Aluminum Lithographic Printing Plates From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

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 aluminum lithographic printing plates (printing plates) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES:

Applicable March 1, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Terre Keaton Stefanova, 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) 482–1280.

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 investigation on October 25, 2023. On December 7, 2023, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination until February 26, 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.

Scope of the Investigation

The product covered by this investigation are printing plates from China. 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). No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.

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.

Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents and the Government of China 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. For further information, see the “Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences” section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Alignment

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 antidumping duty investigation of printing plates from China based on a request made by Eastman Kodak Company (the petitioner). Consequently, the final countervailing duty determination will be issued on the same date as the final antidumping duty determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than July 9, 2024, unless postponed.

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 preliminarily assigned a rate based entirely on facts available to Shanghai National Ink Co. Ltd. Therefore, the only rate that that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available is the rate calculated for Fujifilm Printing Plate (China) Co., Ltd. (FFPS). Consequently, the rate calculated for FFPS is also assigned as the rate for all other producers and exporters, pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act.

Preliminary Determination

Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:

Suspension of Liquidation

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 Federal Register . Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the rates indicated above.

Disclosure

Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing case briefs. Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.

As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. In this investigation, we instead request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs. Further, we request that interested parties limit their executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the final determination in this investigation. We request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce via ACCESS within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. Oral presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the time and date for the hearing.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination.

Notification to Interested Parties

This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

The merchandise covered by this investigation is aluminum lithographic printing plates. Aluminum lithographic printing plates consist of a flat substrate containing at least 90 percent aluminum. The aluminum-containing substrate is generally treated using a mechanical, electrochemical, or chemical graining process, which is followed by one or more anodizing treatments that form a hydrophilic layer on the aluminum-containing substrate. An image-recording, oleophilic layer that is sensitive to light, including but not limited to ultra-violet, visible, or infrared, is dispersed in a polymeric binder material that is applied on top of the hydrophilic layer, generally on one side of the aluminum lithographic printing plate. The oleophilic light-sensitive layer is capable of capturing an image that is transferred onto the plate by either light or heat. The image applied to an aluminum lithographic printing plate facilitates the production of newspapers, magazines, books, yearbooks, coupons, packaging, and other printed materials through an offset printing process, where an aluminum lithographic printing plate facilitates the transfer of an image onto the printed media. Aluminum lithographic printing plates within the scope of this investigation include all aluminum lithographic printing plates, irrespective of the dimensions or thickness of the underlying aluminum substrate, whether the plate requires processing after an image is applied to the plate, whether the plate is ready to be mounted to a press and used in printing operations immediately after an image is applied to the plate, or whether the plate has been exposed to light or heat to create an image on the plate or remains unexposed and is free of any image.

Subject merchandise also includes aluminum lithographic printing plates produced from an aluminum sheet coil that has been coated with a light-sensitive image-recording layer in a subject country and that is subsequently unwound and cut to the final dimensions to produce a finished plate in a third country (including the United States), or exposed to light or heat to create an image on the plate in a third country (including in a foreign trade zone within the United States).

Excluded from the scope of this investigation are lithographic printing plates manufactured using a substrate produced from a material other than aluminum, such as rubber or plastic.

Aluminum lithographic printing plates are currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 3701.30.0000 and 3701.99.6060. Further, merchandise that falls within the scope of this investigation may also be entered into the United States under HTSUS subheadings 3701.99.3000 and 8442.50.1000. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary

II. Background

III. Injury Test

IV. Analysis of China's Financial System

V. Diversification of China's Economy

VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences

VII. Subsidies Valuation

VIII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates

IX. Analysis of Programs

X. Recommendation