[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41993-41995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10502]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation Nos. 701-TA-694 and 731-TA-1641-1642 (Final)]


Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates From China and Japan; 
Scheduling of the Final Phase of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Investigations

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of the 
final phase of antidumping and countervailing duty investigation Nos. 
701-TA-694 and 731-TA-1641-1642 (Final) pursuant to the Tariff Act of 
1930 (``the Act'') to determine whether an industry in the United 
States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the 
establishment of an industry in the United States is materially 
retarded, by reason of imports of aluminum lithographic printing plates 
from China and Japan, provided for in subheading 3701.30.00 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, preliminarily 
determined by the Department of Commerce (``Commerce'') to be 
subsidized by the government of China and sold at less-than-fair-value.

DATES: May 1, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Celia Feldpausch (202) 205-2387, 
Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need 
special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact 
the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information 
concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its 
internet server (https://www.usitc.gov). The public record for these 
investigations may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket 
(EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Scope.--For purposes of these investigations, Commerce has defined 
the subject merchandise as ``. . . aluminum lithographic printing 
plates. Aluminum lithographic printing plates consist of a flat 
substrate containing at least 90 percent aluminum. The aluminum-
containing substrate is generally treated using a mechanical, 
electrochemical, or chemical graining process, which is followed by one 
or more anodizing treatments that form a hydrophilic layer on the 
aluminum-containing substrate. An image-recording, oleophilic layer 
that is sensitive to light, including but not limited to ultra-violet, 
visible, or infrared, is dispersed in a polymeric binder material that 
is applied on top of the hydrophilic layer, generally on one side of 
the aluminum lithographic printing plate. The oleophilic light-
sensitive layer is capable of capturing an image that is transferred 
onto the plate by either light or heat. The image applied to an 
aluminum lithographic printing plate facilitates the production of 
newspapers, magazines, books, yearbooks, coupons, packaging, and other 
printed materials through an offset printing process, where an aluminum 
lithographic printing plate facilitates the transfer of an image onto 
the printed media. Aluminum lithographic printing plates within the 
scope of these investigations include all aluminum lithographic 
printing plates, irrespective of the dimensions or thickness of the 
underlying aluminum substrate, whether the plate requires processing 
after an image is applied to the plate, whether the plate is ready to 
be mounted to a press and used in printing operations immediately after 
an image is applied to the plate, or whether the plate has been exposed 
to light or heat to create an image on the plate or remains unexposed 
and is free of any image.
    Subject merchandise also includes aluminum lithographic printing 
plates produced from an aluminum sheet coil that has been coated with a 
light-sensitive image recording layer in a subject country and that is 
subsequently unwound and cut to the final dimensions to produce a 
finished plate in a third country (including the United States), or 
exposed to light or heat to create an image on the plate in a third 
country (including in a foreign trade zone within the United States).
    Excluded from the scope of these investigations are lithographic 
printing

[[Page 41994]]

plates manufactured using a substrate produced from a material other 
than aluminum, such as rubber or plastic. Aluminum lithographic 
printing plates are currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff of 
the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 3701.30.0000 and 3701.99.6060.
    Further, merchandise that falls within the scope of these 
investigations may also be entered into the United States under HTSUS 
subheadings 3701.99.3000 and 8442.50.1000. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the scope of these investigations is 
dispositive.''
    Background.--The final phase of these investigations is being 
scheduled pursuant to sections 705(b) and 731(b) of the Tariff Act of 
1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b) and 1673d(b)), as a result of affirmative 
preliminary determinations by Commerce that certain benefits which 
constitute subsidies within the meaning of Sec.  703 of the Act (19 
U.S.C. 1671b) are being provided to manufacturers, producers, or 
exporters in China of aluminum lithographic printing plates, and that 
imports of such products from China and Japan are being sold in the 
United States at less than fair value within the meaning of Sec.  733 
of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673b). The investigations were requested in 
petitions filed on September 28, 2023, by Eastman Kodak Company, 
Rochester, New York.
    For further information concerning the conduct of this phase of the 
investigations, hearing procedures, and rules of general application, 
consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, 
subparts A and B (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A and C (19 
CFR part 207).
    Participation in the investigations and public service list.--
Persons, including industrial users of the subject merchandise and, if 
the merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer 
organizations, wishing to participate in the final phase of these 
investigations as parties must file an entry of appearance with the 
Secretary to the Commission, as provided in Sec.  201.11 of the 
Commission's rules, no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date 
specified in this notice. A party that filed a notice of appearance 
during the preliminary phase of the investigations need not file an 
additional notice of appearance during this final phase. The Secretary 
will maintain a public service list containing the names and addresses 
of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the 
investigations.
    Please note the Secretary's Office will accept only electronic 
filings during this time. Filings must be made through the Commission's 
Electronic Document Information System (EDIS, https://edis.usitc.gov). 
No in-person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic 
filings will be accepted until further notice.
    Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under 
an administrative protective order (APO) and BPI service list.--
Pursuant to Sec.  207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary 
will make BPI gathered in the final phase of these investigations 
available to authorized applicants under the APO issued in the 
investigations, provided that the application is made no later than 21 
days prior to the hearing date specified in this notice. Authorized 
applicants must represent interested parties, as defined by 19 U.S.C. 
1677(9), who are parties to the investigations. A party granted access 
to BPI in the preliminary phase of the investigations need not reapply 
for such access. A separate service list will be maintained by the 
Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
    Staff report.--The prehearing staff report in the final phase of 
these investigations will be placed in the nonpublic record on August 
28, 2024, and a public version will be issued thereafter, pursuant to 
Sec.  207.22 of the Commission's rules.
    Hearing.--The Commission will hold a hearing in connection with the 
final phase of these investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, 
September 12, 2024. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed 
in writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before Friday, 
September 6, 2024. Any requests to appear as a witness via 
videoconference must be included with your request to appear. Requests 
to appear via videoconference must include a statement explaining why 
the witness cannot appear in person; the Chairman, or other person 
designated to conduct the investigations, may in their discretion for 
good cause shown, grant such a request. Requests to appear as remote 
witness due to illness or a positive COVID-19 test result may be 
submitted by 3pm the business day prior to the hearing. Further 
information about participation in the hearing will be posted on the 
Commission's website at https://www.usitc.gov/calendarpad/calendar.html.
    A nonparty who has testimony that may aid the Commission's 
deliberations may request permission to present a short statement at 
the hearing. All parties and nonparties desiring to appear at the 
hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing 
conference, if deemed necessary, to be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 
September 10, 2024. Parties shall file and serve written testimony and 
presentation slides in connection with their presentation at the 
hearing by no later than 4:00 p.m. on September 11, 2024 (one business 
day prior to hearing). Oral testimony and written materials to be 
submitted at the public hearing are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2), 
201.13(f), and 207.24 of the Commission's rules. Parties must submit 
any request to present a portion of their hearing testimony in camera 
no later than 7 business days prior to the date of the hearing.
    Written submissions.--Each party who is an interested party shall 
submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. Prehearing briefs must 
conform with the provisions of Sec.  207.23 of the Commission's rules; 
the deadline for filing is September 5, 2024. Parties shall also file 
written testimony in connection with their presentation at the hearing, 
and posthearing briefs, which must conform with the provisions of Sec.  
207.25 of the Commission's rules. The deadline for filing posthearing 
briefs is September 19, 2024. In addition, any person who has not 
entered an appearance as a party to the investigations may submit a 
written statement of information pertinent to the subject of the 
investigations, including statements of support or opposition to the 
petitions, on or before September 19, 2024. On October 4, 2024, the 
Commission will make available to parties all information on which they 
have not had an opportunity to comment. Parties may submit final 
comments on this information on or before October 8, 2024, but such 
final comments must not contain new factual information and must 
otherwise comply with Sec.  207.30 of the Commission's rules. All 
written submissions must conform with the provisions of Sec.  201.8 of 
the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain BPI must also 
conform with the requirements of Sec. Sec.  201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of 
the Commission's rules. The Commission's Handbook on Filing Procedures, 
available on the Commission's website at https://www.usitc.gov/documents/handbook_on_filing_procedures.pdf, elaborates upon the 
Commission's procedures with respect to filings.
    Additional written submissions to the Commission, including 
requests pursuant to Sec.  201.12 of the Commission's rules, shall not 
be accepted unless good cause is shown for accepting such submissions, 
or unless

[[Page 41995]]

the submission is pursuant to a specific request by a Commissioner or 
Commission staff.
    In accordance with Sec. Sec.  201.16(c) and 207.3 of the 
Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the 
investigations must be served on all other parties to the 
investigations (as identified by either the public or BPI service 
list), and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary 
will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service.
    Authority: These investigations are being conducted under authority 
of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published 
pursuant to Sec.  207.21 of the Commission's rules.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: May 9, 2024.
Lisa Barton,
Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2024-10502 Filed 5-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P