Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 43579-43582 [2016-15729]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 5, 2016 / Notices days prioir to the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Verification As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify the information submitted by the respondents prior to making our final determination. sradovich on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES U.S. International Trade Commission In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the ITC of our determination. In addition, we are making available to the ITC all nonprivileged and non-proprietary information relating to this investigation. We will allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative protective order, without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. In accordance with section 705(b)(2) of the Act, if our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its final determination within 45 days after the Department makes its final determination. Disclosure and Public Comment The Department intends to disclose calculations performed for this preliminary determination to the parties within five days of the date of public announcement of this determination in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the final verification report is issued in this proceeding, and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.7 A table of contents, list of authorities used, and an executive summary of issues should accompany any briefs submitted to the Department, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2). This summary should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. 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, U.S. Department of Commerce, filed electronically using ACCESS. An electronically-filed request must be received successfully, and in its entirety, by ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days after the 7 See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements). VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:27 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 238001 43579 date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party’s name, address, and telephone number; the number of participants; and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230, at a date, time, and specific location to be determined. Parties will be notified of the date, time, and location of any hearing. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date. This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c). tires that enter attached to a vehicle are not covered by the scope. Specifically excluded from the scope of this investigation are the following types of tires: (1) Pneumatic tires, of rubber, that are not new, including recycled and retreaded tires; and (2) non-pneumatic tires, such as solid rubber tires. The subject merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 4011.20.1015 and 4011.20.5020. Tires meeting the scope description may also enter under the following HTSUS subheadings: 4011.99.4520, 4011.99.4590, 4011.99.8520, 4011.99.8590, 8708.70.4530, 8708.70.6030, and 8708.70.6060. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and for customs purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise is dispositive. Dated: June 27, 2016. Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Appendix II—List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum Appendix I Scope of the Investigation The scope of the investigation covers truck and bus tires. Truck and bus tires are new pneumatic tires, of rubber, with a truck or bus size designation. Truck and bus tires covered by this investigation may be tubetype, tubeless, radial, or non-radial. Subject tires have, at the time of importation, the symbol ‘‘DOT’’ on the sidewall, certifying that the tire conforms to applicable motor vehicle safety standards. Subject tires may also have one of the following suffixes in their tire size designation, which also appear on the sidewall of the tire: TR—Identifies tires for service on trucks or buses to differentiate them from similarly sized passenger car and light truck tires; MH—Identifies tires for mobile homes; and HC—Identifies a 17.5 inch rim diameter code for use on low platform trailers. All tires with a ‘‘TR,’’ ‘‘MH,’’ or ‘‘HC’’ suffix in their size designations are covered by this investigation regardless of their intended use. In addition, all tires that lack one of the above suffix markings are included in the scope, regardless of their intended use, as long as the tire is of a size that is among the numerical size designations listed in the ‘‘Truck-Bus’’ section of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book, as updated annually, unless the tire falls within one of the specific exclusions set out below. Truck and bus tires, whether or not mounted on wheels or rims, are included in the scope. However, if a subject tire is imported mounted on a wheel or rim, only the tire is covered by the scope. Subject merchandise includes truck and bus tires produced in the subject country whether mounted on wheels or rims in the subject country or in a third country. Truck and bus tires are covered whether or not they are accompanied by other parts, e.g., a wheel, rim, axle parts, bolts, nuts, etc. Truck and bus PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 I. Summary II. Background III. Scope Comments IV. Scope of the Investigation V. Critical Circumstances VI. Injury Test VII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Application of Adverse Inferences VIII. Application of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports From the PRC IX. Subsidies Valuation X. Interest Rate Benchmarks, Discount Rates, Input and Land Benchmarks XI. Analysis of Programs XII. Calculation of All-Others Rate XIII. ITC Notification XIV. Disclosure and Public Comment XV. Verification XVI. Conclusion [FR Doc. 2016–15837 Filed 7–1–16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE International Trade Administration [C–570–039] Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric From the People’s Republic of China: Preliminary Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of certain amorphous silica fabric (silica fabric) from the People’s Republic of China (the PRC). The period of investigation is January 1, 2015 through December 31, AGENCY: E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 43580 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 5, 2016 / Notices 2015. We invite interested parties to comment on this preliminary determination. DATES: Effective July 5, 2016. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Maloof or John Corrigan, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482–5649 or (202) 482– 7438, respectively. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Scope of the Investigation The merchandise covered by this investigation is silica fabric from the PRC. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix II. Scope Comments In accordance with the preamble to the Department’s regulations,1 we set aside a period of time in our Initiation Notice for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage, and we encouraged all parties to submit comments within 20 calendar days of the signature date of that notice.2 We received several comments concerning the scope of the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of silica fabric from the PRC. We intend to issue our preliminary decision regarding the scope of the AD and CVD investigations in the preliminary determination of the companion AD investigation, which is due for signature on August 24, 2016. On March 13, 2016, Lewco Specialty Products, Inc. (Lewco) submitted a letter that was later rejected by the Department as it was improperly filed.3 We intend to issue our preliminary decision regarding the scope of the AD and CVD investigations in the preliminary determination of the companion AD investigation, which is due for signature on August 24, 2016. Methodology The Department is conducting this CVD investigation in accordance with section 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we preliminarily determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an ‘‘authority’’ that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.4 For a full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.5 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 https://access.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://trade.gov/ enforcement. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content. The Department notes that, in making this preliminary determination, we relied, in part, on facts available and, because one or more respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond to the Department’s requests for information, we drew an adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise available.6 For further information, see ‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences’’ in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. Alignment As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), we are aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the final determination in the companion AD investigation of silica fabric from the PRC based on a request made by Petitioner.7 Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than November 7, 2016, unless postponed. Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we calculated an individual rate for each exporter/ producer of the subject merchandise individually investigated. We preliminarily determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be: Subsidy rate (percent) Exporter/producer sradovich on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc ...................................................................................................................................... Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass Material Co. Ltd .................................................................................................................................... Acmetex Co., Ltd.,* Beijing Great Pack Materials, Co. Ltd.,* Beijing Landingji Engineering Tech Co., Ltd.,* Changshu Yaoxing Fiberglass Insulation Products Co., Ltd.,* Changzhou Kingze Composite Materials Co., Ltd.,* Changzhou Utek Composite Co.,* Chengdu Chang Yuan Shun Co., Ltd.,* China Beihai Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* China Yangzhou Guo Tai Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Chongqing Polycomp International Corp.,* Chongqing Yangkai Import & Export Trade Co., Ltd.,* Cixi Sunrise Sealing Material Co., Ltd.,*. 1 See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble). 2 See Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric From the People’s Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 81 FR 8909 (February 23, 2016) (Initiation Notice). 3 See Memorandum to the File from John K. Drury, ‘‘Request to Take Action on Certain Barcodes,’’ dated March 18, 2016. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:27 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 238001 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. 5 See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Affirmative Determination: Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric from the People’s Republic of China,’’ dated June 27, 2016 (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 6 See 4.36 28.25 sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. Manufacturing, Inc. (AMI) (Petitioner); see also Letter from AMI, ‘‘Re: Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric from the People’s Republic of China: Petitioner’s Request for Postponement of Date for Final Countervailing Duty Determinations to Align to the Date of the Final Antidumping Determination,’’ dated June 9, 2016. 7 Auburn E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 5, 2016 / Notices 43581 Subsidy rate (percent) Exporter/producer Fujian Minshan Fire-Fighting Co., Ltd.,* Grand Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Haining Jiete Fiberglass Fabric Co., Ltd.,* Hebei Yuniu Fiberglass Manufacturing Co., Ltd.,* Hebei Yuyin Trade Co., Ltd.,* Hengshui Aohong International Trading Co., Ltd.,* Hitex Insulation (Ningbo) Co., Ltd.,* Mowco Industry Limited,* Nanjing Debeili New Materials Co., Ltd.,* Ningbo Fitow High Strength Composites Co., Ltd.,* Ningbo Universal Star Industry & Trade Limited,* Ningguo BST Thermal Protection Products Co., Ltd.,* Qingdao Feelongda Industry & Trade Co., Ltd.,* Qingdao Shishuo Industry Co., Ltd.,* Rugao City Ouhua Composite Material Co., Ltd.,* Rugao Nebola Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai Bonthe Insulative Material Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai Horse Construction Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai Liankun Electronics Material Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai Suita Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd.,* Shangqui Huanyu Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Shengzhou Top-Tech New Material Co., Ltd.,* Shenzhen Songxin Silicone Products Co., Ltd.,* Taixing Chuanda Plastic Co., Ltd.,* Taixing Vichen Composite Material Co., Ltd.,* TaiZhou Xinxing Fiberglass Products Co., Ltd.,* Tenglong Sealing Products Manufactory Yuyao,* Texaspro (China) Company,* Wallean Industries Co., Ltd.,* Wuxi First Special-Type Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Wuxi Xingxiao Hi-Tech Material Co., Ltd.,* Yuyao Feida Insulation Sealing Factory,* Yuyao Tianyi Special Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd.,* Zibo Irvine Trading Co., Ltd.,* Zibo Yao Xing Fire-Resistant and Heat-Preservation Material Co., Ltd.,* Zibo Yuntai Furnace Technology Co., Ltd.* ................................................................ All-Others ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 104.10 4.36 * Non-cooperative company to which an adverse facts available rate is being applied. See ‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences,’’ section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we are directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of all entries of silica fabric from the PRC that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of the publication of this notice in the Federal Register, and to require a cash deposit for such entries of merchandise in the amounts indicated above. Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act state that, for companies not investigated, we determine an ‘‘allothers rate,’’ by weighting the subsidy rates of the individual company subsidy rate of each of the companies investigated by each company’s exports of subject merchandise to the United States excluding rates that are zero or de minimis or any rates determined entirely on the facts available. Notwithstanding the language of section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, we have not calculated the ‘‘all-others’’ rate by weight-averaging the rates of the two individually investigated respondents, because the rate calculated for Nanjing Tianyuan was determined entirely on facts available. Therefore, for the ‘‘allothers’’ rate, we applied the rate calculated for ACIT Pinghu. Verification As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify the information submitted by the respondents prior to making our final determination. sradovich on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES Disclosure and Public Comment The Department will disclose calculations performed for this preliminary determination to the parties within five days of the date of public announcement of this determination in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). Case briefs or other written comments for all non-scope issues may be VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:27 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 238001 submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the final verification report is issued in this proceeding, and rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.8 A table of contents, list of authorities used and an executive summary of issues should accompany any briefs submitted to the Department. This summary should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes. Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, filed electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed request for a hearing must be received successfully in its entirety by the Department’s electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.9 Requests should contain the party’s name, address, and telephone number; the number of participants; and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, the Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a date and time to be determined. Parties will be notified of the date and time of any hearing. The hearing will be limited to issues raised in the respective briefs.10 International Trade Commission Notification In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the International Trade Commission (ITC) of our 8 See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements). 9 See 19 CFR 351.310(c). 10 Id. PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 determination. In addition, we are making available to the ITC all nonprivileged and non-proprietary information relating to this investigation. We will allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative protective order, without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. In accordance with section 705(b)(2) of the Act, if our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its final determination within 45 days after the Department makes its final determination. This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c). Dated: June 27, 2016. Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Appendix I List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum I. Summary II. Background A. Initiation and Case History B. Postponement of Preliminary Determination C. Period of Investigation III. Alignment IV. Scope Comments V. Scope of the Investigation VI. Injury Test VII. Application of the CVD Law to Imports From the PRC VIII. Subsidies Valuation A. Allocation Period B. Attribution of Subsidies C. Denominators IX. Benchmarks and Interest Rates A. Renminbi-Denominated Loans B. Discount Rates X. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 5, 2016 / Notices sradovich on DSK3GDR082PROD with NOTICES Adverse Inferences A. Application of AFA: Non-Responsive Companies to the Q&V Questionnaire B. Application of AFA: Nanjing Tianyuan C. Application of AFA: Provision of Electricity for LTAR D. Application of AFA: Policy Loans to the Silica Fabric Industry E. Application of AFA: Provision of ‘‘Other Subsidies’’ as Specific XI. Analysis of Programs A. Programs Preliminarily Determined To Be Countervailable 1. Policy Loans to the Silica Fabric Industry 2. Provision of Electricity for LTAR B. Programs Preliminary Determined Not To Be Used During the POI 1. Preferential Export Financing 2. Preferential Loans to SOEs 3. Export Seller’s Credits 4. Export Buyer’s Credits 5. Export Credit Insurance 6. Provision of Land for LTAR in SEZs 7. Provision of Fiberglass Yarn for LTAR 8. Provision of Services at LTAR Through Demonstration Bases and Common Service Platform Programs 9. Income Tax Reduction for HNTEs 10. Income Tax Reduction for R&D Under the EITL 11. Income Tax Reduction/Exemption for HNTEs for Geographic Location 12. Import Tariff and VAT Exemptions on Imported Equipment in Encouraged Industries 13. City Construction Tax and Education Fees Exemptions for FIEs 14. Other VAT Subsidies 15. GOC and Sub-Central Government Subsidies for Development of Famous Brands and China World Top Brands 16. International Market Exploration Fund (SME Fund) 17. Science and Technology Awards XII. ITC Notification XIII. Disclosure and Public Comment Also excluded from the scope are amorphous silica fabric rope and tubing (or sleeving). Amorphous silica fabric rope is a knitted or braided product made from amorphous silica yarns. Silica tubing (or sleeving) is braided into a hollow sleeve from amorphous silica yarns. The subject imports are normally classified in subheadings 7019.59.4021, 7019.59.4096, 7019.59.9021, and 7019.59.9096 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), but may also enter under HTSUS subheadings 7019.40.4030, 7019.40.4060, 7019.40.9030, 7019.40.9060, 7019.51.9010, 7019.51.9090, 7019.52.9010, 7019.52.9021, 7019.52.9096 and 7019.90.1000. HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:27 Jul 01, 2016 Jkt 238001 XIV. Verification XV. Conclusion Appendix II Scope of the Investigation The product covered by this investigation is woven (whether from yarns or rovings) industrial grade amorphous silica fabric, which contains a minimum of 90 percent silica (SiO2) by nominal weight, and a nominal width in excess of 8 inches. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous silica fabric regardless of other materials contained in the fabric, regardless of whether in roll form or cut-to-length, regardless of weight, width (except as noted above), or length. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous silica fabric regardless of whether the product is approved by a standards testing body (such as being Factory Mutual (FM) Approved), or regardless of whether it meets any governmental specification. Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be produced in various colors. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is colored. Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be coated or treated with materials that include, but are not limited to, oils, vermiculite, acrylic latex compound, silicone, aluminized polyester (Mylar®) film, pressure-sensitive adhesive, or other coatings and treatments. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is coated or treated, and regardless of coating or treatment weight as a percentage of total product weight. Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be heat-cleaned. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is heat-cleaned. Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be imported in rolls or may be cut-tolength and then further fabricated to make welding curtains, welding blankets, welding pads, fire blankets, fire pads, or fire screens. Regardless of the name, all industrial grade amorphous silica fabric that has been further cut-to-length or cut-to-width or further finished by finishing the edges and/or adding grommets, is included within the scope of this investigation. Subject merchandise also includes (1) any industrial grade amorphous silica fabric that has been converted into industrial grade amorphous silica fabric in China from fiberglass cloth produced in a third country; and (2) any industrial grade amorphous silica fabric that has been further processed in a third country prior to export to the United States, including but not limited to treating, coating, slitting, cutting to length, cutting to width, finishing the edges, adding grommets, or any other processing that would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope industrial grade amorphous silica fabric. Excluded from the scope of the investigation is amorphous silica fabric that is subjected to controlled shrinkage, which is also called ‘‘pre-shrunk’’ or ‘‘aerospace grade’’ amorphous silica fabric. In order to be excluded as a pre-shrunk or aerospace grade amorphous silica fabric, the amorphous silica fabric must meet the following exclusion criteria: (1) The amorphous silica fabric must contain a minimum of 98 percent silica (SiO2) by nominal weight; (2) the amorphous silica fabric must have an areal shrinkage of 4 percent or less; (3) the amorphous silica fabric must contain no coatings or treatments; and (4) the amorphous silica fabric must be white in color. For purposes of this scope, ‘‘areal shrinkage’’ refers to the extent to which a specimen of amorphous silica fabric shrinks while subjected to heating at 1800 degrees F for 30 minutes. purposes only; the written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [FR Doc. 2016–15729 Filed 7–1–16; 8:45 am] International Trade Administration BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P [A–570–979] PO 00000 Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People’s Republic of China: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce. SUMMARY: On May 26, 2016, the Department of Commerce (the ‘‘Department’’) published its notice of initiation and preliminary results of a changed circumstances review of the AGENCY: Frm 00013 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM 05JYN1 EN05JY16.010</GPH> 43582

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43579-43582]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15729]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-039]


Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica 
Fabric From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination 
and Alignment of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 
Determination

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of certain amorphous silica fabric (silica 
fabric) from the People's Republic of China (the PRC). The period of 
investigation is January 1, 2015 through December 31,

[[Page 43580]]

2015. We invite interested parties to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Effective July 5, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Emily Maloof or John Corrigan, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-5649 
or (202) 482-7438, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is silica fabric from 
the PRC. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix II.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to the Department's regulations,\1\ 
we set aside a period of time in our Initiation Notice for parties to 
raise issues regarding product coverage, and we encouraged all parties 
to submit comments within 20 calendar days of the signature date of 
that notice.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \2\ See Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric From the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 
81 FR 8909 (February 23, 2016) (Initiation Notice).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We received several comments concerning the scope of the 
antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of silica 
fabric from the PRC. We intend to issue our preliminary decision 
regarding the scope of the AD and CVD investigations in the preliminary 
determination of the companion AD investigation, which is due for 
signature on August 24, 2016. On March 13, 2016, Lewco Specialty 
Products, Inc. (Lewco) submitted a letter that was later rejected by 
the Department as it was improperly filed.\3\ We intend to issue our 
preliminary decision regarding the scope of the AD and CVD 
investigations in the preliminary determination of the companion AD 
investigation, which is due for signature on August 24, 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ See Memorandum to the File from John K. Drury, ``Request to 
Take Action on Certain Barcodes,'' dated March 18, 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Methodology

    The Department is conducting this CVD investigation in accordance 
with section 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For 
each of the subsidy programs found countervailable, we preliminarily 
determine that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by an 
``authority'' that gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, and that 
the subsidy is specific.\4\ For a full description of the methodology 
underlying our preliminary conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\5\ 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 https://access.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the Central 
Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. 
In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
can be accessed directly at https://trade.gov/enforcement. The signed 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the electronic versions of the 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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.
    \5\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, ``Decision Memorandum for 
the Preliminary Affirmative Determination: Countervailing Duty 
Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric from the People's 
Republic of China,'' dated June 27, 2016 (Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Department notes that, in making this preliminary 
determination, we relied, in part, on facts available and, because one 
or more respondents did not act to the best of their ability to respond 
to the Department's requests for information, we drew an adverse 
inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts otherwise 
available.\6\ For further information, see ``Use of Facts Otherwise 
Available and Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), we are aligning 
the final CVD determination in this investigation with the final 
determination in the companion AD investigation of silica fabric from 
the PRC based on a request made by Petitioner.\7\ Consequently, the 
final CVD determination will be issued on the same date as the final AD 
determination, which is currently scheduled to be issued no later than 
November 7, 2016, unless postponed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ Auburn Manufacturing, Inc. (AMI) (Petitioner); see also 
Letter from AMI, ``Re: Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric from the 
People's Republic of China: Petitioner's Request for Postponement of 
Date for Final Countervailing Duty Determinations to Align to the 
Date of the Final Antidumping Determination,'' dated June 9, 2016.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated an individual rate for each exporter/producer of the subject 
merchandise individually investigated. We preliminarily determine the 
countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Exporter/producer                        (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc..............            4.36
Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass Material Co. Ltd............           28.25
Acmetex Co., Ltd.,* Beijing Great Pack Materials, Co.
 Ltd.,* Beijing Landingji Engineering Tech Co., Ltd.,*
 Changshu Yaoxing Fiberglass Insulation Products Co.,
 Ltd.,* Changzhou Kingze Composite Materials Co., Ltd.,*
 Changzhou Utek Composite Co.,* Chengdu Chang Yuan Shun
 Co., Ltd.,* China Beihai Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* China
 Yangzhou Guo Tai Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Chongqing
 Polycomp International Corp.,* Chongqing Yangkai Import
 & Export Trade Co., Ltd.,* Cixi Sunrise Sealing
 Material Co., Ltd.,*...................................

[[Page 43581]]

 
 Fujian Minshan Fire-Fighting Co., Ltd.,* Grand                   104.10
 Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Haining Jiete Fiberglass Fabric
 Co., Ltd.,* Hebei Yuniu Fiberglass Manufacturing Co.,
 Ltd.,* Hebei Yuyin Trade Co., Ltd.,* Hengshui Aohong
 International Trading Co., Ltd.,* Hitex Insulation
 (Ningbo) Co., Ltd.,* Mowco Industry Limited,* Nanjing
 Debeili New Materials Co., Ltd.,* Ningbo Fitow High
 Strength Composites Co., Ltd.,* Ningbo Universal Star
 Industry & Trade Limited,* Ningguo BST Thermal
 Protection Products Co., Ltd.,* Qingdao Feelongda
 Industry & Trade Co., Ltd.,* Qingdao Shishuo Industry
 Co., Ltd.,* Rugao City Ouhua Composite Material Co.,
 Ltd.,* Rugao Nebola Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai
 Bonthe Insulative Material Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai Horse
 Construction Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai Liankun Electronics
 Material Co., Ltd.,* Shanghai Suita Environmental
 Protection Technology Co., Ltd.,* Shangqui Huanyu
 Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Shengzhou Top-Tech New Material
 Co., Ltd.,* Shenzhen Songxin Silicone Products Co.,
 Ltd.,* Taixing Chuanda Plastic Co., Ltd.,* Taixing
 Vichen Composite Material Co., Ltd.,* TaiZhou Xinxing
 Fiberglass Products Co., Ltd.,* Tenglong Sealing
 Products Manufactory Yuyao,* Texaspro (China) Company,*
 Wallean Industries Co., Ltd.,* Wuxi First Special-Type
 Fiberglass Co., Ltd.,* Wuxi Xingxiao Hi-Tech Material
 Co., Ltd.,* Yuyao Feida Insulation Sealing Factory,*
 Yuyao Tianyi Special Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd.,* Zibo
 Irvine Trading Co., Ltd.,* Zibo Yao Xing Fire-Resistant
 and Heat-Preservation Material Co., Ltd.,* Zibo Yuntai
 Furnace Technology Co., Ltd.*..........................
All-Others..............................................            4.36
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Non-cooperative company to which an adverse facts available rate is
  being applied. See ``Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse
  Inferences,'' section in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

    In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we 
are directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation 
of all entries of silica fabric from the PRC that are entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of the 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, and to require a 
cash deposit for such entries of merchandise in the amounts indicated 
above.
    Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act state that, for 
companies not investigated, we determine an ``all-others rate,'' by 
weighting the subsidy rates of the individual company subsidy rate of 
each of the companies investigated by each company's exports of subject 
merchandise to the United States excluding rates that are zero or de 
minimis or any rates determined entirely on the facts available. 
Notwithstanding the language of section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
have not calculated the ``all-others'' rate by weight-averaging the 
rates of the two individually investigated respondents, because the 
rate calculated for Nanjing Tianyuan was determined entirely on facts 
available. Therefore, for the ``all-others'' rate, we applied the rate 
calculated for ACIT Pinghu.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify 
the information submitted by the respondents prior to making our final 
determination.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department will disclose calculations performed for this 
preliminary determination to the parties within five days of the date 
of public announcement of this determination in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.224(b). Case briefs or other written comments for all non-scope 
issues may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the final 
verification report is issued in this proceeding, and rebuttal briefs, 
limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than 
five days after the deadline date for case briefs.\8\ A table of 
contents, list of authorities used and an executive summary of issues 
should accompany any briefs submitted to the Department. This summary 
should be limited to five pages total, including footnotes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a 
written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, filed electronically using 
ACCESS. An electronically filed request for a hearing must be received 
successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic records 
system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 days after the 
date of publication of this notice.\9\ Requests should contain the 
party's name, address, and telephone number; the number of 
participants; and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request 
for a hearing is made, the Department intends to hold the hearing at 
the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a date and time to be determined. Parties 
will be notified of the date and time of any hearing. The hearing will 
be limited to issues raised in the respective briefs.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \10\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our determination. In addition, 
we are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and non-
proprietary information relating to this investigation. We will allow 
the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary information 
in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such 
information, either publicly or under an administrative protective 
order, without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.
    In accordance with section 705(b)(2) of the Act, if our final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its final determination 
within 45 days after the Department makes its final determination.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: June 27, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
    A. Initiation and Case History
    B. Postponement of Preliminary Determination
    C. Period of Investigation
III. Alignment
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Injury Test
VII. Application of the CVD Law to Imports From the PRC
VIII. Subsidies Valuation
    A. Allocation Period
    B. Attribution of Subsidies
    C. Denominators
IX. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
    A. Renminbi-Denominated Loans
    B. Discount Rates
X. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and

[[Page 43582]]

Adverse Inferences
    A. Application of AFA: Non-Responsive Companies to the Q&V 
Questionnaire
    B. Application of AFA: Nanjing Tianyuan
    C. Application of AFA: Provision of Electricity for LTAR
    D. Application of AFA: Policy Loans to the Silica Fabric 
Industry
    E. Application of AFA: Provision of ``Other Subsidies'' as 
Specific
XI. Analysis of Programs
    A. Programs Preliminarily Determined To Be Countervailable
    1. Policy Loans to the Silica Fabric Industry
    2. Provision of Electricity for LTAR
    B. Programs Preliminary Determined Not To Be Used During the POI
    1. Preferential Export Financing
    2. Preferential Loans to SOEs
    3. Export Seller's Credits
    4. Export Buyer's Credits
    5. Export Credit Insurance
    6. Provision of Land for LTAR in SEZs
    7. Provision of Fiberglass Yarn for LTAR
    8. Provision of Services at LTAR Through Demonstration Bases and 
Common Service Platform Programs
    9. Income Tax Reduction for HNTEs
    10. Income Tax Reduction for R&D Under the EITL
    11. Income Tax Reduction/Exemption for HNTEs for Geographic 
Location
    12. Import Tariff and VAT Exemptions on Imported Equipment in 
Encouraged Industries
    13. City Construction Tax and Education Fees Exemptions for FIEs
    14. Other VAT Subsidies
    15. GOC and Sub-Central Government Subsidies for Development of 
Famous Brands and China World Top Brands
    16. International Market Exploration Fund (SME Fund)
    17. Science and Technology Awards
XII. ITC Notification
XIII. Disclosure and Public Comment
XIV. Verification
XV. Conclusion

Appendix II

Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is woven (whether from 
yarns or rovings) industrial grade amorphous silica fabric, which 
contains a minimum of 90 percent silica (SiO2) by nominal 
weight, and a nominal width in excess of 8 inches. The investigation 
covers industrial grade amorphous silica fabric regardless of other 
materials contained in the fabric, regardless of whether in roll 
form or cut-to-length, regardless of weight, width (except as noted 
above), or length. The investigation covers industrial grade 
amorphous silica fabric regardless of whether the product is 
approved by a standards testing body (such as being Factory Mutual 
(FM) Approved), or regardless of whether it meets any governmental 
specification.
    Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be produced in 
various colors. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is colored. 
Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be coated or treated 
with materials that include, but are not limited to, oils, 
vermiculite, acrylic latex compound, silicone, aluminized polyester 
(Mylar[supreg]) film, pressure-sensitive adhesive, or other coatings 
and treatments. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is coated or treated, 
and regardless of coating or treatment weight as a percentage of 
total product weight. Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may 
be heat-cleaned. The investigation covers industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric regardless of whether the fabric is heat-cleaned.
    Industrial grade amorphous silica fabric may be imported in 
rolls or may be cut-to-length and then further fabricated to make 
welding curtains, welding blankets, welding pads, fire blankets, 
fire pads, or fire screens. Regardless of the name, all industrial 
grade amorphous silica fabric that has been further cut-to-length or 
cut-to-width or further finished by finishing the edges and/or 
adding grommets, is included within the scope of this investigation.
    Subject merchandise also includes (1) any industrial grade 
amorphous silica fabric that has been converted into industrial 
grade amorphous silica fabric in China from fiberglass cloth 
produced in a third country; and (2) any industrial grade amorphous 
silica fabric that has been further processed in a third country 
prior to export to the United States, including but not limited to 
treating, coating, slitting, cutting to length, cutting to width, 
finishing the edges, adding grommets, or any other processing that 
would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the 
investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the in-
scope industrial grade amorphous silica fabric.
    Excluded from the scope of the investigation is amorphous silica 
fabric that is subjected to controlled shrinkage, which is also 
called ``pre-shrunk'' or ``aerospace grade'' amorphous silica 
fabric. In order to be excluded as a pre-shrunk or aerospace grade 
amorphous silica fabric, the amorphous silica fabric must meet the 
following exclusion criteria: (1) The amorphous silica fabric must 
contain a minimum of 98 percent silica (SiO2) by nominal 
weight; (2) the amorphous silica fabric must have an areal shrinkage 
of 4 percent or less; (3) the amorphous silica fabric must contain 
no coatings or treatments; and (4) the amorphous silica fabric must 
be white in color. For purposes of this scope, ``areal shrinkage'' 
refers to the extent to which a specimen of amorphous silica fabric 
shrinks while subjected to heating at 1800 degrees F for 30 minutes.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN05JY16.010

    Also excluded from the scope are amorphous silica fabric rope 
and tubing (or sleeving). Amorphous silica fabric rope is a knitted 
or braided product made from amorphous silica yarns. Silica tubing 
(or sleeving) is braided into a hollow sleeve from amorphous silica 
yarns.
    The subject imports are normally classified in subheadings 
7019.59.4021, 7019.59.4096, 7019.59.9021, and 7019.59.9096 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), but may 
also enter under HTSUS subheadings 7019.40.4030, 7019.40.4060, 
7019.40.9030, 7019.40.9060, 7019.51.9010, 7019.51.9090, 
7019.52.9010, 7019.52.9021, 7019.52.9096 and 7019.90.1000. HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes only; 
the written description of the scope of this investigation is 
dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2016-15729 Filed 7-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.