[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 147 (Monday, August 3, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38395-38397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18599]


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

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-939]


Certain Tow Behind Lawn Groomers and Certain Parts Thereof from 
the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) and the International Trade Commission 
(``ITC''), the Department is issuing an antidumping duty order on 
certain tow behind lawn groomers and certain parts thereof (lawn 
groomers) from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'').

EFFECTIVE DATE: August 3, 2009

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karine Gziryan, Thomas Martin or 
Zhulieta Willbrand, AD/CVD Operations, Office 4, Import Administration, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 
(202) 482-4081, (202) 482-3936, and (202) 482-3147 respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Tariff Act 
of 1930, as amended (``the Act''), on March 31, 2009, the Department 
published in the Federal Register its final determination in the 
instant investigation. See Certain Tow Behind Lawn Groomers and Certain 
Parts Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Final Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 74 FR 29167 (June 19, 2009).
    On July 27, 2009, 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 by reason of 
subsidized imports of subject merchandise from the PRC. See Tow-Behind 
Lawn Groomers From China, Investigation Nos. 701-TA-457 and 731-TA-1153 
(Final), USITC Publication 4090 (July 2009).

Scope of the Order

    The scope of this order covers certain non-motorized tow behind 
lawn groomers, manufactured from any material, and certain parts 
thereof. Lawn groomers are defined as lawn sweepers, aerators, 
dethatchers, and spreaders. Unless specifically excluded, lawn groomers 
that are designed to perform at least one of the functions listed above 
are included in the scope of this order, even if the lawn groomer is 
designed to perform additional non-subject functions (e.g., mowing).
    All lawn groomers are designed to incorporate a hitch, of any 
configuration, which allows the product to be towed behind a vehicle. 
Lawn groomers that are designed to incorporate both a hitch and a push 
handle, of any type, are also covered by the scope of this order. The 
hitch and handle may be permanently attached or removable, and they may 
be attached on opposite sides or on the same side of the lawn groomer. 
Lawn groomers designed to incorporate a hitch, but where the hitch is 
not attached to the lawn groomer, are also included in the scope of the 
order.
    Lawn sweepers consist of a frame, as well as a series of brushes 
attached to an axle or shaft which allows the brushing component to 
rotate. Lawn sweepers also include a container (which is a receptacle 
into which debris swept from the lawn or turf is deposited) supported 
by the frame. Aerators consist of a frame, as well as an aerating 
component that is attached to an axle or shaft which allows the 
aerating component to rotate. The aerating component is made up of a 
set of knives fixed to a plate (known as a ``plug aerator''), a series 
of discs with protruding spikes (a ``spike aerator''), or any other 
configuration, that are designed to create holes or cavities in a lawn 
or turf surface. Dethatchers consist of a frame, as well as a series of 
tines designed to remove material (e.g., dead grass or leaves) or other 
debris from the lawn or turf. The dethatcher tines are attached to and 
suspended from the frame. Lawn spreaders consist of a frame, as well as 
a hopper (i.e., a container of any size, shape, or material) that holds 
a media to be spread on the lawn or turf. The media can be distributed 
by means of a rotating spreader plate that broadcasts the media 
(``broadcast spreader''), a rotating agitator that allows the media to 
be released at a consistent rate (``drop spreader''), or any other 
configuration.
    Lawn dethatchers with a net fully-assembled weight (i.e., without 
packing, additional weights, or accessories) of 100 pounds or less are 
covered by the scope of the order. Other lawn groomers sweepers, 
aerators, and spreaders with a net fully-assembled weight (i.e., 
without packing, additional weights, or accessories) of 200 pounds or 
less are covered by the scope of the order.
    Also included in the scope of the order are modular units, 
consisting of a chassis that is designed to incorporate a hitch, where 
the hitch may or may not be included, which allows modules that perform 
sweeping, aerating, dethatching, or spreading operations to be 
interchanged. Modular units when imported with one or more lawn 
grooming modules with a fully assembled net weight (i.e., without 
packing, additional weights, or accessories) of 200 pounds or less when 
including a single module, are included in the scope of the order. 
Modular unit chasses, imported without a lawn grooming module and with 
a fully assembled net weight (i.e., without packing, additional 
weights, or accessories) of 125 pounds or less, are also covered by the 
scope of the order. When imported separately, modules

[[Page 38396]]

that are designed to perform subject lawn grooming functions (i.e., 
sweeping, aerating, dethatching, or spreading), with a fully assembled 
net weight (i.e., without packing, additional weights, or accessories) 
of 75 pounds or less, and that are imported with or without a hitch, 
are also covered by the scope.
    Lawn groomers, assembled or unassembled, are covered by this order. 
For purposes of this order, ``unassembled lawn groomers'' consist of 
either 1) all parts necessary to make a fully assembled lawn groomer, 
or 2) any combination of parts, constituting a less than complete, 
unassembled lawn groomer, with a minimum of two of the following 
``major components'':
    1) an assembled or unassembled brush housing designed to be used in 
a lawn sweeper, where a brush housing is defined as a component housing 
the brush assembly, and consisting of a wrapper which covers the brush 
assembly and two end plates attached to the wrapper;
    2) a sweeper brush;
    3) an aerator or dethatcher weight tray, or similar component 
designed to allow weights of any sort to be added to the unit;
    4) a spreader hopper;
    5) a rotating spreader plate or agitator, or other component 
designed for distributing media in a lawn spreader;
    6) dethatcher tines;
    7) aerator spikes, plugs, or other aerating component; or
    8) a hitch, defined as a complete hitch assembly comprising of at 
least the following two major hitch components, tubing and a hitch 
plate regardless of the absence of minor components such as pin or 
fasteners. Individual hitch component parts, such as tubing, hitch 
plates, pins or fasteners are not covered by the scope.
    The major components or parts of lawn groomers that are 
individually covered by this order under the term ``certain parts 
thereof'' are: (1) brush housings, where the wrapper and end plates 
incorporating the brush assembly may be individual pieces or a single 
piece; and (2) weight trays, or similar components designed to allow 
weights of any sort to be added to a dethatcher or an aerator unit.
    The scope of this order specifically excludes the following: 1) 
agricultural implements designed to work (e.g., churn, burrow, till, 
etc.) soil, such as cultivators, harrows, and plows; 2) lawn or farm 
carts and wagons that do not groom lawns; 3) grooming products 
incorporating a motor or an engine for the purpose of operating and/or 
propelling the lawn groomer; 4) lawn groomers that are designed to be 
hand held or are designed to be attached directly to the frame of a 
vehicle, rather than towed; 5) ``push'' lawn grooming products that 
incorporate a push handle rather than a hitch, and which are designed 
solely to be manually operated; 6) dethatchers with a net assembled 
weight (i.e., without packing, additional weights, or accessories) of 
more than 100 pounds, or lawn groomers sweepers, aerators, and 
spreaders with a net fully-assembled weight (i.e., without packing, 
additional weights, or accessories) of more than 200 pounds; and 7) 
lawn rollers designed to flatten grass and turf, including lawn rollers 
which incorporate an aerator component (e.g., ``drum-style'' spike 
aerators).
    The lawn groomers that are the subject of this order are currently 
classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(``HTSUS'') statistical reporting numbers 8432.40.0000, 8432.80.0000, 
8432.80.0010, 8432.90.0030, 8432.90.0080, 8479.89.9896, 8479.89.9897, 
8479.90.9496, and 9603.50.0000. These HTSUS provisions are given for 
reference and customs purposes only, and the description of merchandise 
is dispositive for determining the scope of the product included in 
this order.

Provisional Measures

    Section 733(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation 
ordered pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not 
remain in effect for more than four months except where exporters 
representing a significant proportion of exports of the subject 
merchandise request the Department to extend that four-month period to 
no more than six months. At the request of two exporters that accounted 
for a significant proportion of exports of lawn groomers, we extended 
the four-month period to no more than six months. See Certain Tow 
Behind Lawn Groomers and Certain Parts Thereof from the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value and Postponement of Final Determination, 74 FR 4929, 4936 
(January 28, 2009) (``Preliminary Determination''). In this 
investigation, the six-month period beginning on the date of the 
publication of the Preliminary Determination (i.e., January 28, 2009) 
ended on July 27, 2009.
    Section 737 of the Act states that definitive duties are to begin 
on the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination. 
Therefore, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Act, we have 
instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to terminate 
suspension of liquidation and to liquidate without regard to 
antidumping duties (i.e., release all bonds and refund all cash 
deposits), unliquidated entries of lawn groomers from the PRC entered, 
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption after July 27, 2009, and 
before the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination 
in the Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will resume on the 
date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the 
Federal Register.

Antidumping Duty Order

    On July 27, 2009, in accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, the 
ITC notified the Department of its final determination, pursuant to 
section 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, that an industry in the United 
States is materially injured by reason of less-than-fair-value imports 
of subject merchandise from the PRC. Therefore, in accordance with 
section 736(a)(1) of the Act, the Department will direct CBP to assess, 
upon further instruction by the Department, antidumping duties equal to 
the amount by which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds the 
export price of the merchandise for all relevant entries of lawn 
groomers from the PRC. Except for the entries noted above,\1\ these 
antidumping duties will be assessed on all unliquidated entries of lawn 
groomers from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from the warehouse, for 
consumption on or after January 28, 2009, the date on which the 
Department published its Preliminary Determination. See Preliminary 
Determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Namely, entries of lawn groomers from the PRC entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption after July 27, 2009, and 
before the date of publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination in the Federal Register.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Effective on the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative 
injury determination, CBP will require, at the same time as importers 
would normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, a cash 
deposit based on the estimated weighted-average antidumping duty 
margins listed below. The cash deposit rate for all exporter-producer 
combinations not listed below will be equal to the estimated weighted-
average antidumping duty margin applicable to the combination. The 
``PRC-wide'' rate applies to all exporters of subject merchandise not 
specifically listed. The weighted-average dumping margins are as 
follows:

[[Page 38397]]



                       Lawn Groomers from the PRC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Weighted-Average
                Exporter and Producer                  Margin (Percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nantong D & B Machinery Co., Ltd....................              154.72
Qingdao Huatian Truck Co., Ltd., a.k.a. Qingdao                   154.72
 Huatian Hand Truck Co., Ltd........................
PRC-wide Entity (including Jiashan Superpower Tools               386.28
 Co., Ltd. and Princeway Furniture (Dong Guan) Co.,
 Ltd.)..............................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to 
lawn groomers from the PRC pursuant to section 736(a) of the Act. 
Interested parties may contact the Department's Central Records Unit, 
Room 1117 of the main Commerce building, for copies of an updated list 
of antidumping duty orders currently in effect.
    This order is published in accordance with section 736(a) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: July 29, 2009.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-18599 Filed 7-31-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S