Melamine From Qatar: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[C-518-002]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Melamine From Qatar: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of melamine from Qatar (Qatar). The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable July 22, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Samantha Kinney or Sofia Pedrelli, 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) 482-2285 or (202) 482-4310, respectively. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> 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 March 11, 2024. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On April 11, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until July 15, 2024. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Melamine from Germany, India, Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 17381 (March 11, 2024) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See Melamine from Germany, India, Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 27714 (April 18, 2024). </FTNT> For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> 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 <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov.</E> In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.</E> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Melamine from Qatar,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigation</HD> The product covered by this investigation is melamine from Qatar. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, <E T="03">see</E> Appendix I. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope Comments</HD> In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations, <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> the <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> scope). <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice.</E> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,</E> 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Methodology</HD> 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, <E T="03">i.e.,</E> a financial contribution by an “authority” that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 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. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that critical circumstances do not exist. For a full description of the methodology and results of Commerce's analysis, <E T="03">see</E> the “Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances” section of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Alignment</HD> 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 countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping duty (AD) investigation of melamine from Qatar based on a request made by the petitioner. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> 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 November 25, 2024, unless postponed. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petitioner's Request to Align Countervailing Duty Investigation Final Determination with Antidumping Duty Investigation Final Determination,” dated June 11, 2024. The petitioner is Cornerstone Chemical Company. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See Melamine from Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Qatar, and Trinidad and Tobago: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations,</E> 89 FR 52437 (June 24, 2024). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">All-Others Rate</HD> 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 <E T="03">de minimis</E> rates and any rates based entirely under section 776 of the Act. In this investigation, Commerce calculated an individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for Qatar Melamine Company (QMC)/Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat) Q.P.J.S.C. (Muntajat) and its cross-owned companies (QMC/Muntajat), the only individually examined exporters/producers in this investigation. Because the only individually calculated rate is not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely under section 776 of the Act, the estimated weighted-average rate calculated for QMC/Muntajat and its cross-owned companies is the rate assigned to all other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:  <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>  As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce found the following companies to be cross owned with QMC: Muntajat, Qatar Fertiliser Company (P.S.C.), Industries Qatar Q.P.S.C., and QatarEnergy. </FTNT> <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,nj,tp0,i1" CDEF="s200,12"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Company</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Subsidy rate (percent <E T="03">ad valorem</E> <ENT I="01">Qatar Melamine Company; Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat) Q.P.J.S.C.; Qatar Fertiliser Company (P.S.C.); Industries Qatar Q.P.S.C.; QatarEnergy</ENT> <ENT>40.49</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">All Others</ENT> <ENT>40.49</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Suspension of Liquidation</HD> In accordance with sections 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 section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> . Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates indicated above. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Disclosure</HD> 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). 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 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 16k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━