L-Lysine 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-570-216]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>L-Lysine 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 L-lysine (lysine) 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 January 22, 2026. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Grant Fuller, AD/CVD Operations, Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202)-482-6228. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> This preliminary determination is issued in accordance with section 703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). On June 17, 2025, Commerce published the notice of initiation of this countervailing duty (CVD) investigation. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> On August 1, 2025, Commerce postponed the deadline for this preliminary determination until October 27, 2025. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> Due to the lapse in appropriations and Federal Government shutdown, on November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by 47 days. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> Additionally, due to a backlog of documents that were electronically filed via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) during the Federal Government shutdown, on November 24, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by an additional 21 days. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> Accordingly, the deadline for this preliminary determination is now January 2, 2026. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>   <E T="03">See L-Lysine from the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation,</E> 90 FR 26799 (June 24, 2025) ( <E T="03">Initiation Notice</E> ); <E T="03">see also</E> Checklist, “Countervailing Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist,” dated June 17, 2025 (Initiation Checklist). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>   <E T="03">See L-Lysine from the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation,</E> 90 FR 36136 (August 1, 2025). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the Federal Government,” dated November 14, 2025. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Tolling of all Case Deadlines,” dated November 24, 2025. </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>5</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 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>5</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of L-lysine 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 lysine 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>6</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>7</SU> <FTREF/> No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the <E T="03">Initiation Notice.</E> <SU>8</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>6</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>7</SU>   <E T="03">See Initiation Notice,</E> 90 FR at 26799. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>8</SU>   <E T="03">Id.</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>9</SU> <FTREF/> Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents 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>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> <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 companion less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigation of lysine from China based on a request made by the petitioner. <FTREF/> <SU>11</SU> 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 May 18, 2026, unless postponed. <FTNT> <SU>11</SU>   <E T="03">See</E> Petitioner's Letter, “Petitioners' Request to Align Final Countervailing Duty Determination with the Companion Antidumping Duty Final Determination,” dated December 8, 2025. The petitioner is the Lysine Fair Trade Coalition and its individual members. </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 all exporters and producers not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and <E T="03">de minimis</E> margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. Commerce calculated an individual estimated countervailable subsidy rate for Inner Mongolia Eppen Biotech Co. Ltd. (Inner Mongolia Eppen), the only individually examined exporter/producer in this investigation. Because the only individually calculated dumping margin is not zero, <E T="03">de minimis,</E> or based entirely on facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated for Inner Mongolia Eppen is the margin assigned to all other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act. <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="s25,12"> <TTITLE> </TTITLE> <CHED H="1">Company</CHED> <CHED H="1"> Subsidy rate (percent <E T="03">ad valorem</E> Inner Mongolia Eppen Biotech Co. Ltd. <SU>12</SU> </ENT> <ENT>39.50</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Helionjiang Wanli Runda Biotechnology Co., Ltd</ENT> <ENT>* 80.37</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">Shouguang Golden-land Industry & Trading Co Ltd</ENT> <ENT>* 80.37</ENT> </ROW> <ROW> <ENT I="01">All Others</ENT> <ENT>39.50</ENT> </ROW> <TNOTE>* Rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.</TNOTE> </GPOTABLE> <HD SOURCE="HD1"> Suspension of Liquidation  As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with Inner Mongolia Eppen: Heilongjiang Eppen Trading Co., Ltd.; Heilongjiang Eppen Biotech Co., Ltd.; Heilongjiang Eppen Energy Co.; Ningxia Eppen Biotech Co. Ltd.; Star Lake Bioscience Co., Ltd Zhaoqing Guangdong; and Guangdong Guangxin Holdings Group Ltd. </FTNT> In accordance with sections 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 1 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 19k characters. Full document text is stored and available for version comparison. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━