Notice2026-03485
Hard Empty Capsules From Brazil, the People's Republic of China, India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Countervailing Duty Orders
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
Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing countervailing duty (CVD) orders on hard empty capsules (capsules) from Brazil, the People's Republic of China (China), India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).
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 8415-8417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03485]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-351-865, C-570-185, C-533-935, C-552-848]
Hard Empty Capsules From Brazil, the People's Republic of China,
India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Countervailing Duty
Orders
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S.
Department of Commerce (Commerce) and U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing countervailing duty (CVD) orders
on hard empty capsules (capsules) from Brazil, the People's Republic of
China (China), India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam).
DATES: Applicable February 23, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth Brown at (202) 482-0029 (Brazil),
Laura Delgado at (202) 482-1468 and John Conniff at (202) 482-1009 (the
People's Republic of China (China)), Gorden Struck at (202) 482-8151
(India), and Jonathan Schueler at (202) 482-9175 (the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam)), AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and
Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In accordance with sections 705(d) and 777(i) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act) on December 29, 2025, Commerce published in
the Federal Register its affirmative final determinations in the
countervailing duty investigations of capsules from Brazil, China,
India and Vietnam.\1\ On February 12, 2026, the ITC notified Commerce
of its final affirmative determinations, pursuant to sections
705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 705(d) of the Act, that an industry in the United
States is materially injured by reason of subsidized imports of
capsules from China, India, and Vietnam, and that an industry in the
United States is threatened with material injury by reason of
subsidized imports from Brazil.\2\
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\1\ See Hard Empty Capsules from Brazil: Final Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination, 90 FR 60607 (December 29, 2025)
(Brazil Final Determination); see also Hard Empty Capsules from the
People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination, 90 FR 60628 (December 29, 2025) (China Final
Determination); Hard Empty Capsules from India: Final Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination, 90 FR 60618 (December 29, 2025)
(India Final Determination); and Hard Empty Capsules from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination, 90 FR 60620 (December 29, 2025) (Vietnam Final
Determination) (collectively, Final Determinations).
\2\ See ITC's Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final
Determinations,'' dated February 12, 2026 (ITC Notification Letter).
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Scope of the Orders
The products covered by these orders are hard empty capsules from
Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam. For a full description of the scope
of these orders, see the appendix to this notice.
Countervailing Duty Orders
Based on the above-referenced affirmative final determinations by
the ITC that an industry in the United States is materially injured by
reason of subsidized imports of capsules from China, India, and
Vietnam, and is threatened with material injury by reason of subsidized
imports of capsules from Brazil,\3\ and in accordance with sections
705(c)(2) and 706 of the Act, Commerce is issuing these countervailing
duty orders. Because the ITC determined that imports of capsules from
China, India, and Vietnam are materially injuring a U.S. industry,
unliquidated entries of such merchandise from China, India, and Vietnam
entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject to the
assessment of countervailing duties.
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\3\ Id.
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Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce
will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon
further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on unliquidated
entries of capsules from China, India, and Vietnam. With the exception
of entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional measures
period and before the publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury
determinations, as further described below, countervailing duties will
be assessed on unliquidated entries of capsules from China, India, and
Vietnam entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after March 31, 2025, the date of publication of the Preliminary
Determinations in the Federal Register.\4\
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\4\ See Hard Empty Capsules from Brazil: Preliminary Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 90 FR 14235
(March 31, 2025) (Brazil Preliminary Determination); Hard Empty
Capsules from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 90 FR 14244
(March 31, 2025) (China Preliminary Determination); Hard Empty
Capsules from India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final
Antidumping Duty Determination, 90 FR 14237 (March 31, 2025) (India
Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision
Memorandum (PDM); and Hard Empty Capsules from the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final
Antidumping Duty Determination, 90 FR 14240 (March 31, 2025)
(Vietnam Preliminary Determination) (collectively, Preliminary
Determinations).
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Pursuant to section 706(b)(2) of the Act, countervailing duties
shall be assessed on subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the
ITC's notice of final determination if that determination is based on
the threat of material injury and is not accompanied by a finding that
injury would have resulted without the imposition of suspension of
liquidation of entries since Commerce's preliminary determination.
Additionally, section 706(b)(2) of the Act requires CBP to refund any
cash deposits or bonds of estimated countervailing duties posted since
the preliminary countervailing duty determination if the ITC's final
determination is threat-based.
Because the ITC's final determination for Brazil is based on the
threat of material injury and is not accompanied by a finding that
injury would have resulted but for the imposition of suspension of
liquidation of entries since the Brazil Preliminary Determination,
section 706(b)(2) of the Act is applicable.\5\ Therefore, Commerce will
instruct CBP to assess duties on entries of capsules from Brazil
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the
date of publication of the ITC's notice of final determination of
threat of material injury in the Federal Register, in accordance with
the subsidy rates listed in the rate chart below for Brazil.
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\5\ See ITC Notification Letter.
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Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits
In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce will direct CBP
to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation
[[Page 8416]]
of capsules from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam, effective the date
of publication of the ITC's notice of final determinations in the
Federal Register, and to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce
pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing duties for
each entry of the subject merchandise in an amount based on the net
countervailable subsidy rates for the subject merchandise. On or after
the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determinations in the
Federal Register, CBP must require, at the same time as importers would
normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, a cash deposit
equal to the rates noted below. These instructions suspending
liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.
Estimated Countervailable Subsidy Rates
The estimated countervailable subsidy rates are as follows; all-
others rate applies to all producers or exporters not specifically
listed below.
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad valorem)
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Brazil
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ACG do Brasil S.A................................. 10.67
All Others........................................ 10.67
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China
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Jiangsu Lefan Capsule Co., Ltd.................... 3.14
Shanxi JC Biological Co. Ltd...................... 8.81
All Others........................................ 6.90
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India
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ACG Associated Capsules Private Limited; ACG Pam 7.06
Pharma Technologies Private Limited; ACG
Universal Capsules Private Limited \6\...........
All Others........................................ 7.06
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Vietnam
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Suheung Vietnam Co., Ltd.......................... 2.45
All Others........................................ 2.45
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Provisional Measures
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\6\ Commerce found the following companies to be cross owned:
ACG Associated Capsules Private Limited; ACG Pam Pharma Technologies
Private Limited; and ACG Universal Capsules Private Limited. See
India Preliminary Determination PDM at 4-6.
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Section 703(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in
effect for more than four months. In the underlying investigations,
Commerce published the Preliminary Determinations on March 31, 2025.\7\
Therefore, entries of capsules from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam
made on or after July 29, 2025, and prior to the date of publication of
the ITC's final determinations in the Federal Register, are not subject
to the assessment of countervailing duties due to Commerce's
discontinuation of the suspension of liquidation.
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\7\ See Preliminary Determinations.
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In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, Commerce instructed
CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to liquidate,
without regard to countervailing duties, certain unliquidated entries
of capsules from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 29, 2025,
the date on which the provisional CVD measures expired, until and
through the day preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final
injury determinations in the Federal Register. Suspension of
liquidation and the collection of cash deposits will resume on the date
of publication of the ITC final injury determinations in the Federal
Register.
Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service List
On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the Final Rule in the
Federal Register.\8\ On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published the
Procedural Guidance in the Federal Register.\9\ The Final Rule and
Procedural Guidance provide that Commerce will maintain an annual
inquiry service list for each order or suspended investigation, and any
interested party submitting a scope ruling application or request for
circumvention inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request
on the persons on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as
well as any companion order covering the same merchandise from the same
country of origin.\10\
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\8\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 20,
2021) (Final Rule).
\9\ See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List;
and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021)
(Procedural Guidance).
\10\ Id.
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In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in
the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an
annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and
document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>, within five business days of publication of the
order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in ACCESS, under
each case number, and under a specific segment type called ``AISL-
Annual Inquiry Service List.'' \11\
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\11\ This segment will be combined with the ACCESS Segment
Specific Information (SSI) field which will display the month in
which the notice of the order or suspended investigation was
published in the Federal Register, also known as the anniversary
month. For example, for an order under case number A-000-000 that
was published in the Federal Register in January, the relevant
segment and SSI combination will appear in ACCESS as ``AISL-January
Anniversary.'' Note that there will be only one annual inquiry
service list segment per case number, and the anniversary month will
be pre-populated in ACCESS.
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Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry
service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the
annual inquiry
[[Page 8417]]
service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30 days after the
date of publication of the order. For ease of administration, Commerce
requests that law firms with more than one attorney representing
interested parties in an order designate a lead attorney to be included
on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce will finalize the annual
inquiry service list within five business days thereafter. As mentioned
in the Procedural Guidance, the new annual inquiry service list will be
in place until the following year, when the Opportunity Notice for the
anniversary month of the order is published.
Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as
needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of
appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and
representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or
announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the
ACCESS website.
Special Instructions for Petitioners and Foreign Governments
In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, ``after an initial request
and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and
foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry
service list in the years that follow.'' \12\ Accordingly, as stated
above, the petitioners and foreign governments should submit their
initial entry of appearance after publication of this notice in order
to appear in the first annual inquiry service list. Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.225(n)(3), the petitioners and foreign governments will not need to
resubmit their entries of appearance each year to continue to be
included on the annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioners
and foreign governments are responsible for making amendments to their
entries of appearance during the annual update to the annual inquiry
service list in accordance with the procedures described above.
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\12\ See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
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Notification to Interested Parties
This notice constitutes the CVD orders with respect to capsules
from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam, pursuant to section 706(a) of
the Act. Interested parties can find a list of CVD orders currently in
effect at <a href="https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/adcvd-proceedings">https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/adcvd-proceedings</a>.
These CVD orders are published in accordance with section 706(a) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).
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 Orders
The merchandise subject to the scope of these orders is hard
empty capsules, which are comprised of two prefabricated, hollowed
cylindrical sections (cap and body). The cap and body pieces each
have one closed and rounded end and one open end, and are
constructed with different or equal diameters at their open ends.
Hard empty capsules are unfilled cylindrical shells composed of
at least 80 percent by weight of a water soluble polymer that is
considered non-toxic and appropriate for human or animal consumption
by the United States Pharmacopeia--National Formulary (USP-NF), Food
Chemical Codex (FCC), or equivalent standards. The most common
polymer materials in hard empty capsules are gelatin derived from
animal collagen (including, but not limited to, pig, cow, or fish
collagen), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and pullulan.
Hard empty capsules may also contain water and additives, such
as opacifiers, colorants, processing aids, controlled release
agents, plasticizers, and preservatives. Hard empty capsules may
also be imprinted or otherwise decorated with markings.
Hard empty capsules are covered by the scope of these orders
regardless of polymer material, additives, transparency, opacity,
color, imprinting, or other markings.
Hard empty capsules are also covered by the scope of these
orders regardless of their size, weight, length, diameter,
thickness, and filling capacity.
Cap and body pieces of hard empty capsules are covered by the
scope of these orders regardless of whether they are imported
together or separately, and regardless of whether they are imported
in attached or detached form.
Hard empty capsules covered by the scope of these orders are
those that disintegrate in water, simulated intestinal fluid,
simulated gastric fluid, or other similar water-based (i.e.,
aqueous) fluids within 2 hours under tests specified in Chapter 701
of the USP-NF, or equivalent disintegration tests.
Hard empty capsules are classifiable under subheadings
9602.00.1040 and 9602.00.5010 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS). In addition, hard empty capsules may be
imported under HTSUS subheading 1905.90.9090; gelatin hard empty
capsules may be imported under HTSUS subheading 3503.00.5510; HPMC
hard empty capsules may be imported under HTSUS subheading
3923.90.0080; and pullulan hard empty capsules may be imported under
HTSUS subheading 2106.90.9998. Although the HTSUS subheadings are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the merchandise covered by these orders is
dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2026-03485 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.
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.