[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 175 (Monday, September 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45611-45613]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19572]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-017]


Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review and Rescission, in Part; 2016

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain producers and exporters of passenger vehicle and light 
truck tires (passenger tires) from the People's Republic of China 
(China) received countervailable subsidies during the period of review 
(POR) January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.

DATES: Applicable September 10, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Huston, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4261.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On August 10, 2015, Commerce issued a countervailing duty (CVD) 
order on passenger tires from China.\1\ Several interested parties 
requested that Commerce conduct an administrative review of the CVD 
Order, and on October 16, 2017, Commerce published in the Federal 
Register a notice of initiation of an administrative review of the CVD 
Order for 42 producers/exporters for the POR.\2\ Commerce exercised its 
discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the closure of the Federal 
Government from January 20 through 22, 2018.\3\
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    \1\ See Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the 
People's Republic of China: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping 
Duty Determination and Antidumping Duty Order; and Amended Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Countervailing 
Duty Order, 80 FR 47902 (August 10, 2015) (CVD Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 82 FR 48051 (October 16, 2017) (Initiation 
Notice). The Initiation Notice inadvertently omitted an exporter 
from the review, which was corrected in a subsequent publication. 
See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Reviews, 83 FR 1329 (January 11, 2018).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the 
Federal Government,'' dated January 23, 2018 (Tolling Memorandum). 
All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding have been extended 
by three days.
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order are certain passenger vehicle and 
light truck tires from China. A full description of the scope of the 
order is contained in

[[Page 45612]]

the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\
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    \4\ See ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of the 
Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty Order on Certain 
Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic 
of China; 2016,'' dated concurrently with this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum) and hereby adopted by this notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this CVD review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each 
of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we determine that there 
is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that 
confers a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\5\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
preliminary conclusions, including our reliance, in part, on adverse 
facts available pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\6\ A list of topics included in the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix I of this 
notice.
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    \5\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and, section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
    \6\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum can be found as an appendix to this notice.
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    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 http://access.trade.gov, and 
is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of 
the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The 
signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or in part, if the parties that 
requested a review withdraw the request within 90 days of the date of 
publication of the notice of initiation. The petitioner timely withdrew 
its request for a review of Zhongce Rubber Group Company Limited.\7\ 
Two other U.S. importers, ITG Voma Corporation and American Pacific 
Industries, Inc., also timely withdrew their requests for a review of 
Shandong Guofeng Rubber Plastic Co., Ltd/Shandong Guofeng Rubber 
Plastics.\8\ Additionally, Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., Kumho Tire 
Co., Inc., Shandong Changfeng Tyres Co., Ltd., Shandong Changhong 
Rubber Technology Co., Ltd., Shandong Guofeng Rubber Plastics Co., 
Ltd., Shandong Zhongyi Rubber Co., and Shengtai Group Co., Ltd., timely 
withdrew their requests for review.\9\ No other party requested a 
review of these producers/exporters. Therefore, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce is rescinding this review of the CVD order 
on passenger tires from China with respect to these companies.
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    \7\ The petitioner in this review is the United Steel, Paper and 
Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and 
Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (USW). See Letter 
from USW, ``Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty Order 
on Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's 
Republic of China (C-570-017) (01/01/16-12/31/16): Petitioner's 
Withdrawal of Review Request,'' dated December 13, 2017.
    \8\ See Letter from ITG Voma Corporation, ``Passenger Vehicle 
and Light Truck Tires from People's Republic of China: Withdrawal of 
Request for Administrative Review,'' dated December 28, 2017; and 
Letter from American Pacific Industries, Inc., ``Passenger Vehicle 
and Light Truck Tires from People's Republic of China: Withdrawal of 
Request for Administrative Review,'' dated January 5, 2018.
    \9\ See Letter from Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., ``Certain 
Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic 
of China: Yokohama Withdrawal of Request for Administrative 
Review,'' dated November 14, 2017; Letter from Shandong Changfeng 
Tyres Co., Ltd., ``Passenger Vehicles and Light Truck Tires from the 
People's Republic of China: Withdrawal of Request for Administrative 
Review (01/01/16-12/31/16),'' dated January 12, 2018; Letter from 
Shandong Changhong Rubber Technology Co. Ltd., ``Passenger Vehicle 
and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China: 
Withdrawal of Request for Administrative Review,'' dated December 
28, 2017; Letter from Shandong Guofeng Rubber Plastics Co., Ltd., 
``Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic 
of China: Withdrawal of Request for Administrative Review,'' dated 
December 28, 2017; Letter from Shandong Zhongyi Rubber Co., Ltd, 
``Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's 
Republic of China-Withdrawal of Request for Administrative Review,'' 
dated January 14, 2018; and Letter from Shengtai Group Co., Ltd., 
``Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's 
Republic of China-Withdrawal of Request for Administrative Review,'' 
dated January 14, 2018.
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Preliminary Results of Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the 
countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd. (Cooper)................           23.68
Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd. (Sentury).................           26.83
Non-Selected Companies Under Review.....................           24.71
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Preliminary Rate for the Non-Selected Companies Under Review

    The statute and the Commerce's regulations do not directly address 
the establishment of rates to be applied to companies not selected for 
individual examination where Commerce limits its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(e)(2) of the Act. 
However, Commerce normally determines the rates for non-selected 
companies in reviews in a manner that is consistent with section 
705(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the 
all-others rate in an investigation.
    Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act instructs Commerce as a general 
rule to calculate an all others rate using the weighted average of the 
subsidy rates established for the producers/exporters individually 
examined, excluding any zero, de minimis, or rates based entirely on 
facts available. In this review, the preliminary subsidy rates 
calculated for Cooper and Sentury and their cross-owned affiliates are 
above de minimis and are not based entirely on facts available. 
Therefore, for the companies for which a review was requested that were 
not selected as mandatory company respondents and for which we did not 
receive a timely request for withdrawal of review, and which we are not 
finding to be cross-owned with the mandatory company respondents, we 
are preliminarily basing the subsidy rate on the subsidy rate 
calculated for Cooper and Sentury. For a list of these non-selected 
companies, please see Appendix II to this notice.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with this preliminary determination within five 
days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.\10\ 
Interested parties may submit case and rebuttal briefs, as well as 
request a hearing.\11\ Interested parties may submit written comments 
(case briefs) within 30 days of publication of the preliminary results 
and rebuttal comments (rebuttal briefs) within five days after the time 
limit for

[[Page 45613]]

filing case briefs.\12\ Rebuttal briefs must be limited to issues 
raised in the case briefs.\13\ Parties who submit case or rebuttal 
briefs are requested to submit with the argument: (1) A statement of 
the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\14\
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    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)-(d), 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(l)(ii) and 351.309(d)(l).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must do so within 
30 days of publication of these preliminary results by submitting a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, using Enforcement and 
Compliance's ACCESS system.\15\ Requests should contain the party's 
name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, and a 
list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
we will inform parties of the scheduled date for the hearing which will 
be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time and location to be determined.\16\ 
Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the 
hearing. Issues addressed at the hearing will be limited to those 
raised in the briefs.\17\ All briefs and hearing requests must be filed 
electronically and received successfully in their entirety through 
ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    Unless the deadline is extended, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) 
of the Act, we intend to issue the final results of this administrative 
review, including the results of our analysis of the issues raised by 
the parties in their comments, within 120 days after issuance of these 
preliminary results.

Assessment Rates and Cash Deposit Requirement

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we preliminarily 
assigned subsidy rates in the amounts shown above for the producers/
exporters shown above. Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce 
shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall 
assess, CVDs on all appropriate entries covered by this review. We 
intend to issue instructions to CBP 15 days after publication of the 
final results of review. For companies for which this review is 
rescinded, Commerce will instruct CBP to assess countervailing duties 
on all appropriate entries at a rate equal to the cash deposit of 
estimated countervailing duties required at the time of entry, or 
withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during the period January 
1, 2016, through December 31, 2016, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(c)(l)(i). Commerce intends to issue appropriate assessment 
instructions directly to CBP 15 days after publication of this notice.
    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce also intends 
to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated CVDs, in the 
amounts shown above for each of the respective companies shown above, 
on shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the 
final results of this review. For all non-reviewed firms, we will 
instruct CBP to continue to collect cash deposits at the most-recent 
company-specific or all-others rate applicable to the company, as 
appropriate. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.
    These preliminary results are issued and published in accordance 
with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: August 31, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Partial Rescission of Review
IV. Non-Selected Companies Under Review
V. Scope of the Order
VI. Application of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports From China
VII. Diversification of China's Economy
VIII. Subsidies Valuation
IX. Interest Rate Benchmarks, Discount Rates, Input, and Electricity 
Benchmarks
X. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
XI. Analysis of Programs
XII. Disclosure and Public Comment
XIII. Conclusion

Appendix II

Non-Selected Companies Under Review

1. Best Industries Ltd.
2. BC Tyre Group Limited
3. Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd.
4. Crown International Corporation
5. Dongying Zhongyi Rubber Co., Ltd.
6. Hankook Tire China Co., Ltd.
7. Hong Kong Tiancheng Investment & Trading Co., Limited
8. Hongtyre Group Co.
9. Jiangsu Hankook Tire Co., Ltd.
10. Jiangsu Sanhe Aluminum
11. Kenda Rubber (China) Co., Ltd.
12. Koryo International Industrial Limited
13. Mayrun Tyre (Hong Kong) Limited
14. Qingdao Jinhaoyang International Co., Ltd.
15. Qingdao Nama Industrial Co., Ltd.
16. Qingdao Odyking Tyre Co., Ltd.
17. Qingdao Sentury Tire Co., Ltd.
18. Roadclaw Tyre (Hong Kong) Limited
19. Shandong Anchi Tyres Co., Ltd.
20. Shandong Haohua Tire Co., Ltd.
21. Shandong Haolong Rubber Co., Ltd.
22. Shandong Hengyu Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
23. Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd.
24. Shandong Longyue Rubber Co., Ltd.
25. Shandong New Continent Tire Co., Ltd.
26. Shandong Province Sanli Tire
27. Shandong Province Sanli Tire Manufactured Co., Ltd.
28. Shandong Shuangwang Rubber Co., Ltd.
29. Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd.
30. Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group Co., Ltd.
31. Shouguang Firemax Tyre Co., Ltd.
32. The Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd.
33. Tyrechamp Group Co., Limited
34. Winrun Tyre Co., Ltd.
35. Zhaoqing Junhong Co., Ltd.

[FR Doc. 2018-19572 Filed 9-7-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P