73316 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices 

35See 19 CFR 351.302; see also Time Limits Final 

Rule. 

36See section 782(b) of the Act. 

37See Certification of Factual Information to 

Import Administration During Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 

17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also frequently asked 

questions regarding the Final Rule, available at: 

https://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_

info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf. 

38See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD 

Service Requirements Due to COVID–19; Extension 

of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020). 

Additionally, note that Commerce has modified its 

regulations to make permanent certain changes to 

its service procedures that were adopted on a 

temporary basis due to COVID–19, as well as 

additional clarifications and corrections to its AD/ 

CVD regulations. Effective October 30, 2023, these 

changes will apply to all AD/CVD proceedings that 

are ongoing on the effective date and all AD/CVD 

proceedings initiated on or after the effective date. 

See Administrative Protective order, Service, and 

Other Procedures in Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67079 

(September 29, 2023). 

1See Petitioner’s Letter, ‘‘Aluminum Lithographic 

Printing Plates from China and Japan—Petition for 

the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 

Duties,’’ dated September 28, 2023 (Petitions). 

2 Id. 

3See Commerce’s Letters, ‘‘Petitions for the 

Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 

Duties on Imports of Aluminum Lithographic 

Printing Plates from the People’s Republic of China 

and Japan: Supplemental Questions,’’ dated October 

2, 2023 (General Issues Questionnaire); ‘‘Petition for 

the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports 

of Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the 

People’s Republic of China: Supplemental 

Questions,’’ dated October 3, 2023; ‘‘Petition for the 

Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of 

Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from Japan: 

Supplemental Questions,’’ dated October 3, 2023; 

and Memorandum, ‘‘Phone Call with Counsel to the 

Petitioner,’’ dated October 12, 2023. 

4See Petitioner’s Letters, ‘‘Aluminum 

Lithographic Printing Plates from China and 

Japan—Petitioner’s Supplement to Volume I 

Relating to Request for the Imposition of 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports 

from China and Japan,’’ dated October 5, 2023 

submitting factual information in this 

investigation.35

Certification Requirements 

Any party submitting factual 

information in an AD or CVD 

proceeding must certify to the accuracy 

and completeness of that information.36

Parties must use the certification 

formats provided in 19 CFR 

351.303(g).37 Commerce intends to 

reject factual submissions if the 

submitting party does not comply with 

the applicable certification 

requirements. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

Interested parties must submit 

applications for disclosure under APO 

in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. 

Parties wishing to participate in this 

investigation should ensure that they 

meet the requirements of 19 CFR 

351.103(d) (e.g., by filing the required 

letters of appearance). Note that 

Commerce has temporarily modified 

certain of its requirements for serving 

documents containing business 

proprietary information, until further 

notice.38

This notice is issued and published 

pursuant to sections 702 and 777(i) of 

the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c). 

Dated: October 18, 2023. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix 

Scope of the Investigation 

The merchandise covered by this 

investigation is aluminum lithographic 

printing plates. Aluminum lithographic 

printing plates consist of a flat substrate 

containing at least 90 percent aluminum. The 

aluminum-containing substrate is generally 

treated using a mechanical, electrochemical, 

or chemical graining process, which is 

followed by one or more anodizing 

treatments that form a hydrophilic layer on 

the aluminum-containing substrate. An 

image-recording, oleophilic layer that is 

sensitive to light, including but not limited 

to ultra-violet, visible, or infrared, is 

dispersed in a polymeric binder material that 

is applied on top of the hydrophilic layer, 

generally on one side of the aluminum 

lithographic printing plate. The oleophilic 

light-sensitive layer is capable of capturing 

an image that is transferred onto the plate by 

either light or heat. The image applied to an 

aluminum lithographic printing plate 

facilitates the production of newspapers, 

magazines, books, yearbooks, coupons, 

packaging, and other printed materials 

through an offset printing process, where an 

aluminum lithographic printing plate 

facilitates the transfer of an image onto the 

printed media. Aluminum lithographic 

printing plates within the scope of this 

investigation include all aluminum 

lithographic printing plates, irrespective of 

the dimensions or thickness of the 

underlying aluminum substrate, whether the 

plate requires processing after an image is 

applied to the plate, whether the plate is 

ready to be mounted to a press and used in 

printing operations immediately after an 

image is applied to the plate, or whether the 

plate has been exposed to light or heat to 

create an image on the plate or remains 

unexposed and is free of any image. 

Subject merchandise also includes 

aluminum lithographic printing plates 

produced from an aluminum sheet coil that 

has been coated with a light-sensitive imagerecording layer in a subject country and that 

is subsequently unwound and cut to the final 

dimensions to produce a finished plate in a 

third country (including the United States), 

or exposed to light or heat to create an image 

on the plate in a third country (including in 

a foreign trade zone within the United 

States). 

Excluded from the scope of this 

investigation are lithographic printing plates 

manufactured using a substrate produced 

from a material other than aluminum, such 

as rubber or plastic. 

Aluminum lithographic printing plates are 

currently classifiable under Harmonized 

Tariff of the United States (HTSUS) 

subheadings 3701.30.0000 and 3701.99.6060. 

Further, merchandise that falls within the 

scope of this investigation may also be 

entered into the United States under HTSUS 

subheadings 3701.99.3000 and 8442.50.1000. 

Although the HTSUS subheadings are 

provided for convenience and customs 

purposes, the written description of the 

scope of this investigation is dispositive. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23531 Filed 10–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–570–156, A–588–881] 

Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates 

From the People’s Republic of China 

and Japan: Initiation of Less-ThanFair-Value Investigations 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

DATES: Applicable October 18, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Benito Ballesteros (the People’s 

Republic of China (China)) and Adam 

Simons (Japan), AD/CVD Operations, 

Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–7425 

and (202) 482–6172, respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitions 

On September 28, 2023, the U.S. 

Department of Commerce (Commerce) 

received antidumping duty (AD) 

petitions concerning imports of 

aluminum lithographic printing plates 

(printing plates) from China and Japan 

filed in proper form on behalf of 

Eastman Kodak Company (the 

petitioner).1 These AD petitions were 

accompanied by a countervailing duty 

(CVD) petition concerning imports of 

printing plates from China.2

On October 2, 3, and 12, 2023, 

Commerce requested supplemental 

information pertaining to certain aspects 

of the Petitions.3 On October 5, 6, and 

13, 2023, the petitioner filed timely 

responses to these requests for 

additional information.4


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices 73317 

(General Issues Supplement); ‘‘Aluminum 

Lithographic Printing Plates from the People’s 

Republic of China—Petitioner’s Responses to 

Supplemental Questions Related to Volume II of the 

Petition,’’ dated October 6, 2023; ‘‘Aluminum 

Lithographic Printing Plates from Japan— 

Petitioner’s Responses to Supplemental Questions 

Related to Volume III of the Petition,’’ dated 

October 2023; ‘‘Aluminum Lithographic Printing 

Plates from the People’s Republic of China— 

Petitioner’s Response to 2nd Supplemental 

Questionnaire Related to Volume II of the Petition,’’ 

dated October 13, 2023; and ‘‘Aluminum 

Lithographic Printing Plates from Japan— 

Petitioner’s Response to 2nd Supplemental 

Questionnaire Related to Volume III of the 

Petition,’’ dated October 13, 2023. 

5See Petitions at Volume I (page 2). 

6See, infra, section on ‘‘Determination of Industry 

Support for the Petitions.’’ 

7See General Issues Questionnaire. 

8See General Issues Supplement at 2–7 and 

Attachments 1–3. 

9See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 

Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) 

(Preamble); see also 19 CFR 351.312. 

10See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ‘‘factual 

information’’). 

11See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures; 

Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR 

39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 

Compliance: Change of Electronic Filing System 

Name, 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014), for details 

of Commerce’s electronic filing requirements, 

effective August 5, 2011. Information on help using 

ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/ 

help.aspx and a handbook can be found at https:// 

access.trade.gov/help/Handbook_on_Electronic_

Filing_Procedures.pdf. 

12See 19 CFR 351.303(b)(1). 

In accordance with section 732(b) of 

the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 

Act), the petitioner alleges that imports 

of printing plates from China and Japan 

are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 

United States at less than fair value 

(LTFV) within the meaning of section 

731 of the Act, and that imports of such 

products are materially injuring, or 

threatening material injury to, the 

printing plates industry in the United 

States. Consistent with section 732(b)(1) 

of the Act, the Petitions are 

accompanied by information reasonably 

available to the petitioner supporting its 

allegations. 

Commerce finds that the petitioner 

filed the Petitions on behalf of the 

domestic industry, because the 

petitioner is an interested party, as 

defined in section 771(9)(C) of the Act.5

Commerce also finds that the petitioner 

demonstrated sufficient industry 

support for the initiation of the 

requested AD investigations.6

Periods of Investigation 

Because the Petitions were filed on 

September 28, 2023, pursuant to 19 CFR 

351.204(b)(1), the period of 

investigation (POI) for the Japan AD 

investigation is July 1, 2022, through 

June 30, 2023. Because China is a nonmarket economy (NME) country, 

pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the 

POI for the China AD investigation is 

January 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023. 

Scope of the Investigations 

The products covered by these 

investigations are printing plates from 

China and Japan. For a full description 

of the scope of these investigations, see 

the appendix to this notice. 

Comments on the Scope of the 

Investigations 

On October 2, 2023, Commerce 

requested further information and 

clarification from the petitioner 

regarding the proposed scope to ensure 

that the scope language in the Petitions 

is an accurate reflection of the products 

for which the domestic industry is 

seeking relief.7 On October 5, 2023, the 

petitioner revised the scope.8 The 

description of merchandise covered by 

these investigations, as described in the 

appendix to this notice, reflects these 

clarifications. 

As discussed in the Preamble to 

Commerce’s regulations, we are setting 

aside a period for parties to raise issues 

regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).9

Commerce will consider all scope 

comments received from interested 

parties and, if necessary, will consult 

with interested parties prior to the 

issuance of the preliminary 

determinations. If scope comments 

include factual information,10 all such 

factual information should be limited to 

public information. To facilitate 

preparation of its questionnaires, 

Commerce requests that scope 

comments be submitted by 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time (ET) on November 7, 2023, 

which is 20 calendar days from the 

signature date of this notice. Any 

rebuttal comments, which may include 

factual information, must be filed by 

5:00 p.m. ET on November 17, 2023, 

which is ten calendar days from the 

initial comment deadline. 

Commerce requests that any factual 

information that the parties consider 

relevant to the scope of these 

investigations be submitted during that 

period. However, if a party subsequently 

finds that additional factual information 

pertaining to the scope of the 

investigations may be relevant, the party 

must contact Commerce and request 

permission to submit the additional 

information. All such submissions must 

be filed on the records of each of the 

concurrent AD and CVD investigations. 

Filing Requirements 

All submissions to Commerce must be 

filed electronically using Enforcement 

and Compliance’s Antidumping Duty 

and Countervailing Duty Centralized 

Electronic Service System (ACCESS), 

unless an exception applies.11 An 

electronically filed document must be 

received successfully in its entirety by 

the time and date it is due. 

Comments on Product Characteristics 

Commerce is providing interested 

parties an opportunity to comment on 

the appropriate physical characteristics 

of printing plates to be reported in 

response to Commerce’s AD 

questionnaires. This information will be 

used to identify the key physical 

characteristics of the subject 

merchandise in order to report the 

relevant factors of production (FOP) or 

costs of production (COP) accurately, as 

well as to develop appropriate product 

comparison criteria. 

Interested parties may provide any 

information or comments that they feel 

are relevant to the development of an 

accurate list of physical characteristics. 

Specifically, they may provide 

comments as to which characteristics 

are appropriate to use as: (1) general 

product characteristics; and (2) product 

comparison criteria. We note that it is 

not always appropriate to use all 

product characteristics as product 

comparison criteria. We base product 

comparison criteria on meaningful 

commercial differences among products. 

In other words, although there may be 

some physical product characteristics 

utilized by manufacturers to describe 

printing plates, it may be that only a 

select few product characteristics take 

into account commercially meaningful 

physical characteristics. In addition, 

interested parties may comment on the 

order in which the physical 

characteristics should be used in 

matching products. Generally, 

Commerce attempts to list the most 

important physical characteristics first 

and the least important characteristics 

last. 

In order to consider the suggestions of 

interested parties in developing and 

issuing the AD questionnaires, all 

product characteristics comments must 

be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on November 

7, 2023, which is 20 calendar days from 

the signature date of this notice.12 Any 

rebuttal comments must be filed by 5:00 

p.m. ET on November 17, 2023, which 

is ten calendar days from the initial 

comment deadline. All comments and 

submissions to Commerce must be filed 

electronically using ACCESS, as 

explained above, on the record of both 

of the AD investigations. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
73318 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices 

13See section 771(10) of the Act. 

14See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 

2d 1, 8 (CIT 2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. 

v. United States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), 

aff’d Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 865 

F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)). 

15See Petitions at Volume I (pages 14–16); see 

also General Issues Supplement at 7–8. 

16For a discussion of the domestic like product 

analysis as applied to these cases and information 

regarding industry support, see Antidumping Duty 

Investigation Initiation Checklists: Aluminum 

Lithographic Printing Plates from the People’s 

Republic of China and Japan, dated concurrently 

with this notice (China AD Initiation Checklist and 

Japan AD Initiation Checklist, collectively CountrySpecific AD Initiation Checklists), at Attachment II, 

Analysis of Industry Support for the Antidumping 

and Countervailing Duty Petitions Covering 

Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the 

People’s Republic of China and Japan (Attachment 

II). 

17See Petitions at Volume I (pages 3–4 and 

Exhibits GEN–1 and GEN–2); see also General 

Issues Supplement at 8 and Attachment 4. 

18 Id. For further discussion, see Attachment II of 

the Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists. 

19See Petitions at Volume I (pages 3–4 and 

Exhibits GEN–1 and GEN–2); see also General 

Issues Supplement at 8 and Attachment 4. For 

further discussion, see Attachment II of the 

Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists. 

20See Attachment II of the Country-Specific AD 

Initiation Checklists; see also section 732(c)(4)(D) of 

the Act. 

21See Attachment II of the Country-Specific AD 

Initiation Checklists. 

22 Id. 

23 Id. 

24See Petitions at Volume I (page 17 and Exhibit 

GEN–8). 

25 Id. at Volume I (pages 17–35 and Exhibits 

GEN–1 through GEN–3, GEN–6, and GEN–8 

through GEN–13); see also General Issues 

Supplement at 8–10 and Attachment 5. 

26See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists 

at Attachment III, Analysis of Allegations and 

Evidence of Material Injury and Causation for the 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 

Determination of Industry Support for 

the Petitions 

Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires 

that a petition be filed on behalf of the 

domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) 

of the Act provides that a petition meets 

this requirement if the domestic 

producers or workers who support the 

petition account for: (i) at least 25 

percent of the total production of the 

domestic like product; and (ii) more 

than 50 percent of the production of the 

domestic like product produced by that 

portion of the industry expressing 

support for, or opposition to, the 

petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) 

of the Act provides that, if the petition 

does not establish support of domestic 

producers or workers accounting for 

more than 50 percent of the total 

production of the domestic like product, 

Commerce shall: (i) poll the industry or 

rely on other information in order to 

determine if there is support for the 

petition, as required by subparagraph 

(A); or (ii) determine industry support 

using a statistically valid sampling 

method to poll the ‘‘industry.’’ 

Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines 

the ‘‘industry’’ as the producers as a 

whole of a domestic like product. Thus, 

to determine whether a petition has the 

requisite industry support, the statute 

directs Commerce to look to producers 

and workers who produce the domestic 

like product. The U.S. International 

Trade Commission (ITC), which is 

responsible for determining whether 

‘‘the domestic industry’’ has been 

injured, must also determine what 

constitutes a domestic like product in 

order to define the industry. While both 

Commerce and the ITC must apply the 

same statutory definition regarding the 

domestic like product,13 they do so for 

different purposes and pursuant to a 

separate and distinct authority. In 

addition, Commerce’s determination is 

subject to limitations of time and 

information. Although this may result in 

different definitions of the like product, 

such differences do not render the 

decision of either agency contrary to 

law.14

Section 771(10) of the Act defines the 

domestic like product as ‘‘a product 

which is like, or in the absence of like, 

most similar in characteristics and uses 

with, the article subject to an 

investigation under this title.’’ Thus, the 

reference point from which the 

domestic like product analysis begins is 

‘‘the article subject to an investigation’’ 

(i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to 

be investigated, which normally will be 

the scope as defined in the petition). 

With regard to the domestic like 

product, the petitioner does not offer a 

definition of the domestic like product 

distinct from the scope of the 

investigations.15 Based on our analysis 

of the information submitted on the 

record, we have determined that 

printing plates, as defined in the scope, 

constitute a single domestic like 

product, and we have analyzed industry 

support in terms of that domestic like 

product.16

In determining whether the petitioner 

has standing under section 732(c)(4)(A) 

of the Act, we considered the industry 

support data contained in the Petitions 

with reference to the domestic like 

product as defined in the ‘‘Scope of the 

Investigations,’’ in the appendix to this 

notice. To establish industry support, 

the petitioner provided its own 

production of printing plates in 2022 

and compared this to the estimated total 

2022 production of the domestic like 

product for the entire U.S. industry.17

We relied on data provided by the 

petitioner for purposes of measuring 

industry support.18

Our review of the data provided in the 

Petitions, General Issues Supplement, 

and other information readily available 

to Commerce indicates that the 

petitioner has established industry 

support for the Petitions.19 First, the 

Petitions established support from 

domestic producers (or workers) 

accounting for more than 50 percent of 

the total production of the domestic like 

product and, as such, Commerce is not 

required to take further action in order 

to evaluate industry support (e.g., 

polling).20 Second, the domestic 

producers (or workers) have met the 

statutory criteria for industry support 

under section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act 

because the domestic producers (or 

workers) who support the Petitions 

account for at least 25 percent of the 

total production of the domestic like 

product.21 Finally, the domestic 

producers (or workers) have met the 

statutory criteria for industry support 

under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act 

because the domestic producers (or 

workers) who support the Petitions 

account for more than 50 percent of the 

production of the domestic like product 

produced by that portion of the industry 

expressing support for, or opposition to, 

the Petitions.22 Accordingly, Commerce 

determines that the Petitions were filed 

on behalf of the domestic industry 

within the meaning of section 732(b)(1) 

of the Act.23

Allegations and Evidence of Material 

Injury and Causation 

The petitioner alleges that the U.S. 

industry producing the domestic like 

product is being materially injured, or is 

threatened with material injury, by 

reason of the imports of the subject 

merchandise sold at LTFV. In addition, 

the petitioner alleges that subject 

imports exceed the negligibility 

threshold provided for under section 

771(24)(A) of the Act.24

The petitioner contends that the 

industry’s injured condition is 

illustrated by a significant and 

increasing volume of subject imports; 

declining market share; underselling 

and price suppression; lost sales and 

revenues; plant closures; declining 

employment variables; and adverse 

impact on financial performance.25 We 

assessed the allegations and supporting 

evidence regarding material injury, 

threat of material injury, causation, as 

well as negligibility, and we have 

determined that these allegations are 

properly supported by adequate 

evidence, and meet the statutory 

requirements for initiation.26


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices 73319 

Covering Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates 

from the People’s Republic of China and Japan. 

27See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists. 

28 In accordance with section 773(b)(2) of the Act, 

for the Japan investigation, Commerce will request 

information necessary to calculate the constructed 

value (CV) and COP to determine whether there are 

reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that sales 

of the foreign like product have been made at prices 

that represent less than the COP of the product. 

29See Japan AD Initiation Checklist. 

30See, e.g., Certain Freight Rail Couplers and 

Parts Thereof from the People’s Republic of China: 

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at 

Less Than Fair Value and Preliminary Affirmative 

Determination of Critical Circumstances, 88 FR 

15372 (March 13, 2023), and accompanying 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 5, 

unchanged in Certain Freight Rail Couplers and 

Parts Thereof from the People’s Republic of China: 

Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at LessThan-Fair Value and Final Affirmative 

Determination of Critical Circumstances, 88 FR 

34485 (May 30, 2023). 

31See China AD Initiation Checklist. 

32 Id. 

33 Id. 

34 Id. 

35See Country-Specific AD Initiation Checklists. 

36See Petitions at Volume I (page 13 and Exhibit 

GEN–5). 

37See Memorandum, ‘‘Aluminum Lithographic 

Printing Plates from Japan Antidumping Duty 

Petition: Release of U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection Entry Data,’’ dated October 12, 2023. 

38See Petitions at Volume I (page 13 and Exhibit 

GEN–5). 

Allegations of Sales at LTFV 

The following is a description of the 

allegations of sales at LTFV upon which 

Commerce based its decision to initiate 

AD investigations of imports of printing 

plates from China and Japan. The 

sources of data for the deductions and 

adjustments relating to U.S. price and 

normal value (NV) are discussed in 

greater detail in the Country-Specific 

AD Initiation Checklists. 

U.S. Price 

For China and Japan, the petitioner 

based export price (EP) on pricing 

information for sales of, or offers for sale 

of, printing plates produced in and 

exported from each country. The 

petitioner made certain adjustments to 

U.S. price to calculate a net ex-factory 

U.S. price, where applicable.27

Normal Value 28

For Japan, the petitioner based NV on 

home pricing information for printing 

plates produced and sold in Japan 

during the applicable time period and 

made certain adjustments to home 

market price to calculate a net ex-factory 

home market price, where 

appropriate.29

Commerce considers China to be an 

NME country.30 In accordance with 

section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any 

determination that a foreign country is 

an NME country shall remain in effect 

until revoked by Commerce. Therefore, 

we continue to treat China as an NME 

country for purposes of the initiation of 

these investigations. Accordingly, we 

base NV on FOPs valued in a surrogate 

market economy country in accordance 

with section 773(c) of the Act. 

The petitioner claims that Turkey is 

an appropriate surrogate country for 

China because it is a market economy 

that is at a level of economic 

development comparable to that of 

China and is a significant producer of 

comparable merchandise.31 The 

petitioner provided publicly available 

information from Turkey to value all 

FOPs.32 Based on the information 

provided by the petitioner, we believe it 

is appropriate to use Turkey as a 

surrogate country to value all FOPs for 

initiation purposes. 

Interested parties will have the 

opportunity to submit comments 

regarding surrogate country selection 

and, pursuant to 19 CFR 

351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an 

opportunity to submit publicly available 

information to value FOPs within 30 

days before the scheduled date of the 

preliminary determination. 

Factors of Production 

Because information regarding the 

volume of inputs consumed by Chinese 

producers/exporters was not reasonably 

available, the petitioner used its own 

product-specific consumption rates as a 

surrogate to value Chinese 

manufacturers’ FOPs.33 Additionally, 

the petitioner calculated factory 

overhead; selling, general and 

administrative expenses; and profit 

based on the experience of a Turkish 

producer of comparable merchandise.34

Fair Value Comparisons 

Based on the data provided by the 

petitioner, there is reason to believe that 

imports of printing plates from China 

and Japan are being, or are likely to be, 

sold in the United States at LTFV. Based 

on comparisons of EP to NV, in 

accordance with sections 772 and 773 of 

the Act, the estimated dumping margins 

for printing plates for both of the 

countries covered by this initiation are 

as follows: (1) China—107.62 percent; 

and Japan—23.46 percent.35

Initiation of LTFV Investigations 

Based upon the examination of the 

Petitions and supplemental responses, 

we find that they meet the requirements 

of section 732 of the Act. Therefore, we 

are initiating AD investigations to 

determine whether imports of printing 

plates from China and Japan are being, 

or are likely to be, sold in the United 

States at LTFV. For a full discussion of 

the basis for our decisions to initiate 

these AD investigations, see the 

Country-Specific AD Initiation 

Checklists. Public versions of the 

initiation checklists for these 

investigations are available on ACCESS. 

In accordance with section 733(b)(1)(A) 

of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), 

unless postponed, we will make our 

preliminary determinations no later 

than 140 days after the date of these 

initiations. 

Respondent Selection 

Japan 

In the Petitions, the petitioner 

identified five companies in Japan as 

producers/exporters of printing plates.36

Following standard practice in AD 

investigations involving market 

economy countries, in the event 

Commerce determines that the number 

of exporters or producers is large such 

that Commerce cannot individually 

examine each company based on its 

resources, where appropriate, 

Commerce intends to select mandatory 

respondents in the Japan case based on 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) data for U.S. imports under the 

appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

of the United States subheadings listed 

in the ‘‘Scope of the Investigations,’’ in 

the appendix. 

On October 12, 2023, Commerce 

released CBP data on imports of printing 

plates from Japan under administrative 

protective order (APO) to all parties 

with access to information protected by 

APO and indicated that interested 

parties wishing to comment on CBP data 

and/or respondent selection must do so 

within three business days of the 

publication date of the notice of 

initiation of these investigations.37

Comments must be filed electronically 

using ACCESS. An electronically-filed 

document must be received successfully 

in its entirety via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. 

ET on the specified deadline. Commerce 

will not accept rebuttal comments 

regarding the CBP data or respondent 

selection. 

China 

In the Petitions, the petitioner named 

eight companies in China as producers 

and/or exporters of printing plates.38 In 

accordance with our standard practice 

for respondent selection in AD 

investigations involving NME countries, 

Commerce selects respondents based on 

quantity and value (Q&V) 

questionnaires in cases where it has 

determined that the number of 

companies is large and it cannot 

individually examine each company 


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73320 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices 

39See Enforcement and Compliance’s Policy 

Bulletin 05.1, regarding, ‘‘Separate-Rates Practice 

and Application of Combination Rates in 

Antidumping Investigation involving NME 

Countries,’’ (April 5, 2005) at 6 (emphasis added), 

available on Commerce’s website at https://

access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf. 

40See section 733(a) of the Act. 

41 Id. 

42See 19 CFR 351.301(b). 

43See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2). 

based upon its resources. Therefore, 

considering the number of producers 

and/or exporters identified in the 

Petition, Commerce will solicit Q&V 

information that can serve as a basis for 

selecting exporters for individual 

examination in the event that Commerce 

decides to limit the number of 

respondents individually examined 

pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the 

Act. Because there are eight Chinese 

producers and/or exporters identified in 

the Petitions, Commerce has determined 

that it will issue Q&V questionnaires to 

each potential respondent for which the 

petitioner has provided a complete 

address. 

In addition, Commerce will post the 

Q&V questionnaire along with filing 

instructions on Commerce’s website at 

https://www.trade.gov/ec-adcvd-caseannouncements. Producers/exporters of 

printing plates from China that do not 

receive Q&V questionnaires may still 

submit a response to the Q&V 

questionnaire and can obtain a copy of 

the Q&V questionnaire from 

Commerce’s website. In accordance 

with the standard practice for 

respondent selection in AD cases 

involving NME countries, in the event 

Commerce decides to limit the number 

of respondents individually 

investigated, Commerce intends to base 

respondent selection on the responses to 

the Q&V questionnaire that it receives. 

Responses to the Q&V questionnaire 

must be submitted by the relevant 

Chinese producers/exporters no later 

than 5:00 p.m. ET on November 1, 2023, 

which is two weeks from the signature 

date of this notice. All Q&V 

questionnaire responses must be filed 

electronically via ACCESS. An 

electronically filed document must be 

received successfully, in its entirety, by 

ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on 

the deadline noted above. 

Interested parties must submit 

applications for disclosure under APO 

in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(b). 

As stated above, instructions for filing 

such applications may be found on 

Commerce’s website at https://

www.trade.gov/administrativeprotective-orders. 

Separate Rates 

In order to obtain separate rate status 

in an NME investigation, exporters and 

producers must submit a separate rate 

application. The specific requirements 

for submitting a separate rate 

application in an NME investigation are 

outlined in detail in the application 

itself, which is available on Commerce’s 

website at https://access.trade.gov/ 

Resources/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. The 

separate rate application will be due 30 

days after publication of this initiation 

notice. Exporters and producers who 

submit a separate rate application and 

have been selected as mandatory 

respondents will be eligible for 

consideration for separate rate status 

only if they respond to all parts of 

Commerce’s AD questionnaire as 

mandatory respondents. Commerce 

requires that companies from China 

submit a response both to the Q&V 

questionnaire and to the separate rate 

application by the respective deadlines 

in order to receive consideration for 

separate rate status. Companies not 

filing a timely Q&V questionnaire 

response will not receive separate rate 

consideration. 

Use of Combination Rates 

Commerce will calculate combination 

rates for certain respondents that are 

eligible for a separate rate in an NME 

investigation. The Separate Rates and 

Combination Rates Bulletin states: 

{w}hile continuing the practice of assigning 

separate rates only to exporters, all separate 

rates that {Commerce} will now assign in its 

NME Investigation will be specific to those 

producers that supplied the exporter during 

the period of investigation. Note, however, 

that one rate is calculated for the exporter 

and all of the producers which supplied 

subject merchandise to it during the period 

of investigation. This practice applies both to 

mandatory respondents receiving an 

individually calculated separate rate as well 

as the pool of non-investigated firms 

receiving the {weighted average} of the 

individually calculated rates. This practice is 

referred to as the application of ‘‘combination 

rates’’ because such rates apply to specific 

combinations of exporters and one or more 

producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to 

an exporter will apply only to merchandise 

both exported by the firm in question and 

produced by a firm that supplied the exporter 

during the period of investigation.39

Distribution of Copies of the AD 

Petitions 

In accordance with section 

732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 

351.202(f), copies of the public version 

of the AD Petitions have been provided 

to the governments of China and Japan 

via ACCESS. To the extent practicable, 

we will attempt to provide a copy of the 

public version of the AD Petitions to 

each exporter named in the AD 

Petitions, as provided under 19 CFR 

351.203(c)(2). 

ITC Notification 

Commerce will notify the ITC of our 

initiation, as required by section 732(d) 

of the Act. 

Preliminary Determinations by the ITC 

The ITC will preliminarily determine, 

within 45 days after the date on which 

the AD Petitions were filed, whether 

there is a reasonable indication that 

imports of printing plates from China 

and/or Japan are materially injuring, or 

threatening material injury to, a U.S. 

industry.40 A negative ITC 

determination for either country will 

result in the investigation being 

terminated with respect to that 

country.41 Otherwise, these AD 

investigations will proceed according to 

statutory and regulatory time limits. 

Submission of Factual Information 

Factual information is defined in 19 

CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) evidence 

submitted in response to questionnaires; 

(ii) evidence submitted in support of 

allegations; (iii) publicly available 

information to value factors under 19 

CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 

adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 

351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence placed on 

the record by Commerce; and (v) 

evidence other than factual information 

described in (i)–(iv). Section 351.301(b) 

of Commerce’s regulations requires any 

party, when submitting factual 

information, to specify under which 

subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the 

information is being submitted 42 and, if 

the information is submitted to rebut, 

clarify, or correct factual information 

already on the record, to provide an 

explanation identifying the information 

already on the record that the factual 

information seeks to rebut, clarify, or 

correct.43 Time limits for the 

submission of factual information are 

addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, which 

provides specific time limits based on 

the type of factual information being 

submitted. Interested parties should 

review the regulations prior to 

submitting factual information in these 

investigations. 

Particular Market Situation Allegation 

Section 773(e) of the Act addresses 

the concept of particular market 

situation (PMS) for purposes of CV, 

stating that ‘‘if a particular market 

situation exists such that the cost of 

materials and fabrication or other 

processing of any kind does not 

accurately reflect the cost of production 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 205 / Wednesday, October 25, 2023 / Notices 73321 

44See 19 CFR 351.301; see also Extension of Time 

Limits; Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 20, 

2013) (Time Limits Final Rule), available at https:// 

www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013- 

22853.htm. 

45See 19 CFR 351.302; see also, e.g., Time Limits 

Final Rule. 

46See section 782(b) of the Act. 

47See Certification of Factual Information to 

Import Administration During Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 

17, 2013) (Final Rule). Additional information 

regarding the Final Rule is available at https://

access.trade.gov/Resources/filing/index.html. 

48See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD 

Service Requirements Due to COVID–19; Extension 

of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020). 

Additionally, note that Commerce has modified its 

regulations to make permanent certain changes to 

its service procedures that were adopted on a 

temporary basis due to COVID–19, as well as 

additional clarifications and corrections to its AD/ 

CVD regulations. Effective October 30, 2023, these 

changes will apply to all AD/CVD proceedings that 

are ongoing on the effective date and all AD/CVD 

proceedings initiated on or after the effective date. 

See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and 

Other Procedures in Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069 

(September 29, 2023). 

in the ordinary course of trade, the 

administering authority may use 

another calculation methodology under 

this subtitle or any other calculation 

methodology.’’ When an interested 

party submits a PMS allegation pursuant 

to section 773(e) of the Act, Commerce 

will respond to such a submission 

consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(v). 

If Commerce finds that a PMS exists 

under section 773(e) of the Act, then it 

will modify its dumping calculations 

appropriately. 

Neither section 773(e) of the Act, nor 

19 CFR 351.301(c)(2)(v), set a deadline 

for the submission of PMS allegations 

and supporting factual information. 

However, in order to administer section 

773(e) of the Act, Commerce must 

receive PMS allegations and supporting 

factual information with enough time to 

consider the submission. Thus, should 

an interested party wish to submit a 

PMS allegation and supporting new 

factual information pursuant to section 

773(e) of the Act, it must do so no later 

than 20 days after submission of a 

respondent’s initial section D 

questionnaire response. 

Extensions of Time Limits 

Parties may request an extension of 

time limits before the expiration of a 

time limit established under 19 CFR 

351.301, or as otherwise specified by 

Commerce. In general, an extension 

request will be considered untimely if it 

is filed after the expiration of the time 

limit established under 19 CFR 

351.301.44 For submissions that are due 

from multiple parties simultaneously, 

an extension request will be considered 

untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET 

on the due date. Under certain 

circumstances, Commerce may elect to 

specify a different time limit by which 

extension requests will be considered 

untimely for submissions which are due 

from multiple parties simultaneously. In 

such a case, Commerce will inform 

parties in a letter or memorandum of the 

deadline (including a specified time) by 

which extension requests must be filed 

to be considered timely. An extension 

request must be made in a separate, 

stand-alone submission; under limited 

circumstances we will grant untimely 

filed requests for the extension of time 

limits, where we determine, based on 19 

CFR 351.302, that extraordinary 

circumstances exist. Parties should 

review Commerce’s regulations 

concerning the extension of time limits 

and the Time Limits Final Rule prior to 

submitting factual information in these 

investigations.45

Certification Requirements 

Any party submitting factual 

information in an AD or CVD 

proceeding must certify to the accuracy 

and completeness of that information.46

Parties must use the certification 

formats provided in 19 CFR 

351.303(g).47 Commerce intends to 

reject factual submissions if the 

submitting party does not comply with 

the applicable certification 

requirements. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

Interested parties must submit 

applications for disclosure under APO 

in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. 

Parties wishing to participate in these 

investigations should ensure that they 

meet the requirements of 19 CFR 

351.103(d) (e.g., by filing the required 

letter of appearance). Note that 

Commerce has temporarily modified 

certain of its requirements for serving 

documents containing business 

proprietary information, until further 

notice.48

This notice is issued and published 

pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) and 777(i) 

of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c). 

Dated: October 18, 2023. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix 

Scope of the Investigations 

The merchandise covered by these 

investigations is aluminum lithographic 

printing plates. Aluminum lithographic 

printing plates consist of a flat substrate 

containing at least 90 percent aluminum. The 

aluminum-containing substrate is generally 

treated using a mechanical, electrochemical, 

or chemical graining process, which is 

followed by one or more anodizing 

treatments that form a hydrophilic layer on 

the aluminum-containing substrate. An 

image-recording, oleophilic layer that is 

sensitive to light, including but not limited 

to ultra-violet, visible, or infrared, is 

dispersed in a polymeric binder material that 

is applied on top of the hydrophilic layer, 

generally on one side of the aluminum 

lithographic printing plate. The oleophilic 

light-sensitive layer is capable of capturing 

an image that is transferred onto the plate by 

either light or heat. The image applied to an 

aluminum lithographic printing plate 

facilitates the production of newspapers, 

magazines, books, yearbooks, coupons, 

packaging, and other printed materials 

through an offset printing process, where an 

aluminum lithographic printing plate 

facilitates the transfer of an image onto the 

printed media. Aluminum lithographic 

printing plates within the scope of these 

investigations include all aluminum 

lithographic printing plates, irrespective of 

the dimensions or thickness of the 

underlying aluminum substrate, whether the 

plate requires processing after an image is 

applied to the plate, whether the plate is 

ready to be mounted to a press and used in 

printing operations immediately after an 

image is applied to the plate, or whether the 

plate has been exposed to light or heat to 

create an image on the plate or remains 

unexposed and is free of any image. 

Subject merchandise also includes 

aluminum lithographic printing plates 

produced from an aluminum sheet coil that 

has been coated with a light-sensitive imagerecording layer in a subject country and that 

is subsequently unwound and cut to the final 

dimensions to produce a finished plate in a 

third country (including the United States), 

or exposed to light or heat to create an image 

on the plate in a third country (including in 

a foreign trade zone within the United 

States). 

Excluded from the scope of these 

investigations are lithographic printing plates 

manufactured using a substrate produced 

from a material other than aluminum, such 

as rubber or plastic. 

Aluminum lithographic printing plates are 

currently classifiable under Harmonized 

Tariff of the United States (HTSUS) 

subheadings 3701.30.0000 and 3701.99.6060. 

Further, merchandise that falls within the 

scope of these investigations may also be 

entered into the United States under HTSUS 

subheadings 3701.99.3000 and 8442.50.1000. 

Although the HTSUS subheadings are 

provided for convenience and customs 

purposes, the written description of the 

scope of these investigations is dispositive. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23530 Filed 10–24–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 


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