[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 162 (Thursday, August 20, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51410-51411]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-18285]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-118]
Wood Mouldings and Millwork Products From the People's Republic
of China: Amended Preliminary Countervailing Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) is amending the scope of
the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of wood mouldings and
millwork products (millwork products) from the People's Republic of
China (China) to conform with the scope published in the preliminary
determinations of the companion antidumping duty (AD) investigations of
millwork products from Brazil and China, where appropriate. The period
of investigation is January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019.
DATES: Applicable August 20, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Gorelik, AD/CVD Operations,
Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-6905.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Commerce published its CVD Preliminary Determination on June 12,
2020.\1\
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\1\ See Wood Mouldings and Millwork Products from the People's
Republic of China: Preliminary AffirmativeCountervailing Duty
Determination and Alignment of Final Determination with Final
Antidumping Duty Determination, 85 FR 35900 (June 12, 2020) (CVD
Preliminary Determination).
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On August 12, 2020, Commerce published the Brazil and China AD
Preliminary Determinations within which the scope of the investigations
was amended to exclude certain products, and to clarify the inclusion
of certain products, based upon comments received from interested
parties.\2\
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\2\ See Wood Mouldings and Millwork Products from Brazil:
Preliminary Negative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
and Postponement of Final Determination, 85 FR 48667 (August 12,
2020); and Wood Mouldings and Millwork Products from the People's
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and
Extension of Provisional Measures, 85 FR 48669 (August 12, 2020)
(collectively, AD Preliminary Determinations); see also Memorandum,
``Wood Mouldings and Millwork Products from Brazil and the People's
Republic of China: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated
August 5, 2020, which was placed on the records of the AD and CVD
investigations.
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Amended Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are millwork products
from China. We are amending the scope of the CVD investigation to
conform with the scope of the companion AD investigations, where
appropriate, as indicated below. The following products are not subject
to the scope of the investigation:
Lumber (solid, edge-glued or fingered-jointed);
Stair stringers;
Countertop/butcherblocks; and,
Unassembled wooden kitchen cabinets and unassembled wooden
bathroom cabinets, including their wood moulding components, which are
covered under another CVD order.
Furthermore, the following products are subject to the
investigation:
Screen/surfaced on four sides (S4S) and/or surface one
side, two edges (S1S2E) stock/boards that are finger-jointed or edge-
glued; and,
Wood moulding door components which enter as part of
unassembled door kits.
The above exclusions and clarifications were first enumerated in
the AD Preliminary Determinations. For a complete description of the
amended scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.
Suspension of Liquidation
We have not revised the estimated cash deposit rates published in
the CVD Preliminary Determination. In accordance with section
703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the
Act), we will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
continue to suspend liquidation of entries of subject merchandise as
described in the amended scope of the investigation, entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register, and to continue to
require a cash deposit, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d). Additionally,
because certain products are now excluded from the scope of the
investigation, Commerce will instruct CBP to terminate suspension of
liquidation of those excluded products, and to refund any cash deposits
previously posted with respect to them.
Public Comment
Commerce has set a separate deadline for scope comments in the AD
and CVD millwork products investigation proceedings.\3\ The current
deadline for case briefs regarding scope issues is 30
[[Page 51411]]
days after the publication of the AD Preliminary Determinations, which
is September 11, 2020, and the deadline for rebuttal briefs regarding
scope issues is seven days after scope case briefs are due, which is
September 18, 2020.\4\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2),
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation
are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the
issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of
authorities. Case and rebuttal briefs regarding scope issues must be
filed on the AD and CVD records.
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\3\ See AD Preliminary Determinations at ``Public Comment.''
\4\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due
to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10,
2020).
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Notifications
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the International Trade Commission of its amended determination. This
determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 703(f) and
777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: August 14, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Amended Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise subject to this investigation consists of wood
mouldings and millwork products that are made of wood (regardless of
wood species), bamboo, laminated veneer lumber (LVL), or of wood and
composite materials (where the composite materials make up less than
50 percent of the total merchandise), and which are continuously
shaped wood or finger-jointed or edge-glued moulding or millwork
blanks (whether or not resawn). The merchandise subject to this
investigation can be continuously shaped along any of its edges,
ends, or faces.
The percentage of composite materials contained in a wood
moulding or millwork product is measured by length, except when the
composite material is a coating or cladding. Wood mouldings and
millwork products that are coated or clad, even along their entire
length, with a composite material, but that are otherwise comprised
of wood, LVL, or wood and composite materials (where the non-coating
composite materials make up 50 percent or less of the total
merchandise) are covered by the scope.
The merchandise subject to this investigation consists of wood,
LVL, bamboo, or a combination of wood and composite materials that
is continuously shaped throughout its length (with the exception of
any endwork/dados), profiled wood having a repetitive design in
relief, similar milled wood architectural accessories, such as
rosettes and plinth blocks, and finger-jointed or edge-glued
moulding or millwork blanks (whether or not resawn). The scope
includes continuously shaped wood in the forms of dowels, building
components such as interior paneling and jamb parts, and door
components such as rails, stiles, interior and exterior door frames
or jambs (including split, flat, stop applied, single- or double-
rabbeted), frame or jamb kits, and packaged door frame trim or
casing sets, whether or not the door components are imported as part
of a door kit or set.
The covered products may be solid wood, laminated, finger-
jointed, edge-glued, face-glued, or otherwise joined in the
production or remanufacturing process and are covered by the scope
whether imported raw, coated (e.g., gesso, polymer, or plastic),
primed, painted, stained, wrapped (paper or vinyl overlay), any
combination of the aforementioned surface coatings, treated, or
which incorporate rot-resistant elements (whether wood or
composite). The covered products are covered by the scope whether or
not any surface coating(s) or covers obscures the grain, textures,
or markings of the wood, whether or not they are ready for use or
require final machining (e.g., endwork/dado, hinge/strike machining,
weatherstrip or application thereof, mitre) or packaging.
All wood mouldings and millwork products are included within the
scope even if they are trimmed; cut-to-size; notched; punched;
drilled; or have undergone other forms of minor processing.
Subject merchandise also includes wood mouldings and millwork
products that have been further processed in a third country,
including but not limited to trimming, cutting, notching, punching,
drilling, coating, 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 product.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are countertop/
butcherblocks, exterior fencing, exterior decking and exterior
siding products (including solid wood siding, non-wood siding (e.g.,
composite or cement), and shingles) that are not LVL or finger
jointed; finished and unfinished doors; flooring; parts of stair
steps (including newel posts, balusters, easing, gooseneck, risers,
treads, rail fittings and stair stringers); picture frame components
three feet and under in individual lengths; and lumber whether
solid, finger-jointed, or edge-glued. To be excluded from the scope,
finger-jointed or edge-glued lumber must have a nominal thickness
greater than 1.5 inches and a certification stamp from an American
Lumber Standard Committee-certified grading bureau. The exclusion
for lumber whether solid, finger-jointed, or edge-glued does not
apply to screen/``surfaced on 4 sides'' (S4S) and/or ``surface 1
side, 2 edges'' (SlS2E) stock (also called boards) that are finger-
jointed, edge-glued mouldings, or millwork blanks (whether or not
resawn).
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are all products
covered by the scope of the countervailing duty order on Hardwood
Plywood from the People's Republic of China. See Certain Hardwood
Plywood Products from the People's Republic of China: Countervailing
Duty Order, 83 FR 513 (January 4, 2018).
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are all products
covered by the scope of the countervailing duty order on
Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People's Republic of China. See
Multilayered Wood Flooring from the People's Republic of China:
Countervailing Duty Order, 76 FR 76693 (December 8, 2011).
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are all products
covered by the scope of the countervailing duty order on Wooden
Cabinets and Vanities from the People's Republic of China. See
Wooden Cabinets and Vanities and Components Thereof from the
People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 85 FR 22134
(April 21, 2020).
Imports of wood mouldings and millwork products are primarily
entered under the following Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS) numbers: 4409.10.4010, 4409.10.4090, 4409.10.4500,
4409.10.5000, 4409.22.4000, 4409.22.5000, 4409.29.4100, and
4409.29.5100. Imports of wood mouldings and millwork products may
also enter under HTSUS numbers: 4409.10.6000, 4409.10.6500,
4409.22.6000, 4409.22.6500, 4409.29.6100, 4409.29.6600,
4418.20.4000, 4418.20.8030, 4418.20.8060, 4418.99.9095 and
4421.99.9780. While the HTSUS subheadings are provided for
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the
scope of this investigation is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2020-18285 Filed 8-19-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P