[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61252-61254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27875]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-122-860]


100- to 150-Seat Large Civil Aircraft From Canada: Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty 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 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft (aircraft) from Canada. The 
period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2016, through December 31, 
2016. For information on the estimated subsidy

[[Page 61253]]

rates, see the ``Final Determination'' section of this notice.

DATES: Applicable December 27, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Medley or Ross Belliveau, AD/
CVD Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4987, or (202) 
482-4952, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The petitioner in this investigation is The Boeing Company. In 
addition to the Governments of Canada, Quebec and the United Kingdom, 
the mandatory respondent in this investigation is Bombardier Inc. 
(Bombardier).
    The events that occurred since the Department published the 
Preliminary Determination \1\ on October 2, 2017, are discussed in the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum, which is hereby adopted by this 
notice.\2\ The Issues and Decision Memorandum also details the changes 
we made since the Preliminary Determination to the subsidy rates 
calculated for the mandatory respondent and all other producers/
exporters. 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/index.html. The signed Issues and 
Decision Memorandum and the electronic version of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \1\ See 100- to 150-Seat Large Civil Aircraft from Canada: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination, 82 FR 45807 (October 2, 2017) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ See Memorandum from James P. Maeder, Senior Director 
performing the duties of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations, to P. Lee Smith, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations performing 
the duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, entitled, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Final 
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of 100- to 
15-Seat Large Civil Aircraft from Canada,'' dated concurrently with 
this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of the investigation is aircraft from Canada. For a 
complete description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix I.

Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received

    The subsidy programs under investigation and the issues raised in 
the case and rebuttal briefs by parties in this investigation 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 as Appendix II.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act), during September and October 2017, the Department verified 
the subsidy information reported by the Governments of Canada, Quebec 
and the United Kingdom, and Bombardier. We used standard verification 
procedures, including an examination of relevant accounting records and 
original source documents provided by the respondents.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses 
of Caisse de d[eacute]p[ocirc]t et placement du Qu[eacute]bec (CDPQ, 
or Caisse),'' dated October 17, 2017; Memorandum ``Verification of 
the Questionnaire Responses of the Government of Canada (GOC),'' 
dated October 23, 2017; Memorandum ``Verification of the 
Questionnaire Responses of Bombardier, Inc. Pertaining to Short 
Brothers PLC,'' dated November 1, 2017; Memorandum ``Verification of 
the Questionnaire Responses of the Government of Qu[eacute]bec 
(GOQ),'' dated November 3, 2017; Memorandum ``Verification of the 
Questionnaire Responses of the Government of the United Kingdom,'' 
dated November 3, 2017; and Memorandum ``Verification of the 
Questionnaire Responses of Bombardier, Inc. and the C Series 
Aircraft Limited Partnership,'' dated November 7, 2017.
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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 Bombardier's subsidy rate calculations since the 
Preliminary Determination. As a result of these changes, the Department 
has also revised the ``all-others'' rate. For a discussion of these 
changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum and the Final Analysis 
Memorandum.\4\
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    \4\ See Memorandum ``Countervailing Duty Investigation of 100- 
to 150-Seat Large Civil Aircraft from Canada: Final Determination 
Calculation Memorandum for Bombardier, Inc. and the C Series 
Aircraft Limited Partnership,'' dated concurrently with this notice 
(Final Analysis Memorandum).
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Final Determination

    In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, we 
calculated a rate for Bombardier (the only individually investigated 
exporter/producer of subject merchandise). Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of 
the Act states that, for companies not individually investigated, we 
will determine an ``all others'' rate equal to the weighted-average 
countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and producers 
individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis 
countervailable subsidy rates, and any rates determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act. Where the rates for investigated companies are 
zero or de minimis, or based entirely on 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.''
    Because the only individually calculated rate is not zero, de 
minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available, in accordance 
with 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the rate calculated for Bombardier is 
assigned as the all-others rate. We determine the total estimated net 
countervailable subsidy rates to be:
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    \5\ The Department found the following companies to be cross-
owned with Bombardier: C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership; Short 
Brothers PLC (Shorts); and BT (Investment) UK Limited. Additionally, 
the Department found that Bombardier and Short Brothers PLC comprise 
an international consortium within the meaning of section 701(d) of 
the Act.

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                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
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Bombardier, Inc. \5\....................................          212.39
All-Others..............................................          212.39
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Disclosure

    The Department will disclose the calculations performed within five 
days of the date of publication of this notice to parties in this 
proceeding in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we will instruct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend liquidation 
of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, on or 
after October 2, 2017, the date of publication of the Preliminary 
Determination.

International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our

[[Page 61254]]

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.
    Because the final determination in this proceeding is affirmative, 
in accordance with section 705(b) of the Act, the ITC will make its 
final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the United 
States is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by 
reason of imports of aircraft from Canada no later than 45 days after 
our final determination. If the ITC determines that material injury or 
threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be 
terminated and all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC 
determines that such injury does exist, the Department will issue a CVD 
order directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by the 
Department, countervailing duties on all imports of the subject 
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed 
above in the ``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury 
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties 
subject to the 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/
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 which is subject to sanction.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act.

    Dated: December 18, 2017.
P. Lee Smith,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations performing the 
duties of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is aircraft, 
regardless of seating configuration, that have a standard 100- to 
150-seat two-class seating capacity and a minimum 2,900 nautical 
mile range, as these terms are defined below.
    ``Standard 100- to 150-seat two-class seating capacity'' refers 
to the capacity to accommodate 100 to 150 passengers, when eight 
passenger seats are configured for a 36-inch pitch, and the 
remaining passenger seats are configured for a 32-inch pitch. 
``Pitch'' is the distance between a point on one seat and the same 
point on the seat in front of it.
    ``Standard 100- to 150-seat two-class seating capacity'' does 
not delineate the number of seats actually in a subject aircraft or 
the actual seating configuration of a subject aircraft. Thus, the 
number of seats actually in a subject aircraft may be below 100 or 
exceed 150.
    A ``minimum 2,900 nautical mile range'' means:
    (i) Able to transport between 100 and 150 passengers and their 
luggage on routes equal to or longer than 2,900 nautical miles; or
    (ii) covered by a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 
type certificate or supplemental type certificate that also covers 
other aircraft with a minimum 2,900 nautical mile range.
    The scope includes all aircraft covered by the description 
above, regardless of whether they enter the United States fully or 
partially assembled, and regardless of whether, at the time of entry 
into the United States, they are approved for use by the FAA.
    The merchandise covered by this investigation is currently 
classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) subheading 8802.40.0040. The merchandise may alternatively 
be classifiable under HTSUS subheading 8802.40.0090. Although these 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, 
the written description of the scope of the investigation is 
dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

Summary
Background
    Case History
    Period of Investigation
    Scope of the Investigation
I. Scope Comments
Subsidies Valuation Information
    A. Allocation Period
    B. Attribution of Subsidies
    C. Denominators
    D. Creditworthiness
    E. Equityworthiness
    F. Loan Benchmarks and Interest Rates
Analysis of Programs
    A. Programs Determined To Be Countervailable
    B. Programs Determined Not to Provide Countervailable Benefits 
During the POI
    C. Programs Determined Not To Be Used During the POI
    D. Programs Determined To Be Not Countervailable
Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1: Countervailability of the CDPQ Equity Infusion
    Comment 2: Whether CDPQ Is an Authority
    Comment 3: Whether the Department Should Accept the Petitioner's 
Rebuttal Factual Information Regarding the CDPQ Verification Report
    Comment 4: Equityworthiness of IQ's Investment in CSALP
    Comment 5: Whether To Revise the Calculation of the IQ Equity 
Infusion
    Comment 6: Whether the International Consortia Provision of the 
Act Applies to This Investigation
    Comment 7: Creditworthiness of Bombardier, Shorts, and the C 
Series Program
    Comment 8: Whether the U.K. Launch Aid Provides a Market Rate of 
Return
    Comment 9: Analyzing the U.K. Launch Aid Separately From the GOC 
and GOQ Launch Aid
    Comment 10: The Appropriate Denominator for the GOC Launch Aid
    Comment 11: Capping the Launch Aid Benefit Amounts
    Comment 12: The Appropriate Benchmark for the U.K., GOC, and GOQ 
Launch Aid
    Comment 13: Whether To Adjust the Benefit Streams for the U.K., 
GOC, and GOQ Launch Aid
    Comment 14: The Appropriate Benchmark for the Land Provided at 
Mirabel for LTAR
    Comment 15: Whether ADM Is an Authority
    Comment 16: Emploi-Qu[eacute]bec Grants: Specificity and Benefit 
Calculation
    Comment 17: Whether the GOQ and GOC SR&ED Tax Credits Are 
Countervailable
    Comment 18: Bombardier's Federal SR&ED Tax Credit
    Comment 19: Specificity and Benefits of U.K. Tax Credits
    Comment 20: Specificity of INI, Resource Efficiency, Innovate UK 
and ATI Grants
    Comment 21: Removal of the Nautical Mile Range Criterion
    Comment 22: Revision of the Seating Capacity
    Comment 23: Bombardier-Airbus Transaction
Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2017-27875 Filed 12-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P