[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 41 (Thursday, March 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12616-12619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-04409]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-135]


Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain chassis and subassemblies thereof from the People's 
Republic of China (China) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of 
investigation (POI) is January 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable March 4, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hermes Pinilla or Mary Kolberg, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5439 or (202) 482-1785, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on August 19, 
2020.\1\ On October 20, 2020, Commerce postponed the preliminary 
determination of this investigation, and the revised deadline is now 
February 25, 2021.\2\ For a complete description of the events that 
followed the initiation of this

[[Page 12617]]

investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ A list of 
topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as 
Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a 
public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and 
Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic 
Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at 
https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigations, 85 FR 52552 (August 19, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 85 FR 68559 
(October 20, 2020).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof 
from the People's Republic of China: Decision Memorandum for 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain chassis and 
subassemblies thereof from China. For a complete description of the 
scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ On September 22, 
2020, we received comments from respondent interested parties and the 
Coalition of American Chassis Manufacturers (the petitioner) on the 
scope of the investigation.\6\ On October 5, 2020, we received scope 
rebuttal comments from the petitioner.\7\ On February 9, 2021, we 
issued the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\8\ For a summary of 
all scope related comments submitted to the record for this 
investigation and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments 
timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum. In the 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified 
the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the 
revised scope in Appendix I to this notice. On February 11, 2021, we 
established a scope briefing schedule \9\ and timely received a scope 
case brief from CIMC.\10\ The scope comments from CIMC will be 
addressed in the final determination of the companion countervailing 
duty (CVD) investigation due no later than March 15, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Guangdong Fuwa Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (Fuwa)'s 
Letter, ``Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China: Scope Comments,'' dated September 22, 
2020; see also CIMC Vehicle Co., Ltd. (CIMC)'s Letter, ``Certain 
Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic of 
China: Scope Comments,'' dated September 22, 2020; TRP 
International, LLC's Letter, ``Scope Comments Regarding Certain 
Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic of 
China (A-570-135 & C-570-136); TRP International, LLC,'' dated 
September 22, 2020; and Master Tow, Inc.'s Letter, ``Certain Chassis 
and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic of China; 
Submission of Scope Comments,'' dated September 22, 2020.
    \7\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Certain Chassis and Subassemblies 
Thereof form the People's Republic of China: Petitioner's Scope 
Rebuttal Comments,'' dated October 5, 2020.
    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof 
from the People's Republic of China: Scope Comments Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum,'' dated February 9, 2021 (Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum).
    \9\ See Memorandum, ``Scope Briefing Schedule,'' February 11, 
2021.
    \10\ See CIMC's Letter, ``Certain Chassis and Subassemblies 
Thereof from the People's republic of China: Scope Case Brief,'' 
dated February 16, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
we have preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with 
adverse inferences for the China-wide entity. The China-wide entity 
includes each of the companies selected for individual examination 
(CIMC and Fuwa), as well as the companies that received but did not 
answer Commerce's quantity and value questionnaire.\11\ Because none of 
the companies responded to the best of their ability to Commerce's 
questionnaires, we assigned the highest margin alleged in the petition 
(i.e., 188.05 percent) to the China-wide entity. Furthermore, because 
neither CIMC nor Fuwa demonstrated eligibility for a separate rate, 
both companies are preliminarily found to be part of the China-wide 
entity. For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ See Memorandum, ``Quantity & Value Questionnaire,'' dated 
October 7, 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\12\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\13\ In this case, because no companies 
qualified for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were 
not calculated for this preliminary determination.\14\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ See Initiation Notice.
    \13\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on 
Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
    \14\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist during the period January 1, 
2020, and June 30, 2020:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Estimated
                                                              weighted-
                                                 Estimated     average
                                                 weighted-     dumping
                                                  average       margin
              Producer/ exporter                  dumping      adjusted
                                                   margin     for export
                                                 (percent)     subsidy
                                                              offset(s)
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
China-Wide Entity.............................      188.05       182.28
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of subject merchandise, as described in the scope of the investigation 
section, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, 
as discussed below. Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash 
deposit equal to the weighted average amount by which normal value 
exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above, as follows: (1) 
For all combinations of Chinese producers/exporters of subject 
merchandise that have not established eligibility for their own 
separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margin established for the China-wide entity; 
and (2) for all third-county exporters of subject merchandise not 
listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit 
rate applicable to the Chinese producer/exporter combination (or China-
wide entity) that supplied that third-country exporter.
    To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic

[[Page 12618]]

subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion CVD 
proceeding when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, 
where Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative determination for 
domestic subsidy pass-through or export subsidies, Commerce has offset 
the calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the 
appropriate rate(s). As discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum, we made no adjustment for domestic subsidy pass-through. As 
further explained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, we made an 
adjustment for export subsidies found in the companion CVD 
investigation.\15\ The adjusted rate may be found in the ``Preliminary 
Determination'' section's chart of estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 17.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation 
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV 
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting cash 
deposits at a rate equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin calculated in this preliminary determination unadjusted for 
export subsidies at the time the CVD provisional measures expire. These 
suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until 
further notice.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce 
preliminarily determined that the mandatory respondents are considered 
to be part of the China-wide entity and assigned the China-wide entity 
a rate that is based solely on the petition, there are no calculations 
to disclose.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not 
provide information requested by Commerce by the established deadline 
and Commerce preliminarily determines in accordance with section 776(b) 
of the Act that each of the mandatory respondents has been 
uncooperative, verification will not be conducted.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the of publication of the preliminary determination. 
Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be 
submitted no later than seven days after the deadline date for case 
briefs.\16\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who 
submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are 
encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; 
(2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities. 
Note that Commerce has modified certain of its requirements for serving 
documents containing business proprietary information until further 
notice.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.309; 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing 
requirements); see also Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service 
Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 
41363 (July 10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
    \17\ See Temporary Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted above, the deadline has passed for filing case briefs on 
scope issues. Therefore, the case briefs that are due after the 
preliminary determination may not include any scope issues.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be 
determined. Parties should confirm the date and time of the hearing two 
days before the scheduled date.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the 
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make 
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date 
of this preliminary determination.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination of sales at LTFV. If the final determination is 
affirmative, the ITC will make its determination before the later of 
120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days 
after the final determination whether imports of certain chassis and 
subassemblies thereof are materially injuring, or threaten to injury 
to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: February 25, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is chassis and 
subassemblies thereof, whether finished or unfinished, whether 
assembled or unassembled, whether coated or uncoated, regardless of 
the number of axles, for carriage of containers, or other payloads 
(including self-supporting payloads) for road, marine roll-on/roll-
off (RORO) and/or rail transport. Chassis are typically, but are not 
limited to, rectangular framed trailers with a suspension and axle 
system, wheels and tires, brakes, a lighting and electrical system, 
a coupling for towing behind a truck tractor, and a locking system 
or systems to secure the shipping container or containers to the 
chassis using twistlocks, slide pins or similar attachment devices 
to engage the corner fittings on the container or other payload.
    Subject merchandise includes, but is not limited to, the 
following subassemblies:
    <bullet> Chassis frames, or sections of chassis frames, 
including kingpin assemblies, bolsters consisting of transverse 
beams with locking or support mechanisms, goosenecks, drop 
assemblies, extension mechanisms and/or rear impact guards;
    <bullet> Running gear assemblies or axle assemblies for 
connection to the chassis frame, whether fixed in nature or capable 
of sliding fore and aft or lifting up and lowering down, which may 
or may not include suspension(s) (mechanical or pneumatic), wheel 
end components, slack adjusters, axles, brake chambers, locking 
pins, and tires and wheels;
    <bullet> Landing gear assemblies, for connection to the chassis 
frame, capable of supporting the chassis when it is not engaged to a 
tractor; and
    <bullet> Assemblies that connect to the chassis frame or a 
section of the chassis frame, such as, but not limited to, pintle 
hooks or B-trains (which include a fifth wheel), which are capable 
of connecting a chassis to a converter dolly or another chassis.
    Importation of any of these subassemblies, whether assembled or 
unassembled, constitutes an unfinished chassis for purposes of this 
investigation.

[[Page 12619]]

    Subject merchandise also includes chassis, whether finished or 
unfinished, entered with or for further assembly with components 
such as, but not limited to: Hub and drum assemblies, brake 
assemblies (either drum or disc), axles, brake chambers, suspensions 
and suspension components, wheel end components, landing gear legs, 
spoke or disc wheels, tires, brake control systems, electrical 
harnesses and lighting systems.
    Processing of finished and unfinished chassis and components 
such as trimming, cutting, grinding, notching, punching, drilling, 
painting, coating, staining, finishing, assembly, or any other 
processing either in the country of manufacture of the in-scope 
product or in a third country does not remove the product from the 
scope. Inclusion of other components not identified as comprising 
the finished or unfinished chassis does not remove the product from 
the scope.
    Individual components entered and sold by themselves are not 
subject to the investigation, but components entered with or for 
further assembly with a finished or unfinished chassis are subject 
merchandise. A finished chassis is ultimately comprised of several 
different types of subassemblies. Within each subassembly there are 
numerous components that comprise a given subassembly.
    This scope excludes dry van trailers, refrigerated van trailers 
and flatbed trailers. Dry van trailers are trailers with a wholly 
enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed sides, nose, floor and roof, 
with articulated panels (doors) across the rear and occasionally at 
selected places on the sides, with the cargo space being permanently 
incorporated in the trailer itself. Refrigerated van trailers are 
trailers with a wholly enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed 
sides, nose, floor and roof, with articulated panels (doors) across 
the rear and occasionally at selected places on the sides, with the 
cargo space being permanently incorporated in the trailer and being 
insulated, possessing specific thermal properties intended for use 
with self-contained refrigeration systems. Flatbed (or platform) 
trailers consist of load-carrying main frames and a solid, flat or 
stepped loading deck or floor permanently incorporated with and 
supported by frame rails and cross members.
    The finished and unfinished chassis subject to this 
investigation are typically classified in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheadings: 8716.39.0090 
and 8716.90.5060. Imports of finished and unfinished chassis may 
also enter under HTSUS subheading 8716.90.5010. While the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the merchandise under investigation is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Respondent Selection
VI. Discussion of the Methodology
VII. Adjustment Under Section 777A(f) of the Act
VIII. Adjustment to Cash Deposit Rate for Export Subsidies
IX. ITC Notification
X. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2021-04409 Filed 3-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P