Dioctyl Terephthalate From Poland: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this investigation in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024. On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative proceeding by seven days. On July 24, 2024, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until October 29, 2024.

For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. A list of topics included 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 is DOTP from Poland. 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. Therefore, Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the complete description of the scope in Appendix I to this notice.

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available to assign an estimated weighted-average dumping margin to Grupa Azoty Zaklady Azotowy (Azoty), the sole mandatory respondent in this investigation because Azoty withdrew its participation in this investigation. Further, Commerce preliminarily determines that Azoty failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability to comply with a request for information and Commerce is using an adverse inference in selecting from among the facts otherwise available ( i.e., applying adverse facts available (AFA) to this respondent, in accordance with section 776(b) of the Act). For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

Section 733(d)(1)(ii) of the Act provides that, in a preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually investigated in accordance with section 735(c)(5) of the Act. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act states that generally the estimated rate for all others 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 de minimis margins, and any margins determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.

The estimated weighted-average dumping margin in this preliminary determination was determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. In cases where no weighted-average dumping margins other than zero, de minimis, or those determined entirely under section 776 of the Act have been established for individually examined entities, in accordance with section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, Commerce typically calculates a simple average of the margins alleged in the petition and applies the results to all other entities not individually examined.

In the Petition, Eastman Chemical Company (the petitioner) alleged a single estimated dumping margin for Poland, 57.88 percent. Therefore, consistent with our practice, for the all-others rate in this investigation, we preliminarily assign this dumping margin alleged in the Petition, which is 57.88 percent.

Preliminary Determination

Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist: