[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 140 (Thursday, July 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34845-34848]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-13953]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-979, C-570-980]
Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled
Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of
Changed Circumstances Reviews, and Revocation of the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Orders, in Part
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) is issuing the
final results of changed circumstances reviews (CCRs) of the
antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on
crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into
modules (solar cells),
[[Page 34846]]
from the People's Republic of China (China) to revoke the orders, in
part, with respect to certain crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV)
cells.
DATES: Applicable July 24, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tyler O'Daniel, Office of Policy,
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20230; telephone: (202) 482-6030.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 7, 2012, Commerce published the AD and CVD orders on
solar cells from China.\1\ On August 28, 2024, Lutron Electronics Co.,
Inc. (Lutron), a domestic producer, importer and exporter of subject
merchandise, requested that Commerce conduct a changed circumstances
reviews (CCRs) to find that it is appropriate to revoke the Orders, in
part, with respect to certain small, low-wattage, off-grid (CSPV) cells
pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b).\2\ On October 21, 2024, Commerce
published the notice of initiation of the requested CCRs.\3\ 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.\4\ We received no comments or factual information.
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\1\ See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not
Assembled Into Modules, from the People's Republic of China: Amended
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, and
Antidumping Duty Order, 77 FR 73018 (December 7, 2012) (AD Order);
see also Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not
Assembled Into Modules, from the People's Republic of China:
Countervailing Duty Order, 77 FR 73017 (December 7, 2012) (CVD
Order) (collectively, Orders).
\2\ See Lutron's Letter, ``Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.'s
Request for Changed Circumstances Reviews and Request to Combine
Initiation and Preliminary Results,'' dated August 28, 2024 (CCR
Request).
\3\ See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products, Whether or
Not Assembled into Modules, from the People's Republic of China:
Notice of Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review, and
Consideration of Revocation of the Antidumping Order in Part, 89 FR
84114 (October 21, 2024) (Initiation Notice).
\4\ Id., 89 FR at 84117.
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On April 23, 2025, Commerce preliminarily found that producers
accounting for substantially all of the domestic production of the
products to which the Orders pertain lack interest in the relief
provided by the Orders with respect to CSPV cells, and announced its
intention to revoke, in part, the Orders with respect to these
products.\5\ Commerce provided interested parties with the opportunity
to comment and request a public hearing regarding the Preliminary
Results.\6\ Commerce did not receive any comments or a request for a
hearing from interested parties. As a result, the Preliminary Results
are hereby adopted as the final results of this CCR and no decision
memoranda accompany this notice.
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\5\ Id.
\6\ See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not
Assembled Into Modules, from Taiwan: Preliminary Results of Changed
Circumstances Reviews, and Intent To Revoke the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Orders, in Part, 90 FR 17048 (April 23, 2025)
(Preliminary Results).
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Final Results of Changed Circumstances Reviews and Revocation of the
Orders, in Part
In light of Lutron's request, and domestic interested parties' lack
of interest in maintaining the Orders with respect to the products
under consideration, Commerce continues to find, pursuant to sections
751(d)(1) and 782(h)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g), that changed
circumstances exist that warrant revocation of the Orders, in part. No
interested party opposed this partial revocation. Moreover, no parties
provided other information or evidence that calls into question the
partial revocation described in the Preliminary Results. Specifically,
because producers accounting for substantially all the production of
the domestic like product to which the Orders pertain have not
expressed interest in maintaining the relief provided by the Orders
with respect to CSPV cells, as described below, Commerce is revoking
the Orders, in part, with respect to CSPV cells with the following
physical characteristics:
Also excluded from the scope of these Orders are off-grid CSPV
panels in rigid form, with or without a glass cover, permanently
attached to an aluminum extrusion that is an integral component of
an automation device that controls natural light, whether or not
assembled into a fully completed automation device that controls
natural light, with the following characteristics:
1. A total power output of 20 watts or less per panel;
2. A maximum surface area of 1,000 cm2 per panel;
3. Does not include a built-in inverter for powering third party
devices.\7\
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\7\ See CCR Request at 3.
The scope description below includes this new exclusion.
Scope of the Orders
The merchandise covered by these Orders is crystalline silicon
photovoltaic cells, and modules, laminates, and panels, consisting of
crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not partially or
fully assembled into other products, including, but not limited to,
modules, laminates, panels and building integrated materials.
Subject merchandise includes 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 materials (including, but not limited to,
metallization and conductor patterns) to collect and forward the
electricity that is generated by the cell.
Modules, laminates, and panels produced in a third country from
cells produced in China are covered by the Orders; however, modules,
laminates, and panels produced in China from cells produced in a third
country are not covered by the Orders.
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 the Orders are crystalline silicon
photovoltaic cells, not exceeding 10,000 mm2 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 cell. Where more than
one cell is permanently integrated into a consumer good, the surface
area for purposes of this exclusion shall be the total combined surface
area of all cells that are integrated into the consumer good.
Further, also excluded from the scope of the Orders are panels with
surface area from 3,450 mm2 to 33,782 mm2 with one black wire and one
red wire (each of type 22 AWG or 24 AWG not more than 206 mm in length
when measured from panel extrusion), and not exceeding 2.9 volts, 1.1
amps, and 3.19 watts. For the purposes of this exclusion, no panel
shall contain an internal battery or external computer peripheral
ports.\8\
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\8\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 84117.
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Also excluded from the scope of the Orders are:
1. Off grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with the
following characteristics:
(A) a total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;
(B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel;
[[Page 34847]]
(C) do not include a built-in inverter;
(D) must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in
either an 8 mm male barrel connector, or a two-port rectangular
connector with two pins in square housings of different colors;
(E) must include visible parallel grid collector metallic wire
lines every 1-4 millimeters across each solar cell; and
(F) must be in individual retail packaging (for purposes of this
provision, retail packaging typically includes graphics, the product
name, its description and/or features, and foam for transport); and
2. Off grid CSPV panels without a glass cover, with the following
characteristics:
(A) a total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;
(B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm2 per panel;
(C) do not include a built-in inverter;
(D) must include visible parallel grid collector metallic wire
lines every 1-4 millimeters across each solar cell; and
(E) each panel is
1. permanently integrated into a consumer good;
2. encased in a laminated material without stitching, or
3. has all of the following characteristics: (i) the panel is
encased in sewn fabric with visible stitching, (ii) includes a mesh
zippered storage pocket, and (iii) includes a permanently attached wire
that terminates in a female USB-A connector.
In addition, the following CSPV panels are excluded from the scope
of the Orders:
1. Off-grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with each
of the following physical characteristics, whether or not assembled
into a fully completed off-grid hydropanel whose function is conversion
of water vapor into liquid water:
(A) A total power output of no more than 80 watts per panel;
(B) A surface area of less than 5,000 cm2 per panel;
(C) Do not include a built-in inverter;
(D) Do not have a frame around the edges of the panel;
(E) Include a clear glass back panel; and
(F) Must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a
two-port rectangular connector.
Modules, laminates, and panels produced in a third country from
cells produced in China are covered by the Orders; however, modules,
laminates, and panels produced in China from cells produced in a third
country are not covered by the Orders.
Additionally excluded from the scope of these Orders are off-grid
small portable crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels, with or without
a glass cover, with the following characteristics: (1) a total power
output of 200 watts or less per panel; (2) a maximum surface area of
16,000 cm2 per panel; (3) no built-in inverter; (4) an integrated
handle or a handle attached to the package for ease of carry; (5) one
or more integrated kickstands for easy installation or angle
adjustment; and (6) 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.
Also excluded from the scope of the Orders are off-grid crystalline
silicon photovoltaic panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with each
of the following physical characteristics, whether or not assembled
into a fully completed off-grid hydropanel whose function is conversion
of water vapor into liquid water:
(A) A total power output of no more than 180 watts per panel at 155
degrees Celsius;
(B) A surface area of less than 16,000 square centimeters (cm2) per
panel;
(C) Include a keep-out area of approximately 1,200 cm2 around the
edges of the panel that does not contain solar cells;
(D) Do not include a built-in inverter;
(E) Do not have a frame around the edges of the panel;
(F) Include a clear glass back panel;
(G) Must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a
two-port rounded rectangular, sealed connector;
(H) Include a thermistor installed into the permanently connected
wire before the two-port connector; and
(I) Include exposed positive and negative terminals at opposite
ends of the panel, not enclosed in a junction box.
Also excluded from the scope of these Orders are off-grid CSPV
panels in rigid form, with or without a glass cover, permanently
attached to an aluminum extrusion that is an integral component of an
automation device that controls natural light, whether or not assembled
into a fully completed automation device that controls natural light,
with the following characteristics: (1) A total power output of 20
watts or less per panel; (2) A maximum surface area of 1,000 cm2 per
panel; (3) Does not include a built-in inverter for powering third
party devices.
Merchandise covered by these Orders is currently classified in the
Harmonized Tariff System of the United States (HTSUS) under subheadings
8501.71.0000, 8501.72.1000, 8501.72.2000, 8501.72.3000, 8501.72.9000,
8501.80.1000, 8501.80.2000, 8501.80.3000, 8501.80.9000, 8507.20.8010,
8507.20.8031, 8507.20.8041, 8507.20.8061, 8507.20.8091, 8541.42.0010,
and 8541.43.0010. These HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience
and customs purposes; the written description of the scope of the
Orders are dispositive.\9\
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\9\ See Orders.
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Application of the Final Results of the CCRs
Lutron requested that Commerce apply the final results of these
reviews to ``all unliquidated entries of the merchandise covered by the
revocation that are not covered by the final results of an
administrative review or automatic liquidation instruction.'' \10\
Section 751(d)(3) of the Act provides that Commerce determine the date
of application of the revocation of an order.\11\ In the Preliminary
Results, we stated our intent that ``the partial revocation will be
retroactively applied to unliquidated entries of merchandise subject to
the CCR 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 Order, and which
are not covered by automatic liquidation,'' and invited comments.\12\
As explained above, we received no comments opposing the intended
retroactive application of the partial revocation. Therefore, Commerce
is applying the partial revocation to unliquidated entries of
merchandise subject to the CCRs that were entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption, on or after December 1, 2022 for the AD
Order and January 1, 2022 for the CVD Order.
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\10\ See Initiation Notice, 89 FR at 84117.
\11\ See section 751(d)(3) of the Act (stating that a
``determination under this section to revoke an order or finding or
terminate a suspended investigation shall apply with respect to
unliquidated entries of the subject merchandise which are entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date
determined by the administering authority'').
\12\ See Preliminary Results.
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Instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP
Because we determine that there are changed circumstances that
warrant the revocation of the Orders, in part, we will instruct CBP to
liquidate without regard to antidumping and countervailing duties, and
to refund any estimated antidumping and countervailing duties deposited
on all unliquidated entries of the merchandise entered, or withdrawn
from warehouse,
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for consumption on or after December 1, 2022 for the AD Order and
January 1, 2022 for the CVD Order, that are covered by this partial
revocation of the Orders. Commerce intends to issue instructions to CBP
no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of these final
results of CCRs in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed
at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the 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).
Administrative Protective Order
This notice serves as a final reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
an APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written
notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion
to a judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply
with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing the final results of the CCRs 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(g).
Dated: July 18, 2025.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2025-13953 Filed 7-23-25; 8:45 am]
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