Rubber Bands From the People's Republic of China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 8424-8429 [2018-03923]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8424-8429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03923]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-069, A-542-802, and A-549-835]


Rubber Bands From the People's Republic of China, Sri Lanka, and 
Thailand: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

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

DATES: Applicable February 20, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Stolz at (202) 482-4474 and 
Stephanie Berger at (202) 482-2483 (the People's Republic of China 
(China)); Cindy Robinson at (202) 482-3797 (Sri Lanka); and Laurel 
LaCivita at (202) 482-4243 and Joseph Degreenia at (202) 482-6030 
(Thailand); AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

The Petitions

    On January 30, 2018, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
received antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) Petitions 
concerning imports of rubber bands from China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand 
filed in proper form on behalf of Alliance Rubber Co. (Alliance, the 
petitioner).\1\ The petitioner is a domestic producer of rubber 
bands.\2\
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    \1\ See the petitioner's letter, ``Petition for Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Rubber Bands from Thailand, 
China and Sri Lanka,'' dated January 30, 2018 (the Petitions). For 
the purposes of the instant notice, all mentions of `the Petitions,' 
herein, refer specifically to the AD Petitions.
    \2\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 5-6.
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    On February 2 and February 12, 2018, Commerce requested 
supplemental information pertaining to certain areas of the AD 
Petitions.\3\ The petitioner filed responses to these requests on 
February 8 and February 13, 2018.\4\ On February 16, 2018, based on a 
telephone conversation between Commerce and counsel to the petitioner, 
the petitioner agreed to certain clarifications to the scope.\5\
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    \3\ See Commerce's letters, ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of Rubber Bands 
from the People's Republic of China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand: 
Supplemental Questions'' (General Issues Supplemental 
Questionnaire); ``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties 
on Imports of Rubber Bands from the People's Republic of China: 
Supplemental Questions'' (China AD Supplemental Questionnaire); 
``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of 
Rubber Bands from Sri Lanka: Supplemental Questions'' (Sri Lanka AD 
Supplemental Questionnaire); and ``Petition for the Imposition of 
Antidumping Duties on Imports of Rubber Bands from Thailand: 
Supplemental Questions'' (Thailand AD Supplemental Questionnaire). 
All four of these documents are dated February 2, 2018. See also 
Commerce's memoranda, ``Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duties on Rubber Bands from the People's Republic 
of China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand: Phone Call with Counsel to the 
Petitioner'' (Second General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire); 
``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Rubber Bands 
from the People's Republic of China: Phone Call with Counsel to the 
Petitioner'' (China Second AD Supplemental Questionnaire); 
``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Rubber Bands 
from the Sri Lanka: Phone Call with Counsel to the Petitioner'' (Sri 
Lanka Second AD Supplemental Questionnaire); and ``Petition for the 
Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Rubber Bands from Thailand: 
Phone Call with Counsel to the Petitioner'' (Thailand Second AD 
Supplemental Questionnaire). All four of these documents are dated 
February 12, 2018.
    \4\ See the petitioner's separate letters letters regarding 
General Issues, China, Sri Lanka and Thailand, each entitled, 
``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duties on Rubber Bands from Thailand, China and Sri Lanka--Responses 
to Supplemental Questionnaires'' (respectively, General Issues 
Supplement, Sri Lanka AD Supplement, China AD Supplement, and 
Thailand AD Supplement). All four of these documents are dated 
February 8, 2018. See also the petitioner's separate letters 
regarding General Issues, China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, each 
entitled, ``Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duties on Rubber Bands from Thailand, China and Sri 
Lanka--Supplemental Responses to Supplemental Questionnaires: 
Responses of Petitioner Alliance Rubber Co. to Department of 
Commerce's February 12, 2018 General Issues Questionnaire'' 
(respectively, Second General Issues Supplement, Second China AD 
Supplement, Second Sri Lanka AD Supplement, and Second Thailand AD 
Supplement). All four of these documents are dated February 13, 
2018.
    \5\ See memorandum, ``Phone Call with Counsel to the Petitioner 
Regarding Scope Clarification,'' dated February 16, 2018 (Scope 
Clarification Memorandum).
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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 rubber bands 
from China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand 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 such imports are materially injuring, 
or threatening material injury to, the domestic industry producing 
rubber bands in the United States. Consistent with section 732(b)(1) of 
the Act, the Petitions are accompanied by information reasonably 
available to the petitioner supporting its allegations.
    Commerce finds that the petitioner filed the Petitions on behalf of 
the domestic industry because the petitioner is an interested party as 
defined in section 771(9)(C) of the Act. Commerce also finds that the 
petitioner demonstrated sufficient industry support with respect to the 
initiation of the AD investigations that the petitioner is 
requesting.\6\
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    \6\ See the ``Determination of Industry Support for the 
Petitions'' section, infra.
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Periods of Investigation

    Because the Petitions were filed on January 30, 2018, pursuant to 
19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the period of investigation (POI) for the Sri 
Lanka and Thailand investigations is January 1, 2017, through December 
31, 2017. Because China is a non-market economy (NME) country, pursuant 
to 19 CFR 351.204(b)(1), the POI for the China investigation is July 1, 
2017, through December 31, 2017.

Scope of the Investigations

    The products covered by these investigations are rubber bands from 
China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. For a full description of the scope of 
these investigations, see the Appendix to this notice.

Comments on Scope of the Investigations

    During our review of the Petitions, Commerce issued questions to, 
and received responses from, the petitioner pertaining to the proposed 
scope to ensure that the scope language in the Petitions is an accurate 
reflection of the products for which the domestic industry is seeking 
relief.\7\ As a result of these exchanges, the scope of the Petitions 
was modified to clarify the description of merchandise covered by the 
Petitions. The description of the merchandise covered by this 
initiation, as described in the Appendix to this notice, reflects these 
clarifications.
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    \7\ See General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire, at 3-4 and 
Second General Issues Supplemental Questionnaire; see also General 
Issues Supplement at 4-6, and Second General Issues Supplement at 1; 
and Scope Clarification Memorandum.
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    As discussed in the preamble to Commerce's regulations, we are 
setting aside a period for interested parties to raise issues regarding 
product coverage (scope).\8\ Commerce will consider all comments 
received from interested parties and, if necessary, will consult with 
interested parties prior to the issuance of the preliminary 
determinations. If scope comments include factual information,\9\ all 
such factual information should be limited to

[[Page 8425]]

public information. To facilitate preparation of its questionnaires, 
Commerce requests that all interested parties submit such comments by 
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on March 12, 2018, which is 20 calendar 
days from the signature date of this notice. Any rebuttal comments, 
which may include factual information, must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on 
March 22, 2018, which is 10 calendar days from the initial comments 
deadline.\10\
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    \8\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.102(b)(21) (defining ``factual 
information'').
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b).
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    Commerce requests that any factual information the parties consider 
relevant to the scope of the investigations be submitted during this 
time period. However, if a party subsequently finds that additional 
factual information pertaining to the scope of the investigations may 
be relevant, the party may contact Commerce and request permission to 
submit the additional information. All such comments must be filed on 
the records of each of the concurrent AD and CVD investigations, in 
accordance with the filing requirements, discussed immediately below.

Filing Requirements

    All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically using 
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty 
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS).\11\ An electronically 
filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by the 
time and date it is due. Documents exempted from the electronic 
submission requirements must be filed manually (i.e., in paper form) 
with Enforcement and 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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    \11\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: 
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order 
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011); see also Enforcement and 
Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046 
(November 20, 2014) for details of Commerce's electronic filing 
requirements, effective 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 Questionnaires

    Commerce requests comments from interested parties regarding the 
appropriate physical characteristics of rubber bands to be reported in 
response to Commerce's AD questionnaires. This information will be used 
to identify the key physical characteristics of the merchandise under 
consideration in order to report the relevant 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 rubber bands, 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, Commerce attempts to list the most 
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 questionnaires, all product 
characteristics comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 12, 
2018. Any rebuttal comments must be filed by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 19, 
2018. All comments and submissions to Commerce must be filed 
electronically using ACCESS, as explained above, on the records of the 
China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand less-than-fair-value investigations.

Determination of Industry Support for the Petitions

    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, Commerce 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 Commerce 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 Commerce and the 
ITC must apply the same statutory definition regarding the domestic 
like product,\12\ they do so for different purposes and pursuant to a 
separate and distinct authority. In addition, Commerce'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.\13\
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    \12\ See section 771(10) of the Act.
    \13\ 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 
Petitions).
    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 Petitions. Based on our analysis of the information submitted on 
the record, we have determined that rubber bands, as defined in the 
scope, constitute a single domestic like product, and we have analyzed 
industry support in terms of that domestic like product.\14\
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    \14\ For a discussion of the domestic like product analysis, see 
Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Rubber Bands 
from China (China AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II, 
Analysis of Industry Support for the Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Petitions Covering Rubber Bands from the People's Republic of 
China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand (Attachment II); Antidumping Duty 
Investigation Initiation Checklist: Rubber Bands from Sri Lanka (Sri 
Lanka AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II; and Antidumping 
Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Rubber Bands from Thailand 
(Thailand AD Initiation Checklist), at Attachment II. These 
checklists are dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, 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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[[Page 8426]]

    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 Petitions with reference to the domestic like product 
as defined in the ``Scope of the Investigations,'' in the Appendix to 
this notice. To establish industry support, the petitioner provided its 
own net sales values of the domestic like product in 2017, and compared 
this to the estimated total sales values of the domestic like product 
for the entire domestic industry.\15\ Because total industry production 
data for the domestic like product for 2017 are not reasonably 
available to the petitioner, and the petitioner has established that 
sales values and shipments are a reasonable proxy for production 
data,\16\ we have relied on the data the petitioner provided for 
purposes of measuring industry support.\17\
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    \15\ See General Issues Supplement, at 8 and GEN-10S; see also 
Second General Issues Supplement, at 2-3.
    \16\ See Second General Issues Supplement, at 2-3.
    \17\ Id. For further discussion, see China AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II; Sri Lanka AD Initiation Checklist, at 
Attachment II; and Thailand AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment 
II.
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    Our review of the data provided in the Petitions, the General 
Issues Supplement, the Second General Issues Supplement, and other 
information readily available to Commerce indicates that the petitioner 
has established industry support for the Petitions.\18\ First, the 
Petitions established support from domestic producers (or workers) 
accounting for more than 50 percent of the total production of the 
domestic like product and, as such, Commerce is not required to take 
further action in order to evaluate industry support (e.g., 
polling).\19\ 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 
Petitions account for at least 25 percent of the total production of 
the domestic like product.\20\ 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 Petitions 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 
Petitions.\21\ Accordingly, Commerce determines that the Petitions were 
filed on behalf of the domestic industry within the meaning of section 
732(b)(1) of the Act.
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    \18\ See China AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Sri 
Lanka AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and Thailand AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \19\ See section 732(c)(4)(D) of the Act; see also China AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Sri Lanka AD Initiation 
Checklist, at Attachment II; and Thailand AD Initiation Checklist, 
at Attachment II.
    \20\ See China AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; Sri 
Lanka AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II; and Thailand AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment II.
    \21\ Id.
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    Commerce finds that the petitioner filed the Petitions 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 investigations that it is 
requesting that Commerce initiate.\22\
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    \22\ 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.\23\
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    \23\ See General Issues Supplement, at 9 and Exhibit B.
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    The petitioner contends that the industry's injured condition is 
illustrated by a significant and increasing volume of subject imports, 
reduced market share, underselling and price depression or suppression, 
lost sales and revenues, and a negative impact on the domestic 
industry's financial performance.\24\ 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.\25\
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    \24\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at 16-19, 25-47 and Exhibits 
GEN-3 through GEN-8, GEN-10 and GEN-12; see also General Issues 
Supplement, at 8-16 and Exhibits A, B, and GEN-10S; and Second 
General Issues Supplement, at 3 and Exhibit A.
    \25\ See China AD Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III, 
``Analysis of Allegations and Evidence of Material Injury and 
Causation for the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Petitions 
Covering Rubber Bands from the People's Republic of China, Sri 
Lanka, and Thailand'' (Attachment III); see also Sri Lanka AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III; see also Thailand AD 
Initiation Checklist, at Attachment III.
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Allegations of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

    The following is a description of the allegations of sales at less 
than fair value upon which Commerce based its decision to initiate AD 
investigations of imports of rubber bands from China, Sri Lanka, and 
Thailand. The sources of data for the deductions and adjustments 
relating to U.S. price and NV are discussed in greater detail in the 
country-specific initiation checklists.

Export Price

    For China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, the petitioners based export 
price (EP) on pricing information or price quotes for rubber bands 
produced in, and exported from, those countries and sold or offered for 
sale in the United States.\26\
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    \26\ See China AD Initiation Checklist, Sri Lanka AD Initiation 
Checklist, and Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
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    Where appropriate, the petitioner made deductions from U.S. price 
consistent with the terms of sale, as applicable.\27\
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    \27\ Id.
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Normal Value

    For Sri Lanka and Thailand, the petitioner was unable to obtain 
home market or third-country prices for rubber bands; therefore, the 
petitioner calculated normal value based on constructed value (CV) 
pursuant to section 773(a)(4) of the Act. See the section ``Normal 
Value Based on Constructed Value'' below.\28\
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    \28\ In accordance with section 505(a) of the Trade Preferences 
Extension Act of 2015, amending section 773(b)(2) of the Act, for 
these investigations, Commerce will request information necessary to 
calculate the CV and cost of production (COP) to determine whether 
there are reasonable grounds to believe or suspect that sales of the 
foreign like product have been made at prices that represent less 
than the COP of the product. Commerce no longer requires a COP 
allegation to conduct this analysis.
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    With respect to China, Commerce considers China to be an NME 
country.\29\ In accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any 
determination that a foreign country is an NME country shall remain in 
effect until revoked by Commerce. Therefore, we continue to treat China 
as an NME country for purposes of the initiation of this investigation. 
Accordingly, NV in

[[Page 8427]]

China is appropriately based on factors of production (FOPs) valued in 
a surrogate market economy country, in accordance with section 773(c) 
of the Act.\30\ In the course of this investigation, all parties, and 
the public, will have the opportunity to provide relevant information 
related to the granting of separate rates to individual exporters.
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    \29\ 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), and 
accompanying decision memorandum, China's Status as a Non-Market 
Economy.
    \30\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
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    The petitioner claims that Thailand is an appropriate surrogate 
country for China because: (1) Commerce has evaluated the per capita 
gross domestic product (GDP) of Thailand in numerous cases and 
determined that Thailand is at the level of economic development 
comparable to China based on per-capita Gross National Income; (2) 
Thailand is a significant producer of comparable merchandise as well as 
a significant exporter of subject merchandise; and (3) the data for 
valuing FOPs, factory overhead, selling, general and administrative 
(SG&A) expenses and profit are publicly available, current, and 
reliable.\31\ Based on the information provided by the petitioner, we 
believe it is appropriate to use Thailand as a surrogate country for 
initiation purposes.
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    \31\ See Volume III of Petitions, at 3.
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    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.

Factors of Production

    Because information regarding the volume of inputs consumed by 
Chinese producers/exporters was not reasonably available, the 
petitioner relied on its actual consumption of direct materials, direct 
labor, energy, scrap offset, and packing for comparable rubber bands, 
adjusted for known differences in usage between the United States and 
China.\32\ The petitioner valued the estimated FOPs using surrogate 
values from Thailand,\33\ and used the average POI exchange rate to 
convert the data to U.S. dollars.\34\
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    \32\ Id. at 1 and 4 and Exhibit AD-CH-2.
    \33\ Id. at Exhibit AD-CH-3; see also China AD Supplement, at 
Exhibit AD-CH-S3; and Second China AD Supplement, at Exhibit AD-CH-
SS3.
    \34\ Id.
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Normal Value Based on Constructed Value

    As noted above, for Sri Lanka and Thailand, the petitioner was 
unable to obtain home market or third-country prices for rubber bands; 
therefore, the petitioner based NV on CV pursuant to section 773(a)(4) 
of the Act. Pursuant to section 773(b)(3) of the Act, CV consists of 
the cost of manufacturing (COM); selling, general and administrative 
(SG&A) expenses; financial expenses; profit; and packing expenses.
    For Sri Lanka, the petitioner calculated the COM based on its own 
input factors of production and usage rates for raw materials, energy, 
packing and scrap offset. The input factors of production were valued 
using publicly available data on costs specific to Sri Lanka, where 
available, and the petitioner's cost experience. For Sri Lanka, labor 
and energy costs were valued using publicly available sources from Sri 
Lanka and the petitioner's cost experience.\35\ The petitioner 
calculated factory overhead, SG&A, financial expenses and profit based 
on the experience of a Sri Lankan producer of comparable 
merchandise.\36\
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    \35\ See Sri Lanka AD Initiation Checklist.
    \36\ Id.
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    For Thailand, the petitioner calculated the COM based on its own 
input factors of production and usage rates for raw materials, labor, 
energy, packing, and a scrap offset.\37\ The input factors of 
production were valued using publicly available data on costs specific 
to Thailand, during the proposed POI.\38\ Specifically, the prices for 
raw material and packing inputs were based on publicly available import 
data for Thailand.\39\ Labor and energy costs were valued using 
publicly available sources for Thailand.\40\ The petitioner calculated 
factory overhead, SG&A, and profit for Thailand based on the experience 
of a Thai producer of rubber bands.\41\
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    \37\ See Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
    \38\ Id.
    \39\ Id.
    \40\ Id.
    \41\ Id.
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Fair Value Comparisons

    Based on the data provided by the petitioner, there is reason to 
believe that imports of rubber bands from China, Sri Lanka, and 
Thailand 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 sections 772 and 773 of the Act, the estimated dumping margins for 
rubber bands for each of the countries covered by this initiation are 
as follows: (1) China--27.27 percent; \42\, (2) Sri Lanka--56.54 to 
133.13 percent; \43\, and (3) Thailand--28.92 to 78.36 percent.\44\
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    \42\ See China AD Initiation Checklist.
    \43\ See Sri Lanka AD Initiation Checklist.
    \44\ See Thailand AD Initiation Checklist.
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Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations

    Based upon the examination of the Petitions, we find that the 
Petitions meet the requirements of section 732 of the Act. Therefore, 
we are initiating AD investigations to determine whether imports of 
rubber bands from China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand 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 will make our preliminary 
determinations 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.\45\ The 2015 law does not 
specify dates of application for those amendments. On August 6, 2015, 
Commerce 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.\46\ 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 these AD investigations.\47\
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    \45\ See Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015, Public Law 
114-27, 129 Stat. 362 (2015).
    \46\ 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).
    \47\ 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 the Petitions, the petitioner named 12, four, and 22 producers/
exporters, respectively, as accounting for the majority of exports of 
rubber bands products to the United States from China, Sri Lanka, and 
Thailand.\48\ With regard to China, in accordance with our standard 
practice for respondent selection in cases involving NME countries, we 
intend to issue quantity and value (Q&V) questionnaires to each 
potential respondent and, if necessary, base respondent selection on 
the responses received. In addition, Commerce will post the Q&V 
questionnaire along with filing instructions on the Enforcement and 
Compliance website at https://www.trade.gov/enforcement/news.asp.
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    \48\ See Volume I of the Petitions, at Exhibit GEN-2. See also 
General Issues Supplement at 2-3.
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    Exporters/producers of rubber bands from China that do not receive 
Q&V

[[Page 8428]]

questionnaires by mail may still submit a response to the Q&V 
questionnaire and can obtain a copy from the Enforcement and Compliance 
website. The Q&V response must be submitted by all exporters/producers 
from China no later than 5:00 p.m. E.T. on March 6, 2018, which is two 
weeks from the signature date of this notice. All Q&V responses must be 
filed electronically via ACCESS.
    With regard to Sri Lanka and Thailand, following standard practice 
in AD investigations involving market economy countries, in the event 
Commerce determines that the number of companies is large and it cannot 
individually examine each company based upon Commerce's resources, 
where appropriate, Commerce intends to select respondents based on U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data for U.S. imports under the 
appropriate Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States numbers 
listed with the scope in the Appendix, below. We also intend to release 
the CBP data under Administrative Protective Order (APO) to all parties 
with access to information protected by APO on the record within five 
business days of publication of this Federal Register notice. Comments 
regarding the CBP data and respondent selection should be submitted 
seven calendar days after the placement of the CBP data on the record 
of these investigations. Parties wishing to submit rebuttal comments 
should submit those comments five calendar days after the deadline for 
the initial comments. Comments must be filed electronically using 
ACCESS. An electronically-filed document must be received successfully 
in its entirety by Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 
5:00 p.m. ET by the dates noted above. We intend to make our decision 
regarding respondent selection within 20 days of publication of this 
notice.

Separate Rates

    In order to obtain separate-rate status in an NME investigation, 
exporters and producers must submit a separate-rate application.\49\ 
The specific requirements for submitting a separate-rate application in 
the China investigation are outlined in detail in the application 
itself, which is available on Commerce's website 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.\50\ 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 Commerce's AD questionnaire as mandatory 
respondents. Commerce requires that companies from China 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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    \49\ 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).
    \50\ Although in some 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

    Commerce 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:

    {while{time}  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.\51\
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    \51\ See Policy Bulletin 05.1 at 6 (emphasis added).
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Distribution of Copies of the Petitions

    In accordance with section 732(b)(3)(A)(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.202(f), copies of the public version of the Petitions have been 
provided to the governments of China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand via 
ACCESS. To the extent practicable, we will attempt to provide a copy of 
the public version of the Petitions to each exporter named in the 
Petitions, as provided under 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 Determinations by the ITC

    The ITC will preliminarily determine, within 45 days after the date 
on which the Petitions were filed, whether there is a reasonable 
indication that imports of rubber bands from China, Sri Lanka, and/or 
Thailand are materially injuring or threatening material injury to a 
U.S. industry.\52\ A negative ITC determination for any country will 
result in the investigation being terminated with respect to that 
country.\53\ Otherwise, the investigations will proceed according to 
statutory and regulatory time limits.
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    \52\ See section 733(a) of the Act.
    \53\ 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 Commerce; 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 \54\ 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.\55\ 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 these 
investigations.
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    \54\ See 19 CFR 351.301(b).
    \55\ 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 351.301, 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 351.301. For submissions that are 
due from

[[Page 8429]]

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. Parties should 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 these investigations.

Certification Requirements

    Any party submitting factual information in an AD or CVD proceeding 
must certify to the accuracy and completeness of that information.\56\ 
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 petitions 
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.\57\ Commerce intends to reject factual submissions if the 
submitting party does not comply with applicable revised certification 
requirements.
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    \56\ See section 782(b) of the Act.
    \57\ 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 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305. On January 22, 2008, Commerce 
published Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Documents 
Submission Procedures; APO Procedures, 73 FR 3634 (January 22, 2008). 
Parties wishing to participate in these investigations should ensure 
that they meet the requirements of these procedures (e.g., the filing 
of letters of appearance as discussed at 19 CFR 351.103(d)).
    This notice is issued and published pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) 
and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c).

    Dated: February 20, 2018.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Investigations

    The products subject to these investigations are bands made of 
vulcanized rubber, with a flat length, as actually measured end-to-
end by the band lying flat, no less than \1/2\ inch and no greater 
than 10 inches; with a width, which measures the dimension 
perpendicular to the length, actually of at least 3/64 inch and no 
greater than 2 inches; and a wall thickness actually from 0.020 inch 
to 0.125 inch. Vulcanized rubber has been chemically processed into 
a more durable material by the addition of sulfur or other 
equivalent curatives or accelerators. Subject products are included 
regardless of color or inclusion of printed material on the rubber 
band's surface, including but not limited to, rubber bands with 
printing on them, such as a product name, advertising, or slogan, 
and printed material (e.g., a tag) fastened to the rubber band by an 
adhesive or another temporary type of connection. The scope includes 
vulcanized rubber bands which are contained or otherwise exist in 
various forms and packages, such as, without limitation, vulcanized 
rubber bands included within a desk accessory set or other type of 
set or package, and vulcanized rubber band balls. The scope excludes 
products that consist of an elastomer loop and durable tag all-in-
one, and bands that are being used at the time of import to fasten 
an imported product. Merchandise covered by these investigations is 
currently classified in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS) under subheading 4016.99.3510. Merchandise covered by 
the scope may also enter under HTSUS subheading 4016.99.6050. While 
the HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope of the investigations 
is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2018-03923 Filed 2-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P