2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[A-570-160]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures</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 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) from the People's Republic of China (China) is being, or is likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable November 14, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Matthew Palmer or Anjali Mehindiratta, AD/CVD Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1678 or (202) 482-9127, respectively. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 30, 2024. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> On August 20, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now November 6, 2024. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China and India: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation,</E> 89 FR 34200 (April 30, 2024) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from India and the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations of Antidumping Duty Investigations,</E> 89 FR 67420 (August 20, 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>4</SU> <FTREF/> A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as an appendix 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 found 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 in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China,” dated concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigation</HD> The products 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 (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> However, on June 11, 2024, in response to a supplemental questionnaire, <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> the petitioner clarified its intent to include in the scope Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 3808.93.0500 and 3808.93.1500. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> As a result, Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> to replace HTSUS subheadings 3808.93.0050 and 3808.93.1400 with HTSUS subheadings 3808.93.0500 and 3808.93.1500. <E T="03">See</E> the scope in Appendix I to this notice. <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,</E> 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice,</E> 89 FR at 34201. </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 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Because China is a non-market economy, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, Commerce has calculated normal value in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with adverse inferences, for the China-wide entity, which includes Shandong Weifang Rainbow Chemical Co., Ltd. (Weifang Rainbow), and the following companies: (1) CAC Nantong Chemical Co., Ltd.; (2) Changzhou Wintafone Chemical; (3) Gansu Xinlengmao Science and Tech Co.; (4) Gansu Yufengyuan Science and Tec Co., Ltd.; (4) Jilin Ivsheng Agrochemical Co., Ltd.; (6) Jingma Chemicals Ltd.; (7) Nanjing Agrochemical Co., Ltd.; (8) Ningxia Hanrun Biotechnology Co., Ltd.; and (9) Tangshan Shengdong Chemical Co., Lt. For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Combination Rates</HD> In the <E T="03">Initiation Notice,</E> <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce stated that it would calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 05.1 describes this practice. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>9</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice,</E> 89 FR at 34204. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>10</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, regarding, “Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy Countries,” (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on Commerce's website at <E T="03">enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist: <GPOTABLE COLS="4" OPTS="L2,tp0,i1" CDEF="s100,r50,12,12"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Producer</CHED> <CHED H="1">Exporter</CHED> <ENT I="01">Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical Co., Ltd</ENT> <ENT> Thai Harvest Ltd. <SU>11</SU> </ENT> <ENT>17.07</ENT> <ENT>16.44</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01"> China-Wide Entity  <ENT>* 127.21</ENT> <ENT>* 126.58</ENT> </ROW> <TNOTE>* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.</TNOTE> </GPOTABLE> <HD SOURCE="HD1"> Suspension of Liquidation  We preliminarily find that Thai Harvest and Jiangxi Tianyu Chemical Co., Ltd., are affiliated and should be treated as a single entity pursuant to 19 CFR 351.401(f)(1) for the purposes of this preliminary determination. <E T="03">See</E> Preliminary Determination Memorandum at Section V. “Single Entity Analysis” for further discussion of the preliminary collapsing determination. <SU>12</SU>  We preliminarily determine that application of facts available with an adverse inference is warranted with respect to mandatory respondent Shandong Weifang Rainbow Chemical Co., Ltd. (Weifang Rainbow). Accordingly, we are not granting a separate rate for Weifang Rainbow and consider the respondent a part of the China-wide Entity. </FTNT> In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, 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> , as discussed below. Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the weighted average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) for the producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of China producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that have not established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-county exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the table above, th ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 22k characters. 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