Notice2024-22996
Certain High Chrome Cast Iron Grinding Media From India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
Primary source
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Published
October 4, 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 high chrome cast iron grinding media (grinding media) from India. The period of investigation is April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 193 (Friday, October 4, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80865-80866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22996]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-533-931]
Certain High Chrome Cast Iron Grinding Media 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 high chrome cast iron grinding media
(grinding media) from India. The period of investigation is April 1,
2023, through March 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment
on this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable October 4, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Crespo or Gorden Struck, AD/CVD
Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3693 or (202) 482-8151,
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 investigation on May 23,
2024.\1\ On July 10, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation.\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 30, 2024.
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\1\ See Certain High Chrome Cast Iron Grinding Media from India:
Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 89 FR 45640 (May
23, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Certain High Chrome Cast Iron Grinding Media from India:
Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Countervailing Duty
Investigation, 89 FR 56731 (July 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 the 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 in 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 Certain High Chrome Cast Iron Grinding Media from India,'' 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 grinding media from
India. 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\ in
the Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a period of time for parties
to raise issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\6\ Certain
interested parties commented on the scope of the antidumping duty (AD)
and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice. Commerce intends to issue its preliminary decision
regarding the scope of the AD and CVD investigations on or before the
preliminary determination of the companion AD investigation.
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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 45641.
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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.\7\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\7\ 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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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 grinding media from India, based on
a request made by the petitioner.\8\ 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
February 12, 2025, unless postponed.
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\8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Request to Align the Final
Determinations,'' dated September 19, 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 calculated an
individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for AIA Engineering
Limited (AIA) and its affiliates Vega Industries (Middle East) F.Z.C
(Vega) and Welcast Steels Ltd. (Welcast), the only individually
examined exporter/producer in this investigation, which is not zero, de
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. The
countervailable subsidy rate calculated for AIA, Vega, and Welcast is
the rate assigned to 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: \9\
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\9\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce preliminarily finds AIA to be cross owned with the
following companies: (1) Vega; and (2) Welcast.
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Subsidy
rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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AIA Engineering Limited; Vega Industries (Middle East) 3.36
F.Z.C; Welcast Steels Ltd.................................
All Others................................................. 3.36
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to
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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).
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.\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 19 351.309(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 public
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 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).\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.
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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 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, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made,
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date. All
submissions, including case and rebuttal briefs, as well as hearing
requests, should be filed using ACCESS. An electronically-filed
document must be received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS by
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline.
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 grinding
media from India are materially injuring, or threaten material injury
to, the U.S. industry.
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: September 30, 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 scope of this investigation covers chrome cast iron grinding
media in spherical (ball) or ovoid shape, with an alloy composition
of seven percent or more (>= 7 percent of total mass) chromium (Cr)
content and produced through the casting method, with a nominal
diameter of up to 127 millimeters (mm) and tolerance of plus or
minus 10 mm. The products covered by the scope are currently
classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) subheading 7325.91.0000. This HTSUS subheading is provided
for convenience and U.S. 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. Subsidies Valuation
V. Loan Benchmarks and Interest Rates
VI. Analysis of Programs
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-22996 Filed 10-3-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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