U.S. Moves Forward With Countervailing Duties on Chinese R-125 Chemical
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The U.S. Department of Commerce has announced the preliminary results of a review of countervailing duties on pentafluoroethane (R-125) from the People’s Republic of China. This chemical is used in refrigerants.
The review looked at the time from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.
The review was for two companies: Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co., Ltd. (Sanmei) and Zhejiang Yonghe Refrigerant Co., Ltd. (Yonghe). Other linked companies were also included as “cross-owned” with each main company.
Subsidy Rates Found
- Zhejiang Sanmei Chemical Ind. Co., Ltd. and cross-owned company: Subsidy rate at 3.02 percent ad valorem.
- Zhejiang Yonghe Refrigerant Co., Ltd. and cross-owned companies: Subsidy rate at 182.51 percent ad valorem.
Countervailing duties are taxes on imports that get subsidies from their home country. U.S. law says the government should collect them if subsidies give companies a special advantage.
Process and Timeline
Commerce started its review after it received requests on time. Questionnaires about subsidies were sent to the Government of China to forward to the companies.
The review followed laws in the Tariff Act of 1930. The review included looking at financial help from the Chinese government and its effect.
Commerce used some “facts available with adverse inferences.” This means if information was missing or unclear, decisions could be made based on facts that may not favor the company missing the data.
Public Comment and Hearings
Interested parties can send comments on these results. Written comments are due no later than 21 days after the notice is published. Rebuttal comments are due five days after that.
All documents must be sent electronically and include a table of contents and a list of sources. Executive summaries for each issue discussed must be included at the start of briefs.
If anyone wants a hearing, they must ask within 30 days of the publication of the notice. Hearings, if scheduled, will focus only on issues raised in the written briefs.
Assessment and Cash Deposits
Once the review is final, Commerce will tell U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) how much duty to collect on the affected imports during the review period. This will be done at least 35 days after the final results are published.
After the final results, Commerce will also tell CBP to collect cash deposits on future imports at the rates in this review. Other companies not reviewed will keep using the most recent rates.
Next Steps
This is not the final decision. Commerce plans to finish the review within 120 days of these preliminary results, unless they extend the deadline.
The public can read the full Preliminary Decision Memorandum through the online system ACCESS.
Key Dates
- Preliminary results published: July 11, 2025
- Final results expected in about 120 days
- Deadlines for comments and hearing requests set after publication
Federal Register notice number: 2025-12956
Contact for more information: Seth Brown, AD/CVD Operations, U.S. Department of Commerce, (202) 482-0029.
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