[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 150 (Monday, August 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43591-43597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15200]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-912]
Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigation: Certain New
Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's Republic of China
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
DATES: Effective Date: August 6, 2007.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel LaCivita or Charles Riggle, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 8, Import
[[Page 43592]]
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20230; telephone: (202) 482-4243 or (202) 482-0650, respectively.
Initiation of Investigation
The Petition
On June 18, 2007, the Department of Commerce (``Department'')
received a petition on imports of certain new pneumatic off-the-road
tires (``certain OTR tires'') from the People's Republic of China
(``PRC'') 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 certain OTR tires. The period of investigation (``POI'') is
October 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007.
In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (``the Act''), Petitioners alleged that imports of certain OTR
tires from the PRC are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United
States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 731 of the
Act, and that such imports are materially injuring an industry in the
United States. The Department issued supplemental questions to
Petitioners on June 21 and 22, 2007. Petitioners filed an amendment to
the petition on June 22, 2007 and responded to both questionnaires on
June 27, 2007.
Scope of Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are certain OTR tires.
For a full description of the scope of the investigation, please see
the Scope of Investigation in Attachment I of this notice.
Comments on the Scope of the Investigation
During our review of the petition, we discussed the scope with
Petitioners to ensure that it accurately reflects the product for which
the domestic industry is seeking relief. During this review, we noted
that, while the Department typically prefers to rely upon physical
characteristics to determine the scope of product coverage, the scope
description proposed by Petitioners relied upon, in part, end-use
applications as a method for determining scope coverage. As discussed
in the preamble to the Department's regulations, we are setting aside a
period for interested parties to raise issues regarding product
coverage. See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62
FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). The Department encourages all
interested parties to submit comments on the scope of the
investigation, including whether the definition of covered merchandise
should be based on end-use application, and whether additional
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'') numbers
should be included in the scope description. The deadline for
submitting such comments is fourteen calendar days after publication of
this initiation notice. Rebuttal comments are due seven calendar days
after the deadline for submitting comments on the scope of the
investigation. Comments should be addressed to Import Administration's
Central Records Unit in Room 1870, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230--Attention:
Laurel LaCivita, Room 4416. The period of scope consultations is
intended to provide the Department with ample opportunity to consider
all comments and consult with interested parties prior to the issuance
of the preliminary determination.
Determination of Industry Support for the Petition
Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act
provides that 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, section 732(c)(4)(D) of
the Act provides 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) determine industry support using a
statistically valid sampling method.
Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute
directs the Department to look to producers and workers who produce the
domestic like product. The International Trade Commission (ITC), which
is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry'' has
been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like
product in order to define the industry. While both the Department and
the ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic
like product (section 771(10) of the Act), they do so for different
purposes and pursuant to a separate and distinct authority. In
addition, the Department's determination is subject to limitations of
time and information. Although this may result in different definitions
of the like product, such differences do not render the decision of
either agency contrary to law. See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F.
Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT 2001), citing Algoma Steel Corp. Ltd. v. United
States, 688 F. Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir.
1989), cert. denied 492 U.S. 919 (1989).
Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation
under this subtitle.'' Thus, the reference point from which the
domestic like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to an
investigation,'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the
petition).
With regard to the domestic like product, the Petitioners do not
offer a definition of domestic like product distinct from the scope of
the investigation. Based on our analysis of the information submitted
on the record, we have determined that certain OTR tires constitute a
single domestic like product and we have analyzed industry support in
terms of that domestic like product. For a discussion of the domestic
like product analysis in this case, see the Antidumping Duty
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Certain Off-the-Road Tires from the
People's Republic of China (PRC), Industry Support at Attachment II (AD
Initiation Checklist), on file in the Central Records Unit (CRU), Room
B-099 of the main Department of Commerce building. On July 6, 2007, the
Department extended the initiation deadline by 20 days to poll the
domestic industry in accordance with section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act,
because it was ``not clear from the petitions whether the industry
support criteria have been met * * *'' See 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, 72 FR 38816 (July 16, 2007). On July 16, 2007, we
issued polling questionnaires to all
[[Page 43593]]
known domestic producers of certain OTR tires identified in the
petitions and by the Department's research. The questionnaires are on
file in the CRU. For a detailed discussion of the responses received,
see AD Initiation Checklist at Attachment II.
Based on an analysis of the data collected, we determine that the
Petitioners have demonstrated industry support representing over 50
percent of the total production of the domestic like product.
Therefore, the domestic producers or workers who support the petition
account for at least 25 percent of the total production of the domestic
like product, and the requirements of section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the
Act are met. Furthermore, given that the Petitioners represent more
than 50 percent of the total production of the domestic like product,
the requirements of section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act are also met.
Accordingly, we determine that this petition is filed on behalf of the
domestic industry within the meaning of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.
See AD Initiation Checklist at Attachment II.
The Department finds that the Petitioners filed the petition on
behalf of the domestic industry because they are interested parties as
defined in sections 771(9)(C) and (D) of the Act and they have
demonstrated sufficient industry support with respect to the
countervailing duty investigation that they are requesting the
Department initiate. See AD Initiation Checklist at Attachment II.
Allegations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
The following is a description of the allegations of sales at less
than fair value upon which the Department based its decision to
initiate this investigation on imports of certain OTR tires from the
PRC. The source of data for the deductions and adjustments relating to
the U.S. price as well as normal value (``NV'') for the PRC are also
discussed in the AD Initiation Checklist. Should the need arise to use
any of this information as facts available under section 776 of the Act
in our preliminary or final determinations, we will reexamine the
information and revise the margin calculations, if appropriate.
Export Price
Petitioners relied on nineteen U.S. prices for certain OTR tires
manufactured in the PRC and offered by U.S. distributors for sale in
the United States. The prices provided were invoice prices for specific
models of certain OTR tires falling within the scope of this petition
for delivery to the U.S. customer during the POI. Petitioners deducted
from the invoice prices the costs associated with exporting and
delivering the product, which include ocean freight and insurance, and
foreign brokerage and handling, distributor costs and profit, U.S.
inland freight and, where applicable, U.S. duties. Petitioners did not
deduct foreign-inland-freight charges or domestic brokerage and
handling (in China) from the export price (``EP'') because such costs
were included in the valuation of international movement expenses. See
Volume I of the petition at Exhibit 5.
Normal Value
Petitioners stated that the PRC is a non-market economy (``NME'')
and no determination to the contrary has yet been made by the
Department. In previous investigations, the Department has determined
that the PRC is a NME. See, e.g., Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value and Partial Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Certain Polyester Staple Fiber from the People's
Republic of China, 72 FR 19690 (April 19, 2007). In accordance with
section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, the presumption of NME status remains
in effect until revoked by the Department. The presumption of NME
status for the PRC has not been revoked by the Department and remains
in effect for the purpose of initiating this investigation.
Accordingly, the NV of the product is appropriately based on factors of
production valued in a surrogate market-economy country in accordance
with section 773(c) of the Act. In the course of this investigation,
all parties will have the opportunity to provide relevant information
related to the issues of the PRC's NME status and the granting of
separate rates to individual exporters.
Petitioners selected India as the surrogate country. Petitioners
argued that, pursuant to section 773(c)(4) of the Act, India is an
appropriate surrogate country because it is a market-economy country
that is at a comparable level of economic development to that of the
PRC and is a significant producer and exporter of certain OTR tires.
See Volume I of the petition at Exhibits 6 and 7. Based on the
information provided by Petitioners, we believe that their use of India
as a surrogate country is appropriate for purposes of initiating this
investigation. After the initiation of the investigation, we will
solicit comments regarding surrogate-country selection. Also, pursuant
to 19 CFR 351.301(c)(3)(i), interested parties will be provided an
opportunity to submit publicly available information to value factors
of production within 40 calendar days after the date of publication of
the preliminary determination.
Petitioners provided dumping margin calculations using the
Department's NME methodology as required by 19 CFR 351.202(b)(7)(i)(C)
and 19 CFR 351.408. Petitioners calculated NV based on consumption
rates for inputs used to produce certain OTR tires experienced by U.S.
producers. In accordance with section 773(c)(4) of the Act, Petitioners
valued factors of production, where possible, on reasonably available,
public surrogate country data. To value certain factors of production,
Petitioners used official Indian government import statistics,
excluding shipments from countries previously determined by the
Department to be NME countries and excluding shipments into India from
Indonesia, the Republic of Korea and Thailand, because the Department
has previously excluded prices from these countries because they may
maintain broadly-available, non-industry specific export subsidies.
See, e.g., Hand Trucks and Certain Parts Thereof From the People's
Republic of China: Final Results of Administrative Review and Final
Results of New Shipper Review, 72 FR 27287 and Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 23 (May 15, 2007). Petitioners valued two
separate inputs using Indonesian import statistics gathered from
Statistics Indonesia, the official Indonesian import statistics,
because it claimed that the Indian import values were aberrationally
high. Citing Saccharin from the People's Republic of China: Final
Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 71 FR 7515, 7516 (February 13, 2006) and The Timken Company v.
United States, 59 F. Supp. 2d 1371, 1375-76 (CIT 1999) (sustaining the
Department's practice of resorting to a second surrogate country when
the values in the primary surrogate country are deemed to be
inappropriate), Petitioners explained that the Department looks to
secondary countries when a particular value in the primary country is
questionable. See Volume I of the petition at Exhibit 8B.
For inputs valued in Indian rupees and not contemporaneous with the
POI, Petitioners developed an inflation factor based on import prices
into India as published in Chemical Weekly. See Volume II of the
petition at Exhibit 8F. Where such information was unavailable,
Petitioners used information from the wholesale price indices (``WPI'')
in India as published in the International Financial Statistics
(``IFS'') of the International Monetary Fund (``IMF'') for input prices
during
[[Page 43594]]
the period preceding the POI. Id. In addition, Petitioners made
currency conversions, where necessary, based on the average exchange
rate for the POI, based on monthly exchange rates published by the U.S.
Federal Reserve Board. See Volume I of the petition at Exhibit 5 and
8K.
We revised Petitioners' calculation of the surrogate values for
material inputs to include more contemporaneous data than was provided
in the petition, and to base our calculations on a single source of
information. As a result, we valued raw material inputs using the
weighted-average unit import values derived from the Monthly Statistics
of the Foreign Trade of India, as published by the Directorate General
of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics of the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry, Government of India in the World Trade Atlas, available
at http://www.gtis.com/wta.htm (``WTA'') for the period July through
December 2006, which includes the first three months of the POI, and
the three months immediately preceding the POI. We made no adjustments
for inflation since the surrogate values for this period include a
significant portion of the POI. In addition, we corrected the values
for certain factors to correct clerical errors made by Petitioners in
the transcription of the U.S. dollar values recorded for the POI by
Statistics Indonesia into the normal value calculations. See Exhibits
8B and 8E of the petition and AD Initiation Checklist at Attachments V
and V-R. We also calculated the surrogate values for two factors for
which there were no imports into India during the period July to
December 2006 using the most contemporaneous values available in the
Indian WTA data. We made appropriate adjustments for inflation. See AD
Initiation Checklist at Attachments V and V-R.
The Department calculates and publishes the surrogate values for
labor to be used in NME cases on its Web site. Therefore, to value
labor, Petitioners used a labor rate of $0.83 per hour, published on
the Department's Web site, http://ia.ita.doc.gov/wages, in accordance
with the Department's regulations. See 19 CFR 351.408(c)(3) and AD
Initiation Checklist.
Petitioners valued electricity in the production of certain OTR
tires based on the Indian electricity rate as reported in the Key World
Energy Statistics 2003, published by the International Energy Agency
for the year 2000. See Volume II of the petition at Exhibit 8J.
Petitioners valued water by calculating the weighted-average rate of
water for industrial use from various regions as reported by the
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation at http://midcindia.org.
dated June 1, 2003. Id. Petitioners valued natural gas using the rate
published by the Gas Authority of India Ltd. Web site, a supplier of
natural gas in India, covering the period January through June 2002.
Id. In each case, Petitioners inflated these figures to the POI using
information published in IFS. See Volume II of the petition at Exhibit
8I. We revised these calculations to take into account more current
information concerning the WPI in India based on the IFS statistics.
See AD Initiation Checklist at Attachments 5 and 5-H through 5-M.
For the NV calculations, Petitioners derived the figures for
factory overhead, selling, general and administrative expenses, and
profit from the financial ratios of seven Indian producers of
merchandise that is either identical or similar to the domestic like
product: Apollo Tyres Ltd. (``Apollo''), Balkrishna Industries Limited
(``Balkrishna''), CEAT Limited (``CEAT''), Goodyear India
(``Goodyear''), J.K. Industries Ltd. (``J.K. Industries''), MRF Limited
(``MRF'') and TVS Srichakra Limited (``TVS''). The financial statements
provided covered the periods of April 2004 to March 2005 (Apollo),
October 2004 to September 2005 (J.K. Industries, MRF Ltd.), January to
December 2005 (``Goodyear'') and April 2005 to March 2006 (CEAT,
Balkrishna, Apollo and TVS). We accepted the information presented in
the financial statements provided in Volume I of the petition at
Exhibit 8N for Balkrishna, CEAT and TVS for the purposes of initiation,
because these data appear to be the most contemporaneous and best
information on such expenses currently available to Titan. We did not
use the information from the financial statements for Apollo, Goodyear,
J.K. Industries and MRF, because of the availability of more
contemporaneous information from Balkrishna, CEAT and TVS.
We made one adjustment to Petitioners' calculations of the
financial ratios: We excluded commissions from the calculation of
selling, general and administrative expenses (``SG&A'') because
commissions are ordinarily accounted for in the calculation of U.S.
price. Therefore, in order to avoid double counting direct selling
expenses, we omitted them from the calculation of the financial ratio
for SG&A. See AD Initiation Checklist at Attachment V and V-Q.
Based on the data provided by Petitioners, there is reason to
believe that imports of certain OTR tires from the PRC are being, or
are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value.
Based upon comparisons of EP to the NV, calculated in accordance with
section 773(c) of the Act, the estimated calculated dumping margins for
certain OTR tires from the PRC range from 30.49 percent to 210.48
percent.
Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation
Petitioners allege that the U.S. industry producing the domestic
like product is being materially injured by reason of the imports of
the subject merchandise sold at less than NV. Petitioners contend that
the industry's injured condition is illustrated by the reduced market
share, lost sales, reduced production and capacity utilization, reduced
shipments, underselling and price depressing and suppressing effects,
lost revenue and sales, reduced employment, decline in financial
performance, decrease in capital expenditure, and increase in import
penetration. We have assessed the allegations and supporting evidence
regarding material injury and causation, and we have determined that
these allegations are properly supported by adequate evidence and meet
the statutory requirements for initiation. See AD Initiation Checklist
at Attachment III.
Separate-Rates Application
On April 5, 2005, the Department modified the process by which
exporters and producers may obtain separate-rate status in NME
investigations. See Policy Bulletin 05.1: ``Separate-Rates Practice and
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations
Involving Non-Market Economy Countries,'' available on the Department's
Web site at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf. The process now
requires the submission of a separate-rate status application. Based on
our experience in processing separate-rate applications in antidumping
duty investigations, we have modified the application for this
investigation to make it more administrable and easier for applicants
to complete. See Certain Steel Nails from the People's Republic of
China and the United Arab Emirates: Initiation of Antidumping Duty
Investigations, 72 FR 38816 (July 16, 2007); Initiation of Antidumping
Duty Investigation: Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the
People's Republic of China, 72 FR 36663 (July 5, 2007); and, Initiation
of Antidumping Duty Investigations: Coated Free Sheet Paper from
Indonesia, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of Korea,
71 FR 68537 (November 27, 2006). The specific requirements for
submitting the
[[Page 43595]]
separate-rate application in this investigation are outlined in detail
in the application itself, which will be available on the Department's
Web site at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/ on the date of publication of this
initiation notice in the Federal Register. Submission of the separate-
rate application is due no later than August 20, 2007.
NME Respondent Selection and Quantity and Value Questionnaire
For NME investigations, it is the Department's practice to request
quantity and value information from all known exporters identified in
the petition. Although many NME exporters respond to the quantity and
value information request, at times some exporters may not have
received the quantity and value questionnaire or may not have received
it in time to respond by the specified deadline. Therefore, the
Department typically requests the assistance of the NME government in
transmitting the Department's quantity and value questionnaire to all
companies who manufacture and export subject merchandise to the United
States, as well as to manufacturers who produce the subject merchandise
for companies who were engaged in exporting subject merchandise to the
United States during the POI. The quantity and value data received from
NME exporters is used as the basis to select the mandatory respondents.
The Department requires that the respondents submit a response to
both the quantity and value questionnaire and the separate-rates
application by the respective deadlines in order to receive
consideration for separate-rate status. Appendix II of this notice
contains the quantity and value questionnaire that must be submitted by
all NME exporters no later than August 20, 2007. In addition, the
Department will post the quantity and value questionnaire along with
the filing instructions on the Department's Web site at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/ia-highlights-and-news.html. The Department will send
the quantity and value questionnaire to those exporters identified in
Volume I of the petition at Exhibit 4, and to the PRC government.
Use of Combination Rates in an NME Investigation
The Department will calculate combination rates for certain
respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in this
investigation. The Separate-Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin states
the following:
{w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates
only to exporters, all separate rates that the Department will now
assign in its NME investigations will be specific to those producers
that supplied the exporter during the period of investigation. Note,
however, that one rate is calculated for the exporter and all of the
producers which supplied subject merchandise to it during the period
of investigation. This practice applies both to mandatory
respondents receiving an individually calculated separate rate as
well as the pool of non-investigated firms receiving the weighted-
average of the individually calculated rates. This practice is
referred to as the application of ``combination rates'' because such
rates apply to specific combinations of exporters and one or more
producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to an exporter will apply
only to merchandise both exported by the firm in question and
produced by a firm that supplied the exporter during the period of
investigation.
See Separate-Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin, at 6.
Initiation of Antidumping Investigation
Based upon our examination of the petition on certain OTR tires
from the PRC, we find that the petition meets the requirements of
section 732 of the Act. Therefore, we are initiating an antidumping
duty investigation to determine whether imports of certain OTR tires
from the PRC are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States
at less than fair value. Unless postponed, we will make our preliminary
determination no later than 140 calendar days after the date of
publication of this initiation notice.
Distribution of Copies of the Petition
In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act, a copy of the
public version of the petition has been provided to the government of
the PRC.
International Trade Commission Notification
We have notified the ITC of our initiation, as required by section
732(d) of the Act.
Preliminary Determination by the ITC
The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 25 days after the date
on which it receives notice of this initiation, whether there is a
reasonable indication that imports of certain OTR tires from the PRC
are causing material injury, or threatening to cause material injury,
to a U.S. industry. See section 733(a)(2)(A)(i) of the Act. A negative
ITC determination will result in the investigation being terminated;
otherwise, this investigation will proceed according to statutory and
regulatory time limits.
This notice is issued and published pursuant to section 777(i) of
the Act.
Dated: July 30, 2007.
Stephen J. Claeys,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
Appendix I--Scope of The Investigation
Attachment I--Scope of the Investigation for the Petitions Covering
Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's Republic of
China
The products covered by the scope are new pneumatic tires designed
for off-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\
[[Page 43596]]
lift trucks, straddle carriers,\10\ graders,\11\ mobile cranes,
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.\12\ 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. The foregoing descriptions 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 petitions range in size (rim
diameter) generally but not exclusively from 8 inches to 54 inches. The
tires may be either tube-type 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.
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\1\ Agricultural tractors are four-wheeled vehicles usually with
large rear tires and small front tires that are used to tow farming
equipment.
\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 four-wheeled vehicles usually with
large rear tires and small front tires that are used to tow
industrial equipment.
\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. It can
scrape material from one location to another, carry material in its
bucket 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\ A counterbalanced lift truck is a rigid frame, 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.
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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
P--Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on passenger
cars;
LT--Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on light
trucks; and,
ST--Identifies a special tire for trailers in highway service.
Suffix Letter Designations
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'';
MH--Identifies tires for Mobile Homes;
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.
Example: 8R17.5 LT, 8R17.5 HC;
LT--Identifies light truck tires for service on trucks, buses,
trailers, and multipurpose passenger vehicles used in nominal highway
service; and
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 used on aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, and vehicles
for turf, lawn and garden, golf and trailer applications; and, tires of
a kind used for 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).
Appendix II--Quantity and Value Questionnaire
Where it is not practicable to examine all known producers/
exporters of subject merchandise, section 777A(c)(2) of the Tariff Act
of 1930 (as amended) permits us to investigate (1) A sample of
exporters, producers, or types of products that is statistically valid
based on the information available at the time of selection, or (2)
exporters and producers accounting for the largest volume and value of
the subject merchandise that can reasonably be examined.
In the chart below, please provide the total quantity and total
value of all your sales of merchandise covered by the scope of this
investigation (See scope section of this notice), produced in the PRC,
and exported/shipped to the United States during the period October 1,
2006, through March 31, 2007.
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Market Total quantity Terms of sale Total value
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United States..................................
1. Export Price Sales..........................
2..............................................
a. Exporter name...........................
b. Address.................................
c. Contact.................................
d. Phone No................................
e. Fax No..................................
3. Constructed Export Price Sales..............
4. Further Manufactured Sales..................
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Total Sales............................
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[[Page 43597]]
Total Quantity
Please report quantity on a metric ton basis. If any conversions
were used, please provide the conversion formula and source.
Terms of Sales
Please report all sales on the same terms, such as ``free on
board'' at port of export.
Total Value
All sales values should be reported in U.S. dollars. Please provide
any exchange rates used and their respective dates and sources.
Export Price Sales
Generally, a U.S. sale is classified as an export price sale when
the first sale to an unaffiliated customer occurs before importation
into the United States.
Please include any sales exported by your company directly to the
United States.
Please include any sales exported by your company to a third-
country market economy reseller where you had knowledge that the
merchandise was destined to be resold to the United States.
If you are a producer of subject merchandise, please include any
sales manufactured by your company that were subsequently exported by
an affiliated exporter to the United States.
Please do not include in your figures any sales of merchandise
manufactured in Hong Kong.
Constructed Export Price Sales
Generally, a U.S. sale is classified as a constructed export price
sale when the first sale to an unaffiliated customer occurs after
importation. However, if the first sale to the unaffiliated customer is
made by a person in the United States affiliated with the foreign
exporter, constructed export price applies even if the sale occurs
prior to importation.
Please include any sales exported by your company directly to the
United States.
Please include any sales exported by your company to a third-
country market economy reseller where you had knowledge that the
merchandise was destined to be resold to the United States.
If you are a producer of subject merchandise, please include any
sales manufactured by your company that were subsequently exported by
an affiliated exporter to the United States.
Please do not include in your figures any sales of merchandise
manufactured in Hong Kong.
Further Manufactured Sales
Further manufacture or assembly (including re-packing) sales
(further manufactured sales'') refers to merchandise that undergoes
further manufacture or assembly in the United States before being sold
to the first unaffiliated customer.
Further manufacture or assembly costs include amounts incurred for
direct materials, labor and overhead, plus amounts for general and
administrative expense, interest expense, and additional packing
expense incurred in the country of further manufacture, as well as all
costs involved in moving the product from the U.S. port of entry to the
further manufacturer.
[FR Doc. E7-15200 Filed 8-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P