Notice2025-15568
Sol Gel Alumina-Based Ceramic Abrasive Grains From the People's Republic of China: 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
August 15, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that sol gel alumina-based ceramic abrasive grains (ceramic abrasive grains) from the People's Republic of China (China) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair-value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 156 (Friday, August 15, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 156 (Friday, August 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39366-39367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-15568]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-190]
Sol Gel Alumina-Based Ceramic Abrasive Grains From the People's
Republic of China: 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 sol
gel alumina-based ceramic abrasive grains (ceramic abrasive grains)
from the People's Republic of China (China) are being, or are likely to
be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair-value (LTFV). The
period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2024, through September 30,
2024.
DATES: Applicable August 15, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Cloyd, AD/CVD Operations,
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1246.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On June 2, 2025, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
Preliminary Determination in this investigation and invited interested
parties to comment.\1\ We received no comments or case briefs
addressing any of the findings in the Preliminary Determination;
therefore, we made no changes, and no decision memorandum accompanies
this notice. The Preliminary Determination is hereby adopted as this
final determination. The deadline for the final determination is August
11, 2025.
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\1\ See Sol Gel Alumina-Based Ceramic Abrasive Grains from the
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 90 FR 23319 (June 2, 2025)
(Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision
Memorandum (PDM).
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is ceramic abrasive
grains from China. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see the appendix to this notice.
Scope Comments
We received no comments from interested parties on the scope of the
investigation as it appeared in the Preliminary Determination and
accompanying Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\2\ Therefore, we
made no changes to the scope of the investigation.
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\2\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value and Countervailing
Duty Investigations of Sol Gel Alumina-Based Ceramic Abrasive Grains
from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum,'' dated May 27, 2025 (Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum).
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China-Wide Entity and Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)
For the purposes of this final determination, consistent with the
Preliminary Determination,\3\ we relied solely on the application of
AFA for the China-wide entity, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Further, because no
companies are eligible for a rate separate from the China-wide entity,
we continue to find that all Chinese producers or exporters of ceramic
abrasive grains are part of the China-wide entity. No interested party
submitted comments on the Preliminary Determination. Thus, we made no
changes to our analysis or to the China-wide entity's dumping margin
for the final determination. A detailed discussion of our application
of AFA is provided in the Preliminary Determination.\4\
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\3\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 3-8.
\4\ Id.
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Combination Rates
Because no Chinese exporters qualified for a separate rate,
producer/exporter combination rates were not calculated for this final
determination.
Final Determination
The final estimated dumping margin is as follows:
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Cash deposit rate
Weighted-average (adjusted for
Exporter/producer dumping margin subsidy offset)
(percent) (percent)
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China-wide Entity............. * 88.32 72.22
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* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce will disclose to the parties in a proceeding the
calculations performed in connection with a final determination within
five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the notice
of final determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19
CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce continues to find that all
Chinese producers or exporters of ceramic abrasive grains are part of
the China-wide entity and continues to rely solely on the application
of AFA for the China-wide entity, there are no calculations to disclose
for this final determination.
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 subject merchandise, as described in the
appendix to this notice, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after June 2, 2025, which is the date of publication
of the affirmative Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register,
at the cash deposit rate indicated above.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), we will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for such
entries of merchandise equal to the amount by which the normal value
exceeds the U.S. price as follows: (1) for all Chinese producers or
exporters of subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be equal
to the estimated dumping margin established for the China-wide entity,
adjusted for the subsidy offset as appropriate; and (2) for all third
country exporters of subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate is also
the cash deposit rate applicable to the China-wide entity, adjusted for
the subsidy offset as appropriate. These
[[Page 39367]]
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until
further notice.
To determine the antidumping duty cash deposit rate, Commerce
normally adjusts the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the
amount of domestic subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined
in a companion countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding. Accordingly, where
Commerce has made a final affirmative determination of countervailable
export subsidies, Commerce offsets the estimated weighted-average
dumping margin by the appropriate CVD rate. Commerce has continued to
adjust the cash deposit rate for export subsidies found in the
companion CVD investigation by the appropriate export subsidy rate as
indicated in the above chart.
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. We will
allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary
information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not
disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative
protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
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 ceramic abrasive grains from China no later than
45 days after our 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.
If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce intends to
issue an antidumping duty order, in accordance with section 736(a) of
the Act, 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
In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury
determination, 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/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 violation which is subject to sanction.
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).
Dated: August 11, 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
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is sol gel
alumina-based ceramic abrasive grains which are comprised of minimum
94% aluminum oxide (Al2O3), and may contain other compounds,
including, but not limited to, titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide,
calcium oxide, sodium superoxide, ferric oxide, magnesium oxide, di-
aluminum magnesium tetroxide, lanthanum oxide, lanthanum magnesium
oxide, zirconium dioxide, or zirconium carbonate. Grain sizes of sol
gel alumina-based ceramic abrasive grains range from 0.85 mm to
0.0395 mm (which corresponds to American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) grit sizes from 20 to 280).
Shapes include but are not limited to angular, sharp, extra
sharp, blocky, splintery, round stripped, triangular or shaped like
extruded rods or stars.
Ceramic abrasive grains have unique crystalline structures that
impart certain advanced properties, such as their extreme hardness
and strength ranging between 16 and 22 gigapascals by the Vickers
Diamond Indent Method, high melting point (2050 [deg]C), and a
single- or multi-phase microstructure, which may contain multiple
phases, having crystalline sizes ranging from 0.05 to 30[micro]m.
These ceramic abrasive grains include but are not limited to blue,
white, white-translucent, or off-white opaque colors.
Sol gel alumina-based ceramic abrasive grains are covered by the
scope of this investigation, whether or not incorporated into
downstream articles, including but not limited to, abrasive papers,
grinding wheels, grinding cylinders, and grinding discs. When
incorporated into downstream articles, only the sol gel alumina-
based ceramic abrasive grains component of such articles is covered
by the product scope, and not the downstream product as a whole.
The merchandise subject to this investigation is properly
classified under subheadings 2818.10.2010 and 2818.10.2090 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Other
merchandise subject to the current scope, including when
incorporated into the abovementioned downstream articles, may be
classified under HTSUS subheadings 2818.10.1000, 2818.20.0000,
2818.30.0000, 3824.99.1100, 3824.99.1900, 6805.10.0000,
6805.20.0000, 6805.30.1000, 6805.30.5000, 6804.22.1000,
6804.22.4000, 6804.22.6000, 8204.12.0000, 8474.90.0010,
8474.90.0020, 8474.90.0050, and 8474.90.0090. Although the HTSUS
statistical reporting numbers are provided for convenience and
customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise is
dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2025-15568 Filed 8-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 15, 2025.
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