Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty New Shipper Review; 2014-2016

Christian Marsh
Department of Commerce
6 June 2016

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 108 (Monday, June 6, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36262-36263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13204]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-017]


Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty New Shipper 
Review; 2014-2016

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On February 25, 2016, the Department received a timely request 
for a new shipper review (NSR) from Shandong Xinghongyuan Tire Co., 
Ltd. (SXT), in accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Tariff 
Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.214(c). The 
Department of Commerce (the Department) has determined that the request 
for a NSR of the countervailing duty order on certain passenger vehicle 
and light truck tires (passenger tires) from the People's Republic of 
China (PRC) meets the statutory and regulatory requirements for 
initiation. The period of review (POR) is December 1, 2014, through 
January 31, 2016.

DATES: Effective Date: June 6, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Hoadley, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Department published the countervailing duty order on passenger 
tires from the PRC in the Federal Register on August 10, 2015.\1\ On 
February 25, 2016, pursuant to section

[[Page 36263]]

751(a)(2)(B)(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the ``Act''), 
and 19 CFR 351.214(b) and (c), the Department received a timely request 
for a NSR from SXT. Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.214(b)(2)(i), SXT certified that it is the exporter and 
producer of the passenger tires for which the request for a NSR is 
based, and certified that it did not export passenger tires to the 
United States during the period of investigation (POI).\2\ Moreover, 
pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(B)(i)(II) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.214(b)(2)(iii)(A), SXT certified that, since the investigation was 
initiated, it never has been affiliated with any exporter or producer 
who exported the subject merchandise to the United States during the 
POI, including those not individually examined during the 
investigation.\3\ Further, as required by 19 CFR 351.214(b)(2)(v), it 
certified that it informed the government of the PRC that the 
government will be required to provide a full response to the 
Department's questionnaires.\4\
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    \1\ See Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the 
People's Republic of China: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping 
Duty Determination and Antidumping Duty Order; and Amended Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Countervailing 
Duty Order, 80 FR 47902 (August 10, 2015).
    \2\ See SXT's request for a NSR dated February 25, 2016, at 
Exhibit 2.
    \3\ Id.
    \4\ Id.
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    In addition to the certifications described above, pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.214(b)(2)(iv), SXT submitted documentation establishing the 
following: (1) The date of its first sale to an unaffiliated customer 
in the United States; (2) the date on which the passenger tires were 
first entered for consumption; (3) the volume of that shipment.\5\
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    \5\ Id. at Exhibit 1.
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    The Department queried the database of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) in an attempt to confirm that the shipment reported by 
SXT had entered the United States for consumption and that liquidation 
had been suspended as subject to the countervailing duty order. The 
information which the Department examined was consistent with that 
provided by SXT in its request.\6\ In particular, the CBP data 
confirmed the price and quantity reported by SXT for the sale that 
forms the basis for this NSR request.
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    \6\ See Memorandum to the File from Spencer Toubia, ``New 
Shipper Review of the Countervailing Duty Order on Passenger Vehicle 
and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China: Customs 
Entries from January 1, 2013,'' dated March 31, 2016.
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Period of Review

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.214(c), an exporter or producer may request 
a NSR within one year of the date on which its subject merchandise was 
first entered. Moreover, 19 CFR 351.214(d)(1) states that if the 
request for the review is made during the six-month period ending with 
the end of the semiannual anniversary month, the Department will 
initiate a NSR in the calendar month immediately following the 
semiannual anniversary month. Further, 19 CFR 351.214(g)(2) and 19 CFR 
351.213(e)(2)(ii) state that the first review period after an order 
normally will cover entries or exports from the date of suspension of 
liquidation to the end of the most recently completed calendar year. 
However, since SXT's shipment entered the United States after the end 
of 2015, and because SXT has requested a concurrent NSR of the 
antidumping duty order covering the same shipment, we are expanding the 
POR by one month.\7\ Therefore, the POR is December 1, 2014, through 
January 31, 2016.\8\
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    \7\ See Raw Flexible Magnets From the People's Republic of 
China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty New Shipper Review, 75 FR 
22741 (April 30, 2010) (expanding the POR for a NSR of a CVD order); 
see also Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62 
FR 27296, 27320 (May 19, 1997) (The Department's regulations 
``provide the Department with sufficient flexibility to resolve any 
problems that may arise {when the requestor's first shipment occurs 
after the calendar year in question{time}  by modifying the standard 
review period.'').
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.214(g)(1)(i)(B).
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Initiation of New Shipper Review

    Pursuant to section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.214(b), 
and the information on the record, the Department finds that SXT's 
request meets the threshold requirements for initiation of a NSR and, 
therefore, is initiating a NSR of SXT. If the information supplied by 
STX is found to be incorrect or insufficient during the course of this 
proceeding, the Department may rescind the review for STX or apply 
facts available pursuant to section 776 of the Act, depending on the 
facts on the record. Absent a determination that the new shipper review 
is extraordinarily complicated, the Department intends to issue the 
preliminary results within 180 days after the date on which this review 
is initiated and the final results within 90 days after the date on 
which we issue the preliminary results.\9\
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    \9\ See section 751(a)(2)(B)(iv) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.214(i).
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    On February 24, 2016, the President signed into law the ``Trade 
Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015,'' H.R. 644, which made 
several amendments to section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Act. We will conduct 
this new shipper review in accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B) of the 
Act, as amended by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 
2015.\10\
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    \10\ The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 
removed from section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Act the provision directing 
the Department to instruct CBP to allow an importer the option of 
posting a bond or security in lieu of a cash deposit during the 
pendency of a new shipper review.
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    Interested parties requiring access to proprietary information in 
this proceeding should submit applications for disclosure under 
administrative protective order in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305 and 
351.306.
    This initiation and notice are in accordance with section 
751(a)(2)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.214 and 351.221(c)(1)(i).

    Dated: May 27, 2016.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2016-13204 Filed 6-3-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P