2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid From the People's Republic of China and India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[C-570-161, C-533-923]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid From the People's Republic of China and India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable April 23, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Claudia Cott (the People's Republic of China) and Frank Schmitt (India), AD/CVD Operations, Offices I and VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482- 4270 and (202) 482-4880, respectively. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Petitions</HD> On March 14, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) received countervailing duty (CVD) petitions concerning imports of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from the People's Republic of China (China) and India filed in proper form on behalf of Corteva Agriscience LLC (the petitioner), <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> a domestic producer of 2,4-D. The CVD petitions were accompanied by antidumping duty (AD) petitions concerning imports of 2,4-D from China and India. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On April 3, 2024, after considering comments regarding industry support, Commerce extended the initiation deadline by 20 days to further examine the issue of industry support, because it was not clear from the Petitions whether the industry support criteria had been met. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid from the People's Republic of China and India,” dated March 14, 2024 (the Petitions). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</E> </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See Notice of Extension of the Deadline for Determining the Adequacy of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions: 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China and India,</E> 89 FR 24431, 24432 (April 8, 2024). </FTNT> Between March 18 and April 4, 2024, Commerce requested supplemental information pertaining to certain aspects of the Petitions. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> Between March 20 and April 9, 2024, the petitioner filed responses to these requests for additional information. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Commerce's Letters, “Supplemental Questions,” dated March 18, 2024 (General Issues Questionnaire); “Supplemental Questions,” dated March 19, 2024; and “Supplemental Questions,” dated March 20, 2024; <E T="03">see also</E> Memoranda, “Phone Call,” dated March 26, 2024 (March 26 Memorandum), and “Phone Call,” dated April 5, 2024, respectively; and Commerce's Letter, “Supplemental Questions Pertaining to Industry Support,” dated April 4, 2024 (Industry Support Supplemental Questionnaire). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letters, “General Issues and Injury Questionnaire Response,” dated March 20, 2024 (First General Issues Supplement); “China Countervailing Supplemental Questionnaire Response,” dated March 25, 2024; “India Countervailing Supplemental Questionnaire Response,” dated March 26, 2024; “Scope Supplemental Questionnaire Response,” dated March 27, 2024 (Second General Issues Supplement); and “Supplemental Questions on Industry Support,” dated April 9, 2024 (Industry Support Supplement); <E T="03">see also</E> Memorandum, “Acceptance of Petitioner's Submission,” dated March 27, 2024. </FTNT> In accordance with section 702(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), the petitioner alleges that the Government of China (GOC) and the Government of India (GOI) are providing countervailable subsidies, within the meaning of sections 701 and 771(5) of the Act, to producers of 2,4-D from China and India, respectively, and that such imports are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry producing 2,4-D in the United States. Consistent with section 702(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.202(b), for those alleged programs on which we are initiating CVD investigations, the Petitions are supported by information reasonably available to the petitioner. 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. Commerce also finds that the petitioner demonstrated sufficient industry support with respect to the initiation of the requested CVD investigations. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> “Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions,” <E T="03">infra.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Periods of Investigation</HD> Because the Petitions were filed on March 14, 2024, the periods of investigation (POI) for China and India are January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 19 CFR 351.204(b)(2). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigations</HD> The product covered by these investigations is 2,4-D from China and India. For a full description of the scope of these investigations, <E T="03">see</E> the appendix to this notice. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Comments on Scope of the Investigations</HD> Between March 18 and April 4, 2024, Commerce requested information 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. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> Between March 20 and April 9, 2024, the petitioner provided clarifications and/or revised the scope language. <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> The description of merchandise covered by these investigations, as described in the appendix to this notice, reflects these clarifications. <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> General Issues Questionnaire; <E T="03">see also</E> March 26 Memorandum; and Industry Support Supplemental Questionnaire. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> First General Issues Supplement at 1-3; <E T="03">see also</E> Second General Issues Supplement at 1-2; and Industry Support Supplement at 1. </FTNT> As discussed in the <E T="03">Preamble</E> to Commerce's regulations, we are setting aside a period for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> scope). <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> 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, all such factual information should be limited to public information. <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> To facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, Commerce requests that scope comments be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 13, 2024, 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 May 23, 2024, which is ten calendar days from the initial comment deadline. <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties,</E> 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) ( <E T="03">Preamble</E> ); <E T="03">see also</E> 19 CFR 351.312. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining “factual information”). </FTNT> Commerce requests that any factual information that the parties consider relevant to the scope of the investigations be submitted during that time period. However, if a party subsequently finds that additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the investigations may be relevant, the party may contact Commerce and request permission to submit the additional information. All scope comments must also be filed on the record of each of the concurrent AD and CVD investigations. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Filing Requirements</HD> All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS), unless an exception applies. <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the time and date it is due. <FTNT> <SU>12</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order Procedures,</E> 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); <E T="03">see also Enforcement and Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name,</E> 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014), for details of Commerce's electronic filing requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on using ACCESS can be found at: <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx</E> and a handbook can be found at: <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook_on_Electronic_Filing_Procedures.pdf.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Consultations</HD> Pursuant to sections 702(b)(4)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Act, Commerce notified the GOC and the GOI of the receipt of the Petitions and provided each an opportunity for consultations with respect to the Petitions. <SU>13</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce held consultations with the GOC and the GOI, on March 26, and 28, 2024, respectively. <SU>14</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>13</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Commerce's Letters, “Countervailing Duty Petition on 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China,” dated March 15, 2024; and “Inv ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 34k characters. 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