Polypropylene Corrugated Boxes 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-570-208]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Polypropylene Corrugated Boxes 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 polypropylene corrugated boxes (corrugated boxes) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Applicable August 20, 2025. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Rachel Accorsi or Shane Subler, AD/CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3149 or (202) 482-6241, 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 investigation on April 14, 2025. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On May 30, 2025, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now August 15, 2025. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <SU>3</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>1</SU>   <E T="03">See Polypropylene Corrugated Boxes from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation</E> , 90 FR 15555 (April 14, 2025) (Initiation Notice); <E T="03">see also Less-Than-Fair Value and Countervailing Duty Investigations of Fiberglass Door Panels and Polypropylene Corrugated Boxes From the People's Republic of China; Correction</E> , 90 FR 21455 (May 20, 2025). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See Polypropylene Corrugated Boxes from the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination of Countervailing Duty Investigation</E> , 90 FR 23028 (May 30, 2025). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Polypropylene Corrugated Boxes 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 corrugated boxes 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>4</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>5</SU> <FTREF/> No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> . Therefore, the scope of the investigation is unchanged from the <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> . <FTNT> <SU>4</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>5</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice</E> . </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>6</SU> <FTREF/> For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary determination, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <FTNT> <SU>6</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 on facts available and, because we find that one or more respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, we drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available. <SU>7</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>7</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. </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 determination in this investigation with the final determination in the companion less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation of corrugated boxes from China based on a request made by the petitioners. <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> Consequently, this final determination will be issued on the same date as the final LTFV determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than November 10, 2025, unless postponed. <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioners” Letter, “Petitioners” Request to Align Final Countervailing Duty Determination With the Companion Antidumping Duty Final Determination on Imports from China,” dated August 8, 2025. </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. Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, if the individual estimated countervailable subsidy rates established for all exporters and producers individually examined are zero, <E T="03">de minimis</E> , or determined based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any reasonable method to establish the estimated subsidy rate for all other producers or exporters. In this investigation, all rates are based entirely on adverse facts available (AFA) under section 776 of the Act. This is the only rate available in this proceeding for deriving the all-others rate. Consequently, as a reasonable method, pursuant to sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, Commerce established the all-others rate by applying the countervailable subsidy rate assigned to the non-responsive companies listed below. For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's analysis, <E T="03">see</E> the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Preliminary Determination</HD> Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist: <GPOTABLE COLS="2" OPTS="L2,nj,tp0,i1" CDEF="s25,10"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Company</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Subsidy rate (percent <E T="03">ad valorem</E> <ENT I="01">Dongguan Jian Xin Plastic Products</ENT> <ENT>* 199.60</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Jinan Mantis Co Ltd</ENT> <ENT>* 199.60</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Ningbo Luchen Packaging Technology Co., Ltd</ENT> <ENT>* 199.60</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Shandong PPKG I&E Co. Ltd</ENT> <ENT>* 199.60</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Suzhou Huiyuan Plastic Products Co</ENT> <ENT>* 199.60</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">All Others</ENT> <ENT> 199.60</ENT> </ROW> <TNOTE>* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.</TNOTE> </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 announ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 19k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━