National Ink Co. Ltd.
Therefore, the only rate that that is not zero, de minimis, or based
entirely on facts otherwise available is the rate calculated for
Fujifilm Printing Plate (China) Co., Ltd. (FFPS). Consequently, the
rate calculated for FFPS is also assigned as the rate for all other
producers and exporters, pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the
Act.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Fujifilm Printing Plate (China) Co., Ltd.\9\............ 38.50
Shanghai National Ink Co. Ltd........................... 231.98
All Others.............................................. 38.50
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Suspension of Liquidation
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\9\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following company to be cross-owned with
FFPS: Fujifilm (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
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In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act,
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in
the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register . Further, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal
to the rates indicated above.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination
within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of this notice in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in
this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to
[[Page 15136]]
issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days
after the date for filing case briefs.\10\ Interested parties who
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit:
(1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of
authorities.\11\
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\10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29,
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
\11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes. In this investigation, we instead request
that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a
public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\12\
Further, we request that interested parties limit their executive
summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including
citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that
will accompany the final determination in this investigation. We
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant
citations in the executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce
has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of
documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\13\
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\12\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\13\ See APO and Service Final Rule, 88 FR at 67069.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce via ACCESS
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests
should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the
number of participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. Oral
presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the
briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of
the time and date for the hearing.\14\
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\14\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If
the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before
the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination
or 45 days after the final determination.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: February 26, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is aluminum
lithographic printing plates. Aluminum lithographic printing plates
consist of a flat substrate containing at least 90 percent aluminum.
The aluminum-containing substrate is generally treated using a
mechanical, electrochemical, or chemical graining process, which is
followed by one or more anodizing treatments that form a hydrophilic
layer on the aluminum-containing substrate. An image-recording,
oleophilic layer that is sensitive to light, including but not
limited to ultra-violet, visible, or infrared, is dispersed in a
polymeric binder material that is applied on top of the hydrophilic
layer, generally on one side of the aluminum lithographic printing
plate. The oleophilic light-sensitive layer is capable of capturing
an image that is transferred onto the plate by either light or heat.
The image applied to an aluminum lithographic printing plate
facilitates the production of newspapers, magazines, books,
yearbooks, coupons, packaging, and other printed materials through
an offset printing process, where an aluminum lithographic printing
plate facilitates the transfer of an image onto the printed media.
Aluminum lithographic printing plates within the scope of this
investigation include all aluminum lithographic printing plates,
irrespective of the dimensions or thickness of the underlying
aluminum substrate, whether the plate requires processing after an
image is applied to the plate, whether the plate is ready to be
mounted to a press and used in printing operations immediately after
an image is applied to the plate, or whether the plate has been
exposed to light or heat to create an image on the plate or remains
unexposed and is free of any image.
Subject merchandise also includes aluminum lithographic printing
plates produced from an aluminum sheet coil that has been coated
with a light-sensitive image-recording layer in a subject country
and that is subsequently unwound and cut to the final dimensions to
produce a finished plate in a third country (including the United
States), or exposed to light or heat to create an image on the plate
in a third country (including in a foreign trade zone within the
United States).
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are lithographic
printing plates manufactured using a substrate produced from a
material other than aluminum, such as rubber or plastic.
Aluminum lithographic printing plates are currently classifiable
under Harmonized Tariff of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings
3701.30.0000 and 3701.99.6060. Further, merchandise that falls
within the scope of this investigation may also be entered into the
United States under HTSUS subheadings 3701.99.3000 and 8442.50.1000.
Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and
customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this
investigation is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Analysis of China's Financial System
V. Diversification of China's Economy
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Subsidies Valuation
VIII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-04392 Filed 2-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 1, 2024.
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