Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders

Paul Piquado
International Trade Administration
February 4, 2014

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 4, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6539-6541]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02289]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-912 and C-570-913]


Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's 
Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Orders

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

SUMMARY: As a result of the determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) and the U.S. International Trade Commission 
(the USITC) that revocation of the antidumping duty (AD) order and 
revocation of the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain new 
pneumatic off-the-road tires (OTR Tires) from the People's Republic of 
China (PRC) would likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of 
dumping and a continuation or recurrence of net countervailable 
subsidies and material injury to an industry in the United States, the 
Department is publishing a notice of continuation of these AD and CVD 
orders.

DATES: Effective Date: February 4, 2014.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Huston (AD) or Demitrios 
Kalogeropoulos (CVD), AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of

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Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone (202) 482-4261 or (202) 482-2623, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 1, 2013, the Department initiated a sunset review of 
these orders, pursuant to sections 751(c) and 752 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act).\1\ As a result of its review, the 
Department determined that revocation of the AD order on OTR Tires from 
the PRC would likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping 
and that revocation of the CVD order on OTR Tires from the PRC would 
likely lead to a continuation or recurrence of net countervailable 
subsidies and, therefore, notified the USITC of the magnitude of the 
margins of dumping and the subsidy rates likely to prevail should the 
order be revoked.\2\ On January 22, 2014, the USITC published its 
determination, pursuant to sections 751(c) and 752 of the Act, that 
revocation of the AD and CVD orders on OTR Tires from the PRC would 
lead to a continuation or recurrence of material injury to an industry 
in the United States within a reasonably foreseeable time.\3\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Five-Year (``Sunset'') Review, 78 FR 46575 
(August 1, 2013).
    \2\ See Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the 
People's Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited Sunset 
Review of the Countervailing Duty Order, 78 FR 77101 (December 20, 
2013); Certain New Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires From the People's 
Republic of China: Final Results of the Expedited Sunset Review of 
the Antidumping Duty Order, 79 FR 2415 (January 14, 2014), 
(collectively, Orders).
    \3\ See Certain Off-the-Road Tires From China, 79 FR 3624 
(January 22, 2014).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the scope of these Orders are new pneumatic 
tires designed for off-the-road (OTR) and off-highway use, subject to 
exceptions identified below. Certain OTR tires are generally designed, 
manufactured and offered for sale for use on off-road or off-highway 
surfaces, including but not limited to, agricultural fields, forests, 
construction sites, factory and warehouse interiors, airport tarmacs, 
ports and harbors, mines, quarries, gravel yards, and steel mills. The 
vehicles and equipment for which certain OTR tires are designed for use 
include, but are not limited to: (1) Agricultural and forestry vehicles 
and equipment, including agricultural tractors,\4\ combine 
harvesters,\5\ agricultural high clearance sprayers,\6\ industrial 
tractors,\7\ log-skidders,\8\ agricultural implements, highway-towed 
implements, agricultural logging, and agricultural, industrial, skid-
steers/mini-loaders; \9\ (2) construction vehicles and equipment, 
including earthmover articulated dump products, rigid frame haul 
trucks,\10\ front end loaders,\11\ dozers,\12\ lift trucks, straddle 
carriers,\13\ graders,\14\ mobile cranes,\15\ compactors; and (3) 
industrial vehicles and equipment, including smooth floor, industrial, 
mining, counterbalanced lift trucks, industrial and mining vehicles 
other than smooth floor, skid-steers/mini-loaders, and smooth floor 
off-the-road counterbalanced lift trucks.\16\ The foregoing list of 
vehicles and equipment generally have in common that they are used for 
hauling, towing, lifting, and/or loading a wide variety of equipment 
and materials in agricultural, construction and industrial settings. 
Such vehicles and equipment, and the descriptions contained in the 
footnotes are illustrative of the types of vehicles and equipment that 
use certain OTR tires, but are not necessarily all-inclusive. While the 
physical characteristics of certain OTR tires will vary depending on 
the specific applications and conditions for which the tires are 
designed (e.g., tread pattern and depth), all of the tires within the 
scope have in common that they are designed for off-road and off-
highway use. Except as discussed below, OTR tires included in the scope 
of the proceeding range in size (rim diameter) generally but not 
exclusively from 8 inches to 54 inches. The tires may be either tube-
type \17\ or tubeless, radial or non-radial, and intended for sale 
either to original equipment manufacturers or the replacement market. 
The subject merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 
4011.20.10.25, 4011.20.10.35, 4011.20.50.30, 4011.20.50.50, 
4011.61.00.00, 4011.62.00.00, 4011.63.00.00, 4011.69.00.00, 
4011.92.00.00, 4011.93.40.00, 4011.93.80.00, 4011.94.40.00, and 
4011.94.80.00. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, our written description of the scope is dispositive.
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    \4\ Agricultural tractors are dual-axle vehicles that typically 
are designed to pull farming equipment in the field and that may 
have front tires of a different size than the rear tires.
    \5\ Combine harvesters are used to harvest crops such as corn or 
wheat.
    \6\ Agricultural sprayers are used to irrigate agricultural 
fields.
    \7\ Industrial tractors are dual-axle vehicles that typically 
are designed to pull industrial equipment and that may have front 
tires of a different size than the rear tires.
    \8\ A log-skidder has a grappling lift arm that is used to 
grasp, lift and move trees that have been cut down to a truck or 
trailer for transport to a mill or other destination.
    \9\ Skid-steer loaders are four-wheel drive vehicles with the 
left-side drive wheels independent of the right-side drive wheels 
and lift arms that lie alongside the driver with the major pivot 
points behind the driver's shoulders. Skid-steer loaders are used in 
agricultural, construction and industrial settings.
    \10\ Haul trucks, which may be either rigid frame or articulated 
(i.e., able to bend in the middle) are typically used in mines, 
quarries and construction sites to haul soil, aggregate, mined ore, 
or debris.
    \11\ Front loaders have lift arms in front of the vehicle. They 
can scrape material from one location to another, carry material in 
their buckets, or load material into a truck or trailer.
    \12\ A dozer is a large four-wheeled vehicle with a dozer blade 
that is used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., 
typically around construction sites. They can also be used to 
perform ``rough grading'' in road construction.
    \13\ A straddle carrier is a rigid frame, engine-powered machine 
that is used to load and offload containers from container vessels 
and load them onto (or off of) tractor trailers.
    \14\ A grader is a vehicle with a large blade used to create a 
flat surface. Graders are typically used to perform ``finish 
grading.'' Graders are commonly used in maintenance of unpaved roads 
and road construction to prepare the base course onto which asphalt 
or other paving material will be laid.
    \15\ I.e., ``on-site'' mobile cranes designed for off-highway 
use.
    \16\ A counterbalanced lift truck is a rigid framed, engine-
powered machine with lift arms that has additional weight 
incorporated into the back of the machine to offset or 
counterbalance the weight of loads that it lifts so as to prevent 
the vehicle from overturning. An example of a counterbalanced lift 
truck is a counterbalanced fork lift truck. Counterbalanced lift 
trucks may be designed for use on smooth floor surfaces, such as a 
factory or warehouse, or other surfaces, such as construction sites, 
mines, etc.
    \17\ While tube-type tires are subject to the scope of this 
proceeding, tubes and flaps are not subject merchandise and 
therefore are not covered by the scope of this proceeding, 
regardless of the manner in which they are sold (e.g., sold with or 
separately from subject merchandise).
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    Specifically excluded from the scope are new pneumatic tires 
designed, manufactured and offered for sale primarily for on-highway or 
on-road use, including passenger cars, race cars, station wagons, sport 
utility vehicles, minivans, mobile homes, motorcycles, bicycles, on-
road or on-highway trailers, light trucks, and trucks and buses. Such 
tires generally have in common that the symbol ``DOT'' must appear on 
the sidewall, certifying that the tire conforms to applicable motor 
vehicle safety standards. Such excluded tires may also have the 
following designations that are used by the Tire and Rim Association:
    Prefix letter designations:
     P--Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on 
passenger cars;

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     LT--Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on 
light trucks; and,
     ST--Identifies a special tire for trailers in highway 
service.
    Suffix letter designations:
     TR--Identifies a tire for service on trucks, buses, and 
other vehicles with rims having specified rim diameter of nominal plus 
0.156'' or plus 0.250''
     MH--Identifies tires for Mobile Homes;
     HC--Identifies a heavy duty tire designated for use on 
``HC'' 15'' tapered rims used on trucks, buses, and other vehicles. 
This suffix is intended to differentiate among tires for light trucks, 
and other vehicles or other services, which use a similar designation.
     Example: 8R17.5 LT, 8R17.5 HC;
     LT--Identifies light truck tires for service on trucks, 
buses, trailers, and multipurpose passenger vehicles used in nominal 
highway service; and
     MC--Identifies tires and rims for motorcycles.
    The following types of tires are also excluded from the scope: 
Pneumatic tires that are not new, including recycled or retreaded tires 
and used tires; non-pneumatic tires, including solid rubber tires; 
tires of a kind designed for use on aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, and 
vehicles for turf, lawn and garden, golf and trailer applications. Also 
excluded from the scope are radial and bias tires of a kind designed 
for use in mining and construction vehicles and equipment that have a 
rim diameter equal to or exceeding 39 inches. Such tires may be 
distinguished from other tires of similar size by the number of plies 
that the construction and mining tires contain (minimum of 16) and the 
weight of such tires (minimum 1500 pounds).

Continuation of the Order

    As a result of the determinations by the Department and the USITC 
that revocation of the AD and CVD orders would likely lead to a 
continuation or recurrence of dumping and net countervailable subsidies 
and material injury to an industry in the United States, pursuant to 
section 751(d)(2) of the Act, the Department hereby orders the 
continuation of the AD and CVD Orders on OTR Tires from the PRC. U.S 
Customs and Border Protection will continue to collect AD duty and CVD 
cash deposits at the rates in effect at the time of entry for all 
imports of subject merchandise. The effective date of this continuation 
of the Orders will be the date of publication in the Federal Register 
of this notice of continuation. Pursuant to section 751(c)(2) of the 
Act, the Department intends to initiate the next five-year review of 
the Orders not later than 30 days prior to the effective date of the 
continuation.
    The five-year (sunset) review and this notice are in accordance 
with section 751(c) of the Act and published pursuant to section 
777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.218(f)(4).

    Dated: January 29, 2014.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2014-02289 Filed 2-3-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P