[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 77 (Monday, April 22, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16643-16646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08005]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-090]


Certain Steel Wheels 12 to 16.5 Inches in Diameter From the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, and Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Critical Circumstances

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain steel wheels 12 to 16.5 inches in diameter (certain steel 
wheels) from the People's Republic of China (China) are being sold in 
the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of 
investigation (POI) is January 1, 2018, through June 30, 2018. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable April 22, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyle Clahane or Charles Doss, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5449 or (202) 482-4474, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). We published 
the notice of initiation of this investigation on September 5, 2018.\1\ 
We exercised our 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.\2\ On February 6, 2019, 
we postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and 
the revised deadline is now April 15, 2019.\3\ For a complete 
description of the events that followed the initiation of this 
investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ A list of 
topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as 
Appendix II to this notice. 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 
https://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/. The signed 
and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are 
identical in content.
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    \1\ See Certain Steel Wheels 12 to 16.5 Inches in Diameter from 
the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation, 83 FR 45095 (September 5, 2018) (Initiation Notice) 
and accompanying Initiation Checklist.
    \2\ See memorandum, ``Deadlines Affected by the Partial Shutdown 
of the Federal Government,'' dated January 28, 2019.
    \3\ See Certain Steel Wheels 12 to 16.5 Inches in Diameter from 
the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 84 FR 2169 
(February 6, 2019).
    \4\ See memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less Than Fair Value Investigation of Certain 
Steel Wheels 12 to 16.5 Inches in Diameter from the People's 
Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 
this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain steel wheels 
12 to 16.5 inches in diameter from China. For a complete description of 
the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\5\ the 
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise 
issues regarding product

[[Page 16644]]

coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ Certain interested parties commented on the 
scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. For 
a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses 
submitted to the record for this investigation, and accompanying 
discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\7\ We are preliminarily 
modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. 
See the revised scope in Appendix I to this notice.
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    \5\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \6\ See Initiation Notice.
    \7\ See memorandum, ``Certain Steel Wheels 12 to 16.5 Inches in 
Diameter from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted 
by, this notice (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    We are conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 
of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act, we have 
preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with adverse 
inferences (AFA), for the China-wide entity, including each of the 
companies selected for individual examination: Xiamen Sunrise Wheel 
Group Co., Ltd. (Sunrise), Xingmin Intelligent Transportation System 
Co., Ltd. (Xingmin), and Zhejiang Jingu Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang Jingu). As 
AFA, we have assigned the highest margin alleged in the Petition of 
44.35 percent.\8\
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    \8\ See the petitioner's letter, ``Petitions for the Imposition 
of Antidumping Duties and Countervailing Duties on Imports of 
Certain Steel Wheels 12-16.5 Inches in Diameter from the People's 
Republic of China,'' dated August 8, 2018 (the Petition). We 
adjusted the Petition rate when we initiated this investigation. See 
Initiation Checklist at Attachment V.
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    We preliminarily find a single entity, Changzhou Chungang Machinery 
Co., Ltd. (Chungang Machinery), which was not selected for individual 
examination in this investigation, to have demonstrated eligibity for a 
separate rate. However, because none of the mandatory respondents are 
receiving a separate rate and we are determining the China-wide rate 
based on AFA, we look to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act for guidance 
and are, consistent with that provision, using ``any reasonable 
method'' to determine the rate for exporters that are not being 
individually examined and found to be entitled to a separate rate. As 
``any reasonable method,'' we find it appropriate to assign the simple 
average of the Petition rates (i.e., 38.27 percent) \9\ to Chungang 
Machinery, the separate rate applicant not individually examined.\10\
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    \9\ Id. The invidivdual Petition rates, as recalculated in the 
Initiation Checklist, were 44.35, 37.24, 43.12, 42.28, 37.32, 30.48, 
36.11, and 35.27 percent. The simple average of these margins is 
38.27 percent.
    \10\ See, e.g., Carton-Closing Staples From the People's 
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value, 83 FR 13236 (March 28, 2018) and accompanying 
Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 3 (citing, e.g., 
Galvanized Steel Wire from the People's Republic of China: Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 77 FR 17430 (March 
26, 2012)).
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    For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's 
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    In accordance with section 733(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, 
Commerce preliminarily determines that critical circumstances exist 
with respect to imports of certain steel wheels from China for Chungang 
Machinery, the company eligible for a separate rate, and the China-wide 
entity. For a full description of the methodology and results of 
Commerce's critical circumstances analysis, see the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\11\ Commerce stated that it would 
calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that 
are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 
05.1 describes this practice.\12\
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    \11\ See Initiation Notice at 83 FR 45099.
    \12\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' dated April 5, 2005 (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available 
on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist.

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                                                                               Estimated      Cash deposit  rate
                                                                           weighted-average     (adjusted  for
                Producer                             Exporter               dumping margin     subsidy  offsets)
                                                                               (percent)           (percent)
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Changzhou Chungang Machinery Co., Ltd..  Changzhou Chungang Machinery                  38.27               37.65
                                          Co., Ltd.
China-Wide Entity......................  ...............................               44.35               43.73
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation 
section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or 
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, 
as discussed below. Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash 
deposit equal to the weighted-average amount by which normal value 
exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the chart above as follows: (1) For 
the producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the cash 
deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin 
listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of 
Chinese producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that 
have not established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash 
deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin established for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all third-
country exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the 
table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable 
to the Chinese producer/exporter combination (or the China-wide entity) 
that supplied that third-country exporter.
    Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative 
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to unliquidated entries of merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of (a) 
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of 
liquidation was first ordered, or (b) the date on which notice of 
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce preliminarily 
finds that critical circumstances exist for imports of subject 
merchandise from the following

[[Page 16645]]

producer/exporter combinations: Chungang Machinery, the company 
eligible for a separate rate, and the China-wide entity. In accordance 
with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation 
shall apply to all unliquidated entries of merchandise from the 
producer/exporter combinations identified in this paragraph that were 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
date which is 90 days before the publication of this notice.
    To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic 
subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion 
countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding when CVD provisional measures are 
in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce has made a preliminary 
affirmative determination for domestic subsidy pass-through or export 
subsidies, Commerce has offset the calculated estimated weighted-
average dumping margin by the appropriate rate(s). Any such adjusted 
rates may be found in the ``Preliminary Determination'' section's chart 
of estimated weighted-average dumping margins above.
    Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation 
expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV 
investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting cash 
deposits at a rate equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margins calculated in this preliminary determination unadjusted for the 
passed-through domestic subsidies or for export subsidies at the time 
the CVD provisional measures expire.
    These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect 
until further notice.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce 
preliminarily applied AFA to the mandatory respondents in this 
investigation in accordance with section 776 of the Act, and the 
applied AFA rate is based solely on the Petition, and the rate assigned 
to the separate rate company was a simple average of the Petition 
rates, there are no calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not 
provide information requested by Commerce and Commerce preliminarily 
determines each of the mandatory respondents to have been 
uncooperative, verification will not be conducted.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination, 
unless the Secretary alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to 
issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days 
after the deadline date for case briefs.\13\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each 
argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the 
argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.

Final Determination

    Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the 
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make 
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date 
of this preliminary determination.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary 
determination of sales at LTFV. If the final determination is 
affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after 
the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final 
determination whether imports of the subject merchandise are materially 
injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: April 15, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation is certain on-the-road steel 
wheels, discs, and rims for tubeless tires with a nominal wheel 
diameter of 12 inches to 16.5 inches, regardless of width. Certain 
on-the-road steel wheels with a nominal wheel diameter of 12 inches 
to 16.5 inches within the scope are generally for road and highway 
trailers and other towable equipment, including, inter alia, utility 
trailers, cargo trailers, horse trailers, boat trailers, 
recreational trailers, and towable mobile homes. The standard widths 
of certain on-the-road steel wheels are 4 inches, 4.5 inches, 5 
inches, 5.5 inches, 6 inches, and 6.5 inches, but all certain on-
the-road steel wheels, regardless of width, are covered by the 
scope.
    The scope includes rims and discs for certain on-the-road steel 
wheels, whether imported as an assembly, unassembled, or separately. 
The scope includes certain on-the-road steel wheels regardless of 
steel composition, whether cladded or not cladded, whether finished 
or not finished, and whether coated or uncoated. The scope also 
includes certain on-the-road steel wheels with discs in either a 
``hub-piloted'' or ``stud-piloted'' mounting configuration, though 
the stud-piloted configuration is most common in the size range 
covered.
    All on-the-road wheels sold in the United States must meet 
Standard 110 or 120 of the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration's (NHTSA) Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, 
which requires a rim marking, such as the ``DOT'' symbol, indicating 
compliance with applicable motor vehicle standards. See 49 CFR 
571.110 and 571.120. The scope includes certain on-the-road steel 
wheels imported with or without NHTSA's required markings.
    Certain on-the-road steel wheels imported as an assembly with a 
tire mounted on the wheel and/or with a valve stem or rims

[[Page 16646]]

imported as an assembly with a tire mounted on the rim and/or with a 
valve stem are included in the scope of this investigation. However, 
if the steel wheels or rims are imported as an assembly with a tire 
mounted on the wheel or rim and/or with a valve stem attached, the 
tire and/or valve stem is not covered by the scope.
    The scope includes rims, discs, and wheels that have been 
further processed in a third country, including, but not limited to, 
the painting of wheels from China and the welding and painting of 
rims and discs from China to form a steel wheel, or any other 
processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the 
scope of the investigations if performed in China.
    Excluded from this scope are the following: (1) Steel wheels for 
use with tube-type tires; such tires use multi piece rims, which are 
two-piece and three-piece assemblies and require the use of an inner 
tube; (2) aluminum wheels; (3) certain on-the-road steel wheels that 
are coated entirely in chrome; (4) steel wheels that do not meet 
Standard 110 or 120 of the NHTSA's requirements other than the rim 
marking requirements found in 49 CFR 571.110S4.4.2 and 571.120S5.2; 
(5) steel wheels that meet the following specifications: steel 
wheels with a nominal wheel diameter ranging from 15 inches to 16. 5 
inches, with a rim width of 8 inches or greater, and a wheel 
backspacing ranging from 3. 75 inches to 5.5 inches; and (6) steel 
wheels with wire spokes.
    Certain on-the-road steel wheels subject to this investigation 
are properly classifiable under the following category of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS): 
8716.90.5035 which covers the exact product covered by the scope 
whether entered as an assembled wheel or in components. Certain on-
the-road steel wheels entered with a tire mounted on them may be 
entered under HTSUS 8716.90.5059 (Trailers and semi-trailers; other 
vehicles, not mechanically propelled, parts, wheels, other, wheels 
with other tires) (a category that will be broader than what is 
covered by the scope). While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
subject merchandise is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances
VII. Discussion of the Methodology
    A. Non-Market Economy Country
    B. Separate Rates
    i. Absence of De Jure control
    ii. Absence of De Facto control
    iii. Separate Rate Margin
    C. China-Wide Entity
    D. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences
    i. Application of Facts Available
    ii. Application of AFA
    iii. Selection and Corroboration of the AFA Rate
VIII. Adjustment Under Section 777(A)(f) of the Act
IX. Adjustments To Cash Deposit Rates For Export Subsidies
X. Verification
XI. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2019-08005 Filed 4-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P