Disposable Aluminum Containers, Pans, Trays, and Lids From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Affirmative 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-570-171]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Disposable Aluminum Containers, Pans, Trays, and Lids From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Affirmative 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 disposable aluminum containers, pans, trays, and lids (disposable aluminum containers) 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 October 28, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Brian Warnes, 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) 482-0028. </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 June 12, 2024. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On July 25, 2024, Commerce postponed the deadline for the preliminary determination until October 15, 2024, in accordance with section 703(c)(1)(A) of the Act. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On July 26, 2024, Commerce further tolled all deadlines in this proceeding by seven days. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> The deadline for the preliminary determination is now October 21, 2024. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Disposable Aluminum Containers, Pans, Trays, and Lids from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation,</E> 89 FR 49833 (June 12,2024) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See Disposable Aluminum Containers, Pans, Trays, and Lids from the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation,</E> 89 FR 60355 (July 25, 2024). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 25, 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 Disposable Aluminum Containers, Pans, Trays, and Lids 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 products covered by this investigation are disposable aluminum containers 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/> No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice.</E> <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 49834. </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>7</SU> <FTREF/> For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <FTNT> <SU>7</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>8</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>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Affirmative Determination Critical Circumstances</HD> In accordance with section 703(e)(1) of the Act, we preliminarily find that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of subject merchandise from Henan Aluminium Corporation (Henan), Zhejiang Acumen Living Technology Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang Acumen), and all other exporters/producers of disposable aluminum containers from China. For a full discussion of our preliminary critical circumstances determination, <E T="03">see</E> the “Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances” section of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <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 antidumping duty (AD) investigation of disposable aluminum containers from China, based on a request made by the Aluminum Foil Container Manufacturers Association (the petitioner). <SU>9 </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 March 4, 2025, unless postponed. <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petitioner's Request to Align Final Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Determinations,” dated October 11, 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 a total subsidy rate for Henan that is not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely on the facts otherwise available. The rate determined for the other mandatory respondent, Zhejiang Acumen, is based entirely under section 776 of the Act. Because Commerce calculated a total countervailable subsidy rate for Henan that is not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely on the facts otherwise available, and because the only other respondent, Zhejiang Acumen, is based entirely on the facts otherwise available, we have preliminarily determined the all-others rate to be Henan's rate. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>10</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: <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s100,20"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Company</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Subsidy rate (percent <E T="03">ad valorem</E> <ENT I="01">Henan Aluminium Corporation</ENT> <ENT>78.12</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Zhejiang Acumen Living Technology Co., Ltd</ENT> <ENT>* 312.91</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">All Others</ENT> <ENT>78.12</ENT> </ROW> <TNOTE>* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.</TNOTE> </GPOTABLE> <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, wit ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 21k characters. 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