Notice2024-18286
Certain Hardwood Plywood Products From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review, Preliminary Determination of No Shipments, and Partial Rescission; 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
August 15, 2024
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and/or exporters of certain hardwood plywood products (hardwood plywood) from the People's Republic of China (China) during the period of review (POR) September 26, 2021, through December 31, 2022. Commerce also preliminarily finds that 18 companies had no subject shipments of hardwood plywood and that these companies will be eligible to participate in the certification program previously established with respect to the countervailing duty (CVD) order on certain hardwood plywood products from China. Finally, we are also rescinding this review with respect to nine companies. We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 158 (Thursday, August 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66343-66346]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-18286]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[C-570-052]
Certain Hardwood Plywood Products From the People's Republic of
China: Preliminary Results of Countervailing Duty Administrative
Review, Preliminary Determination of No Shipments, and Partial
Rescission; 2021-2022
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to
producers and/or exporters of certain hardwood plywood products
(hardwood plywood) from the People's Republic of China (China) during
the period of review (POR) September 26, 2021, through December 31,
2022. Commerce also preliminarily finds that 18 companies had no
subject shipments of hardwood plywood and that these companies will be
eligible to participate in the certification program previously
established with respect to the countervailing duty (CVD) order on
certain hardwood plywood products from China. Finally, we are also
rescinding this review with respect to nine companies. We invite
interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Applicable August 15, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Galantucci, 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) 482-2923.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On January 4, 2018, Commerce published in the Federal Register the
CVD order on hardwood plywood from China.\1\ On January 3, 2023,
Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to
request an administrative review of the Order covering entries of
hardwood plywood from China from January 1, 2022, through December 31,
2022.\2\ On March 14, 2023, based on timely requests for an
administrative review, Commerce initiated the administrative review
with respect to 32 companies.\3\
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\1\ See Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 83 FR 513 (January 4,
2018) (Order).
\2\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 88 FR 45 (January 3,
2023).
\3\ We note that Commerce listed 40 company names in the
initiation notice. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 15642 (March 14, 2023)
(Initiation Notice); see also Initiation of Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 21609 (April 11,
2023) (containing a correction to add an additional company name).
However, in the Circumvention Final Determination, we found that a
number of companies were duplicated via minor name variations. See
Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's Republic of
China: Final Scope Determination and Affirmative Final Determination
of Circumvention of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders,
88 FR 46740 (July 20, 2023) (Circumvention Final Determination), and
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum (IDM) at 76; and
Memorandum, ``Notice of Intent to Rescind Review, In Part,'' dated
July 3, 2024 (Intent to Rescind Memorandum). For further discussion,
see Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of
the Countervailing Duty Administrative Review of Certain Hardwood
Plywood Products from the People's Republic of China; 2021-2022,''
dated concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Decision
Memorandum).
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On July 20, 2023, we published in the Federal Register the
Circumvention Final Determination, in which we: (1) determined that
certain hardwood plywood exported from Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Vietnam) and entered into the United States was circumventing the
Order and therefore is now covered by the Order; and (2) established a
certification program to allow eligible producers and exporters of
hardwood plywood exported from Vietnam to certify that entries of
hardwood plywood exported from Vietnam are not subject to the Order.\4\
We also indicated that we would: (1) expand the POR for this
administrative review to begin on September 26, 2021, in order to
capture the first entry suspended as a result of the circumvention
determination; and (2) allow interested parties to request reviews of
unliquidated/suspended entries of merchandise from Vietnam that entered
from September 26, 2021, through December 31, 2021.\5\
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\4\ See Circumvention Final Determination.
\5\ See Circumvention Final Determination IDM at Comment 13.
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On August 11, 2023, Commerce notified parties that we received no
additional requests for administrative reviews as a result of
Commerce's decision to expand the POR,\6\ and on August 28, 2023,
Commerce released entry data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP) to interested parties for comment.\7\ Subsequently, we notified
parties of our intent to rescind this administrative review with
respect to certain companies subject to this review.\8\
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\6\ See Memorandum ``Companies Under Review for the Expanded
POR,'' dated August 11, 2023.
\7\ See Memorandum, ``CBP Data Release,'' dated August 28, 2023.
\8\ See Intent to Rescind Memorandum at Attachment I.
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On January 31, 2024, Commerce deferred the deadline for completing
the preliminary results of this review until July 30, 2024.\9\ On July
22, 2024, Commerce tolled certain deadlines in this administrative
proceeding by seven days.\10\ The deadline for the preliminary results
is now August 6, 2024. For details regarding the events that occurred
subsequent to the initiation of the review, see the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum.
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\9\ See Memorandum, ``Deferral of the Preliminary Results of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews; 2022,''
dated January 31, 2024.
\10\ See Memorandum, ``Tolling of Deadlines for Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings,'' dated July 22, 2024.
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Scope of the Order
The merchandise covered by the scope of this Order is hardwood
plywood from China. A complete description of the scope of the Order is
contained in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), when there are no reviewable
entries of
[[Page 66344]]
subject merchandise during the POR subject to the CVD order for which
liquidation is suspended, Commerce may rescind an administrative
review, in whole or only with respect to a particular exporter or
producer.\11\ At the end of the administrative review, any suspended
entries are liquidated at the assessment rate computed for the review
period.\12\ Therefore, for an administrative review to be conducted,
there must be a reviewable, suspended entry to be liquidated at the
newly calculated assessment rate. On July 3, 2024, Commerce notified
all interested parties of its intent to rescind this review with
respect to certain companies because those companies had no reviewable,
suspended entries of subject merchandise and invited parties to
comment.\13\ We received no comments on our intent to rescind the
review with respect to these companies. Accordingly, in the absence of
suspended entries of subject merchandise during the POR for three
companies \14\ for which this review was initiated, we are hereby
rescinding this administrative review, in part, with respect to these
companies, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).
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\11\ See, e.g., Lightweight Thermal Paper from the People's
Republic of China: Notice of Rescission of Countervailing Duty
Administrative Review; 2015, 82 FR 14349 (March 20, 2017); see also
Circular Welded Carbon Quality Steel Pipe from the People's Republic
of China: Rescission of Countervailing Duty Administrative Review;
2017, 84 FR 14650 (April 11, 2019).
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(2).
\13\ See Intent to Rescind Memorandum.
\14\ The companies are: (1) BAC Son Woods Processing Joint Stock
Company; (2) Huong Son Wood Group Co., Ltd.; and (3) Long Phat
Construction Investment and Trade Joint Stock Company.
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In addition, 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 the request within 90 days of the
date of publication of the notice of initiation. All parties timely
withdrew their review requests for: (1) Fulin Wood Import Export
Company Limited; (2) Greatwood Joint Stock Company; (3) Greentech
Investment Co., Ltd.; (4) Long Dat Import and Export Production
Company; (5) Star Light Multimedia Co., Ltd.; and (6) VietBac Plywood
LLC. Because the review requests were timely withdrawn, and no other
party requested a review of these companies, we are rescinding the
review with respect to these six companies (see Appendix II for a list
of all companies for which Commerce is rescinding this review).
Methodology
Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section
751(a)(1)(A) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) and 19 CFR
351.213. For a full description of the methodology underlying these
preliminary results, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. See
Appendix III for a complete list of topics discussed in the Preliminary
Decision Memorandum. The Preliminary 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
Preliminary Decision Memorandum is available at <a href="https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx">https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx</a>.
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
In this administrative review, we issued questionnaires to all
companies under review to gather information on the quantity and value
(Q&V) of their shipments of hardwood plywood to the United States.\15\
We received responses to these questionnaires from 21 companies, all of
which reported that their suspended entries consisted exclusively of
non-subject merchandise. We issued additional questionnaires to these
companies and received complete responses from only 15 of them. We have
analyzed the information in these responses and preliminarily find that
these 15 companies have provided information to support their claims
that the hardwood plywood they exported to the United States was not
assembled using any of the Chinese hardwood plywood input scenarios
subject to this Order.\16\ We are also preliminarily accepting the
claims of three additional companies from which Commerce is awaiting
additional information, pending the receipt of the requested
information.\17\
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\15\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Quantity and Value
Questionnaire,'' dated November 20, 2023; see also Memorandum,
``Clarification of Companies Required to Submit Responses to Q&V
Questionnaire,'' dated November 28, 2023; and Commerce's Letters,
``Request for Entry Information,'' dated February 5, 2024
(collectively, Q&V Questionnaire).
\16\ See Circumvention Final Determination, 88 FR at 46742.
\17\ The responses to the questionnaires issued to the following
companies are currently due on or after the date of these
preliminary results: An An Plywood Joint Stock Company, Greatwood
Hung Yen Joint Stock Company, and Thang Long Wood Panel Company
(Thang Long).
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We also preliminarily find it appropriate to permit the 15
companies referenced above, as well as Thang Long, to participate in
the certification program at the conclusion of this administrative
review. The other two companies are currently eligible to participate
in this certification program, and we preliminarily find no basis to
alter their status.\18\
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\18\ See Appendix I for a complete list of companies subject to
this review that are preliminarily eligible to certify their entries
of hardwood plywood exported from Vietnam.
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Use of Adverse Facts Available
Groll Ply and Cabinetry Co., Ltd. (Groll Ply), Hoang Lam Plywood
Joint Stock Co. (Hoang Lam), Plywood Sunshine Co., Ltd. (Plywood
Sunshine), Quang Phat Wood Joint Stock Company (Quang Phat), and Quoc
Thai Forestry Import Export Limited Company (Quoc Thai) had entries of
plywood during the POR that they claimed were of non-subject
merchandise. We required these companies to provide information related
to these entries, but they did not respond to these requests for
information, and therefore, we are preliminary finding that Groll Ply,
Hoang Lam, Plywood Sunshine, Quang Phat, and Quoc Thai failed to
support their claims that their entries of plywood during the POR were
not of subject merchandise.
Pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce has
assigned Groll Ply, Hoang Lam, Plywood Sunshine, Quang Phat, and Quoc
Thai a subsidy rate of 100.11 percent based on facts available with
adverse inferences (AFA). These five companies ceased participating in
this review and did not provide information requested by Commerce;
accordingly, we find that necessary information is not available on the
record, they failed to provide the requested information in the form
and manner requested, and significantly impeded the proceeding,
pursuant to section 776(a) of the Act. Additionally, we find that Groll
Ply, Hoang Lam, Plywood Sunshine, Quang Phat, and Quoc Thai had
necessary information in their possession and elected not to submit the
information and, thus, that the five companies did not act to the best
of their abilities in responding to Commerce's information request by
the applicable deadline, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act. For
additional information regarding this determination, see the
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
Commerce preliminary determines that the following net
countervailable subsidy rates exist for the period of
[[Page 66345]]
September 26, 2021, through December 31, 2022:
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Subsidy rate
Company (percent ad
valorem)
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Groll Ply and Cabinetry Co., Ltd........................ * 100.11
Plywood Sunshine Co., Ltd............................... * 100.11
Quoc Thai Forestry Import Export Limited Company........ * 100.11
Hoang Lam Plywood Joint Stock Co........................ * 100.11
Quang Phat Wood Joint Stock Company..................... * 100.11
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* This rate is based on AFA.
Disclosure
Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations
performed in preliminary results 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 results in the
Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However,
because Commerce is applying AFA to the above companies, there are no
additional calculations to disclose.
Certification Eligibility
Due to their failure to provide necessary information for
determining certification eligibility, we preliminarily determine that
Groll Ply, Hoang Lam, Plywood Sunshine, Quang Phat, and Quoc Thai
remain barred from participating in the certification program in this
proceeding.
Verification
From July 1, through July 10, 2024, we conducted verification of
the questionnaire responses of five exporters/producers under review,
Arrow Forest International Co., Ltd., Hai Hien Bamboo Wood Joint Stock
Company, Lechenwood Viet Nam Company Limited, Long Luu Plywood
Production Co., Ltd., and TL Trung Viet Company Limited. We intend to
verify the information submitted by the remaining exporters listed in
Appendix I after the preliminary results.
Public Comment
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c), case briefs or other written
comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement
and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the
last verification report is issued. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues
raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after
the deadline for case briefs.\19\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and
(d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this
review 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.
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\19\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general
filing requirements).
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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 briefs that should be limited to five pages
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public,
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\20\ Further,
we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary
of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We
intend to use the public 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 public 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).\21\
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\20\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
\21\ See Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other
Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR
67069, 67077 (September 29, 2023).
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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, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made,
Commerce intends to hold the hearing 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 date.
Assessment Rates
Upon issuance of the final results of this review, Commerce shall
determine, and CBP shall assess, countervailing duties on all
appropriate entries covered by this review. For all entries of
merchandise exported by the companies listed in Appendix I, we intend
to instruct CBP to liquidate the entries without regard to
countervailing duties if these preliminary results are unchanged for
the final results. For entries of merchandise exported by Groll Ply,
Hoang Lam, Plywood Sunshine, Quang Phat, and Quoc Thai, we will
instruct CBP to liquidate their entries at the assigned rate of 100.11
percent. 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).
For the companies (see Appendix II) for which this review is
rescinded with these preliminary results, we will instruct CBP to
assess countervailing duties on all appropriate entries at a rate equal
to the cash deposit of estimated countervailing duties required at the
time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during
the period September 26, 2021, through December 31, 2022, in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(l)(i).
Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP for these
companies no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the
preliminary 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
In accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act, Commerce
intends upon publication of the final results, to instruct CBP to
collect cash deposits of the estimated countervailing duties in the
amounts calculated in the final results of this review for the
respective companies listed above with regard to shipments of subject
merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or
after the date of publication of the final results of this review.
For all non-reviewed firms, CBP will continue to collect cash
deposits of estimated countervailing duties at the all-others rate or
the most recent
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company-specific rate applicable to the company, as appropriate. These
cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until
further notice.
Final Results of Review
Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final
results of this administrative review, which will include the results
of its analysis of issues raised in any briefs, within 120 days of
publication of these preliminary results of review, pursuant to section
751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.
Notification to Interested Parties
These preliminary results of administrative review are issued and
published in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(l) of the
Act, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: August 6, 2024.
Scot Fullerton,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing
Duty Operations.
Appendix I
Participating Companies Which Reported No POR Shipments of Subject
Merchandise
1. An An Plywood Joint Stock Company
2. Arrow Forest International Co., Ltd.
3. Cam Lam Vietnam Joint Stock Company \22\
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\22\ We also initiated a review of this company under the minor
name variation Camlam Vietnam Joint Stock Company. See Intent to
Rescind Memorandum.
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4. Eagle Industries Company Limited
5. Golden Bridge Industries Pte. Ltd.
6. Govina Investment Joint Stock Company
7. Greatriver Wood Co., Ltd.\23\
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\23\ We also initiated a review of Cong Ty TNHH Greatriver Wood.
We have preliminarily treated these companies as the same entity.
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8. Greatwood Hung Yen Joint Stock Company \24\
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\24\ We also initiated a review of this company under its former
name Greatwood Company Limited. See Circumvention Final
Determination IDM at 76.
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9. Hai Hien Bamboo Wood Joint Stock Company
10. Her Hui Wood (Vietnam) Co., Ltd.
11. Innovgreen Thanh Hoa Co. Ltd.
12. Lechenwood Vietnam Company Limited \25\
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\25\ We also initiated a review of Lechenwood Viet Nam Company
Limited. See Intent to Rescind Memorandum.
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13. Long LUU Plywood Production Co., Ltd.
14. TEKCOM Corporation
15. Thang Long Wood Panel Company Ltd.\26\
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\26\ We also initiated a review of this company under the minor
name variation Thang Long Wood Panel Company. See Intent to Rescind
Memorandum.
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16. TL Trung Viet Company Limited
17. Vietnam Zhongjia Wood Co., Ltd
18. Win Faith Trading Limited \27\
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\27\ We also initiated a review of this company under the minor
name variation Win Faith Trading. See Intent to Rescind Memorandum.
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Appendix II
Companies Rescinded From Review
A. Withdrawals of Requests for Review:
1. Fulin Wood Import Export Company Limited
2. Greentech Investment Co., Ltd.
3. Star Light Multimedia Co., Ltd.
4. Long Dat Import and Export Production Company
5. VietBac Plywood LLC
6. Greatwood Joint Stock Company
B. No Suspended Entries during the POR
1. BAC Son Woods Processing Joint Stock Company
2. Huong Son Wood Group Co., Ltd.
3. Long Phat Construction Investment and Trade Joint Stock
Company
Appendix III
List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope of the Order
IV. Rescission of Administrative Review, In Part
V. Discussion of Methodology
VI. Certification Program
VII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2024-18286 Filed 8-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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