Notice2024-20887
Certain Epoxy Resins From India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
Primary source
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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 certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from India for the period of investigation (POI) 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 74889-74891]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20887]
[[Page 74889]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-533-927]
Certain Epoxy Resins From India: 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 certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from
India for the period of investigation (POI) 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: Eliza DeLong or Colin Thrasher, AD/CVD
Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3878 or (202) 482-6458,
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 29, 2024.\1\ On May 28, 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 Certain Epoxy Resins from the People's Republic of
China, India, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan: Initiation of
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR 33319 (April 29, 2024)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Certain Epoxy Resins from the People's Republic of
China, India, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan: Postponement of
Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty
Investigations, 89 FR 46016 (May 28, 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 in the Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Certain Epoxy Resins from India,'' dated concurrently with, and
hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are epoxy resins. 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\
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\5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\6\ See Initiation Notice.
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We received several comments concerning the scope of this
investigation, as well as in the companion less-than-fair-value (LTFV)
and CVD investigations of epoxy resins, as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice. We are currently evaluating the scope comments filed
by the interested parties. We intend to issue our preliminary decision
regarding the scope of the LTFV and CVD investigations in the
preliminary determinations of the companion LTFV investigations, the
deadline for which is November 6, 2024.\7\ We will incorporate the
scope decisions from the LTFV investigations into the scope of the
final CVD determination for this investigation after considering any
relevant comments submitted in scope case and rebuttal briefs.\8\
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\7\ See Certain Epoxy Resins from the People's Republic of
China, India, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand:
Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigations, 89 FR 65583 (August 12, 2024) (LTFV Prelim
Postponement).
\8\ The deadline for interested parties to submit scope case and
rebuttal briefs will be established in the preliminary scope
decision memorandum.
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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.\9\ Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied,
in part, on facts available and, because it finds that Champion
Advanced Materials (Champion) did not act to the best of its ability to
respond to Commerce's requests for information, Commerce has drawn an
adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts
otherwise available.\10\ 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.
\10\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment
As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is
aligning the final CVD determination with the final determination in
the companion LTFV investigation of epoxy resins from India 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 to Align
Countervailing Duty Investigation Final Determination with
Antidumping Duty Investigation Final Determination,'' dated August
15, 2024. The petitioner is the U.S. Epoxy Resin Producers Ad Hoc
Coalition.
\12\ See LTFV Prelim Postponement.
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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 assigned a rate based
entirely on facts available to Champion.
[[Page 74890]]
Therefore, the only rate that is not zero, de minimis or based entirely
on facts otherwise available is the rate calculated for Atul Limited
(Atul). Consequently, the rate calculated for Atul is also assigned as
the rate for all-other producers and exporters.
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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Atul Limited............................................ 1.55
Champion Advanced Materials............................. * 113.83
All Others.............................................. 1.55
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* Rate based on an adverse inference.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with sections 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.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations
performed in connection with 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.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination
for Atul. Because Champion did not respond to Commerce's request for
information in a timely manner, and Commerce preliminarily determines
that Champion failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its
ability to respond to Commerce's request for information pursuant to
section 776(b) of the Act, Commerce does not intend to conduct
verification of Champion's information.
Public Comment
All interested parties will have the opportunity to submit scope
case and rebuttal briefs on the preliminary decision regarding the
scope of the LTFV and CVD investigations. The deadlines to submit scope
case and rebuttal briefs will be provided in the preliminary scope
decision memorandum. For all scope case and rebuttal briefs, parties
must file identical documents simultaneously on the records of the
ongoing LTFV and CVD epoxy resins investigations. No new factual
information or business proprietary information may be included in
either scope case or rebuttal briefs.
Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues 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.\13\ 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.\14\
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\13\ 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).
\14\ 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.\15\
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).\16\
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\15\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\16\ 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.\17\ Parties should confirm by
telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before
the scheduled date.
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\17\ 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 epoxy
resins from India 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 subject to this investigation is fully or
partially uncured epoxy resins, also known as epoxide resins,
polyepoxides, oxirane resins, ethoxyline
[[Page 74891]]
resins, diglycidyl ether of bisphenol, (chloromethyl)oxirane, or
aromatic diglycidyl, which are polymers or prepolymers containing
epoxy groups (i.e., three-membered ring structures comprised of two
carbon atoms and one oxygen atom). Epoxy resins range in physical
form from low viscosity liquids to solids. All epoxy resins are
covered by the scope of this investigation irrespective of physical
form, viscosity, grade, purity, molecular weight, or molecular
structure, and packaging.
Epoxy resins may contain modifiers or additives, such as
hardeners, curatives, colorants, pigments, diluents, solvents,
thickeners, fillers, plasticizers, softeners, flame retardants,
toughening agents, catalysts, Bisphenol F, and ultraviolet light
inhibitors, so long as the modifier or additive has not chemically
reacted so as to cure the epoxy resin or convert it into a different
product no longer containing epoxy groups. Such epoxy resins with
modifiers or additives are included in the scope where the epoxy
resin component comprises no less than 30 percent of the total
weight of the product. The scope also includes blends of epoxy
resins with different types of epoxy resins, with or without the
inclusion of modifiers and additives, so long as the combined epoxy
resin component comprises at least 30 percent of the total weight of
the blend.
Epoxy resins that enter as part of a system or kit with
separately packaged co-reactants, such as hardeners or curing
agents, are within the scope. The scope does not include any
separately packaged co-reactants that would not fall within the
scope if entered on their own.
The scope includes merchandise matching the above description
that has been processed in a third country, including by
commingling, diluting, introducing, or removing modifiers or
additives, or performing any other processing that would not
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of this
investigation if performed in the subject country.
The scope also includes epoxy resin that is commingled or
blended with epoxy resin from sources not subject to these
investigations. Only the subject component of such commingled
products is covered by the scope of this investigation.
Excluded from the scope are phenoxy resins, which are polymers
with a weight greater than 11,000 Daltons, a Melt Flow Index (MFI)
at 200 [deg]C (392 [deg]F) no less than 4 grams and no greater than
70 grams per 10 min, Glass-Transition Temperatures (Tg) no less than
80 [deg]C (176 [deg]F) and no greater than 100 [deg]C (212 [deg]F),
and which contain no epoxy groups other than at the terminal ends of
the molecule.
Excluded from the scope are certain paint and coating products,
which are blends, mixtures, or other formulations of epoxy resin,
curing agent, and pigment, in any form, packaged in one or more
containers, wherein (1) the pigment represents a minimum of 10
percent of the total weight of the product, (2) the epoxy resin
represents a maximum of 80 percent of the total weight of the
product, and (3) the curing agent represents 5 to 40 percent of the
total weight of the product. Excluded from the scope are
preimpregnated fabrics or fibers, often referred to as ``pre-
pregs,'' which are composite materials consisting of fabrics or
fibers (typically carbon or glass) impregnated with epoxy resin.
This merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading
3907.30.0000. Subject merchandise may also be entered under
subheadings 3907.29.0000, 3824.99.9397, 3214.10.0020, 2910.90.9100,
2910.90.9000, 2910.90.2000, and 1518.00.4000. The HTSUS subheadings
are provided for convenience and customs purposes only; the written
description of the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Diversification of India's Economy
V. Subsidies Valuation
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-20887 Filed 9-12-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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