90 FR 136 pgs. 33923-33925 - Hexamethylenetetramine From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 136Pages: 33923 - 33925
Pages: 33923, 33924, 33925Docket number: [C-570-181]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-13564 Filed 7-17-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Commerce Department
Sub Agency: International Trade Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-181]
Hexamethylenetetramine From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of hexamethylenetetramine (hexamine) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation is January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
DATES:
Applicable July 18, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Eliza DeLong, AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3878.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On March 7, 2025, Commerce published in the Federal Register its Preliminary Determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation hexamine from China and invited interested parties to comment. 1 In the Preliminary Determination, and in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce aligned the final CVD determination with the final determination in the less-than-fair-value investigation of hexamine from China. 2
Footnotes:
1 ? See Hexamethylenetetramine from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 90 FR 11508 (March 7, 2025) ( Preliminary Determination ), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
2 ? See Preliminary Determination, 90 FR at 11509.
[top] For a complete description of the events that followed the Preliminary
Footnotes:
3 ? See Memorandum, "Decision Memorandum for the Final Affirmative Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Hexamethylenetetramine from the People's Republic of China," dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is hexamine from China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
We received no comments from interested parties on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Preliminary Determination. Therefore, we made no changes to the scope of the investigation.
Verification
Because the non-responsive companies did not participate in this investigation and because the Government of China (GOC) did not provide information Commerce requested, Commerce did not conduct a verification in this investigation.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in the case brief by the GOC are discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum. For a list of the issues raised by interested parties and addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, see Appendix II to this notice.
Methodology
Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section 701 the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found to be countervailable, Commerce 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. 4 For a full description of the methodology underlying our final determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Footnotes:
4 ? See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding financial contribution; see also section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
In making this final determination, Commerce relied on facts otherwise available and, because it finds that certain respondents and the Government of China did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, Commerce drew an adverse inference, where appropriate, in selecting among the facts otherwise available. 5 For a full discussion of our application of adverse facts available (AFA), see the Preliminary Determination, 6 and the Issues and Decision Memorandum section entitled "Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse Inferences."
Footnotes:
5 ? See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
6 ? See Preliminary Determination PDM at 3-5.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our review and analysis of the comments submitted in case briefs, we made no methodological changes to our determination. 7
Footnotes:
7 ?Although we made no methodological changes to our Preliminary Determination, we updated our selection of the AFA rate for grant programs to reflect a more recent rate for the "Equipment Grant" from Cabinets from China. See Wooden Cabinets and Vanities and Components Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 85 FR 11962 (February 28, 2020) ( Cabinets from China ), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce based the selection of the all-others rate on the countervailable subsidy rate established for the mandatory respondents in accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act. 8 We made no changes to the selection of this rate for this final determination.
Footnotes:
8 ? See Preliminary Determination.
Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist for the period January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023:
| Company | Subsidy rate (percent ad valorem ) |
|---|---|
| Changzhou Highassay Chemical Co | *?420.73 |
| China Bluestar International Chemical Co., Ltd | *?420.73 |
| Fengchen Group Co., Ltd | *?420.73 |
| Hutubi Ruiyuantong Chemicals Co., Ltd | *?420.73 |
| Jiangsu Guotai Guomian Trading | *?420.73 |
| Jiaozuo Runhua Chemical Industry Co | *?420.73 |
| Qingdao Sun Chemical Corp. Ltd | *?420.73 |
| Runhua Chemical Industry | *?420.73 |
| Shandong Aojin Chemical Technology Co., Ltd | *?420.73 |
| All Others | 420.73 |
| * Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences. | |
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce discloses its calculations performed in connection with the final determination to interested parties within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this notice, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce applied facts available with adverse inferences in the calculation of the benefit for the non-responsive companies, and the applied AFA rates are based on rates calculated in prior proceedings, there are no calculations to disclose.
Suspension of Liquidation
As a result of our Preliminary Determination, and pursuant to sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits and suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise from China that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 7, 2025, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register . 9 In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to discontinue the suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse, on or after July 5, 2025, but to continue the suspension of liquidation of all entries of subject merchandise from March 7, 2025, through July 4, 2025.
Footnotes:
9 ? See Preliminary Determination, 90 FR at 11509.
[top] If the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issues a final affirmative injury determination, we will issue a CVD order, reinstate the suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of the Act, and require a cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties for entries of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If the ITC determines that material injury, or threat of material injury, does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the ITC of our final affirmative determination that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of hexamine from China. As Commerce's final determination is affirmative, in accordance with section 705(b) of the Act, the ITC will determine, within 45 days, whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of hexamine from China. In addition, we are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and non-proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or under administrative protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce will issue a CVD order directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on all imports of the subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in the "Suspension of Liquidation" section.
Administrative Protective Order
In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties subject to the APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under APO, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a violation which is subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with sections 705(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: July 14, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The scope of this investigation covers hexamine in granular form, with a particle size of 5 millimeters or less, whether stabilized or unstabilized, whether or not blended, mixed, pulverized, or grounded with other products, containing 50 percent or more hexamine by weight.
Hexamine is the common name for hexamethylene tetramine (Chemical Abstract Service #100-97-0), and is also referred to as 1,3,5,7-tetraazaadamantanemethenamine; HMT; HMTA; 1,3,5,7-tetraazatricyclo {3.3.1.13,7} decane; 1,3,5,7-tetraaza adamantane; hexamethylenamine. Hexamine has the chemical formula C6 H12 N4.
Granular hexamine that has been blended with other product(s) is included in this scope when the resulting mix contains 50 percent or more of hexamine by weight, regardless of whether it is blended with inert additives, co-reactants, or any additives that undergo self-condensation.
Subject merchandise includes merchandise matching the above description that has been processed in a third country, including by commingling, diluting, adding or removing additives, or performing any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the subject country.
Merchandise covered by the scope of this investigation can be classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) of the United States under the subheading 2933.69.5000. The HTSUS subheading and Chemical Abstracts Service registry number are provided for convenience and customs purposes only; however, the written description of the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IV. Analysis of Programs
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether Commerce Should Find Non-Use or Provision of Labor for Less than Adequate Remuneration (LTAR)
Comment 2: Countervailability of Labor for LTAR
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-13564 Filed 7-17-25; 8:45 am]
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