[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 250 (Wednesday, December 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86534-86536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28853]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-552-830]


Certain Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers and Parts Thereof From the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and 
Extension of Provisional Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain walk-behind lawn mowers and parts thereof (lawn mowers) 
from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are 
likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). 
The period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2019 through March 31, 
2020. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable December 30, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank Schmitt or Mark Flessner, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4880 or (202) 482-6312, 
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). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on June 22, 
2020.\1\ We selected Ducar Technology Co., Ltd. (Ducar) as the 
mandatory respondent.\2\ On August 11, 2020, Commerce postponed the 
preliminary determination of this investigation, and the revised 
deadline is now December 22, 2020.\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. 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 Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers and Parts Thereof from 
the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair Value Investigations, 85 FR 
37426 (June 22, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Investigation of Certain Walk-
Behind Lawn Mowers and Parts Thereof from the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Identification of Mandatory Respondent,'' dated July 29, 
2020.
    \3\ See Certain Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers and Parts Thereof from 
the People's Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 85 FR 48506 (August 11, 2020).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers from the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Decision Memorandum for Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,'' 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 walk-behind 
lawn mowers and parts thereof from Vietnam. 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 coverage (i.e., scope).\6\ No interested party 
commented on the scope of the investigation within the allotted time 
period. However, on November 6, 2020, Commerce solicited comments from 
interested parties regarding the overlap in the scope of the 
antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of lawn 
mowers and the scope of the AD and CVD investigations of certain 
vertical shaft engines and parts thereof from China, and certain 
interested parties submitted comments and rebuttal comments.\7\ 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 Determination Memorandum.\8\ As a result of our 
analysis of comments received, we have preliminarily revised the scope 
of the investigation. See Appendix I.
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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, ``Request for Comments Regarding Scope 
Overlap,'' dated November 6, 2020.
    \8\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Investigations of Lawn Mowers from the People's Republic of China 
and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Scope Decision 
Memorandum,'' dated concurrently with this notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in 
accordance with section 772(a) of the Act and constructed export prices 
in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-
market economy, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, 
Commerce has calculated normal value in accordance with section 773(c) 
of the Act.
    In addition, Commerce has relied on facts available under section 
776(a) of the Act to determine the cash deposit rate assigned to the 
Vietnam-wide entity. Furthermore, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) 
of the Act, because the Vietnam-wide entity did not cooperate to the 
best of its ability in responding to Commerce's request for data, 
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available, with 
adverse inferences, for the Vietnam-wide entity. For a full description 
of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, see 
the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

[[Page 86535]]

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\9\ 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.\10\
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    \9\ See Initiation Notice at 85 FR 12506.
    \10\ 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,'' (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:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
             Producer                     Exporter            average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ducar Technology Co., Ltd.........  Ducar Technology              183.87
                                     Co., Ltd.
Vietnam-Wide Entity \11\..........  ....................          221.34
------------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Vietnam producers/exporters of subject merchandise 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 Vietnam-wide entity; and (3) for all third-
county exporters of subject merchandise not listed in the table above, 
the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable to the 
Vietnam producer/exporter combination (or Vietnam-wide entity) that 
supplied that third-country exporter.
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    \11\ The Vietnam-wide entity includes Techtronic Cordless GP, a 
producer or exporter of merchandise under consideration that was 
issued, but did not respond to, Commerce's Q&V Questionnaire.
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Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with this 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).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination. 
Normally, Commerce verifies information using standard procedures, 
including an on-site examination of original accounting, financial, and 
sales documentation. However, due to current travel restrictions in 
response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Commerce is unable to conduct 
on-site verification in this investigation. Accordingly, we intend to 
verify the information relied upon in making the final determination 
through alternative means in lieu of an on-site verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. A timeline for the 
submission of case briefs and written comments on non-scope issues will 
be announced on a later date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised 
in case briefs, may be submitted no later than seven days after the 
deadline date for case briefs.\12\ Note that Commerce has temporarily 
modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing 
business proprietary information until further notice.\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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    \12\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \13\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 
10, 2020).
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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 a time and date to be 
determined. Parties should confirm the date and time of the hearing two 
days before the scheduled date.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination if, in the event of an 
affirmative preliminary determination, a request for such postponement 
is made by exporters who account for a significant proportion of 
exports of the subject merchandise, or in the event of a negative 
preliminary determination, a request for such postponement is made by 
the petitioners. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), Commerce requires 
that requests by respondents for postponement of a final antidumping 
determination be accompanied by a request for extension of provisional 
measures from a four-month period to a period not more than six months 
in duration.
    On November 30, 2020, and December 7, 2020, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.210(e),

[[Page 86536]]

the respondent Ducar \14\ and MTD Products, Inc. (the petitioner),\15\ 
respectively, requested that Commerce postpone the final determination 
and that provisional measures be extended to a period not to exceed 6 
months. In accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters account for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce 
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination, pursuant to section 
735(a)(2) of the Act.
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    \14\ See Ducar's Letter, ``Certain Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers from 
Vietnam: Conditional Request for Extension of Final Determination,'' 
dated November 30, 2020.
    \15\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers and 
Parts Thereof from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Request for 
Postponement of Final Determination,'' dated December 7, 2020.
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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 these 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: December 22, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation consists of 
certain rotary walk-behind lawn mowers, which are grass-cutting 
machines that are powered by internal combustion engines. The scope 
of this investigation covers certain walk-behind lawn mowers, 
whether selfpropelled or non-self-propelled, whether finished or 
unfinished, whether assembled or unassembled, and whether containing 
any additional features that provide for functions in addition to 
mowing.
    Walk-behind lawn mowers within the scope of this investigation 
are only those powered by an internal combustion engine with a power 
rating of less than 3.7 kilowatts. These internal combustion engines 
are typically spark ignition, single or multiple cylinder, air 
cooled, internal combustion engines with vertical power take off 
shafts with a maximum displacement of 196cc. Walk-behind lawn mowers 
covered by this scope typically must be certified and comply with 
the Consumer Products Safety Commission Safety Standard For Walk-
Behind Power Lawn Mowers under the 16 CFR part 1205. However, lawn 
mowers that meet the physical descriptions above, but are not 
certified under 16 CFR part 1205 remain subject to the scope of this 
proceeding.
    The internal combustion engines of the lawn mowers covered by 
this scope typically must comply with and be certified under 
Environmental Protection Agency air pollution controls title 40, 
chapter I, subchapter U, part 1054 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations standards for small non-road spark-ignition engines and 
equipment. However, lawn mowers that meet the physical descriptions 
above but that do not have engines certified under 40 CFR part 1054 
or other parts of subchapter U remain subject to the scope of this 
proceeding.
    For purposes of this investigation, an unfinished and/or 
unassembled lawn mower means at a minimum, a sub-assembly comprised 
of an engine and a cutting deck shell attached to one another. A 
cutting deck shell is the portion of the lawn mower--typically of 
aluminum or steel--that houses and protects a user from a rotating 
blade. Importation of the subassembly whether or not accompanied by, 
or attached to, additional components such as a handle, blade(s), 
grass catching bag, or wheel(s) constitute an unfinished lawn mower 
for purposes of this investigation. The inclusion in a third country 
of any components other than the mower subassembly does not remove 
the lawn mower from the scope. Lawn mowers that meet the physical 
description above are covered by the scope of this investigation 
regardless of the origin of its engine, unless such lawn mowers 
contain an engine that is covered by the scope of the ongoing 
proceedings on certain vertical shaft engines between 99cc and up to 
225cc, and parts thereof (small vertical engines) from China. If the 
proceedings on small vertical engines from China are terminated, the 
lawn mowers containing small vertical engines from China will be 
covered by the scope of this proceeding.
    The lawn mowers subject to this investigation are typically at 
subheading: 8433.11.0050. Lawn mowers subject to these 
investigations may also enter under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS) 8407.90.1010 and 8433.90.1090. The HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes only, 
and the written description of the merchandise under investigation 
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. Product Characteristics
VII. Affiliation
VIII. Discussion of the Methodology
IX. Currency Conversion
X. ITC Notification
XI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2020-28853 Filed 12-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P