Carton-Closing Staples From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 19351-19356 [2017-08526]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 80 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19351-19356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08526]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-055]


Carton-Closing Staples From the People's Republic of China: 
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation

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

DATES: Effective April 20, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Gorelik at (202) 482-6905, AD/
CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration,

[[Page 19352]]

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, 
DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Petition

    On March 31, 2017, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
received an antidumping duty (AD) petition concerning imports of 
carton-closing staples from the People's Republic of China (PRC), filed 
in proper form on behalf of North American Steel & Wire, Inc./ISM 
Enterprises (the petitioner).\1\ The petitioner is a producer of 
carton-closing staples.\2\
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    \1\ See Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties, dated 
March 31, 2017 (the Petition), at Volumes I and II.
    \2\ Id., at Volume I.
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    On April 4, 2017, the Department requested additional information 
and clarification of certain areas of the Petition.\3\ The petitioner 
filed responses to the request on April 6, 2017.\4\
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    \3\ See Letters from the Department to the petitioner entitled, 
``Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of 
Carton-Closing Staples from the People's Republic of China: 
Supplemental Questions,'' dated April 4, 2017 (Supplemental 
Questionnaire).
    \4\ See Letter from the petitioner to the Department entitled, 
``Petitioners' Responses to Department's April 4, 2017 Supplemental 
Questionnaire Regarding the Antidumping Duty Petition,'' dated April 
6, 2017 (Supplemental Response).
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    In accordance with section 732(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), the petitioner alleges that imports of carton-
closing staples from the PRC are being, or are likely to be, sold in 
the United States at less than fair value within the meaning of section 
731 of the Act, and that imports of carton-closing staples from the PRC 
are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the domestic 
industry producing carton-closing staples in the United States. Also, 
consistent with section 732(b)(1) of the Act, the Petition is 
accompanied by information reasonably available to the petitioner 
supporting its allegations.
    The Department finds that the petitioner filed this Petition on 
behalf of the domestic industry because the petitioner is an interested 
party as defined in section 771(9)(C) of the Act. The Department also 
finds that the petitioner demonstrated sufficient industry support with 
respect to the initiation of the AD investigation that the petitioner 
is requesting.\5\
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    \5\ See the ``Determination of Industry Support for the 
Petition'' section below.
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Period of Investigation

    Because the Petition was filed on March 31, 2017, pursuant to 19 
CFR 351.204(b)(1), the period of investigation (POI) is July 1, 2016 
through December 31, 2016.

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are carton-closing 
staples from the PRC. For a full description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I of 
this notice.

Comments on Scope of the Investigation

    During our review of the Petition, we issued questions to, and 
received responses from, the petitioner pertaining to the proposed 
scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petition would be an 
accurate reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is 
seeking relief.\6\ As a result of the responses submitted by the 
petitioner, we have revised the original scope.\7\
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    \6\ See Supplemental Questionnaire; see also Supplemental 
Response and Letter from the petitioner, re: ``Petitioner's Scope 
Clarification,'' dated April 10, 2017, and Memorandum to the File, 
from Irene Gorelik, re: ``Second Revision to the Scope of the 
Investigation,'' dated April 13, 2017.
    \7\ See Appendix I.
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    As discussed in the preamble to the Department's regulations,\8\ we 
are setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues 
regarding product coverage (scope). The Department will consider all 
comments received from parties and, if necessary, will consult with 
parties prior to the issuance of the preliminary determination. If 
scope comments include factual information (see 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21)), 
all such factual information should be limited to public information. 
In order to facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, the 
Department requests all interested parties to submit such comments by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on May 10, 2017, which is 20 calendar days 
from the signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments, which 
may include factual information (also limited to public information), 
must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, May 22, 2017.
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    \8\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 62 FR 27296, 
27323 (May 19, 1997).
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    The Department requests that any factual information the parties 
consider relevant to the scope of the investigation be submitted during 
this time period. However, if a party subsequently finds that 
additional factual information pertaining to the scope of the 
investigation may be relevant, the party may contact the Department and 
request permission to submit the additional information.

Filing Requirements

    All submissions to the Department must be filed electronically 
using Enforcement & Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).\9\ An electronically 
filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the 
time and date when it is due. Documents excepted from the electronic 
submission requirements must be filed manually (i.e., in paper form) 
with Enforcement & Compliance's APO/Dockets Unit, Room 18022, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230, and stamped with the date and time of receipt by the applicable 
deadlines.
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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.303 (describing general filing requirements); 
see also Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Electronic 
Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order Procedures, 76 FR 
39263 (July 6, 2011) and Enforcement and Compliance; Change of 
Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046 (November 20, 2014) for 
details of the Department's electronic filing requirements, which 
went into effect on August 5, 2011. Information on help using ACCESS 
can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a handbook 
can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20Filling%20Procedures.pdf.
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Comments on Product Characteristics for AD Questionnaire

    The Department requests comments from interested parties regarding 
the appropriate physical characteristics of carton-closing staples to 
be reported in response to the Department's AD questionnaire. This 
information will be used to identify the key physical characteristics 
of the subject merchandise in order to report the relevant factors and 
costs of production accurately as well as to develop appropriate 
product-comparison criteria.
    Interested parties may provide any information or comments that 
they feel are relevant to the development of an accurate list of 
physical characteristics. Specifically, they may provide comments as to 
which characteristics are appropriate to use as: (1) General product 
characteristics and (2) product-comparison criteria. We note that it is 
not always appropriate to use all product characteristics as product-
comparison criteria. We base product-comparison criteria on meaningful 
commercial differences among products. In other words, although there 
may be some physical product characteristics utilized by manufacturers 
to describe carton-closing staples, it may be that only a select few 
product characteristics take into account commercially meaningful 
physical characteristics. In addition, interested parties may comment 
on the order in which the physical characteristics should be used in 
matching products. Generally, the Department attempts to list the most

[[Page 19353]]

important physical characteristics first and the least important 
characteristics last.
    In order to consider the suggestions of interested parties in 
developing and issuing the AD questionnaire, all comments must be filed 
by 5:00 p.m. ET on May 10, 2017, which is 20 calendar days from the 
signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments must be filed by 
5:00 p.m. ET May 22, 2017. All comments and submissions to the 
Department must be filed electronically using ACCESS, as explained 
above, on the record of this less-than-fair-value investigation.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petition

    Section 732(b)(1) of the Act requires that a petition be filed on 
behalf of the domestic industry. Section 732(c)(4)(A) of the Act 
provides that a petition meets this requirement if the domestic 
producers or workers who support the petition account for: (i) At least 
25 percent of the total production of the domestic like product; and 
(ii) more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like 
product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support 
for, or opposition to, the petition. Moreover, section 732(c)(4)(D) of 
the Act provides that, if the petition does not establish support of 
domestic producers or workers accounting for more than 50 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product, the Department 
shall: (i) Poll the industry or rely on other information in order to 
determine if there is support for the petition, as required by 
subparagraph (A); or (ii) determine industry support using a 
statistically valid sampling method to poll the ``industry.''
    Section 771(4)(A) of the Act defines the ``industry'' as the 
producers as a whole of a domestic like product. Thus, to determine 
whether a petition has the requisite industry support, the statute 
directs the Department to look to producers and workers who produce the 
domestic like product. The International Trade Commission (ITC), which 
is responsible for determining whether ``the domestic industry'' has 
been injured, must also determine what constitutes a domestic like 
product in order to define the industry. While both the Department and 
the ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic 
like product,\10\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a 
separate and distinct authority. In addition, the Department's 
determination is subject to limitations of time and information. 
Although this may result in different definitions of the like product, 
such differences do not render the decision of either agency contrary 
to law.\11\
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    \10\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
    \11\ See USEC, Inc. v. United States, 132 F. Supp. 2d 1, 8 (CIT 
2001) (citing Algoma Steel Corp., Ltd. v. United States, 688 F. 
Supp. 639, 644 (CIT 1988), aff'd 865 F.2d 240 (Fed. Cir. 1989)).
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    Section 771(10) of the Act defines the domestic like product as ``a 
product which is like, or in the absence of like, most similar in 
characteristics and uses with, the article subject to an investigation 
under this title.'' Thus, the reference point from which the domestic 
like product analysis begins is ``the article subject to an 
investigation'' (i.e., the class or kind of merchandise to be 
investigated, which normally will be the scope as defined in the 
Petition).
    With regard to the domestic like product, the petitioner does not 
offer a definition of the domestic like product distinct from the scope 
of the investigation. Based on our analysis of the information 
submitted on the record, we have determined that carton-closing 
staples, as defined in the scope, constitute a single domestic like 
product, and we have analyzed industry support in terms of that 
domestic like product.\12\
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    \12\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis in 
this case, see ``AD Investigation Initiation Checklist: Carton-
Closing Staples from the People's Republic of China (PRC AD 
Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II, Determination of Industry 
Support for the Antidumping Duty Petition Covering Carton-Closing 
Staples from the People's Republic of China. This checklist is dated 
concurrently with this notice and on file electronically via ACCESS. 
Access to documents filed via ACCESS is also available in the 
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce 
building.
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    In determining whether the petitioner has standing under section 
732(c)(4)(A) of the Act, we considered the industry support data 
contained in the Petition with reference to the domestic like product 
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I of this 
notice. To establish industry support, the petitioner provided its 2016 
production of the domestic like product.\13\ The petitioner states that 
it is the only known producer of carton-closing staples in the United 
States; therefore, the Petition is supported by 100 percent of the U.S. 
industry.\14\
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    \13\ See Volume I of the Petition, at I-7 and Exhibit I-1.
    \14\ Id., at I-2, I-7 and Exhibits I-1 and I-2.
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    Our review of the data provided in the Petition, the Supplemental 
Response, and other information readily available to the Department 
indicates that the petitioner has established U.S. industry 
support.\15\ First, the Petition established support from U.S. domestic 
producers (or workers) accounting for more than 50 percent of the total 
production of the domestic like product and, as such, the Department is 
not required to take further action in order to evaluate industry 
support (e.g., polling).\16\ Second, the domestic producers (or 
workers) have met the statutory criteria for industry support under 
section 732(c)(4)(A)(i) of the Act because the domestic producers (or 
workers) who support the Petition account for at least 25 percent of 
the total production of the domestic like product.\17\ Finally, the 
domestic producers (or workers) have met the statutory criteria for 
industry support under section 732(c)(4)(A)(ii) of the Act because the 
domestic producers (or workers) who support the Petition account for 
more than 50 percent of the production of the domestic like product 
produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or 
opposition to, the Petition.\18\ Accordingly, the Department determines 
that the Petition was filed on behalf of the domestic industry within 
the meaning of section 732(b)(1) of the Act.
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    \15\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \16\ See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also PRC AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \17\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \18\ Id.
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    The Department finds that the petitioner filed the Petition on 
behalf of the domestic industry because it is an interested party as 
defined in section 771(9)(C) of the Act and it has demonstrated 
sufficient industry support with respect to the AD investigation that 
it is requesting the Department initiate.\19\
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    \19\ Id.
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Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and Causation

    The petitioner alleges that the U.S. industry producing the 
domestic like product is being materially injured, or is threatened 
with material injury, by reason of the imports of the subject 
merchandise sold at less than normal value (NV). In addition, the 
petitioner alleges that subject imports exceed the negligibility 
threshold provided for under section 771(24)(A) of the Act.\20\ The 
petitioner contends that the industry's injured condition is 
illustrated by the impact on the domestic industry's market share; 
underselling and price depression or suppression; lost sales and 
revenues; decline in wages, hours, and employment; decline in 
shipments; low capacity utilization rates; and decline in

[[Page 19354]]

profitability.\21\ We have assessed the allegations and supporting 
evidence regarding material injury, threat of material injury, and 
causation, and we have determined that these allegations are properly 
supported by adequate evidence, and meet the statutory requirements for 
initiation.\22\
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    \20\ See Volume I of the Petition, at I-16, I-17 and Exhibit I-
14.
    \21\ Id., at I-11 through I-28 and Exhibits I-10, I-11 and I-13 
through I-20; see also Supplemental Response, at 11-14 and Exhibit 
I-SQ-8.
    \22\ See PRC AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III, 
Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and 
Causation for the Antidumping Duty Petition Covering Carton-Closing 
Staples from the People's Republic of China.
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Allegation of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

    The following is a description of the allegation of sales at less 
than fair value upon which the Department based its decision to 
initiate an investigation of imports of carton-closing staples from the 
PRC. The sources of data for the deductions and adjustments relating to 
U.S. price and NV are discussed in greater detail in the initiation 
checklist.

Export Price

    The petitioner based export prices (EP) on price quotations for the 
sale of carton-closing staples to U.S. customers, obtained from an on-
line marketplace, as well as on a price quote from a PRC producer of 
carton-closing staples.\23\ The petitioner made deductions from U.S. 
price, as appropriate and consistent with the sale and delivery terms, 
for foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage and handling, and 
unrebated value-added tax, where applicable.\24\
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    \23\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 5-6 and Exhibits II-4(A), 
II-4(B), II-4(C); see also Supplemental Response at, Exhibit II-SQ-
2, 4.
    \24\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 6-7, 9 and Exhibits II-
4(A), II-4(B), II-4(C) and II-6(A-E); see also Supplemental 
Response, at 16 and Exhibits II-SQ-2, 4.
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Normal Value

    The petitioner stated that the Department has identified the PRC as 
a non-market economy (NME) country as recently as the week before the 
petitioner filed the petition, and the Department has not since that 
time published any determination concluding that the PRC is a market 
economy.\25\ In accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, the 
presumption of NME status remains in effect until revoked by the 
Department. The presumption of NME status for the PRC has not been 
revoked by the Department and, therefore, remains in effect for 
purposes of the initiation of this investigation. Accordingly, the NV 
of the product is appropriately based on factors of production (FOPs) 
valued in a surrogate market economy country, in accordance with 
section 773(c) of the Act.
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    \25\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 1.
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    The petitioner claims that Thailand is an appropriate surrogate 
country because it is a market economy country that is at a level of 
economic development comparable to that of the PRC, it is a significant 
producer of comparable merchandise, and public information from 
Thailand is available to value all material input factors.\26\ Based on 
the information provided by the petitioner, we determine that it is 
appropriate to use Thailand as a surrogate country for initiation 
purposes. Interested parties will have the opportunity to submit 
comments regarding surrogate country selection and, pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.301(c)(3)(i), will be provided an opportunity to submit publicly 
available information to value FOPs within 30 days before the scheduled 
date of the preliminary determination.
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    \26\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 2.
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Factors of Production

    The petitioner based the FOPs for materials and energy on its own 
consumption rates in the production of carton-closing staples in the 
United States.\27\ The petitioner asserts that the production process 
for carton-closing staples is similar regardless of whether the product 
is produced in the United States or in the PRC.\28\ The petitioner 
valued the estimated factors of production using surrogate values from 
Thailand, as discussed below.\29\
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    \27\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 9-10 and Exhibits II-
7(A), II-9(C), II-7(H).
    \28\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 9-10.
    \29\ Id., at 9-13 and Exhibits II-7(A), II-9(C), II-7(H); see 
also Supplemental Response, at 17-19 and Exhibits II-SQ-3, II-SQ-7 
and 8.
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Valuation of Raw Materials

    The petitioner valued the FOPs for certain raw materials (i.e., 
steel wire, steel wire rod, etc.) and packing materials using public 
import data for Thailand obtained from the Global Trade Atlas (GTA) 
applicable for the POI.\30\ The petitioner excluded all import values 
from countries previously determined by the Department to maintain 
broadly available, non-industry-specific export subsidies and from 
countries previously determined by the Department to be NME 
countries.\31\ In addition, in accordance with the Department's 
practice, the petitioner excluded imports that were labeled as 
originating from an unidentified country.\32\ The Department determines 
that the surrogate values used by the petitioner are reasonably 
available and, thus, are acceptable for purposes of initiation.
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    \30\ See Volume II of the Petition, at Exhibit II-7 and 
Supplemental Response, at Exhibit II-SQ-7 and 8.
    \31\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 10 and Exhibit II-7(C).
    \32\ Id.
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Valuation of Labor

    The petitioner has not included FOPs for direct or indirect labor 
in its NV calculations, as noted in Volume I of the Petition,\33\ where 
the petitioner stated that its labor figures for the POI may not be 
representative of carton-closing staple production under normal 
conditions.\34\ The petitioner notes that the exclusion of labor FOPs 
from the NV calculation is a conservative approach, as PRC producers 
incur labor costs which would, normally, raise the NV.\35\
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    \33\ Id., at 11; see also Volume I of the Petition, at 22-23.
    \34\ See Volume I of the Petition, at 22-23.
    \35\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 11.
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Valuation of Energy

    The petitioner valued electricity, natural gas, and water to 
calculate the NV of integrated production of carton-closing staples 
(drawing wire rod into wire).\36\ The petitioner used GTA data during 
the POI to value natural gas using the average unit value of imports of 
natural gas into Thailand.\37\ The petitioner applied that rate to its 
usage rates.\38\ The petitioner valued electricity and water using 
publicly available data from the Thai Investment Board and Thai 
Provincial Electrical Authority, respectively, for May 2015, which the 
petitioner inflated for the POI.\39\
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    \36\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 11-12.
    \37\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 12 and Exhibits II-
7(C,D); see also Supplemental Response at Exhibit II-SQ-7.
    \38\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 11-12 and Exhibit II-
7(C,D,E) and II-8(B).
    \39\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 12 and Exhibit II-7(E).
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Valuation of Factory Overhead, Selling, General and Administrative 
Expenses, and Profit

    The petitioner calculated ratios for factory overhead, selling, 
general and administrative expenses based on the 2015 consolidated 
financial statements of L.S. Industry Co., Ltd., a Thai producer of 
steel nails, which the petitioner asserts is merchandise comparable to 
carton-closing staples because steel nails are also produced from steel 
wire rod or steel wire.\40\ The petitioner calculated a profit rate for 
L.S. Industry Co., Ltd. by adding its other gains and losses to its 
operating profit, and dividing the result by the sum of cost of sales 
and SG&A expenses.

[[Page 19355]]

The petitioner calculated profit values for each product covered by the 
sales offers/quotes by multiplying the profit rate by the calculated 
cost of production (COP) of each of the 15 product types. The resulting 
profit values were added to the COP values for the 15 product types to 
arrive at total COP plus profit for each product.\41\
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    \40\ See Volume II of the Petition, at 4-5, 12-13 and Exhibit 
II-7(F).
    \41\ See Volume II of the Petition, at Exhibit II-7(F).
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Fair Value Comparisons
    Based on the data provided by the petitioner, there is reason to 
believe that imports of carton-closing staples from the PRC are being, 
or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value. 
Based on comparisons of EP to NV, in accordance with section 773(c) of 
the Act, the estimated dumping margins for carton-closing staples from 
the PRC range from 13.76 percent to 263.43 percent.\42\
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    \42\ See Supplemental Response, at 19 and Exhibit II-SQ-9.
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Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation
    Based upon the examination of the Petition, we find that the 
Petition meets the requirements of section 732 of the Act. Therefore, 
we are initiating an AD investigation to determine whether imports of 
carton-closing staples from the PRC are being, or are likely to be, 
sold in the United States at less than fair value. In accordance with 
section 733(b)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(b)(1), unless 
postponed, we intend to make our preliminary determination no later 
than 140 days after the date of this initiation.
    Under the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, numerous 
amendments to the AD and CVD laws were made.\43\ The 2015 law does not 
specify dates of application for those amendments. On August 6, 2015, 
the Department published an interpretative rule, in which it announced 
the applicability dates for each amendment to the Act, except for 
amendments contained in section 771(7) of the Act, which relate to 
determinations of material injury by the ITC.\44\ The amendments to 
sections 771(15), 773, 776, and 782 of the Act are applicable to all 
determinations made on or after August 6, 2015, and, therefore, apply 
to this AD investigation.\45\
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    \43\ See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, Pub. L. 114-
27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015).
    \44\ See Dates of Application of Amendments to the Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Laws Made by the Trade Preferences Extension 
Act of 2015, 80 FR 46793 (August 6, 2015) (Applicability Notice).
    \45\ Id., at 46794-95. The 2015 amendments may be found at 
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1295/text/pl.
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Respondent Selection
    In accordance with our standard practice for respondent selection 
in AD cases involving NME countries, we intend to issue quantity and 
value (Q&V) questionnaires to producers/exporters of merchandise 
subject to the investigation and, if necessary, base respondent 
selection on the responses received. For this investigation, the 
Department will request Q&V information from known exporters and 
producers identified, with complete contact information, in the 
Petition. In addition, the Department will post the Q&V questionnaire 
along with filing instructions on the Enforcement and Compliance Web 
site at https://www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp.
    Producers/exporters of carton-closing staples from the PRC that do 
not receive Q&V questionnaires by mail may still submit a response to 
the Q&V questionnaire and can obtain a copy from the Enforcement & 
Compliance Web site. The Q&V response must be submitted by the relevant 
PRC exporters/producers no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on May 5, 2017. All 
Q&V responses must be filed electronically via ACCESS.
Separate Rates
    In order to obtain separate-rate status in an NME investigation, 
exporters and producers must submit a separate-rate application.\46\ 
The specific requirements for submitting a separate-rate application in 
the PRC investigation are outlined in detail in the application itself, 
which is available on the Department's Web site at https://enforcement.trade.gov/nme/nme-sep-rate.html. The separate-rate 
application will be due 30 days after publication of this initiation 
notice.\47\ Exporters and producers who submit a separate-rate 
application and have been selected as mandatory respondents will be 
eligible for consideration for separate-rate status only if they 
respond to all parts of the Department's AD questionnaire as mandatory 
respondents. The Department requires that companies from the PRC submit 
a response to both the Q&V questionnaire and the separate-rate 
application by the respective deadlines in order to receive 
consideration for separate-rate status. Companies not filing a timely 
Q&V response will not receive separate rate consideration.
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    \46\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and 
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigation 
involving Non-Market Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at 
https://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf (Policy Bulletin 
05.1).
    \47\ Although in past investigations this deadline was 60 days, 
consistent with 19 CFR 351.301(a), which states that ``the Secretary 
may request any person to submit factual information at any time 
during a proceeding,'' this deadline is now 30 days.
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Use of Combination Rates
    The Department will calculate combination rates for certain 
respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in an NME 
investigation. The Separate Rates and Combination Rates Bulletin 
states:

    {w{time} hile continuing the practice of assigning separate 
rates only to exporters, all separate rates that the Department will 
now assign in its NME Investigation will be specific to those 
producers that supplied the exporter during the period of 
investigation. Note, however, that one rate is calculated for the 
exporter and all of the producers which supplied subject merchandise 
to it during the period of investigation. This practice applies both 
to mandatory respondents receiving an individually calculated 
separate rate as well as the pool of non-investigated firms 
receiving the weighted-average of the individually calculated rates. 
This practice is referred to as the application of ``combination 
rates'' because such rates apply to specific combinations of 
exporters and one or more producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned 
to an exporter will apply only to merchandise both exported by the 
firm in question and produced by a firm that supplied the exporter 
during the period of investigation.\48\

    \48\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).
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Distribution of Copies of the Petition
    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.202(f), a copy of the public version of the Petition has been 
provided to the government of the PRC via ACCESS. Because of the 
particularly large number of producers/exporters identified in the 
Petition, the Department considers the service of the public version of 
the Petition to the foreign producers/exporters satisfied by delivery 
of the public version to the government of the PRC, consistent with 19 
CFR 351.203(c)(2).
ITC Notification
    We will notify the ITC of our initiation, as required by section 
732(d) of the Act.
Preliminary Determination by the ITC
    The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date 
on which the Petition was filed, whether there is a reasonable 
indication that imports of carton-closing staples from the PRC are 
materially injuring or threatening material injury to a U.S. 
industry.\49\ A negative ITC determination will result in the 
investigation being terminated; \50\

[[Page 19356]]

otherwise, this investigation will proceed according to statutory and 
regulatory time limits.
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    \49\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
    \50\ Id.
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Submission of Factual Information
    Factual information is defined in 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) as: (i) 
Evidence submitted in response to questionnaires; (ii) evidence 
submitted in support of allegations; (iii) publicly available 
information to value factors under 19 CFR 351.408(c) or to measure the 
adequacy of remuneration under 19 CFR 351.511(a)(2); (iv) evidence 
placed on the record by the Department; and (v) evidence other than 
factual information described in (i)-(iv). Any party, when submitting 
factual information, must specify under which subsection of 19 CFR 
351.102(b)(21) the information is being submitted \51\ and, if the 
information is submitted to rebut, clarify, or correct factual 
information already on the record, to provide an explanation 
identifying the information already on the record that the factual 
information seeks to rebut, clarify, or correct.\52\ Time limits for 
the submission of factual information are addressed in 19 CFR 351.301, 
which provides specific time limits based on the type of factual 
information being submitted. Interested parties should review the 
regulations prior to submitting factual information in this 
investigation.
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    \51\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
    \52\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b)(2).
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Extensions of Time Limits
    Parties may request an extension of time limits before the 
expiration of a time limit established under 19 CFR 351, or as 
otherwise specified by the Secretary. In general, an extension request 
will be considered untimely if it is filed after the expiration of the 
time limit established under 19 CFR 351. For submissions that are due 
from multiple parties simultaneously, an extension request will be 
considered untimely if it is filed after 10:00 a.m. ET on the due date. 
Under certain circumstances, we may elect to specify a different time 
limit by which extension requests will be considered untimely for 
submissions which are due from multiple parties simultaneously. In such 
a case, we will inform parties in the letter or memorandum setting 
forth the deadline (including a specified time) by which extension 
requests must be filed to be considered timely. An extension request 
must be made in a separate, stand-alone submission; under limited 
circumstances we will grant untimely-filed requests for the extension 
of time limits. Review Extension of Time Limits; Final Rule, 78 FR 
57790 (September 20, 2013), available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-20/html/2013-22853.htm, prior to submitting factual 
information in this investigation.
Certification Requirements
    Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding 
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\53\ 
Parties are hereby reminded that revised certification requirements are 
in effect for company/government officials, as well as their 
representatives. Investigations initiated on the basis of petition 
filed on or after August 16, 2013, and other segments of any AD or CVD 
proceedings initiated on or after August 16, 2013, should use the 
formats for the revised certifications provided at the end of the Final 
Rule.\54\ The Department intends to reject factual submissions if the 
submitting party does not comply with applicable revised certification 
requirements.
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    \53\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \54\ See Certification of Factual Information to Import 
Administration during Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Proceedings, 78 FR 42678 (July 17, 2013) (Final Rule); see also 
frequently asked questions regarding the Final Rule, available at 
https://enforcement.trade.gov/tlei/notices/factual_info_final_rule_FAQ_07172013.pdf.
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Notification to Interested Parties
    Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under 
administrative protective order (APO) in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305. On January 22, 2008, the Department published Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Documents Submission Procedures; APO 
Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January 22, 2008).
    Parties wishing to participate in this investigation should ensure 
that they meet the requirements of these procedures (e.g., the filing 
of letters of appearance as discussed in 19 CFR 351.103(d)).
    This notice is issued and published pursuant to section 777(i) of 
the Act and 19 CFR 351.203(c).

     Dated: April 20, 2017.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation is carton-closing staples. 
Carton-closing staples may be manufactured from carbon, alloy, or 
stainless steel wire, and are included in the scope of the 
investigation regardless of whether they are uncoated or coated, 
regardless of the type of coating.
    Carton-closing staples are generally made to American Society 
for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification ASTM D1974/D1974M-16, 
but can also be made to other specifications. Regardless of 
specification, however, all carton-closing staples meeting the scope 
description are included in the scope. Carton-closing staples 
include stick staple products, often referred to as staple strips, 
and roll staple products, often referred to as coils. Stick staples 
are lightly cemented or lacquered together to facilitate handling 
and loading into stapling machines. Roll staples are taped together 
along their crowns. Carton-closing staples are covered regardless of 
whether they are imported in stick form or roll form.
    Carton-closing staples vary by the size of the wire, the width 
of the crown, and the length of the leg. The nominal leg length 
ranges from 0.4095 inch to 1.375 inches and the nominal crown width 
ranges from 1.125 inches to 1.375 inches. The size of the wire used 
in the production of carton-closing staples varies from 0.029 to 
0.064 inch (nominal thickness) by 0.064 to 0.100 inch (nominal 
width).
    Carton-closing staples subject to this investigation are 
currently classifiable under subheadings 8305.20.00.00 and 
7317.00.65.60 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(``HTSUS''). While the HTSUS subheadings and ASTM specification are 
provided for convenience and for customs purposes, the written 
description of the subject merchandise is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2017-08526 Filed 4-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P