[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 154 (Friday, August 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65328-65330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17749]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-580-908]


Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the Republic of 
Korea: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2022-2023

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminary 
determines that Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. (Hankook) and Nexen 
Tire Corporation (Nexen) made sales of passenger vehicle and light 
truck tires (passenger tires) from the Republic of Korea (Korea) at 
prices below normal value (NV) during the period of review (POR), July 
1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. We invite interested parties to comment 
on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable August 9, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles DeFilippo and Jun Jack Zhao, 
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) 482-3797 
and (202) 482-1396, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On July 19, 2021, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
antidumping duty order on passenger tires from Korea.\1\ On July 3, 
2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of 
opportunity to request an administrative review of the Order.\2\ On 
September 11, 2023, based on timely requests for review and in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), Commerce initiated an 
administrative review of the Order.\3\
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    \1\ See Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the 
Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand: Antidumping Duty Orders and 
Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Duty Determination for 
Thailand, 86 FR 38011 (July 19, 2021) (Order).
    \2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 42693 (July 3, 
2023).
    \3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review, 88 FR 42322 (September 11, 2023).
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    On March 22, 2024, in accordance with section 751(a)(3)(A) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(2), 
Commerce extended the due date for the preliminary results until July 
30, 2024.\4\ On July 22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in 
this administrative proceeding by seven days.\5\ The deadline for the 
preliminary results is now August 6, 2024.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,'' dated March 22, 
2024.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
A list of the

[[Page 65329]]

topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as 
the appendix 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 https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Results of the Administrative Review of the Antidumping Duty Order 
on Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the Republic of 
Korea; 2022-2023,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 
this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the Order are passenger tires from Korea. 
The products covered by this Order are currently classified under the 
following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 
subheadings: 4011.10.1010, 4011.10.1020, 4011.10.1030, 4011.10.1040, 
4011.10.1050, 4011.10.1060, 4011.10.1070, 4011.10.5000, 4011.20.1005, 
and 4011.20.5010. Tires meeting the scope description may also enter 
under the following HTSUS subheadings: 4011.90.1010, 4011.90.1050, 
4011.90.2010, 4011.90.2050, 4011.90.8010, 4011.90.8050, 8708.70.4530, 
8708.70.4546, 8708.70.4548, 8708.70.4560, 8708.70.6030, 8708.70.6045, 
and 8708.70.6060. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience 
and for customs purposes, the written description of the subject 
merchandise is dispositive. For a full description of the scope of the 
Order, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a) of the Act. Export price and constructed export price are 
calculated in accordance with section 772 of the Act. NV is calculated 
in accordance with section 773 of the Act. For a full description of 
the methodology underlying these preliminary results, see the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Rate for Non-Examined Companies

    The Act and Commerce's regulations do not address the establishment 
of a weighted-average dumping margin to be determined for companies not 
selected for individual examination when Commerce limits its 
examination in an administrative review pursuant to section 777A(c)(2) 
of the Act. Generally, Commerce looks to section 735(c)(5) of the Act, 
which provides instructions for calculating the all-others rate in a 
less-than-fair-value investigation, for guidance when determining the 
weighted-average dumping margin for companies which were not selected 
for individual examination in an administrative review.
    Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that Commerce will base 
the all-others rate on the weighted average of the estimated weighted-
average dumping margins calculated for the individually examined 
respondents, excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or based 
entirely on facts available. Where the estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin for each of the individually examined companies is zero, 
de minimis, or based entirely on facts available, section 735(c)(5)(B) 
of the Act provides that Commerce may use ``any reasonable method to 
establish the estimated all-others rate for exporters and producers not 
individually investigated, including averaging the estimated weighted-
average dumping margins determined for the exporters and producers 
individually investigated.''
    In this review, the preliminary weighted-average dumping margins 
for Hankook and Nexen are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on 
facts otherwise available. Therefore, we have preliminarily assigned to 
the non-examined company, Kumho Tire Co., Inc., a rate equal to the 
weighted average of the weighted-average dumping margins calculated for 
Hankook and Nexen, consistent with the guidance in section 735(c)(5)(A) 
of the Act.\7\
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    \7\ We used publicly ranged U.S. sales values to weight average 
the weighted-average dumping margins of the mandatory respondents. 
See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review of Passenger Vehicles and Light Truck Tires 
from the Republic of Korea: Rate for Non-Examined Companies,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice. With two respondents under 
examination, Commerce normally calculates: (A) a weighted-average of 
the weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the examined 
respondents; (B) a simple average of the weighted-average dumping 
margins calculated for the examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-
average of the weighted-average dumping margins calculated for the 
examined respondents using each company's publicly ranged U.S. sale 
quantities for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce then 
compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) as 
the most appropriate rate for the non-individually-examined 
respondents. See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, 
Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-
Circumstances Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 
53661, 53663 (September 1, 2010).
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Preliminary Results of Review

    As a result of this review, Commerce preliminarily determines that 
the following weighted-average dumping margins exist for the period 
July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Weighted-
                                                                average
                    Producer or exporter                        dumping
                                                                margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hankook Tire Mfg Co. Ltd....................................        4.75
Nexen Tire Corporation......................................        3.63
Kumho Tire Co., Inc.........................................        4.19
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis 
performed to interested parties for these preliminary results under 
administrative protective order within five days of any 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).
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case 
briefs or other written comments to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance no later than 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised 
in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the 
date for filing case briefs.\8\ Interested parties who submit case 
briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table 
of contents listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\9\
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
    \9\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an 
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that 
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, 
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\10\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary 
of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the 
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that 
will accompany the

[[Page 65330]]

final results in this administrative review. We request that interested 
parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the executive 
summary of each issue.
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    \10\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and 
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of 
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to 
those raised in the respective case briefs.
    An electronically filed document must be received successfully in 
its entirety by Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. 
Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this 
notice. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements 
pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\11\
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    \11\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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Final Results of Review

    Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative 
review, including the results of its analysis of the issues raised in 
any written briefs, no later than 120 days after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, unless extended, 
pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).

Assessment Rates

    Upon completion of this administrative review, Commerce shall 
determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(b). If a respondent's weighted-average dumping margin is not 
zero or de minimis (i.e., less than 0.5 percent) in the final results 
of this review, we will calculate importer-specific assessment rate on 
the basis of the ratio of the total amount of dumping calculated for an 
importer's examined sales and the total entered value of such sales in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).\12\ If the weighted-average 
dumping margin is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, or 
an importer-specific assessment rate is zero or de minimis, then we 
will instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard 
to antidumping duties.
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    \12\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Calculation of the Weighted-
Average Dumping Margin and Assessment Rate in Certain Antidumping 
Proceedings; Final Modification, 77 FR 8101, 8103 (February 14, 
2012).
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    For entries of subject merchandise during the POR produced by an 
individually examined respondent for which it did not know its 
merchandise was destined for the United States, we intend to instruct 
CBP to liquidate such entries at the all-others rate (i.e., 21.74 
percent) \13\ if there is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) 
involved in the transaction.\14\
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    \13\ See Order, 86 FR at 38012.
    \14\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 
68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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    For non-individually-examined companies, the assessment rate for 
antidumping duties will be equal to the weighted-average dumping margin 
in the final results of review. If the weighted-average dumping margin 
is zero or de minimis in the final results of review, then we will 
instruct CBP to liquidate the appropriate entries without regard to 
antidumping duties.
    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier 
than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this 
administrative review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is 
filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment 
instructions will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until 
the time for parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has 
expired (i.e., within 90 days of publication). The final results of 
this administrative review shall be the basis for the assessment of 
antidumping duties on entries of merchandise under review and for 
future cash deposits of estimated antidumping duties, where applicable.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective for all 
shipments of subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after the date of publication of the final 
results of this administrative review in the Federal Register, as 
provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit 
rate for the exporters listed above will be the rate established in the 
final results of this review (except, if the rate is zero or de 
minimis, then no cash deposit will be required); (2) for previously 
reviewed or investigated exporters not listed above, the cash deposit 
rate will continue to be the company-specific rate published for the 
most recently completed segment of this proceeding in which the company 
participated; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, 
a prior review, or the less-than-fair value investigation, but the 
producer is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the 
most recently completed segment of this proceeding for the producer of 
the subject merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit rate for all other 
producers or exporters will continue to be 21.74 percent, the all-
others rate established in the less-than-fair value investigation.\15\ 
These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect 
until further notice.
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    \15\ See Order, 86 FR at 38012.
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Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: August 5, 2024.
Scot Fullerton,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations.

Appendix

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Discussion of the Methodology
V. Currency Conversion
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-17749 Filed 8-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P