Notice2025-02800

Certain Tungsten Shot From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional Measures

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Published
February 19, 2025

Issuing agencies

Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain tungsten shot (tungsten shot) from the People's Republic of China (China) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 32 (Wednesday, February 19, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 19, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9890-9892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02800]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-178]


Certain Tungsten Shot From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value 
and Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that certain tungsten shot (tungsten shot) from the People's 
Republic of China (China) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of 
investigation (POI) is January 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable February 19, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caroline Carroll, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4948.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
initiated this investigation on August 6, 2024.\1\ On November 15, 
2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this 
investigation until February 12, 2025.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Tungsten Shot from the People's Republic of 
China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 89 FR 65856 
(August 13, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Certain Tungsten Shot from the People's Republic of 
China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-
Fair-Value Investigation, 89 FR 90265 (November 15, 2024).
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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 addressed 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 in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation 
of Certain Tungsten Shot 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 tungsten shot 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. Therefore, Commerce is not preliminarily modifying 
the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the 
scope in Appendix I to this 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, 89 FR at 65856.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated constructed export 
price in accordance with section 772(b) of the

[[Page 9891]]

Act. Because China is a non-market economy, within the meaning of 
section 771(18) of the Act, Commerce has calculated normal value in 
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to 
sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily has relied 
upon facts otherwise available, with adverse inferences, in determining 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for the China-wide 
entity. For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\6\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\7\
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    \6\ Id. at 65859.
    \7\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on 
Commerce's website at <a href="https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf">https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Estimated weighted-
            Producer                   Exporter         average dumping
                                                       margin (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhuzhou KJ Super Materials Co.,   Zhuzhou KJ Super                183.31
 Ltd.                              Materials Co.,
                                   Ltd.
China-wide Entity...............  ..................              201.32
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as discussed below. 
Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the weighted average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. 
price, as indicated in the chart above, as follows: (1) for the 
producer/exporter combination listed in the table above, the cash 
deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of 
Chinese producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that 
have not established eligibility for their own separate rate, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-
county exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the 
table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable 
to the Chinese producer/exporter combination (or the China-wide entity) 
that supplied that third-country exporter.
    Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping 
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. However, because Commerce preliminarily did not make an 
affirmative determination for countervailable export subsidies in the 
companion CVD proceeding,\8\ Commerce has not offset the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins in the table above.
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    \8\ See Certain Tungsten Shot from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 89 FR 104083 (December 20, 2024).
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    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

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.

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.\9\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in this investigation must submit: (1) a statement of 
the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\10\
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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \10\ 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.\11\ 
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

[[Page 9892]]

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).\12\
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    \11\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \12\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other 
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 
67069, 67077 (September 29, 2023).
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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: 
(1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants and whether any participant is a foreign national; and (3) 
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.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioner. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), Commerce requires 
that requests by respondents for postponement of a final determination 
be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional measures from 
a four-month period to a period not more than six months in duration.
    On February 7, 2025, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), KJ Super 
requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and extend 
provisional measures to a period not to exceed six months.\13\ In 
accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce 
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination.
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    \13\ See KJ Super's Letter, ``Request to Postpone Final 
Determination,'' dated February 7, 2025.
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the ITC of its preliminary determination of sales at LTFV. 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 the subject 
merchandise 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 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: February 12, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
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 the investigation is certain tungsten 
spheres or balls, also known as shot, that are 92.6 percent or 
greater tungsten by weight, not including the weight of any 
additional coating. In scope shot have a diameter ranging from 1.5 
millimeters (mm) to 10.0 mm. Subject shot can be referred to as 
``Tungsten Super Shot.'' Merchandise is covered regardless of the 
combination of compounds that comprise the non-tungsten material and 
whether or not the tungsten shot is additionally coated with another 
material, including but not limited to copper, nickel, iron, or 
metallic alloys.
    Tungsten shot subject to the investigation may be classified 
under the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) subheading: 9306.29.0000. Merchandise may also be entered 
under HTSUS subheading 8101.99.8000. The HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes only. 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. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2025-02800 Filed 2-18-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on February 19, 2025.

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