PUBLIC VERSION
was carved out of the scope of the AD and CVD orders. 46 QSP is defined as slabs and other surfaces created from a mixture of materials that includes predominately silica( e. g., quartz, quartz powder, cristobalite) as well as a resin binder( e. g., an unsaturated polyester). QSP may also generally be referred to as engineered stone or quartz, artificial stone or quartz, agglomerated stone or quartz, synthetic stone or quartz, processed stone or quartz, manufactured stone or quartz, and Bretonstone ®.
QSP is primarily composed of crushed quartz stone or other silica-based materials and may also include materials such as pigments, cement, or other additives. Subject QSP only includes products where the silica content is greater than any other single material, by actual weight. 47 QSP is typically sold as rectangular slabs with a total surface area of approximately 45 to 60 SQF and a nominal thickness of one, two, or three centimeters. In addition to slabs, QSP is
46 When the domestic industry filed the AD / CVD petitions against imports from China, the scope did not
exclude crushed glass surface products. See Commerce Memo re: Scope Modification Determination in AD / CVD Investigations on QSP from China( Dep’ t Commerce May 14, 2019), attached as Exhibit 3. Crushed glass surface products were excluded from the scope of the China AD / CVD investigations only after Commerce specifically requested clarification regarding whether the scope should cover such products. In agreeing to the exclusion, the domestic industry intended to refer to products that had a distinctive appearance where large pieces of crushed glass were visible across the surface of the product and that served a niche segment in the overall countertop market. However, Chinese producers exploited the exclusion as a loophole that allowed them to avoid AD / CVD liability by exporting glass-based surface products that were virtually indistinguishable from other types of QSP. To combat this blatant evasion, Commerce modified the scope of the China AD / CVD investigations by including certain criteria that must be met to qualify for the exclusion for crushed glass surface products. Nevertheless, parties continue to attempt to exploit the crushed glass surface products exclusion to evade AD / CVD liability. See QSP from China First Review, USITC Pub. 5578 at I-24( Table I-8)( noting that Texas-based importer Vivaldi imported QSP from China and avoided AD / CVD duties by falsely declaring that the merchandise was nonsubject crushed glass). Because crushed glass surface products are substantially identical to QSP, and because the exclusion for crushed glass surface products has incentivized foreign companies and U. S. importers to engage in evasive practices, Petitioner has not excluded glass surface products from the scope of this safeguard petition.
47 So long as the silica content is greater than any other single material, it does not matter where the
source of the silica is derived. A non-exhaustive list of silica sources would include quartz, quartz powder, cristobalite, glass powder, feldspar, mica, nepheline syenite, basalt, andesite, rhyolite, dacite, and other generic minerals..
16