Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From Taiwan: Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value |
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James Maeder
Department of Commerce
10 February 2021
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8885-8887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02726]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-583-869]
Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From Taiwan: Amended
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On January 6, 2021, the Department of Commerce (Commerce)
published its preliminary determination in the less-than-fair-value
investigation of passenger vehicle and light truck (PVLT) tires from
Taiwan in the Federal Register. Commerce is amending this preliminary
determination to correct a significant ministerial error.
DATES: Applicable February 10, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chien-Min Yang or Lauren Caserta, AD/
CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
[[Page 8886]]
Administration, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5484 or (202) 482-4737,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On January 6, 2021, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
Preliminary Determination in the less-than-fair-value investigation of
PVLT tires from Taiwan.\1\ Commerce disclosed all calculations to
interested parties on December 30, 2020. On January 5, 2021, the United
Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber Manufacturing, Energy, Allied
Industrial and Service Workers International Union (the petitioner)
filed timely ministerial error allegations concerning the Preliminary
Determination for respondents Nankang Rubber Tire Corp. Ltd. (Nankang)
and Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd. (Cheng Shin).\2\ Commerce also
received ministerial comments filed on behalf of Nankang \3\ and Cheng
Shin.\4\
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\1\ See Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from Taiwan:
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of
Provisional Measures, 86 FR 508 (January 6, 2021) (Preliminary
Determination).
\2\ See Petitioner's Letters, ``Passenger Vehicle and Light
Truck Tires from the Republic of Taiwan: Ministerial Error
Comments--Nankang Preliminary Margin,'' dated January 5, 2021
(Petitioner's Nankang Ministerial Allegations) and ``Passenger
Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the Republic of Taiwan:
Ministerial Error Comments--Cheng Shin Preliminary Margin,'' dated
January 5, 2021 (Petitioner's Cheng Shin Ministerial Allegations).
\3\ See Nankang's Letter, ``Antidumping Investigation of
Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from Taiwan--Comments on
Ministerial Error in Preliminary Determination,'' dated January 5,
2021 (Nankang Ministerial Allegations).
\4\ See Cheng Shin's Letter, ``Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck
Tires from Taiwan: Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd., Significant
Ministerial Error Comments,'' dated January 5, 2021 (Cheng Shin
Ministerial Allegations).
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Period of Investigation
The period of investigation is April 1, 2019, through March 31,
2020.
Scope of the Investigation
The product covered by this investigation is PVLT tires from
Taiwan. For a complete description of the scope of the investigation,
see the Appendix.
Significant Ministerial Error
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce ``will analyze any
comments received and, if appropriate, correct any significant
ministerial error by amending the preliminary determination . . . .'' A
ministerial error is defined in 19 CFR 351.224(f) 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.'' A significant ministerial error is defined as a
ministerial error, the correction of which, singly or in combination
with other errors, would result in: (1) A change of at least five
absolute percentage points in, but not less than 25 percent of, the
weighted-average dumping margin calculated in the original preliminary
determination; or (2) a difference between a weighted-average dumping
margin of zero or de minimis and a weighted-average dumping margin of
greater than de minimis or vice versa.\5\
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\5\ See 19 CFR 351.224(g)(1) and (2).
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Ministerial Error Allegations
The petitioner timely alleged that Commerce made a ministerial
error involving one of Nankang's programs but noted that the error was
not significant.\6\ For Cheng Shin, the petitioner alleged that
Commerce made significant ministerial errors regarding Cheng Shin's
arm's-length test results and inclusion of Channel 3 sales in the home
market sales database.\7\ Nankang alleged that Commerce committed a
ministerial error by failing to use a home market of ``viable'' size as
the basis for normal value.\8\ Finally, Cheng Shin alleged that
Commerce failed to exclude certain ``out-of-scope'' sales in the
dumping margin calculation, did not match similar CONNUMs based on
similarity of product characteristics, did not exclude Channel 3 sales
from the home market sales database, and failed to deduct certain
selling prices in Cheng Shin's margin calculation.\9\ After analyzing
these allegations, we determine that we made a significant ministerial
error in the Preliminary Determination with respect to the sales used
to calculate Cheng Shin's margin.\10\ For a detailed discussion of the
aforementioned ministerial error allegations, as well as Commerce's
analysis of these comments, see the Ministerial Error Memorandum.
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\6\ See Petitioner's Nankang Ministerial Allegations at 2.
\7\ See Petitioner's Cheng Shin Ministerial Allegations at 2-3.
\8\ See Nankang Ministerial Allegations at 1-4.
\9\ See Cheng Shin Ministerial Allegations at 2-9.
\10\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of
Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from Taiwan: Allegations of
Significant Ministerial Errors in the Preliminary Determination,''
dated January 29, 2021 (Ministerial Error Memorandum).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(g)(1), Commerce's error in the
application of the arm's-length test for Cheng Shin is significant
because its correction results in a change of at least five absolute
percentage points in, but not less than 25 percent of, the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin calculated in the Preliminary
Determination (i.e., a change from an estimated weighted-average
dumping margin of 52.42 percent to 30.21 percent). Therefore, we are
correcting the ministerial error and amending our Preliminary
Determination accordingly.\11\
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\11\ See Ministerial Error Memorandum.
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Amended Preliminary Determination
We are amending the Preliminary Determination to reflect the
correction of a significant ministerial error made in the margin
calculation for Cheng Shin in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(e). In
addition, because the preliminary all-others rate was based on the
estimated weighted-average dumping margin calculated for Cheng Shin, we
are also amending the all-others rate. As a result of the correction of
the ministerial error, the revised estimated weighted-average dumping
margins are as follows:
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Estimated
weighted-
Exporter/producer average
dumping margin
(percent)
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Cheng Shin Rubber Ind. Co. Ltd.......................... 33.33
All Others.............................................. 84.83
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Amended Cash Deposits and Suspension of Liquidation
The collection of cash deposits and suspension of liquidation will
be revised according to the rates established in this amended
preliminary determination, in accordance with section 773(d) of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Because these amended rates
result in reduced cash deposit rates, they will be effective
retroactively to January 6, 2021, the date of publication of the
Preliminary Determination.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 773(f) of the Act, we intend to notify
the International Trade Commission of our amended preliminary
determination.
Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties in this
proceeding within five days after public announcement of the amended
preliminary determination, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224.
[[Page 8887]]
Notification to Interested Parties
This amended preliminary determination is issued and published in
accordance with sections 773(f) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.224(e).
Dated: February 3, 2021.
James Maeder,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations.
[FR Doc. 2021-02726 Filed 2-9-21; 8:45 am]
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