[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59053-59055]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15980]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-428-853]


Melamine From Germany: 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 Germany. 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: Bob Palmer or Faris Montgomery, 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) 482-9068 or (202) 
482-1537, respectively.

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 11, 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 of Antidumping 
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 of the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Melamine from Germany,'' 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 Germany. 
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).
    \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 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, in part, 
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)

[[Page 59054]]

investigation of melamine from Germany 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 under section 776 of the Act. Consequently, as a reasonable 
method, Commerce is determining the all-others rate based on the rate 
determined for LAT Nitrogen Piesteritz GmbH (LAT Nitrogen), the 
mandatory respondent in this investigation, as determined under section 
776 of the Act.\9\ For a full description of the methodology underlying 
Commerce's analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \9\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of 
Germany, 73 FR 21909, 21912 (April 23, 2008), unchanged in Notice of 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite 
from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 38986, 38987 (July 8, 
2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2; 
see also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Raw Flexible Magnets from Taiwan, 73 FR 39673, 39674 (July 
10, 2008); and Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 78 FR 79670, 
79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in Steel Threaded Rod from 
Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 
14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014).
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Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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LAT Nitrogen Piesteritz GmbH............................           29.72
All Others..............................................           29.72
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with sections 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 this notice in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    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 respondents in this investigation did not 
provide information requested by Commerce and Commerce preliminarily 
determines each of the examined respondents to have been uncooperative, 
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.\10\ Interested parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in 
this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each 
issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\11\
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    \10\ 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).
    \11\ 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.\12\ 
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 determination in this 
investigation. 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).\13\
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    \12\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \13\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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    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

[[Page 59055]]

location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the 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 Germany 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. 2024-15980 Filed 7-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P