[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56292-56295]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14832]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-533-889]


Certain Quartz Surface Products From India: Preliminary Results 
and Rescission, in Part, of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2022-2023

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that certain quartz surface products (quartz surface 
products) from India are not being sold in the United States at below 
normal value during the period of review (POR), June 1, 2022, through 
May 31, 2023. Additionally, Commerce is rescinding this administrative 
review with respect to certain companies. We invite interested parties 
to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable July 9, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel LaCivita or Anjali 
Mehindiratta, 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) 482-4243 or (202) 482-9127, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On June 22, 2020, Commerce published the antidumping duty order on 
quartz surface products from India.\1\ On June 1, 2023, we published in 
the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to request an 
administrative review of the Order.\2\ On August 3, 2023, pursuant to 
section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), 
Commerce initiated an administrative review of the Order covering 77 
entities.\3\ On February 6, 2024, Commerce extended the deadline for 
the preliminary results until June 28, 2024.\4\
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    \1\ See Certain Quartz Surface Products from India and Turkey: 
Antidumping Duty Orders, 85 FR 37422 (June 22, 2020) (Order).
    \2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative 
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 35835 (June 1, 
2023).
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 51271 (August 3, 2023) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated February 
6, 2024.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of

[[Page 56293]]

this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ A list of 
topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is attached as 
Appendix I 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 
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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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order 
Quartz Surface Products from India; 2022-2023,'' dated concurrently 
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this Order are quartz surface products. A 
full description of the scope of the Order is contained in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Rescission of Review, In Part

    As noted above, we initiated this review with respect to 77 
companies.\6\ During the course of the review, we selected two 
mandatory respondents, which included three of the named companies.\7\ 
As a consequence, there are 74 companies upon which review was 
requested and which were not selected for individual examination.
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    \6\ See Initiation Notice. Commerce previously determined that 
Antique Marbonite Pvt Ltd., Prism Johnson Limited, and Shivam 
Enterprises are affiliated and treated these companies were as a 
single entity; thus, they were listed together in the Initiation 
Notice. See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 51274. See also Certain 
Quartz Surface Products from India: Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Final Negative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances, 85 FR 25391 (May 1, 2020).
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated September 
14, 2023. In the prior review, we treated Marudhar Rocks 
International Pvt. Ltd. and Marudhar Quartz Surface Private Limited 
as a single entity. See Certain Quartz Surface Products from India: 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, and Final 
Determination of No Shipments; 2021-2022, 88 FR 80689 (November 20, 
2023).
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    Commerce received timely withdrawal requests with respect to 24 
companies upon which we initiated the review within 90 days of the date 
of publication of the Initiation Notice. Therefore, Commerce is 
rescinding this review, in part, with respect to these 24 companies in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).\8\ In addition, pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.213(d)(3), Commerce will rescind an administrative review when 
there are no reviewable suspended entries. Based on our analysis of 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) information, 10 companies 
listed in the Initiation Notice had no entries of subject merchandise 
during the POR, including six for which timely withdrawals of requests 
for review were submitted and four for which no withdrawal requests 
were submitted. On May 6, 2024, we notified parties of our intent to 
rescind this administrative review with respect to the 10 companies 
that had no reviewable suspended entries during the POR.\9\ No party to 
the proceeding provided comments on our Intent to Rescind Memorandum. 
As a result, we are rescinding this review, in part, with respect to 
the four entities which had no entries in the POR and for which 
withdrawal requests were not previously received from all parties 
requesting review.\10\ Therefore, we are rescinding this review, in 
part, with respect to a total of 28 companies.\11\
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    \8\ See Appendix II .
    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Notice of Intent to Rescind Review, In 
Part,'' dated May 6, 2024 (Intent to Rescind Memorandum).
    \10\ See Appendix II.
    \11\ Id.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Act. Export price was calculated in accordance with 
section 772 of the Act. Normal value was calculated in accordance with 
section 773 of the Act. For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Rate for Non-Examined Companies

    The Act and Commerce's regulations do not directly address the 
establishment of a rate to be applied to individual companies not 
selected for examination when Commerce limits its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. 
Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, which 
provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a market 
economy investigation, for guidance when calculating the rate for 
companies which were not selected for individual review in an 
administrative review. Under section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act, the all-
others rate is normally ``an amount equal to the weighted average of 
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for 
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero 
or de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely {on the 
basis of facts available{time} .''
    In this administrative review, we preliminarily calculated dumping 
margins of zero percent for both Marudhar Rocks and PESL. Thus, in 
accordance with the expected method, we preliminary assigned to the 
non-selected companies a zero percent rate, based on the rates 
calculated for the two mandatory respondents. As a consequence, if 
these results are unchanged in the final results of review, we will 
liquidate the entries of Marudhar, PESL and the non-selected companies 
without regard to antidumping duties.

Preliminary Results of Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the 
following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist for the 
period June 1, 2022, through May 31, 2023:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                    Producer/exporter                         dumping
                                                              margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pokarna Engineered Stone Limited........................            0.00
Marudhar Rocks International Pvt. Ltd./Marudhar Quartz              0.00
 Surface Private Limited................................
Non-Individually Examined Companies \12\................            0.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See Appendix III.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in 
connection with these preliminary results to interested parties within 
five days after the date of publication of this notice, 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).\13\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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    Interested parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice.\14\ Rebuttal briefs, 
limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no later than 
five days after the date for filing case briefs.\15\ 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.\16\
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii)
    \15\ 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).
    \16\ 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 briefs that should be limited to five pages 
total,

[[Page 56294]]

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.\17\ 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).\18\
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    \17\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \18\ See APO and Service Procedures.
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    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, using Enforcement and 
Compliance's ACCESS system within 30 days of publication of this 
notice.\19\ Requests should contain the party's name, address, and 
telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues 
to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those 
raised in the case and rebuttal briefs. If a request for a hearing is 
made, we will inform parties of the scheduled date for the hearing at a 
time and location to be determined.\20\ Parties should confirm by 
telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing no fewer than two 
days before the scheduled date. Parties are reminded that all briefs 
and hearing requests must be filed electronically using ACCESS and 
received successfully in their entirety by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 
the due date.
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    \19\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \20\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
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    Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), Commerce will issue the final results 
of this administrative review, including the results of our analysis of 
the issues raised by the parties in their case briefs, not later than 
120 days after the date of publication of this notice, pursuant to 
section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping 
duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review. The final 
results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of 
antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by this review and 
for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.\21\ Commerce 
intends 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).
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    \21\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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    If the respective weighted-average dumping margins are above de 
minimis (i.e., 0.50 percent) in the final results of this review, we 
will calculate importer-specific ad valorem antidumping duty assessment 
rates based on the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for 
the importer's examined sales to the total entered value of those same 
sales in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\22\ If the respondent 
has not reported entered values, we will calculate a per-unit 
assessment rate for each importer by dividing the total amount of 
dumping calculated for the examined sales made to that importer by the 
total quantity associated with those sales. We will instruct CBP to 
assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this 
review when the importer-specific assessment rate calculated in the 
final results of this review is above de minimis (i.e., 0.50 percent). 
Where either the respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is zero 
or de minimis, or an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de 
minimis, we will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries 
without regard to antidumping duties. The final results of this review 
shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries 
of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for 
future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.\23\
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    \22\ In these preliminary results, Commerce applied the 
assessment rate calculation method adopted in Antidumping 
Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and 
Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings; Final 
Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012).
    \23\ See section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act.
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    In accordance with Commerce's ``automatic assessment'' practice, 
for entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by the 
respondents for which they did not know that the merchandise was 
destined for the United States, we will instruct CBP to liquidate 
entries not reviewed at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the 
intermediate company(ies) involved in the transaction.
    For the companies which were not selected for individual 
examination, we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties at an ad 
valorem assessment rate equal to the company-specific weighted-average 
dumping margin determined in these final results. For the companies for 
which the administrative review is rescinded, antidumping duties shall 
be assessed at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated 
antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from 
warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the notice of the final results of the administrative 
review for all shipments of quartz surface products from India entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of the final results, as provided by section 751(a)(2) of 
the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for each company listed above will 
be equal to the dumping margins established in the final results of 
this review, except if the ultimate rate is de minimis within the 
meaning of 19 CFR 351.106(c)(1), in which case the cash deposit rates 
will be zero; (2) for merchandise exported by producers or exporters 
not covered in this administrative review but covered in a prior 
segment of the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be 
the company-specific rate published for the most recently completed 
segment of this proceeding in which the producer or exporter 
participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, 
a prior review, or the original LTFV investigation but the producer is, 
then the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most 
recently completed segment of the proceeding for the producer of the 
merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers or 
exporters will continue to be 1.02 percent, the all-others rate 
established in the antidumping duty investigation.\24\ These cash 
deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
further notice.
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    \24\ See Order, 85 FR at 37423.
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Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR

[[Page 56295]]

351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of 
antidumping and/or countervailing duties prior to liquidation of the 
relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement 
of antidumping and/or countervailing duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties, and/or an increase in the 
amount of antidumping duties by the amount of the countervailing 
duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), and 
19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: June 28, 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 I--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Rescission of Review, In Part
V. Companies Not Selected for Individual Examination
VI. Discussion of Methodology
VII. Currency Conversion
VIII. Recommendation

Appendix II--Companies Rescinded from Administrative Review

    Companies for which all requests for review were timely 
withdrawn:
1 Advantis Quartz LLP
2 Chaitanya International Minerals LLP
3 Colors of Rainbow
4 EELQ Stone LLP
5 Geetanjali Quartz Pvt Ltd.
6 GS Exim
7 Haique Stones Inc.
8 INANI Marble and Industries Ltd.
9 Jyothi Quartz Surfaces
10 Krishna Sai Exports
11 Modern Surface Inc.
12 MQ surfaces Pvt Ltd.
13 Nice Quartz and Stones Pvt Ltd.
14 Paradigm Granite Pvt Ltd.
15 Pristine Quartz Pvt. Ltd.
16 Rudra Quartz LLP
17 Shivam Surface India LLP
18 Square Ft. Marble and granite
19 Stone Empire Pvt. Ltd.
20 SVG Exports Pvt Ltd.
21 Taanj Quartz Inc.
22 Tab Quartz
23 Trident Surface
24 Universall Granites
    Companies reflecting no entries during the administrative review 
period and for which no comment was received in opposition to the 
Intent to Rescind Memorandum:
25 Amazoone Ceramics Ltd.
26 Pelican Grani Marmo Pvt. Ltd.
27 PM Quartz Surfaces Pvt Ltd.
28 RMC Readymix Porselano India Limited

Appendix III--Non-Individually Examined Companies Receiving a Review-
Specific Rate

1 3HQ Surfaces Pvt. Ltd.
2 Antique Granito Shareholders Trust
3 Antique Marbonite Pvt Ltd; Prism Johnson Limited; Shivam 
Enterprises
4 Argil Ceramics
5 ARO Granite Industries Ltd.
6 ASI Industries Limited
7 Asian Granito India Ltd.
8 Baba Super Minerals Pvt Ltd.
9 Camrola Quartz Limited
10 Classic Marble Co Pvt Ltd.
11 Cuarzo
12 Divine Surfaces Private Limited
13 Divya Shakti Granites Ltd.
14 Divya Shakti Ltd.
15 Esprit Stones Pvt Ltd.
16 Evetis Stone Pvt Ltd.
17 Global Stones Pvt. Ltd.
18 Global Surfaces Ltd.
19 Glowstone Industries Pvt Ltd.
20 Hi Elite Quartz LLP
21 Imperiaal Granimarmo Pvt Ltd.
22 Indus Trade and Technology LLC
23 Internaational Stones India Pvt. Ltd.
24 Keros Stone LLP
25 Mahi Granites Pvt Ltd.
26 Malbros Marbles and Granites Industries
27 Mountmine Impex Pvt Ltd.
28 Pacific Industries Ltd.
29 Pacific Quartz Surfaces LLP
30 Paradigm Stone India Pvt Ltd.
31 Pelican Buildmat Pvt Ltd.
32 Pelican Quartz Stone
33 QuartzKraft LLP
34 Renshou Industries
35 Rocks Forever
36 Safayar Ceramics Pvt Ltd.
37 Satya Exports
38 Shanmukha Exports
39 Southern Rocks and Minerals Pvt Ltd.
40 Sunex Stones Pvt Ltd.
41 Tab India Granites Pvt. Ltd.
42 Universal Marketing Agencies Private Limited
43 Universal Quartz & Natural Stones Pvt Ltd.
44 Venkata Sri Balaji Quartz Surfaces

[FR Doc. 2024-14832 Filed 7-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P