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AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2,4-D) from India. The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
DATES:
Applicable September 13, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Harrison Tanchuck or George McMahon, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7421 or (202) 482-1167, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
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 April 30, 2024. On June 10, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until September 3, 2024. On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. The deadline for the preliminary determination is now September 9, 2024.
See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China and India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR 34205 (April 30, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from the People's Republic of China and India: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigations, 89 FR 48891 (June 10, 2024).
See Memorandum, “Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,” dated July 22, 2024.
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 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 https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from India,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is 2,4-D from India. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations, the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( i.e., scope). Commerce issued a supplemental questionnaire on June 4, 2024, requesting clarification regarding two of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings under which the subject merchandise may also be classified. On June 11, 2024, Corteva Agriscience LLC (the petitioner) confirmed that the HTSUS subheadings petitioner intended to include were as follows: 3808.93.0500 and 3808.93.1500. As a result, Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language. The scope as described in Appendix I incorporates the modified language.
See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) ( Preamble).
See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 34206.
See Commerce's Letter, “Scope Supplemental Questions,” dated June 4, 2024.
See Petitioner's Letter, “Response to Scope Supplemental Questions,” dated June 11, 2024.
Methodology
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, i.e., a financial contribution by an “authority” that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific. For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
See 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.
Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, on facts available and, because it finds that the Government of India did not act to the best of its ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, it drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available. For further information, see the “Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences” section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
Alignment
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 2,4-D from India based on a request made by the petitioner. 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 January 21, 2025, unless postponed.
See Petitioner's Letter, “Petitioner's Request for Alignment of Final Determinations with Deadline in Concurrent CVD Investigations,” dated July 24, 2024.
See 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid from India and the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 89 FR 67420 (August 20, 2024).
All-Others Rate
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 de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section 776 of the Act.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated individual estimated countervailable subsidy rates for Atul Limited and Meghmani Organics Limited that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. Commerce calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the individual estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly ranged values for the merchandise under consideration.
With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sale values for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53662 (September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 1. As complete publicly ranged sales data were available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of the data, see Memorandum “Preliminary Determination Calculation of Subsidy Rate for Non-Selected Companies Under Review,” dated concurrently with this notice.
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:
| Company | Subsidy rate (percent ad valorem) |
|---|---|
| Atul Limited | 5.29 |
| Meghmani Organics Limited | 3.28 |
| All Others | 4.13 |
As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily finds the following companies to be cross owned with Meghmani Organics Limited: Epigral Limited; and Matangi Industries LLP.