[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 86 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35794-35796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09585]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-821-825]


Phosphate Fertilizers from the Russian Federation: Preliminary 
Results and Partial Rescission of the Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2022

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 phosphate fertilizers from the Russian 
Federation (Russia). The period of review (POR) is January 1, 2022, 
through December 31, 2022.

DATES: Applicable May 2, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shane Subler or William Horn, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6241 and (202) 
482-4868, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On June 12, 2023, Commerce published a notice of initiation of an 
administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on 
phosphate fertilizers from Russia.\1\ On November 27, 2023, Commerce 
extended the deadline for the preliminary results of this review until 
April 26, 2024.\2\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 38021 (June 12, 2023) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2022 Countervailing Duty Administrative Review,'' 
dated November 27, 2023.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ 
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included as the appendix to this notice. The Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via 
Enforcement and Compliance's

[[Page 35795]]

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 Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx/.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results and Partial Rescission of the Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2022: Phosphate Fertilizers from the Russian 
Federation,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by the order is phosphate fertilizers. For 
a complete description of the scope of the order, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or in part, if the parties that 
requested the review withdraw their review requests within 90 days of 
the date of publication of the notice of initiation for the requested 
review.\4\ On September 11, 2023, The Mosaic Company (the petitioner) 
withdrew its request for the review of Industrial Group Phosphorite 
LLC, a member of the EuroChem Group, within the 90-day deadline.\5\ No 
other parties requested an administrative review of this company. 
Therefore, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce is 
rescinding the administrative review of Industrial Group Phosphorite 
LLC. For additional information regarding this determination, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \4\ See Initiation Notice, 88 FR 38021.
    \5\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review,'' dated September 11, 
2023.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(l)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each 
of the subsidy programs found to be countervailable, we preliminarily 
determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution from 
an authority that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that 
the subsidy is specific.\6\ For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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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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Preliminary Results of Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the 
following net countervailable subsidy rate for the period January 1, 
2022, through December 31, 2022:
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    \7\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce preliminarily finds the following companies to be cross-
owned with JSC Apatit: PhosAgro Public Joint Stock Company; Limited 
Liability Company PhosAgro-Region; Limited Liability Company 
PhosAgro-Belgorod; Limited Liability Company PhosAgro-Don; Limited 
Liability Company PhosAgro-Kuban; Limited Liability Company 
PhosAgro-Lipetsk; Limited Liability Company PhosAgro-Kursk; Limited 
Liability Company PhosAgro-Orel; Limited Liability Company PhosAgro-
Stavropol; Limited Liability Company PhosAgro-Volga; Limited 
Liability Company PhosAgro-SeveroZapad; Limited Liability Company 
PhosAgro-Tambov; and Limited Liability Company PhosAgro-Sibir.

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                                                                Subsidy
                                                                 rate
                      Producer/exporter                        (percent
                                                                  ad
                                                               valorem)
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Joint Stock Company Apatit \7\..............................       18.83
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations performed to 
interested parties for these preliminary results 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 the Federal 
Register in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.\8\ 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.\9\ Interested parties that 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.\10\
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii); see also 19 CFR 351.303 for 
general filing requirements.
    \9\ 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).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an 
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that 
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, 
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\11\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary 
of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the 
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that 
will accompany the final results in this administrative review. We 
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant 
citations in the public 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).\12\
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    \11\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \12\ See APO and Service Procedures.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and 
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of 
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to 
those raised in the respective case briefs. An electronically filed 
hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety by 
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time 
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.
    Unless the deadline is extended, we intend to issue the final 
results of this administrative review, which will include the results 
of our analysis of the issues raised in the case briefs, within 120 
days of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal 
Register, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.213(h).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon for its final results.

Assessment Rate

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we preliminarily 
assigned a subsidy rate in the amount shown above for the producer/
exporter shown above. Upon completion of the administrative review, 
consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2), 
Commerce shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 
shall assess, countervailing duties on all appropriate entries covered 
by this review.

[[Page 35796]]

    For the company for which this review is rescinded, we will 
instruct CBP to assess countervailing duties on all appropriate entries 
at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties 
required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for 
consumption, during the period January 1, 2022, through December 31, 
2022, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i). We intend to issue 
assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date 
of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
    For the company remaining in the review, we intend to issue 
assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date 
of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal 
Register. If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of 
International Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP not to 
liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request 
for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 90 days of 
publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    In accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends, 
upon publication of the final results, to instruct CBP to collect cash 
deposits of estimated countervailing duties in the amount shown for the 
company (and its cross-owned affiliates) listed above on shipments of 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of 
this administrative review. For all non-reviewed firms, we will 
instruct CBP to continue to collect cash deposits at the most recent 
company-specific or all others rate applicable to the company. These 
cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
further notice.

Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results and partial rescission of review are 
issued and published pursuant to sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of 
the Act, 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: April 26, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Partial Rescission of Review
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Subsidies Valuation Information
VI. Interest Rate Benchmarks and Benchmarks for Measuring the 
Adequacy of Remuneration
VII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-09585 Filed 5-1-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P