Notice2025-05754
Certain Epoxy Resins From Thailand: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value and Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
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 certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from Thailand are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.
Full Text
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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 14621-14623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05754]
[[Page 14621]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-549-850]
Certain Epoxy Resins From Thailand: Final Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value and Final Negative
Determination of Critical Circumstances
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from Thailand are being, or are
likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair value (LTFV).
The period of investigation is April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024.
DATES: Applicable April 3, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Frye, 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) 482-3035.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On November 13, 2024, Commerce published in the Federal Register
its preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of
epoxy resins from Thailand.\1\ We invited interested parties to comment
on the Preliminary Determination. Although we received comments on
other issues, no interested party submitted comments regarding the
preliminary determination of negative critical circumstances.
Therefore, we continue to determine that critical circumstances do not
exist for imports of epoxy resins from Thailand.
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\1\ See Certain Epoxy Resins from Thailand: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances,
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional
Measures, 89 FR 89608 (November 13, 2024) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum
(PDM).
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A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the
Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues
raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in 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 of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value of
Certain Epoxy Resins from Thailand,'' dated concurrently with, and
hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation are epoxy resins from
Thailand. 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-specific case and rebuttal briefs from interested
parties.\4\ We made changes to the scope of the investigation from the
scope 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; The Sherwin-Williams Company's Letter,
``Scope Case Brief on Behalf of Sherwin-Williams,'' dated February
28, 2025; PPG Industries, Inc.'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 Industries, Inc.'s Letter, ``Rebuttal Scope
Case Brief of PPG Industries, Inc.,'' dated March 5, 2025; and The
Sherwin-Williams Company's 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
Commerce verified the sales and cost information submitted by
Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Limited (Aditya Thai) and its
affiliate, Aditya Birla Chemicals (USA), Inc. (ABCUSA),\6\ for use in
our final determination, consistent with section 782(i) of the Tariff
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). We used standard verification
procedures, including an examination of relevant sales and accounting
records, and original source documents provided by Aditya Thai and
ABCUSA.
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\6\ See Memoranda, ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses
of Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Limited in the Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigation of Certain Epoxy Resins from Thailand,'' dated
February 11, 2025; ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses of
Aditya Birla Chemicals (USA), Inc. in the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation of Certain Epoxy Resins from Thailand,'' dated
February 24, 2025; and ``Verification of the Cost Response of Aditya
Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Limited in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Epoxy
Resins from the Kingdom of Thailand,'' dated February 28, 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 raised is attached to
this notice as Appendix II.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
We made certain changes since the Preliminary Determination. For a
discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides 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 calculated an estimated weighted-
average dumping margin for Aditya Thai that is not zero, de minimis, or
based entirely on facts available. Consequently, for this final
determination, the estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated
for Aditya Thai is the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for
all other producers and exporters.
Final Determination
The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Estimated
weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Limited................... 5.25
All Others.................................................. 5.25
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose under administrative protective order
(APO) the calculations performed in connection with this final
determination
[[Page 14622]]
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, we will instruct CBP
to require a cash deposit for estimated weighted-average antidumping
duties as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the company listed in
the table above that exported the subject merchandise will be equal to
the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margins
determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a
company identified in the table 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. These suspension
of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the
ITC of our final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. Because
the final determination in this proceeding is affirmative, in
accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the ITC will make its
final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the United
States is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by
reason of imports of epoxy resins from Thailand no later than 45 days
after this final determination. If the ITC determines that material
injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will
be terminated and all cash deposits will be refunded or canceled, 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 that are
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the
effective date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in
the ``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.
Administrative Protective Order
This notice will serve 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 final determination and notice are issued and published in
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.210(c).
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).\7\
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\7\ 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
[[Page 14623]]
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 from the Preliminary Determination
IV. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether the Application of the Cohen's d Test is
Appropriate
Comment 2: Whether Commerce Should Apply the Cohen's d Test
Using a Weighted Average
Comment 3: Whether to Adjust Aditya Thai's Cost of Manufacturing
(COM) to Account for Chinese Overcapacity of Material Inputs
Comment 4: Whether to Adjust Aditya Thai's Reported Costs Based
on the Cost Verification Findings
[FR Doc. 2025-05754 Filed 4-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 3, 2025.
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