[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 120 (Monday, June 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37431-37432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-13374]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-489-838, C-533-890]


Certain Quartz Surface Products From India and the Republic of 
Turkey: Countervailing Duty Orders

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), 
Commerce is issuing countervailing duty orders on certain quartz 
surface products (quartz surface products) from India and the Republic 
of Turkey (Turkey).

DATES: Applicable June 22, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristen Johnson at (202-482-4793) 
(India) and Stephanie Berger at (202) 482-2483 (Turkey), AD/CVD 
Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), on May 1, 2020, Commerce published its affirmative 
final determinations that countervailable subsidies are being provided 
to producers and exporters of quartz surface products from India and 
Turkey.\1\ On June 15, 2020, the ITC notified Commerce of its 
affirmative determinations that an industry in the United States is 
materially injured within the meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the 
Act, by reason of subsidized imports of subject merchandise from India 
and Turkey.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Quartz Surface Products from India: Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Affirmative 
Determination of Critical Circumstances, In Part, 85 FR 25398 (May 
1, 2020) (Quartz Surface Products from India Final Determination); 
see also Certain Quartz Surface Products from the Republic of 
Turkey: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, In Part, 
85 FR 25400 (May 1, 2020).
    \2\ See ITC's Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final 
Determinations,'' dated June 15, 2020.
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Scope of the Orders

    The scope of these orders covers quartz surface products from India 
and Turkey. For a complete description of the scope, see the Appendix 
to this notice.

Countervailing Duty Orders

    On June 15, 2020, in accordance with sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 
705(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final 
determinations in these investigations, in which it found that an 
industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of 
imports of quartz surface products from India and Turkey, and that 
critical circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of subject 
merchandise from India and Turkey that are subject to Commerce's 
affirmative critical circumstances findings. Therefore, in accordance 
with section 705(c)(2) of the Act, Commerce is issuing these 
countervailing duty orders. Because the ITC determined that imports of 
quartz surface products from India and Turkey are materially injuring a 
U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from India or 
Turkey, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are 
subject to the assessment of countervailing duties.
    Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce 
will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon 
further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties for all relevant 
entries of quartz surface products from India and Turkey. 
Countervailing duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of 
quartz surface products from India and Turkey entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after October 11, 2019, the date 
of publication of the Preliminary Determinations,\3\ but will not 
include entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional 
measures period and before publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination, as further described below, for all producers and 
exporters except Antique Marbonite Private Limited (Antique Marbonite). 
For Antique Marbonite, countervailing duties will be assessed on 
unliquidated entries of quartz surface products from India entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 1, 2020, the 
date on which Commerce published the Quartz Surface Products from India

[[Page 37432]]

Final Determination in the Federal Register.\4\
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    \3\ See Certain Quartz Surface Products from India: Preliminary 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary 
Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination, In Part, and 
Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 84 FR 54838 (October 11, 2019); see also 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 
54841 (October 11, 2019) (collectively, Preliminary Determinations).
    \4\ See Quartz Surface Products from India Final Determination.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce will instruct 
CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of quartz surface 
products from India and Turkey. We will also instruct CBP to require, 
pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing duties for 
each entry of the subject merchandise in an amount based on the net 
countervailable subsidy rates for the subject merchandise. These 
instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further 
notice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
India:
  Antique Marbonite Private Limited \5\.....................        1.57
  Pokarna Engineered Stone Limited \6\......................        2.34
  All Others................................................        2.17
Turkey:
  Belenco Di[scedil] Ticaret A.[Scedil]. and Peker                  2.43
   Y[uuml]zey Tasar[inodot]mlar[inodot] Sanayi ve Ticaret
   A.[Scedil]\7\............................................
  All Others................................................        2.43
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Critical Circumstances

    With regard to the ITC's negative critical circumstances 
determination on imports of quartz surface products from India and 
Turkey, we will instruct CBP to lift suspension and to refund any cash 
deposits made to secure the payment of estimated countervailing duties 
with respect to entries of the subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after July 13, 2019 
(i.e., 90 days prior to the date of the publication of the Preliminary 
Determinations), but before October 11, 2019 (i.e., the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determinations).
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    \5\ The company's legal name is Antique Marbonite Private 
Limited and trade name is Antique Marbonite Pvt. Ltd. Commerce found 
the following companies to be cross owned with Antique Marbonite 
Private Limited: Antique Granito Shareholders Trust, Prism Johnson 
Limited, and Shivam Enterprise.
    \6\ Commerce found Pokarna Engineered Stone Limited to be cross 
owned with Pokarna Limited.
    \7\ Commerce found the following company to be cross owned with 
Belenco Di[scedil] Ticaret A.[Scedil].: Peker Y[uuml]zey 
Tasar[inodot]mlar[inodot] Sanayi ve Ticaret A.[Scedil].
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Provisional Measures

    Section 703(d) of the Act states that instructions issued pursuant 
to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect 
for more than four months. In the underlying investigations, Commerce 
published the Preliminary Determinations on October 11, 2019. 
Therefore, the four-month period beginning on the date of the 
publication of the Preliminary Determinations ended on February 8, 
2020.
    In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act and our practice, we 
instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to 
liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated 
entries of quartz surface products from India and Turkey entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption after February 8, 2020, the 
date the provisional measures expired, until and through the day 
preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination in the Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will 
resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final determination in 
the Federal Register, for all producers and exporters except Antique 
Marbonite for whom suspension of liquidation began on May 1, 2020, the 
date on which Commerce published the Quartz Surface Products from India 
Final Determination in the Federal Register.\8\
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    \8\ See Quartz Surface Products from India Final Determination.
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Notifications to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the countervailing duty orders with respect 
to quartz surface products from India and Turkey pursuant to section 
706(a) of the Act. Interested parties can find a list of countervailing 
duty orders currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    These orders are issued and published in accordance with section 
706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: June 16, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--Scope of the Orders

    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 orders. However, the scope of the orders 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 these orders 
includes surface products of all other sizes, thicknesses, and 
shapes. In addition to slabs, the scope of these orders 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 orders 
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 orders 
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 orders if performed in the country of manufacture of the quartz 
surface products.
    The scope of the orders does not cover quarried stone surface 
products, such as granite, marble, soapstone, or quartzite. 
Specifically excluded from the scope of the orders 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.

[FR Doc. 2020-13374 Filed 6-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P