2020-05180. Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Changed Circumstances Reviews

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) continues to find that: (1) Sailun Group Co., Ltd. (Sailun Group) is the successor-in-interest to Sailun Jinyu Group Co., Ltd. (Sailun Jinyu); (2) Sailun (Dongying) Tire Co., Ltd. (Sailun Dongying) is the successor-in-interest to Shandong Jinyu Industrial Co., Ltd. (Shandong Jinyu); and (3) Sailun Group (Hong Kong) Co., Limited. (Sailun HK) is the successor-in-interest to Sailun Jinyu Group (Hong Kong) Co., Limited. (Sailun Jinyu HK). As a result, Sailun Group, Sailun Dongying and Sailun HK are entitled to the antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) cash deposit rates of Sailun Jinyu, Shandong Jinyu and Sailun Jinyu HK, respectively.

DATES:

Applicable March 13, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Toni Page at [phone] (AD) or Andrew Huston at [phone] (CVD), Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Background

On August 10, 2015, Commerce published in the Federal Register the AD and CVD Orders on passenger tires from China.^[1] On January 29, 2020, Commerce initiated changed circumstances reviews (CCRs) and made preliminary findings that Sailun Group, Sailun Dongying and Sailun HK were the successors-in-interest to Sailun Jinyu, Shandong Jinyu and Sailun Jinyu HK, respectively, and, as a result, these entities should be accorded the same treatment previously accorded to this company group.^[2] We provided interested parties the opportunity to comment on the Preliminary Results. No interested parties submitted case briefs. Sailun Group, Sailun Dongying, and Sailun HK submitted a letter requesting that the Preliminary Results be adopted as the final results.^[3]

Scope of the Orders

The scope of these Orders is passenger vehicle and light truck tires. Passenger vehicle and light truck tires are new pneumatic tires, of rubber, with a passenger vehicle or light truck size designation. Tires covered by this order may be tube-type, tubeless, radial, or non-radial, and they may be intended for sale to original equipment manufacturers or the replacement market.

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 the following prefixes or suffix in their tire size designation, which also appears on the sidewall of the tire:

Prefix designations:

P—Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on passenger cars

LT—Identifies a tire intended primarily for service on light trucks

Suffix letter designations:

LT—Identifies light truck tires for service on trucks, buses, trailers, and multipurpose passenger vehicles used in nominal highway service.

All tires with a “P” or “LT” prefix, and all tires with an “LT” suffix in their sidewall markings are covered by this investigation regardless of their intended use.

In addition, all tires that lack a “P” or “LT” prefix or suffix in their sidewall markings, as well as all tires that include any other prefix or suffix in their sidewall 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 passenger car section or light truck 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.

Passenger vehicle and light truck tires, whether or not attached to wheels or rims, are included in the scope. However, if a subject tire is imported attached to a wheel or rim, only the tire is covered by the scope.

Specifically excluded from the scope are the following types of tires:

(1) Racing car tires; such tires do not bear the symbol “DOT” on the sidewall and may be marked with “ZR” in size designation;

(2) new pneumatic tires, of rubber, of a size that is not listed in the passenger car section or light truck section of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book;

(3) pneumatic tires, of rubber, that are not new, including recycled and retreaded tires;

(4) non-pneumatic tires, such as solid rubber tires;

(5) tires designed and marketed exclusively as temporary use spare tires for passenger vehicles which, in addition, exhibit each of the following physical characteristics:

(a) The size designation and load index combination molded on the tire's sidewall are listed in Table PCT-1B (“T” Type Spare Tires for Temporary Use on Passenger Vehicles) of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book,

(b) the designation “T” is molded into the tire's sidewall as part of the size designation, and,

(c) the tire's speed rating is molded on the sidewall, indicating the rated speed in MPH or a letter rating as listed by Tire and Rim Association Year Book, and the rated speed is 81 MPH or a “M” rating;

(6) tires designed and marketed exclusively for specialty tire (ST) use which, in addition, exhibit each of the following conditions:

(a) The size designation molded on the tire's sidewall is listed in the ST sections of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book,

(b) the designation “ST” is molded into the tire's sidewall as part of the size designation,

(c) the tire incorporates a warning, prominently molded on the sidewall, that the tire is “For Trailer Service Only” or “For Trailer Use Only”,

(d) the load index molded on the tire's sidewall meets or exceeds those load indexes listed in the Tire and Rim Association Year Book for the relevant ST tire size, and

(e) either

(i) the tire's speed rating is molded on the sidewall, indicating the rated speed in MPH or a letter rating as listed by Tire and Rim Association Year Book, and the rated speed does not exceed 81 MPH or an “M” rating; or

(ii) the tire's speed rating molded on the sidewall is 87 MPH or an “N” rating, and in either case the tire's maximum pressure and maximum load limit are molded on the sidewall and either

(1) both exceed the maximum pressure and maximum load limit for any tire of the same size designation in either the passenger car or light truck section of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book; or

(2) if the maximum cold inflation pressure molded on the tire is less than any cold inflation pressure listed for that size designation in either the passenger car or light truck section of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book, the maximum load limit molded on the tire is higher than the maximum load limit listed at that cold inflation pressure for that size designation in either the passenger car or light truck section of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book;

(7) tires designed and marketed exclusively for off-road use and which, in addition, exhibit each of the following physical characteristics:

(a) The size designation and load index combination molded on the tire's sidewall are listed in the off-the-road, agricultural, industrial or ATV section of the Tire and Rim Association Year Book,

(b) in addition to any size designation markings, the tire incorporates a warning, prominently molded on the sidewall, that the tire is “Not For Highway Service” or “Not for Highway Use”,

(c) the tire's speed rating is molded on the sidewall, indicating the rated speed in MPH or a letter rating as listed by the Tire and Rim Association Year Book, and the rated speed does not exceed 55 MPH or a “G” rating, and

(d) the tire features a recognizable off-road tread design.

The products covered by this order are currently classified under the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings: 4011.10.10.10, 4011.10.10.20, 4011.10.10.30, 4011.10.10.40, 4011.10.10.50, 4011.10.10.60, 4011.10.10.70, 4011.10.50.00, 4011.20.10.05, and 4011.20.50.10. Tires meeting the scope description may also enter under the following HTSUS subheadings: 4011.99.45.10, 4011.99.45.50, 4011.99.85.10, 4011.99.85.50, 8708.70.45.45, 8708.70.45.60, 8708.70.60.30, 8708.70.60.45, and 8708.70.60.60. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and for customs purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise is dispositive.

Final Results of Changed Circumstances Reviews

Because the record contains no information or evidence that calls into question the Preliminary Results, for the reasons stated in the Preliminary Results, Commerce continues to find that: (1) Sailun Group is the successor-in-interest to Sailun Jinyu; (2) Sailun Dongying is the successor-in-interest to Shandong Jinyu; and (3) Sailun HK is the successor-in-interest to Sailun Jinyu HK, and, as a result, these entities should be accorded the same treatment previously accorded to this company group.^[4]

Instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Based on these final results, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect estimated AD and CVD duties for all shipments of subject merchandise exported by Sailun Group, Sailun Dongying, and Sailun HK at the AD and CVD cash deposit rates applicable to Sailun Jinyu, Shandong Jinyu, and Sailun Jinyu HK (i.e., 2.96% for all three companies for AD, and 30.61% for all three companies for CVD). These cash deposit requirements shall remain in effect until further notice.

Administrative Protective Order

This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the destruction of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.

We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with sections 751(b) and 777(i) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, and 19 CFR 351.216 and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3).

Dated: March 9, 2020.

Jeffrey I. Kessler,

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Footnotes

1.  See Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Duty Determination and Antidumping Duty Order, and Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Countervailing Duty Order, 80 FR 47902 (August 10, 2015) (collectively, Orders).

2.  See Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Reviews: Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China, 85 FR 5193 (January 29, 2020) (Preliminary Results).

3.  See Sailun Group, Sailun Dongying and Sailun HK's Letter, “Sailun Letter in Lieu of Brief: Changed Circumstances Review in Certain Passenger and Light Truck Tires from the People's Republic of China, Case Nos. A-570-016, C-570-017,” dated February 12, 2020.

4.  See Orders.