[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4298-4299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1401]


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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: Notice of Rescission of Changed Circumstances Review

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

DATES: Effective Date: January 25, 2011.
SUMMARY: On June 16, 2010, the Department of Commerce (``the 
Department'') published in the Federal Register a notice of initiation 
of a changed circumstances review (``CCR'') of the antidumping duty 
order on certain new pneumatic off-the-road tires (``OTR tires'') from 
the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') in order to determine whether 
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd. (``Shandong Linglong'') is the 
successor-in-interest to Zhaoyuan Leo Rubber Co., Ltd. (``Leo Rubber'') 
for the purpose of determining antidumping duty liability.\1\ On 
December 8, 2010, Ling Long North America LLC, doing business as Atlas 
Tire, an affiliated importer of record and the requesting party, 
submitted a request to rescind this CCR. The Department is now 
rescinding this CCR.
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    \1\ See Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires from the 
People's Republic of China: Initiation of Changed Circumstances 
Review, 75 FR 34098 (June 16, 2010) (``Initiation Notice'').

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Raquel Silva or Erin Begnal, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 8, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
6475 or (202) 482-1442.

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, Leo Rubber, as a separate rate respondent that was 
not individually reviewed, was granted separate rate status and 
received the weighted-average dumping margin of 12.91 percent.\3\
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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.
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    On April 21, 2010, Atlas Tire filed a submission requesting that 
the Department conduct a CCR of the Order.\4\ On June 16, 2010, the 
Department initiated a CCR of the antidumping duty order on OTR 
tires.\5\ On December 8, 2010, Atlas Tire withdrew its request for a 
CCR.\6\
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    \4\ 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, dated April 21, 
2010.
    \5\ See Initiation Notice.
    \6\ See Letter from Atlas Tire to the Department regarding: 
Certain New Pneumatic Off-The-Road Tires from the People's Republic 
of China, Rescission Request, dated December 8, 2010.
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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,\7\ combine 
harvesters,\8\ agricultural high clearance sprayers,\9\ industrial 
tractors,\10\ log-skidders,\11\ agricultural implements, highway-towed 
implements, agricultural logging, and agricultural, industrial, skid-
steers/mini-loaders;\12\ (2) construction vehicles and equipment, 
including earthmover articulated dump products, rigid frame haul 
trucks,\13\ front end loaders,\14\ dozers,\15\ lift trucks, straddle 
carriers,\16\ graders,\17\ mobile cranes,\18\ 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.\19\ The

[[Page 4299]]

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 \20\ 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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    \7\ 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.
    \8\ Combine harvesters are used to harvest crops such as corn or 
wheat.
    \9\ Agricultural sprayers are used to irrigate agricultural 
fields.
    \10\ 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.
    \11\ 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.
    \12\ 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.
    \13\ 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.
    \14\ 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.
    \15\ 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.
    \16\ 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.
    \17\ 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.
    \18\ i.e., ``on-site'' mobile cranes designed for off-highway 
use.
    \19\ 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.
    \20\ 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).

Rescission of Changed Circumstances Review

    Although it does not specifically reference changed circumstances 
reviews, section 351.213(d)(1) of the Department's regulations provides 
that the Department will rescind an administrative review if the party 
requesting the review withdraws its request within 90 days of the date 
of publication of the notice of initiation of the requested review. The 
Department's practice has been to apply this 90-day deadline to changed 
circumstances review rescission requests.\21\ However, 19 CFR 
351.213(d)(1) also provides that the Department may extend the 90-day 
time limit for withdrawing the request for an administrative review if 
we determine that it is reasonable to do so. In this case, Atlas Tire 
requested a rescission of this review on December 8, 2010, which is 
beyond 90 days from the date of initiation. However, we note that no 
interested party, including the petitioner, has objected to Atlas 
Tire's rescission request. Additionally, the Department has not 
expended significant resources conducting this review. Therefore, we 
determine that it is reasonable to extend the 90-day time limit in this 
instance. Consequently, the Department has accepted Atlas Tire's 
rescission request in this case as timely and is now rescinding this 
CCR. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue to suspend 
entries of subject merchandise at the appropriate cash deposit rate for 
all entries of OTR tires from the PRC.
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    \21\ See, e.g., Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from India: 
Notice of Rescission of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances 
Review, 75 FR 51756 (August 23, 2010).
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Notification

    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 351.305(a)(3). 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: January 14, 2011.
Gary Taverman,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.
[FR Doc. 2011-1401 Filed 1-24-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P