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]
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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.
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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).
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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
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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:
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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
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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.
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4 See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act
regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E)
of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of
the Act regarding specificity.
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).
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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:
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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\
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\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).
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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.
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\3\ See Memorandum to the File from John K. Drury, ``Request to
Take Action on Certain Barcodes,'' dated March 18, 2016.
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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.
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\4\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
\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).
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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.
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\6\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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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.
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\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.
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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)
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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
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* 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.
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\8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
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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\
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\9\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
\10\ Id.
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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
