[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8405-8408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01635]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION

[C-570-039]


Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica 
Fabric From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative 
Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) determines that 
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters 
of certain amorphous silica fabric (silica fabric) from the People's 
Republic of China (the PRC). For information on the estimated subsidy 
rates, see the ``Final Determination and Suspension of Liquidation'' 
section of this notice.

DATES: Effective January 25, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Maloof or John Corrigan, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-5649 or (202) 482-7438, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Department published the Preliminary Determination on July 5, 
2016.\1\ A summary of the events that occurred since the Department 
published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion 
of the issues raised by parties for this final determination, may be 
found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum \2\ issued concurrently 
with this notice. The Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public 
document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service 
System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the Central 
Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. 
In addition, a complete version of the Issues and Decision Memorandum 
can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The 
signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and the electronic version are 
identical in content.
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    \1\ See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous 
Silica Fabric from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary 
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination with Final 
Antidumping Duty Determination, 81 FR 43579 (July 5, 2016) 
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
    \2\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, from Gary Taverman, ``Issues 
and Decision Memorandum for the Final Determination in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric 
from the People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with this 
determination and hereby adopted by this notice (Issues and Decision 
Memorandum).
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Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation for which we are measuring subsidies is 
January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015.

Scope Comments

    The Department set aside a period of time for parties to address 
scope issues.\3\ We received no scope comments.\4\ In the Preliminary 
Determination, we did not modify the scope language from what appeared 
in the Initiation Notice.\5\ No interested party submitted scope 
comments in case or rebuttal briefs. Therefore, the scope of this 
investigation remains unchanged for this final determination.
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    \3\ See Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric from the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 
81 FR 8909 (February 23, 2016) (Initiation Notice).
    \4\ On March 13, 2016, the Department received a letter dated 
March 7, 2016, from Lewco Specialty Products, Inc. We rejected this 
letter as improperly filed and removed it from the record of this 
proceeding. See Memorandum to the File, ``Re: Request to Take Action 
on Certain Barcodes,'' dated March 18, 2016.
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 81 FR at 8912-13.
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Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is silica fabric from 
the PRC. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix II.

Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by the parties, are discussed in 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues that parties 
raised, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum, is attached to this notice at Appendix I.

Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)

    In making its findings, the Department relied, in part, on facts 
available. For mandatory respondent Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass 
Material Co., Ltd. (Nanjing Tianyuan), we are basing certain 
countervailing duty (CVD) rates on facts otherwise available, pursuant 
to sections 776(a)(2)(C) and (D) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act). Further, because Nanjing Tianyuan did not cooperate to the 
best of its ability in this investigation by not providing necessary 
information requested by the Department, we determine that an adverse 
inference in selecting from the facts available is warranted with 
respect to certain countervailable subsidy programs, pursuant to 
section 776(b) of the Act. The Department has, therefore, relied, in 
part, on AFA in calculating Nanjing Tianyuan's subsidy rates.
    Regarding ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc. 
(collectively, ACIT),\6\ we determine that the application of AFA is 
warranted with regard to the Government of the PRC's (GOC's) provision 
of Export Buyer's Credits and thus determine, as AFA, that ACIT 
benefitted from the Export Buyer's Credit program.
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    \6\ See Preliminary Determination and accompanying Preliminary 
Determination Memorandum at 11 (finding ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT 
(Shanghai) Inc. to be cross-owned).
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    In addition, the Department has applied a total AFA rate to the 48 
companies that failed to respond to the Department's quantity and value 
questionnaire.\7\
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    \7\ See Preliminary Determination at 81 FR 43579-43582.
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    For further information on the Department's application of adverse 
facts available, as summarized above, see the section titled ``Use of 
Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences,'' in the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties, and minor corrections presented at verification, we made 
certain changes to ACIT's and Nanjing Tianyuan's subsidy rate 
calculations since the Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of 
these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum and the Final 
Calculation Memoranda.\8\
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    \8\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum; see also Memorandum to 
the File, ``Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous 
Silica Fabric from the People's Republic of China: ACIT (Pinghu) 
Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc. Final Analysis Memorandum,'' dated 
January 17, 2017 (ACIT's Final Calculation Memorandum); see also 
Memorandum to the File, ``Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass Material Co., 
Ltd. Final Analysis Memorandum,'' dated January 17, 2017 (Nanjing 
Tianyuan's Final Calculation Memorandum).
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Final Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated an individual rate for each producer/

[[Page 8406]]

exporter of the subject merchandise individually investigated, i.e. 
ACIT and Nanjing Tianyuan. In accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A) of 
the Act, for companies not individually investigated, we apply an 
``all-others'' rate, which is normally calculated by weighting the 
subsidy rates of the individual companies selected as mandatory 
respondents by those companies' exports of the subject merchandise to 
the United States. Under section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the ``all-
others'' rate excludes zero and de minimis rates calculated for the 
exporters and producers individually investigated as well as rates 
based entirely on facts otherwise available. Where the rates for the 
individually investigated companies are all zero or de minimis, or 
determined entirely using facts otherwise available, section 
705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act instructs the Department to establish an 
``all-others'' rate using ``any reasonable method.'' Where the 
countervailable subsidy rates for all of the individually investigated 
respondents are zero or de minimis or are based on total AFA, the 
Department's practice, pursuant to 705(c)(5)(A)(ii), is to calculate 
the all others rate based on a simple average of the zero or de minimis 
margins and the margins based on total AFA.
    Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, we have calculated 
the ``all-others'' rate using the subsidy rates of the two individually 
investigated respondents. However, we have not calculated the ``all-
others'' rate by weight-averaging the rates because doing so risks 
disclosure of proprietary information. Therefore, and consistent with 
the Department's practice, for the ``all-others'' rate, we calculated a 
simple average of the two mandatory respondents' subsidy rates.\9\
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    \9\ See, e.g., Countervailing Duty Investigation of Boltless 
Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale from the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Determination and Alignment of Final 
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 80 FR 5089 
(January 30, 2015), unchanged in Boltless Steel Shelving Units 
Prepackaged for Sale from the People's Republic of China: Amended 
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Countervailing Duty Order, 80 FR 64745 (October 24, 2015).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Exporter/producer                        (Percent)
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ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc..............           48.94
Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass Material Co., Ltd...........           79.90
Acmetex Co., Ltd.,*.....................................          165.39
Beijing Great Pack Materials, Co. Ltd.,*                  ..............
Beijing Landingji Engineering Tech Co., Ltd.,*            ..............
Changshu Yaoxing Fiberglass Insulation Products Co.,      ..............
 Ltd.,*
Changzhou Kingze Composite Materials Co., Ltd.,*          ..............
Changzhou Utek Composite Co.,*                            ..............
Chengdu Chang Yuan Shun Co., Ltd.,*                       ..............
China Beihai Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,*                       ..............
China Yangzhou Guo Tai Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,*             ..............
Chongqing Polycomp International Corp.,*                  ..............
Chongqing Yangkai Import & Export Trade Co., Ltd.,*       ..............
Cixi Sunrise Sealing Material Co., Ltd.,*                 ..............
Fujian Minshan Fire-Fighting Co., Ltd.,*                  ..............
Grand Fiberglass Co., Ltd.*                               ..............
Haining Jiete Fiberglass Fabric Co., Ltd.,*               ..............
Hebei Yuniu Fiberglass Manufacturing Co., Ltd.,*          ..............
Hebei Yuyin Trade Co., Ltd.,*                             ..............
Hengshui Aohong International Trading Co., Ltd.,*         ..............
Hitex Insulation (Ningbo) Co., Ltd.,*                     ..............
Mowco Industry Limited,*                                  ..............
Nanjing Debeili New Materials Co., Ltd.,*                 ..............
Ningbo Fitow High Strength Composites Co., Ltd.,*         ..............
Ningbo Universal Star Industry & Trade Limited,*          ..............
Ningguo BST Thermal Protection Products Co., Ltd.,*       ..............
Qingdao Feelongda Industry & Trade Co., Ltd.,*            ..............
Qingdao Shishuo Industry Co., Ltd.,*                      ..............
Rugao City Ouhua Composite Material Co., Ltd.,*           ..............
Rugao Nebola Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,*                       ..............
Shanghai Bonthe Insulative Material Co., Ltd.,*           ..............
Shanghai Horse Construction Co., Ltd.,*                   ..............
Shanghai Liankun Electronics Material Co., Ltd.,*         ..............
Shanghai Suita Environmental Protection Technology Co.,   ..............
 Ltd.,*
Shangqui Huanyu Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,*                    ..............
Shengzhou Top-Tech New Material Co., Ltd.,*               ..............
Shenzhen Songxin Silicone Products Co., Ltd.,*            ..............
Taixing Chuanda Plastic Co., Ltd.,*                       ..............
Taixing Vichen Composite Material Co., Ltd.,*             ..............
TaiZhou Xinxing Fiberglass Products Co., Ltd.,*           ..............
Tenglong Sealing Products Manufactory Yuyao,*             ..............
Texaspro (China) Company,*                                ..............
Wallean Industries Co., Ltd.,*                            ..............
Wuxi First Special-Type Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,*            ..............
Wuxi Xingxiao Hi-Tech Material Co., Ltd.,*                ..............
Yuyao Feida Insulation Sealing Factory,*                  ..............
Yuyao Tianyi Special Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd.,*             ..............
Zibo Irvine Trading Co., Ltd.,*                           ..............
Zibo Yao Xing Fire-Resistant and Heat-Preservation        ..............
 Material Co., Ltd.,*
Zibo Yuntai Furnace Technology Co., Ltd.*                 ..............

[[Page 8407]]

 
All-Others..............................................           64.42
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* Non-cooperative company to which an AFA rate is being applied. See
  Issues and Decision Memorandum and Preliminary Decision Memorandum for
  additional information.

    As a result of our Preliminary Determination, and pursuant to 
sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (2) of the Act, we instructed U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of 
merchandise under consideration from the PRC that were entered or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after July 5, 2016, 
the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal 
Register.
    In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we later issued 
instructions to CBP to discontinue the suspension of liquidation for 
CVD purposes for subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, on or after November 2, 2016, but to continue the suspension 
of liquidation of all entries between July 5, 2016, and November 1, 
2016.
    If the U.S. International Trade Commission (the ITC) issues a final 
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a CVD order, will 
reinstate the suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of the 
Act, and will require a cash deposit of estimated CVDs for such entries 
of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If the ITC 
determines that material injury, or threat of material injury, does not 
exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all estimated duties 
deposited or securities posted as a result of the suspension of 
liquidation will be refunded or canceled.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our determination. In addition, we are making available to the 
ITC all non-privileged and non-proprietary information related to this 
investigation. We will allow the ITC access to all privileged and 
business proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC 
confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or 
under an administrative protective order (APO), without the written 
consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Return or Destruction of Proprietary Information

    In the event the ITC issues a final negative injury determination, 
this notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an APO of 
their responsibility concerning the destruction of proprietary 
information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return or 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 violation subject to sanction.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: January 17, 2017.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary, for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Application of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports from the 
PRC
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Discount Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1: Whether the Department Should Apply AFA to the 
Provision of Fiberglass Yarn for Less Than Adequate Remuneration 
(LTAR)
    Comment 2: Whether the Department Should Incorporate Corrections 
Made to the Fiberglass Cloth Database as Reported by ACIT Pinghu and 
ACIT Shanghai
    Comment 3: Whether the Department Should Apply Partial AFA for 
Failure To Provide a Questionnaire Response for a Former Affiliate 
of ACIT Shanghai
    Comment 4: Whether the Allegation of the Provision of Fiberglass 
Cloth for LTAR is Flawed
    Comment 5: Whether Domestic Chinese Producers of Fiberglass 
Cloth Are Government ``Authorities''
    Comment 6: Whether the Provision of Fiberglass Cloth for LTAR Is 
Specific
    Comment 7: Whether To Use an In-China Benchmark To Measure the 
Adequacy of Remuneration for Fiberglass Cloth
    Comment 8: Whether the Benchmark for the Provision of Fiberglass 
Cloth for LTAR is Flawed
    Comment 9: Whether the Department Should Adjust the Fiberglass 
Cloth Benchmark for a Value-Added Process
    Comment 10: Whether the Department Should Exclude Value-Added 
Tax (VAT) from the Tariff Rate in its Calculations for the 
Electricity for LTAR Program and Exclude VAT from the Calculation 
for the Provision of Fiberglass Cloth for LTAR
    Comment 11: Whether the Department Should Revise the Ocean 
Freight Benchmark
    Comment 12: Whether the Department Should Continue its Use of 
Zeroing with Regard to Calculation of the Benefit of Fiberglass 
Cloth for LTAR
    Comment 13: Whether the Department Should Make Corrections to 
its Subsidy Calculations Regarding the Provision of Fiberglass Cloth 
at LTAR
    Comment 14: Whether the Department Should Exclude Certain World 
Export Prices for Fiberglass Cloth Pertaining to the PRC
    Comment 15: Whether the Department Should Revise the Denominator 
Used To Calculate the Benefit Received by ACIT for the Provision of 
Fiberglass Cloth at LTAR
    Comment 16: Whether the Department Should Find that ACIT and 
Nanjing Tianyuan Benefitted from Export Seller's Credits Because the 
GOC Failed to Provide Evidence of Non-Use at Verification
    Comment 17: Whether the Department Should Find That ACIT and 
Nanjing Tianyuan Benefitted from Export Buyer's Credits
    Comment 18: Whether the Provision of Electricity for LTAR is 
Countervailable
    Comment 19: Whether the GOC Provided Policy Loans to ACIT and 
Nanjing Tianyuan During the Period of Investigation
    Comment 20: Whether the Department Should Apply AFA to the 
Government Provision of Land for LTAR in Special Economic Zones
    Comment 21: Whether the Department Should Calculate the All-
Others Rate Based on the Calculated Rate for ACIT Pinghu and Nanjing 
Tianyuan
    Comment 22: Whether the Department's Investigation of 
Uninitiated Programs Is Unlawful
    Comment 23: Whether the Department's CVD Rates Should Reflect an 
Adjustment for Programs that Have Been Terminated
XI. Recommendation

Appendix II

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is woven (whether from 
yarns or rovings) industrial grade amorphous silica fabric, which 
contains a minimum of 90 percent silica (SiO2) by nominal 
weight, and a nominal width in excess of 8 inches. The investigation 
covers industrial grade amorphous silica fabric regardless of other

[[Page 8408]]

materials contained in the fabric, regardless of whether in roll 
form or cut-to-length, regardless of weight, width (except as noted 
above), or length. The investigation covers industrial grade 
amorphous silica fabric regardless of whether the product is 
approved by a standards testing body (such as being Factory Mutual 
(FM) Approved), or regardless of whether it meets any governmental 
specification.
    Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be produced in 
various colors. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is colored. 
Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be coated or treated 
with materials that include, but are not limited to, oils, 
vermiculite, acrylic latex compound, silicone, aluminized polyester 
(Mylar[supreg]) film, pressure-sensitive adhesive, or other coatings 
and treatments. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is coated or treated, 
and regardless of coating or treatment weight as a percentage of 
total product weight. Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may 
be heat-cleaned. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is heat-cleaned.
    Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be imported in 
rolls or may be cut-to-length and then further fabricated to make 
welding curtains, welding blankets, welding pads, fire blankets, 
fire pads, or fire screens. Regardless of the name, all industrial 
grade amorphous silica fabric that has been further cut-to-length or 
cut-to-width or further finished by finishing the edges and/or 
adding grommets, is included within the scope of this investigation.
    Subject merchandise also includes (1) any industrial grade 
amorphous silica fabric that has been converted into industrial 
grade amorphous silica fabric in China from fiberglass cloth 
produced in a third country; and (2) any industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric that has been further processed in a third country 
prior to export to the United States, including but not limited to 
treating, coating, slitting, cutting to length, cutting to width, 
finishing the edges, adding grommets, or any other processing that 
would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the 
investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the in-
scope industrial grade amorphous silica fabric.
    Excluded from the scope of the investigation is amorphous silica 
fabric that is subjected to controlled shrinkage, which is also 
called ``pre-shrunk'' or ``aerospace grade'' amorphous silica 
fabric. In order to be excluded as a pre-shrunk or aerospace grade 
amorphous silica fabric, the amorphous silica fabric must meet the 
following exclusion criteria: (1) The amorphous silica fabric must 
contain a minimum of 98 percent silica (SiO2) by nominal 
weight; (2) the amorphous silica fabric must have an areal shrinkage 
of 4 percent or less; (3) the amorphous silica fabric must contain 
no coatings or treatments; and (4) the amorphous silica fabric must 
be white in color. For purposes of this scope, ``areal shrinkage'' 
refers to the extent to which a specimen of amorphous silica fabric 
shrinks while subjected to heating at 1800 degrees F for 30 minutes.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN25JA17.090

    Also excluded from the scope are amorphous silica fabric rope 
and tubing (or sleeving). Amorphous silica fabric rope is a knitted 
or braided product made from amorphous silica yarns. Silica tubing 
(or sleeving) is braided into a hollow sleeve from amorphous silica 
yarns.
    The subject imports are normally classified in subheadings 
7019.59.4021, 7019.59.4096, 7019.59.9021, and 7019.59.9096 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), but may 
also enter under HTSUS subheadings 7019.40.4030, 7019.40.4060, 
7019.40.9030, 7019.40.9060, 7019.51.9010, 7019.51.9090, 
7019.52.9010, 7019.52.9021, 7019.52.9096 and 7019.90.1000. HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes only; 
the written description of the scope of this investigation is 
dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2017-01635 Filed 1-24-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P