(a) Investigation of upstream subsidies—(1) In general. Before investigating the existence of an upstream subsidy (see section 771A of the Act), the Secretary must have a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that all of the following elements exist:

1. (i) A countervailable subsidy, other than an export subsidy, is provided with respect to an input product;

2. (ii) One of the following conditions exists:

   1. (A) The supplier of the input product and the producer of the subject merchandise are affiliated;
   2. (B) The price for the subsidized input product is lower than the price that the producer of the subject merchandise otherwise would pay another seller in an arm's-length transaction for an unsubsidized input product; or
   3. (C) The government sets the price of the input product so as to guarantee that the benefit provided with respect to the input product is passed through to producers of the subject merchandise; and
3. (iii) The ad valorem countervailable subsidy rate on the input product, multiplied by the proportion of the total production costs of the subject merchandise accounted for by the input product, is equal to, or greater than, one percent.

(c) Competitive benefit—(1) In general. In evaluating whether a competitive benefit exists under section 771A(b) of the Act, the Secretary will determine whether the price for the subsidized input product is lower than the benchmark input price. For purposes of this section, the Secretary will use as a benchmark input price the following, in order of preference:

1. (i) The actual price paid by, or offered to, the producer of the subject merchandise for an unsubsidized input product, including an imported input product;
2. (ii) An average price for an unsubsidized input product, including an imported input product, based upon publicly available data;
3. (iii) The actual price paid by, or offered to, the producer of the subject merchandise for a subsidized input product, including an imported input product, that is adjusted to account for the countervailable subsidy;
4. (iv) An average price for a subsidized input product, including an imported input product, based upon publicly available data, that is adjusted to account for the countervailable subsidy; or

5. (v) An unadjusted price for a subsidized input product or any other surrogate price deemed appropriate by the Secretary.

   For purposes of this section, such prices must be reflective of a time period that reasonably corresponds to the time of the purchase of the input.

6. (2) Use of delivered prices. The Secretary will use a delivered price whenever the Secretary uses the price of an input product under paragraph (c)(1) of this section.