Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Reviews, and Intent To Revoke the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, in Part

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

On June 13, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) received a request for revocation, in part, of the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules (solar cells), from the People's Republic of China (China) from SOURCE Global, PBC (SOURCE Global) with respect to certain off-grid small portable crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) panels as described below. We preliminary determine to revoke, in part, the solar cells AD and CVD orders with respect to these products. Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Applicable September 18, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jose Rivera, AD/CVD Operations, Office VII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–0842.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On December 7, 2012, Commerce published the AD and CVD orders on solar cells from China. On June 13, 2023, SOURCE Global, an importer of the subject merchandise, requested, through changed circumstances reviews (CCR), revocation of the Orders, in part, with respect to certain off-grid small portable CSPV panels, pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b). Within SOURCE Global's CCR request, SOURCE Global included a letter from the American Alliance for Solar Manufacturing (the Alliance), a U.S. producer of the domestic like product and a petitioner in the underlying investigations, in which the Alliance stated that it did not oppose the partial revocation of the Orders proposed by SOURCE Global. On July 31, 2023, we published the notice of initiation of the requested CCRs. In the Initiation Notice, we invited interested parties to provide comments and/or factual information regarding these CCRs, including comments on industry support and the proposed partial revocation language. We received no comments or factual information.

Scope of the Orders

The merchandise covered by these Orders is crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, and modules, laminates, and panels, consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not partially or fully assembled into other products, including, but not limited to, modules, laminates, panels and building integrated materials.

These Orders cover crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells of thickness equal to or greater than 20 micrometers, having a p/n junction formed by any means, whether or not the cell has undergone other processing, including, but not limited to, cleaning, etching, coating, and/or addition of materials (including, but not limited to, metallization and conductor patterns) to collect and forward the electricity that is generated by the cell.

Merchandise under consideration may be described at the time of importation as parts for final finished products that are assembled after importation, including, but not limited to, modules, laminates, panels, building-integrated modules, building-integrated panels, or other finished goods kits. Such parts that otherwise meet the definition of merchandise under consideration are included in the scope of the Orders.

Excluded from the scope of the Orders are thin film photovoltaic products produced from amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), or copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS).

Also excluded from the scope of the Orders are crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, not exceeding 10,000mm² in surface area, that are permanently integrated into a consumer good whose function is other than power generation and that consumes the electricity generated by the integrated crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell. Where more than one cell is permanently integrated into a consumer good, the surface area for purposes of this exclusion shall be the total combined surface area of all cells that are integrated into the consumer good.

Additionally, excluded from the scope of the Orders are panels with surface area from 3,450 mm² to 33,782 mm² with one black wire and one red wire (each of type 22 AWG or 24 AWG not more than 206 mm in length when measured from panel extrusion), and not exceeding 2.9 volts, 1.1 amps, and 3.19 watts. For the purposes of this exclusion, no panel shall contain an internal battery or external computer peripheral ports.

Also excluded from the scope of the Orders are:

1. Off grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with the following characteristics:

(A) a total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;

(B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm² per panel;

(C) do not include a built-in inverter;

(D) must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in either an 8mm male barrel connector, or a two-port rectangular connector with two pins in square housings of different colors;

(E) must include visible parallel grid collector metallic wire lines every 1–4 millimeters across each solar cell; and

(F) must be in individual retail packaging (for purposes of this provision, retail packaging typically includes graphics, the product name, its description and/or features, and foam for transport); and

2. Off grid CSPV panels without a glass cover, with the following characteristics:

(A) a total power output of 100 watts or less per panel;

(B) a maximum surface area of 8,000 cm² per panel;

(C) do not include a built-in inverter;

(D) must include visible parallel grid collector metallic wire lines every 1–4 millimeters across each solar cell; and

(E) each panel is

1. permanently integrated into a consumer good;

2. encased in a laminated material without stitching, or

3. has all of the following characteristics: (i) the panel is encased in sewn fabric with visible stitching, (ii) includes a mesh zippered storage pocket, and (iii) includes a permanently attached wire that terminates in a female USB–A connector.

In addition, the following CSPV panels are excluded from the scope of the Orders: Off-grid CSPV panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with each of the following physical characteristics, whether or not assembled into a fully completed off-grid hydropanel whose function is conversion of water vapor into liquid water:

(A) A total power output of no more than 80 watts per panel;

(B) A surface area of less than 5,000 cm² per panel;

(C) Do not include a built-in inverter;

(D) Do not have a frame around the edges of the panel;

(E) Include a clear glass back panel; and

(F) Must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a two-port rectangular connector.

Modules, laminates, and panels produced in a third country from cells produced in China are covered by the Orders; however, modules, laminates, and panels produced in China from cells produced in a third country are not covered by the Orders.

Additionally excluded from the scope of these Orders are off-grid small portable crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels, with or without a glass cover, with the following characteristics: (1) a total power output of 200 watts or less per panel; (2) a maximum surface area of 16,000 cm² per panel; (3) no built-in inverter; (4) an integrated handle or a handle attached to the package for ease of carry; (5) one or more integrated kickstands for easy installation or angle adjustment; and (6) a wire of not less than 3 meters either permanently connected or attached to the package that terminates in an 8mm diameter male barrel connector.

Merchandise covered by the Orders is currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff System of the United States (HTSUS) under subheadings 8501.61.0000, 8507.20.80, 8541.40.6020, 8541.40.6030, and 8501.31.8000. These HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes; the written description of the scope of the Orders is dispositive.

Scope of the CCRs

SOURCE Global requests that Commerce revoke the Orders, in part, to exclude from the scope off-grid crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels in rigid form with a glass cover, with each of the following physical characteristics, whether or not assembled into a fully completed off-grid hydropanel whose function is conversion of water vapor into liquid water:

(A) A total power output of no more than 180 watts per panel at 155 degrees Celsius;

(B) A surface area of less than 16,000 square centimeters (cm² ) per panel;

(C) Include a keep-out area of approximately 1,200 cm² around the edges of the panel that does not contain solar cells;

(D) Do not include a built-in inverter;

(E) Do not have a frame around the edges of the panel;

(F) Include a clear glass back panel;

(G) Must include a permanently connected wire that terminates in a two-port rounded rectangular, sealed connector;

(H) Include a thermistor installed into the permanently connected wire before the two-port connector; and

(I) Include exposed positive and negative terminals at opposite ends of the panel, not enclosed in a junction box.

Preliminary Results of CCRs and Intent To Revoke the Orders, in Part

Pursuant to section 751(d)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.222(g), Commerce may revoke an AD or CVD order, in whole or in part, based on a review under section 751(b) of the Act ( i.e., a CCR). Section 751(b)(1) of the Act requires a CCR to be conducted upon receipt of a request which shows changed circumstances sufficient to warrant a review. Section 782(h)(2) of the Act gives Commerce the authority to revoke an order if producers accounting for substantially all of the production of the domestic like product have expressed a lack of interest in the order. Section 351.222(g) of Commerce's regulations provides that Commerce will conduct a CCR of an AD or CVD order under 19 CFR 351.216, and may revoke an order (in whole or in part), if it concludes that: (i) producers accounting for substantially all of the production of the domestic like product to which the order pertains have expressed a lack of interest in the relief provided by the order, in whole or in part; or (ii) if other changed circumstances sufficient to warrant revocation exist. Thus, both the Act and Commerce's regulations require that “substantially all” domestic producers express a lack of interest in the order for Commerce to revoke the order, in whole or in part. In its administrative practice, Commerce has interpreted “substantially all” to represent producers accounting for at least 85 percent of U.S. production of the domestic like product.

SOURCE Global submitted a letter from the Alliance, a coalition of U.S. producers of the domestic like product, which stated that the Alliance did not oppose the changed circumstances reviews or the specific exclusion language proposed by SOURCE Global. In that letter, the Alliance did not indicate its share of production of the domestic like product. Thus, Commerce was unable to determine, at the time that it initiated these CCRs, whether producers accounting for substantially all of the U.S. production of the domestic like product lacked interest in the Orders with respect to the off-grid small portable CSPV panels under consideration here. As a result, Commerce did not issue a combined notice of initiation and preliminary results in these CCRs. Instead, as stated above, in the Initiation Notice, Commerce invited interested parties to provide comments and/or factual information regarding these CCRs, including comments on industry support and the proposed partial revocation language. No party submitted comments. Accordingly, we find that the domestic industry has expressed no opposition with respect to the proposed revocation, in part, of the Orders.

In light of the Alliance's statement of lack of interest in maintaining the Orders with respect to the off-grid small portable CSPV panels described by SOURCE Global, and in the absence of any other interested party comments addressing the issue of domestic industry support, we preliminarily conclude that producers accounting for substantially all of the production of the domestic like product to which the Orders pertain lack interest in the relief provided by the Orders with respect to the off-grid small portable CSPV panels that are the subject of SOURCE Global's CCR request. Thus, we preliminarily determine that changed circumstances warrant revocation of the Orders, in part, with respect to such panels. Accordingly, we are notifying the public of our intent to revoke the Orders, in part, with respect to the off-grid small portable CSPV panels described in the “Scope of the CCRs” section above.

If we make a final determination to revoke the Orders in part, then Commerce will apply this determination to each order as follows. Because we have completed administrative reviews of the Orders, the partial revocation will be retroactively applied to unliquidated entries of merchandise subject to the CCRs that were entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after the day following the last day of the period covered by the most recently completed administrative reviews of the Orders, and which are not covered by automatic liquidation.

We will consider comments from interested parties on these preliminary results before issuing the final results of these CCRs.

Public Comment

Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results of CCRs in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii). Written comments may be submitted no later than 14 days after the date of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register . Rebuttal comments, limited to issues raised in written comments, may be filed no later than seven days after the due date for initial comments. All submissions must be filed electronically using Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov. An electronically filed document must be successfully received in its entirety by ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the deadlines set forth in this notice. Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business proprietary information, until further notice.

Final Results of the CCRs

Commerce will issue the final results of these CCRs, which will include its analysis of any written comments, no later than 270 days after the date on which these reviews were initiated. If, in the final results of these reviews, Commerce continues to determine that changed circumstances warrant the revocation of the Orders, in part, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate without regard to ADs or CVDs, and to refund any estimated ADs and CVDs deposited on all unliquidated entries of the merchandise covered by the revocation that are not covered by the final results of an administrative review or an automatic liquidation instruction to CBP. The current requirement for cash deposits of estimated ADs and CVDs on all entries of subject merchandise will continue unless they are modified pursuant to the final results of these changed CCRs.

These preliminary results of these reviews and this notice are published in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216, and 19 CFR 351.222.