[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 63 (Thursday, April 3, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14628-14630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05750]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-167]
Certain Epoxy Resins From the People's Republic of China: Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Affirmative
Determination of Critical Circumstances
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters
of certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from the People's Republic of
China (China). The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through
December 31, 2023.
DATES: Applicable April 3, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathan James, 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) 482-5305.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 13, 2024, Commerce published its Preliminary
Determination in the Federal Register.\1\ On February 7, 2025, Commerce
issued its post-preliminary analysis in this investigation.\2\ On
February 10, 2025, we solicited comments in advance of this final
determination.\3\ Because no comments were submitted by interested
parties, we have adopted our Preliminary Results and Post-Preliminary
Analysis for purposes of this final determination. Accordingly, no
decision memorandum accompanies this Federal Register notice. Commerce
conducted this investigation in accordance with section 705 of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
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\1\ See Certain Epoxy Resins from the People's Republic of
China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination,
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, and
Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty
Determination, 89 FR 74891 (September 13, 2024) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum
(PDM).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Post-Preliminary Analysis in the
Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Epoxy Resins from the
People's Republic of China,'' dated February 7, 2025 (Post-
Preliminary Analysis).
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Case Brief Schedule,'' dated February 10,
2025.
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are epoxy resins from
China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation,
see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope
comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum to address these comments and set aside a period of
time for parties to address scope issues in scope-specific case and
rebuttal briefs.\4\ Between February 2025 and March 2025, Commerce
received scope case and rebuttal briefs from interested parties.\5\ We
made changes to the scope of the investigation from the scope published
in the Preliminary Determination, as noted in Appendix I.\6\
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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,''
dated November 6, 2024 (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
\5\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Case Brief on Scope Issues,''
dated February 28, 2025 (Petitioner's Scope Case Brief); Sherwin
Williams' Letter, ``Scope Case Brief on Behalf of Sherwin-
Williams,'' dated February 28, 2025 (Sherwin-Williams' Scope Case
Brief); PPG's Letter, ``Scope Case Brief of PPG Industries, Inc.,''
dated February 28, 2025 (PPG's Scope Case Brief); Petitioner's
Letter, ``Petitioner's Letter in Lieu of Rebuttal Brief on Scope
Issues,'' dated March 5, 2025 (Petitioner's Rebuttal Scope Case
Brief); PPG's Letter, ``Rebuttal Scope Case Brief of PPG Industries,
Inc.,'' dated March 5, 2025 (PPG's Rebuttal Scope Case Brief); and
Sherwin-Williams' Letter, ``Scope Rebuttal Brief on Behalf of
Sherwin Williams,'' dated March 5, 2025 (Sherwin-Williams' Rebuttal
Scope Case Brief).
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated
concurrently with this notice.
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Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
Commerce preliminarily determined, pursuant to section 703(e)(1) of
the Act, that critical circumstances exist for Jiangsu Sanmu Group Co.,
Ltd. (Sanmu), Shandong Bluestar Dongda Chemical (Bluestar), and all
other producers and/or exporters.\7\ We have made no changes to that
determination, and we find that critical circumstances exist for Sanmu,
Bluestar, and all other producers and/or exporters, consistent with
section 705(a)(2) of the Act.
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\7\ See Preliminary Determination, 89 FR 74892.
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Verification
Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not
provide information requested by Commerce, and Commerce determined that
the mandatory respondents were uncooperative, no verification was
conducted.
[[Page 14629]]
All-Others Rate
As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce based the
selection of the all- others rate on the countervailable subsidy rates
established for the mandatory respondents, in accordance with 703(d) of
the Act.\8\ Consistent with section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, we
made no changes to the methodology used to select of the all-others
rate for the final determination; specifically, we have assigned the
sole rate assigned to the mandatory respondents to all other companies.
Commerce has, however, updated the subsidy rates for the mandatory
respondents (and consequently the All Others rate), to reflect the
additional programs countervailed in the Post-Preliminary Analysis.\9\
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\8\ Id.
\9\ Specifically, we are summing the rate assigned in the
Preliminary Determination (108.64 percent) and the Post-Preliminary
Analysis (439.12 percent) to arrive at the final subsidy rate of
547.76 percent. See Preliminary Determination PDM at Appendix
(assigning an AFA rate of 108.64); and Post-Preliminary Analysis at
3 (assigning an AFA rate of 439.12).
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Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated countervailable
subsidy rates exist:
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Jiangsu Sanmu Group Co., Ltd............................ * 547.76
Shandong Bluestar Dongda Chemical....................... * 547.76
All Others.............................................. 547.76
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* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations
performed in final determination within five days of any public
announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five days
of the date of publication of this final determination in the Federal
Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, the program
rates assigned as AFA in the Preliminary Determination and Post-
Preliminary Analysis are unchanged, and there are no additional
calculations performed in this final determination and, therefore,
there are no calculations to disclose.
Suspension of Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary Determination and pursuant to
sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we instructed U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of entries of
subject merchandise from China that were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption. Because we preliminarily determined that
critical circumstances existed with respect to Sanmu, Bluestar, and all
other producers and/or exporters, we instructed CBP to suspend such
entries on or after June 15, 2024, which is 90 days prior to the date
of the publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal
Register.\10\ In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we
instructed CBP to discontinue the suspension of liquidation of all
entries of subject merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse, on
or after January 11, 2025, but to continue the suspension of
liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise that were subject to
suspension of liquidation between June 15, 2024, and January 10, 2025.
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\10\ Id.
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If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a countervailing duty
order, reinstate the suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of
the Act, and require a cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties
for entries of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If
the ITC determines that material injury, or threat of material injury,
does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all estimated
duties deposited or securities posted as a result of the suspension of
liquidation will be refunded or canceled.
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we intend to notify
the ITC of our final affirmative determination that countervailable
subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of epoxy resins
from China. Because the final determination in this proceeding is
affirmative, in accordance with section 705(b) of the Act, the ITC will
make its final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the
United States is materially injured, or threatened with material
injury, by reason of imports of epoxy resins from China no later than
45 days after our final determination. In addition, we are making
available to the ITC all non-privileged and nonproprietary information
related to this investigation. We will allow the ITC access to all
privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided
the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information, either
publicly or under an administrative protective order (APO), without the
written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance.
If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material
injury does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all cash
deposits will be refunded or canceled, as Commerce determines to be
appropriate. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist,
Commerce intends to issue a countervailing duty order directing CBP to
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on
all imports of the subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the
suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in the ``Continuation of
Suspension of Liquidation'' section.
Administrative Protective Order
In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties
subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of
proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO
is a violation which is subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing this final determination in
accordance with sections 705(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.210(c).
Dated: March 28, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
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 fully or
partially uncured epoxy resins, also known as epoxide resins,
polyepoxides, oxirane resins, ethoxyline resins, diglycidyl ether of
bisphenol, (chloromethyl) oxirane, or aromatic diglycidyl, which are
polymers or prepolymers containing epoxy groups (i.e., three-
membered ring structures comprised of two carbon atoms and one
oxygen atom). Epoxy resins range in physical form from low viscosity
liquids to solids. All epoxy resins are covered by the scope of this
investigation irrespective of physical form, viscosity, grade,
purity, molecular weight, or molecular structure, and packaging.
[[Page 14630]]
Epoxy resins may contain modifiers or additives, such as
hardeners, curatives, colorants, pigments, diluents, solvents,
thickeners, fillers, plasticizers, softeners, flame retardants,
toughening agents, catalysts, Bisphenol F, and ultraviolet light
inhibitors, so long as the modifier or additive has not chemically
reacted so as to cure the epoxy resin or convert it into a different
product no longer containing epoxy groups. Such epoxy resins with
modifiers or additives are included in the scope where the epoxy
resin component comprises no less than 30 percent of the total
weight of the product. The scope also includes blends of epoxy
resins with different types of epoxy resins, with or without the
inclusion of modifiers and additives, so long as the combined epoxy
resin component comprises at least 30 percent of the total weight of
the blend.
Epoxy resins that enter as part of a system or kit with
separately packaged co-reactants, such as hardeners or curing
agents, are within the scope. The scope does not include any
separately packaged co-reactants that would not fall within the
scope if entered on their own.
The scope includes merchandise matching the above description
that has been processed in a third country, including by
commingling, diluting, introducing, or removing modifiers or
additives, or performing any other processing that would not
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation
if performed in the subject country.
The scope also includes epoxy resin that is commingled or
blended with epoxy resin from sources not subject to this
investigation. Only the subject component of such commingled
products is covered by the scope of this investigation. Excluded
from the scope are phenoxy resins, which are polymers with a weight
greater than 11,000 Daltons, a Melt Flow Index (MFI) at 200 [deg]C
(392 [deg]F) no less than 4 grams and no greater than 70 grams per
10 min, Glass-Transition Temperatures (Tg) no less than 80 [deg]C
(176 [deg]F) and no greater than 100 [deg]C (212 [deg]F), and which
contain no epoxy groups other than at the terminal ends of the
molecule.
Excluded from the scope are certain paint and coating products,
which are blends, mixtures, or other formulations of epoxy resin,
curing agent, and pigment, in any form, packaged in one or more
containers, wherein (1) the pigment represents a minimum of 10
percent of the total weight of the product, (2) the epoxy resin
represents a maximum of 80 percent of the total weight of the
product, and (3) the curing agent represents 5 to 40 percent of the
total weight of the product. Excluded from the scope are
preimpregnated fabrics or fibers, often referred to as ``pre-
pregs,'' which are composite materials consisting of fabrics or
fibers (typically carbon or glass) impregnated with epoxy resin.
Also excluded from the scope is Tetramethyl Bisphenol F
Diglycidyl Ether epoxy resin, also known as Tetramethyl Bisphenol F
-DGE Polymer (TMBPF-DGE), that (1) has the chemical name: phenol, 4,
4'-methylenebis[2,6-dimethyl-, polymer with 2-(chloromethyl)oxirane,
(2) falls under Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) Registry Number
113693-69-9, and (3) has an epoxy equivalent weight (EEW), also
referred to as the weight per epoxide (WPE), of no less than 200 and
no greater than 230 grams of epoxy resin per epoxy equivalent (g/eq
or GEW).\11\
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\11\ The bracket in this sentence is part of the chemical
formula and does not denote business proprietary information.
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This merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading
3907.30.0000. Subject merchandise may also be entered under
subheadings 3907.29.0000, 3824.99.9397, 3214.10.0020, 2910.90.9100,
2910.90.9000, 2910.90.2000, and 1518.00.4000. The HTSUS subheadings
are provided for convenience and customs purposes only; the written
description of the scope is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2025-05750 Filed 4-2-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P