[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48117-48119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19412]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-970]


Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed 
Circumstances Review: Multilayered Wood Flooring From the People's 
Republic of China

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') preliminarily 
determines that Linyi Youyou Wood

[[Page 48118]]

Co., Ltd. (``Youyou'') is the successor-in-interest to Shanghai Lizhong 
Wood Products Co., Ltd./The Lizhong Industry Limited Company of 
Shanghai (``Lizhong'') in the antidumping duty order on multilayered 
wood flooring from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') and, as 
such, is entitled to Lizhong's cash deposit rate with respect to 
entries of subject merchandise. Interested parties are invited to 
comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: August 15, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Riggle, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0650.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On June 20, 2014, Lizhong requested that the Department initiate a 
changed circumstances review to confirm that Youyou is the successor-
in-interest to Lizhong for purposes of determining antidumping duty 
liabilities.

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by the order includes MLWF, subject to 
certain exceptions.\1\ Imports of the subject merchandise are provided 
for under the following subheadings of the HTSUS: 4412.31.0520; 
4412.31.0540; 4412.31.0560; 4412.31.2510; 4412.31.2520; 4412.31.4040; 
4412.31.4050; 4412.31.4060; 4412.31.4070; 4412.31.5125; 4412.31.5135; 
4412.31.5155; 4412.31.5165; 4412.31.6000; 4412.31.9100; 4412.32.0520; 
4412.32.0540; 4412.32.0560; 4412.32.2510; 4412.32.2520; 4412.32.3125; 
4412.32.3135; 4412.32.3155; 4412.32.3165; 4412.32.3175; 4412.32.3185; 
4412.32.5600; 4412.39.1000; 4412.39.3000; 4412.39.4011; 4412.39.4012; 
4412.39.4019; 4412.39.4031; 4412.39.4032; 4412.39.4039; 4412.39.4051; 
4412.39.4052; 4412.39.4059; 4412.39.4061; 4412.39.4062; 4412.39.4069; 
4412.39.5010; 4412.39.5030; 4412.39.5050; 4412.94.1030; 4412.94.1050; 
4412.94.3105; 4412.94.3111; 4412.94.3121; 4412.94.3131; 4412.94.3141; 
4412.94.3160; 4412.94.3171; 4412.94.4100; 4412.94.5100; 4412.94.6000; 
4412.94.7000; 4412.94.8000; 4412.94.9000; 4412.94.9500; 4412.99.0600; 
4412.99.1020; 4412.99.1030; 4412.99.1040; 4412.99.3110; 4412.99.3120; 
4412.99.3130; 4412.99.3140; 4412.99.3150; 4412.99.3160; 4412.99.3170; 
4412.99.4100; 4412.99.5100; 4412.99.5710; 4412.99.6000; 4412.99.7000; 
4412.99.8000; 4412.99.9000; 4412.99.9500; 4418.71.2000; 4418.71.9000; 
4418.72.2000; 4418.72.9500; and 9801.00.2500.\2\
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    \1\ See Memorandum from Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations to Paul 
Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement & Compliance, dated 
concurrently with this notice, regarding ``Preliminary Changed 
Circumstances Review: Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People's 
Republic of China,'' issued concurrently with this notice for a 
complete description of the Scope of the Order.
    \2\ On August 28, 2013, in consultation with CBP, the Department 
added the following HTSUS classification to the AD/CVD module for 
wood flooring: 9801.00.2500. See Letter to the File from Lilit 
Astvatsatrian, Case Analyst, Enforcement and Compliance, Office IV, 
regarding ``Multilayered Wood Flooring from the PRC, Modification of 
the Case Reference File in ACE,'' (November 18, 2013).
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    While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise is 
dispositive.

Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review

    Pursuant to section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(``the Act''), and the Department's regulations (19 CFR 351.216 and 
351.221(c)(3)), 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. The 
information submitted by Lizhong claiming that Youyou is its successor-
in-interest demonstrates changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a 
review.\3\ When it concludes that expedited action is warranted, the 
Department may publish the notice of initiation and preliminary results 
for a changed circumstances review concurrently.\4\ In this instance, 
because we have on the record the information necessary to make a 
preliminary finding, we find that expedited action is warranted, and 
are combining the notice of initiation and the notice of preliminary 
results.
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    \3\ See 19 CFR 351.216(d).
    \4\ See 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii).
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    In accordance with the above-referenced regulations, the Department 
is initiating a changed circumstances review to determine whether 
Youyou is the successor-in-interest to Lizhong. In determining whether 
one company is the successor to another for purposes of applying the 
antidumping duty law, the Department examines a number of factors 
including, but not limited to, changes in (1) management, (2) 
production facilities, (3) suppliers, and (4) customer base.\5\ While 
no one or several of these factors will necessarily provide a 
dispositive indication of succession, the Department will generally 
consider one company to be the successor to another company if its 
resulting operation is essentially the same as that of its 
predecessor.\6\ Thus, if the evidence demonstrates that, with respect 
to the production and sale of the subject merchandise, the new company 
operates as the same business entity as the prior company, the 
Department will assign the new company the cash deposit rate of its 
predecessor.\7\
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    \5\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Changed Circumstances Review: Polychloroprene Rubber From Japan, 69 
FR 61796, 61797 (October 21, 2004).
    \6\ Id.
    \7\ See Notice of Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review: 
Polychloroprene Rubber from Japan, 69 FR 67890 (November 22, 2004); 
Certain Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from Taiwan: 
Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstance Review, 70 FR 
17063 (April 4, 2005).
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Preliminary Determination

    In its June 20, 2014 submission, Lizhong provided documentation 
demonstrating that Youyou is its successor-in-interest in that no major 
changes occurred with respect to Lizhong's management, production 
process, customer base, or suppliers.\8\
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    \8\ See June 20, 2014 letter from Lizhong re: Multilayered Wood 
Flooring from the People's Republic of China: Request for Changed 
Circumstances Review (``Lizhong CCR Request'').
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    According to the information provided, Youyou is owned, managed and 
operated by the same ownership and management teams as Lizhong.\9\ 
Lizhong also provided documentation that there had been no material 
change in suppliers of inputs or services related to the production, 
sale and distribution of the subject merchandise.\10\ Youyou, which had 
previously supplied materials to Lizhong, has taken up the production 
of the subject merchandise and continued to utilize its other 
suppliers.\11\
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    \9\ See Lizhong CCR Request at page 4 and attachment 1.
    \10\ See Lizhong CCR Request at page 5 and attachment 4.
    \11\ See id.
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    Regarding its production of the subject merchandise, Lizhong stated 
that the production capacity, process and equipment of Youyou are 
identical

[[Page 48119]]

to that of Lizhong.\12\ Due to the PRC Government-directed ``Removal 
and Relocation'' project, Lizhong was obligated to physically transfer 
operations away from its production location to Youyou's facility.\13\
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    \12\ See Lizhong CCR Request at page 5 and attachment 3.
    \13\ See Lizhong CCR Request at page 5 and attachment 3.
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    Finally, Lizhong has indicated that there has been no change with 
its U.S. customer base or its sale of the subject merchandise.\14\ 
Since Lizhong was required to move physical facilities, Youyou stated 
that it will continue to sell to all of these U.S. customers the same 
subject merchandise using its own taxpayer ID number.\15\
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    \14\ See Lizhong CCR Request at page 6 and attachments 5 and 6.
    \15\ See Lizhong CCR Request at page 5 and attachment 3.
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    On August 1, 2014, the Coalition for American Hardwood Parity, 
petitioner in the underlying investigation, submitted a letter stating 
that it does not object to Lizhong's request that the Department grant 
Youyou successor-in-interest status. As a result, because all parties 
to the proceeding agree to the outcome of the review, the Department 
concluded that expedited action is warranted in this review.\16\ With 
the information provided, we preliminarily find Youyou as the 
successor-in-interest to Lizhong and, as such, that it is entitled to 
Lizhong's cash-deposit rate with respect to entries of subject 
merchandise.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.216(e) and 351.221(c)(3)(ii).
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    Should our final results remain the same as these preliminary 
results, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to assign 
entries of subject merchandise exported by Youyou the antidumping duty 
cash-deposit rate applicable to Lizhong effective the date of 
publication of the final results.

Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may request a 
hearing within 14 days of publication of this notice.\17\ Parties will 
be notified of the time and date of any hearing, if requested. 
Interested parties may submit case briefs and/or written comments not 
later than 14 days after the date of publication of this notice. 
Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals to written comments, which must be 
limited to issues raised in such briefs or comments, may be filed not 
later than 21 days after the date of publication of this notice. 
Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this changed 
circumstances review are requested to submit with each argument (1) a 
statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the argument with an 
electronic version included. Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we 
intend to issue the final results of this changed circumstances review 
no later than 270 days after the date on which this review was 
initiated or within 45 days of publication of these preliminary results 
if all parties agree to our preliminary finding.
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    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.303 for general filing requirements.
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    We are issuing and publishing this initiation and preliminary 
results notice in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.216 and 351.221(c)(3).

    Dated: August 8, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-19412 Filed 8-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P