[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 172 (Thursday, September 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54993-54996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19480]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-010, C-570-011]


Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances 
Reviews, and Intent To Revoke Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Orders in Part

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

SUMMARY: Based on a request from Maodi Solar Technology (Dongguan) Co., 
Ltd. (Maodi Solar), the Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) 
orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic products (solar products) 
from the People's Republic of China

[[Page 54994]]

(China) shall be revoked, in part, with respect to certain off-grid 
portable small panels. Commerce invites interested parties to comment 
on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable September 3, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathryn Turlo, 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) 482-3875.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On February 18, 2015, Commerce published AD and CVD orders on solar 
products from China.\1\ On June 17, 2020, Maodi Solar, an exporter of 
subject merchandise, requested that Commerce conduct changed 
circumstances reviews to revoke the Orders with respect to certain off-
grid portable small panels, pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b).\2\ On July 
13, 2020, SunPower Manufacturing Oregon, LLC (SunPower), a domestic 
producer of the domestic like product, submitted a letter stating that 
it took no position regarding the partial revocation proposed by Maodi 
Solar.\3\ We received no other comments regarding Maodi Solar's 
request.
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    \1\ See Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products from 
the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order; and Amended 
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and 
Countervailing Duty Order, 80 FR 8592 (February 18, 2015) (Orders).
    \2\ See Maodi Solar's Letter, ``Certain Crystalline Silicon 
Photovoltaic Products from the People's Republic of China (A-570-
010; C-570-011): Maodi Solar's Request for Changed Circumstances 
Review,'' dated June 17, 2020 (Maodi Solar CCR Request).
    \3\ See SunPower's Letter, ``Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic 
Products from the People's Republic of China: Comments on Maodi 
Solar's Request for Changed Circumstances Review,'' dated July 13, 
2020.
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    On July 28, 2020, Commerce published the Initiation Notice of the 
requested changed circumstances reviews.\4\ As we explained in the 
Initiation Notice, we interpreted SunPower's statement of ``no 
position'' to mean that it does not oppose the partial revocation 
request.\5\ However, because SunPower did not indicate whether it 
accounts for substantially all of the domestic production of solar 
products, in the Initiation Notice we invited interested parties to 
submit comments regarding industry support for the potential 
revocation, in part, as well as comments and/or factual information 
regarding the changed circumstances reviews.\6\ On August 7, 2020, 
Maodi Solar submitted comments stating that if Commerce receives no 
comments regarding industry support or no comments from the domestic 
industry opposing the changed circumstances reviews, revocation of the 
Orders, in part, is warranted.\7\ We received no other comments 
regarding these changed circumstances reviews.
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    \4\ See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products from the 
People's Republic of China: Notice of Initiation of Changed 
Circumstances Reviews, and Consideration of Revocation of the 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders in Part, 85 FR 45373 
(July 28, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
    \5\ Id., 85 FR at 45375.
    \6\ Id. (inviting interested parties to submit comments within 
ten days after publication and submit rebuttal comments within seven 
days thereafter).
    \7\ See Maodi Solar's Letter, ``Certain Crystalline Silicon 
Photovoltaic Products from the People's Republic of China (A-570-
010; C-570-011): Maodi Solar's Comments on Initiation of Changed 
Circumstances Review,'' dated August 7, 2020 (Maodi Solar Comments).
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Scope of the Orders

    The merchandise covered by these orders is modules, laminates and/
or panels consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether 
or not partially or fully assembled into other products, including 
building integrated materials. For purposes of these orders, subject 
merchandise includes modules, laminates and/or panels assembled in 
China consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells produced in 
a customs territory other than China.
    Subject merchandise includes modules, laminates and/or panels 
assembled in China consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells 
of thickness equal to or greater than 20 micrometers, having a p/n 
junction formed by any means, whether or not the cell has undergone 
other processing, including, but not limited to, cleaning, etching, 
coating, and/or addition of materials (including, but not limited to, 
metallization and conductor patterns) to collect and forward the 
electricity that is generated by the cell.
    Excluded from the scope of these orders are thin film photovoltaic 
products produced from amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride 
(CdTe), or copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). Also excluded from 
the scope of these orders are modules, laminates and/or panels 
assembled in China, consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic 
cells, not exceeding 10,000 mm\2\ in surface area, that are permanently 
integrated into a consumer good whose function is other than power 
generation and that consumes the electricity generated by the 
integrated crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. Where more than one 
module, laminate and/or panel is permanently integrated into a consumer 
good, the surface area for purposes of this exclusion shall be the 
total combined surface area of all modules, laminates and/or panels 
that are integrated into the consumer good.
    Further, also excluded from the scope of these orders are any 
products covered by the existing AD and CVD orders on crystalline 
silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, 
laminates and/or panels, from China.\8\
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    \8\ See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not 
Assembled Into Modules, from the People's Republic of China: Amended 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, and 
Antidumping Duty Order, 77 FR 73018 (December 7, 2012); see also 
Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled 
Into Modules, from the People's Republic of China: Countervailing 
Duty Order, 77 FR 73017 (December 7, 2012).
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    Additionally, excluded from the scope of these orders are solar 
panels that are: (1) Less than 300,000 mm2 in surface area; (2) less 
than 27.1 watts in power; (3) coated across their entire surface with a 
polyurethane doming resin; and (4) joined to a battery charging and 
maintaining unit (which is an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) box 
that incorporates a light emitting diode (LED)) by coated wires that 
include a connector to permit the incorporation of an extension cable. 
The battery charging and maintaining unit utilizes high-frequency 
triangular pulse waveforms designed to maintain and extend the life of 
batteries through the reduction of lead sulfate crystals. The above-
described battery charging and maintaining unit is currently available 
under the registered trademark ``SolarPulse.''
    Merchandise covered by these orders is currently classified in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under 
subheadings 8501.61.0000, 8507.20.8030, 8507.20.8040, 8507.20.8060, 
8507.20.8090, 8541.40.6015, 8541.40.6020, 8541.40.6030, 8541.40.6035 
and 8501.31.8000. These HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience 
and customs purposes; the written description of the scope of these 
orders is dispositive.\9\
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    \9\ See the Orders.
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Scope of Changed Circumstances Reviews

    Maodi Solar proposes that the Orders be revoked, in part, with 
respect to certain off-grid portable small panels. Specifically, Maodi 
Solar proposes revoking the Orders with respect to the solar panels 
described below: \10\
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    \10\ See Maodi Solar CCR Request.

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[[Page 54995]]

    (1) Off-grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with the 
following characteristics:
    (A) A total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;
    (B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel;
    (C) do not include a built-in inverter;
    (D) must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a 
male barrel connector, or, a two-port rectangular connector with two 
pins in square housings of different colors, or, an Anderson connector;
    (E) must be in individual retail packaging (for purposes of this 
provisions, retail packaging typically includes graphics, the product 
name, its description and/or features, and foam for transport)
    (2) Off-grid CSPV panels in rigid form without a glass cover, with 
the following characteristics:
    (A) A total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;
    (B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel;
    (C) do not include a built-in inverter;
    (D) each panel is
    1. permanently integrated into a consumer good;
    2. encased in a laminated material without stitching, or
    3. has all of the following characteristics: (i) The panel is 
encased in sewn fabric with visible stitching; (ii) includes a storage 
pocket; and, (iii) includes (a) a wire that terminates in a female USB-
A connector; or, (b) a junction box which includes a female USB-A 
connector.

Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review, and Intent To 
Revoke the Orders in Part

    Pursuant to section 751(d)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.222(g), 
Commerce may revoke an order, in whole or in part, based on a review 
under section 751(b) of the Act (i.e., a changed circumstances review). 
Section 751(b)(1) of the Act requires a changed circumstances review to 
be conducted upon receipt of a request which shows changed 
circumstances sufficient to warrant a review. Section 782(h)(2) of the 
Act gives Commerce authority to revoke an order if producers accounting 
for substantially all of the production of the domestic like product 
have expressed a lack of interest in the order. Section 351.222(g) 
Commerce's regulations provides that Commerce will conduct a changed 
circumstances review under 19 CFR 351.216, and may revoke an order, in 
whole or in part, if it concludes that (1) producers accounting for 
substantially all of the production of the domestic like product to 
which the order pertains have expressed a lack of interest in the 
relief provided by the order, in whole or in part; or (2) if other 
changed circumstances sufficient to warrant revocation exist. Both the 
Act and Commerce's regulations require that in order for Commerce to 
revoke an order, in whole or in part, ``substantially all'' domestic 
producers must express a lack of interest in the order.\11\ In its 
administrative practice, Commerce has interpreted ``substantially all'' 
to mean producers accounting for at least 85 percent of the total U.S. 
production of the domestic like product covered by the order.\12\
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    \11\ See 782(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g).
    \12\ See, e.g., Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic 
of China: Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Changed Circumstances Review, and Intent To Revoke Order in Part, 77 
FR 42276 (July 18, 2012), unchanged in Certain Cased Pencils from 
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Changed Circumstances Review, and Determination To Revoke Order, in 
Part, 77 FR 53176 (August 31, 2012).
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    Commerce's regulations do not specify a deadline for the issuance 
of the preliminary results of a changed circumstances review, but 
provide that Commerce will issue the final results of review within 270 
days after the date on which the changed circumstances review is 
initiated.\13\ Commerce did not issue a combined notice of initiation 
and preliminary results because, as discussed above, no party had 
indicated whether SunPower accounts for substantially all domestic 
production of solar product.\14\ Thus, Commerce did not determine in 
the Initiation Notice that producers accounting for substantially all 
of the production of the domestic like product lacked interest in the 
continued application of the Orders as to the solar products under 
consideration here. Further, Commerce requested that interested parties 
comment on the issue of domestic industry support for a potential 
partial revocation of the Orders.\15\ As discussed above, although 
Maodi Solar submitted comments in response to the Initiation Notice, it 
did not comment on whether it or SunPower account for substantially all 
domestic production of solar products.\16\ Commerce therefore received 
no comments on industry support. As a result, we find that the domestic 
industry has expressed no opposition with respect to the proposed 
revocation, in part, of the order.
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.216(e).
    \14\ See Initiation Notice.
    \15\ Id.
    \16\ See Maodi Solar Comments.
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    As noted in the Initiation Notice, Maodi Solar requested revocation 
of the Orders, in part, and supported its request. In light of Maodi 
Solar's request, SunPower's lack of comments regarding the scope 
exclusion language proposed by Maodi Solar, and the absence of any 
comments from the domestic industry otherwise opposing these changed 
circumstances reviews, we preliminarily conclude that changed 
circumstances warrant revocation of the Orders, in part, because the 
producers accounting for substantially all of the production of the 
domestic like product to which the Orders pertain lack interest in the 
relief provided by the Orders with respect to the particular solar 
products described above. We will consider comments from interested 
parties on these preliminary results before issuing the final results 
of these reviews.
    Accordingly, we are notifying the public of our intent to revoke 
the Orders, in part. We intend to carry out this revocation by 
including the following exclusion language in the scope of each of the 
Orders: \17\
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    \17\ See Maodi Solar CCR Request.
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    Excluded from the scope of these orders are:
    (1) Off-grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with the 
following characteristics:
    (A) A total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;
    (B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel;
    (C) do not include a built-in inverter;
    (D) must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a 
male barrel connector, or, a two-port rectangular connector with two 
pins in square housings of different colors, or, an Anderson connector;
    (E) must be in individual retail packaging (for purposes of this 
provisions, retail packaging typically includes graphics, the product 
name, its description and/or features, and foam for transport).
    (2) Off-grid CSPV panels in rigid form without a glass cover, with 
the following characteristics:
    (A) A total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;
    (B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel;
    (C) do not include a built-in inverter;
    (D) each panel is
    1. permanently integrated into a consumer good;
    2. encased in a laminated material without stitching, or
    3. has all of the following characteristics: (i) The panel is 
encased in sewn fabric with visible stitching; (ii) includes a storage 
pocket; and, (iii) includes (a) a wire that terminates in a female USB-
A connector; or, (b) a

[[Page 54996]]

junction box which includes a female USB-A connector.
    If we make a final determination to revoke the Orders in part, then 
Commerce will apply this determination to each order as follows. 
Because we have completed administrative reviews of the Orders, the 
partial revocation will be retroactively applied to unliquidated 
entries of merchandise subject to the changed circumstances reviews 
that were entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or 
after the day following the last day of the period covered by the most 
recently completed administrative review of the Orders, and which are 
not covered by automatic liquidation. The most recently completed 
administrative review of the AD order (A-570-010) was completed on June 
14, 2019, and covered February 1, 2017 through January 31, 2018.\18\ 
Therefore, under this scenario, the partial revocation for merchandise 
subject to the AD order would be applied retroactively to unliquidated 
entries of merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption, on or after February 1, 2018. The most recently completed 
administrative review of the CVD order (C-570-011) was completed on 
October 23, 2019, and covered January 1, 2017 through December 31, 
2017.\19\ Therefore, the partial revocation for merchandise subject to 
the CVD order would be applied retroactively to unliquidated entries of 
merchandise entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or 
after January 1, 2018, as applicable.
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    \18\ See Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products from 
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review; 2017-2018, 84 FR 27764 (June 14, 2019).
    \19\ See Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products from 
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2017, 84 FR 56765 (October 23, 2019).
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Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii). Written comments 
may be submitted no later than 14 days after the date of publication of 
these preliminary results. Rebuttals to written comments, limited to 
issues raised in such comments, may be filed no later than seven days 
after the due date for comments. Note that Commerce has temporarily 
modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing 
business proprietary information, until further notice.\20\ All 
submissions must be filed electronically using Enforcement and 
Compliance's AD and CVD Centralized Electronic Service System 
(ACCESS).\21\ An electronically filed document must be received 
successfully in its entirety by ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the 
due dates set forth in this notice.
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    \20\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020).
    \21\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
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Final Results of the Changed Circumstances Reviews

    Commerce intends to issue the final results of these changed 
circumstances reviews no later than 270 days after the date on which 
these reviews were initiated. If, in the final results of these 
reviews, Commerce continues to determine that changed circumstances 
warrant the revocation of the Orders in part, we will instruct U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate without regard to AD 
or CVD duties, and to refund any estimated AD or CVD duties, on all 
unliquidated entries of the merchandise covered by the revocation that 
are not covered by the final results of completed administrative 
reviews or automatic liquidation. The current requirement for cash 
deposits of estimated AD and CVD duties on all entries of subject 
merchandise will continue unless they are modified pursuant to the 
final results of these changed circumstances reviews.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This initiation notice is published in accordance with section 
751(b)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(1).

    Dated: August 27, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2020-19480 Filed 9-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P