[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 202 (Friday, October 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55909-55912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22762]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-016]


Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review and Rescission, in Part; 2017-2018

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain producers and exporters of passenger vehicle and light 
truck tires (passenger tires) from the People's Republic of China 
(China) did not make sales of subject merchandise at prices below 
normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR) August 1, 2017 
through July 31, 2018.

DATES: Applicable October 18, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Toni Page, 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) 482-1398.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 10, 2015, Commerce issued an antidumping duty (AD) order 
on passenger tires from China.\1\ Several

[[Page 55910]]

interested parties requested that Commerce conduct an administrative 
review of the AD Order, and on October 4, 2018, Commerce published in 
the Federal Register a notice of initiation of an administrative review 
of the AD Order for 42 producers/exporters for the POR.\2\ On January 
28, 2019, Commerce exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines by 40 
days to account for the shutdown of the Federal government from 
December 22, 2018 through the resumption of operations on January 29, 
2019.\3\ On June 10, 2019, and again on September 6, 2019, Commerce 
extended the time limit for completing the preliminary results of this 
review. The current extended deadline for completing the preliminary 
results of this review is October 10, 2019.\4\
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    \1\ See Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the 
People's Republic of China: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping 
Duty Determination and Antidumping Duty Order; and Amended Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Countervailing 
Duty Order, 80 FR 47902 (August 10, 2015) (AD Order).
    \2\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 83 FR 50077 (October 4, 2018) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \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.
    \4\ See Memoranda, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review--2017-2018,'' 
dated June 10, 2019; and ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review--2017-2018,'' 
dated September 6, 2019.
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order are certain passenger vehicle and 
light truck tires from China. A full description of the scope of the 
order is contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\
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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of Certain 
Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic 
of China and Rescission, in part; 2017-2018,'' dated October 10, 
2019 (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
preliminarily determines that Shandong New Continent Tire Co., Ltd.'s 
(New Continent) reported U.S. sales were either export price (EP) or 
constructed export price (CEP). We calculated EP and CEP sales in 
accordance with section 772 of the Act. Given that China is a non-
market economy (NME) country, within the meaning of section 771(18) of 
the Act, Commerce calculated NV in accordance with section 773(c) of 
the Act.
    For a full description of the methodology underlying the 
preliminary results of this review, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum, which is incorporated by, and hereby adopted by this 
notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is 
made available to the public 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 Commerce building. In addition, a 
complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be found at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and the electronic 
versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content. A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is provided in Appendix I to this notice.

Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

    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. 
Shouguang Firemax Tyre Co., Ltd.; Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd.; 
Bridgestone (TIANJIN) Tire Co., Ltd.; Bridgestone Corporation; Cooper 
(Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd.; Fleming Limited; Guangrao Taihua 
International Trade Co., Ltd.; Qingdao Keter International Co., 
Limited; Qingzhou Detai International Trading Co., Ltd.; Shengtai Group 
Co., Ltd.; Shandong Guofeng Rubber Plastic Co., Ltd.; Shandong Hengyu 
Science & Technology Co., Ltd.; Qingdao Jinhaoyang International Co., 
Ltd.; Riversun Industry Limited; Haohua Orient International Trade 
Ltd.; Windforce Tyre Co., Limited; Tyrechamp Group Co., Limited; Macho 
Tire Corporation Limited; Qingdao Lakesea Tyre Co., Ltd.; Safe&Well 
(HK) International Trading Limited; and Triangle Tyre Co., Ltd. 
withdrew their respective requests for an administrative review within 
90 days of the publication date of the notice of initiation.
    No other parties requested an administrative review of the order 
with respect to the aforementioned companies. Therefore, in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce is rescinding this review of the AD 
order on passenger tires from China with respect to the listed 
companies.

Separate Rates

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the information placed on 
the record by New Continent, as well as by the other companies listed 
in the rate table in the ``Preliminary Results of Review'' section 
below, demonstrates that these companies are entitled to separate rate 
status. Neither the Act nor Commerce's regulations address the 
establishment of the rate applied to individual companies not selected 
for examination where Commerce limited its examination in an 
administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) of the Act. 
Commerce's practice in cases involving limited selection based on 
exporters accounting for the largest volume of imports has been to look 
to section 735(c)(5) of the Act for guidance, which provides 
instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a market economy 
investigation. Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act instructs Commerce to 
use rates established for individually investigated producers and 
exporters, excluding any rates that are zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts available in investigations. In the instant 
administrative review, New Continent is the only reviewed respondent 
that received a calculated weighted-average margin. Therefore, for the 
preliminary results, Commerce has preliminarily determined to assign 
New Continent's margin to the non-selected separate-rate companies.
    In addition, Commerce preliminarily determines that certain 
companies have not demonstrated their entitlement to separate rate 
status because: (1) They withdrew their participation from the 
administrative review; (2) they did not rebut the presumption of de 
jure or de facto government control of their operations; or (3) did not 
timely file their separate rate application and/or certification.\6\ 
See Appendix II of this Federal Register notice for a complete list of 
companies not receiving a separate rate.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Administrative Review of 
Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Separate Rate Status,'' dated October 
10, 2019 for a complete discussion regarding the companies 
preliminarily granted or not granted separate rate status.
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    Commerce is treating the companies for which it did not grant 
separate rate status as part of the China-wide entity. Because no party 
requested a review of the China-wide entity, the entity is not under 
review, and the entity's rate (i.e.,

[[Page 55911]]

87.99 percent) \7\ is not subject to change.\8\
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    \7\ See AD Order, 80 FR at 47906.
    \8\ For additional information regarding Commerce's separate 
rate determinations, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Adjustments for Export Subsidies

    Commerce has preliminarily adjusted New Continent's U.S. price for 
export subsidies, pursuant to 772(c)(1)(C) of the Act.

Preliminary Results of Review

    As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine the 
weighted-average dumping margins rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                          Exporter                              dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
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Shandong New Continent Tire Co., Ltd........................        0.00
Anhui Jichi Tire Co., Ltd...................................        0.00
Crown International Corporation.............................        0.00
Hankook Tire China Co., Ltd.................................        0.00
Jingsu Hankook Tire Co., Ltd................................        0.00
Kenda Rubber (China) Co., Ltd...............................        0.00
Kinforest Tyre Co., Ltd.....................................        0.00
Mayrun Tyre (Hong Kong) Limited.............................        0.00
Qingdao Fullrun Tyre Corp., Ltd.............................        0.00
Qingdao Sunfulcess Tyre Co., Ltd............................        0.00
Qingdao Transamerica Tire Industrial Co., Ltd...............        0.00
Shandong Anchi Tyres Co., Ltd...............................        0.00
Shandong Duratti Rubber Corporation Co., Ltd................        0.00
Shandong Haohua Tire Co., Ltd...............................        0.00
Shandong Hongsheng Rubber Technology Co., Ltd...............        0.00
Shandong Longyue Rubber Co., Ltd............................        0.00
Shandong Province Sanli Tire Manufactured Co., Ltd..........        0.00
Winrun Tyre Co., Ltd........................................        0.00
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose to parties the calculations performed 
for these preliminary results of review within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b). Interested parties may submit case briefs no later 
than 30 days after the date of publication of these preliminary results 
of review.\9\ Rebuttal briefs may be filed no later than five days 
after case briefs are due, and may respond only to arguments raised in 
the case briefs.\10\ A table of contents, list of authorities used, and 
an executive summary of issues should accompany any briefs submitted to 
Commerce. The summary should be limited to five pages total, including 
footnotes.\11\
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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(ii).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d).
    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2), (d)(2).
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    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing 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.\12\ Requests should contain the party's 
name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants in, and 
a list of the issues to be discussed at, the hearing. Oral arguments at 
the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the briefs. 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 date and time to be determined.\13\ Parties 
should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing 
two days before the scheduled date of the hearing.
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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    All submissions, with limited exceptions, must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS.\14\ An electronically filed document must 
be received successfully in its entirety by Commerce's electronic 
records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the due date. 
Documents excepted from the electronic submission requirements must be 
filed manually (i.e., in paper form) with the APO/Dockets Unit in Room 
18022 and stamped with the date and time of receipt by 5 p.m. ET on the 
due date.\15\
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    \14\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
    \15\ Id. (for general filing requirements); see also Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Electronic Filing Procedures; 
Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 
2011).
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    Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final 
results of this administrative review, which will include the results 
of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs, within 120 days of 
publication of these preliminary results of review, pursuant to section 
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results of this review, Commerce will 
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries covered by this review.\16\ Commerce intends to issue 
assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the publication date of 
the final results of this review. For each individually examined 
respondent in this review whose weighted-average dumping margin in the 
final results of review is not zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 
percent), Commerce intends to calculate importer-specific assessment 
rates, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\17\ Where the 
respondent reported reliable entered values, Commerce intends to 
calculate importer-specific ad valorem assessment rates by aggregating 
the amount of dumping calculated for all U.S. sales to the importer, 
and dividing this amount by the total entered value of the sales to the 
importer.\18\ Where the importer did not report entered values, 
Commerce intends to calculate an importer-specific assessment rate by

[[Page 55912]]

dividing the amount of dumping for reviewed sales to the importer by 
the total sales quantity associated with those transactions. Where an 
importer-specific ad valorem assessment rate is not zero or de minimis, 
Commerce will instruct CBP to collect the appropriate duties at the 
time of liquidation. Where either the respondent's weighted average 
dumping margin is zero or de minimis, or an importer-specific ad 
valorem assessment rate is zero or de minimis, Commerce will instruct 
CBP to liquidate appropriate entries without regard to antidumping 
duties.\19\
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \17\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted 
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings: Final Modification, 77 FR 8101 (February 14, 2012) 
(Final Modification).
    \18\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \19\ See Final Modification, 77 FR at 8103.
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    Pursuant to Commerce practice, for entries that were not reported 
in the U.S. sales database submitted by an exporter individually 
examined during this review, Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate 
such entries at the rate for the China-wide entity.\20\ Additionally, 
if Commerce determines that an exporter under review had no shipments 
of the subject merchandise, any suspended entries that entered under 
that exporter's CBP case number will be liquidated at the rate for the 
China-wide entity.
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    \20\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011), for a full 
discussion of this practice.
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    For the companies for which this review is rescinded, antidumping 
duties will be assessed at rates equal to the cash deposit of estimated 
antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from 
warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i). 
Commerce intends to issue appropriate assessment instructions with 
respect to the companies for which this review is rescinded to CBP 15 
days after the publication of this notice.
    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, the final 
results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of 
antidumping duties on POR entries, and for future deposits of estimated 
antidumping duties, where applicable.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for 
antidumping duties equal to the weighted-average amount by which NV 
exceeds U.S. price. The following cash deposit requirements will be 
effective upon publication of the final results of this administrative 
review for shipments of the subject merchandise from China entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication 
date of this notice, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: 
(1) For the exporters listed above, the cash deposit rate will be equal 
to the weighted-average dumping margin established in the final results 
of this review (except that, if the rate is de minimis (i.e., less than 
0.5 percent), then the cash deposit rate will be zero for that 
exporter); (2) for previously investigated or reviewed China and non-
China exporters not listed above that have separate rates, the cash 
deposit rate will continue to be the exporter-specific rate published 
for the most recently completed segment of this proceeding; (3) for all 
China exporters of subject merchandise which have not been found to be 
entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate for 
the China-wide entity (i.e., 76.46 percent); \21\ and (4) for all non-
China exporters of subject merchandise that have not received their own 
rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the China 
exporter that supplied that non-China exporter. These deposit 
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further 
notice.
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    \21\ See AD Order, 80 FR at 47904.
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Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties and/or countervailing 
duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this POR. 
Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's 
presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties and/or 
countervailing duties has occurred, and the subsequent assessment of 
double antidumping duties and/or an increase in the amount of 
antidumping duties by the amount of the countervailing duties.
    These preliminary results 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 10, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Partial Rescission of Administrative Review
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Discussion of the Methodology
VI. Recommendation

Appendix II

List of Companies Not Receiving Separate Rate Status

1. Pirelli Tyre Co., Ltd.
2. Qingdao Odyking Tyre Co., Ltd.
3. Tianjin Wanda Tyre Group Co., Ltd.

[FR Doc. 2019-22762 Filed 10-17-19; 8:45 a.m.]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P