Ceramic Tile From India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[C-533-929]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Ceramic Tile From India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable May 9, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Greg 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) 482-1012. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Petition</HD> On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) received a countervailing duty (CVD) petition concerning imports of ceramic tile from India filed in proper form on behalf of the Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile (the petitioner). <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The CVD petition was accompanied by an antidumping duty (AD) petition concerning imports of ceramic tile from India. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Ceramic Tile from India,” dated April 19, 2024 (Petition). The members of the Coalition for Fair Trade in Ceramic Tile are Crossville, Inc.; Dal-Tile Corporation; Del Conca USA, Inc.; Wonder Porcelain; Landmark Ceramics—UST, Inc.; Florim USA; Florida Tile; Portobello America Manufacturing LLC; and StonePeak Ceramics Inc. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</E> </FTNT> Between April 23 and May 1, 2024, Commerce requested information pertaining to certain aspects of the Petition in supplemental questionnaires. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> Between April 26 and May 3, 2024, the petitioner timely responded to Commerce's requests. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Commerce's Letters, “Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of Ceramic Tile from India: Supplemental Questions,” dated April 23, 2024 (General Issues Questionnaire); and “Petition for the Imposition of Countervailing Duties on Imports of Ceramic Tile from India: Supplemental Questions,” dated April 25, 2024; <E T="03">see also</E> Memoranda, “Phone Call with Counsel to Petitioner,” dated April 30, 2024 (April 30 Memorandum) and “Phone Call with Counsel to Petitioner,” dated May 1, 2024 (May 1 Memorandum). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letters, “Ceramic Tile From the Republic of India: Petitioner's First Supplemental General Issues Questionnaire Response,” dated April 26, 2024 (First General Issues Supplement); “Ceramic Tile From the Republic of India: Petitioner's First Countervailing Duty Petition Supplemental Questionnaire Response,” dated May 1, 2024; “Petitioner's Second Supplemental Questionnaire Response Concerning General Issues and AD Petition,” dated May 2, 2024 (Second Petition Supplement); and “Petitioner's Second Supplemental Questionnaire Response Concerning General Issues and AD Petition; Second Set of Responses,” dated May 3, 2024 (Third Petition Supplement). </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 India (GOI) is providing countervailable subsidies, within the meaning of sections 701 and 771(5) of the Act, to producers of ceramic tile in India, and that such imports are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry producing ceramic tile 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 a CVD investigation, the Petition is supported by information reasonably available to the petitioner. Commerce finds that the petitioner filed the Petition on behalf of the domestic industry because the petitioner is an interested party, as defined in section 771(9)(F) of the Act. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce also finds that the petitioner demonstrated sufficient industry support with respect to the initiation of the requested CVD investigation. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  The members of the petitioning coalition are interested parties under section 771(9)(C) of the Act. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See, infra,</E> section on “Determination of Industry Support for the Petition.” </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Period of Investigation</HD> Because the Petition was filed on April 19, 2024, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(2), the period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigation</HD> The product covered by this investigation is ceramic tile from India. For a full description of the scope of this investigation, <E T="03">see</E> the appendix to this notice. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Comments on Scope of the Investigation</HD> Between April 23 and May 1, 2024, Commerce requested information and clarification from the petitioner regarding the proposed scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petition is an accurate reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is seeking relief. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> Between April 26 and May 3, 2024, the petitioner provided clarifications and revised the scope. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> The description of merchandise covered by this investigation, as described in the appendix to this notice, reflects these clarifications. <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> General Issues Questionnaire; <E T="03">see also</E> April 30 Memorandum; and May 1 Memorandum. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> First General Issues Supplement at 1-2 and Supplemental Exhibit I-66; <E T="03">see also</E> Second Petition Supplement at 2-3 and Supplemental Exhibit I-70; and Third Petition Supplement at 4. </FTNT> As discussed in the <E T="03">Preamble</E> to Commerce's regulations, we are setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> scope). <SU>9</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 determination. If scope comments include factual information, all such factual information should be limited to public information. <SU>10</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 29, 2024, which is 20 calendar days from the signature date of this notice. <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> Any rebuttal comments, which may include factual information, and should also be limited to public information, must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 10, 2024, which is the next business day after 10 calendar days from the initial comment deadline. <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>9</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>10</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining “factual information”). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 19 CFR 351.303(b)(1). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>12</SU>  The deadline for rebuttal comments falls on June 8, 2024, which is a Saturday. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.303(b)(1), Commerce will accept rebuttal comments filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 10, 2024. <E T="03">Id.</E> (“For both electronically filed and manually filed documents, if the applicable due date falls on a non-business day, the Secretary will accept documents that are filed on the next business day.”). </FTNT> Commerce requests that any factual information that the parties consider relevant to the scope of the investigation be submitted during that period. However, if a party subsequently finds that additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the investigation may be relevant, the party must contact Commerce and request permission to submit the additional information. All scope comments must be filed simultaneously on the records 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>13</SU> <FTREF/> An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the time and date it is due. <FTNT> <SU>13</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 GOI of the receipt of the Petition and provided an opportunity for consultations with respect to the Petition. <SU>14</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce held consultations with the GOI on April 30, 2024. <SU>15</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>14</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Commerce's Letter, “Invitation ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 35k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━