Notice2025-18686
Silicon Metal From Norway: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination
Primary source
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Published
September 26, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of silicon metal from Norway. The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 185 (Friday, September 26, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 185 (Friday, September 26, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46386-46388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18686]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-403-807]
Silicon Metal From Norway: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing
Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination with Final
Antidumping Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to
producers and exporters of silicon metal from Norway. The period of
investigation (POI) is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable September 26, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stefan Smith, 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) 482-4342.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this countervailing duty (CVD)
investigation on May 21, 2025.\1\ On June 30, 2025, Commerce postponed
the preliminary determination of this investigation until September 22,
2025.\2\
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\1\ See Silicon Metal from Australia, the Lao People's
Democratic Republic, Norway, and Thailand: Initiation of
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 90 FR 21746 (May 21, 2025)
(Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Silicon Metal from Australia, the Lao People's
Democratic Republic, Norway, and Thailand: Postponement of
Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty
Investigations, 90 FR 27837 (June 30, 2025).
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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 discussed 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
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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 of the Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Silicon Metal from Norway,'' 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 silicon metal from
Norway. 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
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in
the Initiation Notice. Thus, the scope of the investigation is
unchanged from the Initiation Notice.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\5\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is
specific.\6\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Alignment
As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is
aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the
final determination in the companion antidumping duty (AD)
investigation of silicon metal from Norway based on a request made by
Ferroglobe USA, Inc. and Mississippi Silicon LLC (collectively, the
petitioners).\7\ Consequently, the final CVD determination will be
issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is
currently scheduled to be issued no later than February 3, 2026, unless
postponed.
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\7\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Request to Align Final
Countervailing Duty Determination with the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Final Determinations,'' dated September 12, 2025.
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All-Others Rate
Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the
preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any
zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section
776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily calculated an
individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for Elkem ASA
(Elkem), the only individually examined exporter/producer in this
investigation. Because the only individual calculated rate is not zero,
de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available, the
estimated weighted-average rate calculated for Elkem is the rate
preliminarily assigned to all other producers and exporters, pursuant
to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Elkem ASA \8\........................................... 16.87
All Others.............................................. 16.87
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Suspension of Liquidation
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\8\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with
Elkem: Elkem Carbon AS; Elkem International AS; and Elkem Silicon
Product Development AS.
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In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act,
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
suspend liquidation of entries of silicon metal, as described in
Appendix I to this notice entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates indicated
above.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
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 no later than five days after the date for
filing case briefs.\9\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or
rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents
listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\10\
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\9\ 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).
\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 public
executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not
including citations. We intend to use the public
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executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in
the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the 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 APO and Service Final Rule.
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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. Oral presentations at the hearing
will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a
hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and
date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date,
time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its determination. 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 silicon metal from Norway are
materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: September 22, 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 scope of this investigation covers all forms and sizes of
silicon metal, including silicon metal powder. Silicon metal
contains at least 85.00 percent but less than 99.99 percent silicon,
and less than 4.00 percent iron, by actual weight. Semiconductor
grade silicon (merchandise containing at least 99.99 percent silicon
by actual weight and classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule
of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 2804.61.0000) is excluded
from the scope of this investigation.
Silicon metal is currently classifiable under subheadings
2804.69.1000 and 2804.69.5000 of the HTSUS. While the HTSUS numbers
are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the scope remains dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Economic Diversification
V. Subsidies Valuation Information
VI. Analysis of Programs
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-18686 Filed 9-25-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 26, 2025.
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