[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 172 (Thursday, September 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51627-51629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-20568]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-913]


Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's 
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: Based on an affirmative final determination by the U.S. 
International Trade Commission (ITC), the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) is issuing a countervailing duty order on certain new 
pneumatic off-the-road tires from the People's Republic of China (PRC). 
On August 28, 2008, the ITC notified the Department of its affirmative 
determination of material injury to a U.S. industry. See Certain Off-
the-Road Tires From China, USITC Pub. 4031, Inv. Nos. 701-TA-448 and 
731-TA-1117 (Final) (August 2008).

DATES: Effective Date: September 4, 2008.
    Contact Information: Mark Hoadley, AD/CVD Operations, Office 6, 
Import Administration, International Trade Administration, Department 
of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-3148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Case History

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), on July 15, 2008, the Department published its final 
determination in the countervailing duty investigation of certain new 
pneumatic off-the-road tires from the PRC. See Certain New Pneumatic 
Off-the-Road Tires From the People's Republic of China: Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Final Negative 
Determination of Critical Circumstances, 73 FR 40480 (July 15, 2008).
    On July 18, 2008, Starbright timely filed a ministerial error 
allegation. No other party to the proceeding filed a ministerial error 
allegation. After analyzing all interested party comments and rebuttals 
regarding the alleged ministerial error, the Department determined that 
it did not make a ministerial error. See Memorandum to Barbara Tillman, 
``Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-
Road Tires from the People's Republic of China: Allegations of a 
Ministerial Error in the Final Determination'' (July 30, 2008).

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order are new pneumatic tires designed 
for off-

[[Page 51628]]

the-road (OTR) and off-highway use, subject to exceptions identified 
below. Certain OTR tires are generally designed, manufactured and 
offered for sale for use on off-road or off-highway surfaces, including 
but not limited to, agricultural fields, forests, construction sites, 
factory and warehouse interiors, airport tarmacs, ports and harbors, 
mines, quarries, gravel yards, and steel mills. The vehicles and 
equipment for which certain OTR tires are designed for use include, but 
are not limited to: (1) Agricultural and forestry vehicles and 
equipment, including agricultural tractors,\1\ combine harvesters,\2\ 
agricultural high clearance sprayers,\3\ industrial tractors,\4\ log-
skidders,\5\ agricultural implements, highway-towed implements, 
agricultural logging, and agricultural, industrial, skid-steers/mini-
loaders; \6\ (2) construction vehicles and equipment, including 
earthmover articulated dump products, rigid frame haul trucks,\7\ front 
end loaders,\8\ dozers,\9\ lift trucks, straddle carriers,\10\ 
graders,\11\ mobile cranes,\12\ compactors; and (3) industrial vehicles 
and equipment, including smooth floor, industrial, mining, 
counterbalanced lift trucks, industrial and mining vehicles other than 
smooth floor, skid-steers/mini-loaders, and smooth floor off-the-road 
counterbalanced lift trucks.\13\ The foregoing list of vehicles and 
equipment generally have in common that they are used for hauling, 
towing, lifting, and/or loading a wide variety of equipment and 
materials in agricultural, construction and industrial settings. Such 
vehicles and equipment, and the descriptions contained in the footnotes 
are illustrative of the types of vehicles and equipment that use 
certain OTR tires, but are not necessarily all-inclusive. While the 
physical characteristics of certain OTR tires will vary depending on 
the specific applications and conditions for which the tires are 
designed (e.g., tread pattern and depth), all of the tires within the 
scope have in common that they are designed for off-road and off-
highway use. Except as discussed below, OTR tires included in the scope 
of the order range in size (rim diameter) generally but not exclusively 
from 8 inches to 54 inches. The tires may be either tube-type \14\ or 
tubeless, radial or non-radial, and intended for sale either to 
original equipment manufacturers or the replacement market. The subject 
merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule 
of the United States (``HTSUS'') subheadings: 4011.20.10.25, 
4011.20.10.35, 4011.20.50.30, 4011.20.50.50, 4011.61.00.00, 
4011.62.00.00, 4011.63.00.00, 4011.69.00.00, 4011.92.00.00, 
4011.93.40.00, 4011.93.80.00, 4011.94.40.00, and 4011.94.80.00. While 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
our written description of the scope is dispositive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Agricultural tractors are dual-axle vehicles that typically 
are designed to pull farming equipment in the field and that may 
have front tires of a different size than the rear tires.
    \2\ Combine harvesters are used to harvest crops such as corn or 
wheat.
    \3\ Agricultural sprayers are used to irrigate agricultural 
fields.
    \4\ Industrial tractors are dual-axle vehicles that typically 
are designed to pull industrial equipment and that may have front 
tires of a different size than the rear tires.
    \5\ A log-skidder has a grappling lift arm that is used to 
grasp, lift and move trees that have been cut down to a truck or 
trailer for transport to a mill or other destination.
    \6\ Skid-steer loaders are four-wheel drive vehicles with the 
left-side drive wheels independent of the right-side drive wheels 
and lift arms that lie alongside the driver with the major pivot 
points behind the driver's shoulders. Skid-steer loaders are used in 
agricultural, construction and industrial settings.
    \7\ Haul trucks, which may be either rigid frame or articulated 
(i.e., able to bend in the middle) are typically used in mines, 
quarries and construction sites to haul soil, aggregate, mined ore, 
or debris.
    \8\ Front loaders have lift arms in front of the vehicle. They 
can scrape material from one location to another, carry material in 
their buckets, or load material into a truck or trailer.
    \9\ A dozer is a large four-wheeled vehicle with a dozer blade 
that is used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., 
typically around construction sites. They can also be used to 
perform ``rough grading'' in road construction.
    \10\ A straddle carrier is a rigid frame, engine-powered machine 
that is used to load and offload containers from container vessels 
and load them onto (or off of) tractor trailers.
    \11\ A grader is a vehicle with a large blade used to create a 
flat surface. Graders are typically used to perform ``finish 
grading.'' Graders are commonly used in maintenance of unpaved roads 
and road construction to prepare the base course onto which asphalt 
or other paving material will be laid.
    \12\ I.e., ``on-site'' mobile cranes designed for off-highway 
use.
    \13\ A counterbalanced lift truck is a rigid framed, engine-
powered machine with lift arms that has additional weight 
incorporated into the back of the machine to offset or 
counterbalance the weight of loads that it lifts so as to prevent 
the vehicle from overturning. An example of a counterbalanced lift 
truck is a counterbalanced fork lift truck. Counterbalanced lift 
trucks may be designed for use on smooth floor surfaces, such as a 
factory or warehouse, or other surfaces, such as construction sites, 
mines, etc.
    \14\ While tube-type tires are subject to the scope of this 
proceeding, tubes and flaps are not subject merchandise and 
therefore are not covered by the scope of this proceeding, 
regardless of the manner in which they are sold (e.g., sold with or 
separately from subject merchandise).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Specifically excluded from the scope are new pneumatic tires 
designed, manufactured and offered for sale primarily for on-highway or 
on-road use, including passenger cars, race cars, station wagons, sport 
utility vehicles, minivans, mobile homes, motorcycles, bicycles, on-
road or on-highway trailers, light trucks, and trucks and buses. Such 
tires generally have in common that the symbol ``DOT'' must appear on 
the sidewall, certifying that the tire conforms to applicable motor 
vehicle safety standards. Such excluded tires may also have the 
following designations that are used by the Tire and Rim Association:
    Prefix letter designations:
    <bullet> P--Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on 
passenger cars;
    <bullet> LT--Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on 
light trucks; and,
    <bullet> ST--Identifies a special tire for trailers in highway 
service.
    Suffix letter designations:
    <bullet> TR--Identifies a tire for service on trucks, buses, and 
other vehicles with rims having specified rim diameter of nominal plus 
0.156'' or plus 0.250'';
    <bullet> MH--Identifies tires for Mobile Homes;
    <bullet> HC--Identifies a heavy duty tire designated for use on 
``HC'' 15'' tapered rims used on trucks, buses, and other vehicles. 
This suffix is intended to differentiate among tires for light trucks, 
and other vehicles or other services, which use a similar designation.
    <bullet> Example: 8R17.5 LT, 8R17.5 HC;
    <bullet> LT--Identifies light truck tires for service on trucks, 
buses, trailers, and multipurpose passenger vehicles used in nominal 
highway service; and
    <bullet> MC--Identifies tires and rims for motorcycles.
    The following types of tires are also excluded from the scope: 
pneumatic tires that are not new, including recycled or retreaded tires 
and used tires; non-pneumatic tires, including solid rubber tires; 
tires of a kind designed for use on aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, and 
vehicles for turf, lawn and garden, golf and trailer applications. Also 
excluded from the scope are radial and bias tires of a kind designed 
for use in mining and construction vehicles and equipment that have a 
rim diameter equal to or exceeding 39 inches. Such tires may be 
distinguished from other tires of similar size by the number of plies 
that the construction and mining tires contain (minimum of 16) and the 
weight of such tires (minimum 1500 pounds).

Countervailing Duty Order

    On August 28, 2008, the ITC notified the Department of its final 
determination, pursuant to section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, that an 
industry in the United States is materially injured as a result of 
subsidized imports from the PRC. The ITC also determined that critical

[[Page 51629]]

circumstances do not exist with respect to subject imports from the 
PRC.
    As a result of the ITC's final determination, in accordance with 
section 706(a) of the Act, the Department will direct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further instruction by the 
Department, countervailing duties on all unliquidated entries of OTR 
tires from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after December 17, 2007, the date on which the 
Department published its preliminary affirmative countervailing duty 
determination in the Federal Register, and before April 15, 2008, the 
date on which the Department instructed CBP to discontinue the 
suspension of liquidation in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act. 
Section 703(d) states that the suspension of liquidation pursuant to a 
preliminary determination may not remain in effect for more than four 
months. Entries of OTR tires made on or after April 15, 2008, and prior 
to the date of publication of the ITC's final determination in the 
Federal Register are not liable for the assessment of countervailing 
duties, due to the Department's discontinuation, effective April 15, 
2008, of the suspension of liquidation.
    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, the Department will 
direct CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation for OTR tires 
from the PRC, effective the date of publication of the ITC's notice of 
final determination in the Federal Register, and to assess, upon 
further advice by the Department pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the 
Act, countervailing duties for each entry of the subject merchandise in 
an amount based on the net countervailable subsidy rates for the 
subject merchandise. On or after the date of publication of the ITC's 
final injury determination in the Federal Register, CBP must require, 
at the same time as importers would normally deposit estimated duties 
on this merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the rates noted below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                      Producer/exporter                          rate
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Guizhou Tire Co., Ltd. (GTC)................................        2.45
Hebei Starbright Tire Co., Ltd. (Starbright)................       14.00
Tianjin United Tire & Rubber International Co., Ltd.                6.85
 (TUTRIC)...................................................
All Others..................................................        5.62
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect 
to certain new pneumatic OTR tires from the PRC pursuant to section 
706(a) of the Act. Interested parties may contact the Central Records 
Unit, Room 1117 of the main Commerce building, for copies of an updated 
list of countervailing duty orders currently in effect.
    This countervailing duty order is issued and published in 
accordance with sections 705(c)(2) and 706 of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.211.

    Dated: August 29, 2008.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-20568 Filed 9-3-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P