2020-11451. Notice of Extension of the Deadline for Determining the Adequacy of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions: Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam

AGENCY:

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

DATES:

Applicable May 20, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Alex Villanueva; AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Extension of Initiation of Investigations

The Petitions

On May 13, 2020, the Department of Commerce (Commerce) received antidumping duty petitions on imports of passenger vehicle and light truck tires (passenger tires) from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam and a countervailing duty petition on imports of passenger tires from Vietnam, filed by the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO, CLC (the petitioner) on behalf of the domestic industry producing passenger tires.^[1]

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

Sections 702(b)(1) and 732(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), require that a petition be filed by or on behalf of the domestic industry. To determine that the petition has been filed by or on behalf of the industry, sections 702(c)(4)(A) and 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act require that the domestic producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) At least 25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and (ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, sections 702(c)(4)(D) and 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act provide that, if the petition does not establish support of domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of the domestic like product, Commerce shall: (i) Poll the industry or rely on other information in order to determine if there is support for the petition, as required by subparagraph (A); or (ii) if there is a large number of producers, determine industry support using a statistically valid sampling method to poll the industry.

Extension of Time

Sections 702(c)(1)(A) and 732(c)(1)(A) of the Act provide that within 20 days of the filing of an antidumping or countervailing duty petition, Commerce will determine, inter alia, whether the petition has been filed by or on behalf of the U.S. industry producing the domestic like product. Sections 702(c)(1)(B) and 732(c)(1)(B) of the Act provide that the deadline for the initiation determination, in exceptional circumstances, may be extended by 20 days in any case in which Commerce must “poll or otherwise determine support for the petition by the industry.” Because it is not clear from the Petitions whether the industry support criteria have been met, Commerce has determined it should extend the time period for determining whether to initiate investigations in order to further examine the issue of industry support.

Commerce will need additional time to gather and analyze additional information regarding industry support. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the deadline for determining the adequacy of the Petitions for a period not to exceed 40 days from the filing of the Petitions. As a result, Commerce's initiation determination will now be due no later than June 22, 2020.

International Trade Commission Notification

Commerce will contact the International Trade Commission (ITC) and will make this extension notice available to the ITC.

Dated: May 21, 2020.

James Maeder,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations.

Footnotes

1.  See Petitioner's Letter, “Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties: Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam,” dated May 13, 2020 (the Petitions).