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###### International Trade Commission

          - [Investigation Nos. 701-TA-720 and 731-TA-1688 (Final)]

# AGENCY:

United States International Trade Commission.

# ACTION:

Notice.

# SUMMARY:

                        The Commission hereby gives notice of the scheduling of the final phase of antidumping and countervailing duty investigation Nos. 701-TA-720 and 731-TA-1688 (Final) pursuant to the Tariff Act of 1930 (“the Act”) to determine whether an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of imports of ceramic tile from India, provided for in subheadings 6907.21.10, 6907.21.20, 6907.21.30, 6907.21.40, 6907.21.90, 6907.22.10, 6907.22.20, 6907.22.30, 6907.22.40, 6907.22.90, 6907.23.10, 6907.23.20, 6907.23.30, 6907.23.40, 6907.23.90, 6907.30.10, 6907.30.20, 6907.30.30, 6907.30.40,                               ( print page 104207)                            6907.30.90, 6907.40.10, 6907.40.20, 6907.40.30, 6907.40.40, and 6907.40.90 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, preliminarily determined by the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) to be subsidized and sold at less-than-fair-value.                    

# DATES:

December 2, 2024.

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

                        Nitin Joshi ((202) 708-1669), Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be obtained by accessing its internet server (                        *https://www.usitc.gov*). The public record for these investigations may be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at                         *https://edis.usitc.gov.*

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope—For purposes of these investigations, Commerce has defined the subject merchandise as “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 meter2 (11 ft2)). 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.

*Background*                    —The final phase of these investigations is being scheduled pursuant to sections 705(b) and 731(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1671d(b) and 1673d(b)), as a result of affirmative preliminary determinations by Commerce that certain benefits which constitute subsidies within the meaning of § 703 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1671b) are being provided to manufacturers, producers, or exporters in India of ceramic tile, and that such products are being sold in the United States at less than fair value within the meaning of § 733 of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1673b). The investigations were requested in petitions filed on April 19, 2024, by Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile.[1] 

For further information concerning the conduct of this phase of the investigations, hearing procedures, and rules of general application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, part 201, subparts A and B (19 CFR part 201), and part 207, subparts A and C (19 CFR part 207).

                    Although Commerce has preliminarily determined that imports of ceramic tile from India are not being and are not likely to be sold in the United States at less than fair value, for purposes of efficiency the Commission hereby waives rule 207.21(b) [2]                                          so that the final phase of the investigations may proceed concurrently in the event that Commerce makes a final affirmative determination with respect to such imports.                

*Participation in the investigations and public service list*                    —Persons, including industrial users of the subject merchandise and, if the merchandise is sold at the retail level, representative consumer organizations, wishing to participate in the final phase of these investigations as parties must file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as provided in § 201.11 of the Commission's rules, no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date specified in this notice. A party that filed a notice of appearance during the preliminary phase of the investigations need not file an additional notice of appearance during this final phase. The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names and addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the investigations.                

                    Please note the Secretary's Office will accept only electronic filings during this time. Filings must be made through the Commission's Electronic Document Information System (EDIS,                     *https://edis.usitc.gov*). No in-person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic filings will be accepted until further notice.                

*Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under an administrative protective order (APO) and BPI service list.*                    —Pursuant to § 207.7(a) of the Commission's rules, the Secretary will make BPI gathered in the final phase of these investigations available to authorized applicants under the APO issued in the investigations, provided that the application is made no later than 21 days prior to the hearing date specified in this notice. Authorized applicants must represent interested parties, as defined by 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to the investigations. A party granted access to BPI in the preliminary phase of the investigations need not reapply for such access. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO.                  

*Staff report*                    —The prehearing staff report in the final phase of these investigations will be placed in the nonpublic record on April 3, 2025, and a public version will be issued thereafter, pursuant to § 207.22 of the Commission's rules.                

*Hearing*                    —The Commission will hold a hearing in connection with the final phase of these investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 17, 2025. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed in writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before Friday, April 11, 2025. Any requests to appear as a witness via videoconference must be included with your request to appear. Requests to appear via videoconference must include a statement explaining why the witness cannot appear in person; the Chairman, or other person designated to conduct the investigation, may in their discretion for good cause shown, grant such a request. Requests to appear as remote witness due to illness or a                           ( print page 104208)                        positive COVID-19 test result may be submitted by 3pm the business day prior to the hearing. Further information about participation in the hearing will be posted on the Commission's website at                     *https://www.usitc.gov/​calendarpad/​calendar.html.*

                    A nonparty who has testimony that may aid the Commission's deliberations may request permission to present a short statement at the hearing. All parties and nonparties desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing conference, if deemed necessary, to be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Parties shall file and serve written testimony and presentation slides in connection with their presentation at the hearing by no later than noon on April 14, 2025. Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the public hearing are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2), 201.13(f), and 207.24 of the Commission's rules. Parties must submit any request to present a portion of their hearing testimony                     *in camera*                     no later than 7 business days prior to the date of the hearing.                

*Written submissions*                    —Each party who is an interested party shall submit a prehearing brief to the Commission. Prehearing briefs must conform with the provisions of § 207.23 of the Commission's rules; the deadline for filing is April 10, 2025. Parties shall also file written testimony in connection with their presentation at the hearing, and posthearing briefs, which must conform with the provisions of § 207.25 of the Commission's rules. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is April 24, 2025. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigations may submit a written statement of information pertinent to the subject of the investigations, including statements of support or opposition to the petition, on or before April 24, 2025. On May 12, 2025, the Commission will make available to parties all information on which they have not had an opportunity to comment. Parties may submit final comments on this information on or before May 14, 2025, but such final comments must not contain new factual information and must otherwise comply with § 207.30 of the Commission's rules. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of § 201.8 of the Commission's rules; any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of §§ 201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission's rules. The Commission's                     *Handbook on Filing Procedures,*                     available on the Commission's website at                     *https://www.usitc.gov/​documents/​handbook_​on_​filing_​procedures.pdf,*                     elaborates upon the Commission's procedures with respect to filings.                

Additional written submissions to the Commission, including requests pursuant to § 201.12 of the Commission's rules, shall not be accepted unless good cause is shown for accepting such submissions, or unless the submission is pursuant to a specific request by a Commissioner or Commission staff.

In accordance with §§ 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the investigations must be served on all other parties to the investigations (as identified by either the public or BPI service list), and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service.

*Authority:*                     These investigations are being conducted under authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published pursuant to § 207.21 of the Commission's rules.                

By order of the Commission.

Issued: December 16, 2024.

Lisa Barton,

Secretary to the Commission.

# Footnotes

1.                             The Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile is comprised of Crossville, Inc., Crossville, TN; Dal-Tile Corporation, Dallas, TX; Del Conca USA, Inc., Loudon, TN; Wonder Porcelain, Lebanon, TN; Landmark Ceramics—UST, Inc., Mount Pleasant, TN; Florim USA, Clarksville, TN; Florida Tile, Lexington, KY; Portobello America Manufacturing LLC, Pompano Beach, FL; and StonePeak Ceramics Inc., Chicago, IL.                    
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2.                             § 207.21(b) of the Commission's rules provides that, where Commerce has issued a negative preliminary determination, the Commission will publish a Final Phase Notice of Scheduling upon receipt of an affirmative final determination from Commerce.                    
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[FR Doc. 2024-30379 Filed 12-19-24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7020-02-P