Certain Steel Wheels From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

Gary Taverman
Department of Commerce
31 August 2018

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 170 (Friday, August 31, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44573-44575]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18974]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-083]


Certain Steel Wheels From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment 
of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and 
exporters of certain steel wheels from the People's Republic of China 
(China) for the period of investigation January 1, 2017, through 
December 31, 2017. We invite interested parties to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable August 31, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chien-Min Yang or Myrna Lobo, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-5484 or 202-482-2371, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 16, 
2018.\1\ On June 6, 2018, Commerce postponed the deadline for the 
preliminary determination of the investigation to the full 130 days 
permitted under section 703(c)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.205(b)(2), and the revised deadline is now August 24, 2018.\2\
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    \1\ See Certain Steel Wheels from the People's Republic of 
China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 83 FR 17794 
(April 24, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Certain Steel Wheels from the People's Republic of 
China: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the 
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 83 FR 26257 (June 6, 2018).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II 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 http://access.trade.gov and is available to all 
parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department 
of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain 
Steel Wheels from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are certain steel wheels 
from China. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations, we set 
aside a period of time in our Initiation Notice for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage and encouraged all parties to submit 
comments within 20 calendar days of publication of that notice.\4\ No 
parties commented on the scope of this investigation.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble); see also Initiation 
Notice.
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Alignment

    In accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(4), and based on the petitioners' request,\5\ we are 
aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the 
final determination in the companion AD investigation of certain steel 
wheels from China. Consequently, the final CVD determination will be 
issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is 
currently scheduled to be due no later than January 7, 2019, unless 
postponed.\6\
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    \5\ See Letter from the petitioners, ``Certain Steel Wheels from 
China (C-570-083)--Petitioner's Request for Alignment of 
Countervailing Duty Investigation Final Determination Deadline with 
Antidumping Investigation Final Determination Deadline,'' dated 
August 8, 2018.
    \6\ See Steel Wheels From the People's Republic of China: 
Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-
Value Investigation, 82 FR 42110 (August 20, 2018).
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily determines that there is a 
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that 
confers a benefit on the recipient, and that the subsidy is 
specific.\7\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \7\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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    Commerce notes that, in making these findings, it relied, in part, 
on facts available and, because it finds that one or more respondents 
did not act to the best of their ability to respond to Commerce's 
requests for information, it drew an adverse inference where 
appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.\8\ 
For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 
Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \8\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, Commerce 
established rates for Xiamen Sunrise Wheel Group Co., Ltd. (Xiamen 
Sunrise), Xiamen Sunrise Wheel Co., Ltd. (Sunrise Wheel), Xiamen 
Sunrise Metal Co., Ltd. (Sunrise Metal), Xiamen Topu Import & Export 
Co., Ltd. (Topu), and Sichuan Sunrise Metal Industry Co., Ltd. (Sichuan 
Sunrise) (collectively, Xiamen Sunrise), and applied a rate based on 
adverse facts available to Zhejiang Jingu Company Limited and Shanghai 
Yata Industry Company Limited (collectively, Zhejiang Jingu).
    In accordance with sections 705(d)(1)(A) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the 
Act, for companies not individually investigated, Commerce applies an 
``all-others'' rate. The all-others rate is normally calculated by 
weight averaging the subsidy rates of the individual companies selected 
for individual examination with those companies' export sales of the 
subject merchandise to the United States, excluding any zero and de 
minimis rates calculated for the

[[Page 44574]]

exporters and producers individually investigated, and any rates 
determined entirely under section 776 of the Act.
    In this investigation, the only rates that are not zero or de 
minimis or based entirely on the facts available is the rate calculated 
for Xiamen Sunrise. Consequently, we are assigning the rate calculated 
for Xiamen Sunrise as the ``all-others'' rate.
    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                      Producer/exporter                          rate
                                                               (percent)
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Xiamen Sunrise Wheel Group Co., Ltd.\9\.....................       58.75
Zhejiang Jingu Company Limited \10\.........................      172.51
All-Others..................................................       58.75
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    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, 
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as described in 
the scope of the investigation that were entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register. Furthermore, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the rates indicated above.
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    \9\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, 
Commerce has found the following companies to be cross-owned with 
Xiamen Sunrise: Sunrise Wheel, Sunrise Metal, Topu, and Sichuan 
Sunrise.
    \10\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, as an 
extension of our application of adverse facts available with respect 
to Zhejiang Jingu, Commerce has assigned Zhejiang Jingu's rate to 
each of the entities named as cross-owned in its affiliation 
questionnaire response: Shanghai Yata Industry Company Limited; 
Shangdong Jingu Auto Parts Co., Ltd.; Chengdu Jingu Wheel Co., Ltd.; 
and An'Gang Jingu (Hangzhou) Metal Materials Co., Ltd.
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Disclosure

    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis to 
interested parties in this preliminary determination within five days 
of its public announcement, or if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to 
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven 
days after the date on which the last verification report is issued in 
this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case 
briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline 
date for case briefs.\11\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation 
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the 
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.
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    \11\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.
    Parties are reminded that briefs and hearing requests are to be 
filed electronically using ACCESS and that electronically filed 
documents must be received successfully in their entirety by 5 p.m. 
Eastern Time on the due date.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If 
Commerce's final determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its 
final determination before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after Commerce's final 
determination.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: August 24, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to this investigation is certain on-the-
road steel wheels, discs, and rims for tubeless tires, with a 
nominal rim diameter of 22.5 inches and 24.5 inches, regardless of 
width. Certain on-the-road steel wheels with a nominal wheel 
diameter of 22.5 inches and 24.5 inches are generally for Class 6, 
7, and 8 commercial vehicles (as classified by the Federal Highway 
Administration Gross Vehicle Weight Rating system), including 
tractors, semi-trailers, dump trucks, garbage trucks, concrete 
mixers, and buses, and are the current standard wheel diameters for 
such applications. The standard widths of certain on-the-road steel 
wheels are 7.5 inches, 8.25 inches, and 9.0 inches, but all certain 
on-the-road steel wheels, regardless of width, are covered by the 
scope. While 22.5 inches and 24.5 inches are standard wheel sizes 
used by Class 6, 7, and 8 commercial vehicles, the scope covers 
sizes that may be adopted in the future for Class 6, 7, and 8 
commercial vehicles.
    The scope includes certain on-the-road steel wheels with either 
a ``hub-piloted'' or ``stud- piloted'' mounting configuration, and 
includes rims and discs for such wheels, whether imported as an 
assembly or separately. The scope includes certain on-the-road steel 
wheels, discs, and rims, of carbon and/or alloy steel composition, 
whether cladded or not cladded, whether finished or not finished, 
and whether coated or uncoated. All on-the-road wheels sold in the 
United States are subject to the requirements of the National 
Highway Traffic Safety Administration and bear markings, such as the 
``DOT'' symbol, indicating compliance with applicable motor vehicle 
standards. See 49 CFR 571.120. The scope includes certain on- the-
road steel wheels imported with or without the required markings. 
Certain on-the-road steel wheels imported as an assembly with a tire 
mounted on the wheel and/or with a valve stem attached are included. 
However, if the certain on-the-road steel wheel is imported as an 
assembly with a tire mounted on the wheel and/or with a valve stem 
attached, the certain on- the-road steel wheel is covered by the 
scope, but the tire and/or valve stem is not covered by the scope.
    Excluded from the scope are:
    (1) Steel wheels for tube-type tires that require a removable 
side ring;
    (2) aluminum wheels;
    (3) wheels where steel represents less than fifty percent of the 
product by weight; and
    (4) steel wheels that do not meet National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration requirements, other than the rim marking 
requirements found in 49 CFR 571.120S5.2.
    Imports of the subject merchandise are currently classified 
under the following

[[Page 44575]]

Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 
8708.70.4530, 8708.70.4560, 8708.70.6030, 8708.70.6060, 
8716.90.5045, and 8716.90.5059. Merchandise meeting the scope 
description may also enter under the following HTSUS subheadings: 
4011.20.1015, 4011.20.5020, and 8708.99.4850. While HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the subject merchandise is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Alignment
V. Respondent Selection
VI. Injury Test
VII. Application of the CVD Law to Imports from China
VIII. Diversification of China's Economy
IX. Subsidies Valuation
X. Benchmarks
XI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
XII. Analysis of Programs
XIII. Calculation of the All-Others Rate
XIV. ITC Notification
XV. Disclosure and Public Comment
XVI. Verification
XVII. Recommendation
Appendix

[FR Doc. 2018-18974 Filed 8-30-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P