# Certain Monomers and Oligomers From Taiwan: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
**AGENCY:**
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
**SUMMARY:**
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain monomers and oligomers (monomers and oligomers) from Taiwan during the period of investigation (POI), January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
**DATES:**
Applicable August 29, 2025.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Suresh Maniam, AD/CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1603.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
**Background**
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). On April 23, 2024, Commerce published the notice of initiation of this countervailing duty investigation in the *Federal Register* . [^1] On June 4, 2025, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation until August 25, 2025. [^2] On August 18, 2025, the petitioner alleged that, pursuant to section 703(e)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of monomers and oligomers from Taiwan. [^3] As the allegation was submitted less than 20 days before the scheduled date of the preliminary determination, Commerce's intends to issue a separate preliminary critical circumstances determination no later than 30 days after the submission of the allegation consistent with 19 CFR 351.206(c)(2)(ii).
[^1]*See Certain Monomers and Oligomers from Taiwan: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation,* 90 FR 17032 (April 23, 2025) ( *Initiation Notice* ).
[^2]*See Certain Monomers and Oligomers from Taiwan: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation,* 90 FR 23672 (June 4, 2025).
[^3]*See* Petitioner's Letter, “Allegation of Critical Circumstances,” dated August 18, 2025.
For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, *see* the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. [^4] 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 document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at *https://access.trade.gov.* In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at *https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.*
[^4]*See* Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Monomers and Oligomers from Taiwan,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
**Scope of the Investigation**
The product covered by this investigation is monomers and oligomers from Taiwan. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, *see* Appendix I.
**Scope Comments**
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations, [^5] the *Initiation Notice* set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage, ( *i.e.,* scope). [^6] No interested party commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the *Initiation Notice.* Thus, the scope of the investigation is unchanged from the *Initiation Notice.*
[^5]*See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,* 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
[^6]*See Initiation Notice.*
**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]
[^7]*See* sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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 where appropriate 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.
[^8]*See* sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
**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. In this investigation, Commerce has preliminarily determined the estimated subsidy rate for the individually examined respondents under section 776 of the Act. This is the only rate 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 established the all-others rate by applying the countervailable subsidy rate assigned to the non-responsive companies listed below.
**Preliminary Determination**
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated countervailable subsidy rates exist:
| Company | Subsidy rate |
| --- | --- |
| Eternal Materials Co., Ltd | * 159.71 |
| Qualipoly Chemical Corporation | * 159.71 |
| All Others | 159.71 |
**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; (2) if both the producer and exporter of the subject merchandise have company-specific estimated subsidy rates determined in this preliminary determination, and their rates differ, then the applicable cash deposit rate will be the higher of these two rates; (3) if either the producer or the exporter, but not both, of the subject merchandise have a company-specific estimated subsidy rate determined in this preliminary determination, the applicable cash deposit rate will be that company's company-specific rate; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters will be equal to the estimated all-others subsidy rate.
**Disclosure**
Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five days of its 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 with respect to the benefit to the individually examined companies, Eternal Materials Co., Ltd. and Qualipoly Chemical Corporation, in this investigation in accordance with section 776 of the Act, there are no calculations to disclose.
**Verification**
Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation, as well as the Taiwan Authorities, did not provide requested information, Commerce preliminarily determines each of these parties to be uncooperative; thus, verification will not be conducted.
**Public Comment**
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 20 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. [^9] Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities. [^10]
[^9]*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* ).
[^10]*See* 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. In this investigation, we instead request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs. [^11] 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 public 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 public 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). [^12]
[^11] We use the term “issue” here to describe an argument that Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
[^12]*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. 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.
**Final Determination**
Section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provides that Commerce intends to issue the final determination within 75 days after the date of its preliminary determination.
**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 monomers and oligomers from Taiwan are materially injuring 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).
Dated: August 25, 2025.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
**Appendix I**
**Scope of the Investigation**
The products subject to this investigation 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 dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) | C
H
O
. |
| 13048-33-4 | 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) | C
H
O
. |
| 42978-66-5 | Tripropylene glycol diacrylate (TPGDA) | C
H
O
. |
| 3290-92-4 | Trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) | C
H
O
. |
| 15625-89-5 | Trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) | C
H
O
. |
| 28961-43-5 | Ethoxylated trimethylol-propane triacrylate (EOTMPTA) | (C
H
O)
(C
H
O)
(C
H
O)
C
H
O
. |
| 57472-68-1 | Dipropylene glycol diacrylate (DPGDA) | C
H
O
. |
| 55818-57-0 | Bisphenol-A-epichlorohydrin copolymer acrylate (EPOXY ACRYLATE) | (C
H
O
.C
H
ClO)
.xC
H
O
. |
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 investigation 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 this investigation.
Only the subject component(s) of such blends, mixtures or commingled products described above is covered by the scope of this investigation. 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. Injury Test
IV. Diversification of China's Economy
V. Analysis of China's Financial System
VI. Use of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Recommendation