Notice2025-16966
Stilbenic Optical Brightening Agents From Taiwan: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2023-2024
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
September 4, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that Teh Fong Min International Co., Ltd., also known as Teh Fong Ming International Co., Ltd. (TFM), the sole producer and/or exporter subject to this administrative review, made sales of stilbenic optical brightening agents (stilbenic OBAs) at less than normal value during the period of review (POR) May 1, 2023 through April 30, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 169 (Thursday, September 4, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 169 (Thursday, September 4, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42739-42740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-16966]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-583-848]
Stilbenic Optical Brightening Agents From Taiwan: Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2023-2024
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that Teh Fong Min International Co., Ltd., also known as Teh
Fong Ming International Co., Ltd. (TFM), the sole producer and/or
exporter subject to this administrative review, made sales of stilbenic
optical brightening agents (stilbenic OBAs) at less than normal value
during the period of review (POR) May 1, 2023 through April 30, 2024.
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable September 4, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gemma Larsen, AD/CVD Operations,
Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-8125.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 10, 2012, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
antidumping duty (AD) order on stilbenic OBAs from Taiwan.\1\ On May
31, 2024, Archroma, U.S., Inc. (Archroma), a U.S. producer of stilbenic
OBAs, timely requested an administrative review of the Order covering
one producer/exporter of the subject merchandise, TFM.\2\ On July 5,
2024, Commerce published the notice of initiation of an administrative
review of the Order covering the sole mandatory respondent, TFM.\3\ On
July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain administrative deadlines in this
review by seven days.\4\ On December 9, 2024, Commerce tolled
administrative deadlines in this review by an additional 90 days.\5\ On
April 8, 2025, Commerce extended the deadline for the preliminary
results.\6\ On July 24, 2025, Commerce further extended the deadline
for preliminary results.\7\ Accordingly, the deadline for the
preliminary results of this review is September 5, 2025.
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\1\ See Certain Stilbenic Optical Brightening Agents from
Taiwan: Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
and Antidumping Duty Order, 77 FR 27419 (May 10, 2012) (Order).
\2\ See Archroma's Letter, ``Request for Administrative
Review,'' dated May 31, 2024.
\3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 89 FR 55567 (July 5, 2024).
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated December 9, 2024.
\6\ See Memorandum. ``Extention of Deadline for Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated April 8,
2025.
\7\ See Memorandum. ``Second Extnesion of Deadline for
Preliminary Results of Antidumpuing Duty Administrative Review,''
dated July 24, 2025.
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this administrative review, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\8\ A list of the topics discussed in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum is attached as an Appendix to this notice. The
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is made
available to the public 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 is
available at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
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\8\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Certain
Stilbenic Optical Brightening Agents from Taiwan; 2023-2024,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order
The products covered by the Order are stilbenic OBAs. A full
description of the scope of the Order is contained in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section
751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price
and constructed export price are calculated in accordance with section
772 of the Act. Normal value is calculated in accordance with section
773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology underlying
these preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Results of the Administrative Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that the
following estimated weighted-average dumping margin exists for the POR
May 1, 2023, through April 30, 2024:
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Weighted-
average
Producer and/or exporter dumping
margin
(percent)
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Teh Fong Min International Co., Ltd/Teh Fong Ming 5.84
International Co., Ltd....................................
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Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculations performed to interested
parties in the preliminary results of this administrative review within
five days of the public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days after publication of this notice.\9\
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\9\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(ii), we have modified the deadline for interested parties
to submit case briefs to Commerce to no later than 21 days after the
date of the publication of this notice.\10\ 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.\11\ Interested parties who
submit case or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a
table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of
authorities.\12\ All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS.
An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its
entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established
deadline.
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\10\ See 19 CFR 351.309.
\11\ 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).
\12\ 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 review, we instead request that
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\13\ 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
[[Page 42740]]
summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will
accompany the final results of this review. We request that interested
parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the executive
summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain
requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR
351.303(f).\14\
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\13\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\14\ 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, must submit a written request to the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via
ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; (3) whether any
participant is a foreign national; and (4) a list of the issues to be
discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised
in the respective case and rebuttal briefs. An electronically filed
hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety by
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. If a
request for a hearing is made, Commerce will inform parties of the
scheduled date for the hearing.\15\
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\15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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Final Results of Review
Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative
review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in
any written briefs, no later than 120 days after the date of
publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register,
unless extended, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.213(h)(1).
Assessment Rates
Upon completion of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping
duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise covered by
this review. If the weighted-average dumping margin for TFM is not zero
or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.50 percent) in the final results of
this review, we intend to calculate an importer-specific assessment
rate based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for
each importer's examined sales and the total entered value of those
same sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\16\ If TFM's
weighted-average dumping margin or an importer-specific assessment rate
is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, we will instruct
CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to antidumping
duties.\17\
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\16\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping
Duty Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8103 (February 14,
2012).
\17\ Id. 77 FR at 8102-03; see also 19 CFR 351.106(c)(2).
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For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by TFM
for which it did not know its merchandise was destined for the United
States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at the all-
others rate (i.e., 6.19 percent) \18\ if there is no rate for the
intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.\19\
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\18\ See Order, 77 FR at 27420.
\19\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier
than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within
90 days of publication).
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication in the Federal Register of the notice of final results of
administrative review for all shipments of stilbenic OBAs from Taiwan
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the
date of publication as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1)
the cash deposit rate for TFM will be equal to the weighted-average
dumping margin established in the final results of this administrative
review; (2) for merchandise exported by a company not covered in this
review but covered in a prior segment of the proceeding, the cash
deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published in
the completed segment for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter
is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or the original
investigation but the producer is, the cash deposit rate will be the
rate established in the completed segment for the most recent period
for the producer of the merchandise; (4) the cash deposit rate for all
other producers or exporters will be the all-others rate established in
the less-than-fair-value investigation for this proceeding, i.e., 6.19
percent.\20\ These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall
remain in effect until further notice.
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\20\ See Order, 77 FR at 27420.
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Notification to Importers
This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double
antidumping duties.
Notification to Interested Parties
Commerce is issuing and publishing these preliminary results in
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.221(b)(4).
Dated: August 29, 2025.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Affiliation and Single Entity Treatment
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-16966 Filed 9-3-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 4, 2025.
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