[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42276-42278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17523]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-827]
Certain Cased Pencils From the People's Republic of China:
Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review, and Intent To Revoke Order in Part
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In accordance with section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930,
as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b), ThinkGeek, Inc.
(ThinkGeek) filed a request for a changed circumstances review of the
antidumping duty (AD) order on certain cased pencils (pencils) from the
People's Republic of China (PRC) to revoke the AD order with respect to
novelty drumstick pencils. The domestic industry has affirmatively
expressed a lack of interest in continuing the AD order with respect to
this product. In response to ThinkGeek's request, the Department of
Commerce (the Department) is initiating a changed circumstances review
to be conducted on an expedited basis and issuing a notice of
preliminary intent to revoke, in part, this order. Pursuant to
ThinkGeek's request, this partial revocation would be applied
retroactively to June 1, 2011. Interested parties are invited to
comment on these preliminary results.
DATES: Effective Date: June 1, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Gorman at (202) 482-1174 or
Yasmin Nair at (202) 482-3813; AD/CVD Operations, Office 1, Import
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC
20230.
Background
On December 28, 1994, the Department published in the Federal
Register the AD order on certain cased pencils from China. See
Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Cased Pencils from the People's
Republic of China, 59 FR 66909 (December 28, 1994) (AD order). On May
23, 2012, in accordance with section 751(b) and 751(d)(1) of the Act,
19 CFR 351.216(b), and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1), ThinkGeek, a U.S. importer
of subject merchandise, requested revocation in part, of the AD order
with respect to its novelty pencil, which is shaped like a drumstick,
as part of a changed circumstances review. ThinkGeek's novelty
drumstick pencil is made to look like a pencil, except that it is
shaped as a drumstick. This pencil is longer than regular wooden
pencils and does not contain an eraser. ThinkGeek requested that the
Department conduct the changed circumstances review on an expedited
basis pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii).
Scope of the Order
Imports covered by this order are shipments of certain cased
pencils of any shape or dimension (except as described below) which are
writing and/or drawing instruments that feature cores of graphite or
other materials, encased in wood and/or man-made materials, whether or
not decorated and whether or not tipped (e.g., with erasers, etc.) in
any fashion, and either sharpened or unsharpened. The pencils subject
to the order are currently classifiable under subheading 9609.10.00 of
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
Specifically excluded from the scope of the order are mechanical
pencils, cosmetic pencils, pens, non-cased crayons (wax), pastels,
charcoals, chalks, and pencils produced under U.S. patent number
6,217,242, from paper infused with scents by the means covered in the
above-referenced patent, thereby having odors distinct from those that
may emanate from pencils lacking the scent infusion. Also excluded from
the scope of the order are pencils with all of the following physical
characteristics: (1) Length: 13.5 or more inches; (2) sheath diameter:
not less than one-and-one quarter inches at any
[[Page 42277]]
point (before sharpening); and (3) core length: not more than 15
percent of the length of the pencil.
In addition, pencils with all of the following characteristics are
excluded from the order: novelty jumbo pencils that are octagonal in
shape, approximately ten inches long, one inch in diameter before
sharpening, and three-and-one eighth inches in circumference, composed
of turned wood encasing one-and-one half inches of sharpened lead on
one end and a rubber eraser on the other end.
Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and
customs purposes, the written description of the scope and order is
dispositive.
Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed
Circumstances Review, and Intent To Revoke the Order in Part
At the request of ThinkGeek, and in accordance with sections
751(b)(1) and 751(d)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216 and 19 CFR
351.222(g)(1), the Department is initiating a changed circumstances
review of novelty drumstick pencils from the PRC to determine whether
partial revocation of the AD order is warranted with respect to this
product. Section 782(h)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i)
provide that the Department may revoke an order (in whole or in part)
if it determines that producers accounting for substantially all of the
production of the domestic like product have no further interest in the
order, in whole or in part. In its administrative practice, the
Department has interpreted ``substantially all'' to mean at least 85
percent of the total production of the domestic like product covered by
the order. See, e.g., Certain Pasta From Italy: Final Results of
Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Review and Revocation, In
Part, 76 FR 27634, 27635 (May 12, 2011). In addition, in the event the
Department determines that expedited action is warranted, 19 CFR
351.221(c)(3)(ii) permits the Department to combine the notices of
initiation and preliminary results.
On May 23, 2012, ThinkGeek submitted a letter from petitioners and
domestic pencil producers Sanford, L.P.; Musgrave Pencil Company and
General Pencil Company (collectively, Petitioners) expressing a lack of
interest in maintaining the AD order with respect to the novelty
drumstick pencils identified in ThinkGeek's request. On June 5, 2012,
Petitioners submitted a letter stating that they comprise
``substantially all'' of the production of the domestic like product,
as provided in section 782(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i),
in that they account for at least 85 percent of such production. See
ThinkGeek's letter dated June 5, 2012. Also, ThinkGeek's letter
requested that this partial revocation be retroactively applied to
ThinkGeek's drumstick pencils, entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption, on or after June 1, 2011, which would apply to any
remaining unliquidated entries of this product. See id.
In accordance with section 751(b) of the Act, 19 CFR 351.216, 19
CFR 351.222(g), and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii), we are initiating this
changed circumstances review and have determined that expedited action
is warranted. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1), we find that
Petitioners' affirmative statements of no interest constitutes good
cause for the conduct of this review. Additionally, our decision to
expedite this review pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii) stems from
the domestic industry's lack of interest in applying the AD order to
these drumstick novelty pencils, described above, covered by
ThinkGeek's request.
Based on the expression of no interest by Petitioners and absent
any objection by other domestic interested parties, we preliminarily
determine that substantially all of the domestic producers have no
interest in the continued application of the AD order on pencils from
the PRC to the merchandise that is subject to ThinkGeek's request.
Therefore, we are notifying the public of our intent to revoke, in
part, the AD order as it relates to imports of drumstick novelty
pencils, as described above, from the PRC. This partial revocation
would be retroactively applied to entries of novelty drumstick pencils,
entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after June
1, 2011, a date after the last day of the most recently completed
administrative review. See, e.g., Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the
People's Republic of China: Final Results of Changed Circumstances
Review and Determination to Revoke Order in Part, 74 FR 8506 (February
25, 2009) (retroactively revoking an order, in part, to unliquidated
entries not subject to a final determination by the Department). We
intend to modify the scope of the AD order to read as follows:
In addition, pencils with all of the following characteristics
are excluded from the order: novelty jumbo pencils that are
octagonal in shape, approximately ten inches long, one inch in
diameter before sharpening, and three-and-one eighth inches in
circumference, composed of turned wood encasing one-and-one half
inches of sharpened lead on one end and a rubber eraser on the other
end. Also excluded are novelty drumstick pencils that are shaped
like drumsticks, longer than regular wooden pencils, and do not
contain erasers.
Public Comment
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary
results. Written comments may be submitted no later than 14 days after
the date of publication of these preliminary results. Rebuttals to
written comments, limited to issues raised in such comments, may be
filed no later than 21 days after the date of publication of these
preliminary results. Consistent with 19 CFR 351.309, parties who submit
written comments or rebuttal comments in this proceeding are requested
to submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a
brief summary of the argument (no longer than five pages, including
footnotes). Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may
request a hearing within 10 days of the date of publication of this
notice. Further, any hearing, if requested, will be held no later than
25 days after the date of publication of this notice, or the first
business day thereafter. All written comments and/or hearing requests
must be filed electronically using Import Administration's Antidumping
and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (IA
ACCESS).\1\ An electronically filed document must be received
successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic records
system, IA ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time of the deadlines set forth in
this notice.
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\1\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
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We will issue our final results of this changed circumstances
review as soon as practicable following the above comment period, but
not later than 270 days after the date on which we initiated the
changed circumstances review or within 45 days if all parties agree to
our preliminary results, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(e).
If final revocation occurs, we will instruct U.S. Customs and
Border Protection to end the suspension of liquidation for the
merchandise covered by the revocation on the effective date of the
notice of revocation and to release any cash deposit or bond. The
current requirement for a cash deposit of estimated AD duties on all
subject merchandise will continue unless and until it is modified
pursuant to the final results of this changed circumstances review.
This initiation and preliminary results of review notice is
published in
[[Page 42278]]
accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.216, 351.221(b)(1) and (4), and 351.222(g).
Dated: July 11, 2012.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-17523 Filed 7-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P