Laminated Woven Sacks From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 14647-14650 [2019-07197]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 70 / Thursday, April 11, 2019 / Notices
(6) What actions will strengthen
partnerships in effective development of
SSA and STM services?
amozie on DSK9F9SC42PROD with NOTICES
B. STM, SSA, and Orbital Debris
Mitigation Best Practices
The President made clear that, alone,
the SSA/STM open architecture data
repository will not sufficiently protect
U.S. national and commercial interests
in space; minimum safety standards and
best practices must be adopted in the
United States and globally to utilize
SSA/STM data to mitigate risk of
collision and address the growing
orbital debris issue threatening current
and future space operation. The
President directed the Department to
lead a global effort to develop minimum
safety standards and best practices that
promote safe and responsible behavior
in space.15 Already, the Department is
considering national and international
activities, such as those under
development in the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO)
and the Consultative Committee for
Space Data Systems (CCSDS).
To develop these space traffic
standards and best practices, the
Department seeks information on:
(1) In the context of enhanced SSA/
STM data, what best practices, technical
guidelines, minimum safety standards,
behavioral norms, and orbital
deconfliction protocols should be
adopted by the United States? Of these,
are there any that should only be
adopted in the United States if they are
also adopted globally? If globally, what
is the appropriate forum for such
adoption?
(2) What pre-launch and on-orbit
collision avoidance support services or
technologies exist that will mitigate risk
of collision, and improve situational
awareness, and how should they be
incorporated into best practices?
(3) What U.S. actions might
incentivize global adherence to SSA/
STM standards and compliance with
space treaty obligations?
(4) What research methods for
tracking whether international
commercial entities are implementing
such standards and best practices will
assist in facilitating global adoption of a
standards set of SSA/STM best
practices?
C. Appropriate SSA/STM-Related
Regulations To Spur U.S. Space
Commerce
In coalescing his SSA/STM directives
into specific agency actions, the
President required the Secretaries of
Defense, Commerce, and
15 See
id. at 28970.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:50 Apr 10, 2019
Jkt 247001
Transportation, in coordination with the
Secretary of State, the NASA
Administrator, and the Director of
National Intelligence, to regularly
evaluate emerging trends in space
missions and recommend revisions, as
appropriate and necessary, to existing
SSA and STM policies and
regulations.16
The Department is actively engaged
internally and in coordination with
other agencies to assess how existing
regulations related to STA/SSM and
orbital debris mitigation are working
and what changes are needed to
implement the President’s Space Policy
Directives. To further inform
Department regarding the policies or
regulations needed to protect Federal
and commercial space interests and
enable significant growth in U.S. space
commerce investment, the Department
seeks information on:
(1) What existing policies and
regulations, across agencies, positively
and negatively enhance SSA/STM use
and related orbital debris mitigation? 17
(2) How do such existing policies and
regulations encourage U.S. and allied
space commerce investment, and how
should they be revised?
(3) What emerging trends in space
missions and proposed commercial
spaceflight activity, including spacecraft
safety standards, protection
requirements, satellite tracking
standards, and satellite control
standards, impact existing and future
SSA and STM policies and regulations?
How should these trends drive revision
to those policies and regulations?
(4) How can the proper regulatory
environment drive a space activity
insurance market that encourages
investment?
(5) What, if anything, should the
Federal government do to encourage
insurance parameters for space activities
that will encourage responsible space
activities and make the U.S. the flag of
choice for leading space innovators?
(6) Are there any other policies or
regulations that the Department should
consider in the context of SSA, STM,
and orbital debris mitigation in order to
promote the United States as the flag of
choice for space commerce?
(7) What specific capabilities and
technologies could commercial entities
provide to characterize the small,
millimeter-sized orbital debris
population to improve the orbital debris
impact risk assessments to support the
16 See
id. at 28976.
the extent commenters discuss any existing
or proposed regulations of another agency, the
Department will provide those comments to the
agency referenced.
17 To
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
14647
development and implementation of
cost-effective protective measures for
the safe operations of future space
missions?
III. Request for Public Comment and Ex
Parte Communications
The Department invites public
comment on any and all issues
identified in this Notice. Any nonpublic oral presentation to the
Department regarding the substance of
this Notice will be considered an ex
parte presentation, and the substance of
the meeting will be placed on the public
record and become part of this docket.
No later than two (2) business days after
an oral presentation or meeting, an
interested party must submit a
memorandum to OSC summarizing the
substance of the communication and
attaching any documents presented in
the meeting. The Department reserves
the right to supplement the
memorandum with additional
information as necessary, or to request
that the party making the filing do so,
if the Department believes that
important information was omitted or
characterized incorrectly. Any written
presentation provided in support of the
oral communication or meeting will also
be placed on the public record and
become part of this docket. Such ex
parte communications must be
submitted to this docket as provided in
the ADDRESSES section above and clearly
labeled as an ex parte presentation.
Federal entities are not subject to these
procedures.
Kevin O’Connell,
Director, Office of Space Commerce, U.S.
Department of Commerce.
[FR Doc. 2019–07169 Filed 4–8–19; 11:15 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C–552–824]
Laminated Woven Sacks From the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final
Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Commerce) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being
provided to producers and exporters of
laminated woven sacks (LWS) from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam)
during the period of investigation (POI),
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM
11APN1
14648
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 70 / Thursday, April 11, 2019 / Notices
January 1, 2017, through December 31,
2017.
DATES: Applicable April 11, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Thomas Martin or Ariela Garvett, AD/
CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement
and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
(202) 482–3936 or (202) 482–3609,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
amozie on DSK9F9SC42PROD with NOTICES
Background
This final determination is made in
accordance with section 705 of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Commerce published the Preliminary
Determination on August 13, 2018.1 In
the Preliminary Determination,
Commerce aligned the final
countervailing duty (CVD)
determination with the final
determination in the companion
antidumping duty (AD) investigation, in
accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the
Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act) and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(4). Commerce exercised its
discretion to toll all deadlines affected
by the partial federal government
closure from December 22, 2018,
through the resumption of operations on
January 29, 2019.2 If the new deadline
falls on a non-business day, in
accordance with Commerce’s practice,
the deadline will become the next
business day. Accordingly, the revised
deadline for the final determination is
now April 4, 2019.
For a complete description of the
events that followed the Preliminary
Determination, see the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics
discussed in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum is included as Appendix
II to this notice. The Issues and Decision
Memorandum is a public document and
is on file electronically via Enforcement
1 See Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative
Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment
of Final Determination with Final Antidumping
Duty Determination, 83 FR 39983 (August 13, 2018)
(Preliminary Determination).
2 See Memorandum to the Record from Gary
Taverman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations,
performing the non-exclusive functions and duties
of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and
Compliance, ‘‘Deadlines Affected by the Partial
Shutdown of the Federal Government,’’ dated
January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of
the proceeding have been extended by 40 days.
3 See Memorandum, ‘‘Issues and Decision
Memorandum for the Final Affirmative
Determination of the Countervailing Duty
Investigation of Laminated Woven Sacks from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam,’’ dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and
Decision Memorandum).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:50 Apr 10, 2019
Jkt 247001
and Compliance’s Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Centralized
Electronic Service System (ACCESS).
ACCESS is available to registered users
at https://access.trade.gov, and is
available to all parties in the Central
Records Unit, room B8024 of the main
Department of Commerce building. In
addition, a complete version of the
Issues and Decisions Memorandum can
be accessed directly at https://
enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed
and electronic versions of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum are identical in
content.
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this
investigation are laminated woven sacks
from Vietnam. For a full description of
the scope of this investigation, see the
‘‘Scope of the Investigation,’’ at
Appendix I.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation
and the concurrent AD investigation of
LWS from Vietnam, Commerce received
scope comments from interested parties.
Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum to address these
comments.4 In response to Commerce’s
invitation to comment on its
preliminary scope determination,
Commerce received scope comments
from Halsted Corporation (Halsted),5
and rebuttal comments from the
petitioners.6 However, Commerce
rejected Halsted’s scope comments
because they contained untimely filed
new factual information.7 Because
Halsted’s scope comments have been
removed from the record of these
investigations and Halsted did not file a
redacted version of its scope comments
within the deadline allotted by
4 See Memorandum, ‘‘Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Laminated
Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam: Preliminary Scope Determination,’’ dated
October 3, 2018 (Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum).
5 See Letter from Halstead, ‘‘Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Laminated
Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam: Rejection of Untimely Filed Factual
Information,’’ dated December 12, 2018 (rejecting
Halsted Corporation’s November 13, 2018 scope
brief).
6 See Letter from Petitioners, ‘‘Investigation of
Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam: Petitioners’’ Rebuttal Scope
Brief,’’ dated November 19, 2018.
7 See Letter from Commerce, ‘‘Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Laminated
Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam: Rejection of Untimely Filed Factual
Information,’’ dated December 12, 2018; see also
Letter from Halstead, ‘‘Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Laminated
Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam: Request for Withdrawal of Scope
Comments,’’ dated February 8, 2019.
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Commerce, Halsted’s comments have
not been considered in these
investigations.8 Furthermore, because
the petitioners’ rebuttal comments
respond to Halsted’s comments, which
have been removed from the record of
these investigations, Commerce has not
considered the petitioners’ comments.
Therefore, Commerce has made no
changes to the scope of these
investigations since the Preliminary
Determination.
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and
Comments Received
The subsidy programs under
investigation and the issues raised in
the case briefs by parties in this
investigation are discussed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of
the issues that parties raised, and to
which we responded in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum, is attached to
this notice at Appendix II.
Methodology
Commerce conducted this
investigation in accordance with section
701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy
programs found countervailable,
Commerce determines that there is a
subsidy, i.e., a financial contribution by
an ‘‘authority’’ that gives rise to a
benefit to the recipient, and that the
subsidy is specific.9 For a full
description of the methodology
underlying our final determination, see
the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
In making these findings, Commerce,
in part, selected from among the facts
otherwise available and, because it
determined that one or more interested
parties did not act to the best of their
ability to respond to Commerce’s
requests for information, Commerce
used an adverse inference where
appropriate in selecting from among the
facts otherwise available.10 For further
information, see ‘‘Use of Facts
Otherwise Available and Adverse
Inferences’’ in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
Changes Since the Preliminary
Determination
Based on our review and analysis of
the comments received from the
interested parties and our findings at
verification, we made certain changes to
the respondents’’ subsidy rate
calculations. For a discussion of these
changes, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
8 Id.
9 See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act
regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E)
of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of
the Act regarding specificity.
10 See sections 776(a), (b), and 782(d) of the Act.
E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM
11APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 70 / Thursday, April 11, 2019 / Notices
Final Determination
In accordance with section
705(c)(l)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, we
calculated a rate for Duong Vinh Hoa
Packaging Company Limited (DVH
Packaging), a producer/exporter of
subject merchandise selected for
individual examination in this
investigation. With regard to Xinsheng
Plastic Industry Co. Ltd. (Xinsheng), for
the reasons described in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum, Commerce
assigned a rate based entirely on adverse
facts available pursuant to section 776
of the Act.
Section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act
provides that in the final determination,
Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for companies not
individually examined. This rate shall
be an amount equal to the weighted
average of the estimated subsidy rates
established for those companies
individually examined, excluding any
zero and de minimis rates and any rates
based entirely under section 776 of the
Act. DVH Packaging is the only
respondent for which Commerce
calculated an estimated weightedaverage dumping margin that is not
zero, de minimis , or based entirely on
facts otherwise available. Therefore, for
purposes of determining the ‘‘all-others’’
rate, and pursuant to section
705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, we are using the
subsidy rate calculated for DVH
Packaging.
Commerce determines the
countervailable subsidy rates to be:
Company
Duong Vinh Hoa Packaging
Company Limited ....................
Xinsheng Plastic Industry Co.
Ltd ...........................................
All-Others ....................................
amozie on DSK9F9SC42PROD with NOTICES
Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation
As a result of our affirmative
Preliminary Determination and
pursuant to sections 703(d)(1)(B) and
(d)(2) of the Act, we instructed U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to
suspend liquidation of any entries of
merchandise under consideration from
Vietnam that were entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
16:50 Apr 10, 2019
International Trade Commission
Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of
the Act, we will notify the ITC of the
final affirmative determination of
countervailable subsidies are being
provided to producers and exporters of
LWS from Vietnam. Because
Commerce’s final determination is
affirmative, in accordance with section
705(b) of the Act, the ITC will make its
final determination as to whether the
domestic industry in the United States
is materially injured, or threatened with
material injury, by reason of imports, or
sales (or the likelihood of sales) for
importation of LWS from Vietnam no
later than 45 days after this final
determination. If the ITC determines
that such injury does not exist, this
proceeding will be terminated and all
cash deposits will be refunded or
canceled. If the ITC determines that
such injury does exist, Commerce will
issue a countervailing duty order
directing CBP to assess, upon further
Subsidy
instruction by Commerce,
rate
countervailing duties on all imports of
(percent)
the subject merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for
3.02 consumption on or after the effective
date of the suspension of liquidation, as
198.87 discussed above in the ‘‘Continuation of
3.02 Suspension of Liquidation’’ section.
Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculations
performed to parties in this proceeding,
for this final determination, within five
days of the date of publication of our
final determination, in accordance with
19 CFR 351.224(b).
VerDate Sep<11>2014
consumption on or after August 13,
2018, which is the publication date in
the Federal Register of the Preliminary
Determination. In accordance with
section 703(d) of the Act, we issued
instructions to CBP to discontinue the
suspension of liquidation for CVD
purposes for subject merchandise
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
on or after December 11, 2018, but to
continue the suspension of liquidation
of all entries from August 13, 2018,
through December 10, 2018.
Jkt 247001
Notification Regarding Administrative
Protective Orders
This notice will serve as the only
reminder to parties subject to an APO of
their responsibility concerning the
destruction of proprietary information
disclosed under APO in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely
written notification of the return/
destruction of APO materials or
conversion to judicial protective order is
hereby requested. Failure to comply
with the regulations and terms of an
APO is a violation which is subject to
sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and
published pursuant to sections 705(d)
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
14649
and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(c).
Dated: April 4, 2019.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Operations,
performing the non-exclusive functions and
duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this
investigation is laminated woven sacks.
Laminated woven sacks are bags consisting of
one or more plies of fabric consisting of
woven polypropylene strip and/or woven
polyethylene strip, regardless of the width of
the strip; with or without an extrusion
coating of polypropylene and/or
polyethylene on one or both sides of the
fabric; laminated by any method either to an
exterior ply of plastic film such as biaxiallyoriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyester
(PET), polyethylene (PE), nylon, or any film
suitable for printing, or to an exterior ply of
paper; printed; displaying, containing, or
comprising three or more visible colors (e.g.,
laminated woven sacks printed with three
different shades of blue would be covered by
the scope), not including the color of the
woven fabric; regardless of the type of
printing process used; with or without lining;
with or without handles; with or without
special closing features (including, but not
limited to, closures that are sewn, glued,
easy-open (e.g., tape or thread), re-closable
(e.g., slider, hook and loop, zipper), hotwelded, adhesive-welded, or press-to-close);
whether finished or unfinished (e.g., whether
or not closed on one end and whether or not
in roll form, including, but not limited to,
sheets, lay-flat, or formed in tubes); not
exceeding one kilogram in actual weight.
Laminated woven sacks produced in the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam are subject to
the scope regardless of the country of origin
of the fabric used to make the sack.
The scope of this investigation excludes
laminated woven sacks having each of the
following physical characteristics: (1) No side
greater than 24 inches, (2) weight less than
100 grams, (3) an open top that is neither
sealable nor closable, the rim of which is
hemmed or sewn around the entire
circumference, (4) carry handles sewn on the
open end, (5) side gussets, and (6) either a
bottom gusset or a square or rectangular
bottom. The excluded items with the abovementioned physical characteristics may be
referred to as reusable shopping bags.
Subject laminated woven sacks are
currently classifiable under Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS)
subheadings 6305.33.0040 and 6305.33.0080.
If entered with plastic coating on both sides
of the fabric consisting of woven
polypropylene strip and/or woven
polyethylene strip, laminated woven sacks
may be classifiable under HTSUS
subheadings 3923.21.0080, 3923.21.0095,
and 3923.29.0000. If entered not closed on
one end or in roll form (including, but not
limited to, sheets, lay-flat tubing, and
sleeves), laminated woven sacks may be
E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM
11APN1
14650
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 70 / Thursday, April 11, 2019 / Notices
classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings,
including 3917.39.0050, 3921.90.1100,
3921.90.1500, and 5903.90.2500. If the
polypropylene strips and/or polyethylene
strips making up the fabric measure more
than 5 millimeters in width, laminated
woven sacks may be classifiable under other
HTSUS subheadings including
4601.99.0500,4601.99.9000, and
4602.90.0000. Although HTSUS subheadings
are provided for convenience and customs
purposes, the written description of the
scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and
Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. List of Issues
III. Background
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
Adverse Inferences
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Analysis of Comments
XI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2019–07197 Filed 4–10–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C–570–911]
Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel
Pipe From the People’s Republic of
China: Rescission of Countervailing
Duty Administrative Review; 2017
Enforcement and Compliance,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce
(Commerce) is rescinding its
administrative review of the
countervailing duty order on circular
welded carbon quality steel pipe (CWP)
from the People’s Republic of China
(China) for the period of review (POR)
January 1, 2017, through December 31,
2017.
DATES: Applicable April 11, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Darla Brown, Enforcement and
Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone:
(202) 482–1791.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
amozie on DSK9F9SC42PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY:
Background
On July 3, 2018, Commerce published
in the Federal Register a notice of
‘‘Opportunity to Request Administrative
Review’’ of the countervailing duty
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:50 Apr 10, 2019
Jkt 247001
(CVD) order 1 on circular welded carbon
quality steel pipe from China for the
POR.2
On July 31, 2018, Commerce received
timely requests from the petitioners 3
and from Zekelman Industries
(Zekelman), a domestic interested party,
to conduct an administrative review of
the CVD Order.4
On September 10, 2018, in accordance
with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act), Commerce
published in the Federal Register a
notice of initiation of an administrative
review of the CVD Order.5 The
administrative review was initiated with
respect to 128 companies, covering the
POR January 1, 2017, through December
31, 2017.
On September 25, 2018, Commerce
placed on the record information
obtained from U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) indicating that there
were no reviewable entries of subject
merchandise exported by the companies
subject to this administrative review
during the POR.6 On October 17, 2018,
Zekelman withdrew its request for
review in its entirety.7
On November 15, 2018, the
petitioners submitted comments
regarding alleged discrepancies in the
import data on the record.8 Specifically,
the petitioners claim that, although the
results of the CBP data query do not
provide evidence of reviewable entries
of subject merchandise during the POR,
data from a third-party subscription
service that the petitioners placed on
the record purportedly show that there
1 See Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe
from the People’s Republic of China: Notice of
Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination and Notice of Countervailing Duty
Order, 73 FR 42545 (July 22, 2008) (CVD Order).
2 See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order,
Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity
to Request Administrative Review, 83 FR 31121
(July 3, 2018).
3 The petitioners in this proceeding are
Independence Tube Corporation and Southland
Tube, Incorporated.
4 See Letter from Petitioners, ‘‘Circular Welded
Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the People’s
Republic of China: Request for Administrative
Review,’’ dated July 31, 2018. See also Letter from
Zekelman, ‘‘Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel
Pipe from the People’s Republic of China: Request
for Administrative Review,’’ dated July 31, 2018.
5 See Initiation of Countervailing and
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 83 FR
45596 (September 10, 2018).
6 See Memorandum to the File, ‘‘Release of
Customs Entry Data from U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP),’’ dated September 25, 2018.
7 See Letter from Zekelman, ‘‘Circular Welded
Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the People’s
Republic of China: Withdrawal of Request for
Administrative Review,’’ dated October 17, 2018.
8 See Letter from Petitioners, ‘‘Circular Welded
Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the People’s
Republic of China: Comments on Import Data,’’
dated November 15, 2018 (Petitioners’ November 15
Letter).
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
were substantial imports of CWP from
China during the POR. The petitioners
argue that this record information
suggests that companies under review
could be evading the order by
misreporting entry types, and the
petitioners urge Commerce to obtain
CBP entry documents with respect to
the entries of CWP for a subset of 27
companies under review, to determine
whether these companies misclassified
subject merchandise entries as nonsubject merchandise entries.9 In their
submission, the petitioners identified 27
of the 128 companies for which
Commerce initiated this review which
they believe produced and/or exported
CWP during the POR.
On February 27, 2019, Commerce
placed on the record POR entry data
from Datamyne, a public data source, for
the 27 companies identified by the
petitioners in their November 15, 2018,
submission.10 We invited parties to
comment on these data and received
timely comments from the petitioners.11
In their comments, the petitioners
reiterate their concerns that Chinese
producers and/or exporters of CWP may
be attempting to evade the order by
misrepresenting entries.12
Rescission of Review
It is Commerce’s practice to rescind
an administrative review of a
countervailing duty order, pursuant to
19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there are no
reviewable entries of subject
merchandise during the POR for which
liquidation is suspended.13 Normally,
upon completion of an administrative
review, the suspended entries are
liquidated at the countervailing duty
assessment rate calculated for the
review period. See 19 CFR
351.212(b)(2). Therefore, for an
administrative review to be conducted,
there must be a reviewable, suspended
entry that Commerce can instruct CBP
to liquidate at the calculated
countervailing duty assessment rate
calculated for the review period.14
Accordingly, in the absence of
reviewable, suspended entries of subject
merchandise during the POR for any of
the 128 companies named in our
initiation notice, we are now rescinding
9 Id.
at 8–10.
Memorandum to the file, ‘‘Release of
Datamyne Data,’’ dated February 27, 2019.
11 See Letter from Petitioners, ‘‘Circular Welded
Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the People’s
Republic of China: Comments on Release of
Datamyne Data,’’ dated March 6, 2019.
12 Id. at 6–7.
13 See, e.g., Lightweight Thermal Paper from the
People’s Republic of China: Notice of Rescission of
Countervailing Duty Administrative Review; 2015,
82 FR 14349 (March 20, 2017).
14 See 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
10 See
E:\FR\FM\11APN1.SGM
11APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 70 (Thursday, April 11, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14647-14650]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07197]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-552-824]
Laminated Woven Sacks From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:
Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters
of laminated woven sacks (LWS) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Vietnam) during the period of investigation (POI),
[[Page 14648]]
January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017.
DATES: Applicable April 11, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Martin or Ariela Garvett, AD/
CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3936 or (202)
482-3609, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This final determination is made in accordance with section 705 of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the
Preliminary Determination on August 13, 2018.\1\ In the Preliminary
Determination, Commerce aligned the final countervailing duty (CVD)
determination with the final determination in the companion antidumping
duty (AD) investigation, in accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the
Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act) and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4). Commerce
exercised its discretion to toll all deadlines affected by the partial
federal government closure from December 22, 2018, through the
resumption of operations on January 29, 2019.\2\ If the new deadline
falls on a non-business day, in accordance with Commerce's practice,
the deadline will become the next business day. Accordingly, the
revised deadline for the final determination is now April 4, 2019.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination
and Alignment of Final Determination with Final Antidumping Duty
Determination, 83 FR 39983 (August 13, 2018) (Preliminary
Determination).
\2\ See Memorandum to the Record from Gary Taverman, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines
Affected by the Partial Shutdown of the Federal Government,'' dated
January 28, 2019. All deadlines in this segment of the proceeding
have been extended by 40 days.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a complete description of the events that followed the
Preliminary Determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\3\ A
list of topics discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum is
included as Appendix II to this notice. The Issues and Decision
Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to
registered users at https://access.trade.gov, and is available to all
parties in the Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Department
of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Issues and
Decisions Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions of the
Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination of the Countervailing Duty
Investigation of Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this
notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are laminated woven
sacks from Vietnam. For a full description of the scope of this
investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' at Appendix I.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation and the concurrent AD
investigation of LWS from Vietnam, Commerce received scope comments
from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum to address these comments.\4\ In response to Commerce's
invitation to comment on its preliminary scope determination, Commerce
received scope comments from Halsted Corporation (Halsted),\5\ and
rebuttal comments from the petitioners.\6\ However, Commerce rejected
Halsted's scope comments because they contained untimely filed new
factual information.\7\ Because Halsted's scope comments have been
removed from the record of these investigations and Halsted did not
file a redacted version of its scope comments within the deadline
allotted by Commerce, Halsted's comments have not been considered in
these investigations.\8\ Furthermore, because the petitioners' rebuttal
comments respond to Halsted's comments, which have been removed from
the record of these investigations, Commerce has not considered the
petitioners' comments. Therefore, Commerce has made no changes to the
scope of these investigations since the Preliminary Determination.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Investigations of Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam: Preliminary Scope Determination,'' dated October 3, 2018
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
\5\ See Letter from Halstead, ``Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Investigations of Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam: Rejection of Untimely Filed Factual
Information,'' dated December 12, 2018 (rejecting Halsted
Corporation's November 13, 2018 scope brief).
\6\ See Letter from Petitioners, ``Investigation of Laminated
Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Petitioners''
Rebuttal Scope Brief,'' dated November 19, 2018.
\7\ See Letter from Commerce, ``Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Investigations of Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam: Rejection of Untimely Filed Factual
Information,'' dated December 12, 2018; see also Letter from
Halstead, ``Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations of
Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:
Request for Withdrawal of Scope Comments,'' dated February 8, 2019.
\8\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analysis of Subsidy Programs and Comments Received
The subsidy programs under investigation and the issues raised in
the case briefs by parties in this investigation are discussed in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues that parties
raised, and to which we responded in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum, is attached to this notice at Appendix II.
Methodology
Commerce conducted this investigation in accordance with section
701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found countervailable,
Commerce determines that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial
contribution by an ``authority'' that gives rise to a benefit to the
recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\9\ For a full description
of the methodology underlying our final determination, see the Issues
and Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In making these findings, Commerce, in part, selected from among
the facts otherwise available and, because it determined that one or
more interested parties did not act to the best of their ability to
respond to Commerce's requests for information, Commerce used an
adverse inference where appropriate in selecting from among the facts
otherwise available.\10\ For further information, see ``Use of Facts
Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences'' in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ See sections 776(a), (b), and 782(d) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from the
interested parties and our findings at verification, we made certain
changes to the respondents'' subsidy rate calculations. For a
discussion of these changes, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
[[Page 14649]]
Final Determination
In accordance with section 705(c)(l)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, we
calculated a rate for Duong Vinh Hoa Packaging Company Limited (DVH
Packaging), a producer/exporter of subject merchandise selected for
individual examination in this investigation. With regard to Xinsheng
Plastic Industry Co. Ltd. (Xinsheng), for the reasons described in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum, Commerce assigned a rate based entirely
on adverse facts available pursuant to section 776 of the Act.
Section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that in the final
determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated all-others rate
for companies not individually examined. This rate shall be an amount
equal to the weighted average of the estimated subsidy rates
established for those companies individually examined, excluding any
zero and de minimis rates and any rates based entirely under section
776 of the Act. DVH Packaging is the only respondent for which Commerce
calculated an estimated weighted-average dumping margin that is not
zero, de minimis , or based entirely on facts otherwise available.
Therefore, for purposes of determining the ``all-others'' rate, and
pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A) of the Act, we are using the subsidy
rate calculated for DVH Packaging.
Commerce determines the countervailable subsidy rates to be:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subsidy
Company rate
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Duong Vinh Hoa Packaging Company Limited.................... 3.02
Xinsheng Plastic Industry Co. Ltd........................... 198.87
All-Others.................................................. 3.02
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculations performed to parties in this
proceeding, for this final determination, within five days of the date
of publication of our final determination, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
As a result of our affirmative Preliminary Determination and
pursuant to sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we instructed
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of any
entries of merchandise under consideration from Vietnam that were
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after
August 13, 2018, which is the publication date in the Federal Register
of the Preliminary Determination. In accordance with section 703(d) of
the Act, we issued instructions to CBP to discontinue the suspension of
liquidation for CVD purposes for subject merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, on or after December 11, 2018, but to
continue the suspension of liquidation of all entries from August 13,
2018, through December 10, 2018.
International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, we will notify the
ITC of the final affirmative determination of countervailable subsidies
are being provided to producers and exporters of LWS from Vietnam.
Because Commerce's final determination is affirmative, in accordance
with section 705(b) of the Act, the ITC will make its final
determination as to whether the domestic industry in the United States
is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of
imports, or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation of LWS
from Vietnam no later than 45 days after this final determination. If
the ITC determines that such injury does not exist, this proceeding
will be terminated and all cash deposits will be refunded or canceled.
If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce will issue
a countervailing duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further
instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on all imports of the
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of
liquidation, as discussed above in the ``Continuation of Suspension of
Liquidation'' section.
Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders
This notice will serve as the only reminder to parties subject to
an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of
proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of
APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby
requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO
is a violation which is subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
705(d) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: April 4, 2019.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise covered by this investigation is laminated woven
sacks. Laminated woven sacks are bags consisting of one or more
plies of fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven
polyethylene strip, regardless of the width of the strip; with or
without an extrusion coating of polypropylene and/or polyethylene on
one or both sides of the fabric; laminated by any method either to
an exterior ply of plastic film such as biaxially-oriented
polypropylene (BOPP), polyester (PET), polyethylene (PE), nylon, or
any film suitable for printing, or to an exterior ply of paper;
printed; displaying, containing, or comprising three or more visible
colors (e.g., laminated woven sacks printed with three different
shades of blue would be covered by the scope), not including the
color of the woven fabric; regardless of the type of printing
process used; with or without lining; with or without handles; with
or without special closing features (including, but not limited to,
closures that are sewn, glued, easy-open (e.g., tape or thread), re-
closable (e.g., slider, hook and loop, zipper), hot-welded,
adhesive-welded, or press-to-close); whether finished or unfinished
(e.g., whether or not closed on one end and whether or not in roll
form, including, but not limited to, sheets, lay-flat, or formed in
tubes); not exceeding one kilogram in actual weight. Laminated woven
sacks produced in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are subject to
the scope regardless of the country of origin of the fabric used to
make the sack.
The scope of this investigation excludes laminated woven sacks
having each of the following physical characteristics: (1) No side
greater than 24 inches, (2) weight less than 100 grams, (3) an open
top that is neither sealable nor closable, the rim of which is
hemmed or sewn around the entire circumference, (4) carry handles
sewn on the open end, (5) side gussets, and (6) either a bottom
gusset or a square or rectangular bottom. The excluded items with
the above-mentioned physical characteristics may be referred to as
reusable shopping bags.
Subject laminated woven sacks are currently classifiable under
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings
6305.33.0040 and 6305.33.0080. If entered with plastic coating on
both sides of the fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip
and/or woven polyethylene strip, laminated woven sacks may be
classifiable under HTSUS subheadings 3923.21.0080, 3923.21.0095, and
3923.29.0000. If entered not closed on one end or in roll form
(including, but not limited to, sheets, lay-flat tubing, and
sleeves), laminated woven sacks may be
[[Page 14650]]
classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings, including 3917.39.0050,
3921.90.1100, 3921.90.1500, and 5903.90.2500. If the polypropylene
strips and/or polyethylene strips making up the fabric measure more
than 5 millimeters in width, laminated woven sacks may be
classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings including
4601.99.0500,4601.99.9000, and 4602.90.0000. Although HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. List of Issues
III. Background
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Subsidies Valuation Information
VII. Benchmarks and Interest Rates
VIII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Analysis of Comments
XI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2019-07197 Filed 4-10-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
