[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 134 (Friday, July 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45135-45138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14891]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-146]


Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof From the People's 
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. 
Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing a countervailing duty (CVD) order 
on certain freight rail couplers and parts thereof (freight rail 
couplers) from the People's Republic of China (China).

DATES: Applicable July 14, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terre Keaton Stefanova or Paul Gill, 
AD/CVD Operations, Office IX, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1280 or (202) 
482-5673, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), on May 19, 2023, Commerce published its affirmative 
final determination in the CVD investigation of freight rail couplers 
from China.\1\ On July 3, 2023, the ITC notified Commerce of its final 
affirmative determination that an industry in the United States is

[[Page 45136]]

materially injured by reason of subsidized imports of freight rail 
couplers from China, within the meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of 
the Act.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination and Final Affirmative Critical Circumstances 
Determination, in Part, 88 FR 32184 (May 19, 2023) (Final 
Determination).
    \2\ See ITC's Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final 
Determinations,'' dated July 3, 2023 (ITC Notification).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are freight rail couplers from 
China. For a complete description of the scope of the order, see the 
appendix to this notice.

Countervailing Duty Order

    On July 3, 2023, in accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, the 
ITC notified Commerce of its 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 imports of freight rail 
couplers from China.\3\ Therefore, Commerce is issuing this CVD order 
in accordance with sections 705(c)(2) and 706 of the Act. Because the 
ITC determined that imports of freight rail couplers from China are 
materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of such 
merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption are subject to the assessment of countervailing duties.
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    \3\ Id.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a)(1) of the Act, 
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on 
all relevant entries of freight rail couplers from China. 
Countervailing duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of 
freight rail couplers from China which are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after March 3, 2023, the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination,\4\ but will not be 
assessed on entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional 
measures period and before publication of the ITC's final affirmative 
injury determination, as further described in the ``Provisional 
Measures'' section below.
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    \4\ See Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination and Preliminary Affirmative Critical 
Circumstances Determination, 88 FR 13425 (March 3, 2023) 
(Preliminary Determination).
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Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits

    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce will instruct 
CBP to continue to suspend liquidation of all relevant entries of 
freight rail couplers from China. These instructions suspending 
liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.
    Commerce also intends, pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, to 
instruct CBP to require cash deposits equal to the amounts as indicated 
below. Accordingly, effective on the date of publication of the ITC's 
final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register, CBP 
will require, at the same time as importers would deposit estimated 
normal customs duties on the subject merchandise, a cash deposit for 
each entry of subject merchandise equal to the subsidy rates listed 
below.\5\ The all-others rate applies to all producers or exporters not 
specifically listed below, as appropriate.
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    \5\ See section 706(a)(3) of the Act.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                           (percent  ad
                                                             valorem)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chongqing Changzheng Heavy Industry Co., Ltd............          265.99
Chongqing Tongyao Transportation Equipment Co...........          265.99
CRRC Qiqihar Co., Ltd...................................          265.99
NanJing Zhongsheng Rolling Stock Components Co. Ltd.....          265.99
Ningbo Minghui Metal Technology Co., Ltd................          265.99
Qingdao Lianshan Casting Co., Ltd.......................          265.99
Qingdao Sanheshan Precision Casting Co., Ltd............          265.99
Shaanxi Haiduo Railway Technology Development Co., Ltd..          265.99
Shanghai Voith Xiagujin Chuang Coupler Technology Co.,            265.99
 Ltd....................................................
All Others..............................................          265.99
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Provisional Measures

    Section 703(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation 
instructions issued pursuant to an affirmative preliminary 
determination may not remain in effect for more than four months. 
Commerce published its Preliminary Determination on March 3, 2023.\6\ 
Therefore, the provisional measures period, beginning on the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination, ended on June 30, 2023. 
Pursuant to section 707(b) of the Act, the collection of cash deposits 
at the rates listed above will begin on the date of publication of the 
ITC's final affirmative injury determinations.
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    \6\ See Preliminary Determination.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, Commerce 
will instruct CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to 
liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated 
entries of freight rail couplers from China entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption after June 30, 2023, the date on which the 
provisional measures expired, through July 6, 2023, the day preceding 
the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the 
Federal Register.\7\ Suspension of liquidation will resume on the date 
of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination in 
the Federal Register.
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    \7\ See Certain Freight Rail Couplers and Parts Thereof from 
China, 88 FR 43398 (July 7, 2023).
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Critical Circumstances

    With regard to the ITC's negative critical circumstances 
determination on imports of freight rail couplers from China,\8\ 
Commerce intends to instruct CBP to lift suspension and to refund any 
cash deposits made to secure the payment of estimated countervailing 
duties with respect to entries of the subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after December 3, 2022 
(i.e., 90 days prior to the date of the publication of the Preliminary 
Determination), but before March 3, 2023 (i.e., the date of publication 
of the Preliminary Determination).
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    \8\ Id.
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Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service List

    On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the Final Rule in the 
Federal

[[Page 45137]]

Register.\9\ On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published the 
Procedural Guidance in the Federal Register.\10\ 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.\11\
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    \9\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 20, 
2021) (Final Rule).
    \10\ See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List; 
and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021) 
(Procedural Guidance).
    \11\ Id.
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    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.'' \12\
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    \12\ 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.
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    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.'' \13\ Accordingly, as stated 
above, the petitioner and the Government of China should submit their 
initial entry of appearance after publication of this notice in order 
to appear in the first annual inquiry service list for this order. 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(n)(3), the petitioner and the Government of 
China 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 China 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.
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    \13\ See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
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Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the CVD order with respect to freight rail 
couplers from China pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act. Interested 
parties can find a list of duty orders currently in effect at https://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    This CVD order is published in accordance with section 706(a) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: July 7, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by the order is certain freight railcar 
couplers (also known as ``fits'' or ``assemblies'') and parts 
thereof. Freight railcar couplers are composed of two main parts, 
namely knuckles and coupler bodies but may also include other items 
(e.g., coupler locks, lock lift assemblies, knuckle pins, knuckle 
throwers, and rotors). The parts of couplers that are covered by the 
order include: (1) E coupler bodies, (2) E/F coupler bodies, (3) F 
coupler bodies, (4) E knuckles, and (5) F knuckles, as set forth by 
the Association of American Railroads (AAR). The freight rail 
coupler parts (i.e., knuckles and coupler bodies) are included 
within the scope of the order when imported separately. Coupler 
locks, lock lift assemblies, knuckle pins, knuckle throwers, and 
rotors are covered merchandise when imported in an assembly but are 
not covered by the scope when imported separately.
    Subject freight railcar couplers and parts are included within 
the scope whether finished or unfinished, whether imported 
individually or with other subject or nonsubject parts, whether 
assembled or unassembled, whether mounted or unmounted, or if joined 
with nonsubject merchandise, such as other nonsubject parts or a 
completed railcar. Finishing includes, but is not limited to, arc 
washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, heat treatment, 
machining, and assembly of various parts. When a subject coupler or 
subject parts are mounted on or to other nonsubject merchandise, 
such as a railcar, only the coupler or subject parts are covered by 
the scope.
    The finished products covered by the scope of the order meet or 
exceed the AAR specifications of M-211, ``Foundry and Product 
Approval Requirements for the Manufacture of Couplers, Coupler 
Yokes, Knuckles, Follower Blocks, and Coupler Parts'' and/or AAR M-
215 ``Coupling Systems,'' or other equivalent domestic or 
international standards (including any revisions to the 
standard(s)).
    The country of origin for subject couplers and parts thereof, 
whether fully assembled, unfinished or finished, or attached to a 
railcar, is the country where the subject coupler parts were cast or 
forged. Subject merchandise includes coupler parts as defined above 
that have been further processed or further assembled, including 
those coupler parts attached to a railcar in third countries. 
Further processing includes, but is not limited to, arc washing, 
welding, grinding, shot blasting, heat treatment, painting, coating, 
priming, machining, and assembly of various parts. The inclusion, 
attachment, joining, or assembly of nonsubject parts with subject 
parts or couplers either in the country of manufacture of the in-
scope product or in a third country does not remove the subject 
parts or couplers from the scope.
    The couplers that are the subject to the order are currently 
classifiable in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS) statistical reporting number 8607.30.1000. Unfinished 
subject merchandise may also enter under HTSUS statistical reporting 
number 7326.90.8688. Subject merchandise attached to finished 
railcars may also enter under HTSUS statistical reporting numbers 
8606.10.0000, 8606.30.0000, 8606.91.0000, 8606.92.0000, 
8606.99.0130, 8606.99.0160, or under subheading 9803.00.50. Subject 
merchandise

[[Page 45138]]

may also be imported under HTSUS statistical reporting number 
7325.99.5000. These HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience 
and customs purposes only; the written description of the scope of 
the order is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2023-14891 Filed 7-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P