[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50027-50029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19260]


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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 Rescission in Part, and Intent To Rescind in 
Part; 2019

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers/
exporters of certain passenger vehicle and light truck tires (passenger 
tires) from the People's Republic of China (China) during the period of 
review (POR), January 1, 2019, through December 31, 2019. In addition, 
we are rescinding the review with respect to 19 companies, and 
announcing our preliminary intent to rescind this review with respect 
to eight other companies. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable September 7, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Romani or Richard Roberts, AD/
CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-5075 or 202-482-
2631, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 6, 2020, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
notice of initiation of an administrative review of the CVD Order on 
passenger tires from China.\1\ On April 14, 2021, Commerce extended the 
deadline for the preliminary results of this review by 120 days to 
August 31, 2021.\2\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 85 FR 63081 (October 6, 2020).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Passenger Vehicles and Light Truck 
Tires from the People's Republic of China: Extension of Deadline for 
Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
2019,'' dated April 14, 2021.

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[[Page 50028]]

Scope of the Order <SUP>3</SUP>
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    \3\ 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).
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    The products covered by the Order are certain passenger vehicle and 
light truck tires from China. For a complete description of the scope 
of the Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the 2019 Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of 
Certain Passenger Vehicles and Light Truck Tires from the People's 
Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 
this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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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 timely-filed 
withdrawal requests with respect to the following companies: Giti 
Radial Tire (Anhui) Company Ltd.; Giti Tire Global Trading Pte. Ltd.; 
Giti Tire (Fujian) Company Ltd.; Giti Tire (Hualin) Company Ltd.; 
Haohua Orient International Trade Ltd.; Qingdao Lakesea Tyre Co., Ltd.; 
Riversun Industry Limited; Safe & Well (HK) International Trading 
Limited; Sailun Group (HongKong) Co., Limited., formerly known as 
Sailun Jinyu Group (Hong Kong) Co., Limited; Sailun Group Co., Ltd., 
formerly known as Sailun Jinyu Group Co., Ltd.; Sailun Tire Americas 
Inc., formerly known as SJI North America Inc.; Sailun Tire 
International Corp; Shandong Guofeng Rubber Plastics Co., Ltd.; 
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd.; Shandong New Continent Tire Co., 
Ltd.; Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd.; Shouguang Firemax Tyre Co., 
Ltd.; Windforce Tyre Co., Limited; and Zhaoqing Junhong Co., Ltd., 
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1). Because the withdrawal requests were 
timely filed, and no other parties requested a review of these 
companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce is 
rescinding this review of the Order with respect to these 19 companies 
noted above.

Intent To Rescind Administrative Review, in Part

    It is Commerce's practice is to rescind an administrative review of 
a CVD order, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there are no 
reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which 
liquidation is suspended.\5\ Normally, upon completion of an 
administrative review, the suspended entries are liquidated at the CVD 
assessment rate calculated for the review period.\6\ Therefore, for an 
administrative review of a company to be conducted, there must be a 
reviewable, suspended entry that Commerce can instruct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate at the calculated CVD assessment 
rate calculated for the review period.\7\
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    \5\ See, e.g., Lightweight Thermal Paper from the People's 
Republic of China: Notice of Rescission of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2015, 82 FR 14349 (March 20, 2017); see also 
Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the People's Republic 
of China: Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
2017, 84 FR 14650 (April 11, 2019).
    \6\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2).
    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
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    According to the CBP import data, eight companies subject to this 
review did not have reviewable entries of subject merchandise during 
the POR for which liquidation is suspended.\8\ Accordingly, in the 
absence of reviewable, suspended entries of subject merchandise during 
the POR, we intend to rescind this administrative review with respect 
to these eight companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
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    \8\ These companies are: Hankook Tire China Co., Ltd.; Prinx 
Chengshan (Shandong) Tire Company Ltd.; Qingdao Fullrun Tyre Tech 
Corp., Ltd.; Qingdao Honghuasheng Trade Co., Ltd; Qingdao Kapsen 
Trade Co.; Shandong Habilead Rubber Co., Ltd.; Shandong Hongsheng 
Rubber Technology Co., Ltd.; and Shandong Qilun Rubber Co., Ltd.
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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 of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we 
preliminarily 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.\9\ For a full description 
of the methodology underlying our 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.
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    \9\ 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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    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/index.html. A 
list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included as Appendix I to this notice.

Preliminary Rate for Non-Selected Companies Under Review

    There are three companies for which a review was requested and not 
rescinded, and which were not selected for individual examination as 
mandatory respondents or found to be cross-owned with a mandatory 
respondent. The statute and 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 the basis 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 equal to the weighted average of 
the countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and/or 
producers individually examined, excluding any rates that are zero, de 
minimis, or based entirely on facts available. In this review, only one 
mandatory respondent, Sumitomo Rubber (Hunan) Co., Ltd. (Sumitomo 
Rubber), had a rate which was not zero, de minimis, or based entirely 
on facts available. Thus, for the companies for which a review was 
requested that were not selected as mandatory company respondents and 
for which Commerce is not rescinding the review, Commerce is basing the 
subsidy rate on the rate calculated for Sumitomo Rubber.

Preliminary Results of the Review

    We preliminarily determine the following net countervailable 
subsidy rates for the period January 1, 2019, through December 31, 
2019:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Producer/exporter                        (percent)
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Sumitomo Rubber (Hunan) Co., Ltd. and its cross-owned              25.49
 affiliates \10\........................................
Triangle Tyre Co., Ltd..................................          124.92
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[[Page 50029]]

 
  Review-Specific Average Rate Applicable to the Following Companies 11
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Jiangsu Hankook Tire Co., Ltd...........................           25.49
Qingdao Landwinner Tyre Co., Ltd........................           25.49
Shandong Province Sanli Tire Manufacture Co., Ltd.......           25.49
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    We will disclose to parties in this review, the calculations 
performed for these preliminary results within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice.\12\ Interested parties may submit case 
briefs no later than 30 days after the date of publication of these 
preliminary results of review.\13\ Rebuttals to case briefs may be 
filed no later than seven days after the case briefs are filed, and all 
rebuttal comments must be limited to comments raised in the case 
briefs.\14\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its 
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information until further notice.\15\
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    \10\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Sumitomo Rubber (Hunan) Co., Ltd.: Sumitomo Rubber (China) Co., 
Ltd. and Sumitomo Rubber (Changshu) Co. Ltd.
    \11\ This rate is based on the rates for the respondents that 
were selected for individual review, excluding rates that are zero, 
de minimis, or based entirely on facts available. See section 
735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    \15\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 29615 (May 18, 
2020); and Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due 
to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 
2020).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit 
case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this review 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.
    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, 
parties will be notified of the date and time for the hearing to be 
determined.
    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).

Assessment Rates

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we preliminarily 
assigned 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, 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, 2019, through December 31, 2019, in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i). For the companies remaining in the 
review, Commerce intends 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. 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).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce also 
intends to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of 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. 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.

Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results are issued and published pursuant to 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: August 31, 2021.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Non-Selected Companies Under Review
V. Diversification of China's Economy
VI. Non-Selected Company Rate
VII. Partial Rescission of the Administrative Review
VIII. Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, in Part
IX. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
X. Interest Rate Benchmarks, Discount Rates, Input and Electricity 
Benchmarks
XI. Subsidies Valuation
XII. Analysis of Programs
XIII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2021-19260 Filed 9-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P