Notice2026-10133
Quartz Surface Products
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
May 21, 2026
Issuing agencies
International Trade Commission
Abstract
Section 202(f)(3) of the Trade Act of 1974 requires that the United States International Trade Commission ("Commission") publish in the Federal Register a summary of each report that it submits to the President under section 202(f)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974. Set forth below is a summary of the report that the Commission submitted to the President on May 18, 2026, on investigation No. TA-201-79, Quartz Surface Products. The Commission conducted the investigation under section 202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 following receipt of a petition, as supplemented, deemed properly filed on November 17, 2025. The full text of the report (with the exception of confidential business information) will be posted on the Commission's website at https://www.usitc.gov.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 98 (Thursday, May 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 98 (Thursday, May 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29980-29982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10133]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation No. TA-201-79]
Quartz Surface Products
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Publication of summary of the Commission's report on the
investigation.
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SUMMARY: Section 202(f)(3) of the Trade Act of 1974 requires that the
United States International Trade Commission (``Commission'') publish
in the Federal Register a summary of each report that it submits to the
President under section 202(f)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974. Set forth
below is a summary of the report that the Commission submitted to the
President on May 18, 2026, on investigation No. TA-201-79, Quartz
Surface Products. The Commission conducted the investigation under
section 202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 following receipt of a
petition, as supplemented, deemed properly filed on November 17, 2025.
The full text of the report (with the exception of confidential
business information) will be posted on the Commission's website at
<a href="https://www.usitc.gov">https://www.usitc.gov</a>.
DATES: May 18, 2026: Transmittal of the Commission's report to the
President.
ADDRESSES: United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street
SW, Washington, DC 20436. The public record for this investigation may
be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at <a href="https://edis.usitc.gov">https://edis.usitc.gov</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alejandro Orozco (202-205-3177),
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E
Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. The media should contact Jennifer
Andberg, Office of External Relations (202-205-3404 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5238373c3c3b3437207c333c36303720351227213b26317c353d24"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f298979c9c9b949780dc939c9690978095b287819b8691dc959d84">[email protected]</span></a>). Hearing-impaired persons can obtain
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal
on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need
special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact
the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its
internet server (<a href="http://www.usitc.gov">http://www.usitc.gov</a>).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Procedural Summary.--On November 17, 2025, the Commission
instituted this investigation under section 202(b) of the Trade Act of
1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252(b)) to determine whether quartz surface products
are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities
as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof,
to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly
competitive with the imported article. The Commission instituted the
investigation in response to a petition initially submitted on
September 15, 2025, and supplemented on September 23, 2025, and
November 17, 2025, by the Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America
(``QMAA''),\1\ which
[[Page 29981]]
was deemed to be properly filed on November 17, 2025.
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\1\ The QMAA is composed of Cambria Company, LLC, Le Sueur,
Minnesota; Dal-Tile LLC, Dallas, Texas; Guidoni USA, McRae-Helena,
Georgia; and Hyundai L&C USA, Norcross, Georgia.
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Notice of the institution of the Commission's investigation and of
the scheduling of public hearings to be held in connection therewith
was given by posting copies of the notice in the Office of the
Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, Washington, DC, and by
publishing the notice in the Federal Register (90 FR 55165 (December 1,
2025)). The public hearing in connection with the injury phase of the
investigation was held on February 24, 2026, in Washington, DC, and the
public hearing in connection with the remedy phase of the investigation
was held on April 14, 2026, in Washington, DC; all persons who
requested the opportunity were permitted to participate. The Commission
voted with respect to injury issues on April 1, 2026, and with respect
to remedy issues on May 5, 2026.
The Commission submitted its report to the President on May 18,
2026. The report included the Commission's injury determination and
remedy recommendations, an explanation of the basis for the
determination and remedy recommendations, and a summary of the
information obtained in the investigation.
Section 202(f)(3) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2252(f)(3))
requires that the United States International Trade Commission
(``Commission'') publish in the Federal Register a summary of each
report that it submits to the President under section 202(f)(1) of the
Trade Act of 1974.
Determination.--On the basis of information developed in the
subject investigation, the Commission determined pursuant to section
202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 that quartz surface products are being
imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a
substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry producing
an article like or directly competitive with the imported article.\2\
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\2\ Commissioner David S. Johanson made a negative determination
on serious injury and threat thereof and did not participate in the
remedy phase of the investigation.
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Having made an affirmative injury determination pursuant to section
202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, the Commission was required to make
certain additional findings under the implementing statutes of certain
free trade agreements (``FTAs'') or under statutory provisions related
to certain preferential trade programs. Under section 301(a) of the
United States-Mexico-Canada (``USMCA'') Implementation Act (19 U.S.C.
4551(a)), the Commission found that imports of quartz surface products
from neither Canada nor Mexico account for a substantial share of total
imports or contribute importantly to the serious injury caused by
imports. The Commission further found that imports of quartz surface
products from Australia, the U.S.-Dominican Republic--Central America
Free Trade Agreement (``CAFTA-DR'') countries, Colombia, Jordan,
Panama, Peru, Singapore, and South Korea, individually, are not a
substantial cause of serious injury or threat thereof, under the
relevant FTA implementing statutes. See 19 U.S.C. 2112 note (Jordan);
19 U.S.C. 3805 note (Australia, Colombia, South Korea, Panama, Peru,
Singapore); 19 U.S.C. 4101 (CAFTA-DR). The Commission also found that
the serious injury substantially caused by imports to the domestic
industry producing a like or directly competitive article does not
result from the reduction or elimination of any duty provided for under
the U.S.-Israel Free Trade Agreement or from duty-free treatment
provided for under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act
(``CBERA'') provisions of the Caribbean Basin Initiative Trade Program
or the Generalized System of Preferences (``GSP'') program. See 19
U.S.C. 2112 note (Israel); 19 U.S.C. 2703(e) (CBERA); 19 U.S.C.
2253(e)(6) (GSP).
Remedy recommendations.--In order to address the serious injury to
the domestic industry producing quartz surface products and be most
effective in facilitating the efforts of the domestic industry to make
a positive adjustment to import competition, Chair Amy A. Karpel and
Commissioner Jason E. Kearns recommend several actions.
The Commissioners recommend a tariff-rate-quota (TRQ) on imports of
quartz surface products, including slabs and fabricated quartz surface
products, for a four-year period. The recommended in-quota tariff rate
is 25 percent ad valorem and the recommended above-quota tariff rate is
40 percent ad valorem in Year 1 of the relief period, both of which
decrease by one percentage point in each subsequent year of the four-
year relief period. The TRQ recommended volume is 140,000,000 square
feet in Year 1 of the relief period, 159,000,000 square feet in Year 2,
164,000,000 square feet in Year 3, and 169,000,000 square feet in Year
4; and the annual in-quota volume level is recommended to be allocated
on a quarterly basis, with each quarter allowing for 25 percent of the
in-quota annual volume, and further allowing for any unused portion of
a quarterly allocation to be added to the allocation in the following
quarter.
Summary of Commissioners' Recommended TRQ on Quartz Surface Products
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Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
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In-Quota Volume Level (in millions of square feet).......... 140 159 164 169
In-Quota Tariff Rate (ad valorem)........................... 25% 24% 23% 22%
Out-of-Quota Tariff Rate (ad valorem)....................... 40% 39% 38% 37%
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Having made negative findings with respect to imports from Canada
and Mexico under section 302 of the USMCA Implementation Act, and
having made findings that imports from Australia, Colombia, Costa Rica,
the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel,
Jordan, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Singapore, and South Korea, and the
beneficiary countries under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act
or the GSP program were not a substantial cause of the serious injury
experienced by the domestic industry, the Commissioners recommend that
the President exclude such countries from any form of the TRQ.
The Commissioners further recommend that the President consider
policy proposals suggested by the Petitioners or another robust
mechanism to mitigate potential circumvention via non-covered
countries.
In addition, Commissioner Kearns recommends several actions:
That the President ``de-stack'' the in-quota and out-of-quota
tariffs imposed by the TRQ action described above with any other
tariffs to prevent multiple additional duties on U.S. imports of quartz
surface products, in consideration of the potential impact of
[[Page 29982]]
the TRQ action on domestic manufacturers of downstream products. This
does not apply to antidumping and countervailing duty tariffs because
they serve a different purpose of remedying unfair trade.
That the President submit to Congress, pursuant to his authority
under section 203(a)(3)(H) of the Trade Act of 1974, a legislative
proposal to distribute tariff revenue generated by the TRQ action to
mitigate the potential impact of the remedy on fabricators of slab QSP.
That the President, pursuant to his authority under section
203(a)(3)(G) of the Trade Act of 1974, continue international
negotiations to reduce overcapacity and global imbalances that drive
U.S. imports of quartz surface products and other products to levels
that injure domestic producers.
That the President authorize the establishment of an exclusion
process to allow for importation of U.S. imports of quartz surface
products without application of the TRQ action described above in the
case of a demonstrated lack of production in the United States for a
particularized quartz surface product or in the case of a critical
short supply of a particularized quartz surface product from domestic
sources.
Availability of the public version of the report.--The public
version of the Commission's report containing the Commission's injury
determination, its remedy recommendations, an explanation of the basis
for its injury determination and remedy recommendations, and a summary
of the information obtained in the investigation is contained in Quartz
Surface Products, Inv. No. TA-201-79, USITC Publication 5738 (May
2026).
By order of the Commission.
Issued: May 18, 2026.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2026-10133 Filed 5-20-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 21, 2026.
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