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 investigation on May 5, 2026.^[1] On June 29, 2026, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now September 8, 2026.^[2] For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[3] 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 ( printed page 58419) document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS), which is available to registered users at access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at access.trade.gov/​frnotices.

Scope of the Investigation

The products covered by this investigation are tin mill products 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,^[4] the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage ( i.e., scope).^[5] Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal response submitted to the record for the preliminary determination, and accompanying analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.^[6] Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See revised scope in Appendix I.

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.^[7]

Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, it drew an adverse inference in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.^[8] For further information, see the “Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences” section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

In accordance with section 703(e)(1) of the Act, Commerce preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of tin mill products from China for Shougang Holding Trade (Hong Kong) Ltd. (Shougang Holding), Shougang Jingtang United Iron & Steel Co. Ltd. (Shougang Jingtang), and all other exporters or producers not individually examined. For a full description of the methodology and results of Commerce's analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Alignment

As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is aligning the final countervailing duty (CVD) determination in this investigation with the final determination in the companion antidumping duty (AD) investigation of tin mill products from China based on a request made by the petitioners.^[9] Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than November 30, 2026, 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.

Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, if the individual estimated countervailable subsidy rates established for all exporters and producers individually examined are zero, de minimis, or determined based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any reasonable method to establish the estimated subsidy rate for all other producers or exporters. Commerce has preliminarily determined the individually estimated subsidy rate for each of the individually examined respondents under section 776 of the Act. Thus, these rates are the only rates available in this proceeding for deriving the all-others rate. Consequently, pursuant to sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act, Commerce has established the all-others rate by using the countervailable subsidy rate assigned to the non-responsive companies listed below. For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's analysis, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Determination

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

Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 703(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 section 703(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.107(e), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated company-specific countervailable subsidy rate 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 individual countervailable subsidy rates determined in this preliminary determination; and (2) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters will be equal to the estimated all-others subsidy rate.

Section 703(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of 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 ( printed page 58420) date on which notice of initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject merchandise produced and/or exported by Shougang Holding, Shougang Jingtang, and all other producers and/or exporters. In accordance with section 703(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise from the exporters/producers identified in this paragraph that were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice.

Disclosure

Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations performed in preliminary results within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the notice of preliminary determination in the Federal Register , in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied adverse facts available to the individually examined companies Shougang Holding and Shougang Jingtang in this investigation, in accordance with section 776 of the Act, there are no calculations to disclose.

Verification

Because the examined respondents in this investigation did not provide information requested by Commerce and Commerce preliminarily determines each of the examined respondents to have been uncooperative, it will not conduct verification.

Public Comment

Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination. 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.^[10] Interested parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.^[11] All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline.

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.^[12] 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).^[13]

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. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants, and whether any participant is a foreign national; and (3) 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.

U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the 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 whether imports of tin mill products from China are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

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 products within the scope of this investigation are tin mill flat-rolled products that are coated or plated with tin, chromium, or chromium oxides. Flat-rolled steel products coated with tin are known as tinplate. Flat-rolled steel products coated with chromium or chromium oxides are known as tin-free steel or electrolytic chromium-coated steel. The scope includes all the noted tin mill products regardless of thickness, width, form (in coils or cut sheets), coating type (electrolytic or otherwise), edge (trimmed, untrimmed or further processed, such as scroll cut), coating thickness, surface finish, temper, coating metal (tin, chromium, chromium oxide), reduction (single- or double-reduced), and whether or not coated with a plastic material.

Excluded from the scope of this investigation is certain single-reduced electrolytically chromium-coated steel tape for use as an armoring and shielding layer for fiber optic and telecommunications cables (commonly known in the industry as “copolymer coated steel tape”). Such excluded certain single-reduced electrolytically chromium-coated steel tape is excluded only if it meets all seven (7) of the below requirements:

(1) Single-reduced electrolytically chromium-coated steel,

(2) Actual thickness of 0.160 mm or less (55-pound base box weight),

(3) Type MR steel,

(4) T2-T3 temper,

(5) With a tensile range of 45-57 KSI or 310.20-393.00 Mpa,

(6) 15% minimum elongation, and

(7) 0.06-012 g/m2 chromium coating.

The merchandise subject to this investigation is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), under HTSUS subheadings 7210.11.0000, 7210.12.0000, 7210.50.0020, 7210.50.0090, 7212.10.0000, 7212.50.0000, if of non-alloy steel and under HTSUS subheadings 7225.99.0090, and 7226.99.0180 if of alloy steel. Although the subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the 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. Critical Circumstances

VIII. Recommendation

91 FR 58418