[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 4, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46914-46916]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19196]


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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: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review

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

SUMMARY: On June 8, 2010, the Department of Commerce (``the 
Department'') published a notice of preliminary results 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'').\1\ In the Preliminary Results, the Department 
preliminarily found that Mai Shandong Radial Tyre Co., Ltd. (``Mai 
Shandong'') is not the successor-in-interest to Shandong Jinyu Tyre 
Co., Ltd. (``Shandong Jinyu'') for the purposes of determining the 
antidumping duty cash deposit rate for Mai Shandong. For the final 
results, the Department continues to find that Mai Shandong is not the 
successor-in-interest to Shandong Jinyu.
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    \1\ See Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires from the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Changed 
Circumstances Review, 75 FR 32376 (June 8, 2010) (``Preliminary 
Results'').

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DATES: Effective Date: August 4, 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.\2\ As 
part of the Order, Shandong Jinyu received the amended separate-rate 
respondent rate of 12.91 percent.\3\ On September 14, 2009, Mai 
Shandong filed a submission requesting that the Department conduct a 
changed circumstances review of the Order to confirm that it is the 
successor-in-interest to Shandong Jinyu.\4\ As part of its September 
14, 2009, submission, Mai Shandong requested that the Department 
conduct an expedited review.
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    \2\ 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'').
    \3\ See Id. at 51627.
    \4\ See Letter from Mai Shandong 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) (September 14, 2009).
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    In response to the request, the Department initiated a changed 
circumstances review of Mai Shandong on November 10, 2009.\5\ However, 
the Department found conclusive evidence lacking and, therefore, 
determined an expedited preliminary result was not appropriate.\6\ 
Subsequent to initiation, the Department issued, and Mai Shandong 
responded to, an original and several supplemental questionnaires 
requesting additional information.
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    \5\ See Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires from the 
People's Republic of China: Initiation of Changed Circumstances 
Review, 74 FR 57999 (November 10, 2009).
    \6\ See Id. at 58001.
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    On June 8, 2010, the Department published preliminary results of 
the changed circumstances review, finding Mai Shandong not to be the 
successor-in-interest to Shandong Jinyu, and invited interested parties 
to comment.\7\ We received no comments or requests for a hearing from 
interested parties.
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    \7\ See Preliminary Results.
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Scope of the Order

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

[[Page 46915]]

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,\8\ 
combine harvesters,\9\ agricultural high clearance sprayers,\10\ 
industrial tractors,\11\ log-skidders,\12\ agricultural implements, 
highway-towed implements, agricultural logging, and agricultural, 
industrial, skid-steers/mini-loaders; \13\ (2) construction vehicles 
and equipment, including earthmover articulated dump products, rigid 
frame haul trucks,\14\ front end loaders,\15\ dozers,\16\ lift trucks, 
straddle carriers,\17\ graders,\18\ mobile cranes,\19\ 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.\20\ 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 \21\ 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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    \8\ 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.
    \9\ Combine harvesters are used to harvest crops such as corn or 
wheat.
    \10\ Agricultural sprayers are used to irrigate agricultural 
fields.
    \11\ 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.
    \12\ 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.
    \13\ 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.
    \14\ 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.
    \15\ 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.
    \16\ 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.
    \17\ 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.
    \18\ 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 on to which asphalt 
or other paving material will be laid.
    \19\ I.e., ``on-site'' mobile cranes designed for off-highway 
use.
    \20\ 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.
    \21\ 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 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).

Final Results of the Review

    In the Preliminary Results, the Department found that Mai 
International's acquisition of approximately 90 percent equity in 
Shandong Jinyu's OTR tires business resulted in a joint venture that is 
majority owned and operated by a new, foreign entity, with a new 
corporate structure, changed management, and significantly altered 
sales and marketing

[[Page 46916]]

operations.\22\ As a result, the Department preliminarily determined 
that Mai Shandong is a new entity that operates in a significantly 
different manner from Shandong Jinyu. The Department did not receive 
any comments on the preliminary results of this review. For the same 
reasons stated in the preliminary results, the Department continues to 
find that Mai Shandong is not the successor-in-interest to Shandong 
Jinyu for the purposes of the antidumping duty proceeding.\23\ 
Accordingly, Mai Shandong remains subject to the PRC-wide entity rate.
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    \22\ See Preliminary Results, 75 FR at 32377-78.
    \23\ See Id.
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Notification

    The Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
that the determination from this changed circumstances review will 
apply to all shipments of the subject merchandise produced and exported 
by Mai Shandong entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption 
on or after the date of publication of the final results of this 
changed circumstances review. This cash deposit rate shall remain in 
effect until publication of the final results of the next 
administrative review in which Mai Shandong participates.
    This notice also serves as a final reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective orders (``APOs'') of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.306. Timely written notification of 
the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial 
protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the 
regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
    This notice is published in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 
777(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and 19 CFR 351.216.

    Dated: July 28, 2010.
Paul Piquado,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-19196 Filed 8-3-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P