Notice2026-19378
Certain Fatty Acids From Indonesia: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
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
September 22, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain fatty acids (fatty acids) from Indonesia are being, or are likely to be sold, in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 22, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60096-60099]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19378]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-560-848]
Certain Fatty Acids From Indonesia: Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary Affirmative
Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part, Postponement of Final
Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that certain fatty acids (fatty acids) from Indonesia are
being, or are likely to be sold, in the United States at less than fair
value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2025,
through December 31, 2025. Interested parties are invited to comment on
this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable September 22, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Conniff, AD/CVD Operations,
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1009.
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 March 13,
2026.\1\ On July 10, 2026, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now
September 15, 2026.\2\ For a complete description of the events that
followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.\3\ 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 Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS),
which 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/frnotices">https://access.trade.gov/frnotices</a>.
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\1\ See Certain Fatty Acids from Indonesia and Malaysia:
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 91 FR 12353
(March 13, 2026) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Certain Fatty Acids from Indonesia and Malaysia:
Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of Antidumping Duty
Investigations, 19 FR 42708 (July 10, 2026).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain
Fatty Acids from Indonesia,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are fatty acids from
Indonesia. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain interested
parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in
the Initiation Notice. Commerce is still considering parties' comments
on the scope of the investigation and intends to issue its preliminary
scope decision after the publication of this preliminary AD
determination. Accordingly, Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the
scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the scope
in Appendix I to this notice.
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\5\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices and
constructed export prices in accordance with sections 772(a) and (b) of
the Act. Normal value is calculated in
[[Page 60097]]
accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the
methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in
Part
In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206,
Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances do not exist
for P.T. Musim Mas (PTMM) and PT Inti Benua Perkasatama (IBP)
(collectively, Musim Mas), and PT Wilmar Nabati Indonesia (PT Wilmar).
We find that critical circumstances do exist for all other exports and
producers. For a full description of the methodology and results of
Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in
the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually
examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero
and de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under
section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margins for Musim Mas and PT Wilmar, that are not zero,
de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Therefore,
Commerce calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined
respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the
merchandise under consideration.\6\
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\6\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a
simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins
calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average
of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the
examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sales
values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters.
See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53662
(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum
at Comment1. As complete publicly-ranged sales data were available,
Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged sales data
of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data,
see Memorandum, ``Calculation of the Dumping Margin for All Other
Producers and Exporters,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exist:
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Cash deposit rate
Estimated weighted - (adjusted for
Exporter/producer average dumping margin subsidy offset(s))
(percent) (percent)
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P.T. Musim Mas; PT Inti Benua Perkasatama \7\..................... 23.04 22.96
PT Wilmar Nabati Indonesia........................................ 12.32 12.31
All Others........................................................ 19.55 19.49
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\7\ Commerce preliminarily determines that PTMM and IBP are a single entity. See Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.
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 entries 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. 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 estimated weighted-
average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows:
(1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents listed above will be
equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping
margins determined in this preliminary determination; (2) if the
exporter is not a respondent identified above, but the producer is,
then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific
estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that producer
of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other
producers and exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated
weighted-average dumping margin.
Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation
shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a)
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of
liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily
finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject
merchandise produced or exported by all other exporters and producers.
In accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of shipments of subject
merchandise from the producers or exporters identified in this
paragraph that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before the
publication of this notice.
Commerce normally adjusts cash deposits for estimated antidumping
duties by the amount of export subsidies countervailed in a companion
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, when CVD provisional measures are
in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce preliminarily made an
affirmative determination for countervailable export subsidies,
Commerce has offset the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by
the appropriate CVD rate. Any such adjusted cash deposit rate may be
found in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section above.
Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting estimated
antidumping duty cash deposits unadjusted for countervailed export
subsidies at the time that the provisional CVD measures expire. These
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until
further notice.
[[Page 60098]]
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties in this preliminary 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 accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce
will address such allegations in the final determination together with
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in
this investigation. A timeline for the submission of case briefs and
written comments will be notified to interested parties at a later
date. 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.\8\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs
in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each
issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\9\
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\8\ 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 Procedures).
\9\ See 19 CFR 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.\10\ 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).\11\
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\10\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\11\ See APO and Service Procedures.
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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
(1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of
participants, and whether any participant is a foreign national; and
(3) 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. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months
in duration.
Between September 3 and September 4, 2026, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.210(e), Musim Mas and PT Wilmar separately requested that Commerce
postpone the final determination and that provisional measures be
extended to a period not to exceed six months.\12\ In accordance with
section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because:
(1) the preliminary determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting
exporters account for a significant proportion of exports of the
subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling reasons for denial exist,
Commerce is postponing the final determination and extending the
provisional measures from a four-month period to a period not greater
than six months. Accordingly, Commerce will make its final
determination no later than 135 days after the date of publication of
this preliminary determination.
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\12\ See Musim Mas' Letter, ``Request to Postpone the Final
Determination,'' dated September 3, 2026; see also PT Wilmar's
Letter, ``Wilmar Request to Extend the Final Determination,'' dated
September 4, 2026.
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its preliminary determination. 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 these imports 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: September 15, 2026.
Scot Fullerton,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Operations.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise subject to this investigation is certain fatty
acids, which are organic acids made of a hydrocarbon chain with a
carboxylic acid group (i.e., an organic acid that contains a
carboxyl group (-C(=O)-OH) attached to an R-group, sometimes also
written as R-COOH, R-C(O)OH, or R-CO2H) at one end with a carbon
chain length (i.e., the number of carbon atoms in the fatty acid
chain) of C6, C8, C10, C12, C14, C16, or C18, with an iodine value
below 105g/100 g and with a ratio of free fatty acids to
triglycerides (also known as the ``degree of split'' or DoS) of at
least 97 percent, including single fatty acid (also referred to as
``pure cut''), and blends containing a combination of two or more
carbon chain lengths.
Certain fatty acids covered by the scope range in physical form
from low viscosity liquids to solids. Certain fatty acids are
covered by the scope of this investigation irrespective of whether
they have gone through a distillation process and regardless of acid
content, reactivity, functionality, freeze stability, heat
stability, physical form, viscosity, grade, purity, molecular
weight, or packaging.
[[Page 60099]]
Certain fatty acids may contain additives, such as catalysts,
solvents, antioxidants, fire retardants, colorants, pigments,
diluents, thickeners, fillers, softeners, and toughening agents.
The scope includes merchandise matching the above description
that has been processed in a third country, including by
commingling, diluting, introducing or removing additives, or
performing any other processing that would not otherwise remove the
merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the
subject country.
The scope also includes certain fatty acids that are commingled
or blended with certain fatty acids from sources not subject to this
investigation. Only the subject component of such commingled
products is covered by the scope of this investigation.
Certain fatty acids covered by the scope are also commonly
called pure, pure cut, fractionated, or distilled fatty acid or
mixed, mixed cut, or blended fatty acid, with the terms pure, pure
cut, fractionated, and distilled typically referring to specific
single-chain fatty acids that have been separated from a mixed
natural source such as animal fat or vegetable oil using processes
like hydrolysis (the breakdown of fat molecules by water, catalyzed
by acid, base, or enzymes (lipases) to yield glycerol and free fatty
acids), distillation, and crystallization, and the terms mixed or
mixed cut referring to combinations, blends or mixtures of different
single-chain fatty acids also derived from a natural source such as
animal fat or vegetable oil using processes like hydrolysis,
distillation, and crystallization. Common names for pure, pure cut,
fractionated, or distilled fatty acids forms include stearic acid
and oleic acid. Common names for mixed or mixed cut fatty acids
include coconut fatty acid, hardened coconut fatty acid, topped
coconut fatty acid, topped hardened coconut fatty acid, palm kernel
fatty acid, hardened palm kernel fatty acid, topped palm kernel
fatty acid, topped hardened palm kernel fatty acid, palm fatty acid,
palm stearin fatty acid, palm fatty acid distillate, and palm olein
fatty acid.
Certain fatty acids covered by the scope are normally associated
with Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry numbers 57-11-4, 112-
80-1, 61790-38-3, 67701-05-7, 67701-06-8, 67707-01-3, 68938-15-8,
101403-98-9, 91771-90-3, 90990-15-1, 68440-15-3, 84238-17-5, 98106-
68-4, 98106-66-2, 90990-08-1, and 90990-08-2 but several others may
also be used. Specifically excluded from the scope are certain fatty
acids containing 90 percent or more, by weight, of fatty acids with
carbon chain lengths of C6, C8, or C10 (or any combination thereof).
The scope also does not include mixtures of certain fatty acids with
other materials, when the combined certain fatty acids component
comprises less than 80 percent of the total weight of the mixture.
The merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings
2915.70.0110, 2915.70.0120, 2915.70.0150, 2915.90.1010,
2915.90.1050, 2916.15.1000, 2916.15.5100, 3823.11.0000,
3823.12.0000, 3823.19.2000, and 3823.19.4000 and may also enter
under 3824.99.4190.
The HTSUS subheadings set forth above are provided for
convenience and customs purposes only. The written description of
the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Affiliation and Single Entity Treatment
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Particular Market Situation
VII. Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for Export Subsidies in the
Companion Countervailing Duty Investigation
X. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2026-19378 Filed 9-21-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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