Active Anode Material From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 3792-3797 [2025-00656]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3792-3797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00656]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-194]


Active Anode Material From the People's Republic of China: 
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

DATES: Applicable January 7, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Maciuba, Office II, AD/CVD 
Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0413.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Petition

    On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
received an antidumping duty (AD) petition concerning imports of active 
anode material from the People's Republic of China (China) filed in 
proper form on behalf of the American Active Anode Material Producers 
(the petitioner),\1\ an ad hoc trade association of domestic 
producers.\2\ The AD Petition was accompanied by a countervailing duty 
(CVD) petition concerning imports of active anode material from 
China.\3\
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    \1\ The members of the American Active Anode Material Producers 
are Anovion Technologies, Syrah Technologies LLC, NOVONIX Anode 
Materials LLC, Epsilon Advanced Materials, and SKI US, Inc.
    \2\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties,'' dated December 18, 2024 
(Petition).
    \3\ Id.
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    On December 20, 2024 and January 2, 2025, Commerce requested 
supplemental information pertaining to certain aspects of the Petition 
in supplemental questionnaires.\4\ On December 27, 2024 and January 3, 
2025, the petitioner filed timely responses to these requests for 
additional information.\5\
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    \4\ See Commerce's Letters, ``Supplemental Questions,'' dated 
December 20, 2024 (General Issues Questionnaire); and ``Supplemental 
Questions,'' dated December 20, 2024; see also Memorandum, ``Phone 
Call with Counsel to the Petitioner,'' dated January 2, 2025.
    \5\ See Petitioner's Letters, ``Response to Supplemental 
Questions Regarding Common Issues and Injury Volume I of the 
Petitions,'' dated December 27, 2024 (First General Issues 
Supplement); ``Response to Supplemental Petition Questionnaire,'' 
dated December 27, 2024; and ``Response to Supplemental Questions 
Regarding Volume I of the Petitions,'' dated January 3, 2025 (Second 
General Issues Supplement).
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    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), the petitioner alleges that imports of active anode 
material from China are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United 
States at less than fair value (LTFV) within the meaning of section 731 
of the Act, and that imports of such products materially retard the 
establishment of an industry in the United States, or in the 
alternative, that such products are materially injuring, or threaten 
material injury to, the active anode material industry in the United 
States. Consistent with section 732(b)(1) of the Act, the Petition was 
accompanied by information reasonably available to the petitioner 
supporting its allegations.
    Commerce finds that the petitioner filed the Petition on behalf of 
the domestic industry, because the petitioner is an interested party, 
as defined in section 771(9)(F) of the Act. Commerce also finds that 
the petitioner demonstrated sufficient industry support for the 
initiation of the requested LTFV investigation.\6\
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    \6\ See section on ``Determination of Industry Support for the 
Petition,'' infra.
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Period of Investigation

    Because the Petition was filed on December 18, 2024, and because 
China

[[Page 3793]]

is a non-market economy (NME) country, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.204(b)(1), the period of investigation (POI) for the LTFV 
investigation is April 1, 2024, through September 30, 2024.

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is active anode material 
from China. For a full description of the scope of this investigation, 
see the appendix to this notice.

Comments on the Scope of the Investigation

    On December 20, 2024, and January 2, 2025, Commerce requested 
information and clarification from the petitioner regarding the 
proposed scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petition is an 
accurate reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is 
seeking relief.\7\ On December 27, 2024, and January 3, 2025, the 
petitioner provided clarifications and revised the scope.\8\ The 
description of merchandise covered by this investigation, as described 
in the appendix to this notice, reflects these clarifications.
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    \7\ See General Issues Questionnaire; see also January 3, 2025, 
Memorandum.
    \8\ See First General Issues Supplement at 2-5; see also Second 
General Issues Supplement at 1-6 and Exhibits I-Supp2-1 through I-
Supp2-3.
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    As discussed in the Preamble to Commerce's regulations, we are 
setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues regarding 
product coverage (i.e., scope).\9\ Commerce will consider all scope 
comments received from interested parties and, if necessary, will 
consult with interested parties prior to the issuance of the 
preliminary determination. If scope comments include factual 
information,\10\ all such factual information should be limited to 
public information. To facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, 
Commerce requests that scope comments be submitted by 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Time (ET) on January 27, 2025, which is 20 calendar days from the 
signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments, which may include 
factual information, and should also be limited to public information, 
must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on February 6, 2025, which is 10 calendar 
days from the initial comment deadline.
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    \9\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble); see also 19 CFR 
351.312.
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ``factual 
information'').
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    Commerce requests that any factual information that parties 
consider relevant to the scope of this investigation be submitted 
during that period. However, if a party subsequently finds that 
additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the 
investigation may be relevant, the party must contact Commerce and 
request permission to submit the additional information. All scope 
comments must be filed simultaneously on the records of the concurrent 
LTFV and CVD investigations.

Filing Requirements

    All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically via 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS), unless an exception 
applies.\11\ An electronically filed document must be received 
successfully in its entirety by the time and date it is due.
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    \11\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 
Compliance: Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046 
(November 20, 2014) for details of Commerce's electronic filing 
requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on using ACCESS 
can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook 
can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook_on_Electronic_Filing_Procedures.pdf.
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Comments on Product Characteristics

    Commerce is providing interested parties an opportunity to comment 
on the appropriate physical characteristics of active anode material to 
be reported in response to Commerce's AD questionnaires. This 
information will be used to identify the key physical characteristics 
of the subject merchandise in order to report the relevant factors of 
production (FOPs) accurately, as well as to develop appropriate product 
comparison criteria.
    Interested parties may provide any information or comments that 
they feel are relevant to the development of an accurate list of 
physical characteristics. In order to consider the suggestions of 
interested parties in developing and issuing the AD questionnaires, all 
product characteristics comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on 
January 27, 2025, which is 20 calendar days from the signature date of 
this notice. Any rebuttal comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on 
February 6, 2025, which is 10 calendar days from the initial comment 
deadline. All comments and submissions to Commerce must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS, as explained above, on the record of the 
LTFV investigation.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petition

    Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on 
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act 
provides that a petition meets this requirement if the domestic 
producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) at least 
25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and 
(ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like 
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support 
for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of 
the Act provides that, if the petition does not establish support of 
domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product, Commerce shall: (i) 
poll the industry or rely on other information in order to determine if 
there is support for the petition, as required by subparagraph (A); or 
(ii) determine industry support using a statistically valid sampling 
method to poll the ``industry.''
    Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the 
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine 
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute 
directs Commerce to look to producers and workers who produce the 
domestic like product. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), 
which is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry'' 
has been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like 
product in order to define the industry. While both Commerce and the 
ITC apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic like 
product,\12\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a 
separate and distinct authority. In addition, Commerce's determination 
is subject to limitations of time and information. Although this may 
result in different definitions of the like product, such differences 
do not render the decision of either agency contrary to law.\13\
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    \12\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
    \13\ See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT 
2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 688 F. 
Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United 
States, 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
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    Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a 
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation 
under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which the domestic 
like product analysis begins is

[[Page 3794]]

``the article subject to an investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of 
merchandise to be investigated, which normally will be the scope as 
defined in the petition).
    With regard to the domestic like product, the petitioner does not 
offer a definition of the domestic like product distinct from the scope 
of the investigation.\14\ Based on our analysis of the information 
submitted on the record, we have determined that active anode material, 
as defined in the scope, constitutes a single domestic like product, 
and we have analyzed industry support in terms of that domestic like 
product.\15\
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    \14\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis as 
applied to this case and information regarding industry support, see 
Checklist, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: 
Active Anode Material from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (China AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II, Analysis of Industry 
Support for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 
Covering Active Anode Material from the People's Republic of China 
(Attachment II). This checklist is on file electronically via 
ACCESS.
    \15\ See Attachment II of the China AD Initiation Checklist.
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    In determining whether the petitioner has standing under section 
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered the industry support data 
contained in the Petition with reference to the domestic like product 
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in the appendix to 
this notice. To establish industry support, the petitioner provided the 
2023 production of the domestic like product for the supporters of the 
Petition and compared this to total 2023 production for the U.S. active 
anode material industry.\16\ We relied on data provided by the 
petitioner for purposes of measuring industry support.\17\
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    \16\ Id.
    \17\ For further discussion, see Attachment II of the China AD 
Initiation Checklist.
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    On December 30, 2024, we received timely filed comments on industry 
support from Tesla, Inc. (Tesla), a U.S. importer of active anode 
material.\18\ On January 2, 2025, the petitioner responded to the 
comments from Tesla in a timely filed rebuttal submission.\19\
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    \18\ See Tesla's Letter, ``Request to Reject the Petition or to 
Poll the Industry,'' dated December 30, 2024.
    \19\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Rebuttal Industry Support 
Comments,'' dated January 2, 2025 (Petitioner's Response).
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    Our review of the data provided in the Petition, the First General 
Issues Supplement, the Second General Issues Supplement, the 
Petitioner's Response, and other information readily available to 
Commerce indicates that the petitioner has established industry support 
for the Petition.\20\ First, the Petition established support from 
domestic producers (or workers) accounting for more than 50 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product and, as such, 
Commerce is not required to take further action in order to evaluate 
industry support (e.g., polling).\21\ Second, the domestic producers 
(or workers) have met the statutory criteria for industry support under 
section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act because the domestic producers (or 
workers) who support the Petition account for at least 25 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product.\22\ Finally, the 
domestic producers (or workers) have met the statutory criteria for 
industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act because the 
domestic producers (or workers) who support the Petition account for 
more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like product 
produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or 
opposition to, the Petition.\23\ Accordingly, Commerce determines that 
the Petition was filed on behalf of the domestic industry within the 
meaning of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.\24\
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    \20\ See Attachment II of the China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \21\ Id.; see also section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act.
    \22\ See Attachment II of the China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \23\ Id.
    \24\ Id.
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Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation

    Section 773(a)(1)(B) of the Act states that the ITC ``shall 
determine . . . whether there is a reasonable indication that the 
establishment of an industry in the United States is materially 
retarded by reason of imports of the subject merchandise.'' The 
petitioner alleges that imports of subject merchandise sold at LTFV 
from China have materially retarded the establishment of the U.S. 
industry producing active anode material.\25\ The petitioner argues 
that that its production has been ``modest'' and has not stabilized 
and, therefore, the U.S. industry producing active anode material has 
not been established.\26\ To support its argument, the Petitioner 
examines the five factors \27\ considered by the ITC to determine if an 
industry is established,\28\ as set forth in the ITC's AD/CVD 
Handbook.\29\ If the ITC determines that an industry is not 
established, it then considers whether the performance of the industry 
reflects normal start-up difficulties or whether the imports of the 
subject merchandise have materially retarded the establishment of the 
industry.\30\ The petitioner contends that the domestic industry has 
performed substantially worse than what could reasonably be expected 
during normal start-up conditions, thereby demonstrating that the 
establishment of the domestic industry has been materially retarded by 
subject imports.\31\ The petitioner also alleges that, in the 
alternative, the U.S. industry producing the domestic like product is 
being materially injured, or is threatened with material injury, by 
reason of the imports of the subject merchandise sold at less than 
LTFV.\32\ In addition, the petitioner alleges that subject imports from 
China exceed the negligibility threshold provided for under section 
771(24)(A) of the Act.\33\
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    \25\ For a discussion of the material retardation allegation, 
see China AD Initiation Checklist at Attachment III, Analysis of 
Allegations and Evidence of Material Retardation, Material Injury, 
and Causation for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 
Covering Active Anode Material from the People's Republic of China 
(Attachment III).
    \26\ See Attachment III of the China AD Checklist.
    \27\ For a discussion of the factors related to whether an 
industry is established, see Attachment III of the China AD 
Initiation Checklist.
    \28\ Id.
    \29\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Handbook (14th 
Ed.), USITC Pub. 4540 (June 2015) at II-33.
    \30\ Id.
    \31\ See Attachment III of the China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \32\ Id.
    \33\ Id.
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    The petitioner contends that the industry is materially retarded, 
or in the alternative, its injured condition is illustrated by a 
significant volume of subject imports; significant market share of 
subject imports; lost sales and revenues; underselling; low levels of 
production; and negative impact on financial performance.\34\ We 
assessed the allegations and supporting evidence regarding material 
retardation, or in the alternative, material injury, threat of material 
injury, causation, as well as negligibility, and we have determined 
that these allegations are properly supported by adequate evidence and 
meet the statutory requirements for initiation.\35\
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    \34\ Id.
    \35\ Id.
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Allegations of Sales at LTFV

    The following is a description of the allegations of sales at LTFV 
upon which Commerce based its decision to initiate a LTFV investigation 
of imports of active anode material from China. The sources of data for 
the deductions and adjustments relating to U.S. price and

[[Page 3795]]

normal value (NV) are discussed in greater detail in the China AD 
Initiation Checklist.

U.S. Price

    The petitioner based export price (EP) on pricing information for 
the sale, or offer for sale, of active anode material produced in and 
exported from China.\36\ The petitioner did not make any adjustments to 
U.S. price to calculate a net ex-factory U.S. price.\37\
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    \36\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \37\ Id.
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Normal Value

    Commerce considers China to be an NME country.\38\ In accordance 
with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any determination that a foreign 
country is an NME country shall remain in effect until revoked by 
Commerce. Therefore, we continue to treat China as an NME country for 
purposes of the initiation of this LTFV investigation. Accordingly, we 
base NV on FOPs valued in a surrogate market economy country in 
accordance with section 773(c) of the Act.
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    \38\ See, e.g., Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof 
from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, 88 FR 15372 
(March 13, 2023), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
at 5, unchanged in Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof 
from the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination 
of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination 
of Critical Circumstances, 88 FR 34485 (May 30, 2023).
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    The petitioner claims that Malaysia is an appropriate surrogate 
country for China because it is a market economy that is at a level of 
economic development comparable to that of China and is a significant 
producer of comparable merchandise.\39\ The petitioner provided 
publicly available information from Malaysia to value all FOPs except 
labor.\40\ Consistent with Commerce's recent practice in cases 
involving Malaysia as a surrogate country,\41\ to value labor, the 
petitioner provided data from another surrogate country, Mexico.\42\ 
Based on the information provided by the petitioner, we believe it is 
appropriate to use Malaysia as a surrogate country for China to value 
all FOPs except labor and Mexico to value labor for initiation 
purposes.
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    \39\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \40\ Id.
    \41\ See, e.g., Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's 
Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review; and Final Determination of No Shipments; 2021-2022, 88 FR 
85242 (December 7, 2023), and accompanying Issues and Decision 
Memorandum (IDM) at Comment 2; and Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and 
Tube from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 88 FR 15671 (March 14, 
2023), and accompanying IDM at Comment 2.
    \42\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
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    Interested parties will have the opportunity to submit comments 
regarding surrogate country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an opportunity to submit publicly 
available information to value FOPs within 30 days before the scheduled 
date of the preliminary determination.

Factors of Production

    Because information regarding the volume of inputs consumed by 
Chinese producers/exporters was not reasonably available, the 
petitioner used product-specific consumption rates from a U.S. producer 
of active anode material as a surrogate to value Chinese manufacturers' 
FOPs.\43\ Additionally, the petitioner calculated factory overhead, 
selling, general, and administrative expenses, and profit based on the 
experience of a Malaysian producer of comparable merchandise.\44\
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    \43\ Id.
    \44\ Id.
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Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by the petitioner, there is reason to 
believe that imports of active anode material from China are being, or 
are likely to be, sold in the United States at LTFV. Based on 
comparisons of EP to NV in accordance with sections 772 and 773 of the 
Act, the estimated dumping margins for active anode material from China 
covered by this initiation range from 823.40 to 915.74 percent.\45\
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    \45\ Id.
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Initiation of LTFV Investigation

    Based upon the examination of the Petition and supplemental 
responses, we find that they meet the requirements of section 732 of 
the Act. Therefore, we are initiating a LTFV investigation to determine 
whether imports of active anode material are being, or are likely to 
be, sold in the United States at LTFV. In accordance with section 
733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless postponed, we 
will make our preliminary determination no later than 140 days after 
the date of this initiation.

Respondent Selection

    In the Petition, the petitioner identified 30 companies in China as 
producers and/or exporters of active anode material.\46\ Our standard 
practice for respondent selection in AD investigations involving NME 
countries is to select respondents based on quantity and value (Q&V) 
questionnaires in cases where Commerce has determined that the number 
of companies is large, and it cannot individually examine each company 
based upon its resources. Therefore, considering the number of 
producers and/or exporters identified in the Petition, Commerce will 
solicit Q&V information that can serve as a basis for selecting 
exporters for individual examination in the event that Commerce 
determines that the number is large and decides to limit the number of 
respondents individually examined pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the 
Act. Because there are 30 Chinese producers and/or exporters identified 
in the Petition, Commerce has determined that it will issue Q&V 
questionnaires to the largest producers and/or exporters in China that 
are identified in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection POI entry data 
for which there is complete address information on the record.\47\
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    \46\ See Petition at Volume I (page 6 and Exhibit I-9); see also 
First General Issues Supplement at 1-2 and Exhibit I-Supp-1.
    \47\ See Memorandum, ``Release of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection Entry Data,'' dated January 7, 2025.
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    Commerce will post the Q&V questionnaires along with filing 
instructions on Commerce's website at https://www.trade.gov/ec-adcvd-case-announcements. Producers/exporters of active anode material from 
China that do not receive Q&V questionnaires may still submit a 
response to the Q&V questionnaire and can obtain a copy of the Q&V 
questionnaire from Commerce's website. Responses to the Q&V 
questionnaire must be submitted by the relevant Chinese producers/
exporters no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on January 21, 2025, which is two 
weeks from the signature date of this notice. All Q&V questionnaire 
responses must be filed electronically via ACCESS. An electronically 
filed document must be received successfully, in its entirety, by 
ACCESS no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on the deadline noted above.
    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
administrative protective order (APO) in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(b). As stated above, instructions for filing such applications 
may be found on Commerce's website at https://www.trade.gov/administrative-protective-orders.

Separate Rates

    In order to obtain separate rate status in an NME investigation, 
exporters and producers must submit a separate rate application. The 
specific requirements for submitting a separate rate

[[Page 3796]]

application in an NME investigation are outlined in detail in the 
application itself, which is available on Commerce's website at https://access.trade.gov/Resources/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. The separate rate 
application will be due 30 days after publication of this initiation 
notice. Exporters and producers must file a timely separate rate 
application if they want to be considered for individual examination. 
Exporters and producers who submit a separate rate application and have 
been selected as mandatory respondents will be eligible for 
consideration for separate rate status only if they respond to all 
parts of Commerce's AD questionnaire as mandatory respondents. Commerce 
requires that companies from China submit a response both to the Q&V 
questionnaire and to the separate rate application by the respective 
deadlines to receive consideration for separate rate status. Companies 
not filing a timely Q&V questionnaire response will not receive 
separate rate consideration.

Use of Combination Rates

    Commerce will calculate combination rates for certain respondents 
that are eligible for a separate rate in an NME investigation. The 
Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin states:

{w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates 
only to exporters, all separate rates that {Commerce{time}  will now 
assign in its NME investigation will be specific to those producers 
that supplied the exporter during the period of investigation. Note, 
however, that one rate is calculated for the exporter and all of the 
producers which supplied subject merchandise to it during the period 
of investigation. This practice applies both to mandatory 
respondents receiving an individually calculated separate rate as 
well as the pool of non-investigated firms receiving the {weighted 
average{time}  of the individually calculated rates. This practice 
is referred to as the application of ``combination rates'' because 
such rates apply to specific combinations of exporters and one or 
more producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to an exporter will 
apply only to merchandise both exported by the firm in question and 
produced by a firm that supplied the exporter during the period of 
investigation.\48\
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    \48\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigation involving NME Countries,'' (April 
5, 2005), at 6 (emphasis added), available on Commerce's website at 
https://access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf.

Distribution of Copies of the Petition

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.202(f), copies of the public version of the Petition have been 
provided to the Government of China via ACCESS. To the extent 
practicable, we will attempt to provide a copy of the public version of 
the Petition to each exporter named in the Petition, as provided under 
19 CFR 351.203(c)(2).

ITC Notification

    Commerce will notify the ITC of our initiation, as required by 
section 732(d) of the Act.

Preliminary Determination by the ITC

    The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date 
on which the Petition was filed, whether there is a reasonable 
indication that imports of active anode material from China materially 
retard the establishment of a U.S. industry, or that such imports are 
materially injuring, or threatening material injury to, a U.S. 
industry.\49\ A negative ITC determination will result in the 
investigation being terminated.\50\ Otherwise, this LTFV investigation 
will proceed according to statutory and regulatory time limits.
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    \49\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
    \50\ Id.
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Submission of Factual Information

    Factual information is defined in 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) 
evidence submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence 
submitted in support of allegations; (iii) publicly available 
information to value factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence 
placed on the record by Commerce; and (v) evidence other than factual 
information described in (i)-(iv). Section 351.301(b) of Commerce's 
regulations requires any party, when submitting factual information, to 
specify under which subsection of 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) the information 
is being submitted \51\ and, if the information is submitted to rebut, 
clarify, or correct factual information already on the record, to 
provide an explanation identifying the information already on the 
record that the factual information seeks to rebut, clarify, or 
correct.\52\ Time limits for the submission of factual information are 
addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, which provides specific time limits based 
on the type of factual information being submitted. Interested parties 
should review the regulations prior to submitting factual information 
in this investigation.
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    \51\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
    \52\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
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Extensions of Time Limits

    Parties may request an extension of time limits before the 
expiration of a time limit established under 19 CFR 351.301, or as 
otherwise specified by Commerce. In general, an extension request will 
be considered untimely if it is filed after the expiration of the time 
limit established under 19 CFR 351.301, or as otherwise specified by 
Commerce.\53\ For submissions that are due from multiple parties 
simultaneously, an extension request will be considered untimely if it 
is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET on the due date. Under certain 
circumstances, Commerce may elect to specify a different time limit by 
which extension requests will be considered untimely for submissions 
which are due from multiple parties simultaneously. In such a case, we 
will inform parties in a letter or memorandum of the deadline 
(including a specified time) by which extension requests must be filed 
to be considered timely. An extension request must be made in a 
separate, standalone submission; under limited circumstances we will 
grant untimely filed requests for the extension of time limits, where 
we determine, based on 19 CFR 351.302, that extraordinary circumstances 
exist. Parties should review Commerce's regulations concerning the 
extension of time limits and the Time Limits Final Rule prior to 
submitting factual information in this investigation.\54\
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    \53\ See 19 CFR 351.301; see also Extension of Time Limits; 
Final Rule, 78 FR 57790 (September 20, 2013) (Time Limits Final 
Rule), available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm.
    \54\ See 19 CFR 351.302; see also, e.g., Time Limits Final Rule.
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Certification Requirements

    Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding 
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\55\ 
Parties must use the certification formats provided in 19 CFR 
351.303(g).\56\ Commerce intends to reject factual submissions if the 
submitting party does not comply with the applicable certification 
requirements.
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    \55\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \56\ See Certification of Factual Information to Import 
Administration During Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (Final Rule). Additional 
information regarding the Final Rule is available at https://access.trade.gov/Resources/filing/.
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Notification to Interested Parties

    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. Parties wishing to participate 
in this investigation should ensure that they meet the requirements of 
19 CFR 351.103(d) (e.g., by filing the required

[[Page 3797]]

letter of appearance). Note that Commerce has amended certain of its 
requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 
351.303(f).\57\
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    \57\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other 
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 
67069 (September 29, 2023).
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    This notice is issued and published pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) 
and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).

    Dated: January 7, 2025.
Steven Presing,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.

Appendix--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is active anode 
material, which is an anode grade graphite material with a graphite 
minimum purity content of 90 percent carbon by weight, whether 
containing synthetic graphite, natural graphite, or a blend of 
synthetic and natural graphite; with or without coating. Subject 
merchandise may be in the form of powder, dry, liquid, or block form 
and is covered irrespective of the form in which it enters. Subject 
merchandise typically has a maximum size of 80 microns when in 
powder form. Subject merchandise has an energy density of 330 
milliamp hours per gram or greater and a degree of graphitization of 
80 percent or greater, where graphitization refers to the extent of 
the graphite crystal structure.
    Subject merchandise is covered regardless of whether it is mixed 
with silicon based active materials, e.g., silicon-oxide (SiOx), 
silicon-carbon (SiC), or silicon, or additives such as carbon black 
or carbon nanotubes. Subject merchandise is covered regardless of 
the combination of compounds that comprise the graphite material. 
Subject merchandise is covered regardless of whether it is imported 
independently, as part of a compound, in a battery, as a component 
of an anode slurry, or in a subassembly of a battery such as an 
electrode. Only the anode grade graphite material is covered when 
entered as part of a mixture with silicon based active materials, as 
part of a compound, in a batter, as a component of an anode slurry, 
or in a subassembly of a battery such as an electrode.
    Active anode material subject to the investigation may be 
classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) subheadings 2504.10.5000 and 3801.10.5000. Subject 
merchandise may also enter under HTSUS subheadings 2504.10.1000 and 
3801.90.0000. The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes only. The written description of the scope of the 
investigation is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2025-00656 Filed 1-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P