[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 115 (Wednesday, June 16, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34098-34100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-14539]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-912]


Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires from the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') has received

[[Page 34099]]

information sufficient to warrant initiation of a changed circumstances 
review of the antidumping duty order on certain new pneumatic off-the-
road tires (``OTR tires'') from the People's Republic of China 
(``PRC''). Specifically, based upon a request filed by LingLong North 
America LLC, d/b/a Atlas Tire (``Atlas Tire''), an affiliated importer 
of record, the Department is initiating a changed circumstances review 
to determine whether Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd. (``Shandong 
Linglong'') is the successor-in-interest to Zhaoyuan Leo Rubber Co., 
Ltd. (``Leo Rubber''), a separate-rate respondent in the original 
investigation.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 16, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raquel Silva or Charles Riggle, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 8, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-6475 or 202-482-0650, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 4, 2008, the Department published in the Federal 
Register an antidumping duty order on OTR tires from the PRC. See 
Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's Republic of 
China: Notice of Amended Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order, 73 FR 51624 (September 
4, 2008) (``Order''). As part of that order, Leo Rubber received the 
separate-rate respondent amended rate of 12.91 percent. Id. at 51627. 
On April 21, 2010, Atlas Tirefiled a submission requesting that the 
Department conduct a changed circumstances review of the Order to 
confirm that Shandong Linglong is the successor-in-interest to Leo 
Rubber. In its submission, Atlas Tire provided an Enterprise Changing 
List, an Ownership Declaration, and business licenses for Leo Rubber 
and Shandong Linglong demonstrating that Leo Rubber has changed its 
name to Shandong Linglong. See Letter from Atlas Tire to the Department 
regarding Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road Tires from the People's 
Republic of China, Request for Changed Circumstances Review (Case No. 
A-570-912) (April 21, 2010).

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order 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\ 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.
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    \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).
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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

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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 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).

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(``Act''), the Department will conduct a changed circumstances review 
upon receipt of information concerning, or a request from, an 
interested party for a review of an antidumping duty order which shows 
changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a review of the order.
    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(d), the Department has determined 
that the information submitted by Atlas Tire constitutes sufficient 
evidence to conduct a changed circumstances review. In an antidumping 
duty changed circumstances review involving a successor-in-interest 
determination, the Department typically examines several factors 
including, but not limited to, changes in: (1) management; (2) 
production facilities; (3) supplier relationships; and (4) customer 
base. See, e.g., Certain Activated Carbon From the People's Republic of 
China: Notice of Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review, 74 FR 
19934, 19935 (April 30, 2009). While no single factor or combination of 
factors will necessarily be dispositive, the Department generally will 
consider the new company to be the successor to the predecessor if the 
resulting operations are essentially the same as those of the 
predecessor company. See, e.g., Notice of Initiation of Antidumping 
Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Forged Stainless Steel 
Flanges from India, 71 FR 327 (January 4, 2006). Thus, if the record 
demonstrates that, with respect to the production and sale of the 
subject merchandise, the new company operates as the same business 
entity as the predecessor company, the Department may assign the new 
company the cash deposit rate of its predecessor. See, e.g., Fresh and 
Chilled Atlantic Salmon From Norway; Final Results of Changed 
Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 64 FR 9979, 9980 
(March 1, 1999).
    Based on the information provided in its submission, Atlas Tire has 
provided sufficient evidence to warrant a review to determine if 
Shandong Linglong is the successor-in-interest to Leo Rubber. 
Therefore, pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.216(d), we are initiating a changed circumstances review.
    The Department will issue questionnaires requesting additional 
information for the review and will publish in the Federal Register a 
notice of the preliminary results of the antidumping duty changed 
circumstances review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(2) and (4), 
and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(i). That notice will set forth the factual and 
legal conclusions upon which our preliminary results are based and a 
description of any action proposed. Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4)(ii), interested parties will have an opportunity to 
comment on the preliminary results of review. In accordance with 19 CFR 
351.216(e), the Department will issue the final results of its 
antidumping duty changed circumstances review not later than 270 days 
after the date on which the review is initiated.
    This notice is published in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 
777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216.

    Dated: June 7, 2010.
John M. Andersen,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.
[FR Doc. 2010-14539 Filed 6-15-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S