Notice2025-05753
Certain Epoxy Resins From Taiwan: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
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
April 3, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from Taiwan are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 63 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 63 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14611-14613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05753]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-583-876]
Certain Epoxy Resins From Taiwan: Final Affirmative Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
imports of certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from Taiwan are being,
or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value
(LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) April 1, 2023, through
March 31, 2024.
DATES: Applicable April 3, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Beuley or Benito
Ballesteros, 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) 482-3269
or (202) 482-7425, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 13, 2024, Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register and invited interested parties to
comment.\1\
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\1\ See Certain Epoxy Resins from Taiwan: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional
Measures, 89 FR 89591 (November 13, 2024) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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For a complete discussion of the events that followed the
Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\
The Issues and 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 Issues and 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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\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation of Epoxy Resins from Taiwan,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are epoxy resins from
Taiwan. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation,
see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope
comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum to address these comments and set aside a period of
time for parties to address scope issues in scope-specific case and
rebuttal briefs.\3\ Between February, 2025 and March, 2025, Commerce
received scope case and rebuttal briefs from interested parties.\4\
After analyzing these comments, we made changes to the scope of the
investigation published in the Preliminary Determination, as noted in
Appendix I.\5\
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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,''
dated November 6, 2024 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
\4\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Case Brief on Scope Issues,''
dated February 28, 2025; Sherwin Williams' Letter, ``Scope Case
Brief on Behalf of Sherwin-Williams,'' dated February 28, 2025;
PPG's Letter, ``Scope Case Brief of PPG Industries, Inc.,'' dated
February 28, 2025; Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Letter in
Lieu of Rebuttal Brief on Scope Issues,'' dated March 5, 2025; PPG's
Letter, ``Rebuttal Scope Case Brief of PPG Industries, Inc.,'' dated
March 5, 2025; and Sherwin-Williams' Letter, ``Scope Rebuttal Brief
on Behalf of Sherwin Williams,'' dated March 5, 2025.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated
concurrently with this notice.
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Verification
As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), Commerce conducted verification of the sales and cost
information submitted by Chang Chun Plastics Co., Ltd. (Chang Chun) and
Nan Ya Plastics Corporation (Nan Ya).\6\ We used standard verification
procedures, including an examination of relevant sales and accounting
records, and original source documents provided by Chang Chun and Nan
Ya.
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\6\ See Memoranda, ``Verification Report of the Sales Response
of Chang Chun Plastics Co. Ltd.,'' dated January 3, 2025; see also
``Verification Report of the U.S. Sales Response of Chang Chun
Chemical Corporation,'' dated January 6, 2025; ``Verification of the
Sales Response of Nan Ya Plastics Corporation,'' dated January 13,
2025; ``Verification of the Cost Response of Nan Ya Plastics
Corporation in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Epoxy
Resins from Taiwan,'' dated February 11, 2025; and ``Verification of
the Cost Response of Chang Chun Plastics Co., Ltd. in the
Antidumping duty Investigation of Epoxy Resin from Taiwan,'' dated
February 13, 2025.
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Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by
interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum is attached to this notice as Appendix II.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our review and analysis of the information received during
verification and comments received from interested parties, we made
certain changes to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins for
Chang
[[Page 14612]]
Chun and Nan Ya. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that
Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate for all exporters
and producers not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount
equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping
margins established for exporters and producers individually
investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis margins, and any
margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce has calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margins for Chang Chun and Nan Ya that are not zero, de
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce
calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined
respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the
merchandise under consideration.\7\
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\7\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a
simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins
calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average
of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the
examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sales
values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters.
See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53662
(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum
at Comment 1. As complete publicly-ranged sales data were available,
Commerce based the all-others rate on the public ranged sales data
of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data,
see Memorandum, ``Calculation of the All-Others Rate for the Final
Determination,'' dated March 28, 2025.
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Final Determination
Commerce determines that the final estimated weighted-average
dumping margins exist for the period April 1, 2023, through March 31,
2024:
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Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Chang Chun Plastics Co., Ltd................................ 10.93
Nan Ya Plastics Corporation................................. 26.98
All Others.................................................. 18.66
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in
connection with this final determination to interested parties within
five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise, as described
in Appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after November 13, 2024, the date of
publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), upon the publication of this notice, Commerce will instruct
CBP to require a cash deposit for estimated antidumping duties for such
entries as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents
listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margin determined in this final determination; (2) if
the exporter is not a company identified above but the producer is,
then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific
estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that producer
of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other
producers and exporters will be equal to the estimated weighted-average
dumping margin for all other producers and exporters listed in the
table above.
Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding. However, because Commerce did not
make an affirmative determination for countervailable export subsidies
in the companion CVD proceeding, Commerce has not offset the estimated
weighted-average dumping margins in the table above.\8\
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\8\ In any event, we note that suspension of liquidation of in
the companion CVD investigation has been discontinued. See Certain
Epoxy Resins from Taiwan: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing
Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final
Antidumping Duty Determination, 89 FR 74896 (September 13, 2024);
see also section 703(d) of the Act, which states that the
provisional measures may not be in effect for more than four months,
which in the companion CVD case is 120 days after the publication of
the preliminary determination, or January 10, 2025 (i.e., the last
day provisional measures were in effect).
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV.
Because Commerce's final determination is affirmative, in accordance
with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the ITC will determine, within 45
days, whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially
injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of
epoxy resins from Taiwan. If the ITC determines that material injury or
threat of material injury does not exist, this proceeding will be
terminated, all cash deposits posted will be refunded, and suspension
of liquidation will be lifted. If the ITC determines that such injury
does exist, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order directing CBP
to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on
all imports of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the
suspension of liquidation, as discussed in the ``Continuation of
Suspension of Liquidation'' section above.
Administrative Protective Order (APO)
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
APO of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary
information disclosed under APO, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return or destruction
of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO
is a sanctionable violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
[[Page 14613]]
Dated: March 28, 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 subject to this investigation is fully or
partially uncured epoxy resins, also known as epoxide resins,
polyepoxides, oxirane resins, ethoxyline 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 the 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 this
investigation. 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.
Also excluded from the scope is Tetramethyl Bisphenol F
Diglycidyl Ether epoxy resin, also known as Tetramethyl Bisphenol F
-DGE Polymer (TMBPF-DGE), that (1) has the chemical name: phenol, 4,
4'-methylenebis[2,6-dimethyl-, polymer with 2-(chloromethyl)oxirane,
(2) falls under Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) Registry Number
113693-69-9, and (3) has an epoxy equivalent weight (EEW), also
referred to as the weight per epoxide (WPE), of no less than 200 and
no greater than 230 grams of epoxy resin per epoxy equivalent (g/eq
or GEW).\9\
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\9\ The bracket in this sentence is part of the chemical formula
and does not denote business proprietary information.
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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 Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
IV. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether to Apply Facts Available with an Adverse
Inference (AFA) to Chang Chun's Packing Costs
Comment 2: Whether Commerce Should Reconsider its Rejection of
Nan Ya's Correction to Packing Costs
Comment 3: Whether to Apply AFA to Nan Ya's Packing Costs
Comment 4: Whether to Correct Errors found at Nan Ya's
Verification
Comment 5: Whether Commerce Should Implement Corrections from
Verification for Both Chang Chun and Nan Ya
Comment 6: Whether Commerce Should Include Certain Items in
Chang Chun's General and Administrative Expense Ratio
Comment 7: Application of the Major Input Rule for Nan Ya
V. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-05753 Filed 4-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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