[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 193 (Friday, October 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80870-80872]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22940]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-169]


Certain Alkyl Phosphate Esters 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 certain alkyl phosphate esters (alkyl 
phosphate esters) from the People's Republic of China (China). The 
period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable October 4, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benjamin Nathan or Gregory Taushani, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3834 or (202) 
482-1012, 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 13, 
2024.\1\ On July 5, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation until September 20, 2024.\2\ On 
July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this proceeding by 
seven days.\3\ The deadline for the preliminary determination is now 
September 27, 2024.
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    \1\ See Certain Alkyl Phosphate Esters from the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 
89 FR 43821 (May 20, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Alkyl Phosphate Esters from the People's Republic of 
China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 89 FR 55585 (July 5, 2024).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines,'' 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 of the Countervailing Duty Investigation 
of Alkyl Phosphate Esters 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 products covered by this investigation are alkyl phosphate 
esters 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,\5\ in 
the Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a period of time for parties 
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ Certain 
interested parties commented on the scope of the antidumping duty (AD) 
and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations as it appeared in the 
Initiation Notice. Commerce intends to issue its preliminary decision 
regarding comments concerning the scope of the AD and CVD investigation 
on or before the preliminary determination of the companion AD 
investigation.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice.

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[[Page 80871]]

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.\7\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \7\ 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 
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.\8\ 
For further information, see the ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 
Adverse Inferences'' section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \8\ 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 CVD determination in this 
investigation with the final determination in the concurrent less than 
fair value (LTFV) investigation of alkyl phosphate esters from China 
based on a request made by ICL-IP America, Inc., the petitioner.\9\ 
Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same 
date as the final LTFV determination, which is currently scheduled to 
be issued no later than February 9, 2025, unless postponed.
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    \9\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Request for Alignment of the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation with the Concurrent Antidumping 
Duty Investigation,'' dated September 13, 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 calculated individual 
estimated countervailable subsidy rates for Anhui RunYue Technology 
Co., Ltd. (Anhui) and Zhejiang Wansheng Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang Wansheng) 
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. 
sales values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. 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 
Memorandum, ``Calculation of Subsidy Rate for All Others,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice.
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Preliminary Determination

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

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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Anhui RunYue Technology Co., Ltd.\11\...................           96.83
Zhejiang Wansheng Co., Ltd.\12\.........................           35.47
Zhejiang Wanda Tools Group Corp.........................        * 564.13
All Others..............................................           50.15
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* Rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.

Disclosure
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    \11\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce preliminarily finds Anhui to be cross owned with the 
following company: Yixing RunYue Enterprise Management Co., Ltd.
    \12\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce preliminarily finds Zhejiang Wansheng to be cross-owned 
with two companies. Because all information pertaining to these 
cross-owned companies is business proprietary information, the 
calculated subsidy rate is only applicable to Zhejiang Wansheng.
    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).
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    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.

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 
the scope of the investigation 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.

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 issues raised in the 
case briefs, may be filed no later than five days after the

[[Page 80872]]

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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    \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 19 351.309(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 public 
executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not 
including citations. We intend to use the public 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).\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. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a date, time, and location to 
be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and 
location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.
    All submissions, including case and rebuttal briefs, as well as 
hearing requests, should be filed using ACCESS. An electronically-filed 
document must be received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline.

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 whether imports of alkyl 
phosphate esters from China 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 27, 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 products covered by this investigation are alkyl phosphate 
esters, which are halogenated and non-halogenated phosphorus-based 
esters with a phosphorus content of at least 6.5 percent (per 
weight) and a viscosity between 1 and 2000 mPa.s (at 20-25 [deg]C).
    Merchandise subject to this investigation primarily includes 
Tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP), Tris (1,3-
dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCP), and Triethyl Phosphate (TEP)).
    TCPP is also known as Tris (1-chloro-2- propyl) phosphate, Tris 
(1-chloropropan-2-yl) phosphate, Tris (monochloroisopropyl) 
phosphate (TMCP), and Tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIP). 
TCPP has the chemical formula 
C<INF>9</INF>H<INF>18</INF>C<INF>l3</INF>O<INF>4</INF>P and the 
Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Nos. 1244733-77-4 and 13674-84-5. 
It may also be identified as CAS No. 6145-73-9.
    TDCP is also known as Tris (1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate, 
Tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate, Chlorinated tris, tris {2- 
chloro-1-(chloromethyl ethyl){time}  phosphate, TDCPP, and TDCIPP. 
TDCP has the chemical formula 
C<INF>9</INF>H<INF>15</INF>C<INF>l6</INF>O<INF>4</INF>P and the CAS 
No. 13674-87-8.
    TEP is also known as Phosphoric acid triethyl ester, phosphoric 
ester, flame retardant TEP, Tris(ethyl) phosphate, 
Triethoxyphosphine oxide, and Ethyl phosphate (neutral). TEP has the 
chemical formula (C<INF>2</INF>H<INF>5</INF>O)<INF>3</INF>PO and the 
CAS No. 78-40-0.
    Imported alkyl phosphate esters are not excluded from the scope 
of this investigation even if the imported alkyl phosphate ester 
consists of a single isomer or combination of isomers in proportions 
different from the isomers ordinarily provided in the market.
    Also included in this investigation are blends including one or 
more alkyl phosphate esters, with or without other substances, where 
the alkyl phosphate esters account for 20 percent or more of the 
blend by weight.
    Alkyl phosphate esters are classified under subheading 
2919.90.5050, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Imports may also be classified under subheadings 
2919.90.5010 and 3824.99.5000, HTSUS. The HTSUS subheadings and CAS 
registry numbers are provided for convenience and customs purposes. 
The written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. New Subsidy Allegations
IV. Post-Preliminary Decision Memorandum
V. Alignment
VI. Injury Test
VII. Analysis of China's Financial System
VIII. Diversification of China's Economy
IX. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
X. Subsidies Valuation
XI. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
XII. Analysis of Programs
XIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-22940 Filed 10-3-24; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P