Notice2026-02562

Erythritol From People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

Primary source

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Published
February 10, 2026

Issuing agencies

Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that erythritol from the People's Republic of China (China) is being, or is 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 91 Issue 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5895-5898]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-02562]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-192]


Erythritol From 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 
erythritol from the People's Republic of China (China) is being, or is 
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 February 10, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hannah Lee or Brian Smith, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1216 or (202) 
482-1766, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 16, 2025, Commerce published the Preliminary Determination 
in the Federal Register and invited interested parties to comment.\1\ 
Due to the lapse in appropriations and Federal Government shutdown, on 
November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative 
proceedings by 47 days.\2\ Additionally, due to a backlog of documents 
that were electronically filed via Enforcement and Compliance's 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (ACCESS) during the Federal Government shutdown, on November 24, 
2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by an 
additional 21 days.\3\ Accordingly, the deadline for these final 
results is now February 4, 2026. For a complete description of the 
events that followed the Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.\4\
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    \1\ See Erythritol from the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of 
Provisional Measures, 90 FR 31962 (July 16, 2025) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
(PDM).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the 
Federal Government,'' dated November 14, 2025.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of all Case Deadlines,'' dated 
November 24, 2025.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation of Erythritol from the People's Republic of China,'' 
dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues 
and Decision Memorandum).
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    The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on 
file electronically via ACCESS. ACCESS is available to registered users 
at <a href="http://access.trade.gov">http://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>.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is erythritol from China. 
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see 
Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In the Preliminary Scope Memorandum, we set aside a period of time 
for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope) in 
scope-specific case briefs or other written comments.\5\ We received 
comments

[[Page 5896]]

from interested parties on the scope of the investigation as it 
appeared in the Preliminary Determination. For a summary of the product 
coverage comments submitted to the record for this final determination, 
and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely 
received, see the Final Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ After analyzing 
these comments, we made one change to the scope of the investigation. 
Commerce is therefore modifying the scope language as it appeared in 
the Initiation Notice and Preliminary Determination. See the scope in 
Appendix I to this notice.
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value and Countervailing 
Duty Investigations of Erythritol from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated July 11, 2025 
(Preliminary Scope Memorandum).
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated 
concurrently with this final determination (Final Scope Decision 
Memorandum).
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Verification

    Because Commerce found that the mandatory respondents are not 
eligible for a separate rate, and are therefore part of the China-wide 
entity in this final determination, and because Commerce found that the 
China-wide entity has been found to be uncooperative, Commerce did not 
conduct verification.\7\
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    \7\ See Preliminary Determination.
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Analysis of Comments Received

    The issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by the parties in 
this investigation are discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. 
For a list of the issues raised by interested parties and addressed in 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see Appendix II.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on analysis of the information and comments received from 
interested parties for this final determination, Commerce has made a 
change to its preliminary separate rate determination with respect to 
Baolingbao Biology Co., Ltd. (Baolingbao). We also made certain changes 
to the weighted-average dumping margins assigned to the China-Wide 
Entity and to non-examined companies that are eligible for a separate 
rate. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.

Application of Adverse Facts Available (AFA) to the China-Wide Entity

    Consistent with the Preliminary Determination,\8\ Commerce relied 
solely on the use of AFA for the China-wide entity, pursuant to 
sections 776(a) and (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Act), in determining the dumping rate for the China-wide entity.\9\ For 
this final determination, we continue to apply AFA to the China-wide 
entity. For further discussion, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    \8\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 17-20.
    \9\ See sections 776(a)(1) and (2)(A)-(C) and (b) of the Act.
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Separate Rates

    Consistent with the Preliminary Determination, and Policy Bulletin 
05.1,\10\ Commerce calculated combination rates for the companies that 
are eligible for a separate rate. In calculating the rate for separate 
rate companies in a non-market economy LTFV investigation, Commerce 
normally looks to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, which pertains to 
the calculation of the all-others rate in a market economy LTFV 
investigation, for guidance. Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the 
Act, normally this rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted 
average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established 
for those companies individually examined, excluding zero and de 
minimis rates, and rates based entirely under section 776 of the Act. 
There are no estimated weighted-average dumping margins in this final 
determination for individually examined companies that are not zero, de 
minimis or based entirely under section 776 of the Act. In 
investigations where no estimated weighted-average dumping margins 
other than zero, de minimis, or those determined entirely under section 
776 of the Act have been established for individually examined 
entities, in accordance with section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, Commerce 
typically calculates a simple average of the dumping margins alleged in 
the petition and applies the results to all other companies not 
individually examined.\11\ However, for this final determination, we 
have calculated the estimated weighted-average dumping margin assigned 
to the non-examined separate rate companies based on data included in 
the petition and surrogate value submissions. See the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum for further discussion.
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    \10\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available at 
<a href="https://access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf">https://access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
    \11\ See, e.g., Certain Preserved Mushrooms from Spain: Final 
Affirmative Determination of Sales Less Than Fair Value, 88 FR 18120 
(March 27, 2023).
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Combination Rates

    Consistent with the Preliminary Determination,\12\ and Policy 
Bulletin 05.1,\13\ Commerce calculated producer/exporter combination 
rates for the non-examined companies that are eligible for a separate 
rate in this final determination.
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    \12\ See Preliminary Determination.
    \13\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1.
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Final Determination

    Commerce determines that the following estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins exist for the period April 1, 2024, through September 
30, 2024:

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                                                                                                   Cash deposit
                                                                                     Weighted-    rate (adjusted
                   Exporter                                 Producer                  average       for subsidy
                                                                                  dumping margin     offsets)
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Beijing Refine Biology Co., Ltd...............  Chuzhou Refine Biology Co., Ltd.           85.04           84.95
Hunan Nutramax Inc............................  Hunan Nutramax Inc..............           85.04           84.95
Shandong Newnature Biotechnology Co., Ltd.....  Shandong Sanyuan Biotechnology             85.04           84.95
                                                 Co., Ltd.
Baolingbao Biology Co., Ltd...................  Baolingbao Biology Co., Ltd.....           85.04           84.86
China-Wide Entity.............................  ................................        * 184.26          184.26
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* This rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.


[[Page 5897]]

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in 
connection with this 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 this notice in the Federal Register in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we instructed 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all 
appropriate entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I 
of this notice, which were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after July 16, 2025, the date of publication in the 
Federal Register of the Preliminary Determination.
    In accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to 
discontinue the suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject 
merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse, on or after January 
12, 2026, the first day provisional measures were no longer in effect, 
but to continue the suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject 
merchandise on or before January 11, 2026.
    If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final 
affirmative injury determination, we will issue an antidumping duty 
order, reinstate the suspension of liquidation under section 736(a) of 
the Act, and require a cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties for 
entries of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above, 
effective on the date of publication of the ITC's affirmative final 
determination in the Federal Register. If the ITC determines that 
material injury, or threat of material injury, does not exist, this 
proceeding will be terminated, and all estimated duties deposited or 
securities posted as a result of the suspension of liquidation will be 
refunded or canceled.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(d), upon resumption of suspension of liquidation, Commerce will 
also instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for estimated antidumping 
duties for appropriate entries as follows: (1) for the producer/
exporter combinations listed in the table above, the applicable cash 
deposit rate is listed in the table for that combination; (2) for all 
combinations of Chinese producers/exporters of subject merchandise that 
have not established eligibility for a separate rate, the cash deposit 
rate will be equal to the cash deposit rate listed for the China-wide 
entity in the table above; and (3) for all third-country exporters of 
the subject merchandise that are not listed in the table above, the 
cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable to the Chinese 
producer/exporter combination or the China-wide entity that supplied 
that third-country exporter. These suspension of liquidation 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
    To determine the cash deposit rates as the result of an LTFV 
investigation, Commerce normally adjusts the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margins by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in the 
companion countervailing duty (CVD) investigation.. Accordingly, where 
Commerce has made a final affirmative determination of countervailable 
export subsides, Commerce offsets the estimated weighted average 
dumping margins in the LTFV investigation by the appropriate export 
subsidy rate from the companion CVD investigation. As Commerce made an 
affirmative determination for export subsidies, we have offset the 
calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margins in the above 
table by the appropriate export subsidy rates to calculate the 
applicable cash deposit rates. In the companion CVD final 
determination, Commerce determined that Sanyuan did not benefit from 
export subsidies, Baolingbao had an export subsidy rate of 0.18 
percent, and all-other companies had an export subsidy rate of 0.09 
percent.\14\ With respect to the China-wide entity, as AFA, the export 
subsidy offset is equal to the lesser of the export subsidy rates found 
for any company in the CVD final determination because the source of 
the U.S. price in the AFA rate applied to the China-wide entity is not 
publicly known, i.e., 0.00. Therefore, there continues to be no offset 
for export subsidies for the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
determined for the China-wide entity.
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    \14\ See Erythritol from the People's Republic of China: Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, dated concurrently 
with this notice.
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of this affirmative final determination of sales at LTFV. Because 
the final determination in this investigation 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 erythritol 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, 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 instructions 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 ``Suspension of Liquidation'' 
section.

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 and this notice are issued and published 
pursuant to sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.210(c).

    Dated: February 4, 2026.
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 product within the scope of this investigation is 
erythritol, which is a sugar alcohol, commonly referred to as a 
polyol, typically produced by the fermentation of glucose using 
enzymes and yeast or yeast-like fungi (though the scope includes 
erythritol produced using any other feedstock or organism). 
Erythritol is an organic compound with the molecular formula C4 H10 
O4 and a Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number of 149-32-
6. Other names for erythritol include meso -erythritol, (2R, 3S)-
butan-1,2,3,4-tetrol, butane-1,2,3,4-tetrol, or meso -1,2,3,4-
Tetrahydryoxybutane.
    Erythritol typically appears as a white crystalline, odorless 
product that rapidly dissolves in water. While erythritol is 
typically produced in the crystalline form or as a fine powder or in 
directly compressible form, the scope of this investigation covers 
all physical forms and grades of erythritol, including organic 
erythritol.

[[Page 5898]]

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is classifiable 
under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheading 2905.49.4000. Erythritol may also enter under HTSUS 
subheading 2106.90.9998. Although the HTSUS subheadings and the CAS 
registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the merchandise covered by this 
investigation is dispositive.
    Specifically excluded from the scope are certain tabletop sugar 
substitute products that contain erythritol as an ingredient. 
Tabletop sugar substitute products include erythritol as an 
ingredient as well as a high intensity sweeter such as monk fruit, 
stevia, sucralose, aspartame, and saccharin. The following tabletop 
sugar substitute products are excluded: finished goods packaged and 
labeled for retail sale or individual consumption.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies
IV. Separate Rates
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Rate Selection for Separate Rate Companies
VII. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Sanyuan's Separate Rate Status
    Comment 2: Application of AFA to Sanyuan as Part of the China-
Wide Entity
    Comment 3: Commerce's Placement of Factual Information on the 
Record
    Comment 4: Sanyuan's Request for On-Site Verification
    Comment 5: Baolingbao's Separate Rate Status
    Comment 6: Baolingbao's Request to be a Voluntary Respondent
VIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2026-02562 Filed 2-9-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on February 10, 2026.

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.