[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 85 (Friday, May 1, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25400-25402]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09408]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-489-838]


Certain Quartz Surface Products From the Republic of Turkey: 
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final 
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, In Part

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters 
of certain quartz surface products (quartz surface products) from the 
Republic of Turkey (Turkey).

DATES: Applicable May 1, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Berger or Peter Zukowski, 
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) 482-2483 
or (202) 482-0189, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 11, 2019, Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination of the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation, which 
aligned the final determination in this CVD investigation with the 
final determination in the companion antidumping duty (AD) 
investigation of quartz surface products from Turkey.\1\
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    \1\ See Certain Quartz Surface Products from the Republic of 
Turkey: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 
Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination, and 
Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 84 FR 54843 (October 11, 2019) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
(PDM).
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    A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the 
Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues 
raised by parties for this final determination, are discussed in the 
Issues and Decision

[[Page 25401]]

Memorandum, which is hereby adopted by this notice.\2\ The Issues and 
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 https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete 
version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed and 
electronic versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical 
in content.
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    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decisions Memorandum for the 
Final Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of 
Certain Quartz Surface Products from Turkey,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decisions 
Memorandum).
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Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation is January 1, 2018 through December 31, 
2018.

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are quartz surface 
products from Turkey. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    On December 4, 2019, we issued a Preliminary Scope Memorandum.\3\ 
We received no scope case briefs from interested parties. Therefore, 
Commerce has made no changes to the scope of this investigation since 
the Preliminary Determination.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Quartz Surface Products from India 
and Turkey: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated December 
4, 2019.
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Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    The subsidy programs under investigation and the issues raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in this investigation are 
discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues 
that parties raised is attached to this notice as Appendix II.

Methodology

    Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section 
701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each of the 
subsidy programs found countervailable, Commerce 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.\4\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
final determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    \4\ 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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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, in December 2019, we 
conducted verification of the information submitted by the Government 
of Turkey \5\ and the mandatory respondent, Belenco Di[scedil] Ticaret 
A.[Scedil]. (Belenco), for use in Commerce's final determination. We 
used standard verification procedures, including an examination of 
relevant accounting records and original source documents provided by 
the respondents.\6\
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Verification of the Questionnaire 
Responses of the Republic of Turkey,'' dated January 23, 2020.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Verification of the Questionnaire 
Responses of Belenco Di[scedil] Ticaret A [Scedil].,'' dated January 
23, 2020.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties and our verification findings, we made certain changes to the 
subsidy rate calculations for Belenco. For a discussion of these 
changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, In Part

    In accordance with section 703(e)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce 
preliminarily determined that critical circumstances existed for all 
imports of quartz surface products from Turkey.\7\ Upon further 
analysis of the data following the Preliminary Determination, we are 
modifying our findings for the final determination.\8\ Specifically, in 
accordance with section 705(a)(2) of the Act, we find that critical 
circumstances do not exist with respect to imports from Belenco. We 
continue to find, as we did in the Preliminary Determination, that 
critical circumstances exist with respect to imports from all other 
companies. For a full description of the methodology and results of 
Commerce's analysis, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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    \7\ See Preliminary Determination.
    \8\ See Issues and Decisions Memorandum at 2-3.
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All-Others Rate

    We continue to assign the countervailable subsidy rate calculated 
for Belenco as the all-others rate applicable to all exporters and/or 
producers not individually examined.\9\
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    \9\ See Preliminary Determination.
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Final Determination

    In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, we 
calculated an individual estimated subsidy rate for Belenco. We 
determine the total estimated net countervailable subsidy rate to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                      Producer/exporter                        rate (%)
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Belenco Di[scedil] Ticaret A.[Scedil]. and Peker Y[uuml]zey         2.43
 Tasar[inodot]lar[inodot] Sanayi ve Tic. A.[Scedil].\10\....
    All Others..............................................        2.43
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Disclosure
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    \10\ As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce 
found the following company to be cross-owned with Belenco Dis 
Ticaret AS: Peker Y[uuml]zey Tasar[inodot]lar[inodot] Sanayi ve Tic. 
A.[Scedil]. No party commented on this finding in the case briefs.
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    We intend to disclose to interested parties the calculations and 
analysis performed in this final determination within five days of the 
date of the publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    As a result of our Preliminary Determination, and pursuant to 
sections 703(d)(I)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce instructed U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries 
of subject merchandise, as described in the scope of the investigation 
section, that was entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption 
on or after August 13, 2019, which is 90 days prior to the publication 
of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register. In accordance 
with section 703(d) of the Act, we issued instructions to CBP to 
discontinue the suspension of liquidation for countervailing duty (CVD) 
purposes for subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
on or after February 8, 2020 but to continue the suspension of 
liquidation of all entries from August 13, 2019 through February 7, 
2020.
    Because we find critical circumstances do not exist for Belenco, we 
will direct CBP to terminate the retroactive suspension of liquidation 
ordered at the Preliminary Determination and release any cash deposits 
that were required prior to October 11, 2019, the date of publication 
of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register, consistent 
with section 705(c)(3) of the Act.
    If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final 
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a CVD order, reinstate 
the suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of the Act, and will 
require a cash

[[Page 25402]]

deposit of estimated countervailing duties for such entries of subject 
merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If the ITC determines that 
material injury, or threat of material injury, does not exist, this 
proceeding will be terminated and all estimated duties deposited or 
securities posted as a result of the suspension of liquidation will be 
refunded or canceled.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our determination. Because the final determination in this 
proceeding is affirmative, in accordance with section 705(b) of the 
Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the 
domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or 
threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of quartz surface 
products from Turkey no later than 45 days after our final 
determination. If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of 
material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and 
all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC determines that material 
injury or threat of material injury does exist, Commerce will issue a 
CVD order directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by 
Commerce, countervailing duties on all imports of the subject 
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed 
above in the ``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    In the event the ITC issues a final negative injury determination, 
this notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an APO of 
their responsibility concerning the destruction of proprietary 
information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return or destruction 
of APO materials, or conversion to judicial protective order, is hereby 
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO 
is a violation subject to sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

    Dated: April 27, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by the investigation is certain quartz 
surface products. Quartz surface products consist of slabs and other 
surfaces created from a mixture of materials that includes 
predominately silica (e.g., quartz, quartz powder, cristobalite, 
glass powder) as well as a resin binder (e.g., an unsaturated 
polyester). The incorporation of other materials, including, but not 
limited to, pigments, cement, or other additives does not remove the 
merchandise from the scope of the investigation. However, the scope 
of the investigation only includes products where the silica content 
is greater than any other single material, by actual weight. Quartz 
surface products are typically sold as rectangular slabs with a 
total surface area of approximately 45 to 60 square feet and a 
nominal thickness of one, two, or three centimeters. However, the 
scope of this investigation includes surface products of all other 
sizes, thicknesses, and shapes. In addition to slabs, the scope of 
this investigation includes, but is not limited to, other surfaces 
such as countertops, backsplashes, vanity tops, bar tops, work tops, 
tabletops, flooring, wall facing, shower surrounds, fire place 
surrounds, mantels, and tiles. Certain quartz surface products are 
covered by the investigation whether polished or unpolished, cut or 
uncut, fabricated or not fabricated, cured or uncured, edged or not 
edged, finished or unfinished, thermoformed or not thermoformed, 
packaged or unpackaged, and regardless of the type of surface 
finish.
    In addition, quartz surface products are covered by the 
investigation whether or not they are imported attached to, or in 
conjunction with, non-subject merchandise such as sinks, sink bowls, 
vanities, cabinets, and furniture. If quartz surface products are 
imported attached to, or in conjunction with, such non-subject 
merchandise, only the quartz surface product is covered by the 
scope.
    Subject merchandise includes material matching the above 
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise 
fabricated in a third country, including by cutting, polishing, 
curing, edging, thermoforming, attaching to, or packaging with 
another product, or any other finishing, packaging, or fabrication 
that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of 
the investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the 
quartz surface products.
    The scope of the investigation does not cover quarried stone 
surface products, such as granite, marble, soapstone, or quartzite. 
Specifically excluded from the scope of the investigation are 
crushed glass surface products. Crushed glass surface products must 
meet each of the following criteria to qualify for this exclusion: 
(1) The crushed glass content is greater than any other single 
material, by actual weight; (2) there are pieces of crushed glass 
visible across the surface of the product; (3) at least some of the 
individual pieces of crushed glass that are visible across the 
surface are larger than 1 centimeter wide as measured at their 
widest cross-section (``Glass Pieces''); and (4) the distance 
between any single Glass Piece and the closest separate Glass Piece 
does not exceed three inches.
    The products subject to the scope are currently classified in 
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under 
the following subheading: 6810.99.0010. Subject merchandise may also 
enter under subheadings 6810.11.0010, 6810.11.0070, 6810.19.1200, 
6810.19.1400, 6810.19.5000, 6810.91.0000, 6810.99.0080, 
6815.99.4070, 2506.10.0010, 2506.10.0050, 2506.20.0010, 
2506.20.0080, and 7016.90.1050. The HTSUS subheadings set forth 
above are provided for convenience and U.S. Customs purposes only. 
The written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Final Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Final Determination of Critical Circumstances
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1: Whether Commerce Should Apply Adverse Facts Available 
(AFA) to the Local Fair Support Program
    Comment 2: Whether Commerce Should Countervail the Value-Added 
Tax (VAT) Exemption Granted Under the Regional Investment Incentive 
Scheme (RIIS)
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2020-09408 Filed 4-30-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P