[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86111-86113]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27173]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-094]


Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review 
and Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part; 2021

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters 
of refillable stainless steel kegs (kegs) from the People's Republic of 
China (China) during the period of review (POR) from January 1, 2021, 
through December 31, 2021. In addition, we are rescinding the review 
with respect to 40 companies. Interested parties are invited to comment 
on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable December 12, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Theodore Pearson or Jacob Keller, AD/
CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2631 or (202) 482-4849, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On December 16, 2019, Commerce published in the Federal Register 
the countervailing duty order on kegs from

[[Page 86112]]

China.\1\ On December 1, 2022, we published a notice of opportunity to 
request an administrative review of the Order.\2\ On February 2, 2023, 
based on timely requests for an administrative review, Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of an administrative review of the 
Order.\3\ On April 7, 2023, Commerce selected Guangzhou Ulix Industrial 
& Trading Co., Ltd. (Ulix) and Ningbo Master International Trade Co., 
Ltd. (Ningbo Master) as the mandatory respondents in this 
administrative review.\4\ On August 14, 2023, Commerce extended the 
deadline for the preliminary results of this review until December 1, 
2023.\5\
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    \1\ See Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from the People's 
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 84 FR 68400 (December 
16, 2019) (Order).
    \2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative 
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 87 FR 73752 (December 
1, 2022).
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 7060 (February 2, 2023) (Initiation 
Notice) see also Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 15642 (March 14, 2023), correcting 
Initiation Notice to include an additional company. In total, 
Commerce initiated review with regard to 42 companies.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated April 7, 
2023.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline,'' dated August 14, 
2023.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
attached as the Appendix I to this notice. The Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is a public document and is made available to the public 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 is available at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review and Rescission 
of Review in Part, 2021: Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs from the 
People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby 
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the Order are kegs from China. For a 
complete description of the scope of the Order, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.\7\
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    \7\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance 
with section 751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Act). For each subsidy program found countervailable, Commerce 
preliminarily determines that there is a subsidy, (i.e., a financial 
contribution by an ``authority'' that gives rise to a benefit to the 
recipient, and that the subsidy is specific).\8\ For a full description 
of the methodology underlying our conclusions, including our reliance, 
in part, on facts otherwise available pursuant to sections 776(a) and 
(b) of the Act, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \8\ 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.
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Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part

    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. Commerce received a timely-
filed withdrawal request with respect to all 42 companies from American 
Keg Company (the petitioner).\9\ Of the 42 companies, Ningbo Master and 
Ulix also had other requests for review which were not withdrawn.\10\ 
Because the withdrawal request from the petitioner was timely filed, 
and no other parties requested a review of the other 40 companies, in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce is rescinding this 
review of the Order with respect to the 40 companies. For a complete 
list of the companies, see Appendix II to this notice.
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    \9\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review,'' dated May 3, 2023.
    \10\ See Ningbo Master's Letter, ``Request for Administrative 
Review,'' dated December 23, 2022; see also DBT Holdings LLC, dba 
Deutsche Beverage's Letter, ``Request for Administrative Review,'' 
dated December 28, 2022.
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Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily find the following net countervailable subsidy 
rates exist for the period January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2021:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Producer/exporter                       (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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Guangzhou Ulix Industrial & Trading Co., Ltd............            2.48
Ningbo Master International Trade Co., Ltd \11\.........            2.41
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Cash Deposit Requirements

    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce also 
intends upon publication of the final results, to instruct U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits of the estimated 
countervailing duties in the amounts calculated in the final results of 
this review for the respective companies listed above with regard to 
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. If the rate calculated in the final results is 
zero or de minimis, no cash deposit will be required on shipments of 
the subject merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the date of publication of the final results of 
this review.
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    \11\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Ningbo Master: Ningbo Major Draft Beer Equipment Co., Ltd.; and 
Zhejiang Major Technology Co., Ltd.
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    For all non-reviewed firms, CBP will continue to collect cash 
deposits of estimated countervailing duties at the all-others rate or 
the most recent company-specific rate applicable to the company, as 
appropriate. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.

Assessment Rates

    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4)(i), we preliminarily determined subsidy rates in the 
amounts shown above for the producer/exporters shown above. Upon 
completion of the administrative review, consistent with section 
751(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2), Commerce shall 
determine, and CBP shall assess, countervailing duties on all 
appropriate entries covered by this review.
    For the companies for which this review is rescinded with these 
preliminary results, we 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, 2021, through December 31, 2021, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(c)(l)(i). For the companies remaining in the review, we intend 
to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after 
the date of publication of the final results of this review in the 
Federal Register.

[[Page 86113]]

    If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of International 
Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP not to liquidate 
relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request for a 
statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 90 days of publication).

Disclosure and Public Comment

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed for these 
preliminary results to interested parties within five days after the 
date of publication of this notice.\12\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), 
interested parties may submit case briefs to Commerce no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of these preliminary results of 
review.\13\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing 
case briefs.\14\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing 
each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\15\
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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Final Service Rule).
    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an 
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that 
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, 
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\16\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their executive summary of 
each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment 
summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will 
accompany the final results in this administrative review. We request 
that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the 
executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain 
of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 
351.303(f).\17\
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    \16\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \17\ See APO and Final Service Rule.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and 
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of 
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to 
those raised in the respective case briefs. An electronically filed 
hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety by 
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time 
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.
    Unless extended, we intend to issue the final results of this 
administrative review, which will include the results of our analysis 
of the issues raised in the case briefs, within 120 days of publication 
of these preliminary results in the Federal Register, pursuant to 
section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results and notice are issued and published in 
accordance with sections 751(a) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, 19 CFR 
351.213 and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: November 30, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Partial Rescission of Administrative Review
V. Diversification of China's Economy
VI. Use of Faces Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
VII. Subsidies Valuation Information
VIII. Interest Rate, Discount Rate, Input, and Electricity 
Benchmarks
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Recommendation

Appendix II

Companies Rescinded From Review

1. Dalian Yonghseng Metal Structure Co., Ltd. d/b/a DYM Brewing 
Solutions
2. Equipmentimes (Dalian) E-Commerce Co., Ltd.
3. Guangzhou Jingye Machinery Co., Ltd.
4. Jinan Chenji International Trade Co., Ltd.
5. Jinan Chenji Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd.
6. Jinan HaoLu Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd.
7. Jinjiang Jiaxing Import and Export Co., Ltd.
8. NDL Keg Qingdao Inc.
9. Ningbo All In Brew Technology Co.
10. Ningbo Bestfriends Beverage Containers Industry Co., Ltd.
11. Ningbo Chance International Trade Co., Ltd
12. Ningbo Direct Import & Export Co., Ltd.
13. Ningbo Haishu Direct Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd.
14. Ningbo Haishu Xiangsheng Metal Factory
15. Ningbo Hefeng Container Manufacturer Co., Ltd.
16. Ningbo Hefeng Kitchen Utensils Manufacture Co., Ltd.
17. Ningbo HGM Food Machinery Co., Ltd.
18. Ningbo Jiangbei Bei Fu Industry and Trade Co., Ltd.
19. Ningbo Kegco International Trade Co., Ltd.
20. Ningbo Kegstorm Stainless Steel Co., Ltd.
21. Ningbo Minke Import & Export Co., Ltd.
22. Ningbo Sanfino Import & Export Co., Ltd.
23. Ningbo Shimaotong International Co., Ltd.
24. Ningbo Sunburst International Trading Co., Ltd.
25. Orient Equipment (Taizhou) Co., Ltd.
26. Penglai Jinfu Stainless Steel Products
27. Pera Industry Shanghai Co., Ltd.
28. Qingdao Henka Precision Technology Co., Ltd.
29. Qingdao Xinhe Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
30. Rain Star International Trading Dalian Co., Ltd.
31. Shandong Meto Beer Equipment Co., Ltd.
32. Shandong Tiantai Beer Equipment Co., Ltd.
33. Shandong Tonsen Equipment Co., Ltd.
34. Shandong Yuesheng Beer Equipment Co., Ltd.
35. Shenzhen Wellbom Technology Co., Ltd.
36. Sino Dragon Group, Ltd.
37. Wenzhou Deli Machinery Equipment Co.
38. Wuxi Taihu Lamps and Lanterns Co., Ltd.
39. Yantai Toptech Ltd.
40. Yantai Trano New Material Co., Ltd., d/b/a Trano Keg, d/b/a SS 
Keg

[FR Doc. 2023-27173 Filed 12-11-23; 8:45 am]
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