[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 135 (Monday, July 16, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Page 38816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13719]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-912]
[C-570-913]


Extension of the Deadline for Determining the Adequacy of the 
Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Petitions: New Pneumatic Off-
The-Road Tires from The People's Republic of China

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 16, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel LaCivita or Charles Riggle, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 8 (antidumping); or Mark Hoadley or Thomas 
Gilgunn, AD/CVD Operations, Office 6 (countervailing), Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 
20230; telephone: (202) 482-4243, (202) 482-0650, (202) 482-3148, and 
(202) 482-4236, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

BACKGROUND

The Petitions

    On June 18, 2007, the Department of Commerce (``Department'') 
received antidumping duty and countervailing duty petitions 
(``petitions'') filed in proper form by Titan Tire Corporation, a 
subsidiary of Titan International, Inc. (``Titan''), and the United 
Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied 
Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO-CLC 
(``USW'') (collectively, ``Petitioners''), on behalf of the domestic 
industry producing new pneumatic off-the-road tires (``OTR tires'').

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    Sections 702(b)(1) and 732(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (``Act'') require that antidumping and countervailing duty 
petitions be filed by or on behalf of the domestic industry. Sections 
702(c)(4)(A) and 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act provide that the Department's 
industry support determination be based on whether a minimum percentage 
of the relevant industry supports the petition. A petition meets this 
requirement if the domestic producers or workers who support the 
petition account for: (i) at least 25 percent of the total production 
of the domestic like product; and (ii) more than 50 percent of the 
production of the domestic like product produced by that portion of the 
industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. 
Moreover, sections 702(c)(4)(D) and 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act provide 
that, if the petition does not establish support of domestic producers 
or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production 
of the domestic like product, the Department shall: (i) poll the 
industry or rely on other information in order to determine if there is 
support for the petition, as required by subparagraph (A); or (ii) if 
there is a large number of producers, determine industry support using 
a statistically valid sampling method to poll the industry.

Extension of Time

    Sections 702(c)(1)(A)(ii) and 732(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act provide 
that within 20 days of the filing of antidumping and countervailing 
duty petitions, the Department will determine, inter alia, whether the 
petitions have been filed by or on behalf of the U.S. industry 
producing the domestic like product. Sections 702(c)(1)(B) and 
732(c)(1)(B) of the Act provide that the deadline for the initiation 
determination can be extended by 20 days in any case in which the 
Department must ``poll or otherwise determine support for the petition 
by the industry . . . .'' Because it is not clear from the petitions 
whether the industry support criteria have been met, we have determined 
to extend the time limit for initiating the investigations in order to 
poll the domestic industry. We intend to issue polling questionnaires 
to all known domestic producers of OTR tires identified in the 
petitions. The questionnaires will be on file in the Central Records 
Unit in room B-099 of the main Department of Commerce building. The 
questionnaire requests each company to respond to the questions and fax 
its response to the Department.
    We will need additional time to analyze the domestic producers' 
responses to our request for information. See the ``Determination of 
Industry Support for the Petitions'' section of this notice, above. 
Therefore, in accordance with sections 702(c)(1)(B) and 732(c)(1)(B) of 
the Act, we are extending the deadline for determining the adequacy of 
the petitions until July 28, 2007, which is 40 days from the filing 
date of the petitions. Because July 28, 2007, falls on a Saturday, the 
initiation determination will be due no later than Monday, July 30, 
2007, the first business day following the statutory deadline.

International Trade Commission Notification

    Because the Department has extended the deadline for the initiation 
determinations, the Department has contacted the International Trade 
Commission (``ITC'') and has made this extension notice available to 
the ITC.

    Dated: July 6, 2007.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-13719 Filed 7-13-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S