Paper File Folders From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value, 69141-69142 [2023-22195]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 192 (Thursday, October 5, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69141-69142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22195]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-147]


Paper File Folders From the People's Republic of China: Final 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
paper file folders from the People's Republic of China (China) are 
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair 
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is April 1, 2022, through 
September 30, 2022.

DATES: Applicable October 5, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Horn, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4868.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On May 17, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register the 
Preliminary Determination in this investigation.\1\ On May 31, 2023, 
Commerce published the postponement of the final determination deadline 
until September 29, 2023.\2\
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    \1\ See Paper File Folders from the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair 
Value, 88 FR 31485 (May 17, 2023) (Preliminary Determination), and 
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
    \2\ See Paper File Folders from the People's Republic of China: 
Postponement of Final Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 
Investigation, 88 FR 34827 (May 31, 2023).
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    We received no comments or case briefs addressing any of the 
findings in the Preliminary Determination; therefore, there is no 
Decision Memorandum accompanying this notice.

Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are paper file folders 
from China. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the appendix to this notice.

Scope Comments

    During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope 
comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope 
Memorandum to address these comments and set aside a period of time for 
parties to address scope issues in scope-specific case and rebuttal 
briefs.\3\ We did not receive comments from any interested parties on 
the Preliminary Scope Memorandum. We, therefore, did not make any 
changes to the scope of the investigation from the scope published in 
the Preliminary Determination, as noted in the appendix.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' 
dated May 10, 2023 (Preliminary Scope Memorandum).
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China-Wide Entity and Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)

    For the purposes of this final determination, consistent with the 
Preliminary Determination,\4\ we relied solely on the application of 
AFA for the China-wide entity, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of 
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Further, because no 
companies are eligible for a rate separate from the China-wide entity, 
we continue to find that all exporters of Chinese paper file folders 
are part of the China-wide entity. No interested party submitted 
comments on the Preliminary Determination. Thus, we made no changes to 
our analysis or to the China-wide entity's dumping margin for the final 
determination. A detailed discussion of our application of AFA is 
provided in the Preliminary Determination.\5\
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    \4\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 7-11.
    \5\ Id.
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Combination Rates

    Because no Chinese exporters qualified for a separate rate, 
producer/exporter combination rates were not calculated for this final 
determination.

Final Determination

    The final estimated weighted-average dumping margin is as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                    Exporter/producer                     dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
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China-Wide Entity.......................................          192.70
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Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce will disclose to the parties in a proceeding the 
calculations performed in connection with a final determination within 
five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public 
announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the notice 
of final determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 
CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce continues to find that all 
Chinese exporters of paper file folders are part of the China-wide 
entity and continues to rely solely on the application of AFA for the 
China-wide entity, there are no calculations to disclose for this final 
determination.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to 
suspend liquidation of subject merchandise, as described in the 
appendix to this notice, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption, on or after May 17, 2023, which is the date of publication 
of the affirmative Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register, 
at the cash deposit rate indicated above.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(d), we will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for such 
entries of merchandise equal to the amount by which the normal value 
exceeds the U.S. price as follows: (1) for all Chinese exporters of 
subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the 
estimated dumping margin established for the China-wide entity; and (2) 
for all third country exporters of subject merchandise, the cash 
deposit rate is also the cash deposit

[[Page 69142]]

rate applicable to the China-wide entity. These suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of our final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. We will allow the ITC access to all 
privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided 
the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information, either 
publicly or under an administrative protective order (APO), without the 
written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance.
    Because the final determination in this proceeding is affirmative, 
in accordance with section 735(b)(2) 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 of paper file folders from China no later than 45 
days after our final determination. If the ITC determines that material 
injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will 
be terminated and all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC 
determines that such injury does exist, Commerce intends to issue an 
antidumping duty order, in accordance with section 736(a) of the Act, 
directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, 
antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise that are 
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.

Administrative Protective Order

    In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury 
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties 
subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the disposition 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 in pursuant to sections 
735(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

    Dated: September 29, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Investigation

    The products within the scope of this investigation are file 
folders consisting primarily of paper, paperboard, pressboard, or 
other cellulose material, whether coated or uncoated, that has been 
folded (or creased in preparation to be folded), glued, taped, 
bound, or otherwise assembled to be suitable for holding documents. 
The scope includes all such folders, regardless of color, whether or 
not expanding, whether or not laminated, and with or without tabs, 
fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, hangers, pockets, gussets, or 
internal dividers. The term ``primarily'' as used in the first 
sentence of this scope means 50 percent or more of the total product 
weight, exclusive of the weight of fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, 
hangers, removable tabs, and similar accessories, and exclusive of 
the weight of packaging.
    Subject folders have the following dimensions in their folded 
and closed position: lengths and widths of at least 8 inches and no 
greater than 17 inches, regardless of depth.
    The scope covers all varieties of folders, including but not 
limited to manila folders, hanging folders, fastener folders, 
classification folders, expanding folders, pockets, jackets, and 
wallets.
    Excluded from the scope are:
     mailing envelopes with a flap bearing one or more 
adhesive strips that can be used permanently to seal the entire 
length of a side such that, when sealed, the folder is closed on all 
four sides;
     binders, with two or more rings to hold documents in 
place, made from paperboard or pressboard encased entirely in 
plastic;
     binders consisting of a front cover, back cover, and 
spine, with or without a flap; to be excluded, a mechanism with two 
or more metal rings must be included on or adjacent to the interior 
spine;
     non-expanding folders with a depth exceeding 2.5 inches 
and that are closed or closeable on the top, bottom, and all four 
sides (e.g., boxes or cartons);
     expanding folders that have (1) 13 or more pockets, (2) 
a flap covering the top, (3) a latching mechanism made of plastic 
and/or metal to close the flap, and (4) an affixed plastic or metal 
carry handle;
     folders that have an outer surface (other than the 
gusset, handles, and/or closing mechanisms, if any) that is covered 
entirely with fabric, leather, and/or faux leather;
     fashion folders, which are defined as folders with all 
of the following characteristics: (1) plastic lamination covering 
the entire exterior of the folder, (2) printing, foil stamping, 
embossing (i.e., raised relief patterns that are recessed on the 
opposite side), and/or debossing (i.e., recessed relief patterns 
that are raised on the opposite side), covering the entire exterior 
surface area of the folder, (3) at least two visible and printed or 
foil stamped colors (other than the color of the base paper), each 
of which separately covers no less than 10 percent of the entire 
exterior surface area, and (4) patterns, pictures, designs, or 
artwork covering no less than thirty percent of the exterior surface 
area of the folder;
     portfolios, which are folders having (1) a width of at 
least 16 inches when open flat, (2) no tabs or dividers, and (3) one 
or more pockets that are suitable for holding letter size documents 
and that cover at least 15 percent of the surface area of the 
relevant interior side or sides; and
     report covers, which are folders having (1) no tabs, 
dividers, or pockets, and (2) one or more fasteners or clips, each 
of which is permanently affixed to the center fold, to hold papers 
securely in place.
    Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) category 
4820.30.0040. Subject imports may also enter under other HTSUS 
classifications. While the HTSUS subheading is provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of the investigation is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2023-22195 Filed 10-4-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P