Notice2025-01806
Certain Paper Plates From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part
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 28, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentInternational Trade Administration
Abstract
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that certain paper plates (paper plates) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) July 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 17 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8265-8267]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01806]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-552-839]
Certain Paper Plates From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam:
Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that
certain paper plates (paper plates) from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United
States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation
(POI) July 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
DATES: Applicable January 28, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bryan Hansen, 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) 482-3683.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 5, 2024, Commerce published in the Federal Register
its preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of
paper plates from Vietnam and invited interested parties to comment.\1\
For a complete description of the events that followed the Preliminary
Determination, see the Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Paper Plates from the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value, Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical
Circumstances, in Part, Postponement of Final Determination, and
Extension of Provisional Measures, 89 FR 72375 (September 5, 2024)
(Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision
Memorandum (PDM).
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value of
Certain Paper Plates from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated
concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and
Decision Memorandum).
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The Issues and 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 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>.
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are paper plates from
Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation,
see Appendix I.
Scope Comments
We received no comments from interested parties on the scope of the
investigation as it appeared in the Preliminary Determination.
Therefore, we made no changes to the scope of the investigation.
Verification
Commerce verified sales and factors of production information
submitted by Go-Pak Paper Products Vietnam Co., Ltd. (Go-Pak Vietnam)
for use in our final determination, consistent with section 782(i) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).\3\ We used standard
verification procedures, including an examination of relevant sales and
accounting records, and original source documents provided by Go-Pak
Vietnam.
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\3\ See Memoranda, ``Factors of Production Verification
Report,'' dated October 15, 2024; and ``Sales Verification Report,''
dated October 25, 2024.
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Analysis of Comments Received
The issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by the parties in
this investigation are discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum.
A list of the issues raised addressed in the Issues and Decision
Memorandum is attached to this notice as Appendix II.
Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part
Commerce preliminarily determined, in accordance with section
733(e)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR
351.206(c)(1), that critical circumstances exist with respect to
imports of paper plates for the Vietnam-wide entity but not for Go-Pak
Vietnam.\4\ Further, for the final determination, pursuant to section
735(a)(3)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.206, we continue to find that
critical circumstances exist for the Vietnam-wide entity and that
critical circumstances do not exist for Go-Pak Vietnam.\5\
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\4\ See Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 72376.
\5\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum at 2-4.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
Based on our review and analysis of the information at verification
and comments received from interested parties, we made certain changes
to the calculation of Go-Pak Vietnam's estimated weighted-average
dumping margin. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues and
Decision Memorandum.
Vietnam-Wide Entity and Use of Adverse Facts Available
Consistent with the Preliminary Determination,\6\ Commerce
continues to find, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, that
the use of facts otherwise available, with adverse inferences, is
warranted in determining the dumping rate for the Vietnam-wide entity.
For this final determination there is no new information on the record
that would cause us to revisit our decision in the preliminary
determination. Therefore, as adverse facts available (AFA), we have
continued to assign a rate of 165.27 percent, which is the highest
dumping margin alleged in the petition, to the Vietnam-wide entity.\7\
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\6\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 11-15.
\7\ Id.
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Separate Rates
No interested party commented on Commerce's preliminary separate
rate determination \8\ and we have no basis to reconsider this
determination. Accordingly, we continue to find that Go-Pak Vietnam is
the sole respondent eligible for a separate rate.
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\8\ Id. at 9-11.
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Combination Rates
Consistent with the Preliminary Determination, and Policy Bulletin
05.1,\9\ Commerce calculated a producer/exporter combination rate for
Go-Pak Vietnam, i.e., the sole respondent eligible for a separate rate.
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\9\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1,
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy
Countries,'' (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available at
<a href="https://access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf">https://access.trade.gov/Resources/policy/bull05-1.pdf</a>.
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Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated weighted-average
dumping margins exist:
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Cash deposit rate
Weighted-average (adjusted for
Exporter Producer dumping margin export subsidy
(percent) offset) (percent)
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Go-Pak Paper Products Vietnam Co., Ltd... Go-Pak Paper Products 30.42 24.89
Vietnam Co., Ltd.
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Vietnam-Wide Entity.................................................... * 165.27 159.74
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* Rate based on AFA.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in this
final determination to interested parties within five days of any
public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 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) and (C) of the Act, we will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend
liquidation of all appropriate entries of subject merchandise, as
described in Appendix I of this notice, which were entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal Register for Go-Pak Vietnam.
Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides that, given an affirmative
determination of critical circumstances, any suspension of liquidation
shall apply to unliquidated entries of subject merchandise entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the later of: (a)
the date which is 90 days before the date on which the suspension of
liquidation was first ordered; or (b) the date on which notice of
initiation of the investigation was published. Commerce finds that
critical circumstances exist for imports of subject merchandise
produced or exported by the Vietnam-wide entity. In accordance with
section 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension of liquidation shall
apply to unliquidated entries of shipments of subject merchandise from
the producer(s) or exporter(s) identified in this paragraph that were
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after June
7, 2024, which is 90 days before the publication of the Preliminary
Determination. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain
in effect until further notice.
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.210(d), upon the publication of this notice, Commerce will instruct
CBP to require a cash deposit for estimated antidumping duties for
appropriate entries.
Commerce will instruct CBP to require the following cash deposits
of estimated antidumping duties for all appropriate entries: (1) for
the producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the
applicable cash deposit rate is listed in the table for that
combination; (2) for all combinations of Vietnamese producers/exporters
of the merchandise under consideration that have not established
eligibility for a separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal
to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for the
Vietnam-wide entity; and (3) for all third-country exporters of the
merchandise under consideration not listed in the table above, the cash
deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable to the Vietnamese
producer/exporter combination that supplied that third-country exporter
or, if the exporter/producer combination does not have its own rate,
the cash deposit rate will be the Vietnam-wide rate. These suspension
of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the
ITC of this final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. Because
Commerce's final determination in this investigation 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 plates 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 instructions 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 serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition 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 terms of an APO is a sanctionable
violation.
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: January 21, 2025.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix I
Scope of the Investigation
The merchandise subject to this investigation is certain paper
plates. Paper plates subject to this investigation may be cut from
rolls, sheets, or other pieces of paper and/or paper board. Paper
plates subject to this investigation have a depth up to and
including two (2.0) inches, as measured vertically from the base to
the top of the lip, or the edge if the plate has no lip. Paper
plates subject to this investigation may be uncolored, white,
colored, or printed. Printed paper plates subject to this
investigation may have any type of surface finish, and may be
printed by any means with images, text and/or colors on one or both
surfaces. Colored paper plates subject to this investigation may be
colored by any method, including but not limited to printing,
beater-dyeing, and dip-dyeing. Paper plates subject to this
investigation may be produced from paper of any type (including, but
not limited to, bamboo, straws, bagasse, hemp, kenaf, jute, sisal,
abaca, cotton inters and reeds, or from non-plant sources, such as
synthetic resin (petroleum)-based resins), may have any caliper or
basis weight, may have any shape or size, may have one or more than
one section, may be embossed, may have foil or other substances
adhered to their surface,
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and/or may be uncoated or coated with any type of coating.
The paper plates subject to this investigation remain covered by
the scope of this investigation whether imported alone, or in any
combination of subject and non-subject merchandise. When paper
plates subject to this investigation are imported in combination
with non-subject merchandise, only the paper plates subject to this
investigation are subject merchandise.
The paper plates subject to this investigation include paper
plates matching the above description that have been finished,
packaged, or otherwise processed in a third country by performing
finishing, packaging, or processing that would not otherwise remove
the merchandise from the scope of the investigation if performed in
the country of manufacture of the paper plates. Examples of
finishing, packaging, or other processing in a third country that
would not otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the
investigation if performed in the country of manufacture of the
paper plates include, but are not limited to, printing, application
of other surface treatments such as coatings, repackaging,
embossing, and application of foil surface treatments.
Excluded from the scope of this investigation are paper plates
molded or pressed directly from paper pulp (including but not
limited to unfelted pulp), which are currently classifiable under
subheading 4823.70.0020 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS).
Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are articles
that otherwise would be covered but which exhibit the following two
physical characteristics: (a) depth (measured vertically from the
base to the top of the lip, or edge if no lip) equal to or greater
than 1.25 inches but less than two (2.0) inches, and (b) a base not
exceeding five (5.0) inches in diameter if round, or not exceeding
20 square inches in area if any other shape.
Also excluded from the scope of this investigation are paper
bowls, paper buckets, and paper food containers with closeable lids.
Paper plates subject to this investigation are currently
classifiable under HTSUS subheading 4823.69.0040. Paper plates
subject to this investigation also may be classified under HTSUS
subheading 4823.61.0040. If packaged with other articles, the paper
plates subject to this investigation also may be classified under
HTSUS subheadings 9505.90.4000 and 9505.90.6000. While the HTSUS
subheading(s) are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the subject merchandise is dispositive.
Appendix II
List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum
I. Summary
II. Background
III. Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in
Part
IV. Adjustment to Cash Deposit Rate for Export Subsidies
V. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
VI. Application of Facts Available and Use of Adverse Inference
VII. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Selection of Surrogate Value for Paper Input
Comment 2: Selection of Surrogate Financial Statements
Comment 3: Separate Valuation of Domestic Inland Freight
Insurance
Comment 4: Calculation of Scrap Offset
VIII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-01806 Filed 1-27-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 28, 2025.
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