Notice2023-03300
Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of No Shipments and Rescission of Review in Part; 2021-2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 16, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds that Dongguan Nozawa Plastics Products Co., Ltd. and United Power Packaging, Ltd. (collectively, Nozawa) had no shipments of polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs) from the People's Republic of China (China) during the period of review (POR), August 1, 2021, through July 31, 2022. In addition, Commerce is rescinding this administrative review, in part, for Crown Polyethylene Products (International) Ltd. (Crown), for which the review request was withdrawn. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results of review.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10090-10092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03300]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-886]
Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From the People's Republic of
China: Preliminary Determination of No Shipments and Rescission of
Review in Part; 2021-2022
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily finds
that Dongguan Nozawa Plastics Products Co., Ltd. and United Power
Packaging, Ltd. (collectively, Nozawa) had no shipments of polyethylene
retail carrier bags (PRCBs) from the People's Republic of China (China)
during the period of review (POR), August 1, 2021, through July 31,
2022. In addition, Commerce is rescinding this administrative review,
in part, for Crown Polyethylene Products (International) Ltd. (Crown),
for which the review request was withdrawn. We invite interested
parties to comment on these preliminary results of review.
DATES: Applicable February 16, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Williams, AD/CVD
Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5166.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On August 9, 2004, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
antidumping duty order on PRCBs from China.\1\ On August 2, 2022,
Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to
request an administrative review of the Order.\2\ On August 31, 2022,
the petitioners \3\ timely requested an administrative review of the
Order with respect to Nozawa and Crown.\4\ Commerce received no other
requests for an administrative review of the Order. On October 11,
2022, pursuant to section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), Commerce initiated this
administrative review.\5\ On November 29, 2022, the petitioners timely
withdrew their request for an administrative review of Crown.\6\
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\1\ See Antidumping Duty Order: Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags
from the People's Republic of China, 69 FR 48201 (August 9, 2004)
(Order).
\2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative
Review, 87 FR 47187 (August 2, 2022).
\3\ The petitioners are the Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bag
Committee and its individual members, Hilex Poly Co., LLC and
Superbag Corporation.
\4\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags
from the People's Republic of China: Request for Administrative
Review,'' dated August 31, 2022.
\5\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 61278 (October 11, 2022).
\6\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags
from the People's Republic of China: Partial Withdrawal of Request
for Administrative Review,'' dated November 29, 2022.
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Scope of the Order
The products covered by the Order are PRCBs which may be referred
to as t-shirt sacks, merchandise bags, grocery bags, or checkout bags.
The subject merchandise is defined as non-sealable sacks and bags with
handles (including drawstrings), without zippers or integral extruded
closures, with or without gussets, with or without printing, of
polyethylene film having a thickness no greater than 0.035 inch (0.889
mm) and no less than 0.00035 inch (0.00889 mm), and with no length or
width shorter than 6 inches (15.24 cm) or longer than 40 inches (101.6
cm). The depth of the bag may be shorter than 6 inches but not longer
than 40 inches (101.6 cm).
PRCBs are typically provided without any consumer packaging and
free of charge by retail establishments, e.g., grocery, drug,
convenience, department, specialty retail, discount stores, and
restaurants, to their customers to package and carry their purchased
products. The scope of the Order excludes (1) polyethylene bags that
are not printed with logos or store names and that are closeable with
drawstrings made of polyethylene film and (2) polyethylene bags that
are packed in consumer packaging with printing that refers to specific
end-uses other than packaging and carrying merchandise from retail
establishments, e.g., garbage bags, lawn bags, trash-can liners.
Imports of the subject merchandise are currently classifiable under
statistical category 3923.21.0090 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS). This subheading also covers products that
are outside the scope of the Order. Furthermore, although the HTSUS
subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, our
written description of the scope of the Order is dispositive.
Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an
administrative review, in whole or in part, if the party that requested
a review withdraws its request within 90 days of the date of
publication of the notice of initiation. Because the petitioners timely
withdrew their review request for Crown, and no other party requested
an administrative review of Crown, we are rescinding the administrative
review of Crown, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1).
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
On November 9, 2022, Nozawa timely filed a letter certifying that
it had no U.S. exports, sales, or entries of subject merchandise to the
United States during the POR.\7\ We requested that U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) report any information contradicting Nozawa's
claim of no shipments \8\ and in response to our query, CBP confirmed
Nozawa's claim of no shipments of subject merchandize during the
POR.\9\ Therefore, we preliminarily determine that Nozawa had no
shipments of subject merchandise to the United States during the POR.
Consistent with Commerce's practice, we will complete the review of
Nozawa and issue
[[Page 10091]]
appropriate instructions to CBP based on the final results of
review.\10\
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\7\ See Nozawa's Letter, ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from
the People's Republic of China: No Shipment Certification,'' dated
November 9, 2022.
\8\ See CBP message number 2334401 dated November 28, 2022,
available at <a href="https://aceservices.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb/">https://aceservices.cbp.dhs.gov/adcvdweb/</a>.
\9\ See Memorandum, ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from the
People's Republic of China; No Shipment Inquiry for Dongguan Nozawa
Plastics Products Co., Ltd. and United Power Packaging, Ltd. during
the Period 08/01/2021 through 07/31/2022,'' dated January 30, 2023.
\10\ See, e.g., Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Thailand;
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,
Partial Rescission of Review, Preliminary Determination of No
Shipments; 2012-2013, 79 FR 15951, 15952 (March 24, 2014), unchanged
in Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Thailand: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Final Determination of No
Shipments, and Partial Rescission of Review; 2012-2013, 79 FR 51306,
51307 (August 28, 2014).
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China-Wide Entity
Commerce's policy regarding conditional review of the China-wide
entity applies to this administrative review.\11\ Under this policy,
the China-wide entity will not be under review unless a party
specifically requests, or Commerce self-initiates, a review of the
entity. Because no party requested a review of the China-wide entity,
and because we did not self-initiate a review, the China-wide entity
rate (i.e., 77.57 percent) \12\ is not subject to change as a result of
this review.
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\11\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
\12\ See Order, 69 FR at 48203.
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Disclosure and Public Comment
Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations
performed in connection with the preliminary results within five days
of the public announcement, or if there is no public announcement,
within five days of the date of publication of this notice in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce did not
calculate a weighted-average dumping margin for any company in this
review, nor for the China-wide entity, there are no calculations to
disclose.
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested parties may submit
case briefs, filed electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's
Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service
System (ACCESS), no later than 30 days after the date of publication of
this notice. ACCESS is available to registered users at <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case
briefs, may be filed not later than seven days after the date for
filing case briefs.\13\ Note that Commerce has temporarily modified
certain of its requirements for serving documents containing business
proprietary information, until further notice.\14\ Parties submitting
case or rebuttal briefs are encouraged to submit with each argument:
(1) a statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and
(3) a table of authorities.\15\
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\13\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1); see also Temporary Rule Modifying
AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006, 17007
(March 26, 2020) (``To provide adequate time for release of case
briefs via ACCESS, {Enforcement and Compliance{time} intends to
schedule the due date for all rebuttal briefs to be 7 days after
case briefs are filed (while these modifications remain in
effect).'').
\14\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements
Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July
10, 2020).
\15\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via
ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to
those raised in the respective case or rebuttal briefs. An
electronically filed hearing request must be received successfully in
its entirety by Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00
p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this
notice.
Unless extended, Commerce intends to issue the final results of
this administrative review, including the results of its analysis of
the issues raised in any written briefs, not later than 120 days after
the date of publication of this notice pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A)
of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h)(1).
Assessment Rates
Upon issuance of the final results of this review, Commerce will
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate
entries covered by this review.\16\ Because Commerce is rescinding this
administrative review with respect to Crown, Commerce will instruct CBP
to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries of PRCBs from
China from Crown during the POR at rates equal to the cash deposit rate
of estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or
withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR
351.212(c)(1)(i).
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\16\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
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With respect to Nozawa if we continue to find that Nozawa had no
shipments of subject merchandise in the final results, then following
the issuance of the final results of review, Commerce will instruct CBP
to liquidate any suspended entries that entered under Nozawa's case
number (i.e., at the rate applicable to Nozawa) at the China-wide
rate.\17\
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\17\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694, 65695 (October 24, 2011).
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Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier
than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within
90 days of publication).
Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the final results of this review for shipments of the
subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by
section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for previously investigated or
reviewed Chinese and non-Chinese exporters that received a separate
rate in a prior segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will
continue to be the existing exporter-specific rate; (2) for all Chinese
exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be
entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be that for the
China-wide entity (i.e., 77.57 percent); and (3) for all non-Chinese
exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own
rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the Chinese
exporter(s) that supplied that non-Chinese exporter (or, if
unidentified, that of the China-wide entity). These deposit
requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further
notice.
Notification to Importers
This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double
antidumping duties.
Notification to Interested Parties
Commerce is issuing and publishing these preliminary results in
accordance
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with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.213(h)(1) and 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: February 10, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2023-03300 Filed 2-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on February 16, 2023.
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