[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 27, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22235-22237]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-09455]
[[Page 22235]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-580-920, C-583-877]
Certain Epoxy Resins From Taiwan: Amended Final Countervailing
Duty Determination; Certain Epoxy Resins From the Republic of Korea and
Taiwan: Countervailing Duty Orders
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S.
Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing the countervailing duty (CVD)
orders on certain epoxy resins (epoxy resins) from the Republic of
Korea (Korea) and Taiwan. In addition, Commerce is amending its final
determination with respect to epoxy resins from Taiwan to correct a
ministerial error.
DATES: Applicable May 27, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Martin (Korea) at (202) 482-
3936; and Ian Riggs (Taiwan) at (202) 482-3810; AD/CVD Operations,
Offices IV and IX, respectively, Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In accordance with sections 705(d) and 777(i) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act), on April 3, 2025, Commerce published its
affirmative final determinations that countervailable subsidies are
being provided to producers and exporters of epoxy resins from Korea
and Taiwan.\1\ On April 9, 2025, the U.S. Epoxy Resin Producers Ad Hoc
Coalition (the petitioner) timely alleged that Commerce made a
ministerial error in the Taiwan Final Determination.\2\ Section 705(e)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f) define ministerial errors as errors in
addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic function, clerical errors
resulting from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the like, and any
other type of unintentional error which Commerce considers ministerial.
We reviewed the allegation and determined that we made a ministerial
error in the Taiwan Final Determination. See ``Amendment to the Taiwan
Final Determination'' section below for further discussion.
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\1\ See Certain Epoxy Resins from the Republic of Korea: Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Negative
Critical Circumstances Determination, 90 FR 14605 (April 3, 2025)
(Korea Final Determination); see also Certain Epoxy Resins from
Taiwan: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 90 FR
14618 (April 3, 2025) (Taiwan Final Determination).
\2\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Ministerial Error Comments,''
dated April 9, 2025 (Petitioner's Ministerial Error Allegation).
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On May 19, 2025, pursuant to section 705(d) of the Act, the ITC
notified Commerce of its final affirmative determinations that an
industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of
subsidized imports of epoxy resins from Korea and Taiwan, within the
meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act.\3\
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\3\ See ITC's Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final
Determination,'' dated May 19, 2025 (ITC Notification Letter).
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Scope of the Orders
The merchandise covered by these orders is epoxy resins from Korea
and Taiwan. For a complete description of the scope of the orders, see
the appendix to this notice.
Amendment to the Taiwan Final Determination
On April 9, 2025, the petitioner submitted a timely ministerial
error allegation regarding the Taiwan Final Determination.\4\ Commerce
reviewed the record and, on April 25, 2025, agreed that the
petitioner's allegation constituted a ministerial error within the
meaning of section 705(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f).\5\
Specifically, Commerce determined that it had erred in applying a
below-de minimis subsidy rate under 19 CFR 351.308(j)(3) as the adverse
facts available rate for several unreported grants for Chang Chun
Plastics Co. Ltd. (CCPC) discovered at verification.\6\ Pursuant to 19
CFR 351.224(e), Commerce is amending the Taiwan Final Determination to
correct this ministerial error as described in the Ministerial Error
Memorandum. Correcting this error changes the ad valorem subsidy rate
for CCPC, as well as the cash deposit rate for all other producers and
exporters not individually examined. The revised rates are listed in
the ``Estimated Countervailing Duty Subsidy Rates'' section, below.
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\4\ See Petitioner's Ministerial Error Allegation.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Allegations of Ministerial Errors in the
Final Determination,'' dated April 25, 2025 (Ministerial Error
Memorandum).
\6\ Id.
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Orders
As stated above, based on the ITC's affirmative final
determinations that an industry in the United States is materially
injured within the meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by
reason of subsidized imports of epoxy resins from Korea and Taiwan,\7\
in accordance with section 705(c)(2) of the Act, Commerce is issuing
these CVD orders. Moreover, because the ITC determined that imports of
epoxy resins from Korea and Taiwan are materially injuring a U.S.
industry, unliquidated entries of subject merchandise from Korea or
Taiwan entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, are
subject to the assessment of countervailing duties.
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\7\ See ITC Notification Letter.
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Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce
is directing U.S. Customs Border and Protection (CBP) to continue
suspending liquidation of all relevant entries of epoxy resins from
Korea, which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption
on or after April 3, 2025, the date of publication of the final
determination. Additionally, in accordance with section 706(a) of the
Act, Commerce intends to direct CBP to assess, upon further
instructions by Commerce, countervailing duties on all relevant entries
of epoxy resins from Taiwan, which are entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after September 13, 2024, the date of
publication of the Taiwan Preliminary Determination,\8\ but will not
include entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional
measures period and before the publication of the ITC's final injury
determinations under section 705(b) of the Act, as further described in
the ``Provisional Measures'' section of this notice.
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\8\ See Certain Epoxy Resins from the Republic of Korea:
Preliminary Negative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary
Negative Critical Circumstances Determination and Alignment of Final
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 89 FR 74912
(September 13, 2024) (Korea Preliminary Determination); see also
Certain Epoxy Resins from Taiwan: Preliminary Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 89 FR 74896
(September 13, 2024) (Taiwan Preliminary Determination).
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Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits
In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce intends to
instruct CBP to continue suspending liquidation of epoxy resins from
Korea, effective on the date of publication of the Korea Final
Determination, to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of epoxy
resins from Taiwan, effective on the date of publication of the ITC's
final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register, and to
assess, upon
[[Page 22236]]
further instruction by Commerce, pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the
Act, countervailing duties on each entry of subject merchandise in an
amount based on the net countervailable subsidy rates below. On or
after the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination
in the Federal Register, CBP must require, at the same time as
importers would normally deposit estimated customs duties on subject
merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the rates listed in the table
below. These instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect
until further notice. The all-others rate applies to all producers or
exporters not specifically listed below, as appropriate.
Estimated CVD Subsidy Rates
The estimated CVD subsidy rates are as follows:
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\9\ Commerce has found that Kukdo Chemical Co., Ltd is cross-
owned with Kukdo Finechem Co., Ltd.
\10\ Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-
owned with Kumho P&B Chemicals Inc.: Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
and Chemoil Corporation.
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Korea
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Kukdo Chemical Co., Ltd.\9\............................. 1.01
Kumho P&B Chemicals Inc.\10\............................ 1.84
All Others.............................................. 1.30
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Taiwan
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\11\ Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-
owned with CCPC: Chang Chun Petrochemical Co., Ltd.; Dairen Chemical
Corporation; Jinzhou Technology Co., Ltd.; and Taiwan Prosperity
Chemical Corporation.
\12\ Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-
owned with Nan Ya Plastics Corp.: Formosa Plastics Corporation;
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation; and Formosa Petrochemical
Corporation.
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Chang Chun Plastics Co. Ltd.\11\........................ 62.36
Nan Ya Plastics Corp.\12\............................... 3.38
All Others.............................................. 33.24
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Provisional Measures--Taiwan
Section 703(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in
effect for more than four months. Commerce published the Taiwan
Preliminary Determination on September 13, 2024.\13\ As such, the four-
month period beginning on the date of the publication of the Taiwan
Preliminary Determination ended on January 10, 2025.\14\
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\13\ See Taiwan Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 74896.
\14\ Because the Korea Preliminary Determination was negative
and Commerce did not begin suspension of liquidation until the Korea
Final Determination, provisional measures will not terminate for
Korea before the date of publication of the ITC's final injury
determination in the Federal Register.
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Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we
instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to
liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated
entries of epoxy resins from Taiwan or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption, on or after January 11, 2025, the date on which the
provisional measures expired, until and through the day preceding the
date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the
Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation and the collection of cash
deposits will resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final
determinations in the Federal Register.
Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service Lists
On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the Final Rule in the
Federal Register.\15\ On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published
the Procedural Guidance in the Federal Register.\16\ The Final Rule and
Procedural Guidance provide that Commerce will maintain an annual
inquiry service list for each order or suspended investigation, and any
interested party submitting a scope ruling application or request for
circumvention inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request
on the persons on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as
well as any companion order covering the same merchandise from the same
country of origin.
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\15\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement
of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September
20, 2021) (Final Rule).
\16\ See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List;
and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021)
(Procedural Guidance).
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In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in
the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an
annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and
document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at https://access.trade.gov, within five business days of publication of the
notice of the order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in
ACCESS, under each case number, and under a specific segment type
called ``AISL-Annual Inquiry Service List.'' \17\
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\17\ This segment will be combined with the ACCESS Segment
Specific Information (SSI) field which will display the month in
which the notice of the order or suspended investigation was
published in the Federal Register, also known as the anniversary
month. For example, for an order under case number A-000-000 that
was published in the Federal Register in January, the relevant
segment and SSI combination will appear in ACCESS as ``AISL-January
Anniversary.'' Note that there will be only one annual inquiry
service list segment per case number, and the anniversary month will
be pre-populated in ACCESS.
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Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry
service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the
annual inquiry service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30
days after the date of publication of the order. For ease of
administration, Commerce requests that law firms with more than one
attorney representing interested parties in an order designate a lead
attorney to be included on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce
will finalize the annual inquiry service list within five business days
thereafter. As mentioned in the Procedural Guidance,\18\ the new annual
inquiry service list will be in place until the following year, when
the Opportunity Notice for the anniversary month of the order is
published.
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\18\ See Procedural Guidance, 86 FR at 53206.
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Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as
needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of
appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and
representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or
announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the
ACCESS website at https://access.trade.gov.
Special Instructions for the Petitioner and Foreign Governments
In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, ``after an initial request
and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and
foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry
service list in the years that follow.'' \19\ Accordingly, as stated
above, the petitioner, the Government of Korea, and the Taiwan
Authorities should submit their initial entries of appearance after
publication of this notice in order to appear in the first annual
inquiry service lists for these orders. Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.225(n)(3), the petitioner, the Government of Korea, and the Taiwan
Authorities will not need to resubmit
[[Page 22237]]
their entries of appearance each year to continue to be included on the
annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioner, the Government of
Korea, and the Taiwan Authorities are responsible for making amendments
to their entries of appearance during the annual update to the annual
inquiry service list in accordance with the procedures described above.
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\19\ See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
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Notification to Interested Parties
This notice constitutes the CVD orders with respect to epoxy resins
from Korea and Taiwan, pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act.
Interested parties can find a list of antidumping duty and CVD orders
currently in effect at https://www.trade.gov/datavisualization/adcvd-proceedings.
The amended Taiwan final determination and these CVD orders are
issued and published in accordance with sections 705(e) and 706(a) of
the Act, and 19 CFR 351.224(e) and 19 CFR 351.211(b).
Dated: May 20, 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
Scope of the Orders
The merchandise subject to these orders 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 these orders
irrespective of physical form, viscosity, grade, purity, molecular
weight, or molecular structure, and packaging.
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 orders 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 these orders.
Only the subject component of such commingled products is covered by
the scope of these orders. 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).\20\
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\20\ 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. 2025-09455 Filed 5-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P