U.S. Amends Preliminary Findings in Countervailing Duty Case on Active Anode Material from China
Estimated reading time: 5–10 minutes
Background
On May 28, 2025, the Department of Commerce published a decision saying that there were unfair subsidies for active anode material from China. After this, the American Active Anode Material Producers claimed there was an important ministerial mistake in the calculated subsidy rates for Panasonic Global Procurement (China) Co., Ltd. and Panasonic Corporation of China (together known as Panasonic) and BTR New Material Group Co., Ltd.
Panasonic and BTR disagreed and submitted their comments on June 2, 2025.
Period of Investigation
The investigation covers January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023.
Scope
This case focuses on active anode material from China. More details about what is covered can be found in the Preliminary Determination.
Analysis of Ministerial Errors
A ministerial error is an unintentional mistake like adding incorrectly or copying data wrongly. A significant ministerial error means the mistake changes a company’s countervailing duty rate by five percentage points or more, or moves a rate from “zero” or “de minimis” to above that level.
The Department of Commerce agreed that such an error happened when calculating the subsidy rate for Panasonic. Other, smaller errors were also found and corrected.
Amended Preliminary Determination
After fixing the errors, the Department announced new preliminary net countervailable subsidy rates:
| Company | Subsidy Rate (percent ad valorem) |
|---|---|
| Panasonic Global Procurement China Co., Ltd.; Panasonic | 11.58 |
| Corporation of China | |
| Shanghai Shaosheng Knitted Sweat | * 721.03 |
| Huzhou Kaijin New Energy Technology Corp., Ltd. | * 721.03 |
| All Others | 11.58 |
*The rates marked with an asterisk are based on facts with adverse inferences.
Panasonic is a trading company. It sold active anode material made by BTR New Material Group Co., Ltd., its affiliates, and other connected companies. The Department of Commerce combined all the subsidy benefits from BTR, its affiliates, and Panasonic into one rate for Panasonic.
Cash Deposits and Suspension of Liquidation
The cash deposit and suspension of liquidation will now use the new, amended rates. The new, higher rates for Panasonic and all others will start on the date this notice is published in the Federal Register.
Notification
The U.S. International Trade Commission will be notified of the amended preliminary determination.
This official notice was dated June 27, 2025, and signed by Christopher Abbott, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, who is performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Legal Disclaimer
This article includes content collected from the Federal Register (federalregister.gov). The content is not an official government publication. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For case-specific consultation, please contact us. Read our full Legal Disclaimer, which also includes information on translation accuracy.
