Notice2023-28843
Mattresses From Indonesia: Preliminary Negative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With the Final Antidumping Duty Determination
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
January 2, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are not being provided to producers and exporters of mattresses from Indonesia. The period of investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 2, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57-59]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28843]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-560-839]
Mattresses From Indonesia: Preliminary Negative Countervailing
Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With the Final
Antidumping Duty Determination
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that countervailable subsidies are not being provided to
producers and exporters of mattresses from Indonesia. The period of
investigation (POI) is January 1, 2022, through December 31, 2022.
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable January 2, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Natasia Harrison or Harrison Tanchuck,
AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, Enforcement and Compliance, International
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1240 or (202)
482-7421, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this countervailing duty (CVD)
investigation on August 23, 2023.\1\ On October 5, 2023, Commerce
postponed the preliminary determination until December 26, 2023.\2\
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\1\ See Mattresses from Indonesia: Initiation of Countervailing
Duty Investigation, 88 FR 57412 (August 23, 2023) (Initiation
Notice).
\2\ See Mattresses from Indonesia: Postponement of Preliminary
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation, 88 FR 69132
(October 5, 2023).
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For a complete description of events that followed the initiation
of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\3\ A
list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is
included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 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 <a href="https://access.trade.gov">https://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly
at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Negative Determination of the Countervailing Duty Investigation of
Mattresses from Indonesia,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby
adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are mattresses from
Indonesia. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ the
Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise
issues regarding product coverage, (i.e., scope).\5\ We received
comments concerning the scope of the concurrent antidumping duty (AD)
investigations of mattresses as it appeared in the Initiation
Notice.\6\ We are currently evaluating the scope comments filed by the
interested parties and intend to issue our preliminary decision
regarding the scope of the AD and CVD investigations prior to or
concurrently with the AD preliminary determinations. We will
incorporate the scope decisions from the AD investigations into the
scope of the final CVD determination for this investigation, after
considering any relevant comments submitted in scope case and rebuttal
briefs.\7\
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\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\5\ See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 57413.
\6\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 5-6.
\7\ The deadline for interested parties to submit scope case and
rebuttal briefs will be established in the preliminary scope
decision memorandum.
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[[Page 58]]
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 701 of the Act. For each subsidy program found to be
countervailable, Commerce preliminarily 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.\8\ For a full description of the methodology underlying our
preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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\8\ 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.
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Alignment
In accordance with section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(b)(4), Commerce is aligning the final CVD determination in this
investigation with the final determination in the concurrent AD
investigations of mattresses from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Burma, India, Italy, Kosovo, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Slovenia,
Spain, and Taiwan based on a request made by the petitioners.\9\
Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same
date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be
issued no later than May 8, 2024, unless postponed.
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\9\ The petitioners are: Brooklyn Bedding LLC; Carpenter Co.;
Corsicana Mattress Company; Future Foam, Inc.; FXI, Inc.; Kolcraft
Enterprises, Inc.; Leggett & Platt, Incorporated; Serta Simmons
Bedding, LLC; Southerland, Inc.; Tempur Sealy International; the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters; and the United Steel, Paper
and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and
Service Workers International Union, AFL-CIO. See Petitioners'
Letter, ``Mattress Petitioners' Request for Alignment of the
Countervailing Duty Investigation with Concurrent Antidumping Duty
Investigations,'' dated November 13, 2023.
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Preliminary Determination
For this preliminary determination, Commerce calculated de minimis
estimated countervailable subsidies for each individually examined
producer(s)/export(s) of the subject merchandise. Consistent with
section 703(b)(4)(A) of the Act, Commerce is disregarding the de
minimis rates and we preliminarily determine that countervailable
subsidies are not being provided to producers/exporters of the subject
merchandise in Indonesia.
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated net
countervailable subsidy rates exist:
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Company Subsidy rate (percent)
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PT Grantec Jaya Indonesia \10\............. 0.20 (de minimis).
PT Zinus Global Indonesia.................. 0.03 (de minimis).
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Consistent with section 703(d) of the Act, Commerce has not
calculated an estimated weighted-average subsidy rate for all other
producers and exporters because it has not made an affirmative
preliminary determination.
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\10\ As discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum,
Commerce preliminarily determines PT Grantec Jaya Indonesia is
cross-owned with PT Ecos Jaya Indonesia.
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Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose its calculations and analysis
performed to interested parties in this preliminary determination
within five days of its public announcement, or if there is no public
announcement, within five days of the date of the publication of this
notice, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Suspension of Liquidation
Because Commerce preliminarily determines that no countervailable
subsidies are being provided to the production or exportation of
subject merchandise, Commerce will not direct U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to suspend liquidation of any such entries.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to
verify the information relied upon in making its final determination.
Public Comment
All interested parties will have the opportunity to submit scope
case and rebuttal briefs on the preliminary decision regarding the
scope of the AD and CVD investigations. The deadlines to submit scope
case and rebuttal briefs will be provided in the preliminary scope
decision memorandum. For all scope case and rebuttal briefs, parties
must file identical documents simultaneously on the records of the
ongoing AD and CVD investigations. No new factual information or
business proprietary information may be included in either scope case
or rebuttal briefs.
Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Interested parties will be notified of the timeline for the submission
of case briefs and written comments at a later date. Rebuttal briefs,
limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later
than five days after the date for filing case briefs.\11\ Interested
parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding
must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and (2) a
table of authorities.\12\
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\11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29,
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
\12\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes. In this investigation, we instead request
that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a
public, executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\13\
Further, we request that interested parties limit their executive
summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including
citations. We intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the
comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that
will accompany the final determination in this investigation. We
request that interested parties include footnotes for relevant
citations in the executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce
has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of
documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).\14\
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\13\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\14\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of
participants, and a list of the issues to be discussed. Oral
presentations at the hearing will be limited to issues raised in the
briefs. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of
the time and date for the hearing.\15\
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\15\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S.
[[Page 59]]
International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If the final
determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later
of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days
after the final determination whether imports of mattresses from
Indonesia are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the
U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: December 26, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are all types of
youth and adult mattresses. The term ``mattress'' denotes an
assembly of materials that at a minimum includes a ``core,'' which
provides the main support system of the mattress, and may consist of
innersprings, foam, other resilient filling, or a combination of
these materials. Mattresses also may contain: (1) ``upholstery,''
the material between the core and the top panel of the ticking on a
single-sided mattress, or between the core and the top and bottom
panel of the ticking on a double-sided mattress; and/or (2)
``ticking,'' the outermost layer of fabric or other material (e.g.,
vinyl) that encloses the core and any upholstery, also known as a
cover.
The scope of this investigation is restricted to only ``adult
mattresses'' and ``youth mattresses.'' ``Adult mattresses'' are
frequently described as ``twin,'' ``extra-long twin,'' ``full,''
``queen,'' ``king,'' or ``California king'' mattresses. ``Youth
mattresses'' are typically described as ``crib,'' ``toddler,'' or
``youth'' mattresses. All adult and youth mattresses are included
regardless of size and size description or how they are described
(e.g., frameless futon mattress and tri-fold mattress).
The scope encompasses all types of ``innerspring mattresses,''
``non-innerspring mattresses,'' and ``hybrid mattresses.''
``Innerspring mattresses'' contain innersprings, a series of metal
springs joined together in sizes that correspond to the dimensions
of mattresses. Mattresses that contain innersprings are referred to
as ``innerspring mattresses'' or ``hybrid mattresses.'' ``Hybrid
mattresses'' contain two or more support systems as the core, such
as layers of both memory foam and innerspring units.
``Non-innerspring mattresses'' are those that do not contain any
innerspring units. They are generally produced from foams (e.g.,
polyurethane, memory (viscoelastic), latex foam, gel infused
viscoelastic (gel foam), thermobonded polyester, polyethylene) or
other resilient filling.
Mattresses covered by the scope of this investigation may be
imported independently, as part of furniture or furniture mechanisms
(e.g., convertible sofa bed mattresses, sofa bed mattresses imported
with sofa bed mechanisms, corner group mattresses, day-bed
mattresses, roll-away bed mattresses, high risers, trundle bed
mattresses, crib mattresses), or as part of a set (in combination
with a ``mattress foundation''). ``Mattress foundations'' are any
base or support for a mattress. Mattress foundations are commonly
referred to as ``foundations,'' ``boxsprings,'' ``platforms,'' and/
or ``bases.'' Bases can be static, foldable, or adjustable. Only the
mattress is covered by the scope if imported as part of furniture,
with furniture mechanisms, or as part of a set, in combination with
a mattress foundation.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are ``futon''
mattresses. A ``futon'' is a bi-fold frame made of wood, metal, or
plastic material, or any combination thereof, that functions as both
seating furniture (such as a couch, love seat, or sofa) and a bed. A
``futon mattress'' is a tufted mattress, where the top covering is
secured to the bottom with thread that goes completely through the
mattress from the top through to the bottom, and it does not contain
innersprings or foam. A futon mattress is both the bed and seating
surface for the futon.
Also excluded from the scope are airbeds (including inflatable
mattresses) and waterbeds, which consist of air- or liquid-filled
bladders as the core or main support system of the mattress.
Also excluded is certain multifunctional furniture that is
convertible from seating to sleeping, regardless of filler material
or components, where such filler material or components are
upholstered, integrated into the design and construction of, and
inseparable from, the furniture framing, and the outermost layer of
the multifunctional furniture converts into the sleeping surface.
Such furniture may, and without limitation, be commonly referred to
as ``convertible sofas,'' ``sofabeds,'' ``sofa chaise sleepers,''
``futons,'' ``ottoman sleepers,'' or a like description.
Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are any
products covered by the existing antidumping duty orders on
uncovered innerspring units from the People's Republic of China,
South Africa, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. See Uncovered
Innerspring Units from the People's Republic of China, South Africa,
and Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Continuation of Antidumping Duty
Orders, 84 FR 55285 (October 16, 2019).
Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are bassinet
pads with a nominal length of less than 39 inches, a nominal width
of less than 25 inches, and a nominal depth of less than 2 inches.
Additionally, also excluded from the scope of this investigation
are ``mattress toppers.'' A ``mattress topper'' is a removable
bedding accessory that supplements a mattress by providing an
additional layer that is placed on top of a mattress. Excluded
mattress toppers have a height of four inches or less.
The products subject to this investigation are currently
classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS) subheadings: 9404.21.0010, 9404.21.0013, 9404.21.0095,
9404.29.1005, 9404.29.1013, 9404.29.1095, 9404.29.9085,
9404.29.9087, and 9404.29.9095. Products subject to this
investigation may also enter under HTSUS subheadings: 9401.41.0000,
9401.49.0000, and 9401.99.9081. Although the HTSUS subheadings are
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the merchandise subject to this investigation is
dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Injury Test
VI. Subsidies Valuation
VII. Benchmark Interest Rates and Discount Rates
VIII. Analysis of Programs
IX. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2023-28843 Filed 12-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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