[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14129-14131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04576]


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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 the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Orders, in Part

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

SUMMARY: On August 8, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
received a request for revocation, in part, of the antidumping duty 
(AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on crystalline silicon 
photovoltaic products (solar products) from the People's Republic of 
China (China), from Shenzen Hello Tech Energy Co., Ltd. (Hello Tech) 
with respect to certain off-grid small portable crystalline silicon 
photovoltaic (CSPV) panels as described below. We preliminary determine 
to revoke, in part, the solar products AD and CVD orders with respect 
to these products. Interested parties are invited to comment on these 
preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable March 7, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Alexander, 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) 482-4313.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On February 18, 2015, Commerce published the AD and CVD orders on 
solar products from China.\1\ On August 8, 2022, Hello Tech, a Chinese 
producer and exporter of subject merchandise, requested that Commerce 
conduct changed circumstances reviews (CCR) to find that it is 
appropriate to revoke the Orders, in part, with respect to certain off-
grid small portable CSPV panels, pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b).\2\ 
Hello Tech's CCR request included a letter from the American Alliance 
for Solar Manufacturing (the Alliance) (a coalition of domestic 
producers of solar cells), which stated that the Alliance did not 
oppose Hello Tech's request for changed circumstances reviews and its 
proposed exclusion language.\3\ On September 29, 2022, we published the 
notice of initiation of the requested CCRs.\4\ In the Initiation Notice 
we invited interested parties to provide comments and/or factual 
information regarding these CCRs, including comments on industry 
support and the proposed partial revocation language.\5\ We received no 
comments or factual information.
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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) 
(collectively, Orders).
    \2\ See Hello Tech's Letter, ``Certain Crystalline Silicon 
Photovoltaic Products from the People's Republic of China: Hello 
Tech's Resubmitted Request for Changed Circumstances Reviews,'' 
dated August 8, 2022 (CCR Request).
    \3\ Id. at Exhibit 7.
    \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, 87 FR 59043 
(September 29, 2022) (Initiation Notice).
    \5\ Id., 87 FR at 59044.
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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 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 the 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 antidumping and countervailing duty 
orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not 
assembled into modules, laminates and/or panels, from China. 
Additionally, excluded from the scope of these Orders are solar panels 
that are: (1) less than 300,000 mm\2\ 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.'' Also excluded from the 
scope of these Orders are off-grid crystalline silicon photovoltaic 
panels without a glass cover with the following characteristics: (1) 
total power output of 500 watts or less per panel; (2) maximum surface 
area of 8,000 cm\2\ per panel; (3) unit does not include a built-in 
inverter; (4) unit has visible parallel grid collector metallic wire 
lines every

[[Page 14130]]

2-40 millimeters across each solar panel (depending on model); (5) 
solar cells are encased in laminated frosted PET material without 
stitching; (6) the panel is encased in polyester fabric with visible 
stitching which includes a Velcro-type storage pocket and unit closure, 
or encased within a Neoprene clamshell (depending on model); and (7) 
includes LED indicator.
    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.\6\
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    \6\ See Orders.
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Scope of the CCRs

    Hello Tech requests that Commerce revoke the Orders, in part, to 
exclude from the scope off-grid portable crystalline silicon 
photovoltaic panels, with or without a glass cover, with the following 
characteristics:
    (A) a total power output of 200 watts or less per panel;
    (B) a maximum surface area of 16,000 cm\2\ per panel;
    (C) no built-in inverter;
    (D) an integrated handle or a handle attached to the package for 
ease of carry;
    (E) one or more integrated kickstands for easy installation or 
angle adjustment; and
    (F) a wire of not less than 3 meters either permanently connected 
or attached to the package that terminates in an 8mm diameter male 
barrel connector.

Preliminary Results of CCRs 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 AD or CVD order, in whole or in part, based on a 
review under section 751(b) of the Act (i.e., a CCR). Section 751(b)(1) 
of the Act requires a CCR 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 the 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) of Commerce's regulations provides that 
Commerce will conduct a CCR of an AD or CVD order under 19 CFR 351.216, 
and may revoke an order (in whole or in part), if it concludes that: 
(i) 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 (ii) if other changed circumstances sufficient to warrant revocation 
exist. Thus, both the Act and Commerce's regulations require that 
``substantially all'' domestic producers express a lack of interest in 
the order for Commerce to revoke the order, in whole or in part.\7\ In 
its administrative practice, Commerce has interpreted ``substantially 
all'' to represent producers accounting for at least 85 percent of U.S. 
production of the domestic like product.\8\
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    \7\ See section 782(h) of the Act; and 19 CFR 351.222(g).
    \8\ See, e.g., Honey from Argentina: Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Reviews; Preliminary 
Intent to Revoke Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 77 FR 
67790, 67791 (November 14, 2012), unchanged in Honey from Argentina: 
Final Results of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Changed 
Circumstances Reviews; Revocation of Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Orders, 77 FR 77029 (December 31, 2012).
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    Hello Tech submitted a letter from the Alliance, a coalition of 
domestic producers of the domestic like product, which stated that the 
Alliance did not oppose the changed circumstances reviews or the 
specific exclusion language proposed by Hello Tech.\9\ In that letter, 
the Alliance did not indicate its share of production of the domestic 
like product.\10\ Thus, Commerce was unable to determine, at the time 
that it initiated these CCRs, whether producers accounting for 
substantially all of the U.S. production of the domestic like product 
lacked interest in the Orders with respect to the off-grid small 
portable CSPV panels under consideration here. As a result, Commerce 
did not issue a combined notice of initiation and preliminary results 
in these CCRs.\11\ Instead, as stated above, in the Initiation Notice, 
Commerce invited interested parties to provide comments and/or factual 
information regarding these CCRs, including comments on industry 
support and the proposed partial revocation language. No party 
submitted comments. Accordingly, we find that the domestic industry has 
expressed no opposition with respect to the proposed revocation, in 
part, of the Orders.
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    \9\ See CCR Request at Exhibit 7.
    \10\ Id.; see also Initiation Notice.
    \11\ See Initiation Notice.
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    In light of the Alliance's statement of lack of interest in 
maintaining the Orders with respect to the off-grid small portable CSPV 
panels described by Hello Tech, and in the absence of any other 
interested party comments addressing the issue of domestic industry 
support, we preliminarily conclude that 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 off-grid small portable CSPV panels that are 
the subject of Hello Tech's CCR request. Thus, we preliminarily 
determine that changed circumstances warrant revocation of the Orders, 
in part, with respect to such panels. Accordingly, we are notifying the 
public of our intent to revoke the Orders, in part, with respect to the 
off-grid small portable CSPV panels described in the ``Scope of the 
CCRs'' section above.
    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 CCRs 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 reviews of the Orders, and which are not 
covered by automatic liquidation.
    We will consider comments from interested parties on these 
preliminary results before issuing the final results of these CCRs.\12\
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    \12\ See, e.g., Aluminum Extrusions from the People's Republic 
of China: Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Reviews, and 
Intent to Revoke Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders in Part, 
78 FR 66895 (November 7, 2013); and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(3)(v).
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Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results of CCRs 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 in the Federal Register. 
Rebuttal comments, limited to issues raised in written comments, may be 
filed no later than seven days after the due date for initial 
comments.\13\ All submissions must be filed electronically using 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System

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(ACCESS).\14\ ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. An electronically filed document must be successfully 
received in its entirety by ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the 
deadlines set forth in this notice. Note that Commerce has temporarily 
modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing 
business proprietary information, until further notice.\15\
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    \13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Temporary Rule Modifying 
AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective 
Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
    \14\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
    \15\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 29615 (May 18, 
2020); and Temporary Rule.
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Final Results of the CCRs

    Commerce will issue the final results of these CCRs, which will 
include its analysis of any written comments, no later than 270 days 
after the date on which these reviews were initiated.\16\ 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 ADs or CVDs, and to refund any estimated ADs and CVDs 
deposited on all unliquidated entries of the merchandise covered by the 
revocation that are not covered by the final results of an 
administrative review or an automatic liquidation instruction to CBP. 
The current requirement for cash deposits of estimated ADs and CVDs on 
all entries of subject merchandise will continue unless they are 
modified pursuant to the final results of these changed CCRs.
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.216(e).
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    These preliminary results of these reviews and this notice are 
published in accordance with sections 751(b) and 777(i) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.216, 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3), and 19 CFR 351.222.

    Dated: February 27, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2023-04576 Filed 3-6-23; 8:45 am]
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