Importers of large-diameter graphite electrodes from India may face antidumping and countervailing duty deposits on entries made months before Commerce announced its latest preliminary determinations.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has preliminarily found critical circumstances in both the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations covering large-diameter graphite electrodes from India (case numbers A-533-948 and C-533-949).
Because of these findings, Commerce will instruct CBP to suspend liquidation and collect cash deposits retroactively on qualifying unliquidated entries. However, the AD and CVD proceedings have different retroactive dates.
Two Retroactive Dates Apply
The critical-circumstances findings create the following lookback periods:
- Countervailing duties: Qualifying unliquidated entries made on or after May 1, 2026
- Antidumping duties: Qualifying unliquidated entries made on or after July 2, 2026
The CVD date is 90 days before Commerce published its preliminary subsidy determination on July 30, 2026. Commerce announced the CVD critical-circumstances finding separately, in a notice published October 1, 2026.
The AD date is 90 days before publication of the preliminary dumping determination on September 30, 2026. The AD notice states the 90-day rule rather than a calendar date; July 2 is the resulting date.
Importers should review both periods. An entry made between May 1 and July 1 may be subject to retroactive CVD deposits even though the AD lookback had not yet begun.
Preliminary Antidumping Duty Rates
Commerce calculated the following preliminary dumping margins and adjusted cash-deposit rates:
| Producer or exporter | Preliminary dumping margin | Adjusted AD deposit rate |
| Graphite India Limited | 12.22% | 9.88% |
| HEG Limited | 4.97% | 1.15% |
| All others | 6.95% | 3.53% |
The adjusted deposit rates account for export-subsidy offsets from the companion CVD investigation.
If the provisional measures in the CVD investigation expire before the AD provisional measures, Commerce will instruct CBP to begin collecting AD deposits without those subsidy offsets. That scenario is expected here. CVD provisional measures generally cannot last more than four months, which would run out in late November 2026, while Commerce has extended the AD provisional measures to up to six months. Importers should plan for higher AD deposit rates once the offsets drop away.
Preliminary Countervailing Duty Rates
The preliminary CVD rates are:
- Graphite India Limited: 3.68%
- HEG Limited: 6.99%
- All other producers and exporters: 5.87%
These deposits are separate from the AD deposits, so importers may face both AD and CVD requirements on the same entry. For CVD deposits, if the producer and exporter each have their own rate and the rates differ, the higher rate applies.
Why Commerce Found Critical Circumstances
Critical circumstances allow Commerce to suspend liquidation retroactively, reaching back up to 90 days, when statutory requirements are met.
In the CVD investigation, petitioners Resonac Graphite America Inc. and Tokai Carbon GE LLC filed a critical-circumstances allegation on September 1, 2026. They alleged that imports from India rose by more than 15%, the threshold Commerce normally treats as “massive,” when comparing October 2025 through February 2026 with March through July 2026. The petition itself was filed on February 24, 2026.
Commerce compared the two mandatory respondents’ shipments for the five months before and after the petition and found increases of more than 15% for both. For all other producers and exporters, Commerce found the third-party import data unreliable and instead relied on an average of the two respondents’ shipments, which also showed an increase above 15%.
Commerce also found a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that Indian producers received export-contingent subsidies inconsistent with the WTO Subsidies Agreement, including the Advance Authorization Program, Duty Drawback Program, Export Promotion of Capital Goods Scheme, and Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products.
The AD critical-circumstances finding was made in the September 30 preliminary dumping determination, with the supporting analysis in Commerce’s accompanying decision memorandum.
In both investigations, the preliminary critical-circumstances findings apply to:
- Graphite India Limited
- HEG Limited
- All other Indian producers and exporters of covered merchandise
The findings remain preliminary and may change in the final determinations.
Which Products Are Covered?
The investigations cover large-diameter graphite electrodes of any length, whether finished or unfinished, of a kind used in furnaces, with a nominal or actual diameter exceeding 425 millimeters (16.7 inches), whether or not attached to a graphite-pin joining system or another type of joining system or hardware.
The scope also covers graphite-pin joining systems (pins or nipples) for these electrodes with a minimum diameter of 228.6 millimeters (9 inches) at the widest cross-section, whether attached to, sold with, or sold separately from the electrodes.
Two points deserve attention:
- Country of origin is determined by the country of graphitization, not where final machining occurs.
- Certain thermal energy storage graphite blocks that meet specific density, thermal-expansion, dimensional and drilling criteria are excluded.
Covered merchandise is currently classified under HTSUS 8545.11.0020 and may also enter under 3801.10.5090 or 3801.90.0050. Commerce preliminarily revised the scope language from the initiation notice, so importers should work from the revised scope in the current notices. The written scope controls; do not rely solely on HTSUS classification or commercial product names.
Why the Retroactive Liability Matters
The duty requirements can affect entries that importers may have treated as complete from a cost-planning perspective. Importers with unliquidated entries beginning May 1 may now need to account for:
- Retroactive CVD deposits
- Retroactive AD deposits beginning July 2
- Additional cash requirements
- Increased customs-bond exposure
- Changes to inventory costs and financial reserves
- Contract disputes over responsibility for duties
- Possible changes in final liability when the investigations conclude
Because AD/CVD liability is retrospective, the final amount owed may be higher or lower than the deposits collected at entry.
Importers should also avoid assuming that the exporter alone determines the rate. Producer and exporter combinations affect the applicable deposit instructions in both investigations.
The Investigations Are Continuing
In the September 30 notice, Commerce postponed the final AD determination to no later than 135 days after publication, which is February 12, 2027. Because the final CVD determination is aligned with the final AD determination, it should move to the same date, although the October 1 CVD notice still references the earlier December 7, 2026 date.
Once CVD provisional measures expire, CVD suspension of liquidation generally stops until an order is issued, so entries made during that window would generally not be subject to CVD deposits. AD deposits continue, without the subsidy offsets.
If Commerce’s final determinations are affirmative, the U.S. International Trade Commission will make its final injury determination by the later of 120 days after the preliminary determination or 45 days after Commerce’s final determination. Orders will be issued only if both agencies reach affirmative final determinations.
Until then, the preliminary suspension-of-liquidation and deposit requirements remain in effect until further notice.
What Importers Should Do Now
Importers of Indian graphite electrodes should:
- Identify all unliquidated entries made on or after May 1, 2026.
- Separate entries made before and after the July 2, 2026 AD lookback date.
- Confirm the producer and exporter associated with each entry.
- Verify that the merchandise falls within the written scope, including the country of graphitization.
- Review whether CBP has applied the proper case numbers (A-533-948 and C-533-949) and rates.
- Calculate additional duty exposure, including higher AD deposits once the subsidy offsets drop away, and update financial reserves.
- Review continuous-bond sufficiency.
- Examine contracts for responsibility for retroactive duties.
- Preserve records connecting each shipment to the correct producer.
- Monitor the final determinations, now expected by February 12, 2027, and subsequent CBP instructions.
ASK Alba™: Contact the Alba team for assistance reviewing covered entries, confirming product scope, identifying applicable deposit rates or evaluating retroactive AD/CVD exposure.
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References
- U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. Large Diameter Graphite Electrodes From India: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value, Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures. 91 FR 61825 (September 30, 2026). Case A-533-948.
- U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. Large Diameter Graphite Electrodes From India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination. 91 FR 48081 (July 30, 2026). Case C-533-949.
- U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. Large Diameter Graphite Electrodes From India: Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination in Countervailing Duty Investigation. 91 FR 62498 (October 1, 2026). Case C-533-949.
- U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. Large Diameter Graphite Electrodes From the People’s Republic of China and India: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations. 91 FR 13581 (March 20, 2026).
- U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration. Large Diameter Graphite Electrodes From the People’s Republic of China and India: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigations. 91 FR 13577 (March 20, 2026).
