[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59057-59059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15979]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-274-811]


Melamine From Trinidad and Tobago: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination 
With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

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 melamine from Trinidad and Tobago. The 
period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable July 22, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colin Thrasher, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3004.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on March 11, 
2024.\1\ On April 18, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation until July 15, 2024.\2\
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    \1\ See Melamine from Germany, India, Qatar, and Trinidad and 
Tobago: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR 
17381 (March 11, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Melamine from Germany, India, Qatar, and Trinidad and 
Tobago: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR 27714 (April 18, 2024).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Melamine from Trinidad and Tobago,'' dated concurrently with, and 
hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is melamine from Trinidad 
and Tobago. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\5\ No interested 
party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines

[[Page 59058]]

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.\6\
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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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    Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied on facts 
available and, because it finds that one or more respondents did not 
act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for 
information, it drew an adverse inference where appropriate in 
selecting from among the facts otherwise available.\7\ For further 
information, see the ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse 
Inferences'' section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \7\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is 
aligning the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping 
duty (AD) investigation of melamine from Trinidad and Tobago based on a 
request made by the petitioner.\8\ Consequently, the final CVD 
determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD 
determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than 
November 25, 2024, unless postponed.
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    \8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Request to Align 
Countervailing Duty Investigation Final Determination with 
Antidumping Duty Investigation Final Determination,'' dated June 11, 
2024. The petitioner is Cornerstone Chemical Company.
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All-Others Rate

    Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in the 
preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-
others rate for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be 
an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates 
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any 
zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section 
776 of the Act.
    Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, if the individual 
estimated countervailable subsidy rates established for all exporters 
and producers individually examined are zero, de minimis, or determined 
based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any 
reasonable method to establish the estimated subsidy rate for all other 
producers or exporters. Commerce has preliminarily determined the 
individually estimated subsidy rate for the individually examined 
respondent, Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Ltd. (MHTL), under section 776 
of the Act. There is no other exporter/producer under investigation. 
Consequently, the rate calculated for MHTL is also assigned as the rate 
for all other producers and exporters.

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Ltd........................            5.13
All Others..............................................            5.13
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, 
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in 
the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), 
Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates 
indicated above.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of its public announcement, 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). However, because Commerce 
preliminarily applied total adverse facts available (AFA) to the 
respondent in this investigation, in accordance with section 776 of the 
Act, and the applied AFA rates are based on rates calculated in prior 
proceedings, there are no calculations to disclose.
    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if 
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial 
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent 
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete 
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR 
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce 
will address such allegations in the final determination together with 
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.

Verification

    Because the examined respondent in this investigation did not 
provide information requested by Commerce and Commerce preliminarily 
determines the examined respondent failed to cooperate by not acting to 
the best of its ability to respond to Commerce's request for 
information pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act, it will not conduct 
verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination. 
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 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.\10\
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    \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 Final Rule).
    \10\ See 19 351.309(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 investigation, 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 executive 
summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including 
citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the 
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that 
will accompany the final determination in this investigation. We 
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant 
citations in the 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 Final Rule.

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[[Page 59059]]

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be 
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If 
the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before 
the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination 
or 45 days after the final determination whether imports of melamine 
from Trinidad and Tobago are materially injuring, or threaten material 
injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: July 15, 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

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to this investigation is melamine 
(Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number 108-78-01, 
molecular formula C3 H6 N6). Melamine is also known as 2,4,6-
triamino-s-triazine; 1,3,5-Triazine-2,4,6-triamine; Cyanurotriamide; 
Cyanurotriamine; Cyanuramide; and by various brand names. Melamine 
is a crystalline powder or granule. All melamine is covered by the 
scope of this investigation irrespective of purity, particle size, 
or physical form. Melamine that has been blended with other products 
is included within this scope when such blends include constituent 
parts that have been intermingled, but that have not been chemically 
reacted with each other to produce a different product. For such 
blends, only the melamine component of the mixture is covered by the 
scope of this investigation. Melamine that is otherwise subject to 
this investigation is not excluded when commingled with melamine 
from sources not subject to this investigation. Only the subject 
component of such commingled products is covered by the scope of 
this investigation.
    The subject merchandise is provided for in subheading 
2933.61.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Although the HTSUS subheading and CAS registry number are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
V. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-15979 Filed 7-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P