[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administrative review, Commerce partially rescinded the administrative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rescinded the review in the Rescission Notice, we are, concurrent with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:
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent)
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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