<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 2 (Monday, January 5, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 244-247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-24280]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-580-921]
Certain Monomers and Oligomers From the Republic of Korea:
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in
Part, and Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of
Provisional Measures
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that certain monomers and oligomers (monomers and oligomers)
from the Republic of Korea (Korea) are being, or are likely to be, sold
in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of
investigation (POI) is January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable January 5, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Shaw or Sun Cho, 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) 482-6458 or (202) 482-0697.
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 on April 23,
2025.\1\ On August 19, 2025, Commerce postponed the preliminary
determination of this investigation.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Certain Monomers and Oligomers from the Republic of
Korea and Taiwan: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations,
90 FR 17044 (April 23, 2025) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Certain Monomers and Oligomers from the Republic of
Korea: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-
Fair-Value Investigation, 90 FR 40330 (August 19, 2025).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Due to the lapse in appropriations and Federal Government shutdown
on November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative
proceedings by 47 days.\3\ Additionally, due to a backlog of documents
that were electronically filed via Enforcement and Compliance's
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service
System (ACCESS) during the Federal Government shutdown, on November 24,
2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by an
additional 21 days.\4\ Accordingly, the deadline for this determination
is now December 30, 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the
Federal Government,'' dated November 14, 2025.
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of all Case Deadlines,'' dated
November 24, 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\5\ 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 ACCESS. ACCESS is available to registered users at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value in the
Investigation of Certain Monomers and Oligomers from the Republic of
Korea,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are monomers and
oligomers from Korea. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\6\ in
the Initiation Notice, Commerce set aside a period of time for parties
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\7\ No
interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice. Commerce is not preliminarily
modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice.
The complete description of the scope is provided in Appendix I to this
notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
\7\ See Initiation Notice, 90 FR at 17045.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 245]]
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Commerce calculated export and constructed
export prices in accordance with sections 772(a) and (b) of the Act,
respectively. Normal value is calculated in accordance with section 773
of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act,
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with
adverse inferences, to assign an estimated weighted-average dumping
margin to Kukdo Chemicals Co. Ltd.\8\ For a full description of the
methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preliminary Affirmative Determination Critical Circumstances, in Part
On August 18, 2025, the petitioner \9\ timely filed a critical
circumstances allegation, pursuant to section 733(e)(1) of the Act and
19 CFR 351.206(c)(1), alleging that critical circumstances exist with
respect to imports of the subject merchandise from Korea.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ The petitioner is Arkema Inc.
\10\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Allegation of Critical
Circumstances,'' dated August 18, 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 733(e)(1) of the Act provides that Commerce will
preliminarily determine that critical circumstances exist in an LTFV
investigation if there is a reasonable basis to believe or suspect
that: (A) there is a history of dumping and material injury by reason
of dumped imports in the United States or elsewhere of the subject
merchandise, or the person by whom, or for whose account, the
merchandise was imported knew or should have known that the exporter
was selling the subject merchandise at less than its fair value and
that there was likely to be material injury by reason of such sales;
and (B) there have been massive imports of the subject merchandise over
a relatively short period. We preliminarily find that critical
circumstances exist for imports of subject merchandise produced and/or
exported by Green Chemical Co., Ltd. (Green Chemical). Because we
preliminarily applied the adverse-facts-available (AFA) rate to the
company that did not respond to our quantity and value questionnaire
(i.e., the non-responsive company),\11\ as AFA, we preliminarily find
that critical circumstances exist for Kukdo Chemicals as well. In
addition, we preliminarily find that critical circumstances do not
exist for imports of subject merchandise produced and/or exported by
Miwon Specialty Chemical Co., Ltd. (Miwon) and all other producers and/
or exporters. For a full discussion of our preliminary critical
circumstances determination, see the ``Preliminary Critical
Circumstances'' section of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ The company that decided not to participate in this
investigation and, therefore, did not respond to Commerce's Q&V
questionnaire is Kukdo Chemicals Co. Ltd (Kukdo Chemicals).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
All-Others Rate
Section 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that
in the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually
examined. This rate 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.
In this investigation, Commerce calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margins for Green Chemical and Miwon 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
estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined
respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the
merchandise under consideration.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally
calculates: (A) a weighted-average of the estimated weighted-average
dumping margins calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a
simple average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins
calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average
of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the
examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. sales
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. For a complete analysis of the data, see Memorandum,
``All-Others Rate Calculation,'' dated concurrently with this
notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
weighted-average dumping margins exists:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Green Chemical Co., Ltd.; Green Life Science \13\........... 65.72
Miwon Specialty Chemical Co., Ltd........................... 10.94
Kukdo Chemicals Co. Ltd..................................... * 188.01
All Others.................................................. 15.59
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Rate is based on facts available with adverse inferences.
Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposit Requirements
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ We preliminarily collapsed Green Chemical Co., Ltd. and
Green Life Science. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation
shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a)
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of
liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily
finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject
merchandise produced or exported by Green Chemical and Kukdo Chemicals.
In accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of
liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of shipments of subject
merchandise from Green Chemical and Kukdo Chemicals that were entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which
is 90 days before the publication of this notice.
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, with regard to
Miwon and all other exporters and/or producers of subject merchandise,
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise, as described in
Appendix I, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-
others rate, as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents
listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-
average dumping margins determined in this preliminary
[[Page 246]]
determination; (2) if the exporter is not a respondent identified
above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be equal to
the company-specific estimated weighted-average dumping margin
established for that producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the
cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters will be equal
to the all-others estimated weighted-average dumping margin.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination
within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Consistent with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce will analyze and, if
appropriate, correct any timely allegations of significant ministerial
errors by amending the preliminary determination. However, consistent
with 19 CFR 351.224(d), Commerce will not consider incomplete
allegations that do not address the significance standard under 19 CFR
351.224(g) following the preliminary determination. Instead, Commerce
will address such allegations in the final determination together with
issues raised in the case briefs or other written comments.
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 case
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline
date for case briefs.\14\ Note that Commerce has amended certain of its
requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR
351.303(f).\15\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties
who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are
encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) a statement of the issue;
(2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29,
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
\15\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iii), we
request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their
briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their
briefs.\16\ 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).\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\16\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\17\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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, within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone
number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a
foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a
request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at
a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone
the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the
scheduled date.
Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional
Measures
Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by
the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of Commerce's regulations
requires that a request by exporters for postponement of the final
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months
in duration.
On November 24, 2025, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), Miwon
requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and that
provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed six months;
\18\ on December 4, 2025, Green Chemical also requested that Commerce
postpone the final determination and extend the application of
provisional measures by a corresponding period of extension.\19\ On
November, 21, 2025, the petitioner requested that Commerce postpone the
final determination in the event of a negative preliminary
determination.\20\ In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) the preliminary
determination is affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for
a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3)
no compelling reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the
final determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-
month period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly,
Commerce will make its final determination no later than 135 days after
the date of publication of this preliminary determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ See Miwon's Letter, ``Request for Postponement of Final
Determination,'' dated November 24, 2025.
\19\ See Green Chemical's Letter, ``Request to Extend Final
Determination,'' dated December 4, 2025.
\20\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Request to Postpone Final
Determination,'' dated November 21, 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary
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
whether imports of monomers and oligomers from Korea are materially
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
[[Page 247]]
Dated: December 30, 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 products subject to these investigations are certain
multifunctional acrylate and methacrylate monomers, and acrylated
bisphenol-A epoxy based oligomers (collectively, certain monomers
and oligomers or CMOs) that are derived from chemical reactions
involving the use of acrylic or methacrylic acid. Products within
the scope are listed below and have the following Chemical Abstracts
Service (CAS) numbers:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAS No. Description Molecular formula
------------------------------------------------------------------------
109-16-0.................. Triethylene glycol C14H22O6
dimethacrylate (TEGDMA).
13048-33-4................ 1,6-hexanediol C12H18O4
diacrylate (HDDA).
42978-66-5................ Tripropylene glycol C15H24O6
diacrylate (TPGDA).
3290-92-4................. Trimethylolpropane C18H26O6
trimethacrylate
(TMPTMA).
15625-89-5................ Trimethylolpropane C15H20O6
triacrylate (TMPTA).
28961-43-5................ Ethoxylated trimethylol- (C2H4O)n(C2H4O)n(C
propane triacrylate 2H4O)nC15H20O6
(EOTMPTA).
57472-68-1................ Dipropylene glycol C12H18O5
diacrylate (DPGDA).
55818-57-0................ Bisphenol-A- (C15H16O2.C3H5ClO)
epichlorohydrin x.xC3H4O2
copolymer acrylate
(EPOXY ACRYLATE).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The monomers are generally known as multifunctional acrylates
(MFAs) or multifunctional methacrylates (MFMAs) depending on whether
the functional groups are acrylate or methacrylate. The monomers
generally contain stabilizers/inhibitors, which include but are not
limited to Hydroquinone, Methyl Hydroquinone, and Butylated Hydroxy
Toluene. The monomers are either difunctional or trifunctional
(having 2 or 3 functional groups/molecule), have viscosities of 9 to
15 centipoise (cPs) at 25 degrees Celsius (if difunctional) or 44 to
110 cPs at 25 degrees Celsius (if trifunctional), have
(meth)acrylate equivalent weights (molecular weight per number of
functional groups) between 99 and 158 and molecular weights between
226 and 472 grams per mol.
The acrylated bisphenol-A epoxy based oligomer is commonly
referred to as epoxy acrylate or acrylated epoxy. In contrast to
epoxy resin, the main characteristic of the epoxy acrylate oligomer
is that it contains acrylate functional groups which make them
curable by free-radical polymerization. The epoxy acrylate has a
molecular weight between 508 to 536 grams per mol and a viscosity of
2400 to 3600 cPs at 65 degrees Celsius. The epoxy acrylate generally
contains stabilizers/inhibitors, which include but are not limited
to Hydroquinone, Methyl Hydroquinone, and Butylated Hydroxy Toluene.
Certain monomers and oligomers are subject to the scope even if
an in-scope monomer or oligomer is blended or mixed with one or more
other in-scope monomers or oligomers.
Certain monomers and oligomers in any blend or mixture are also
subject to the scope, so long as the blend or mixture contains no
less than 20 percent by weight of in-scope CMOs.
The scope includes merchandise matching the above description
that has been processed in a third country, including by
commingling, diluting, introducing, or removing ingredients, or
performing any other processing that would not otherwise remove the
merchandise from the scope of the investigations if performed in the
subject country.
The scope also includes CMOs that are commingled, mixed or
blended with in-scope product from sources not subject to these
investigations.
Only the subject component(s) of such blends, mixtures or
commingled products described above is covered by the scope of these
investigations. Subject merchandise contained in a blended, mixed or
commingled product described above will not have undergone a
chemical reaction as a result of being blended, mixed or commingled.
Notwithstanding the above, specifically excluded from the scope
are downstream products, including but not limited to, inks,
coatings and overprint varnishes. For purposes of this exclusion,
the downstream product requires only the application of energy to be
cured, e.g., inks or varnish applied to packaging, coatings applied
to wood flooring, etc. The energy source required to cure the
downstream product to its substrate can be thermal, ultraviolet
radiation, visible light, electron beam radiation, or infrared
radiation.
This merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings
2916.12.5050, 2916.14.2050, 3824.99.2900, 3907.29.0000 and
3907.30.0000. Subject merchandise may also be entered under
subheadings 2916.12.1000 and 3824.99.9397. The HTSUS subheadings and
CAS registry numbers are provided for convenience and customs
purposes only; the written description of the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Application of Facts Available with Adverse Inferences
V. Affiliation and Single Entity Treatment
VI. Discussion of the Methodology
VII. Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances, In Part
VIII. Currency Conversion
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-24280 Filed 1-2-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
</pre></body>
</html>
Document
Certain Monomers and Oligomers From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part, and Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain monomers and oligomers (monomers and oligomers) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) are being, or...
Legal Citation
Federal Register Citation
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 244
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Certain Monomers and Oligomers From the Republic of Korea: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part, and Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures,” thefederalregister.org (January 5, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2025-24280/certain-monomers-and-oligomers-from-the-republic-of-korea-preliminary-affirmative-determination-of-sales-at-less-than-fa.