[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 75 (Friday, April 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21388-21390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08136]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-916]
Laminated Woven Sacks From the People's Republic of China:
Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review;
2018-2019
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that
20 companies subject to the administrative review of the antidumping
duty (AD) order on laminated woven sacks (LWS) from the People's
Republic of China (China) are part of the China-wide entity because
none filed a separate rate application (SRA) or separate rate
certification (SRC). The period of review (POR) is August 1, 2018
through July 31, 2019. Interested parties are invited to comment on
these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable April 17, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kabir Archuletta, AD/CVD Operations,
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-2593.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 2, 2019, Commerce published a notice of opportunity to
[[Page 21389]]
request an administrative review of the AD order on LWS from China.\1\
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\1\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative
Review, 84 FR 37834 (August 2, 2019).
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Pursuant to a request from Laminated Woven Sacks Fair Trade
Coalition and its individual members, Polytex Fibers Corporation and
ProAmpac Holdings Inc. (collectively, the petitioners),\2\ Commerce
initiated an administrative review with respect to 20 companies:
Cangnan Color Make The Bag, Changle Baodu Plastic Co., Ltd., First Way
(H.K.) Limited, Han Shing Chemical Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Hotson Plastics
Co., Ltd., Ningbo Yong Feng Packaging Co., Ltd., Polywell Industrial
Co., Polywell Plastic Product Factory, Shandong Longxing Plastic
Products Company Ltd., Shandong Qikai Plastics Product Co., Ltd.,
Shandong Qilu Plastic Fabric Group, Ltd., Shandong Shouguang Jianyuan
Chun Co., Ltd., Shandong Youlian Co., Ltd., Wenzhou Hotson Plastics
Co., Ltd., Zibo Aifudi Plastic Packaging Co., Ltd., Zibo Linzi Luitong
Plastic Fabric Co., Ltd., Zibo Linzi Qitianli Plastic Fabric Co., Ltd.,
Zibo Linzi Shuaiqiang Plastics Co., Ltd., Zibo Linzi Worun Packing
Product Co., Ltd., and Zibo Qigao Plastic Cement Co., Ltd.\3\ The
deadline for interested parties to submit an SRA or an SRC was November
6, 2019.\4\ No party submitted an SRA or an SRC.\5\
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\2\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Laminated Woven Sacks from the
People's Republic of China: Request for Antidumping Administrative
Review,'' dated August 30, 2019.
\3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 84 FR 53411 (October 7, 2019) (Initiation
Notice).
\4\ See Initiation Notice, 84 FR at 53413 (``Separate Rate
Certifications are due to Commerce no later than 30 calendar days
after publication of this Federal Register notice. . . . Separate
Rate Status Applications are due to Commerce no later than 30
calendar days of publication of this Federal Register notice'').
\5\ Id.
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Scope of the Order
The product covered by this order is laminated woven sacks.
Laminated woven sacks are bags or sacks consisting of one or more plies
of fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven
polyethylene strip, regardless of the width of the strip; with or
without an extrusion coating of polypropylene and/or polyethylene on
one or both sides of the fabric; laminated by any method either to an
exterior ply of plastic film such as biaxially-oriented polypropylene
(BOPP) or to an exterior ply of paper that is suitable for high quality
print graphics. Effective July 1, 2007, laminated woven sacks are
classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) subheadings 6305.33.0050 and 6305.33.0080. Laminated woven
sacks were previously classifiable under HTSUS subheading 6305.33.0020.
The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes
only; the written product description of the scope of the order is
dispositive. For a full description of the scope of the order, see the
appendix to this notice.
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this administrative review in accordance
with section 751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act), and 19 CFR 351.213.
Preliminary Results of Review
Commerce no longer considers the non-market economy (NME) entity as
an exporter conditionally subject to an AD administrative review.\6\
Accordingly, the NME entity will not be under review unless Commerce
specifically receives a request for, or self-initiates, a review of the
NME entity.\7\ Commerce considers China to be a NME country \8\ and, in
accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, we continue to treat
China as a NME country for purposes of this administrative review. In
this administrative review, no party requested a review of the China-
wide entity and we have not self-initiated a review of the China-wide
entity. Because no review of the China-wide entity is being conducted,
the China-wide entity's entries are not subject to the review and the
rate applicable to the NME entity is not subject to change as a result
of this review.
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\6\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Non-Market Economy Entity
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963, 65970 (November 4,
2013).
\7\ In accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(b)(1), parties should
specify that they are requesting a review of entries from exporters
comprising the entity, and to the extent possible, include the names
of such exporters in their requests.
\8\ See Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Aluminum Foil
from the People's Republic of China: Affirmative Preliminary
Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair-Value and Postponement of
Final Determination, 82 FR 50858, 50861 (November 2, 2017) (citing
Memorandum, ``China's Status as a Non-Market Economy,'' dated
October 26, 2017), unchanged in Certain Aluminum Foil from the
People's Republic of China: Final Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value, 83 FR 9282 (March 5, 2018), and accompanying Issues
and Decision Memorandum at Comment 1.
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In proceedings involving NME countries, such as China, Commerce
maintains a rebuttable presumption that the export activities of all
companies within the country are subject to government control.\9\ It
is Commerce's policy to assign all exporters of the subject merchandise
from an NME country a single rate unless an exporter can affirmatively
demonstrate an absence of government control, both in law (de jure) and
in fact (de facto), with respect to exports.\10\ In the Initiation
Notice, Commerce notified parties of the application process by which
companies may obtain separate rate status in NME proceedings.\11\ To
demonstrate separate rate eligibility, Commerce normally requires a
company for which a review was requested, and which was assigned a
separate rate in the most recent segment of the proceeding in which the
company participated, to submit an SRC stating that it continues to
meet the criteria for obtaining a separate rate.\12\ For a company that
was not assigned a separate rate in a previous segment of the
proceeding, however, Commerce requires an SRA to demonstrate separate
rate eligibility.\13\ The deadline for interested parties to submit an
SRA or SRC in this administrative review was November 6, 2019.\14\ None
of the 20 companies subject to this review filed an SRA or SRC.
Commerce preliminarily determines that these companies have not
demonstrated their eligibility for separate rate status. As such,
Commerce also preliminarily determines that the companies subject to
review are part of the China-wide entity. The China-wide entity rate is
91.73 percent.\15\
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\9\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1, Separate-Rates Practice and
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations
involving Non-Market Economy Countries, dated April 15, 2005,
available at https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
\10\ Id.
\11\ See Initiation Notice, 84 FR at 53412-13.
\12\ Id.
\13\ Id.
\14\ Id.
\15\ See Laminated Woven Sacks from the People's Republic of
China: Notice of Court Decision Not in Harmony with Final
Determination Under Section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act,
81 FR 23457 (April 21, 2016); see also Notice of Antidumping Duty
Order: Laminated Woven Sacks from the People's Republic of China, 73
FR 45941 (August 7, 2008); Implementation of Determinations Under
Section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act: Certain New
Pneumatic Off-the-Road Tires; Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel
Pipe; Laminated Woven Sacks; and Light-Walled Rectangular Pipe and
Tube from the People's Republic of China, 77 FR 52683 (August 30,
2012).
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Public Comment
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary
results and may submit case briefs and/or written comments, filed
electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty
[[Page 21390]]
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) within 30 days after the
date of publication of these preliminary results of review.\16\ ACCESS
is available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov. Rebuttal
briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, must be filed
within seven days after the time limit for filing case briefs.\17\
Parties who submit case or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding are
requested to submit with each argument a statement of the issue, a
brief summary of the argument, and a table of authorities.\18\ Note
that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until
May 19, 2020, unless extended.\19\
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\16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
\17\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1) and (2); see also Temporary Rule
Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006
(March 26, 2020) (Temporary Rule) (``To provide adequate time for
release of case briefs via ACCESS, E&C intends to schedule the due
date for all rebuttal briefs to be 7 days after case briefs are
filed (while these modifications are in effect)'').
\18\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 351.309(d)(2).
\19\ See Temporary Rule.
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Interested parties who wish to request a hearing, or to participate
if one is requested, must submit a written request to Commerce within
30 days of the date of publication of this notice.\20\ Hearing requests
should contain: (1) The party's name, address, telephone number; (2)
the number of participants; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed.
Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the
respective case and rebuttal briefs.\21\ If a request for a hearing is
made, parties will be notified of the time and date for the hearing to
be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230.\22\
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\20\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
\21\ Id.
\22\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d)(1).
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Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final
results of this administrative review, which will include the results
of its analysis of all issues raised in the case briefs, within 120
days of the publication of these preliminary results, pursuant to
section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
Assessment Rates
Upon issuance of the final results of this review, Commerce will
determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess,
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of subject merchandise
covered by this review.\23\ We intend to instruct CBP to liquidate
entries containing subject merchandise exported by the companies under
review that we determine in the final results to be part of the China-
wide entity at the China-wide entity rate of 91.73 percent. Commerce
intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the date
of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal
Register.\24\
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\23\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
\24\ For a full discussion of this practice, see Non-Market
Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties,
76 FR 65694 (October 24, 2011).
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Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the final results of this review for shipments of the
subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by
sections 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For previously investigated or
reviewed Chinese and non-Chinese exporters not listed above that
received a separate rate in a prior segment of this proceeding, the
cash deposit rate will continue to be the existing exporter-specific
rate; (2) for all Chinese exporters of subject merchandise that have
not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate
will be that for the China-wide entity (i.e., 91.73 percent); and (3)
for all non-Chinese exporters of subject merchandise which have not
received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate
applicable to the Chinese exporter that supplied that non-Chinese
exporter. These deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in
effect until further notice.
Notification to Importers
This notice also serves as a reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 315.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply
with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of double antidumping duties.
Notification to Interested Parties
We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.213(h) and 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: April 10, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix--Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by the order is laminated woven sacks.
Laminated woven sacks are bags or sacks consisting of one or more
plies of fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven
polyethylene strip, regardless of the width of the strip; with or
without an extrusion coating of polypropylene and/or polyethylene on
one or both sides of the fabric; laminated by any method either to
an exterior ply of plastic film such as biaxially-oriented
polypropylene (``BOPP'') or to an exterior ply of paper that is
suitable for high quality print graphics; \25\ printed with three
colors or more in register; with or without lining; whether or not
closed on one end; whether or not in roll form (including sheets,
lay-flat tubing, and sleeves); with or without handles; with or
without special closing features; not exceeding one kilogram in
weight. Laminated woven sacks are typically used for retail
packaging of consumer goods such as pet foods and bird seed.
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\25\ ``Paper suitable for high quality print graphics,'' as used
herein, means paper having an ISO brightness of 82 or higher and a
Sheffield Smoothness of 250 or less. Coated free sheet is an example
of a paper suitable for high quality print graphics.
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Effective July 1, 2007, laminated woven sacks are classifiable
under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'')
subheadings 6305.33.0050 and 6305.33.0080. Laminated woven sacks
were previously classifiable under HTSUS subheading 6305.33.0020.
Laminated woven sacks are also classifiable under HTSUS
6305.33.0040. If entered with plastic coating on both sides of the
fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven
polyethylene strip, laminated woven sacks may be classifiable under
HTSUS subheadings 3923.21.0080, 3923.21.0095, and 3923.29.0000. If
entered not closed on one end or in roll form (including sheets,
lay-flat tubing, and sleeves), laminated woven sacks may be
classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings including 3917.39.0050,
3921.90.1100, 3921.90.1500, and 5903.90.2500. If the polypropylene
strips and/or polyethylene strips making up the fabric measure more
than 5 millimeters in width, laminated woven sacks may be
classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings including 4601.99.0500,
4601.99.9000, and 4602.90.0000. Although HTSUS subheadings are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the scope of the order is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2020-08136 Filed 4-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P