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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


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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

Jeffrey I. Kessler
Department of Commerce
25 April 2019 

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 80 (Thursday, April 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17382-17384]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08347]


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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: Final Results of 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2016

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers/exporters of 
passenger vehicle and light truck tires from the People's Republic of 
China (China) during the period of review (POR) January 1, 2016, 
through December 31, 2016.

DATES: Applicable April 25, 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

    Commerce published the Preliminary Results of this administrative 
review in the Federal Register on September 10, 2018.\1\ We invited 
interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Results. On October 
31, 2018, we received case briefs from the following interested 
parties: Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd. (Cooper); Qingdao Sentury Tire 
Co. Ltd. (Sentury); and the Government of China (GOC). No party 
submitted rebuttal

[[Page 17383]]

briefs. On December 17, 2018, Commerce extended the period for issuing 
the final results of this review until February 7, 2019. Commerce 
exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the partial 
federal government closure from December 22, 2018, through the 
resumption of operations on January 29, 2019.\2\ This extended the 
deadline for the final results to March 19, 2019. On March 13, 2019, 
Commerce extended the period for issuing the final results an 
additional 30 days. The revised deadline for the final results is now 
April 18, 2019.
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    \1\ See Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing 
Duty Administrative Review and Rescission, in Part; 2016, 83 FR 
45611 (September 10, 2018) (Preliminary Results).
    \2\ See Memorandum to the Record from 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, ``Deadlines 
Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated 
January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding 
have been extended by 40 days.
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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 Issues and Decision Memorandum.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See ``Decision Memorandum for the Final Results of the 
Administrative Review of the Countervailing Duty Order on Certain 
Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic 
of China; 2016,'' dated concurrently with this notice (Issues and 
Decision Memorandum) and hereby adopted by this notice.
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in interested parties' briefs are addressed in 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum accompanying this notice. A list of 
the issues raised by interested parties and to which we responded in 
the Issues and Decision Memorandum is provided in Appendix I to this 
notice. The Issues and 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 https://access.trade.gov and 
in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of 
Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum can be access directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

    Based on case briefs, and all supporting documentation, we made 
certain changes from the Preliminary Results. Commerce has adjusted the 
synthetic rubber and butadiene benchmarks for Cooper, adjusted the 
ocean freight rates used to construct the benchmark for carbon black 
and nylon cord for Cooper, and corrected various ministerial errors for 
both respondents. These changes are explained in the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.

Methodology

    Commerce conducted this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each 
of the subsidy programs found to be countervailable, we find that there 
is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution from a government or 
public entity that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that 
the subsidy is specific.\4\ For a full description of the methodology 
underlying all of Commerce's conclusions, including any determination 
that relied upon the use of adverse facts available pursuant to 
sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, see the Issues and Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \4\ 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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Final Results of Administrative Review

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5), we calculated a 
countervailable subsidy rate for the mandatory respondents, Cooper and 
Sentury. For the non-selected companies subject to this review,\5\ we 
followed Commerce's practice, which is to base the subsidy rates on an 
average of the subsidy rates calculated for those companies selected 
for individual review, excluding de minimis rates or rates based 
entirely on adverse facts available.\6\ In this case, for the non-
selected companies, we have calculated a rate by weight-averaging the 
calculated subsidy rates of Cooper and Sentury using their publicly-
ranged sales data for exports of subject merchandise to the United 
States during the POR. We find the countervailable subsidy rates for 
the producers/exporters under review to be as follows:
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    \5\ See Appendix II.
    \6\ See, e.g., Certain Pasta from Italy: Preliminary Results of 
the 13th (2008) Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, 75 FR 
18806, 18811 (April 13, 2010), unchanged in Certain Pasta from 
Italy: Final Results of the 13th (2008) Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review, 75 FR 37386 (June 29, 2010).

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Subsidy
                            Company                             rate (%)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd. (Cooper)......................     16.37
Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd. (Sentury).......................     15.75
Non-Selected Companies Under Review...........................     16.17
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

    We will disclose to the parties in this proceeding the calculations 
performed for these final results within five days of the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.\7\
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
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Assessment Rates

    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2), we intend to issue assessment 
instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 15 days after 
the date of publication of these 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.

Cash Deposit Instructions

    In accordance with section 751(a)(1) of the Act, we intend to 
instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated countervailing 
duties in the amounts shown for each of the respective companies listed 
above. 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.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: April 18, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background

[[Page 17384]]

III. List of Comments from Interested Parties
IV. Scope of the Order
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Results
VI. Non-Selected Companies Under Review
VII. Subsidies Valuation Information
    1. Allocation Period
    2. Attribution of Subsidies
    3. Denominators
    4. Benchmarks and Discount Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IX. Programs Determined to be Countervailable
X. Programs Determined Not To Be Used or Not to Confer Measurable 
Benefits During the POR
XI. Analysis of Comments
    Comment 1: Sentury's Loan Calculation
    Comment 2: Sentury's Export Credit Seller's Program
    Comment 3: Sentury's VAT and Import Duty Exemption
    Comment 4: Alleged Errors in Sentury's Electricity Calculation
    Comment 5: Loan Calculation Handling Fees
    Comment 6: 2015 and 2016 U.S. Dollar Benchmark
    Comment 7: AFA Rate Assigned to Cooper for Export Buyer's Credit 
Program
    Comment 8: Ocean Freight Benchmark Applied to Cooper
    Comment 9: Cooper's Benefit for Electricity at LTAR
    Comment 10: Benefit to Cooper Under the Special Fund for Energy 
Saving Technology Reform Program
    Comment 11: Alleged Errors in Grant Calculations
    Comment 12: Grade Specific Benchmarks for Cooper's Purchases of 
Synthetic Rubber and Butadiene
    Comment 13: Alleged Errors in Cooper's Government Policy Lending 
Calculation
    Comment 14: Ocean Freight and Import Duties Added to Tier 1 or 
Tier 2 Benchmarks
    Comment 15: Export Buyer's Credit
    Comment 16: Whether the Export Buyer's Credit Program Should be 
Considered an Export Subsidy
    Comment 17: Other Subsidies
    Comment 18: Appendix II
XII. Recommendation
Appendix--Non-Selected Companies Under Review

Appendix II

Non-Selected Companies Under Review

1. Best Industries Ltd.
2. BC Tyre Group Limited
3. Crown International Corporation
4. Dongying Zhongyi Rubber Co., Ltd.
5. Hankook Tire China Co., Ltd.
6. Hong Kong Tiancheng Investment & Trading Co., Limited
7. Hongtyre Group Co.
8. Jiangsu Hankook Tire Co., Ltd.
9. Jiangsu Sanhe Aluminum
10. Kenda Rubber (China) Co., Ltd.
11. Koryo International Industrial Limited
12. Mayrun Tyre (Hong Kong) Limited
13. Qingdao Jinhaoyang International Co., Ltd.
14. Qingdao Nama Industrial Co., Ltd.
15. Qingdao Odyking Tyre Co., Ltd.
16. Roadclaw Tyre (Hong Kong) Limited
17. Shandong Anchi Tyres Co., Ltd.
18. Shandong Haohua Tire Co., Ltd.
19. Shandong Haolong Rubber Co., Ltd.
20. Shandong Hengyu Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
21. Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd.
22. Shandong Longyue Rubber Co., Ltd.
23. Shandong New Continent Tire Co., Ltd.
24. Shandong Province Sanli Tire
25. Shandong Province Sanli Tire Manufactured Co., Ltd.
26. Shandong Shuangwang Rubber Co., Ltd.
27. Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd.
28. Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group Co., Ltd.
29. Shouguang Firemax Tyre Co., Ltd.
30. The Yokohama Rubber Company, Ltd.
31. Tyrechamp Group Co., Limited
32. Winrun Tyre Co., Ltd.
33. Zhaoqing Junhong Co., Ltd.

[FR Doc. 2019-08347 Filed 4-24-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P




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