Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, Rescission in Part, and Intent to Rescind in Part; 2018

Jeffrey I. Kessler
Department of Commerce
18 December 2020

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 244 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82437-82439]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27950]



[[Page 82437]]

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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: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review, Rescission in Part, and Intent to Rescind in 
Part; 2018

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that certain producers/exporters of passenger vehicle and light truck 
tires (passenger tires) from the People's Republic of China (China) 
received countervailable subsidies during the period of review (POR) 
January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018. Interested parties are 
invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable December 18, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Willoughby, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5509.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 7, 2019, Commerce published a notice of initiation of an 
administrative review of the countervailing duty order on passenger 
tires from China.\1\ On April 24, 2020, Commerce tolled all deadlines 
in administrative reviews by 50 days.\2\ On June 18, 2020, Commerce 
extended the deadline for the preliminary results of this review by 117 
days.\3\ On July 21, 2020, Commerce tolled all deadlines in 
administrative reviews by an additional 60 days.\4\ Accordingly, the 
deadline for the preliminary results of this review was postponed to 
December 15, 2020.
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 53411 (October 7, 2019). (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews in
    Response to Operational Adjustments Due to COVID-19,'' dated 
April 24, 2020.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline for Preliminary 
Results,'' June 18, 2020.
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews,''
    dated July 21, 2020.
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this review, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\5\ 
A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is 
included as the appendix 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. 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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    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
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; and Rescission, in Part, 2018,'' dated 
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Order \6\
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    \6\ 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) (Order).
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    The products covered by the Order are certain passenger vehicle and 
light truck tires from China. For a complete description of the scope, 
see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Partial Rescission of Administrative Review

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an 
administrative review, in whole or in part, if the parties that 
requested a review withdraw the request within 90 days of the date of 
publication of the notice of initiation. We received timely withdrawals 
of the requests for review, for which no other parties requested a 
review, for the following companies: Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd.; 
Haohua Orient International Trade Ltd.; Qingdao Keter International 
Co., Limited; Qingdao Lakesea Tyre Co., Ltd.; Qingdao Odyking Tyre Co., 
Ltd.; Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. Ltd.; Riversun Industry Limited; Safe & 
Well (HK) International Trading Limited; Shandong Guofeng Rubber 
Plastics Co., Ltd.; Shandong Hengyu Science & Technology Co., Ltd.; 
Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd.; Shandong New Continent Tire Co., 
Ltd.; Shandong Wanda Boto Tyre Co., Ltd.; Shandong Yongsheng Rubber 
Group Co., Ltd.; Shouguang Firemax Tyre Co., Ltd.; Windforce Tyre Co., 
Limited; and Zhaoqing Junhong Co., Ltd.\7\ Therefore, in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce is rescinding this review of the 
Order with respect to these companies.
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    \7\ See Haohua Orient International Trade Ltd., Qingdao Lakesea 
Tyre Co., Ltd., Riversun Industry Limited, Safe & Well (HK) 
International Trading Limited, and Windforce Tyre Co., Limited's 
Letter, ``Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's 
Republic of China Withdrawal of Request for Review,'' dated October 
9, 2019; Shandong Guofeng Rubber Plastics Co., Ltd.'s Letter, 
``Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from People's Republic of 
China: Withdrawal of Request for Administrative Review,'' dated 
November 1, 2019; ITG Voma Corporation's Letter, ``Passenger Vehicle 
and Light Truck Tires from People's Republic of China: Withdrawal of 
Request for Administrative Review,'' dated November 1, 2019; 
Shandong New Continent Tire Co., Ltd., Qingdao Sentury Tire Co. 
Ltd., and Shandong Linglong Tyre Co., Ltd.'s Letter, ``New 
Continent, Sentury, & Linglong Withdrawal of Review Request in POR 4 
of the Countervailing Duty Order on Passenger Vehicle and Light 
Truck Tires (``PVLT'') From the People's Republic of China (C-570-
017),'' dated November 8, 2019; Zhaoqing Junhong Co., Ltd.'s Letter, 
``Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic 
of China--Withdrawal of Request for Review,'' dated December 6, 
2019; Cooper Tire & Rubber Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, 
Cooper (Kunshan) Tire Co., Ltd.'s Letter, ``Passenger Vehicle And 
Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China: Withdrawal Of 
Request For 2018 Administrative Review Of CKT,'' dated December 23, 
2019; Qindao Keter International Co., Limited, Qingdao Odyking Tyre 
Co., Ltd., Shandong Hengyu Science & Technology Co., Ltd., Shandong 
Yong Sheng Rubber Group Co., Ltd., and Shouguang Firemax Tyre Co., 
Ltd.'s Letter, ``Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires 
from the People's Republic of China--Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review,'' dated January 2, 2020; and Shandong Wanda 
Boto Tyre Co., Ltd.'s Letter ``Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck 
Tires from People's Republic of China: Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review,'' dated January 6, 2020.
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Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, in Part

    It is Commerce's practice to rescind an administrative review of a 
countervailing duty order, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there 
are no reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR for 
which liquidation is suspended.\8\ Normally, upon completion of an 
administrative review, the suspended entries are liquidated at the 
countervailing duty assessment rate calculated for the review 
period.\9\ Therefore, for an administrative review of a company to be 
conducted, there must be a reviewable, suspended entry that Commerce 
can instruct CBP to liquidate at the calculated countervailing duty

[[Page 82438]]

assessment rate calculated for the review period.\10\
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    \8\ See, e.g., Lightweight Thermal Paper from the People's 
Republic of China: Notice of Rescission of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review; 2015, 82 FR 14349 (March 20, 2017); see also 
Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the People's Republic 
of China: Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
2017, 84 FR 14650 (April 11, 2019).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2).
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
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    According to the CBP import data, three of the six companies 
subject to this review, which were not chosen as mandatory respondents 
and which did not withdraw their review requests, did not have 
reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which 
liquidation is suspended. Accordingly, in the absence of reviewable, 
suspended entries of subject merchandise during the POR by these three 
companies, we intend to rescind this administrative review, with 
respect to these three companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.213(d)(3).\11\
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    \11\ These three companies are: Hankook Tire China Co., Ltd.; 
Qingdao Fullrun Tyre Tech Corp., Ltd.; and Qingdao Powerich Tyre 
Co., Ltd. Note that Qingdao Fullrun Tyre Tech Corp., Ltd. was 
incorrectly identified as Qingdao Fullrun Tech Tyre Corp., Ltd. in 
the Initiation Notice.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance 
with section 751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Act). In reaching these preliminary results, Commerce relied on facts 
otherwise available, with the application of adverse inferences.\12\ 
For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 
Application of Adverse Inferences'' in the accompanying Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.
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    \12\ See section 776 of the Act.
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Preliminary Rate for Companies Not Selected for Individual Review

    To determine the rate for companies not selected for individual 
examination in administrative reviews, Commerce's practice is to weight 
average the net subsidy rates for the selected mandatory companies, 
excluding rates that are zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts 
available. In this review, we preliminarily calculated rates based 
entirely on facts available for each of the mandatory respondents 
during the POR. In countervailing duty administrative reviews, where 
the number of respondents being individually examined has been limited, 
Commerce has determined that a ``reasonable method'' to determine the 
rate applicable to companies that were not individually examined when 
all the rates of selected mandatory respondents are zero, de minimis, 
or based entirely on adverse facts available is to assign to the non-
selected respondents the average of the most recently determined rates 
that are not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts 
available.\13\ However, if a non-selected respondent has its own 
calculated rate that is contemporaneous with or more recent than such 
previous rates, Commerce has found it appropriate to apply that 
calculated rate to the non-selected respondent, even when that rate is 
zero or de minimis.\14\
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    \13\ See, e.g., Circular Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes 
from Turkey: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative 
Review; Calendar Year 2012 and Rescission of Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Review, in Part, 79 FR 51140 (August 27, 2014); see 
also Cut-to-Length Carbon-Quality Steel Plate from the Republic of 
Korea: Final Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 
2012, 79 FR 46770 (August 11, 2014), and accompanying Issues and 
Decision Memorandum at ``Non-Selected Rate.''
    \14\ Id.
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    With regard to the three remaining non-selected companies, which 
have no prior individual rates from prior segments, we are assigning 
the rate of 20.05 percent ad valorem, which is the average of the 
above-de minimis rates calculated in the last review.

Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily determine the following net countervailable 
subsidy rates for the period January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                   Producers/exporters                      (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
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Shandong Duratti Rubber Corporation Co. Ltd.............          116.50
Shandong Longyue Rubber Co. Ltd.........................          116.50
Shandong Anchi Tyres Co., Ltd...........................          116.50
Triangle Tyre Co. Ltd...................................          116.50
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   Review-Specific Average Rate Applicable to the Following Companies:
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Jiangsu Hankook Tire Co., Ltd...........................           20.05
Qingdao Fullrun Tyre Corp., Ltd.........................           20.05
Shandong Province Sanli Tire Manufactured Co., Ltd......           20.05
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Assessment Rates

    Consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(2), upon issuance of the final results, Commerce will 
determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, 
countervailing duties on all appropriate entries covered by this 
review. We intend to issue instructions to CBP 15 days after 
publication of the final results of this review. For the companies for 
which this review is rescinded, Commerce will instruct CBP to assess 
countervailing duties on all appropriate entries at a rate equal to the 
cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties required at the time of 
entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during the period 
January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(c)(1)(i). Commerce intends to issue appropriate assessment 
instructions directly to CBP 15 days after publication of this notice.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce also 
intends to instruct CBP to collect cash deposits of estimated 
countervailing duties in the amounts shown for each of the respective 
companies listed above with regard to shipments of subject merchandise 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
date of publication of the final results of this review. For all non-
reviewed firms, CBP will continue to collect cash deposits of estimated 
countervailing duties at the all-others rate or the most recent 
company-specific rate applicable to the company, as appropriate. These 
cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until 
further notice.

Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit written comments (case briefs) on the 
preliminary results no later than 30 days from the date of publication 
of this Federal Register notice, and rebuttal comments (rebuttal 
briefs) within seven days after the time limit for filing case briefs. 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(d)(2), rebuttal briefs must be limited to 
issues raised in the case briefs. Parties who submit arguments are 
requested to submit with the argument: (1) A statement of the issue; 
(2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities.\15\ All briefs must be filed electronically using ACCESS.
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 351.309(d)(2).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCESS by 5 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of 
publication of this notice. Hearing requests should contain: (1) The 
party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of 
participants; and (3) a list of the issues to be discussed. Issues 
addressed at the hearing will be limited to those raised in the briefs. 
If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the 
hearing at a date and time to be determined.

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    An electronically filed document must be received successfully in 
its entirety by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established 
deadline. Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its 
requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary 
information, until further notice.\16\
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements); Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service 
Requirements Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and 
Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-
19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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    Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative 
review, including the results of our analysis of the issues raised by 
the parties in their comments, no later than 120 days after the date of 
publication of this notice, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act 
and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1), unless this deadline is extended.

Notification to Interested Parties

    These preliminary results and notice are issued and published in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: December 14, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Partial Rescission of Review
IV. Intent to Rescind Administrative Review, In Part
V. Rate for Non-Selected Companies Under Review
VI. Scope of the Order
VII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse 
Inferences
VIII. Conclusion
[FR Doc. 2020-27950 Filed 12-17-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P