Countervailing Duty Order on Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the People's Republic of China: Amended Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2016

Jeffrey I. Kessler
Department of Commerce
17 June 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 116 (Monday, June 17, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28011-28012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12728]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-017]


Countervailing Duty Order on Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light 
Truck Tires From the People's Republic of China: Amended Final Results 
of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2016

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending the final 
results of the countervailing duty administrative review of certain 
passenger vehicle and light truck tires (passenger tires) from the 
People's Republic of China (China) to correct a ministerial error. The 
period of review (POR) is January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016.

DATES: Applicable June 17, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andrew Huston, 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) 482-4261.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5), on April 25, 2019, 
Commerce published its final results of the countervailing duty 
administrative review of passenger tires from China.\1\ On May 6, 2019, 
Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd. (Cooper) submitted a request to correct 
a clerical error in the Final Results.\2\ No other parties submitted 
ministerial error allegations or comments on Cooper's allegation.
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    \1\ See Countervailing Duty Order on Certain Passenger Vehicle 
and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China: Final 
Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2016, 84 FR 
17382 (April 25, 2019) (Final Results).
    \2\ See Cooper's Letter, ``Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light 
Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China/Allegation of A 
Ministerial Error,'' dated May 6, 2019 (Cooper Ministerial 
Comments).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by the order are certain passenger vehicle and 
light truck tires from the China. A full description of the scope of 
the order is contained in the Amended Final Decision Memorandum.\3\
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    \3\ See Memorandum ``Administrative Review of the Countervailing 
Duty Order on Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from 
the People's Republic of China: Decision Memorandum for Amended 
Final Results,'' dated concurrently and herby adopted by this notice 
(Amended Final Decision Memorandum) for a full description of the 
scope of the order.
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Ministerial Errors

    Section 751(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f) define a 
``ministerial error'' as an error in addition, subtraction, or other 
arithmetic function, clerical error resulting from inaccurate copying, 
duplication, or the like, and any other similar type of unintentional 
error which the Secretary considers ministerial. As discussed in the 
Amended Final Decision Memorandum, Commerce finds that the error 
alleged by Cooper constitutes a ministerial error within the meaning of 
19 CFR 351.224(f).\4\ Specifically, Commerce made an error in the 
calculation of the benefit to Cooper from the provision of synthetic 
rubber and butadiene for less than adequate remuneration.
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    \4\ Id. at 5.
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    In accordance with section 751(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(e), 
we are amending the Final Results to correct the ministerial error. 
Specifically, we are amending the net subsidy rates for Cooper and the 
non-selected companies under review.\5\ The revised net subsidy rates 
are provided below.
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    \5\ Id. at 5-6. Because we relied on Cooper's and Qingdao 
Sentury Tire Co. Ltd.'s subsidy rates to calculate the rate for non-
selected companies under review, we are revising the rate for non-
selected companies under review in these amended final results. See 
Final Results at Appendix II for a list of the non-selected 
companies under review.
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Amended Final Results

    As a result of correcting the ministerial error, we determine that 
the countervailable subsidy rates for the producers/exporters under 
review are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
                                                               (percent)
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Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd. (Cooper)....................       15.47
Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd. (Sentury).....................       15.75

[[Page 28012]]

 
Non-Selected Companies Under Review.........................       15.56
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Assessment Rates

    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP) 15 days after the date of publication of 
these amended final results of review, to liquidate shipments of 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption, on or after January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, at 
the ad valorem rates listed above.
    Commerce also intends to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of 
estimated countervailing duties, in the amounts shown above for the 
companies listed above on shipments of subject merchandise entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after April 25, 2019, 
the date of publication of the Final Results. For all non-reviewed 
firms, we will instruct CBP to collect cash deposits at the most-recent 
company specific or all-others rate applicable to the company, as 
appropriate. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.

Administrative Protective Order

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or 
conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to 
comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable 
violation.

Disclosure

    We intend to disclose the calculations performed for these amended 
final results to interested parties within five business days of the 
date of the publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b).
    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(h) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.224(e).

    Dated: June 11, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-12728 Filed 6-14-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P