Monosodium Glutamate From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Circumvention

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration [A-570-992] AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that imports of monosodium glutamate (MSG) completed in Malaysia using glutamic acid produced in the People's Republic of China (China) are circumventing the antidumping duty (AD) order on MSG from China. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination. DATES: Applicable February 21, 2025. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Cloyd or Jacob Saude, AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1246 or (202) 482-0981, respectively. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On January 6, 2015, Commerce published in the Federal Register the AD order on MSG from China. [ 1 ] On May 15, 2024, in response to a request from Ajinomoto Health and Nutrition North America, Inc. (Ajinomoto NA), a domestic interested party, Commerce initiated this country-wide circumvention inquiry to determine whether imports of MSG completed in Malaysia using glutamic acid produced in China are circumventing the Order and, accordingly, should be covered by the scope of the Order, pursuant to section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). [ 2 ] In September 2024, Commerce sele…