82 FR 58026 - Large Residential Washers

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 235 (December 8, 2017)

The Trade Act of 1974 requires that the United States International Trade Commission (``Commission'') publish in the Federal Register a summary of each report that it submits to the President under the Trade Act of 1974. Set forth below is a summary of the report that the Commission submitted to the President on December 4, 2017, on investigation No. TA-201-76, Large Residential Washers. The Commission conducted the investigation under the Trade Act of 1974 following receipt of a petition, as amended and properly filed on June 5, 2017. The full text of the report (with the exception of confidential business information) will be posted on the Commission's Web site at https://www.usitc.gov.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 235 (Friday, December 8, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58026-58027]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26451]


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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

[Investigation No. TA-201-76]


Large Residential Washers

AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION: Publication of summary of the Commission's report on the 
investigation.

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SUMMARY: The Trade Act of 1974 requires that the United States 
International Trade Commission (``Commission'') publish in the Federal 
Register a summary of each report that it submits to the President 
under the Trade Act of 1974. Set forth below is a summary of the report 
that the Commission submitted to the President on December 4, 2017, on 
investigation No. TA-201-76, Large Residential Washers. The Commission 
conducted the investigation under the Trade Act of 1974 following 
receipt of a petition, as amended and properly filed on June 5, 2017. 
The full text of the report (with the exception of confidential 
business information) will be posted on the Commission's Web site at 
https://www.usitc.gov.

DATES: December 4, 2017: Transmittal of the Commission's report to the 
President.

ADDRESSES: United States International Trade Commission, 500 E Street 
SW., Washington, DC 20436. The public record for this investigation may 
be viewed on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at https://edis.usitc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nathanael Comly (202-205-3174), Office 
of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street 
SW., Washington, DC 20436. The media should contact Martha Lawless, 
Office of External Relations (202-205-3497 or 
[email protected]). Hearing-impaired individuals may obtain 
information on this matter by contacting the Commission's TDD terminal 
at 202-205-1810. General information concerning the Commission may also 
be obtained by accessing its Web site (https://www.usitc.gov). Persons 
with mobility impairments who will need special assistance in gaining 
access to the Commission should contact the Office of the Secretary at 
202-205-2002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Procedural summary: Effective June 5, 2017, the Commission 
instituted this investigation under section 202(b) of the Trade Act of 
1974 to determine whether large residential washers (``LRWs'') are 
being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as 
to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or the threat thereof, to 
the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive 
with the imported article. The Commission instituted the investigation 
in response to a petition, as amended and properly filed on June 5, 
2017, by Whirlpool Corporation (``Whirlpool''), a producer of LRWs in 
the United States.
    Notice of the institution of the Commission's investigation and of 
the scheduling of public hearings to be held in connection therewith 
was given by posting copies of the notice in the Office of the 
Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, Washington, DC, and by 
publishing the notice in the Federal Register (82 FR 27075 (June 13, 
2017)). The public hearing in connection with the injury phase of the 
investigation was held on September 7, 2017, in Washington, DC, and the 
public hearing in connection with the remedy phase of the investigation 
was held on October 19, 2017, in Washington, DC; all persons who 
requested the opportunity were permitted to appear in person or by 
counsel. The Commission voted with respect to injury issues on October 
5, 2017, and with respect to remedy issues on November 21, 2017.
    The Commission submitted its report to the President on December 4, 
2017. The report included the Commission's injury determination and 
recommended actions, an explanation of the basis for the injury 
determination and recommended actions, and a summary of the information 
obtained in the investigation.
    Determination: On the basis of information developed in the subject 
investigation, the Commission determined pursuant to section 202(b) of 
the Trade Act of 1974 that large residential washers are being imported 
into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a 
substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry producing 
an article like or directly competitive with the imported article.
    Having made an affirmative injury determination pursuant to section 
202(b) of the Trade Act of 1974, the Commission was required to make 
certain additional findings under the implementing statutes of certain 
free trade agreements (``FTAs'') or under statutory provisions related 
to certain preferential trade programs. Under section 311(a) of the 
NAFTA Implementation Act (19 U.S.C. 3371(a)), the Commission found that 
imports of LRWs from neither Canada nor Mexico account for a 
substantial share of total imports or contribute importantly to the 
serious injury caused by imports. The Commission also found that 
imports of LRWs from Australia, CAFTA DR countries, Colombia, Jordan, 
Korea, Panama, Peru, and Singapore, individually, are not a substantial 
cause of serious injury or threat thereof, under the relevant FTA 
implementing legislation. See 19 U.S.C. 2112 note (Jordan); 19 U.S.C. 
3805 note (Australia, Colombia, Korea, Panama, Peru, Singapore); 19 
U.S.C. 4101 (CAFTA-DR). The Commission also found that the serious 
injury substantially caused by imports to the domestic industry 
producing a like or directly competitive article does not result from 
the reduction or elimination of any duty provided for under the U.S.-
Israel Free Trade Agreement or from duty free treatment provided for 
under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act provisions of the 
Caribbean Basin Initiative Trade Program or the GSP program. 19 U.S.C. 
2112 note (Israel); 19 U.S.C. 2703(e) (CBERA); 19 U.S.C. 2253(e)(6) 
(GSP).
    Remedy recommendations: In order to address the serious injury to 
the domestic industry producing large residential washers and be most 
effective in facilitating the efforts of the domestic industry to make 
a positive adjustment to import competition, the Commissioners 
recommend the following actions.
    The Commissioners recommend that the President impose a tariff-rate 
quota (TRQ) on imports of large residential washers for a duration of 
three years. For U.S. imports of large residential washers that exceed 
1.2 million units, the Commissioners recommend a tariff rate of 50 
percent ad valorem, in addition to the current rate of duty. The 
Commissioners recommend that the in-quota volume remain constant

[[Page 58027]]

throughout and that the above-quota tariff rate decrease by five 
percentage points during each year of the remedy period. Chairman 
Schmidtlein and Commissioner Williamson additionally recommend an in-
quota tariff rate of 20 percent ad valorem, which would decrease to 18 
percent in the second year of the remedy period and 15 percent in the 
third year of the period, in addition to the current rate of duty. Vice 
Chairman Johanson and Commissioner Broadbent do not recommend an 
additional in-quota tariff rate for large residential washers.
    The Commissioners also unanimously recommend that the President 
impose a separate TRQ on imports of covered parts of large residential 
washers for a duration of three years. For U.S. imports of covered 
parts that exceed 50,000 units, they recommend a tariff rate of 50 
percent ad valorem, in addition to the current rate of duty. They 
recommend that the in-quota volume increase by 20,000 units in each 
year of the remedy period, and that the above-quota tariff rate 
decrease by five percentage points each year. They do not recommend an 
in-quota tariff rate for covered parts.

                                         Summary of Commissioners' Recommended Actions Large Residential Washers
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                                                     Year 1                                 Year 2                                 Year 3
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                                                             Large Residential Washers: TRQ
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In-Quota Volume Level..............  1.2 million units....................  1.2 million units....................  1.2 million units.
Above-Quota Tariff Rate............  50%..................................  45%..................................  40%.
In-Quota Tariff Rate (Schmidtlein &  20%..................................  18%..................................  15%.
 Williamson).
In-Quota Tariff Rate (Johanson &     0%...................................  0%...................................  0%.
 Broadbent).
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                                                                   Covered Parts: TRQ
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In-Quota Volume Level..............  50,000 units.........................  70,000 units.........................  90,000 units.
Above-Quota Tariff Rate............  50%..................................  45%..................................  40%.
In-Quota Tariff Rate...............  0%...................................  0%...................................  0%.
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    Having made negative findings with respect to imports from Canada 
and Mexico under section 311(a) of the North American Free Trade 
Agreement Implementation Act, the Commissioners recommend that imports 
from Canada and Mexico be excluded from the above TRQs and increased 
rates of duty. The Commissioners also recommend that the above TRQs and 
increased rates of duty not apply to imports from Australia, Colombia, 
Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 
Israel, Jordan, Korea, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Singapore, or to 
imports from the beneficiary countries under the Caribbean Basin 
Economic Recovery Act.
    Availability of the public version of the report. The public 
version of the Commission's report containing the Commission's injury 
determination, its remedy recommendations, an explanation of the basis 
for its injury determination and remedy recommendations, and a summary 
of the information obtained in the investigation is contained in Large 
Residential Washers, Inv. No. TA-201-076, USITC Publication 4745, 
December 2017.

    By order of the Commission.

    Issued: December 4, 2017.
Katherine M. Hiner,
Supervisory Attorney.
[FR Doc. 2017-26451 Filed 12-7-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P