[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 231 (Monday, December 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69012-69014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26405]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-533-898]


Utility Scale Wind Towers From India: Countervailing Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), 
Commerce is issuing the countervailing duty order on utility scale wind 
towers (wind towers) from India.

DATES: Applicable December 6, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Crespo or Melissa Kinter, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office II, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3693 and (202) 482-1413, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), on October 13, 2021, Commerce published its 
affirmative final determination in the countervailing duty 
investigation of wind towers from India.\1\ On November 29, 2021, the 
ITC notified Commerce of its affirmative final determination that an 
industry in the United States is materially injured within the meaning 
of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, by reason of subsidized imports 
of subject merchandise from India.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Utility Scale Wind Towers from India: Final Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, 86 FR 56896 (October 13, 2021).
    \2\ See ITC Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final Determination,'' 
dated November 29, 2021.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are wind towers from India. For 
a complete description of the scope of the order, see the appendix to 
this notice.

Countervailing Duty Order

    As noted above, on November 29, 2021, in accordance with section 
705(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination 
in this investigation, in which it found that an industry in the United 
States is materially injured by reason of subsidized imports of wind 
towers from India.\3\ Therefore, in accordance with section 705(c)(2) 
of the Act, Commerce is issuing this countervailing duty order. Because 
the ITC determined that imports of wind towers from India are 
materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of such 
merchandise from India, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption, are subject to the assessment of countervailing duties.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce will direct 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further 
instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties for all relevant entries 
of wind towers from India. With the exception of entries occurring 
after the expiration of the provisional measures period and before the 
publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination, as 
further described below, countervailing duties will be assessed on 
unliquidated entries of wind towers from India entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 25, 2021, the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ See Utility Scale Wind Towers from India: Preliminary 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final 
Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 86 FR 15897 
(March 25, 2021) (Preliminary Determination).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits

    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce will instruct 
CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of wind towers from 
India, as described in the appendix to this notice, effective on the 
date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination 
in the Federal Register, and to assess, upon further instruction by 
Commerce, pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing 
duties for each entry of the subject merchandise in an amount based on 
the net countervailable subsidy rates below. On or after the date of 
publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal 
Register, CBP must require, at the same time as importers would deposit 
estimated normal customs duties on this merchandise, a cash deposit 
equal to the rates listed in the table below. The all-others rate 
applies to all producers or exporters not specifically listed, as 
appropriate.

[[Page 69013]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Percent ad
                    Producer/exporter                         valorem
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vestas Wind Technology India Private Limited............            2.25
Naiks Brass & Iron Works *..............................          397.70
Nordex India Pvt *......................................          397.70
Prommada Hindustan *....................................          397.70
Suzlon Energy *.........................................          397.70
Vinayaka Energy Tek *...................................          397.70
Wish Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd *.........................          397.70
Zeeco India Pvt. Ltd *..................................          397.70
All Others..............................................            2.25
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Rate based on adverse facts available.

Provisional Measures

    Section 703(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation 
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in 
effect for more than four months. In the underlying investigation, 
Commerce published the Preliminary Determination on March 25, 2021. 
Therefore, the four-month period beginning on the date of the 
publication of the Preliminary Determination ended on July 22, 2021.
    In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to 
terminate the suspension of liquidation and to liquidate, without 
regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated entries of wind towers 
from India entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption after 
July 22, 2021, the final day on which the provisional measures were in 
effect, until and through the day preceding the date of publication of 
the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal Register. 
Suspension of liquidation and the collection of cash deposits will 
resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final determination in 
the Federal Register.

Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service Lists

    On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the final rule titled 
``Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Laws'' in the Federal Register.\5\ On September 
27, 2021, Commerce also published the notice titled ``Scope Ruling 
Application; Annual Inquiry Service List; and Informational Sessions'' 
in the Federal Register.\6\ The Final Rule and Procedural Guidance 
provide that Commerce will maintain an annual inquiry service list for 
each order or suspended investigation, and any interested party 
submitting a scope ruling application or request for circumvention 
inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request on the persons 
on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as well as any 
companion order covering the same merchandise from the same country of 
origin.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 20, 
2021) (Final Rule).
    \6\ See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List; 
and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021) 
(Procedural Guidance).
    \7\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in 
the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an 
annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and 
document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at https://access.trade.gov, within five business days of publication of the 
notice of the order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in 
ACCESS, under each case number, and under a specific segment type 
called ``AISL-Annual Inquiry Service List.'' \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ This segment will be combined with the ACCESS Segment 
Specific Information (SSI) field, which will display the month in 
which the notice of the order or suspended investigation was 
published in the Federal Register, also known as the anniversary 
month. For example, for an order under case number A-000-000 that 
was published in the Federal Register in January, the relevant 
segment and SSI combination will appear in ACCESS as ``AISL-January 
Anniversary.'' Note that there will be only one annual inquiry 
service list segment per case number, and the anniversary month will 
be pre-populated in ACCESS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry 
service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the 
annual inquiry service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30 
days after the date of publication of the order. For ease of 
administration, Commerce requests that law firms with more than one 
attorney representing interested parties in an order designate a lead 
attorney to be included on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce 
will finalize the annual inquiry service list within five business days 
thereafter. As mentioned in the Procedural Guidance, the new annual 
inquiry service list will be in place until the following year, when 
the Opportunity Notice for the anniversary month of the order is 
published.
    Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as 
needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of 
appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and 
representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or 
announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the 
ACCESS website at https://access.trade.gov.

Special Instructions for Petitioners and Foreign Governments

    In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, ``after an initial request 
and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and 
foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry 
service list in the years that follow.'' \9\ Accordingly, as stated 
above, the petitioner and the Government of India should submit their 
initial entry of appearance after publication of this notice in order 
to appear in the first annual inquiry service list. Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.225(n)(3), the petitioner and the Government of India will not need 
to resubmit their entries of appearance each year to continue to be 
included on the annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioner 
and the Government of India are responsible for making amendments to 
their entries of appearance during the annual update to the annual 
inquiry service list in accordance with the procedures described above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect 
to wind towers from India pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act. 
Interested parties can find a list of countervailing duty orders 
currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    This countervailing order is issued and published in accordance 
with section 706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: November 30, 2021.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by this order consists of certain wind 
towers, whether or not tapered, and sections thereof. Certain wind 
towers support the nacelle and rotor blades in a wind turbine with a 
minimum rated electrical power generation capacity in excess of 100 
kilowatts and with a minimum height of 50 meters measured from the 
base of the tower to the bottom of the nacelle (i.e., where the top 
of the tower and nacelle are joined) when fully assembled.
    A wind tower section consists of, at a minimum, multiple steel 
plates rolled into cylindrical or conical shapes and welded together 
(or otherwise attached) to form a

[[Page 69014]]

steel shell, regardless of coating, end-finish, painting, treatment, 
or method of manufacture, and with or without flanges, doors, or 
internal or external components (e.g., flooring/decking, ladders, 
lifts, electrical buss boxes, electrical cabling, conduit, cable 
harness for nacelle generator, interior lighting, tool and storage 
lockers) attached to the wind tower section. Several wind tower 
sections are normally required to form a completed wind tower.
    Wind towers and sections thereof are included within the scope 
whether or not they are joined with nonsubject merchandise, such as 
nacelles or rotor blades, and whether or not they have internal or 
external components attached to the subject merchandise.
    Specifically excluded from the scope are nacelles and rotor 
blades, regardless of whether they are attached to the wind tower. 
Also excluded are any internal or external components which are not 
attached to the wind towers or sections thereof, unless those 
components are shipped with the tower sections.
    Merchandise covered by this order is currently classified in the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under 
subheading 7308.20.0020 or 8502.31.0000. Wind towers of iron or 
steel are classified under HTSUS 7308.20.0020 when imported 
separately as a tower or tower section(s). Wind towers may be 
classified under HTSUS 8502.31.0000 when imported as combination 
goods with a wind turbine (i.e., accompanying nacelles and/or rotor 
blades). While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience 
and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this 
order is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2021-26405 Filed 12-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P