Notice2026-03218
Unwrought Palladium From the Russian Federation: Preliminary 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
February 19, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that unwrought palladium (palladium) from the Russian Federation (Russia) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 33 (Thursday, February 19, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7958-7960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03218]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-821-840]
Unwrought Palladium From the Russian Federation: Preliminary
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) preliminarily
determines that unwrought palladium (palladium) from the Russian
Federation (Russia) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United
States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation
(POI) is January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025. Interested parties are
invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable February 19, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Nathan or Rebecca Janz, AD/
CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3834 or (202)
482-2972, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on August 22,
2025.\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\
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\1\ See Unwrought Palladium from the Russian Federation:
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 90 FR 41032
(August 22, 2025) (Initiation Notice).
\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.
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\4\ A list of topics included 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
via 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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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation
of Unwrought Palladium from the Russian Federation,'' 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 palladium from Russia.
For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see
Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ No interested party
commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the
Initiation Notice. Accordingly, Commerce is not preliminarily modifying
the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.
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\5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\6\ See Initiation Notice, 90 FR at 41033.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to sections 776(a) and
(b) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily has relied upon facts otherwise
available, with adverse inferences, for the Russia-wide entity. For a
full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary
determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Combination Rates
In the Initiation Notice,\7\ Commerce stated that it would
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin
05.1 describes this practice.\8\ In this case, because no respondent
applied for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were
not calculated.
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\7\ Id., 90 FR at 41036.
\8\ 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 on
Commerce's website at <a href="https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf">https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margin exists:
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Estimated
weighted-
average
Producer/exporter dumping
margin
(percent)
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Russia-wide Entity *....................................... 132.83
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Rate based on facts otherwise available with adverse inferences.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation
of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as discussed below.
Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal
to the weighted average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S.
price, as indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) for all
combinations of Russian producers/exporters of merchandise under
consideration that have not established eligibility for their own
separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin established for the Russia-wide entity;
and (2) for all
[[Page 7959]]
third-county exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in
the table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate
applicable to the Russia producer/exporter combination (i.e., the
Russia-wide entity) that supplied that third-country exporter.
To determine the 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 when CVD provisional measures are
in effect. However, Commerce has not yet made a preliminary CVD
determination. Accordingly, Commerce has not offset the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin in this preliminary determination.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations
performed in connection with a 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 the notice of
preliminary determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with
19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied
total facts otherwise available with adverse inferences to the Russia-
wide entity in this investigation, in accordance with section 776 of
the Act, there are no calculations to disclose.
Verification
Because the respondent in this investigation did not provide
information requested by Commerce and Commerce preliminarily determines
the mandatory respondent to have been uncooperative, verification will
not be conducted.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination.\9\
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.\10\ 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.\11\
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\9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 for
general filing requirements.
\10\ 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).
\11\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iii), we
request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their
briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their
briefs.\12 \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 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).\13\
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\12\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\13\ See APO and Service Final Rule, 88 FR at 67080.
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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
the party's name, address, and telephone number; the number of
participants and whether any participant is a foreign national; and a
list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made,
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be
determined.
Final Determination
Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date
of this preliminary determination.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary
determination of sales at LTFV. 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 the subject merchandise are materially
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: February 9, 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 scope of this investigation is unwrought palladium.
Unwrought palladium includes palladium, whether or not refined, in
the form of ingots, blocks, lumps, billets, cakes, slabs, pigs,
cathodes, anodes, briquettes, cubes, sticks, grains, sponge,
pellets, shot, powder, and similar primary forms.
Unwrought palladium is covered by the scope regardless of
production method. The scope includes unwrought palladium produced
through ore extraction, unwrought palladium produced by recycling
palladium-containing scrap, unwrought palladium produced by any
other method, and blends of unwrought palladium produced by
different methods.
The scope includes unwrought palladium that is commingled with
unwrought palladium from sources not subject to this investigation
or commingled with other metals. Only the subject unwrought
palladium component of such commingled products is covered by the
scope of this investigation.
Subject merchandise includes merchandise matching the above
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed
in a third country, including by refining, grinding, commingling,
adding or removing additives (such as other metals), or performing
any other finishing, packaging, or processing that would not
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation
if performed in the subject country.
The covered merchandise is currently classified in the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at
subheading 7110.21.0000. Unwrought palladium meeting the scope
description may also enter under HTSUS subheading 7110.29.0000.
Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and for
customs purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise
is dispositive.
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Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Adjustment Under Section 777(A)(f) of the Act
VI. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies in the
Companion Countervailing Duty Investigation
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2026-03218 Filed 2-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 19, 2026.
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