Notice2024-11483
Certain Paper Shopping Bags From Portugal: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
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
May 24, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain paper shopping bags (paper bags) from Portugal are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 102 (Friday, May 24, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 102 (Friday, May 24, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45845-45847]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11483]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-471-808]
Certain Paper Shopping Bags From Portugal: Final Affirmative
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Negative
Determination of Critical Circumstances
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
certain paper shopping bags (paper bags) from Portugal are being, or
are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value
(LTFV) for the period of investigation April 1, 2022, through March 31,
2023.
DATES: Applicable May 24, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Colin Thrasher, AD/CVD Operations,
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-3004.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On January 3, 2024, Commerce published in the Federal Register its
preliminary determination in the LTFV investigation of paper bags from
Portugal, in which we also postponed
[[Page 45846]]
the final determination until May 17, 2024.\1\ We invited interested
parties to comment on the Preliminary Determination.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Paper Shopping Bags from Portugal: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances, and
Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional
Measures, 89 FR 341 (January 3, 2024) (Preliminary Determination),
and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ See Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 341.
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A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the
Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues
raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in the
Issues and Decision Memorandum.\3\ The Issues and Decision Memorandum
is a public document and is made available to the public via
Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to
registered users at <a href="http://access.trade.gov">http://access.trade.gov</a>. In addition, a complete
version of the Issues and 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 Final
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation
of Certain Paper Shopping Bags from Portugal,'' dated concurrently
with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision
Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are paper bags from
Portugal. For a complete description of the scope of this
investigation, see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope
comments from parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope Decision
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.\4\ We received comments from parties on the Preliminary Scope
Decision Memorandum, which we addressed in the Final Scope Decision
Memorandum.\5\ We made no changes to the scope of the investigation
from the scope published in the Preliminary Determination, as noted in
Appendix I to this notice.
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\4\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair-Value and Countervailing
Duty Investigations of 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: Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated December 27,
2023.
\5\ See Memorandum, ``Less-Than-Fair Value and Countervailing
Duty Investigations of 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: Final Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated March 11, 2024.
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Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
We continue to find that critical circumstances do not exist for
imports of paper bags from Portugal for the mandatory respondent
(Finieco Ind[uacute]stria e Com[eacute]rcio de Embalagens, S.A.
(Finieco)) and for all other producers and exporters pursuant to
sections 735(a)(3)(A) and (B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), and 19 CFR 351.206. For further discussion of this issue,
see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we conducted
verifications of the sales and cost information submitted by Finieco
for use in our final determination. We used standard verification
procedures, including an examination of relevant sales and accounting
records, and original source documents provided by Finieco.\6\
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\6\ See Memorandum, ``Verification of the Sales Responses of
Finieco Ind[uacute]stria e Com[eacute]rcio de Embalagens, SA in the
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Paper Shopping Bags
from Portugal,'' dated March 21, 2024; and Memorandum,
``Verification of the Cost Responses of Finieco Ind[uacute]stria e
Com[eacute]rcio de Embalagens, SA in the Antidumping Duty
Investigation of Certain Paper Shopping Bags from Portugal,'' dated
April 22, 2024.
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Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by
interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues addressed in the Issues
and Decision Memorandum is attached as Appendix II to this notice.
Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
We have made certain changes to the margin calculations for Finieco
since the Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of these changes,
see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
Use of Facts Available
For the purposes of this final determination, we find that pursuant
to section 776(a)(1) of the Act, that the use of facts available is
warranted in determining the calculation of commission expenses in the
U.S. market because necessary information is missing from the record.
For a further discussion of these issues, see the Issues and Decision
Memorandum.
All Others Rate
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated
weighted-average dumping margin for all other producers and exporters
not individually investigated shall be 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.
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 weighted-average dumping
margin for all other producers or exporters.
Commerce calculated an individual estimated weighted-average
dumping margin for Finieco, the only individually examined exporter/
producer in this investigation. Because the only individually
calculated dumping margin is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on
facts otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average dumping
margin calculated for Finieco is the margin assigned to all other
producers and exporters, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act.
Final Determination
The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as
follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Finieco Ind[uacute]stria e Com[eacute]rcio de Embalagens, 6.14
S.A........................................................
All Others.................................................. 6.14
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Disclosure
We intend to disclose the calculations performed in this final
determination within five days of the date of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend
[[Page 45847]]
liquidation of subject merchandise entries, as described in Appendix I
of this notice, which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after January 3, 2024, the date of publication in the
Federal Register of the Preliminary Determination.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal
to the amount by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. price as
follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the exporter/producer
combination listed in the table above will be the rate identified in
the table; (2) for all combinations of Portuguese exporters/producers
of subject merchandise that have not received their own cash deposit
rate above, the cash deposit rate will be the all-others rate; and (3)
for all non-Portuguese exporters of subject merchandise which have not
received their own cash deposit rate above, the cash deposit rate will
be the cash deposit rate applicable to the Portuguese exporter/producer
combination that supplied that non-Portuguese exporter. 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. 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 bags
from Portugal no later than 45 days after this 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 or canceled, and suspension of liquidation will be
lifted. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce
will issue an antidumping duty order 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
This notice will serve as the final reminder to parties subject to
an administrative protective order (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 or destruction of APO materials or
conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to
comply with the regulations and the terms of an APO is a violation
which is subject to sanction.
Notification to Interested Parties
This determination and this notice are issued and published
pursuant to sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.210(c).
Dated: May 17, 2024.
Ryan Majerus,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the 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 \7\ 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.
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\7\ Paper sacks or bags with handles made of braided or twisted
materials, such as rope or cord, do not qualify for this exclusion.
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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 Issues and Decision
Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances
IV. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: How To Treat Administrative Fees Paid in the U.S.
Market
Comment 2: How To Classify ``Fixed'' Commissions
Comment 3: Minor Corrections to Finieco's Data
Comment 4: General and Administrative and Financial Expense
Rates Calculation
Comment 5: Unreconciled Cost Difference
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-11483 Filed 5-23-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on May 24, 2024.
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