[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5051-5053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02787]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-980]


Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled 
Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results 
of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review and Intent To Rescind the 
Review, in Part; 2016

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that producers and/or exporters subject to this administrative review 
received countervailable subsidies. Interested parties are invited to 
comment on these preliminary results of review.

DATES: Applicable February 20, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gene H. Calvert, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3586.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On February 23, 2018, Commerce initiated the administrative review 
of the countervailing duty order on crystalline silicon photovoltaic 
cells, whether or not assembled into modules (solar cells) from the 
People's Republic of China (China).\1\ The period of review is January 
1, 2016, through December 31, 2016.
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 37 (February 23, 2018).
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    On January 23, 2018, Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all 
deadlines affected by the duration of the closure of the Federal 
Government from January 20 through January 22, 2018.\2\ As a result, 
all deadlines in this segment of the proceeding were, at that time, 
extended by three days.
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    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the 
Federal Government,'' dated January 23, 2018.
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    In addition, Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all 
deadlines affected by the partial federal government closure from 
December 22, 2018, through the resumption of operations on January 29, 
2019.\3\ If the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance 
with Commerce's practice, the deadline will become the next business 
day. The revised deadline for these preliminary results is now February 
12, 2019.
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    \3\ See Memorandum to the Record from 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, ``Deadlines 
Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated 
January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding 
have been extended by 40 days.
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the countervailing duty order are 
crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, and modules, laminates, and 
panels, consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether 
or not partially or fully assembled into other products, including, but 
not limited to, modules, laminates, panels, and building integrated 
materials. For a complete description of the scope of this 
administrative review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 
Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled 
Into Modules, from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance 
with section 751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Act). For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we 
preliminarily find that there is a subsidy, (i.e., a financial 
contribution from an authority that gives rise to a benefit to the 
recipient) and that the subsidy is specific.\5\ In making this 
preliminary determination, Commerce relied, in part, on facts otherwise 
available, with the application of adverse inferences.\6\ For further 
information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of 
Adverse Inferences'' in the accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum. A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is provided at Appendix I to this notice.
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    \5\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
    \6\ See section 776(a) of the Act.
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    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 
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 at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum and the electronic version of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Intent To Rescind Administrative Review, in Part

    BYD (Shangluo) Industrial Co., Ltd. (BYD Shangluo) timely filed a 
no-shipments certification.\7\ Because no evidence on the record 
contradicts this certification, we preliminarily intend to rescind this 
administrative review with regard to BYD Shangluo. A final decision on 
whether to rescind the review with respect to BYD Shangluo will be made 
in the final results of this review.
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    \7\ See Letter from BYD Shangluo, ``Crystalline Silicon 
Photovoltaic Cells, Whether Or Not Assembled Into Modules, from the 
People's Republic of China: No Shipment Statement from BYD 
(Shangluo) Industrial Co., Ltd.,'' dated March 26, 2018.
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Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily determine the net countervailable subsidy rates 
for the period January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2016, are as 
follows:

[[Page 5052]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
                                                               (percent)
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Canadian Solar Inc. and Cross-Owned Affiliates \8\..........       16.46
Jinko Solar Import and Export Co., Ltd. and Cross-Owned            16.29
 Affiliates \9\.............................................
Non-Selected Companies Under Review \10\....................       16.30
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Preliminary Rate for Non-Selected Companies Under Review
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    \8\ Cross-owned affiliates are: Canadian Solar Inc.; Canadian 
Solar Manufacturing (Luoyang) Inc.; Canadian Solar Manufacturing 
(Changshu) Inc.; CSI Cells Co., Ltd.; CSI Solar Power (China) Inc. 
(name was changed to CSI Solar Power Group Co., Ltd. in December 
2016); CSI Solartronics (Changshu) Co., Ltd.; CSI Solar Technologies 
Inc.; CSI New Energy Holding Co., Ltd. (name was CSI Solar 
Manufacture Inc. until July 2015); CSI-GCL Solar Manufacturing 
(Yancheng) Co., Ltd.; Changshu Tegu New Materials Technology Co., 
Ltd.; Changshu Tlian Co., Ltd.; and Suzhou Sanysolar Materials 
Technology Co., Ltd. See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \9\ Cross-owned affiliates are: Jinko Solar Import and Export 
Co., Ltd.; Jinko Solar Co., Ltd.; Zhejiang Jinko Solar Co., Ltd.; 
Jinko Solar (Shanghai) Management Co., Ltd.; Jiangxi Jinko 
Photovoltaic Materials Co., Ltd.; and Xinjiang Jinko Solar Co., Ltd. 
See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \10\ See Appendix II of this notice for a list of all companies 
that remain under review but were not selected for individual 
examination, and to whom we have preliminarily assigned the non-
selected company rate.
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    The statute and Commerce's regulations do not directly address the 
establishment of rates to be applied to companies not selected for 
individual examination where Commerce limits its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(e)(2) of the Act. 
However, Commerce normally determines the rates for non-selected 
companies in reviews in a manner that is consistent with section 
705(c)(5) of the Act, which provides instructions for calculating the 
all-others rate in an investigation. Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act 
instructs Commerce, as a general rule, to calculate an all others rate 
using the weighted average of the subsidy weights established for the 
producers/exporters individually examined, excluding any zero, de 
minimis, or rates based entirely on facts available. For the companies 
for which a review was requested that were not selected as mandatory 
company respondents, and for which we did not receive a timely request 
for withdrawal of review, and for which we are not finding to be cross-
owned with the mandatory company respondents, we based the subsidy rate 
on a weighted-average of the subsidy rates calculated for the two 
mandatory respondents, Canadian Solar Inc. and Jinko Solar Import and 
Export Co., Ltd. using their publicly-ranged sales data for exports of 
subject merchandise to the United States during the POR. A list of 
these non-selected companies can be found in Appendix II of notice.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce will disclose to parties to this proceeding the 
calculations performed in reaching the preliminary results within five 
days of the date of publication of these preliminary results.\11\ 
Interested parties may submit written comments (case briefs) at a date 
to be determined by Commerce and rebuttal comments (rebuttal briefs) 
within five days after the time limit for filing case briefs.\12\ 
Rebuttal briefs must be limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs.\13\ Commerce will notify interested parties when it has 
determined a deadline for case briefs. Parties who submit case or 
rebuttal briefs are requested to submit with the argument: (1) A 
statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a 
table of authorities.\14\
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(l)(ii) and 351.309(d)(l). Interested 
parties will be notified through ACCESS regarding the deadline for 
submitting case briefs.
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2).
    \14\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must do so within 
30 days of publication of these preliminary results by submitting a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, using Enforcement and 
Compliance's ACCESS system.\15\ Hearing requests should contain the 
party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request 
for a hearing is made, we will inform parties of the scheduled date for 
the hearing, which will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 
1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time and 
location to be determined.\16\ Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing. Issues addressed at the 
hearing will be limited to those raised in the briefs.\17\ All briefs 
and hearing requests must be filed electronically and received 
successfully in their entirety through ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time 
by their respective deadlines.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.310.
    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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    Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of 
the Act, Commerce intends to issue the final results of this 
administrative review, including the results of our analysis of the 
issues raised by the parties in their comments, within 120 days after 
publication of these preliminary results.

Assessment Rates and Cash Deposit Requirement

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4)(i), we assigned a subsidy 
rate for each producer/exporter subject to this administrative review. 
Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce shall determine, and U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, countervailing duties 
on all appropriate entries covered by this review. We intend to issue 
instructions to CBP 15 days after publication of the final results of 
review. For companies for which this review is rescinded, Commerce will 
instruct CBP to assess countervailing duties on all appropriate entries 
at a rate equal to the cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties 
required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for 
consumption, during the period January 1, 2016, through December 31, 
2016, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i). Commerce intends to 
issue appropriate assessment instructions directly to CBP 15 days after 
publication of this notice.
    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce also intends 
to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing 
duties, in the amounts shown above for each of the respective companies 
shown above, on shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of 
the final results of this review. For all non-reviewed firms, we will 
instruct CBP to continue to collect cash deposits at the most-recent 
company-specific or all-others rate applicable to the company, as 
appropriate. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Interested Parties

    Commerce is issuing and publishing results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(l) and 777(i)(l) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213 and 
351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: February 12, 2019.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Intent To Rescind the 2016 Administrative Review, In Part
IV. Non-Selected Companies Under Review
V. Scope of the Order
VI. Application of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports From China
VII. Diversification of China's Economy
VIII. Subsidies Valuation

[[Page 5053]]

IX. Interest Rate Benchmarks, Discount Rates, Inputs, Electricity, 
and Land Benchmarks
X. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
XI. Analysis of Programs
XII. Verification
XIII. Disclosure and Public Comment
XIV. Conclusion

Appendix II

Non-Selected Companies Under Review

1. Baoding Jiasheng Photovoltaic Technology Co., Ltd.
2. Baoding Tianwei Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.
3. Beijing Tianneng Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.
4. Canadian Solar (USA) Inc.
5. Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Co., Ltd.
6. Changzhou Trina Solar Yabang Energy Co., Ltd.
7. Chint Solar (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd.
8. Dongguan Sunworth Solar Energy Co., Ltd.
9. ERA Solar Co. Limited
10. ET Solar Energy Limited
11. Hainan Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.
12. Hangzhou Sunny Energy Science and Technology Co., Ltd.
13. Hengdian Group DMEGC Magnetics Co., Ltd.
14. Hengshui Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.
15. JA Solar Technology Yangzhou Co., Ltd.
16. JA Technology Yangzhou Co., Ltd.
17. Jiangsu High Hope Int'l Group
18. Jiawei Solarchina (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
19. Jiawei Solarchina Co., Ltd.
20. JingAo Solar Co., Ltd.
21. Jinko Solar (U.S.) Inc.
22. Jinko Solar International Limited
23. Lightway Green New Energy Co., Ltd.
24. Lixian Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.
25. Luoyang Suntech Power Co., Ltd.
26. Nice Sun PV Co., Ltd.
27. Ningbo Qixin Solar Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd.
28. Risen Energy Co., Ltd.
29. Shanghai BYD Co., Ltd.
30. Shanghai JA Solar Technology Co., Ltd.
31. Shenzhen Glory Industries Co., Ltd.
32. Shenzhen Topray Solar Co., Ltd.
33. Sumec Hardware & Tools Co., Ltd.
34. Systemes Versilis, Inc.
35. Taizhou BD Trade Co., Ltd.
36. tenKsolar (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
37. Tianjin Yingli New Energy Resources Co., Ltd.
38. Toenergy Technology Hangzhou Co., Ltd.
39. Trina Solar (Changzhou) Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
40. Wuxi Suntech Power Co., Ltd.
41. Yancheng Trina Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd.
42. Yingli Energy (China) Co., Ltd.
43. Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited
44. Yingli Green Energy International Trading Company Limited
45. Zhejiang Era Solar Technology Co., Ltd.
46. Zhejiang Sunflower Light Energy Science & Technology Limited 
Liability Company

[FR Doc. 2019-02787 Filed 2-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P