Hard Empty Capsules From Brazil, the People's Republic of China, India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations

<NOTICE> DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE <SUBAGY>International Trade Administration</SUBAGY> <DEPDOC>[C-351-865, C-570-185, C-533-935, C-552-848]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Hard Empty Capsules From Brazil, the People's Republic of China, India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable November 13, 2024. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Seth Brown at (202) 482-0029 (Brazil), Laura Delgado at (202) 482-1468 and John Conniff at (202) 482-1009 (the People's Republic of China (China)), Gorden Struck at (202) 482-8151 (India), and Jonathan Schueler at (202) 482-9175 (the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam)), AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">The Petitions</HD> On October 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) received countervailing duty (CVD) petitions concerning imports of hard empty capsules from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam filed in proper form on behalf of Lonza Greenwood LLC (the petitioner), a U.S. producer of hard empty capsules. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> The CVD Petitions were accompanied by antidumping duty (AD) petitions concerning imports of hard empty capsules from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,” dated October 24, 2024 (Petitions). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</E> </FTNT> Between October 28 and November 5, 2024, Commerce requested supplemental information pertaining to certain aspects of the Petitions. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> Between October 30 and November 6, 2024, the petitioner filed timely responses to these requests for additional information. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Commerce's Letters, “Supplemental Questions,” dated October 28, 2024, <E T="03">see also</E> Country-Specific CVD Supplemental Questionnaires: Brazil Supplemental, China Supplemental, India Supplemental, and Vietnam Supplemental, dated October 28, 29, and 30, 2024; and Memorandum, “Phone Call,” dated November 5, 2024 (November 5, 2024, Memorandum). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letters, “Petitioner's Response to the Department's General Issues Questionnaire,” dated October 30, 2024 (General Issues Supplement); <E T="03">see also</E> Country-Specific CVD Supplemental Responses: Brazil CVD Supplement, China CVD Supplement, India CVD Supplement, and Vietnam CVD Supplement, dated October 30, 2024, October 31, 2024, November 1, 2024, and November 4, 2024; and Petitioner's Letter, “Petitioner's Response to the Department's General Issues Scope Questionnaire,” dated November 6, 2024 (Scope Supplement). </FTNT> In accordance with section 702(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), the petitioner alleges that the Government of Brazil (GOB), Government of China (GOC), the Government of India (GOI), and the Government of Vietnam (GOV) (collectively, Governments) are providing countervailable subsidies, within the meaning of sections 701 and 771(5) of the Act, to producers of hard empty capsules from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam and that such imports are materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry producing hard empty capsules in the United States. Consistent with section 702(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.202(b), for those alleged programs on which we are initiating CVD investigations, the Petitions were accompanied by information reasonably available to the petitioner supporting its allegations. Commerce finds that the petitioner filed the Petitions on behalf of the domestic industry because the petitioner is an interested party, as defined in section 771(9)(C) of the Act. Commerce also finds that the petitioner demonstrated sufficient industry support with respect to the initiation of the requested CVD investigations. <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> section on “Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions,” <E T="03">infra.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Periods of Investigation</HD> Because the Petitions were filed on October 24, 2024, the periods of investigation for the Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam CVD investigations are January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 19 CFR 351.204(b)(2). </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Scope of the Investigations</HD> The products covered by these investigations are hard empty capsules from Brazil, China, India, and Vietnam. For a full description of the scope of these investigations, <E T="03">see</E> the appendix to this notice. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Comments on the Scope of the Investigations</HD> On November 5, 2024, Commerce requested information and clarification from the petitioner regarding the proposed scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petitions is an accurate reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is seeking relief. <SU>7</SU> <FTREF/> On November 6, 2024, the petitioner provided clarifications and revised the scope. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> The description of merchandise covered by these investigations, as described in the appendix to this notice, reflects these clarifications. <FTNT> <SU>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> November 5, 2024, Memorandum. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Scope Supplement at 1-8 and Exhibit I-92. </FTNT> As discussed in the <E T="03">Preamble</E> to Commerce's regulations, we are setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( <E T="03">i.e.,</E> scope). <SU>9</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce will consider all comments received from interested parties and, if necessary, will consult with interested parties prior to the issuance of the preliminary determinations. If scope comments include factual information, all such factual information should be limited to public information. <SU>10</SU> <FTREF/> To facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, Commerce requests that scope comments be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on December 3, 2024, which is 20 calendar days from the signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments, which may include factual information, must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on December 13, 2024, which is 10 calendar days from the initial comment deadline. <FTNT> <SU>9</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>10</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining “factual information”). </FTNT> Commerce requests that any factual information that parties consider relevant to the scope of the investigations be submitted during that time period. However, if a party subsequently finds that additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the investigations may be relevant, the party must contact Commerce and request permission to submit the additional information. All scope comments must be filed simultaneously on the records of the concurrent AD and CVD investigations. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Filing Requirements</HD> All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS), unless an exception applies. <SU>11</SU> <FTREF/> An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the time and date it is due. <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>   <E T="03">See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order Procedures,</E> 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); <E T="03">see also Enforcement and Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name,</E> 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014), for details of Commerce's electronic filing requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on using ACCESS can be found at <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx</E> and a handbook can be found at <E T="03">https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook_on_Electronic_Filing_Procedures.pdf.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Consultations</HD> Pursuant to sections 702(b)(4)(A)(i) and (ii) of the Act, Commerce notified the Governments of the receipt of the Petitions and provided an opportunity for consultations with respect to the Petitions. <SU>12</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce held consultations with the GOV on November 7, 2024, <SU>13</SU> <FTREF/> the GOB on November 12, 2024, <SU>14</SU> <FTREF/> and the GOI on November 13, 2024. <SU>15</SU> <FTREF/> The GOC did not request consultations. <SU>16</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>12</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Commerce's Letters, “Invitation for Consultation to Discuss the Countervailing Duty Petition,” dated October 25, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>13</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Consultations with the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” dated November 7, 2024; <E T="03">see also</E> GOV's Letter, “Comments on Countervailing Duty Petition,” dated November 5, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>14</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Consultations with the Government of Brazil,” dated November 13, 2024. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>15</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Consultations with the Government of India,” dated November 13, 2024. </FTN ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 37k characters. 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