Notice2026-03478
Silicon Metal From the Lao People's Democratic Republic: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Classification of the Lao People's Democratic Republic as a Non-Market Economy
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 23, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that silicon metal from the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is October 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025. Commerce has also determined to treat Laos as a non- market economy (NME) in forthcoming proceedings.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8407-8408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03478]
[[Page 8407]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-553-001]
Silicon Metal From the Lao People's Democratic Republic: Final
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Classification of the Lao People's Democratic Republic as a Non-Market
Economy
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
silicon metal from the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) is
being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is October 1, 2024, through
March 31, 2025. Commerce has also determined to treat Laos as a non-
market economy (NME) in forthcoming proceedings.
DATES: Applicable February 23, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Caroline Carroll, AD/CVD Operations,
Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4948.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 30, 2025, Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination of sales at LTFV of silicon metal from Laos and invited
interested parties to comment.\1\ No interested party submitted
comments on the Preliminary Determination. Accordingly, the final
determination remains unchanged from the Preliminary Determination and,
thus, there is no decision memorandum accompanying this notice.
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\1\ See Silicon Metal from Laos: Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 90 FR 46807
(September 30, 2025) (Preliminary Determination).
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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 Access
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 17, 2026.
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\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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On February 5, 2026, Commerce solicited surrogate country and
surrogate value information from interested parties,\4\ and we received
comments from the petitioners, Ferroglobe USA, Inc. and Mississippi
Silicon LLC.\5\
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\4\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Request for Surrogate Country and
Surrogate Value Information,'' dated February 5, 2026.
\5\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Response to Request for Surrogate
Country and Surrogate Value Information,'' dated February 10, 2026.
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Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is silicon metal from
Laos. 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.
Therefore, we made no changes to the scope of the investigation.
Verification
As Commerce had no participating respondents in this investigation,
no on-site verification was conducted.
Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)
As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce
preliminarily assigned to Lao Silicon Co., Ltd. (Lao Silicon) an
estimated weighted-average dumping margin on the basis of AFA pursuant
to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act).\6\ There is no new information on the record that would cause us
to revisit our decision in the Preliminary Determination. Accordingly,
for this final determination, we continue to find that the application
of AFA, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, is warranted
with respect to Lao Silicon in this investigation.
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\6\ See Preliminary Determination, 90 FR at 46810.
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All-Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and/or
exporters not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted
average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established
for exporters and producers individually investigated excluding rates
that are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of
the Act.
In the Preliminary Determination, we assigned an estimated
weighted-average dumping margin of 94.44 percent as the all-others
rate, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act.\7\ As noted above,
we received no comments on the Preliminary Determination; thus, we
continue to assign an estimated weighted-average dumping margin of
94.44 percent as the all-others rate for this final determination.
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\7\ Id.
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Final Determination
The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as
follows:
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Estimated
weighted-
average
Producer or exporter dumping
margin
(percent)
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Lao Silicon Co., Ltd........................................ * 94.44
All Others.................................................. 94.44
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* This rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.
Laos' Market Economy Status
For this final determination, Commerce has determined to treat Laos
as an NME in forthcoming proceedings.\8\ Consistent with Commerce's
practice,\9\ this determination will apply to future segments of this
proceeding, and Commerce has relied on its market economy methodology
in determining the estimated weighted-average dumping margins for this
final determination. A detailed explanation of this determination along
with discussion of the comments and factual information submitted
concerning this determination can be found in the NME Analysis Report,
issued concurrently with this memorandum.
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\8\ See Memorandum, ``Review of Angola's Status as a Market
Economy Country,'' dated concurrently with this notice (NME Analysis
Report).
\9\ See Emulsion Styrene-Butadiene Rubber from the Russian
Federation: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value and Classification of the Russian Federation as a Non-
Market Economy, 87 FR 69002 (November 17, 2022) (finding Russia's
NME status effective for subsequent proceedings).
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Commerce intends to use its NME methodology to calculate
antidumping duty (AD) rates in future segments of AD proceedings
involving Laos.\10\
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\10\ This includes the LTFV investigation of crystalline silicon
photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from
Laos. See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not
Assembled Into Modules, from India, Indonesia, and the Lao People's
Democratic Republic: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigations, 90 FR 38736 (August 12, 2025).
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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 this
notice in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
However, because Commerce received no comments on the Preliminary
Determination, it is adopting the Preliminary Determination as the
final determination in this investigation. Consequently, there are no
new calculations to disclose.
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements
As a result of our Preliminary Determination, and pursuant to
sections 733(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we instructed U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits and suspend
liquidation of entries of subject merchandise from Laos that were
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after
September 30, 2025, the date of the publication of the Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register.\11\ 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 28, 2026, but to continue the
suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise on or
before January 27, 2026.
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\11\ See Preliminary Determination, 90 FR at 46811.
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If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues an
affirmative final injury determination, we will issue an AD order,
reinstate the suspension of liquidation under section 736(a) of the
Act, and require a cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties for
entries of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above. Pursuant
to section 735(c)(2) of the Act, 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 as a result of
the suspension of liquidation will be refunded.
To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of export
subsidies countervailed in a companion countervailing duty (CVD)
proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly,
where Commerce has made a final affirmative determination for
countervailable export subsidies, Commerce offsets the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin by the appropriate CVD rate. However,
because Commerce is basing its final CVD determination on AFA, we do
not find that there are any export subsidies in the companion CVD
investigation to use as an offset.
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV.
Because Commerce's final determination is affirmative, in accordance
with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the ITC will determine, within 45
days, whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially
injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of
silicon metal. If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of
material injury does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, all
cash deposits posted will be refunded, and suspension of liquidation
will be lifted. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist,
Commerce will issue an AD order directing CBP to assess, upon further
instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on all imports of the
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of
liquidation, as discussed in the ``Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements'' section above.
Administrative Protective Order (APO)
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 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 violation subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: February 17, 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
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.
[FR Doc. 2026-03478 Filed 2-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 23, 2026.
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