88 FR 223 pgs. 81048-81051 - Paper File Folders From the People's Republic of China, India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders; and Paper File Folders From India: Countervailing Duty Order
Type: NOTICEVolume: 88Number: 223Pages: 81048 - 81051
Pages: 81048, 81049, 81050, 81051Docket number: [A-570-147, A-533-910, A-552-834, C-533-911]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2023-25688 Filed 11-20-23; 8:45 am]
Agency: Commerce Department
Sub Agency: International Trade Administration
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
[top]
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-147, A-533-910, A-552-834, C-533-911]
Paper File Folders From the People's Republic of China, India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders; and Paper File Folders From India: Countervailing Duty Order
AGENCY:
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY:
Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing the antidumping duty (AD) orders on paper file folders from the People's Republic of China (China), India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and the countervailing duty (CVD) order on paper file folders from India.
DATES:
Applicable November 21, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William Horn (China), Jinny Ahn (Vietnam), Eric Hawkins (AD India), or Thomas Martin (CVD India), AD/CVD Operations, Offices IV, V, and VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4868, (202) 482-0339, (202) 482-1988, or (202) 482-3936, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In accordance with sections 705(d) and 735(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), on October 5, 2023, Commerce published its affirmative final determinations in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) investigations of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam, 1 and its affirmative final determination that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and exporters of paper file folders from India. 2
Footnotes:
1 ? See Paper File Folders from the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 88 FR 69141 (October 5, 2023); Paper File Folders from India: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 88 FR 69138 (October 5, 2023); and Paper File Folders from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 88 FR 69130 (October 5, 2023).
2 ? See Paper File Folders from India: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, 88 FR 69134 (October 5, 2023) ( CVD Final Determination ).
On November 13, 2023, pursuant to sections 705(d) and 735(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final affirmative determinations that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of LTFV imports of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam, and subsidized imports of paper file folders from India, within the meaning of sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act. 3
Footnotes:
3 ? See ITC's Letter, "Notification of ITC Final Determinations," dated November 13, 2023 (ITC Notification Letter).
Scope of the Orders
The products covered by these orders are paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of the orders, see the appendix to this notice.
AD Orders
On November 13, 2023, in accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final determinations that an industry in the United States is materially injured within the meaning of section 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by reason of imports of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam that are sold in the United States at LTFV. 4 Therefore, in accordance with sections 735(c)(2) and 736 of the Act, Commerce is issuing these AD orders. Because the ITC determined that imports of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from China, India, and Vietnam, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject to the assessment of antidumping duties.
Footnotes:
4 ? Id.
[top] Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties equal to the amount by which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds the export price (or constructed export price) of the merchandise on all relevant entries of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam. Antidumping duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of paper file folders entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after May 17, 2023, the date of publication of the AD Preliminary Determinations, 5 but will
Footnotes:
5 ? See Paper File Folders from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 88 FR 31485 (May 17, 2023); Paper File Folders from India: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 88 FR 31490 (May 17, 2023); and Paper File Folders from Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 88 FR 31488 (May 17, 2023) (collectively, AD Preliminary Determinations ).
Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits-AD
Except as noted in the "Provisional Measures-AD" section of this notice, in accordance with section 736 of the Act, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation on all relevant entries of paper file folders from China, India and Vietnam. These instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.
Commerce also intends to instruct CBP to require cash deposits equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins indicated in the tables below, adjusted by the relevant subsidy offsets. Accordingly, effective on the date of publication in the Federal Register of the notice of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination, CBP must require, at the same time as importers would normally deposit estimated customs duties on subject merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the rates listed in the tables below.
Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins
The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:
| Exporter/producer | Weighted- average dumping margin (percent) |
|---|---|
| China | |
| China-wide entity | 192.70 |
| Exporter/producer | Weighted- average dumping margin (percent) | Cash deposit rate (adjusted for subsidy offsets) (percent)? 6 |
|---|---|---|
| India | ||
| Navneet Education Limited | 17.22 | 13.44 |
| Kokuyo Riddhi Paper Products Pvt. Ltd | 86.01 | 82.23 |
| LGPL Paper Industries Pvt. Limited | 86.01 | 82.23 |
| All Others | 17.22 | 13.44 |
| Exporter | Producer | Weighted- average dumping margin (percent) |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnam | ||
| Three-Color Stone Stationary (Viet Nam) Company Limited | Three-Color Stone Stationary (Viet Nam) Company Limited | 97.52 |
| Vietnam-Wide Entity | 233.93 |
Provisional Measures-AD
Section 733(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect for more than four months, except where exporters representing a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise request that Commerce extend the four-month period to no more than six months. At the request of exporters that accounted for a significant proportion of exports of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam, Commerce extended the four-month period to no more than six-months. 7 In the underlying investigations, Commerce published the AD Preliminary Determinations on May 17, 2023. Therefore, the six-month period beginning on the date of the publication of the AD Preliminary Determinations ended on November 12, 2023. Pursuant to section 737(b) of the Act, the collection of cash deposits at the rates listed above will begin on the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determinations. Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act and our practice, Commerce will instruct CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, unliquidated entries of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after November 13, 2023, the first day provisional measures were no longer in effect, until and through the day preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal Register . Suspension of liquidation and the collection of cash deposits will resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final determinations in the Federal Register .
Footnotes:
6 ?In the companion CVD investigation, Commerce calculated a 3.78 percent export subsidy rate for Navneet Education Limited. See CVD Final Determination and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at 6.
7 ? See AD Preliminary Determinations; and Paper File Folders from the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Final Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 88 FR 34827 (May 31, 2023).
CVD Order
As stated above, based on the above-referenced affirmative final determination by the ITC that an industry in the United States is materially injured within the meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by reason of subsidized imports of paper file folders from India, 8 in accordance with section 705(c)(2) of the Act, Commerce is issuing this CVD order. Moreover, because the ITC determined that imports of paper file folders from India are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of subject merchandise from India entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, are subject to the assessment of countervailing duties.
Footnotes:
8 ? See ITC Notification Letter.
[top] Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce intends to direct CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties on all relevant entries of paper file folders from India, which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after March 20, 2023, the date of publication of the CVD Preliminary Determination, but will not include entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional measures period and before the publication of the ITC's final injury determination under section 705(b) of
Footnotes:
9 ? See Paper File Folders from India: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final Determination With the Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 88 FR 16590 (March 20, 2023) ( CVD Preliminary Determination ).
Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits-CVD
In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce intends to instruct CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of paper file folders from India, effective on the date of publication of the ITC's final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register , and to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, pursuant to section 706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing duties on each entry of subject merchandise in an amount based on the net countervailable subsidy rates below. On or after the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal Register , CBP must require, at the same time as importers would normally deposit estimated customs duties on this merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the rates listed in the table below. These instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further notice. The all-others rate applies to all producers or exporters not specifically listed below, as appropriate:
| Company | Subsidy rate (percent ad valorem ) |
|---|---|
| Navneet Education Limited | 3.78 |
| Lotus Global Pvt. Ltd | 10 ?90.98 |
| All Others | 3.78 |
Provisional Measures-CVD
Section 703(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect for more than four months. Commerce published the CVD Preliminary Determination on March 20, 2023. 11 As such, the four-month period beginning on the date of the publication of the CVD Preliminary Determination ended on July 17, 2023.
Footnotes:
10 ?Commerce has assigned a rate to Lotus Global Pvt. Ltd. based entirely on facts available, using adverse inferences, under section 776 of the Act.
11 ? Id.
Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated entries of paper file folders from India entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after July 18, 2023, the date on which the provisional measures expired, until and through the day preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal Register . Suspension of liquidation and the collection of cash deposits will resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final determination in the Federal Register .
Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service Lists
On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the Final Rule in the Federal Register . 12 On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published the Procedural Guidance in the Federal Register . 13 The Final Rule and Procedural Guidance provide that Commerce will maintain an annual inquiry service list for each order or suspended investigation, and any interested party submitting a scope ruling application or request for circumvention inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request on the persons on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as well as any companion order covering the same merchandise from the same country of origin. 14
Footnotes:
12 ? See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 20, 2021) ( Final Rule ).
13 ? See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List; and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021) ( Procedural Guidance ).
14 ? Id.
In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at https://access.trade.gov, within five business days of publication of the notice of the order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in ACCESS, under each case number, and under a specific segment type called "AISL-Annual Inquiry Service List."? 15
Footnotes:
15 ?This segment will be combined with the ACCESS Segment Specific Information (SSI) field which will display the month in which the notice of the order or suspended investigation was published in the Federal Register , also known as the anniversary month. For example, for an order under case number A-000-000 that was published in the Federal Register in January, the relevant segment and SSI combination will appear in ACCESS as "AISL-January Anniversary." Note that there will be only one annual inquiry service list segment per case number, and the anniversary month will be pre-populated in ACCESS.
Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the annual inquiry service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30 days after the date of publication of the order. For ease of administration, Commerce requests that law firms with more than one attorney representing interested parties in an order designate a lead attorney to be included on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce will finalize the annual inquiry service list within five business days thereafter. As mentioned in the Procedural Guidance, 16 the new annual inquiry service list will be in place until the following year, when the Opportunity Notice for the anniversary month of the order is published.
Footnotes:
16 ? See Procedural Guidance, 86 FR at 53206.
Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the ACCESS website.
Special Instructions for Petitioners and Foreign Governments
In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, "after an initial request and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry service list in the years that follow."? 17 Accordingly, as stated above, the petitioner and the Governments of China, India, and Vietnam should submit their initial entries of appearance after publication of this notice in order to appear in the first annual inquiry service lists for these orders. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(n)(3), the petitioner and the Governments of China, India, and Vietnam will not need to resubmit their entries of appearance each year to continue to be included on the annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioner and the Governments of China, India, and Vietnam are responsible for making amendments to their entries of appearance during the annual update to the annual inquiry service list in accordance with the procedures described above.
Footnotes:
17 ? See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
Notification to Interested Parties
[top] This notice constitutes the AD orders with respect to paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam and the CVD order with respect to paper file folders from India, pursuant to sections 706(a) and 736(a) of the Act. Interested parties
These orders are issued and published in accordance with sections 706(a) and 736(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).
Dated: November 15, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix-Scope of the Orders
The products within the scope of these orders are file folders consisting primarily of paper, paperboard, pressboard, or other cellulose material, whether coated or uncoated, that has been folded (or creased in preparation to be folded), glued, taped, bound, or otherwise assembled to be suitable for holding documents. The scope includes all such folders, regardless of color, whether or not expanding, whether or not laminated, and with or without tabs, fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, hangers, pockets, gussets, or internal dividers. The term "primarily" as used in the first sentence of this scope means 50 percent or more of the total product weight, exclusive of the weight of fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, hangers, removable tabs, and similar accessories, and exclusive of the weight of packaging.
Subject folders have the following dimensions in their folded and closed position: lengths and widths of at least 8 inches and no greater than 17 inches, regardless of depth.
The scope covers all varieties of folders, including but not limited to manila folders, hanging folders, fastener folders, classification folders, expanding folders, pockets, jackets, and wallets.
Excluded from the scope are:
• mailing envelopes with a flap bearing one or more adhesive strips that can be used permanently to seal the entire length of a side such that, when sealed, the folder is closed on all four sides;
• binders, with two or more rings to hold documents in place, made from paperboard or pressboard encased entirely in plastic;
• binders consisting of a front cover, back cover, and spine, with or without a flap; to be excluded, a mechanism with two or more metal rings must be included on or adjacent to the interior spine;
• non-expanding folders with a depth exceeding 2.5 inches and that are closed or closeable on the top, bottom, and all four sides ( e.g., boxes or cartons);
• expanding folders that have: (1) 13 or more pockets; (2) a flap covering the top; (3) a latching mechanism made of plastic and/or metal to close the flap; and (4) an affixed plastic or metal carry handle;
• folders that have an outer surface (other than the gusset, handles, and/or closing mechanisms, if any) that is covered entirely with fabric, leather, and/or faux leather;
• fashion folders, which are defined as folders with all of the following characteristics: (1) plastic lamination covering the entire exterior of the folder; (2) printing, foil stamping, embossing ( i.e., raised relief patterns that are recessed on the opposite side), and/or debossing ( i.e., recessed relief patterns that are raised on the opposite side), covering the entire exterior surface area of the folder; (3) at least two visible and printed or foil stamped colors (other than the color of the base paper), each of which separately covers no less than 10 percent of the entire exterior surface area; and (4) patterns, pictures, designs, or artwork covering no less than thirty percent of the exterior surface area of the folder;
• portfolios, which are folders having: (1) a width of at least 16 inches when open flat; (2) no tabs or dividers; and (3) one or more pockets that are suitable for holding letter size documents and that cover at least 15 percent of the surface area of the relevant interior side or sides; and
• report covers, which are folders having: (1) no tabs, dividers, or pockets; and (2) one or more fasteners or clips, each of which is permanently affixed to the center fold, to hold papers securely in place.
Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) category 4820.30.0040. Subject imports may also enter under other HTSUS classifications. While the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of these orders is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2023-25688 Filed 11-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P