[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8405-8408]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01635]
[[Page 8405]]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
INTERNATIONAL TRADE ADMINISTRATION
[C-570-039]
Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica
Fabric From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative
Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) 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). For information on the estimated subsidy
rates, see the ``Final Determination and Suspension of Liquidation''
section of this notice.
DATES: Effective January 25, 2017.
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, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-5649 or (202) 482-7438,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Department published the Preliminary Determination on July 5,
2016.\1\ A summary of the events that occurred since the Department
published the Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion
of the issues raised by parties for this final determination, may be
found in the Issues and Decision Memorandum \2\ issued concurrently
with this notice. The Issues and 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 http://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 Issues and Decision Memorandum
can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The
signed Issues and Decision Memorandum and the electronic version are
identical in content.
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\1\ See 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, 81 FR 43579 (July 5, 2016)
(Preliminary Determination) and accompanying Preliminary Decision
Memorandum (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
\2\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, from Gary Taverman, ``Issues
and Decision Memorandum for the Final Determination in the
Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous Silica Fabric
from the People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with this
determination and hereby adopted by this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
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Period of Investigation
The period of investigation for which we are measuring subsidies is
January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015.
Scope Comments
The Department set aside a period of time for parties to address
scope issues.\3\ We received no scope comments.\4\ In the Preliminary
Determination, we did not modify the scope language from what appeared
in the Initiation Notice.\5\ No interested party submitted scope
comments in case or rebuttal briefs. Therefore, the scope of this
investigation remains unchanged for this final determination.
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\3\ 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).
\4\ On March 13, 2016, the Department received a letter dated
March 7, 2016, from Lewco Specialty Products, Inc. We rejected this
letter as improperly filed and removed it from the record of this
proceeding. See Memorandum to the File, ``Re: Request to Take Action
on Certain Barcodes,'' dated March 18, 2016.
\5\ See Initiation Notice, 81 FR at 8912-13.
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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.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
The subsidy programs under investigation, and the issues raised in
the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by the parties, are discussed in
the Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues that parties
raised, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum, is attached to this notice at Appendix I.
Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)
In making its findings, the Department relied, in part, on facts
available. For mandatory respondent Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass
Material Co., Ltd. (Nanjing Tianyuan), we are basing certain
countervailing duty (CVD) rates on facts otherwise available, pursuant
to sections 776(a)(2)(C) and (D) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act). Further, because Nanjing Tianyuan did not cooperate to the
best of its ability in this investigation by not providing necessary
information requested by the Department, we determine that an adverse
inference in selecting from the facts available is warranted with
respect to certain countervailable subsidy programs, pursuant to
section 776(b) of the Act. The Department has, therefore, relied, in
part, on AFA in calculating Nanjing Tianyuan's subsidy rates.
Regarding ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc.
(collectively, ACIT),\6\ we determine that the application of AFA is
warranted with regard to the Government of the PRC's (GOC's) provision
of Export Buyer's Credits and thus determine, as AFA, that ACIT
benefitted from the Export Buyer's Credit program.
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\6\ See Preliminary Determination and accompanying Preliminary
Determination Memorandum at 11 (finding ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT
(Shanghai) Inc. to be cross-owned).
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In addition, the Department has applied a total AFA rate to the 48
companies that failed to respond to the Department's quantity and value
questionnaire.\7\
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\7\ See Preliminary Determination at 81 FR 43579-43582.
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For further information on the Department's application of adverse
facts available, as summarized above, see the section titled ``Use of
Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences,'' in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from
parties, and minor corrections presented at verification, we made
certain changes to ACIT's and Nanjing Tianyuan's subsidy rate
calculations since the Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of
these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum and the Final
Calculation Memoranda.\8\
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\8\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum; see also Memorandum to
the File, ``Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Amorphous
Silica Fabric from the People's Republic of China: ACIT (Pinghu)
Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc. Final Analysis Memorandum,'' dated
January 17, 2017 (ACIT's Final Calculation Memorandum); see also
Memorandum to the File, ``Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass Material Co.,
Ltd. Final Analysis Memorandum,'' dated January 17, 2017 (Nanjing
Tianyuan's Final Calculation Memorandum).
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Final Determination and Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we
calculated an individual rate for each producer/
[[Page 8406]]
exporter of the subject merchandise individually investigated, i.e.
ACIT and Nanjing Tianyuan. In accordance with section 705(c)(5)(A) of
the Act, for companies not individually investigated, we apply an
``all-others'' rate, which is normally calculated by weighting the
subsidy rates of the individual companies selected as mandatory
respondents by those companies' exports of the subject merchandise to
the United States. Under section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, the ``all-
others'' rate excludes zero and de minimis rates calculated for the
exporters and producers individually investigated as well as rates
based entirely on facts otherwise available. Where the rates for the
individually investigated companies are all zero or de minimis, or
determined entirely using facts otherwise available, section
705(c)(5)(A)(ii) of the Act instructs the Department to establish an
``all-others'' rate using ``any reasonable method.'' Where the
countervailable subsidy rates for all of the individually investigated
respondents are zero or de minimis or are based on total AFA, the
Department's practice, pursuant to 705(c)(5)(A)(ii), is to calculate
the all others rate based on a simple average of the zero or de minimis
margins and the margins based on total AFA.
Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, we have calculated
the ``all-others'' rate using the subsidy rates of the two individually
investigated respondents. However, we have not calculated the ``all-
others'' rate by weight-averaging the rates because doing so risks
disclosure of proprietary information. Therefore, and consistent with
the Department's practice, for the ``all-others'' rate, we calculated a
simple average of the two mandatory respondents' subsidy rates.\9\
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\9\ See, e.g., Countervailing Duty Investigation of Boltless
Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale from the People's Republic
of China: Preliminary Determination and Alignment of Final
Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 80 FR 5089
(January 30, 2015), unchanged in Boltless Steel Shelving Units
Prepackaged for Sale from the People's Republic of China: Amended
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and
Countervailing Duty Order, 80 FR 64745 (October 24, 2015).
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Subsidy rate
Exporter/producer (Percent)
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ACIT (Pinghu) Inc. and ACIT (Shanghai) Inc.............. 48.94
Nanjing Tianyuan Fiberglass Material Co., Ltd........... 79.90
Acmetex Co., Ltd.,*..................................... 165.39
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.,* ..............
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.* ..............
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All-Others.............................................. 64.42
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* Non-cooperative company to which an AFA rate is being applied. See
Issues and Decision Memorandum and Preliminary Decision Memorandum for
additional information.
As a result of our Preliminary Determination, and pursuant to
sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (2) of the Act, we instructed U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of
merchandise under consideration from the PRC that were entered or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after July 5, 2016,
the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the Federal
Register.
In accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we later issued
instructions to CBP to discontinue the suspension of liquidation for
CVD purposes for subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, on or after November 2, 2016, but to continue the suspension
of liquidation of all entries between July 5, 2016, and November 1,
2016.
If the U.S. International Trade Commission (the ITC) issues a final
affirmative injury determination, we will issue a CVD order, will
reinstate the suspension of liquidation under section 706(a) of the
Act, and will require a cash deposit of estimated CVDs for such entries
of subject merchandise in the amounts indicated above. If the ITC
determines that material injury, or threat of material injury, does not
exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all estimated duties
deposited or securities posted as a result of the suspension of
liquidation will be refunded or canceled.
ITC Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the
ITC of our determination. In addition, we are making available to the
ITC all non-privileged and non-proprietary information related 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 (APO), without the written
consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Return or Destruction of Proprietary Information
In the event the ITC issues a final negative injury determination,
this notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an 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 violation subject to sanction.
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act.
Dated: January 17, 2017.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary, for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Application of the Countervailing Duty Law to Imports from the
PRC
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Discount Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Analysis of Comments
Comment 1: Whether the Department Should Apply AFA to the
Provision of Fiberglass Yarn for Less Than Adequate Remuneration
(LTAR)
Comment 2: Whether the Department Should Incorporate Corrections
Made to the Fiberglass Cloth Database as Reported by ACIT Pinghu and
ACIT Shanghai
Comment 3: Whether the Department Should Apply Partial AFA for
Failure To Provide a Questionnaire Response for a Former Affiliate
of ACIT Shanghai
Comment 4: Whether the Allegation of the Provision of Fiberglass
Cloth for LTAR is Flawed
Comment 5: Whether Domestic Chinese Producers of Fiberglass
Cloth Are Government ``Authorities''
Comment 6: Whether the Provision of Fiberglass Cloth for LTAR Is
Specific
Comment 7: Whether To Use an In-China Benchmark To Measure the
Adequacy of Remuneration for Fiberglass Cloth
Comment 8: Whether the Benchmark for the Provision of Fiberglass
Cloth for LTAR is Flawed
Comment 9: Whether the Department Should Adjust the Fiberglass
Cloth Benchmark for a Value-Added Process
Comment 10: Whether the Department Should Exclude Value-Added
Tax (VAT) from the Tariff Rate in its Calculations for the
Electricity for LTAR Program and Exclude VAT from the Calculation
for the Provision of Fiberglass Cloth for LTAR
Comment 11: Whether the Department Should Revise the Ocean
Freight Benchmark
Comment 12: Whether the Department Should Continue its Use of
Zeroing with Regard to Calculation of the Benefit of Fiberglass
Cloth for LTAR
Comment 13: Whether the Department Should Make Corrections to
its Subsidy Calculations Regarding the Provision of Fiberglass Cloth
at LTAR
Comment 14: Whether the Department Should Exclude Certain World
Export Prices for Fiberglass Cloth Pertaining to the PRC
Comment 15: Whether the Department Should Revise the Denominator
Used To Calculate the Benefit Received by ACIT for the Provision of
Fiberglass Cloth at LTAR
Comment 16: Whether the Department Should Find that ACIT and
Nanjing Tianyuan Benefitted from Export Seller's Credits Because the
GOC Failed to Provide Evidence of Non-Use at Verification
Comment 17: Whether the Department Should Find That ACIT and
Nanjing Tianyuan Benefitted from Export Buyer's Credits
Comment 18: Whether the Provision of Electricity for LTAR is
Countervailable
Comment 19: Whether the GOC Provided Policy Loans to ACIT and
Nanjing Tianyuan During the Period of Investigation
Comment 20: Whether the Department Should Apply AFA to the
Government Provision of Land for LTAR in Special Economic Zones
Comment 21: Whether the Department Should Calculate the All-
Others Rate Based on the Calculated Rate for ACIT Pinghu and Nanjing
Tianyuan
Comment 22: Whether the Department's Investigation of
Uninitiated Programs Is Unlawful
Comment 23: Whether the Department's CVD Rates Should Reflect an
Adjustment for Programs that Have Been Terminated
XI. Recommendation
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
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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] TN25JA17.090
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. 2017-01635 Filed 1-24-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P