Notice2026-19530
Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination
Primary source
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Published
September 24, 2026
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation 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 184 (Thursday, September 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 184 (Thursday, September 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60585-60587]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19530]
[[Page 60585]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-231]
Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane From the People's Republic of
China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination,
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in
Part, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty
Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to
producers and exporters of Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) from
the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation is
January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025. Interested parties are
invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES: Applicable September 24, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Subler or Katerina Katsiadas,
AD/CVD Operations, Office OVIII, Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6241
or (202) 482-4929, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on May 18,
2026.\1\ On July 16, 2026, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now
September 18, 2026.\2\
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\1\ See Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane from the People's
Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation,
91 FR 28559 (May 18, 2026) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane from the People's
Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination of
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 91 FR 43606 (July 16, 2026).
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For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed 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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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation
of Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane from the People's Republic of
China,'' 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 Tris from China. 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\ No interested
party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the
Initiation 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 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is
specific.\6\
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\6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part,
on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents
did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's
requests for information, it drew an adverse inference where
appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.\7\
For further information, see the ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
Adverse Inferences'' section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\7\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in
Part
In accordance with section 703(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206,
Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist with
respect to imports of subject merchandise from the mandatory respondent
Changzhou Peicheng Imp. & Exp. Co. (Changzhou Peicheng), which has been
assigned a rate based on total adverse facts available (AFA). Commerce
also preliminarily determines that critical circumstances do not exist
with respect to imports of subject merchandise from mandatory
respondent Suzhou Yacoo Science Co., Ltd. (Suzhou Yacoo) and all other
companies. For a full description of the methodology and results of
Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
Alignment
As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is
aligning the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this
investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping
duty (AD) investigation of Tris from China based on a request made by
the petitioner.\8\ Consequently, the final CVD determination will be
issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is
currently scheduled to be issued no later than February 1, 2027, unless
postponed.
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\8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Request to Align
Final Countervailing Duty Determination with the Companion
Antidumping Duty Final Determination,'' dated August 31, 2026. The
petitioner in this investigation is Advancion Corporation (the
petitioner).
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All-Others Rate
Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the
preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any
zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section
776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily assigned a rate based
entirely on facts available to Changzhou Peicheng. Therefore, the only
rate that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise
available is the rate calculated for Suzhou Yacoo. Consequently, the
rate calculated for Suzhou Yacoo is also assigned as the rate for all
other producers and exporters.
[[Page 60586]]
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Changzhou Peicheng Imp. & Exp. Co......................... * 117.39
Suzhou Yacoo Science Co., Ltd.\9\......................... 20.63
All Others................................................ 20.63
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* This rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.
Suspension of Liquidation
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\9\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with
Suzhou Yacoo: Jining Yacoo New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. and
Yacoo Science (Anqing) Co., Ltd.
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In accordance with section 703(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 the scope of the
investigation section 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 703(d)(1)(B) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.107(e), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash
deposit equal to the estimated company-specific countervailable subsidy
rate 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 individual countervailable subsidy rates determined
in this preliminary determination; (2) if both the producer and
exporter of the subject merchandise have company-specific estimated
subsidy rates determined in this preliminary determination, and their
rates differ, then the applicable cash deposit rate will be the higher
of these two rates; (3) if either the producer or the exporter, but not
both, of the subject merchandise have a company-specific estimated
subsidy rate determined in this preliminary determination, the
applicable cash deposit rate will be that company's company-specific
rate; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and
exporters will be equal to the estimated all-others subsidy rate.
Section 703(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation
shall apply to unliquidated entries of 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 and/or exported by Changzhou Peicheng. In
accordance with section 703(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise from the
exporters/producers 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.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations performed to
interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days
of its public announcement, or if there is no public announcement,
within five days of the date 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. 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 briefs or
rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents
listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\11\ All briefs must
be filed electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document
must be received successfully in its entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on the established deadline.
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\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 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.\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.
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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, 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.
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its 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 imports of Tris from China are materially
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
[[Page 60587]]
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: September 18, 2026.
Steven Presing,
Executive Director for Policy and Negotiations.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise subject to this investigation is
tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris), also commonly referred to as
tromethamine or THAM, and its derivative,
tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane hydrochloride (Tris HCl), also
commonly referred to as Tris hydrochloride or tromethamine HCl. Tris
and Tris HCl are organic compounds with molecular compositions of
C4H11NO3 and C4H11NO3[middot]ClH, respectively. The scope includes
all grades, purities, and forms of Tris and Tris HCl, which vary
based on the raw materials (nitromethane and formaldehyde) used in
the production process and the end use application required. Tris
and Tris HCl are packaged and sold in different forms and sizes,
however, all Tris and Tris HCl are covered regardless of form or
packaging. The Tris and Tris HCl covered by this investigation are
chemical compounds with the Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numbers
77-86-1 and 1185-53 1, respectively. The country of origin of the
subject merchandise in this investigation is based on the country
where the Tris molecule is manufactured. As a result, Tris HCl
manufactured in a third country using Tris produced in China is
subject to the investigation. In addition, reprocessing Tris or Tris
HCl in a third country by, for example, recrystallizing, retesting,
or repackaging the merchandise does not remove the product from the
scope of this investigation. Tris and Tris HCl covered by the scope
of this investigation are currently classified under Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading
2922.19.9690. Although the HTSUS subheading and CAS numbers are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Injury Test
VI. Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances
VII. Analysis of China's Financial System
VIII. Diversification of China's Economy
IX. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
X. Subsidies Valuation Information
XI. Interest Rates and Benchmarks
XII. Analysis of Programs
XIII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2026-19530 Filed 9-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 24, 2026.
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