Notice2024-20862
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid 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
September 13, 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 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 178 (Friday, September 13, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74906-74908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20862]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-161]
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid 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 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from
the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation
(POI) is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested parties
are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable September 13, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Claudia Cott or Thomas Schauer, AD/CVD
Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4270 or (202) 482-0410,
respectively.
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 (CVD)
investigation on April 30, 2024.\1\ On June 10, 2024, Commerce
postponed the preliminary determination until September 3, 2024.\2\ On
July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative
proceeding by seven days.\3\ The deadline for the preliminary
determination is now September 9, 2024.
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\1\ See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's
Republic of China and India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty
Investigations, 89 FR 34205 (April 30, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's
Republic of China and India: Postponement of Preliminary
Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR
48891 (June 10, 2024).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
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For a complete description of events that followed the initiation
of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ 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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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation
of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid 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 is 2,4-D 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,\5\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ Commerce issued a
supplemental questionnaire on June 4, 2024, requesting clarification
regarding two of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) subheadings under which the subject merchandise may also be
classified.\7\ On
[[Page 74907]]
June 11, 2024, Corteva Agriscience LLC (the petitioner) confirmed that
the HTSUS subheadings petitioner intended to include were as follows:
3808.93.0500 and 3808.93.1500.\8\ As a result, Commerce is
preliminarily modifying the scope language. The scope as described in
Appendix I incorporates the modified language.
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\5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\6\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 34206.
\7\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Scope Supplemental Questions,''
dated June 4, 2024.
\8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Response to Scope Supplemental
Questions,'' dated June 11, 2024.
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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 to be
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.\9\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\9\ 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 certain 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.\10\ For further information, see the ``Use of Facts
Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences'' section in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
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\10\ 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 CVD determination in this
investigation with the final determination in the concurrent less-than-
fair-value (LTFV) investigation of 2,4-D from China, based on a request
made by the petitioner.\11\ Consequently, the final CVD determination
will be issued on the same date as the final LTFV determination, which
is currently scheduled to be issued no later than January 21, 2025,
unless postponed.\12\
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\11\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Request for
Alignment of Final Determinations with Deadline in Concurrent CVD
Investigations,'' dated July 24, 2024.
\12\ See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from India and the
People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary
Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 89 FR
67420 (August 20, 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
rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely under section 776 of
the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily calculated individual
estimated countervailable subsidy rates for Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical
Co., Ltd. (Tianyu) and Shandong Rainbow Agrosciences Co., Ltd. (Rainbow
Agrosciences) that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on the
facts otherwise available. Commerce calculated the all-others rate
using a weighted-average of the individual estimated subsidy rates
calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly
ranged values for the merchandise under consideration.\13\
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\13\ See Memorandum, ``Calculation of Subsidy Rate for All
Others,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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\14\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce preliminarily finds Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical Co., Ltd., to
be cross-owned with the following companies: Thai Harvest Ltd., CAC
Nantong Chemical Co., Ltd., and CAC Shanghai International Trading
Co., Ltd.
\15\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce preliminarily finds Shandong Rainbow Agrosciences Co.,
Ltd., to be cross-owned with the following companies: Shandong
Weifang Rainbow Chemical Co., Ltd., Ningxia Rainbow Chemical Co.,
Ltd., Shandong Rainbow Investment Co., Ltd., and Shandong Runnong
Investment Co., Ltd.
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical Co., Ltd.\14\................... 27.68
Shandong Rainbow Agrosciences Co., Ltd.\15\............. 3.10
All Others.............................................. 27.34
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations
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 publication of this
notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce
will address such allegations in the final determination together with
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.
Suspension of Liquidation
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 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.
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 issues raised in the
case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for
filing case briefs.\16\ 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.\17\
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\16\ 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).
\17\ 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
[[Page 74908]]
beginning of their briefs a public executive summary for each issue
raised in their briefs.\18\ Further, we request that interested parties
limit their public executive summary of each issue to no more than 450
words, not including citations. We intend to use the public 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 public 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).\19\
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\18\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\19\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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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 whether any participant is a foreign
national, 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.\20\ Parties should confirm by telephone the date,
time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
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\20\ 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 whether imports of 2,4-D from
China are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S.
industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 703(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: September 9, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is 2,4-
dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and its derivative products,
including salt and ester forms of 2,4-D. 2,4-D has the Chemical
Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number of 94-75-7 and the chemical
formula C<INF>8</INF>H<INF>6</INF> Cl<INF>2</INF>O<INF>3</INF>.
Salt and ester forms of 2,4-D include 2,4-D sodium salt (CAS
2702-72-9), 2,4-D diethanolamine salt (CAS 5742-19-8), 2,4-D
dimethyl amine salt (CAS 2008-39-1), 2,4-D isopropylamine salt (CAS
5742-17-6), 2,4-D tri-isopropanolamine salt (CAS 3234180-3), 2,4-D
choline salt (CAS 1048373-72-3), 2,4-D butoxyethyl ester (CAS 1929-
733), 2,4-D 2-ethylhexylester (CAS 1928-43-4), and 2,4-D
isopropylester (CAS 94-11-1). All 2,4-D, as well as the salt and
ester forms of 2,4-D, is covered by the scope irrespective of
purity, particle size, or physical form.
The conversion of a 2,4-D salt or ester from 2,4-D acid, or the
formulation of nonsubject merchandise with the subject 2,4-D, its
salts, and its esters in the country of manufacture or in a third
country does not remove the subject 2,4-D, its salts, or its esters
from the scope. For any such formulations, only the 2,4-D, 2,4-D
salt, and 2,4-D ester components of the mixture is covered by the
scope of the investigation. Formulations of 2,4-D are products that
are registered for end-use applications with the Environmental
Protection Agency and contain a dispersion agent.
The country of origin of any 2,4-D derivative salt or ester is
determined by the country in which the underlying 2,4-D acid is
produced. 2,4-D, its salts, and its esters are classified under
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading
2918.99.2010. Subject merchandise, including the abovementioned
formulations, may also be classified under HTSUS subheadings
2922.12.0001, 2921.11.0000, 2921.19.6195, 2922.19.9690,
3808.93.0500, and 3808.93.1500. The HTSUS subheadings and CAS
registry numbers are provided for convenience and customs purposes.
The written description of the scope of the 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. 2024-20862 Filed 9-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 13, 2024.
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