[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 53 (Monday, March 19, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11959-11960]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-05481]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-557-813]
Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Malaysia: Preliminary
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2016-2017
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines
that Euro SME Sdn Bhd (Euro SME), an exporter of polyethylene retail
carrier bags (PRCBs) from Malaysia, did not have shipments of subject
merchandise during the August 1, 2016, through July 31, 2017, period of
review (POR).
DATES: Applicable March 19, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alex Rosen, AD/CVD Operations, Office
III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7814.
Background
On August 1, 2017, Commerce published a notice of opportunity to
request an administrative review of the antidumping duty order on PRCBs
from Malaysia for the POR.\1\ On October 16, 2017, in response to a
timely request from the petitioners,\2\ and in accordance with section
751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR
351.213(b), Commerce initiated an administrative review of the
antidumping duty order on PRCBs from Malaysia with respect to Euro
SME.\3\ Commerce exercised its discretion to toll deadlines affected by
the closure of the Federal Government from January 20 through 22, 2018.
If the new deadline falls on a non-business day, in accordance with
Commerce's practice, the deadline will become the next business day.
The revised deadline for the preliminary results of this review is now
May 7, 2018.\4\ We invite parties to comment on these preliminary
results.
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\1\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative
Review, 82 FR 35754 (August 1, 2017).
\2\ See letter from Polyethylene Retail Bags Committee and its
individual members Hilex Poly Co., LLC and Superbag Corp. (the
petitioners), ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from Malaysia:
Request for Administrative Review,'' dated August 31, 2017.
\3\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews, 82 FR 48051 (October 16, 2017).
\4\ See memorandum to the record from Christian Marsh, Deputy
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of
the Federal Government,'' dated January 23, 2018. All deadlines in
this segment of the proceeding have been extended by 3 days.
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Scope of the Order
The merchandise subject to this antidumping duty order is
polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs), which also may be referred to
as t-shirt sacks, merchandise bags, grocery bags, or checkout bags. The
subject merchandise is defined as non-sealable sacks and bags with
handles (including drawstrings), without zippers or integral extruded
closures, with or without gussets, with or without printing, of
polyethylene film having a thickness no greater than 0.035 inch (0.889
mm) and no less than 0.00035 inch (0.00889 mm), and with no length or
width shorter than 6 inches (15.24 cm) or longer than 40 inches (101.6
cm). The depth of the bag may be shorter than 6 inches (15.24 cm) but
not longer than 40 inches (101.6 cm).
PRCBs are typically provided without any consumer packaging and
free of charge by retail establishments, e.g., grocery, drug,
convenience, department, specialty retail, discount stores, and
restaurants to their customers to package and carry their purchased
products. The scope of this antidumping duty order excludes (1) PRCBs
that are not printed with logos or store names and that are closeable
with drawstrings made of polyethylene film and (2) PRCBs that are
packed in consumer packaging with printing that refers to specific end-
uses other than packaging and carrying merchandise from retail
establishments, e.g., garbage bags, lawn bags, trash-can liners.
Imports of merchandise included within the scope of this
antidumping duty order are currently classifiable under statistical
category 3923.21.0085 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS). This subheading may also cover products that are
outside the scope of this antidumping duty order. Although the HTSUS
subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the
written description of the scope of this antidumping duty order is
dispositive.
Preliminary Determination of No Shipments
We received a timely submission from Euro SME certifying that it
did not have sales, shipments, or exports of subject merchandise to the
United States during the POR.\5\ On January 10, 2018, Commerce
requested entry data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for
subject merchandise exported by Euro SME and imported into the United
States during the POR. This query returned no entries during the
POR.\6\ Additionally, in order to examine Euro SME's claim, we sent a
``no-shipments'' inquiry to CBP requesting that any CBP officer alert
Commerce if he/she had information contrary to these no-shipments
claims.\7\ On January 11, 2018, Commerce was notified by CBP that there
were no shipments of PRCBs from Malaysia during the POR.\8\ Consistent
with our practice, we preliminarily determine that Euro SME had no
shipments during the POR. Further, we find it is not appropriate to
rescind the review with respect to Euro SME but, rather, to complete
the review and issue appropriate instructions to CBP based on the final
results of the review, consistent with our practice.\9\
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\5\ See letter from Euro SME, ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags
from Malaysia; No Shipment Certification,'' dated November 14, 2017.
\6\ See Commerce's memorandum to the file, ``U.S. Customs and
Border Protection Data,'' dated January 12, 2018.
\7\ See CBP message 8011306, dated January 11, 2018.
\8\ See Commerce's memorandum to the file, ``U.S. Customs and
Border Protection--No Shipment Inquiry Data,'' dated February 6,
2018.
\9\ See, e.g., Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Thailand;
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,
Partial Rescission of Review, Preliminary Determination of No
Shipments; 2012-2013, 79 FR 15951, 15952 (March 24, 2014), unchanged
in Certain Frozen Warmwater Shrimp from Thailand: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, Final Determination of No
Shipments, and Partial Rescission of Review; 2012-2013, 79 FR 51306
(August 28, 2014).
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[[Page 11960]]
Public Comment
Interested parties may submit case briefs no later than 30 days
after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal
Register.\10\ Rebuttal comments to case briefs, which must be limited
to issues raised in the case briefs, must be filed within five days
after the date for filing case briefs.\11\ Parties who submit arguments
in this proceeding are requested to submit with each argument: (a) A
statement of the issue, (b) a brief summary of the argument, and (c) a
table of authorities.\12\ Parties submitting briefs should do so
pursuant to Commerce's electronic filing system: Enforcement and
Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic
Service System (ACCESS).\13\ ACCESS is available to registered users at
https://access.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the
Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce
building.
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\10\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii).
\11\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d)(1)(2).
\12\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2), (d)(2).
\13\ See 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).
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Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce
within 30 days of the date of publication of this notice. Hearing
requests should contain the following information: (1) The party's
name, address and telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and
(3) a list of issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will
be limited to those raised in the respective case briefs. If a request
for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the time and date of
the hearing which will be held at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230.
Unless extended, we intend to issue the final results of this
administrative review, including our analysis of all issues raised in
any written brief, not later than 120 days of publication of this
notice in the Federal Register, pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the
Act.
Assessment Rates
Upon issuance of the final results, Commerce will determine, and
CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered
by this review.\14\ In accordance with Commerce's practice, for entries
of subject merchandise during the POR for which Euro SME did not know
that the merchandise was destined for the United States, we will
instruct CBP to liquidate such entries at the all-others rate if there
is no rate for the intermediate company(ies) involved in the
transaction \15\ We intend to issue assessment instructions to CBP 15
days after the publication date of the final results of this review.
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\14\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b).
\15\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
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Cash Deposit Requirements
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the final results of this administrative review for all
shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the
final results of review, as provided for by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the
Act: (1) For Euro SME, which claimed no shipments, the cash deposit
rate will remain unchanged from the rate assigned to Euro SME in the
most recently completed review of the company; (2) for previously
investigated or reviewed companies, the cash deposit rate will continue
to be the company-specific rate published for the most recent period;
(3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a prior
review, or the less-than-fair-value investigation, but the producer is,
the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most recent
period for the producer of the merchandise; and (4) the cash deposit
rate for all other producers or exporters is 2.40 percent. These
deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until
further notice.
Notification to Importers
This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation
of the relevant entries during this period. Failure to comply with this
requirement may result in the Secretary's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of double antidumping duties.
This notice is issued in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and
777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: March 13, 2018.
Gary Taverman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Operations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2018-05481 Filed 3-16-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P