Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 216 (Tuesday, November 10, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 216 (Tuesday, November 10, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72524-72526]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22941]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-922]


Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol From the Republic of Korea: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 
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 polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) from the 
Republic of Korea (Korea) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of 
investigation (POI) is April 1, 2025, through March 31, 2026. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable November 10, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alexander Cipolla or Travis Hargett, 
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) 482-4956 
or (202) 482-4604, respectively.

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 May 5, 
2026.\1\ On August 28, 2026, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation, and the revised deadline is now 
November 4, 2026.\2\
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    \1\ See Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol from the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 91 FR 24162 (May 5, 2026) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol from the People's 
Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of 
Antidumping Duty Investigations, 91 FR 55514 (August 28, 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 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). ACCESS 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 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 
Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol from the Republic of Korea,'' 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 PTMEG from Korea. 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. For a summary of the product coverage comments 
and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this preliminary 
determination, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments 
timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
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).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 91 FR at 24162.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Less-than-Fair-Value Investigations of 
Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol from the People's Republic of China, 
the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently 
with this preliminary determination (Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772 of the Act. Normal

[[Page 72525]]

value is calculated in accordance with section 773 of the Act. 
Furthermore, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce 
has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with adverse 
inferences for BASF Company Ltd. For a full description of the 
methodology underlying the preliminary determination, 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 
weighted-average dumping margin for all exporters and producers not 
individually examined, i.e., the all-others rate. 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 preliminarily assigned a rate based 
entirely on facts available to BASF Company Ltd. Therefore, the only 
rate that is not zero, de minimis or based entirely on facts otherwise 
available is the rate calculated for Korea PTG Co., Ltd. (KPTG). 
Consequently, the estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated 
for KPTG is also assigned as the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin for all other producers and exporters.

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                    Exporter or producer                        dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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Korea PTG Co., Ltd..........................................       25.32
BASF Company Ltd............................................     * 49.79
All Others..................................................       25.32
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* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.

Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements

    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 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. 
These suspension of liquidation instructions and cash deposit 
requirements will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations 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

    Non-scope related 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.\7\ 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.\8\
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    \7\ 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).
    \8\ 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.\9\ 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).\10\
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    \9\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \10\ 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 
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

[[Page 72526]]

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.
    On October 23, 2026, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), KPTG requested 
that Commerce postpone the final determination and that provisional 
measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months.\11\ 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 exporter accounts 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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    \11\ See KPTG's Letter, ``Request for Extension of Final 
Determination,'' dated October 23, 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: November 4, 2026.
Scot Fullerton,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by the investigation is 
polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG), which is a polymer 
consisting of linear diols (i.e., organic chemical compound that has 
two hydroxyl (-OH) functional groups) with a molecular backbone of 
repeating tetramethylene units (-CH2CH2CH2CH2-) interconnected 
through ether bonds (i.e., a single oxygen atom bonded to two carbon 
atoms), with a chemical formula HO{(CH2)4{time} nOH. PTMEG is also 
referred to as Polytetrahydrofuran, PTHF, Polytetramethylene ether 
glycol, PTMG, and Polybutylene glycol. PTMEG is typically blended 
with butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) or another stabilizer such as 
higher molecular weight hindered phenols or phosphoric acid. In 
addition to a stabilizer, PTMEG is sometimes blended with a modifier 
or additive, such as phosphoric acid or sulfuric acid. The scope 
includes all blends consisting of PTMEG and stabilizers, modifiers, 
and/or additives, where the stabilizers, modifiers, and/or additives 
collectively account for no more than two percent of the total 
weight of the PTMEG blend. PTMEG is normally associated with 
Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number 25190-06-1.
    The scope includes all forms of PTMEG, regardless of physical 
form, purity, molecular weight, number of hydroxyls, number of 
acids, color, density, softening point, glass transition point, 
flash point, water content, viscosity, and packaging. PTMEG that has 
been blended with other products is included within this scope when 
such blends include constituent parts that have been intermingled 
but that have not been chemically reacted with each other to produce 
a different product. For such blends, only the PTMEG component of 
the mixture, inclusive of any stabilizers, modifiers, and/or 
additives collectively accounting for no more than two percent of 
the combined weight of the PTMEG component and the stabilizers, 
modifiers, and/or additives, is covered by the scope of the 
investigation.
    The scope includes merchandise matching the above description 
that has been processed in a third country, including by 
commingling, diluting, introducing, or removing stabilizers, 
modifiers, or 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 PTMEG that is commingled or blended with PTMEG from sources 
not subject to the investigation. Only the subject component of such 
commingled products is covered by the scope of the investigation.
    The subject merchandise is classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under subheading 3907.29.0000. 
Subject merchandise may also be imported under HTSUS subheadings 
2932.11.0000 and 3404.90.5150. Although the HTSUS subheading and CAS 
registry number 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. Period of Investigation
IV. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Currency Conversion
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2026-22941 Filed 11-9-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P


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