[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60370-60373]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27405]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-583-853]
Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products From Taiwan:
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review and
Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016-2017
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting an
administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain
crystalline silicon photovoltaic products (solar products) from Taiwan.
The period of review (POR) is February 1, 2016, through January 31,
2017. This administrative review covers 11 exporters of the subject
merchandise, including one mandatory respondent, Motech Industries,
Inc. (Motech). The Department preliminarily determines that Motech made
sales of subject merchandise at less than normal value during the POR.
Additionally, we are rescinding this administrative review with respect
to 23 companies that timely withdrew their requests for administrative
review. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary
results.
DATES: Applicable December 20, 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ariela Garvett or Thomas Martin, AD/
CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3609 or (202)
482-3936, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 8, 2017, the Department notified interested parties of
the opportunity to request an administrative review of orders,
findings, or suspended investigations with anniversaries in February
2017, including the antidumping duty order on solar products from
Taiwan.\1\ On February 28, 2017, SolarWorld Americas Inc. (the
petitioner), as well as various exporters and exporters, requested that
the Department conduct an administrative review of certain exporters
covering the POR. On April 10, 2017, the Department published a notice
initiating an AD administrative review of solar products from Taiwan
covering 34 companies for the POR.\2\
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\1\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative
Review, 82 FR 9709 (February 8, 2017).
\2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 82 FR 17188, 17189 (April 10, 2017)
(Initiation Notice).
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In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that if it limited
the number of respondents for individual examination, it intended to
select respondents based on volume data contained in responses to its
quantity and value (Q&V) questionnaire.\3\ On April 10, 2017, the
Department issued Q&V questionnaires to all 11 companies that appeared
in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for import and
merchandise value.\4\ We received Q&V questionnaire responses from 11
companies \5\ named in the Initiation
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Notice. The remaining 23 companies withdrew their requests for
administrative review, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).
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\3\ Id. at 17189.
\4\ The Department explained in the Initiation Notice that the
units used to measure the imported quantities of solar cells and
solar modules in the CBP data are in ``piece'' units, and it would
not be meaningful to sum the number of imported solar cells and the
number of imported solar modules in attempting to determine the
largest Taiwan exporters of subject merchandise by volume. Id.
Therefore, the Department stated that it would limit the number of
Q&V questionnaires issued based on the import values in CBP data.
Id.
\5\ The 11 companies that submitted a Q&V questionnaire response
include: AU Optronics Corporation, EEPV Corp., Gintech Energy
Corporation, Inventec Solar Energy Corporation, Kyocera Mexicana
S.A. de C.V., Motech Industries, Inc., Neo Solar Power Corporation,
Sino-American Silicon Products Inc., Solartech Energy Corp. group,
TSEC Corporation, and Vina Solar Technology Co., Ltd.
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On May 24, 2017, the Department selected Motech as a mandatory
respondent.\6\ From May 25, 2017, through November 16, 2017, the
Department issued questionnaires to, and received timely responses
from, Motech.\7\ The petitioner commented on these responses between
July 6, July 28, October 3, and October 24, 2017.
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\6\ See memorandum from Thomas Martin, Senior International
Trade Compliance Analyst, Office IV, AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement
and Compliance to Abdelali Elouaradia, Director, Office IV, AD/CVD
Operations, Enforcement and Compliance regarding ``2016-2017
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Certain Crystalline
Silicon Photovoltaic Products from Taiwan: Respondent Selection,''
dated May 24, 2017 (Respondent Selection Memorandum) at 4-5.
\7\ See Letters from Motech to the Department dated June 22,
July 13, September 20, October 3, October 13, November 6, November
13, and November 16, 2017.
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Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), the Department will rescind an
administrative review, in whole or in part, if a party that requested
the review withdraws its request within 90 days of the date of
publication of the notice of initiation of the requested review.
Twenty-three companies \8\ withdrew their respective requests for an
administrative review within 90 days of the date of publication of
Initiation Notice. Accordingly, the Department is rescinding this
review with respect to these 23 companies.
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\8\ Baoding Jiasheng Photovoltaic Technology Co Ltd., Baoding
Tianwei Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd., Beijing Tianneng
Yingli New Energy Resources Co Ltd., Boviet Solar Technology Co.,
Ltd., Canadian Solar Inc., Canadian Solar International, Ltd.,
Canadian Solar Manufacturing (Changshu), Inc., Canadian Solar
Manufacturing (Luoyang), Inc., Canadian Solar Solution Inc., E-TON
Solar Tech. Co., Ltd., Hainan Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.,
Hengshui Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd., Inventec Energy
Corporation., Lixian Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd., Shenzhen
Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd., Sunengine Corporation Ltd.,
Sunrise Global Solar Energy., Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resources
Co., Ltd., Trina Solar (Schweiz) AG., Trina Solar (Singapore)
Science and Technology Pte Ltd., Win Win Precision Technology Co.,
Ltd., Yingli Energy (China) Co., Ltd., and Yingli Green Energy
International Trading Company Limited.
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Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by this order is crystalline silicon
photovoltaic cells, and modules, laminates and/or panels consisting of
crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not partially or
fully assembled into other products, including building integrated
materials.\9\ Merchandise covered by this order is currently classified
in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under
subheadings 8501.61.0000, 8507.20.8030, 8507.20.8040, 8507.20.8060,
8507.20.8090, 8541.40.6020, 8541.40.6030 and 8501.31.8000. These HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the
written description of the scope is dispositive.
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\9\ For a complete description of the scope of the products
under review, see Memorandum from James Maeder, Senior Director,
performing the duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Operations, to Gary Taverman, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, Performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Decision
Memorandum for Preliminary Results of the 2016-2017 Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review of Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic
Products from Taiwan,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted
by this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). The Preliminary
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 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 Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed
directly on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The
signed and electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum are identical in content.
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Methodology
The Department is conducting this review in accordance with section
751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Export price
and constructed export price are calculated in accordance with section
772 of the Act. Normal value is calculated in accordance with section
773 of the Act.
For a full description of the methodology underlying our
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\10\ A list of
topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as
an Appendix to this notice.
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\10\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Preliminary Results of Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the
following weighted-average dumping margins for the period February 1,
2016 through January 31, 2017:
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Weighted-average
Manufacturer/exporter margin (percent)
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Motech Industries, Inc.............................. 1.07
AU Optronics Corporation............................ 1.07
EEPV Corp........................................... 1.07
Gintech Energy Corporation.......................... 1.07
Inventec Solar Energy Corporation................... 1.07
Kyocera Mexicana S.A. de C.V........................ 1.07
Neo Solar Power Corporation......................... 1.07
Sino-American Silicon Products Inc. and Solartech 1.07
Energy Corp........................................
TSEC Corporation.................................... 1.07
Vina Solar Technology Co., Ltd...................... 1.07
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Rate for Companies Not Individually Examined
The statute and the Department's regulations do not address the
establishment of a rate to be applied to respondents not selected for
individual examination when the Department limits its examination of
companies subject to the administrative review pursuant to section
777A(c)(2)(B) of the Act. Generally, the Department looks to section
735(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the
all-others rate in an investigation, for guidance when calculating the
rate for respondents not individually examined in an administrative
review. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act articulates a
[[Page 60372]]
preference for not calculating an all-others rate using rates which are
zero, de minimis or based entirely on facts available (FA).\11\
Accordingly, the Department's usual practice has been to determine the
dumping margin for companies not individually examined by averaging the
weighted-average dumping margins for the individually examined
respondents, excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or based
entirely on facts available.\12\ Consistent with this practice, we
preliminarily calculated a weighted-average dumping margin for Motech
that is above de minimis and not based entirely on FA; therefore, the
Department preliminarily assigns to the non-selected companies the
weighted-average margin calculated for Motech as the non-selected
respondent rate for this review.
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\11\ See Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany,
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Reviews and Rescission of Reviews in Part, 73 FR
52823, 52824 (September 11, 2008), and accompanying Issues and
Decision Memorandum at Comment 16.
\12\ Id.
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Assessment Rates
As noted above, we are rescinding the review with respect to 23
companies that withdrew their requests for an administrative review
within 90 days of the date of publication of the Initiation Notice. As
such, the Department intends to issue appropriate assessment
instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of publication of this
notice for these 23 companies. Antidumping duties shall be assessed at
rates equal to the cash deposit of estimated antidumping duties
required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for
consumption in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i).
Upon completion of the administrative review, the Department shall
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate
entries covered by this review. The Department intends to issue
assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of publication of
the final results of this review.
For any individually examined respondents whose weighted-average
dumping margin is above de minimis (i.e., 0.50 percent), we will
calculate importer-specific ad valorem duty assessment rates based on
the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for the importer's
examined sales to the total entered value of those same sales in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\13\ For entries of subject
merchandise during the POR produced by each respondent for which it did
not know its merchandise was destined for the United States, we will
instruct CBP to liquidate un-reviewed entries at the all-others rate if
there is no rate for the intermediate company involved in the
transaction.\14\ We will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on
all appropriate entries covered by this review when the importer-
specific assessment rate calculated in the final results of this review
is above de minimis. Where either the respondent's weighted-average
dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer-specific
assessment rate is zero or de minimis, we will instruct CBP to
liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to antidumping duties.
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\13\ In these preliminary results, the Department applied the
assessment rate calculation methodology adopted in Antidumping
Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-Average Dumping Margin and
Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping Proceedings: Final
Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012).
\14\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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The final results of this review shall be the basis for the
assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by
the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated
duties, where applicable.
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the notice of final results of administrative review for
all shipments of solar products from Taiwan entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of the
final results of this administrative review, as provided for by section
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) The cash deposit rate for the companies
under review will be the rate established in the final results of this
review (except, if the rate is zero or de minimis, no cash deposit will
be required); (2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers or
exporters not covered in this review but covered in a prior segment of
the proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the company-
specific rate published for the most recently completed segment of this
proceeding in which the manufacturer or exporter participated; (3) if
the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior review, or
the less-than-fair-value investigation, but the manufacturer is, the
cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recently
completed segment of the proceeding for the manufacturer of the
merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other manufacturers
or exporters will continue to be 19.50 percent ad valorem, the all-
others rate established in the less-than-fair-value investigation.\15\
These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect
until further notice.
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\15\ See Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products:
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 79 FR 76966
(December 23, 2014).
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Disclosure and Public Comment
The Department intends to disclose the calculations used in our
analysis to interested parties in this review within five days of the
date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b). Interested parties are invited to comment on the
preliminary results of this review. Pursuant to 19 CFR
351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may submit case briefs no later
than 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed no
later than five days after the time limit for filing case briefs.\16\
Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding
are requested to submit with each brief: (1) A statement of the issue,
(2) a brief summary of the argument, and (3) a table of
authorities.\17\ Executive summaries should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes.\18\ Case and rebuttal briefs should be
filed using ACCESS.\19\
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\16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1).
\17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
\18\ Id.
\19\ See 19 CFR 351.303.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may request a
hearing within 30 days of the publication of this notice in the Federal
Register. If a hearing is requested, the Department will notify
interested parties of the hearing schedule. Interested parties who wish
to request a hearing, or to participate if one is requested, must
submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, filed electronically via ACCESS within 30 days after the
date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) The
party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of
participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues
raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the respective
case and rebuttal briefs.
We intend to issue the final results of this administrative review,
including the results of our analysis of issues raised by the parties
in the written comments, within 120 days of publication of these
preliminary results in the Federal Register, unless otherwise
extended.\20\
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\20\ See section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
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[[Page 60373]]
Notification to Importers
This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply
with this requirement could result in the Department's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of double antidumping duties.
These preliminary results of administrative review are issued and
published in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).
Dated: December 13, 2017.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistance Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
1. Summary
2. Background
3. Scope of the Order
4. Selection of Respondents
5. Affiliation and Collapsing of Affiliates
6. Unexamined Respondents
7. Discussion of Methodology
8. Product Comparisons
9. Date of Sale
10. Export Price
11. Normal Value
12. Revisions to SAS-Solartech's Reported Home Market Sales
13. Cost of Production Analysis
14. Calculation of NV Based on Comparison-Market Prices
15. Currency Conversions
16. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2017-27405 Filed 12-19-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P