Notice2023-28944
Certain Paper Shopping Bags From the Republic of Turkey: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value
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 3, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that certain paper shopping bags (paper bags) from the Republic of Turkey (Turkey) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 339-341]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-28944]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-489-849]
Certain Paper Shopping Bags From the Republic of Turkey:
Preliminary 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) preliminarily
determines that certain paper shopping bags (paper bags) from the
Republic of Turkey (Turkey) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the
United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of
investigation (POI) is April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary
determination.
DATES: Applicable January 3, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Pedersen or Luke Caruso, 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) 482-2769 or (202) 482-2081,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce
published the notice of initiation of this investigation in the Federal
Register on June 27, 2023.\1\ On October 3, 2023, Commerce postponed
the preliminary determination of this investigation until December 27,
2023.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See Certain Paper Shopping Bags from Cambodia, the People's
Republic of China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, the
Republic of Turkey, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:
Initiation of Less-Than-Fair Value Investigations, 88 FR 41589 (June
27, 2023) (Initiation Notice).
\2\ See Certain Paper Shopping Bags from Cambodia, the People's
Republic of China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, the
Republic of Turkey, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:
Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair
Value Investigations, 88 FR 68097 (October 3, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
For a complete description of the events that followed the
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics included 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>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value in the
Investigation of Certain Paper Shopping Bags from the Republic of
Turkey,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are paper bags from
Turkey. 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\ in
the Initiation Notice Commerce set aside a period of time for parties
to raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain
interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product
coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for
this investigation and accompanying discussion and analysis of all
comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum.\6\ As discussed in the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily modified the scope language as it
appeared in the Initiation Notice. In the Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum, Commerce established the deadline for parties to submit
scope case and rebuttal briefs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule,
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).
\5\ See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 41590.
\6\ See Memorandum, ``Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,''
dated concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Scope Decision
Memorandum).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to section 776(a) and (b) of the Act,
Commerce has preliminarily determined an estimated weighted-average
dumping margin based upon the facts otherwise available, with adverse
inferences (AFA), to the 15 companies that failed to respond to
Commerce's quantity and value questionnaire and both mandatory
respondents, Artpack Kagit Ambalaj Anonim Sirketi (Artpack) and Oztas
Ambalaj Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. (Oztas). For a full description of the
methodology underlying the preliminary determination, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
All-Others Rate
Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in
the preliminary determination Commerce shall determine an estimated
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not assigned individual
rates. This rate shall be an amount equal to the weighted average of
the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for
exporters and producers individually investigated, excluding rates that
are zero, de minimis or determined entirely under section 776 of the
Act. However, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for all
exporters and producers individually examined are zero, de minimis or
determined based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may
use any reasonable method to establish the estimated
[[Page 340]]
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers or exporters.
Commerce has preliminarily determined the estimated dumping margin
for each of the individually examined respondents under sections 776(a)
and (b) of the Act. Consequently, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of
the Act, Commerce's normal practice under these circumstances has been
to calculate the all-others rate as a simple average of the dumping
margins alleged in the petition.\7\ For a full description of the
methodology underlying Commerce's analysis, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of
Germany, 73 FR 21909, 21912 (April 23, 2008), unchanged in Notice of
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite
from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 38986, 38987 (July 8,
2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2;
see also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value: Raw Flexible Magnets from Taiwan, 73 FR 39673, 39674 (July
10, 2008); Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 78 FR 79670,
79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in Steel Threaded Rod from
Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR
14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preliminary Determination
Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated
dumping margins exist:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dumping
Exporter or producer margin
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artpack Kagit Ambalaj Anonim Sirketi........................ * 47.56
Oztas Ambalaj Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S......................... * 47.56
Babet Kagitsilik............................................ * 47.56
Bati Kraft Torba Ambalaj.................................... * 47.56
BFT Packaging............................................... * 47.56
Cicupack Ambalaj............................................ * 47.56
Ekopack Kagit Ambalaj....................................... * 47.56
Elhadefler A.S.............................................. * 47.56
Esda Pack Ambalaj........................................... * 47.56
Haypack Ambalaj............................................. * 47.56
Jefira Global Dis........................................... * 47.56
Kahramanmara[scedil] Ka[gbreve][inodot]t Sanayi ve Ticaret * 47.56
Anonim [Scedil]irketi......................................
Multi Kraft Ambalaj......................................... * 47.56
Rad Tekstil................................................. * 47.56
Suleyman Tabak Kagitcilik................................... * 47.56
Sunvision Tekstil........................................... * 47.56
Umur Basim.................................................. * 47.56
Yildez Paper Bag Ambalaj Pazarlama.......................... * 47.56
All Others.................................................. 26.32
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Rate based on AFA.
Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in Appendix I, entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant
to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated weighted-
average dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate, as follows:
(1) the cash deposit rate for the respondents listed in the table above
will be equal to the company-specific estimated dumping margins
determined in this preliminary determination; (2) if the exporter is
not a respondent identified in the table above, but the producer is,
then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific
estimated dumping margin established for that producer of the subject
merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and
exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated dumping margin.
These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect
until further notice.
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce discloses to parties to the proceeding the
calculations performed in connection with a preliminary 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 preliminary determination in the Federal Register, in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied
AFA to the individually-examined companies Artpack and Oztas in this
investigation, in accordance with sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act,
and the applied AFA rate is based solely on the petition, there are no
calculations to disclose.
Verification
Because the mandatory respondents in this investigation did not
provide the information that was requested by Commerce, and Commerce
preliminarily determines that each of the mandatory respondents have
been uncooperative, it will not conduct verification.
Public Comment
Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than 21
days after the date of publication of the preliminary determination in
the Federal Register.\8\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in
case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for
filing case briefs.\9\ 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.\10\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i); and 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filling requirements). Commerce has exercised its discretion under
19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i) to alter the time limit for submission of
case briefs.
\9\ 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).
\10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.\11\
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).\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\12\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 in the Federal Register.
Requests for a hearing should contain: (1) the requesting party's name,
address, and telephone number; (2) the number of individuals associated
with the requesting party that will attend the hearing and whether any
of those individuals is a foreign national; and (3) a list of the
issues the party intends to discuss at the hearing.
[[Page 341]]
If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the
hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time and date to be determined. Parties
should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing
two days before the scheduled hearing date.
Final Determination
Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that
Commerce will issue the final determination within 75 days after the
date of its preliminary determination. Accordingly, Commerce will make
its final determination no later than 75 days after the signature date
of this preliminary determination, unless extended.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification
In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary
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 these imports are materially injuring, or threaten material
injury to, the U.S. industry.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination is issued and published in accordance with
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).
Dated: December 27, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The products within the scope of this investigation are paper
shopping bags with handles of any type, regardless of whether there
is any printing, regardless of how the top edges are finished (e.g.,
folded, serrated, or otherwise finished), regardless of color, and
regardless of whether the top edges contain adhesive or other
material for sealing closed. Subject paper shopping bags have a
width of at least 4.5 inches and depth of at least 2.5 inches.
Paper shopping bags typically are made of kraft paper but can be
made from any type of cellulose fiber, paperboard, or pressboard
with a basis weight less than 300 grams per square meter (GSM).
A non-exhaustive illustrative list of the types of handles on
shopping bags covered by the scope include handles made from any
materials such as twisted paper, flat paper, yarn, ribbon, rope,
string, or plastic, as well as die-cut handles (whether the punchout
is fully removed or partially attached as a flap).
Excluded from the scope are:
<bullet> Paper sacks or bags that are of a \1/6\ or \1/7\ barrel
size (i.e., 11.5-12.5 inches in width, 6.5-7.5 inches in depth, and
13.5-17.5 inches in height) with flat paper handles or die-cut
handles;
<bullet> Paper sacks or bags with die-cut handles, a grams per
square meter paper weight of less than 86 GSM, and a height of less
than 11.5 inches; and
<bullet> Paper sacks or bags (i) with non-paper handles made
wholly of woven ribbon or other similar woven fabric and (ii) that
are finished with folded tops or for which tied knots or t-bar
aglets (made of wood, metal, or plastic) are used to secure the
handles to the bags.
The above-referenced dimensions are provided for paper bags in
the opened position. The height of the bag is the distance from the
bottom fold edge to the top edge (i.e., excluding the height of
handles that extend above the top edge). The depth of the bag is the
distance from the front of the bag edge to the back of the bag edge
(typically measured at the bottom of the bag). The width of the bag
is measured from the left to the right edges of the front and back
panels (upon which the handles typically are located).
This merchandise is currently classifiable under Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings
4819.30.0040 and 4819.40.0040. The HTSUS subheadings are provided
for convenience and customs purposes only; the written description
of the scope is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inferences
V. All-Others Rate
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2023-28944 Filed 1-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 3, 2024.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.