[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 198 (Friday, October 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54844-54846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22310]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-052]


Certain Hardwood Plywood Products From the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review 
and Rescission of Review, in Part; 2017-2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and/or 
exporters subject to this administrative review during the period of 
review (POR), April 25, 2017 through December 31, 2018. Interested 
parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results of review.


DATES: Applicable October 11, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Annathea Cook, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-0250.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 1, 2019, Commerce published the notices of initiation of 
the administrative review of the countervailing duty (CVD) order \1\ on 
certain hardwood plywood products (hardwood plywood) from the People's 
Republic of China (China ).\2\ On May 2, 2019, Commerce published a 
correction of the original Initiation Notice to include additional 
companies for which a review had been requested.\3\ Pursuant to the 
Initiation Notice and Corrected Initiation Notice, we initiated a 
review on 59 companies.
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    \1\ See Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 83 FR 513 (January 4, 
2018) (Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 12200 (April 1, 2019) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 18777 (May 2, 2019) (Corrected 
Initiation Notice).
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    On August 27, 2019, based on timely requests for withdrawal of 
administrative review, Commerce partially rescinded the administrative 
review for 47 entities. \4\ In addition to the companies for which we 
rescinded the review in the Rescission Notice, we are, concurrent with 
these preliminary results, also rescinding the review with respect to 
Linyi Celtic, whose requests for review were also timely withdrawn. In 
addition, as described further below, Commerce is preliminarily 
rescinding the review with respect to nine additional companies for 
which CBP data showed no reviewable entries, leaving 2 companies 
subject to the administrative review.\5\
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    \4\ See Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Partial Rescission of 2017-2018 Countervailing 
Duty Administrative Review, 84 FR 44853 (August 27, 2019) (Partial 
Rescission Notice).
    \5\ See DeKieffer & Horgan, PPLC's Letter, ``Hardwood Plywood 
Products from the People's Republic of China: Withdrawal of Request 
for Administrative Review,'' dated June 25, 2019; see also Richmond 
International Forest Products LLC's Letter, ``Administrative Review 
of the Countervailing Duty on Plywood Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Withdrawal of Request for Review and Correction 
to June 21 Submission,'' dated July 1, 2019.
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    From June 24, 2019 to August 15, 2019, Commerce selected Linyi 
Dahua Wood Co., Ltd. (Linyi Dahua); Zhejiang Dehua TB Import & Export 
Co., Ltd (Zhejiang Dehua) and Jiangsu High Hope Arser Co., Ltd. (High 
Hope), as mandatory respondents.\6\ For a complete description of the 
events that followed the initiation of this administrative review, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\7\
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Countervailing Duty Administrative Review 
of Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's Republic of 
China: Respondent Selection,'' dated June 24, 2019; see also 
Memorandum, ``Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of Certain 
Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's Republic of China: 
Replacement Respondent Selection,'' dated July 18, 2019; and 
Memorandum, ``Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of Certain 
Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's Republic of China: 
Second Replacement Respondent Selection,'' dated August 15, 2019. 
The review request for Linyi Dahua was subsequently withdrawn and it 
was included in the Partial Rescission Notice.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review: Certain 
Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's Republic of China; 2017-
2018,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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    The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on 
file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's AD 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 
Commerce building. In addition, a complete

[[Page 54845]]

version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
on the internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. A list of topics 
included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included at the 
Appendix to this notice.

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise subject to this order is hardwood and decorative 
plywood, and certain veneered panels. For the purposes of this 
proceeding, hardwood and decorative plywood are described as a 
generally flat, multilayered plywood or other veneered panel, 
consisting of two or more layers of plies of wood veneers and a core, 
with the face and/or back veneer made of non-coniferous wood (hardwood) 
or bamboo. For a complete description of the scope of the Order, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

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 a full description of the methodology underlying our 
preliminary results of review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, 
on facts available and, because it finds that two companies selected as 
mandatory respondents for individual examination (Zhejiang Dahua and 
High Hope), as well as the Government of China, did not act to the best 
of their ability to respond to Commerce's requests for information, it 
drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the 
facts otherwise available. For further information, see ``Use of Facts 
Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.

Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or in part, if the party or parties 
that requested a review withdraws the request within 90 days of the 
publication date of the notice of initiation of the requested review. 
As noted above, all requests for administrative review were timely 
withdrawn with regard to Linyi Celtic Therefore, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.213(d)(1), we are rescinding this administrative review with 
respect to Linyi Celtic.
    Additionally, it is Commerce's practice to rescind an 
administrative review of a countervailing duty order, pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there are no reviewable entries of subject 
merchandise during the POR for which liquidation is suspended.\8\ 
Normally, upon completion of an administrative review, the suspended 
entries are liquidated at the countervailing duty assessment rate for 
the review period. See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2). Therefore, for an 
administrative review to be conducted, there must be a reviewable, 
suspended entry that Commerce can instruct CBP to liquidate at the 
calculated countervailing duty assessment rate for the review 
period.\9\ Accordingly, in the absence of reviewable, suspended entries 
of subject merchandise during the POR, we are preliminarily rescinding 
this administrative review in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3) for 
the following companies: Happy Wood Industrial Group Co., Ltd; Jiangsu 
Sunwell Cabinetry Co., Ltd.; Linyi Bomei Furniture Co., Ltd.; Pingyi 
Jinniu Wood Co., Ltd.; Qingdao Top P&Q International Corp.; SAICG 
International Trading Co., Ltd.; Shandong Huaxin Jiasheng Wood Co., 
Ltd.; Shandong Jinhua International Trading Co., Ltd.; and Xuzhou Amish 
Import & Export Co., Ltd.
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    \8\ See, e.g., Lightweight Thermal Paper from the People's 
Republic of China: Notice of Rescission of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2015, 82 FR 14349 (March 20, 2017).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
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Preliminary Results of Review

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhejiang Dehua TB Import & Export Co., Ltd (Zhejiang              194.90
 Dehua).................................................
Jiangsu High Hope Arser Co., Ltd. (High Hope)...........          194.90
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with the preliminary results of a review within 
ten days of its public announcement, or if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the notice 
of preliminary results in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied AFA to 
the companies under review (i.e., Zhejiang Dahua and High Hope), in 
accordance with section 776 of the Act, and because our calculation of 
the AFA subsidy rate is outlined in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum,\10\ there are no further calculations to disclose.
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    \10\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Assessment Rates and Cash Deposit Requirement

    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.
    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.
    These preliminary results of review are issued and published in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.213 and 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: October 3, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order

[[Page 54846]]

IV. Application of The CVD Law to Imports From the PRC
V. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VI. Disclosure and Public Comment
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2019-22310 Filed 10-10-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P