Ferrosilicon From the Republic of Kazakhstan: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[C-834-813]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Ferrosilicon From the Republic of Kazakhstan: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination 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 ferrosilicon from the Republic of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan). 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 September 10, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Peter Shaw, AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0697. </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 April 24, 2024. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On May 30, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this investigation by seven days. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> The deadline for this preliminary determination is now September 3, 2024. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Ferrosilicon from Brazil, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and the Russian Federation: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 31133 (April 24, 2024) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See Ferrosilicon from Brazil, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 46860 (May 30, 2024). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Tolling Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  Because seven days from August 26, 2024 ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> September 2, 2024) falls on a federal holiday, the actual deadline for the preliminary determination is September 3, 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>5</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>5</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Ferrosilicon from the Republic of Kazakhstan,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigation</HD> The products covered by this investigation is ferrosilicon from Kazakhstan. 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>6</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>7</SU> <FTREF/> As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce corrected a minor clerical error in the language of the scope. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,</E> 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice.</E> </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Preliminary Decision Memorandum. </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>9</SU> <FTREF/> For a full description of the methodology underlying the preliminary determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <FTNT> <SU>9</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">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 ferrosilicon from Kazakhstan based on a request made by the petitioners. <SU>10</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 January 14, 2025, unless postponed. <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioners' Letter, “Petitioner's Request for Alignment of Final Determinations with Deadline in Concurrent AD Investigations,” dated August 15, 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 preliminarily calculated total net subsidy rates for TELF AG (TELF) and YDD Corporation LLP (YDD) that are not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely on the facts otherwise available. Because we have calculated rates for both mandatory respondents that are not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely on the facts otherwise available, we have preliminarily assigned an all-others rate based on the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the mandatory respondents. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist: <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s100,12"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Company</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Subsidy rate (percent <E T="03">ad valorem</E> <ENT>2.37</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01"> TNC Kazchrome JSC  <ENT>2.37</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01"> YDD Corporation LLP  <ENT>14.74</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">All Others</ENT> <ENT>10.13</ENT> </ROW> </GPOTABLE> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Suspension of Liquidation</HD> 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 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). <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>  This rate applies to TNC Kazchrome JSC and its cross-owned companies: Eurasian Energy Corporation JSC; and Shubarkol Komir JSC. <SU>12</SU>  As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with YDD: ASIA FerroAlloys LLP; and KazSilicon Metallurgical Combine LLP. </FTNT> 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. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Verification</HD> As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify the information relied upon in making its final det ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 16k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━