Large Diameter Graphite Electrodes From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination in Countervailing Duty Investigation

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 [C-570-221] AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of large diameter graphite electrodes (large graphite electrodes) from the People's Republic of China (China). The period of investigation is January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2025. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination of critical circumstances. DATES: Applicable September 24, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joseph Molokwu, AD/CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 ( printed page 60594) Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-8043. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On March 20, 2026, Commerce published the notice of initiation of this countervailing duty (CVD) investigation in the Federal Register . [ 1 ] On July 30, 2026, Commerce published its Preliminary Determination. [ 2 ] In the Preliminary Determination, Commerce applied facts available with an adverse inference (AFA) to the two mandatory respondents, Dantan New Materials Co., Ltd. (Dantan New Materials) and Shanxi Juxian Graphite New Material Co., Ltd. (Shanxi Juxian), and the Government of China. [ 3 ] On September 1, 2026, the Large Diameter Graphite Electr…