[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 42 (Friday, March 1, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15134-15136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04392]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-157]


Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates From the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 
and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of aluminum lithographic printing plates 
(printing plates) from the People's Republic of China (China). The 
period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 
2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable March 1, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terre Keaton Stefanova, AD/CVD 
Operations Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue

[[Page 15135]]

NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1280.

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 countervailing duty 
investigation on October 25, 2023.\1\ On December 7, 2023, Commerce 
postponed the preliminary determination until February 26, 2024.\2\
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    \1\ See Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 
88 FR 73313 (October 25, 2023) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the People's 
Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 88 FR 85219 (December 7, 2023).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically 
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 
registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates from the People's Republic 
of China,'' 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 are printing plates from 
China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\5\ No interested 
party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a 
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives 
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\6\
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    \6\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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    Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, 
on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents 
and the Government of China did not act to the best of their ability to 
respond to Commerce's requests for information, it drew an adverse 
inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise 
available.\7\ For further information, see the ``Use of Facts Otherwise 
Available and Adverse Inferences'' section in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Alignment

    In accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(4), Commerce is aligning the final determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping 
duty investigation of printing plates from China based on a request 
made by Eastman Kodak Company (the petitioner).\8\ Consequently, the 
final countervailing duty determination will be issued on the same date 
as the final antidumping duty determination, which is currently 
scheduled to be issued no later than July 9, 2024, unless postponed.
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    \8\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Request to Align 
Final Countervailing Duty Determination With the Companion 
Antidumping Duty Final Determinations,'' dated February 12, 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 preliminarily assigned a rate based 
entirely on facts available to Shanghai National Ink Co. Ltd. 
Therefore, the only rate that that is not zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts otherwise available is the rate calculated for 
Fujifilm Printing Plate (China) Co., Ltd. (FFPS). Consequently, the 
rate calculated for FFPS is also assigned as the rate for all other 
producers and exporters, pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the 
Act.

Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                           (percent  ad
                                                             valorem)
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Fujifilm Printing Plate (China) Co., Ltd.\9\............           38.50
Shanghai National Ink Co. Ltd...........................          231.98
All Others..............................................           38.50
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Suspension of Liquidation
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    \9\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following company to be cross-owned with 
FFPS: Fujifilm (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
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    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, 
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in 
the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register . Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the rates indicated above.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination 
within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of this notice in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

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. Rebuttal briefs, limited to

[[Page 15136]]

issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days 
after the date for filing case briefs.\10\ Interested parties who 
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: 
(1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of 
authorities.\11\
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    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an 
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this investigation, we instead request 
that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a 
public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\12\ 
Further, we request that interested parties limit their 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).\13\
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    \12\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \13\ See APO and Service Final Rule, 88 FR at 67069.
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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 via ACCESS 
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, and a list of the issues to be discussed. Oral 
presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the 
briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of 
the time and date for the hearing.\14\
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    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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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.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: February 26, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise 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 image-recording 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.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Injury Test
IV. Analysis of China's Financial System
V. Diversification of China's Economy
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Subsidies Valuation
VIII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Recommendation

 [FR Doc. 2024-04392 Filed 2-29-24; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P