Notice2025-01809
Certain Paper Plates From Thailand: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Final Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in Part
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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 imports of certain paper plates (paper plates) from Thailand are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.
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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 8262-8264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01809]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-549-849]
Certain Paper Plates From Thailand: 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
imports of certain paper plates (paper plates) from Thailand are being,
or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value
(LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) January 1, 2023, through
December 31, 2023.
DATES: Applicable January 28, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ted Pearson, 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) 482-2631.
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 Thailand 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 Thailand: Preliminary
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Critical Circumstances, in
Part, and Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of
Provisional Measures, 89 FR 72370 (September 5, 2024) (Preliminary
Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
\2\ See Memorandum, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the
Final Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value
Investigation of Certain Paper Plates from Thailand,'' 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>.
[[Page 8263]]
Scope of the Investigation
The products covered by this investigation are paper plates from
Thailand. 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 the sales and cost information submitted by Thai
Paper Co., Ltd. (Thai Paper) 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 Thai Paper.
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\3\ See Memorandum, ``Verification of the Sales Questionnaire
Responses of Thai Paper Co., Ltd.,'' dated September 23, 2024; see
also Memoranda, ``Verification of the Sales Questionnaire Responses
of Go-Pak UK Ltd,'' dated October 17, 2024; and, ``Verification of
the Cost Response of Thai Paper Company Limited,'' dated December 2,
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 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 Act, and 19 CFR 351.206(c)(1), that critical
circumstances exist with respect to imports of paper plates from
Thailand for the seven companies \4\ that were non-responsive to our
quantity and value (Q&V) questionnaire. 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 these seven
companies. Further, we continue to find that critical circumstances do
not exist with regard to Thai Paper, the companies that responded to
the Q&V questionnaire (i.e., Nirvana Foods & Commerce International
Co., Ltd. (Nirvana); Pandora Production Co (Pandora); and SNC Cup Co.,
Ltd. (SNC Cup)), and all others.
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\4\ The seven non-responsive companies are: (1) ABC Digital
Technology Co Ltd; (2) Beeconcious Co; (3) Dester Co, Ltd; (4)
Pimlapas Printing Co., Ltd; (5) Sincerely Cargo; (6) Thai Coconut Co
Ltd; and (7) Thai Union Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
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Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)
As discussed in the Preliminary Determination, Commerce assigned
dumping margins on the basis of AFA, pursuant to sections 776(a) and
(b) of the Act, to the seven companies that were non-responsive to the
Q&V questionnaire.\5\ For this final determination, we continue to find
that the application of AFA, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the
Act, is warranted with respect to the seven non-responsive companies.
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\5\ See Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 38080.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
We made changes since the Preliminary Determination to use Thai
Paper's corrected and verified sales databases. For a discussion of
these changes, 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
individually investigated exporters and producers, excluding rates that
are zero, de minimis, or determined entirely under section 776 of the
Act, i.e., facts otherwise available.
For the final determination of this investigation, Thai Paper was
the only individually examined exporter/producer for which Commerce
calculated an individual estimated weighted average dumping margin.
Because Thai Paper's dumping margin is the only individually calculated
dumping margin that is not zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts
otherwise available, the estimated weighted-average dumping margin
calculated for Thai Paper is the margin assigned to all other producers
and exporters and the non-selected respondents, Nirvana, Pandora, and
SNC Cup.\6\
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\6\ See, e.g., 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).
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Final Determination
Commerce determines that the following estimated weighted-average
dumping margins exist:
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Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer dumping
margin
(percent)
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Thai Paper Co., Ltd......................................... 5.57
Nirvana Foods & Commerce International Co., Ltd............. 5.57
Pandora Production Co....................................... 5.57
SNC Cup Co., Ltd............................................ 5.57
ABC Digital Technology Co Ltd............................... * 73.17
Beeconcious Co.............................................. * 73.17
Dester Co, Ltd.............................................. * 73.17
Pimlapas Printing Co., Ltd.................................. * 73.17
Sincerely Cargo............................................. * 73.17
Thai Coconut Co Ltd......................................... * 73.17
Thai Union Manufacturing Co., Ltd........................... * 73.17
All Others.................................................. 5.57
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* Rate based on facts available with adverse inferences.
Disclosure
Commerce intends to disclose the calculations performed in
connection with 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) of the Act, Commerce will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of subject merchandise,
as described in Appendix II of this notice, which were entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after September 5,
2024, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the
Federal Register.
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 seven non-responsive companies. In
accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of the Act, the suspension
[[Page 8264]]
of liquidation shall apply to unliquidated entries of shipments of
subject merchandise produced or exported by the seven non-responsive
companies 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), where appropriate, 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 companies listed above that exported the subject merchandise
will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average
dumping margin determined in this final determination; (2) if the
exporter is not a company identified above but the producer is, then
the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific estimated
weighted-average 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 estimated weighted-average
dumping margin for all other producers and exporters.
U.S. International Trade Commission Notification (ITC)
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify
the ITC of its final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV.
Because Commerce's final determination 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 or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation of paper
plates no later than 45 days after this final determination. If the ITC
determines that such injury does not exist, this proceeding will be
terminated, all cash deposits posted will be refunded, 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 entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the
suspension of liquidation, as discussed in the ``Continuation of
Suspension of Liquidation'' section above.
Administrative Protective Order (APO)
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an
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 final determination and notice are issued and published in
accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) 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, 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. Changes Since the Preliminary Determination
V. Discussion of the Issues
Comment 1: Whether Commerce Should Recalculate Thai Paper's
Quantity Discounts
Comment 2: Whether Commerce Should Find Multiple Levels of Trade
(LOTs) in Thai Paper's Home Market
Comment 3: Whether Commerce Should Incorporate Updated Sales
Databases
Comment 4: Whether Commerce Should Update the Cost Database
VI. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2025-01809 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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