DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-94,640

AMERICAN TIRE DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
WYTHEVILLE DISTRIBUTION CENTER
INCLUDING ON-SITE LEASED WORKERS FROM WORKFORCE UNLIMITED, LLC
WYTHEVILLE, VIRGINIA

Negative Determination Regarding Eligibility
To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974, as
amended ("Act"), 19 U.S.C. § 2273, the Department of Labor herein
presents the results of an investigation regarding certification
of eligibility to apply for worker adjustment assistance.
Workers of a firm may be eligible for worker adjustment
assistance if they satisfy the criteria of subsection (a), (b) or
(e) of Section 222 of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), (b) and (e).
For the Department of Labor to issue a certification for workers
under Section 222(a) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), the
following criteria must be met:
(1) The first criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(1) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a)(1)) requires that a significant
number or proportion of the workers in the workers' firm must
have become totally or partially separated or be threatened
with total or partial separation.

(2) The second criterion (set forth in Section 222(a)(2) of the
Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a)(2)) may be satisfied in one of two
ways:
(A) Increased Imports Path:
(i) sales or production, or both, at the workers' firm must
have decreased absolutely; AND
(ii) (I) imports of articles or services like or directly
competitive with articles or services produced or
supplied by the workers' firm have increased, OR
(II)(aa) imports of articles like or directly
competitive with articles into which the component
part produced by the workers' firm was directly
incorporated have increased; OR
(II)(bb) imports of articles like or directly
competitive with articles which are produced
directly using the services supplied by the
workers' firm have increased; OR
(III) imports of articles directly incorporating
component parts not produced in the U.S. that are
like or directly competitive with the article into
which the component part produced by the workers'
firm was directly incorporated have increased; AND
(iii) the increase in imports described in clause (ii)
contributed importantly to such workers' separation or
threat of separation and to the decline in the sales or
production of such firm.

(B) Shift in Production or Supply Path:
(i)(I) there has been a shift by the workers' firm to a
foreign country in the production of articles or supply
of services like or directly competitive with those
produced/supplied by the workers' firm; OR
(II) there has been an acquisition from a foreign
country by the workers' firm of articles/services that
are like or directly competitive with those
produced/supplied by the workers' firm; and
(ii) the shift described in clause (i)(I) or the acquisition
of articles or services described in clause (i)(II)
contributed importantly to such workers' separation or
threat of separation.

For the Department to issue a secondary worker certification
under Section 222(b) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(b), to workers
of a Supplier or a Downstream Producer, the following criteria
must be met:
(1) a significant number or proportion of the workers in the
workers' firm or an appropriate subdivision of the firm
have become totally or partially separated, or are
threatened to become totally or partially separated;
(2) the workers' firm is a Supplier or Downstream Producer
to a firm that employed a group of workers who received
a certification of eligibility under Section 222(a) of
the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a), and such supply or
production is related to the article or service that was
the basis for such certification; and
(3) either
(A) the workers' firm is a supplier and the component
parts it supplied to the firm described in paragraph (2)
accounted for at least 20 percent of the production or
sales of the workers' firm;
or
(B) a loss of business by the workers' firm with the
firm described in paragraph (2) contributed importantly
to the workers' separation or threat of separation.

Section 222(c) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(c), defines the
terms "Supplier" and "Downstream Producer."
Workers of a firm may also be considered eligible if they
are publicly identified by name by the International Trade
Commission as a member of a domestic industry in an investigation
resulting in a category of determination that is listed in
Section 222(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e).
The group eligibility requirements for workers of a firm
under Section 222(e) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(e), can be
satisfied if the following criteria are met:
(1) the workers' firm is publicly identified by name by the
International Trade Commission as a member of a domestic
industry in an investigation resulting in--
(A) an affirmative determination of serious injury or
threat thereof under section 202(b)(1);
(B) an affirmative determination of market disruption
or threat thereof under section 421(b)(1); or
(C) an affirmative final determination of material
injury or threat thereof under section 705(b)(1)(A)
or 735(b)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19
U.S.C. 1671d(b)(1)(A) and 1673d(b)(1)(A));
(2) the petition is filed during the 1-year period beginning
on the date on which--
(A) a summary of the report submitted to the President
by the International Trade Commission under section
202(f)(1) with respect to the affirmative
determination described in paragraph (1)(A) is
published in the Federal Register under section
202(f)(3); or
(B) notice of an affirmative determination described in
subparagraph (1) is published in the Federal
Register; and
(3) the workers have become totally or partially
separated from the workers' firm within--
(A) the 1-year period described in paragraph (2); or
(B) notwithstanding section 223(b), the 1-year
period preceding the 1-year period described in
paragraph (2).

The investigation was initiated in response to a petition
filed on March 19, 2019, by the Commonwealth of Virginia on
behalf of workers and former workers at American Tire
Distributors, Inc., Wytheville Distribution Center, Wytheville,
Virginia (hereafter referred to as "ATD-Wytheville Distribution
Center"). The worker group includes on-site leased workers from
Workforce Unlimited, LLC. Workers at ATD-Wytheville
Distribution Center are engaged in activities related to the
distribution/sale of tires, wheels, and related products. On
October 4, 2018, the workers' firm filed for bankruptcy.
The petition asserts: "American Tire Distributors (ATD) lost
distribution of Bridgestone (Japanese owned) and Goodyear tires
when the 2 competitors formed a joint venture tire distribution
company, TireHub, to market and sell their own brand tires
(including Bridgestone, Firestone, Dunlop, and Dayton). Many of
these tire brands are imported from China. The ATD worker group is
also subject to secondary, downstream injury based on the 01/30/19
ITC ruling (Federal Register Vol. 84, No. 32 4436) that the U.S.
tire market is being harmed by the import of truck and bus tires
from China. That has resulted in decreased company profit margins
and layoffs."
During the course of the investigation, information was
collected from the petition, the workers' firm, and public
sources. Because ATD-Wytheville Distribution Center customers
are individual members of the public, the Department did not
conduct a customer survey but conducted an industry analysis,
which included current purchasing trends and the impact of
technology, and reviewed aggregate import data.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that ATD-Wytheville Distribution Center
did not import services like or directly competitive with those
supplied by the subject workers.
With respect to Section 222(a)(2)(B) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that ATD-Wytheville Distribution Center
did not shift the supply of services like or directly competitive
with those supplied by the subject workers to a foreign country
or acquire the supply of such services from a foreign country.
With respect to Section 222(b)(2) of the Act, the
investigation revealed that ATD-Wytheville Distribution Center
is neither a Supplier nor Downstream Producer to a firm that
employed a group of workers who received a certification of
eligibility under Section 222(a) of the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272(a).
Finally, the group eligibility requirements under Section
222(e) of the Act, have not been satisfied because Criterion (1)
has not been met since "ATD" has not been publicly identified by
name by the International Trade Commission as a member of a
domestic industry in an investigation resulting in an affirmative
finding of serious injury, market disruption, or material injury,
or threat thereof.
Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that the requirements of Section 222 of
the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2272, have not been met and, therefore, deny
the petition for group eligibility of American Tire Distributors,
Inc., Wytheville Distribution Center, including on-site leased
workers from Workforce Unlimited, LLC, Wytheville, Virginia, to
apply for adjustment assistance, in accordance with Section 223 of
the Act, 19 U.S.C. § 2273.
Signed in Washington, D.C. this 19th day of June 2019.

/s/Del Min Amy Chen
______________________________
DEL MIN AMY CHEN
Certifying Officer, Office of
Trade Adjustment Assistance