Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order and Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination

Christian Marsh
Department of Commerce
10 May 2021

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 88 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24844-24845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09848]



[[Page 24844]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-136]


Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof From the People's 
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order and Amended Final 
Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), 
Commerce is issuing a countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain 
chassis and subassemblies thereof (chassis) from the People's Republic 
of China (China). In addition, Commerce is amending its final 
determination with respect to chassis from China to correct a 
ministerial error.

DATES: Applicable May 10, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Langley or Nicholas 
Czajkowski, 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) 482-3861 
or (202) 482-1395, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    In accordance with sections 705(a), 705(d), and 777(i)(1) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.210(c), on 
March 22, 2021, Commerce published its affirmative final determination 
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and 
exporters of chassis from China.\1\ In the investigation of chassis 
from China, the Coalition of American Chassis Manufacturers (the 
petitioner) submitted a timely allegation on the record that Commerce 
made a ministerial error in the final CVD determination on chassis from 
China.\2\ Section 705(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f) define 
ministerial errors as errors in addition, subtraction, or other 
arithmetic function, clerical errors resulting from inaccurate copying, 
duplication, or the like, and any other type of unintentional error 
which Commerce considers ministerial. We reviewed the allegation and 
determined that we made a ministerial error in the final CVD 
determination on chassis from China. See ``Amendment to the Final 
Determination'' section below for further discussion.
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    \1\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China; Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination, 86 FR 15186 (March 22, 2021) (Final Determination), 
and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum.
    \2\ See Petitioner's Letter, ``Certain Chassis and Subassemblies 
Thereof from the People's Republic of China: Ministerial Error 
Allegations,'' dated March 22, 2021 (Ministerial Error Allegations).
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    On May 3, 2021, the ITC notified Commerce of its affirmative final 
determination that pursuant to sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 705(d) of 
the Act, an industry in the United States is materially injured by 
reason of subsidized imports of subject merchandise from China.\3\
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    \3\ See ITC's Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final 
Determination,'' dated May 3, 2021 (ITC Notification Letter).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are certain chassis and 
subassemblies thereof from China. For a complete description of the 
scope of this order, see the appendix to this notice.

Amendment to the Final Determination

    On March 22, 2021, the petitioner submitted a timely ministerial 
error allegation regarding the Final Determination.\4\ Commerce 
reviewed the record and, on April 8, 2021, agreed that the error 
alleged by the petitioner constituted a ministerial error within the 
meaning of section 705(e) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(f).\5\ 
Specifically, Commerce found that it made an error in calculating the 
subsidy rates for inputs provided for less than adequate remuneration 
to Qingdao CIMC Special Vehicles Co., Ltd. and Dongguan CIMC Vehicle 
Co., Ltd. and their cross-owned companies (collectively, CIMC). 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.224(e), Commerce is amending the Final 
Determination to reflect the correction of the ministerial error 
described in the Ministerial Error Memorandum. Based on the correction, 
the subsidy rate for CIMCs changed from 39.14 percent to 44.32 percent. 
Because the all-others rate is based entirely on CIMC's ad valorem 
subsidy rate, the all-others rate also changed from 39.14 percent to 
44.32 percent.
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    \4\ See Ministerial Error Allegations.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``Countervailing Duty Investigation of 
Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the People's Republic 
of China: Ministerial Error Allegations in the Final 
Determination,'' dated April 8, 2021 (Ministerial Error Memorandum) 
at 1-2.
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Countervailing Duty Order

    As stated above, on May 3, 2021, in accordance with section 705(d) 
of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination that 
an industry in the United States is materially injured within the 
meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by reason of subsidized 
imports of chassis from China.\6\ Therefore, in accordance with section 
705(c)(2) of the Act, Commerce is issuing this CVD order. Because the 
ITC determined that imports of chassis from China are materially 
injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from 
China, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject 
to the assessment of countervailing duties.
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    \6\ See ITC Notification Letter.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce 
will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon 
further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties for all relevant 
entries of chassis from China which are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after January 4, 2021, the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination,\7\ but will not include 
entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional measures 
period and before the publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination under section 705(b) of the Act, as further described in 
the ``Provisional Measures'' section of this notice.\8\
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    \7\ See Certain Chassis and Subassemblies Thereof from the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination, 86 FR 56 (January 4, 2021) (Preliminary 
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
    \8\ In the Final Determination, Commerce inadvertently stated 
that we would instruct CBP to ``suspend liquidation of entries of 
subject merchandise from China that were entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption, effective January 4, 2020, which is the 
date of publication of the Preliminary Determination.'' The 
Preliminary Determination was published on January 4, 2021, which is 
the date reflected in our instructions to CBP.
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Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits

    Except as noted in the ``Provisional Measures'' section of this 
notice, in accordance with section 706(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce will 
instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation on all relevant entries 
of chassis from China. These instructions suspending liquidation will 
remain in effect until further notice.
    Commerce will also instruct CBP to require cash deposits equal to 
the net countervailable subsidy rates indicated in the table below. 
Accordingly, effective on the date of publication in the Federal 
Register of the notice of the ITC's final affirmative injury 
determination, CBP must require, at the same time as importers would 
deposit estimated normal customs duties on

[[Page 24845]]

subject merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the rates listed in the 
table below.

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                                                                Subsidy
                           Company                               rate
                                                               (percent)
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Qingdao CIMC Special Vehicles Co., Ltd. and Dongguan CIMC          44.32
 Vehicle Co., Ltd.\9\.......................................
All Others..................................................       44.32
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    \9\ Commerce finds the following companies to be cross-owned 
with Qingdao CIMC Special Vehicles Co., Ltd. and Dongguan CIMC 
Vehicle Co., Ltd.: CIMC Vehicles (Group) Co., Ltd.; Shenzhen CIMC 
Vehicle Co., Ltd.; Zhumadian CIMC Huajun Casting Co., Ltd.; China 
International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd.; Liangshan CIMC 
Dongyue Vehicles Co., Ltd.; Shandong Wanshida Special Vehicle 
Manufacturing Co., Ltd.; Yangzhou CIMC Tonghua Special Vehicles Co., 
Ltd.; Zhumadian CIMC Huajun Vehicle Co., Ltd.; Gansu CIMC Huajun 
Vehicles Co., Ltd.; CIMC Vehicles (Liaoning) Co., Ltd.; and 
Zhumadian CIMC Wanjia Axle Co., Ltd.
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Provisional Measures

    Section 703(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation 
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in 
effect for more than four months. Commerce published the Preliminary 
Determination on January 4, 2021.\10\
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    \10\ See Preliminary Determination.
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    The provisional measures period, beginning on the date of 
publication of the Preliminary Determination, ended on May 3, 2021. 
Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act and our 
practice, Commerce will instruct CBP to terminate the suspension of 
liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, 
unliquidated entries of chassis from China entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption after May 3, 2021, the final day on which 
the provisional measures were in effect, until and through the day 
preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury 
determination in the Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation and 
the collection of cash deposits will resume on the date of publication 
of the ITC's final determination in the Federal Register.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the CVD order with respect to chassis from 
China pursuant to section 706(a) of the Act. Interested parties can 
find a list of CVD orders currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    This amended final determination and order is issued and published 
in accordance with sections 705(d) and 706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.211(b) and 351.224(e).

    Dated: May 4, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise covered by this order is chassis and 
subassemblies thereof, whether finished or unfinished, whether 
assembled or unassembled, whether coated or uncoated, regardless of 
the number of axles, for carriage of containers, or other payloads 
(including self-supporting payloads) for road, marine roll-on/roll-
off (RORO) and/or rail transport. Chassis are typically, but are not 
limited to, rectangular framed trailers with a suspension and axle 
system, wheels and tires, brakes, a lighting and electrical system, 
a coupling for towing behind a truck tractor, and a locking system 
or systems to secure the shipping container or containers to the 
chassis using twistlocks, slide pins or similar attachment devices 
to engage the corner fittings on the container or other payload.
    Subject merchandise includes, but is not limited to, the 
following subassemblies:
     Chassis frames, or sections of chassis frames, 
including kingpin assemblies, bolsters consisting of transverse 
beams with locking or support mechanisms, goosenecks, drop 
assemblies, extension mechanisms and/or rear impact guards;
     Running gear assemblies or axle assemblies for 
connection to the chassis frame, whether fixed in nature or capable 
of sliding fore and aft or lifting up and lowering down, which may 
or may not include suspension(s) (mechanical or pneumatic), wheel 
end components, slack adjusters, axles, brake chambers, locking 
pins, and tires and wheels;
     Landing gear assemblies, for connection to the chassis 
frame, capable of supporting the chassis when it is not engaged to a 
tractor; and
     Assemblies that connect to the chassis frame or a 
section of the chassis frame, such as, but not limited to, pintle 
hooks or B-trains (which include a fifth wheel), which are capable 
of connecting a chassis to a converter dolly or another chassis.
    Importation of any of these subassemblies, whether assembled or 
unassembled, constitutes an unfinished chassis for purposes of this 
order.
    Subject merchandise also includes chassis, whether finished or 
unfinished, entered with or for further assembly with components 
such as, but not limited to: Hub and drum assemblies, brake 
assemblies (either drum or disc), axles, brake chambers, suspensions 
and suspension components, wheel end components, landing gear legs, 
spoke or disc wheels, tires, brake control systems, electrical 
harnesses and lighting systems.
    Processing of finished and unfinished chassis and components 
such as trimming, cutting, grinding, notching, punching, drilling, 
painting, coating, staining, finishing, assembly, or any other 
processing either in the country of manufacture of the in-scope 
product or in a third country does not remove the product from the 
scope. Inclusion of other components not identified as comprising 
the finished or unfinished chassis does not remove the product from 
the scope.
    Individual components entered and sold by themselves are not 
subject to the order, but components entered with or for further 
assembly with a finished or unfinished chassis are subject 
merchandise. A finished chassis is ultimately comprised of several 
different types of subassemblies. Within each subassembly there are 
numerous components that comprise a given subassembly.
    This scope excludes dry van trailers, refrigerated van trailers 
and flatbed trailers. Dry van trailers are trailers with a wholly 
enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed sides, nose, floor and roof, 
with articulated panels (doors) across the rear and occasionally at 
selected places on the sides, with the cargo space being permanently 
incorporated in the trailer itself. Refrigerated van trailers are 
trailers with a wholly enclosed cargo space comprised of fixed 
sides, nose, floor and roof, with articulated panels (doors) across 
the rear and occasionally at selected places on the sides, with the 
cargo space being permanently incorporated in the trailer and being 
insulated, possessing specific thermal properties intended for use 
with self-contained refrigeration systems. Flatbed (or platform) 
trailers consist of load-carrying main frames and a solid, flat or 
stepped loading deck or floor permanently incorporated with and 
supported by frame rails and cross members.
    The finished and unfinished chassis subject to this order are 
typically classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS) at subheadings: 8716.39.0090 and 8716.90.5060. 
Imports of finished and unfinished chassis may also enter under 
HTSUS subheading 8716.90.5010. While the HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the merchandise under order is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2021-09848 Filed 5-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P