[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79245-79248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22228]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-533-929]


Ceramic Tile From India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination, Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances 
Determination, in Part, and Alignment of Final Determination With the 
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 (CVD) subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of ceramic tile from India. The period of 
investigation (POI) is April 1, 2023, through March 31, 2024. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable September 27, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jinny Ahn or Natasia Harrison, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0339 or (202) 482-1240, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on May 16, 
2024.\1\ On June 24, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination in this investigation until September 16, 2024.\2\ On 
July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative 
proceeding by seven days.\3\ The deadline for this preliminary 
determination is now September 23, 2024.
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    \1\ See Ceramic Tile from India: Initiation of Countervailing 
Duty Investigation, 89 FR 42841 (May 16, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Ceramic Tile from India: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation, 89 FR 53958 
(June 28, 2024).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\4\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically 
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to 
registered users at https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Ceramic Tile from India,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby 
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

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[[Page 79246]]

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is ceramic tile from 
India. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\6\ We received 
several comments concerning the scope of this investigation, as well as 
in the companion less-than-fair value (LTFV) investigation of ceramic 
tile, as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. We are currently 
evaluating the scope comments filed by interested parties. We intend to 
issue our preliminary decision regarding the scope of the LTFV and CVD 
investigations on or before the preliminary determination of the 
companion LTFV investigation, the deadline for which is November 22, 
2024. We will incorporate the scope decisions from the LTFV 
investigation into the scope of the final CVD determination for this 
investigation after considering any relevant comments submitted in 
scope case and rebuttal briefs.\7\
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 42842.
    \7\ The deadline for interested parties to submit scope case and 
rebuttal briefs will be established in the preliminary scope 
decision memorandum.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found to be 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a 
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that gives 
rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\8\ In making its determination, Commerce relied, in part, on 
adverse facts available. For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \8\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in 
Part

    In accordance with section 703(e)(1) of the Act, Commerce 
preliminarily determines that critical circumstances do not exist with 
respect to U.S. imports of subject merchandise from Antiqa Minerals 
(Antiqa) and Win-Tel Ceramics Private Limited (Win-Tel). However, 
Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for all 
other exporters or producers not individually examined. For a full 
description of the methodology and results of Commerce's analysis, see 
the ``Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances'' section in 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is 
aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the 
final determination in the companion antidumping duty (AD) 
investigation of ceramic tile from India based on a request made by the 
petitioner.\9\ Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued 
on the same date as the final AD determination, which is currently 
scheduled to be issued no later than February 5, 2025, unless 
postponed.
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    \9\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petitioner's Request to Align 
Countervailing Duty Investigation Final Determination with 
Antidumping Duty Investigation Final Determination,'' dated 
September 9, 2024. The petitioner is the Coalition for Fair Trade in 
Ceramic Tile.
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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 determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated individual estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates for Antiqa and Win-Tel that are not zero, 
de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce 
calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the 
individual estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined 
respondents using each company's publicly ranged values for the 
merchandise under consideration.\10\
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    \10\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates 
calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the 
estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and 
(C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for 
the examined respondents using each company's publicly ranged U.S. 
sale values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closer to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. 
See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, 
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53662 
(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum 
at Comment 1. As complete publicly ranged sales data were available, 
Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged sales data 
of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data, 
see the All-Others Rate Calculation Memorandum, dated concurrently 
with this notice.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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    \11\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce preliminarily finds Win-Tel Ceramics Private Limited to be 
cross-owned with Theos Tiles LLP.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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Antiqa Minerals.........................................            3.15
Win-Tel Ceramics Private Limited \11\...................            3.05
All Others..............................................            3.08
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Suspension of Liquidation

    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 
Appendix I to this notice entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in 
Federal Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rate indicated in 
the table above.
    Section 703(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a) 
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published in the Federal Register. 
As noted above, Commerce preliminarily finds that critical 
circumstances do not exist for imports of subject merchandise produced 
and/or exported by Antiqa and Win-Tel, and that critical circumstances 
do exist for all other producers and/or exporters not individually 
examined. In accordance with section 703(e)(2)(A) of the Act, 
suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of 
subject

[[Page 79247]]

merchandise from the exporters/producers identified in this paragraph 
that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice 
in the Federal Register.

Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed in this preliminary determination to parties to the 
proceeding within five days of public announcement of the 
determination, or if there is no public announcement, within five days 
of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.244(b).
    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if 
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial 
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent 
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete 
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR 
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce 
will address such allegations in the final determination together with 
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.

Verification

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

Public Comment

    All interested parties will have the opportunity to submit scope 
case and rebuttal briefs on the preliminary decision regarding the 
scope of the LTFV and CVD investigations. The deadlines to submit scope 
case and rebuttal briefs will be provided in the preliminary scope 
decision memorandum. For all scope case and rebuttal briefs, parties 
must file identical documents simultaneously on the records of the 
ongoing LTFV and CVD ceramic tile investigations. No new factual 
information or business proprietary information may be included in 
either scope case or rebuttal briefs.
    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.\12\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in 
case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for 
filing case briefs.\13\ 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.\14\
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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements).
    \13\ 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).
    \14\ 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.\15\ 
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 for 
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).\16\
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    \15\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \16\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. 
Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone 
number, the number of participants from the party, whether any 
participant is a foreign national, 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, Commerce 
intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be determined. 
Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the 
hearing two days before the scheduled hearing date.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine, before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination, 
whether imports of ceramic tile from India are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

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

    Dated: September 23, 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 ceramic 
flooring tile, wall tile, paving tile, hearth tile, porcelain tile, 
mosaic tile, flags, decorative tile, finishing tile, and the like 
(hereinafter ceramic tile). Ceramic tiles are articles containing a 
mixture of minerals including clay (generally hydrous silicates of 
alumina or magnesium) that are fired so the raw materials are fused 
to produce a tile that is less than 3.2 cm in thickness, exclusive 
of decorative features. All ceramic tile is subject to the scope 
regardless of end use, surface area, and weight, regardless of 
whether the tile is glazed or unglazed, regardless of the water 
absorption coefficient by weight, regardless of the extent of 
vitrification, and regardless of whether or not the tile is on a 
backing. Subject merchandise includes ceramic tile ``slabs'' or 
``panels'' (tiles that are larger than 1 meter\2\ (11 ft\2\)).
    Subject merchandise includes ceramic tile that undergoes minor 
processing in a third country prior to importation into the United 
States. Similarly, subject merchandise includes ceramic tile 
produced that undergoes minor processing after importation into the 
United States. Such minor processing includes, but is not limited 
to, one or more of the following: beveling, cutting, trimming, 
staining, painting, polishing, finishing, additional firing, 
affixing a decorative surface to the tile, or any other processing 
that would otherwise not remove the merchandise from the scope of 
the investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the 
in-scope product.
    Subject merchandise is currently classified in the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under the following

[[Page 79248]]

subheadings of heading 6907: 6907.21.1005, 6907.21.1011, 
6907.21.1051, 6907.21.2000, 6907.21.3000, 6907.21.4000, 
6907.21.9011, 6907.21.9051, 6907.22.1005, 6907.22.1011, 
6907.22.1051, 6907.22.2000, 6907.22.3000, 6907.22.4000, 
6907.22.9011, 6907.22.9051, 6907.23.1005, 6907.23.1011, 
6907.23.1051, 6907.23.2000, 6907.23.3000, 6907.23.4000, 
6907.23.9011, 6907.23.9051, 6907.30.1005, 6907.30.1011, 
6907.30.1051, 6907.30.2000, 6907.30.3000, 6907.30.4000, 
6907.30.9011, 6907.30.9051, 6907.40.1005, 6907.40.1011, 
6907.40.1051, 6907.40.2000, 6907.40.3000, 6907.40.4000, 
6907.40.9011, and 6907.40.9051. Subject merchandise may also enter 
under subheadings of headings 6913, 6914, and 6905: 6913.90.2000, 
6914.10.8000, 6914.90.8000, 6905.10.0000, and 6905.90.0050. The 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes 
only. The written description of the scope of the investigation is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Injury Test
V. Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances
VI. Use of Adverse Facts Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
VII. Subsidies Valuation Information
VIII. Interest Rate Benchmarks and Benchmarks for Measuring the 
Adequacy of Remuneration
IX. Diversification of India's Economy
X. Analysis of Programs
XI. Calculation of the All-Others Rate
XII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-22228 Filed 9-26-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P