2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid From the People's Republic of China: 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-570-161]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid From the People's Republic of China: 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 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation (POI) 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 13, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Claudia Cott or Thomas Schauer, AD/CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4270 or (202) 482-0410, 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 countervailing duty (CVD) investigation on April 30, 2024. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On June 10, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination until September 3, 2024. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> The deadline for the preliminary determination is now September 9, 2024. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China and India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 34205 (April 30, 2024) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China and India: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 48891 (June 10, 2024). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024. </FTNT> For a complete description of events that followed the initiation of this investigation, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <SU>4</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>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China,” 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 2,4-D from China. 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 <E T="03">Preamble</E> to Commerce's regulations, <SU>5</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>6</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce issued a supplemental questionnaire on June 4, 2024, requesting clarification regarding two of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings under which the subject merchandise may also be classified. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> On June 11, 2024, Corteva Agriscience LLC (the petitioner) confirmed that the HTSUS subheadings petitioner intended to include were as follows: 3808.93.0500 and 3808.93.1500. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> As a result, Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language. The scope as described in Appendix I incorporates the modified language. <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,</E> 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) ( <E T="03">Preamble</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice,</E> 89 FR at 34206. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Commerce's Letter, “Scope Supplemental Questions,” dated June 4, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Response to Scope Supplemental Questions,” dated June 11, 2024. </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 to be 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 our 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> Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, on facts available, and, because it finds that certain respondents and the Government of China did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, it drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> For further information, <E T="03">see</E> the “Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences” section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Alignment</HD> In accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the final determination in the concurrent less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation of 2,4-D from China, based on a request made by the petitioner. <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final LTFV determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than January 21, 2025, unless postponed. <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petitioner's Request for Alignment of Final Determinations with Deadline in Concurrent CVD Investigations,” dated July 24, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>12</SU>   <E T="03">See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from India and the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations,</E> 89 FR 67420 (August 20, 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 rates that are zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely under section 776 of the Act. In this investigation, Commerce preliminarily calculated individual estimated countervailable subsidy rates for Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical Co., Ltd. (Tianyu) and Shandong Rainbow Agrosciences Co., Ltd. (Rainbow Agrosciences) that are not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely on the facts otherwise available. Commerce calculated the all-others rate using a weighted-average of the individual estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly ranged values for the merchandise under consideration. <SU>13</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>13</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Calculation of Subsidy Rate for All Others,” dated concurrently with this notice. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist: <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>14</SU>  As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily finds Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical Co., Ltd., to be cross-owned with the following companies: Thai Harvest Ltd., CAC Nantong Chemical Co., Ltd., and CAC Shanghai International Trading Co., Ltd. <SU>15</SU>  As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily finds Shandong Rainbow Agrosciences Co., Ltd., to be cross-owned with the following companies: Shandong Weifang Rainbow Chemical Co., Ltd., Ningxia Rainbow Chemical Co., Ltd., Shandong Rainbow Investment Co., Ltd., and Shandong Runnong Investment Co., Ltd. </FTNT> <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s100,12"> <TTITLE> </TT ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 19k characters. 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