[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73371-73374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20363]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-351-861]


Ferrosilicon From Brazil: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination, Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances 
Determination in Part, 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 ferrosilicon from Brazil. The period of 
investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested 
parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

[[Page 73372]]


DATES: Applicable September 10, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Palmer or Laurel Smalley, 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) 
482-3456, 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 April 24, 
2024.\1\ On May 30, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation until August 26, 2024.\2\ On July 
22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative 
proceeding by seven days.\3\ The deadline for this preliminary 
determination is now September 3, 2024. For a complete description of 
the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ 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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    \1\ See Ferrosilicon from Brazil, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and the 
Russian Federation: Initiation of Countervailing Duty 
Investigations, 89 FR 31133 (April 24, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Ferrosilicon from Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia: 
Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing 
Duty Investigations, 89 FR 46860 (May 30, 2024).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024. Because the 
current deadline for this preliminary determination falls on a 
Holiday (i.e., September 2, 2024), the deadline became the next 
business day (i.e., September 3, 2024). See also Next Business Day 
Rule.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Ferrosilicon from Brazil,'' 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 ferrosilicon from 
Brazil. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\6\ As noted in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce corrected a minor clerical 
error in the language of the scope.\7\
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice.
    \7\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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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.\8\
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    \8\ 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.\9\ 
For further information, see the ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 
Adverse Inferences'' section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \9\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in 
Part

    In accordance with section 703(e)(1) of the Act, Commerce 
preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist with respect 
to imports of Ferrosilicon from Brazil for Companhia de Ferro Ligas da 
Bahia--FERBASA (Ferbasa), Minasligas S.A. (Minasligas), and Ligas de 
Aluminio S.A. (LIASA), but do not exist with respect to all-other 
exporters or producers not individually examined. For a full 
description of the methodology and results of Commerce's analysis, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

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 Ferrosilicon from Brazil based on a request 
made by the petitioners.\10\ 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 January 14, 2025, unless 
postponed.
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    \10\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Petitioners' Request for 
Alignment of Final Determinations with Deadline in Concurrent AD 
Investigations,'' dated August 15, 2024.
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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. In this investigation, Commerce calculated individual 
estimated countervailable subsidy rates for Ferbasa and Minasligas that 
are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise 
available. Therefore, Commerce calculated the all-others rate using a 
weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the 
examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sales 
values for the merchandise under consideration.\11\
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    \11\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates 
calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the 
estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and 
(C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for 
the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. 
sales values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. 
See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, 
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53662 
(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum 
at Comment 1. As complete publicly ranged sales data were available, 
Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged sales data 
of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data, 
see the All-Others Rate Calculation Memorandum.
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Preliminary Determination

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

[[Page 73373]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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Companhia de Ferro Ligas da Bahia--FERBASA \12\.........            5.36
Minasligas S.A. \13\....................................            4.44
Ligas de Aluminio S.A...................................         * 61.73
All Others..............................................            5.09
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* Rate is based on an adverse inference.

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.
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    \12\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following company to be cross-owned with 
Ferbasa: Funda[ccedil][atilde]o Jos[eacute] Carvalho Foundation 
(Jose Carvalho Foundation).
    \13\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with 
Minasligas: Irmazi Participa[ccedil][otilde]es S.A. (Irmazi), 
Participa[ccedil][otilde]es SZ Ltd. (SZ), and Centrium 
Empreendimentos Ltda. (Centrium).
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    Section 703(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a) 
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily 
finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject 
merchandise produced and/or exported by Ferbasa, LIASA, and Minasligas. 
In accordance with section 703(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of 
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise from the 
exporters/producers identified in this paragraph that were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 
90 days before the publication of this notice. Because Commerce 
preliminarily did not find critical circumstances exists for all other 
producers and exporters, Commerce will require a cash deposit equal to 
the rate indicated above on the date of publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register.

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

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in 
this investigation. 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.\14\ 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.\15\
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    \14\ 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).
    \15\ 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.\16\ 
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).\17\
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    \16\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \17\ 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 
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 
Ferrosilicon from Brazil 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).


[[Page 73374]]


    Dated: September 3, 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 scope of this investigation covers all forms and sizes of 
ferrosilicon, regardless of grade, including ferrosilicon 
briquettes. Ferrosilicon is a ferroalloy containing by weight four 
percent or more iron, more than eight percent but not more than 96 
percent silicon, three percent or less phosphorus, 30 percent or 
less manganese, less than three percent magnesium, and 10 percent or 
less of any other element. The merchandise covered also includes 
product described as slag, if the product meets these 
specifications.
    Subject merchandise includes material matching the above 
description that has been finished, packaged, or otherwise processed 
in a third country, including by performing any grinding or any 
other finishing, packaging, or processing that would not otherwise 
remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if 
performed in the country of manufacture of the ferrosilicon.
    Ferrosilicon is currently classifiable under subheadings 
7202.21.1000, 7202.21.5000, 7202.21.7500, 7202.21.9000, 
7202.29.0010, and 7202.29.0050 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS). While the HTSUS numbers are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope remains dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, 
In Part
V. Subsidies Valuation Information
VI. New Subsidy Allegations
VII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation

 [FR Doc. 2024-20363 Filed 9-9-24; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P