[Federal Register: June 30, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 124)]
[Notices]
[Page 31244-31249]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30jn09-33]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-890]
Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China:
Preliminary Results of New Shipper Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On September 9, 2008, the Department of Commerce (``the
Department'') initiated a new shipper review (``NSR'') of the
antidumping duty order on wooden bedroom furniture from the People's
Republic of China (``PRC'') covering sales of subject merchandise made
by Shanghai Fangjia Industry Co., Ltd. (``Fangjia''). See Wooden
Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of
New Shipper Review, 73 FR 52296 (September 9, 2008) (``Initiation of
NSR'').
The Department preliminarily determines that Fangjia has not made
sales at less than normal value (``NV''). If these preliminary results
are adopted in our final results of review, the Department will
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to assess
antidumping duties on entries of subject merchandise during the period
of review (``POR''), of January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008, for
which the importer-specific assessment rates are above de minimis.
DATES: Effective Date: June 30, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Stolz or Lori Apodaca, AD/CVD
Operations, Office 8, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4474 and (202) 482-4551, respectively.
Background
The Department published an antidumping duty order on wooden
bedroom furniture from the PRC on January 4, 2005. See Notice of
Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and
Antidumping Duty Order: Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People's
Republic of China, 70 FR 329 (January 4, 2005) (``the Order''). On July
11, 2008, Fangjia requested that the Department conduct an NSR of its
sales of subject merchandise during the January 1, 2008 through June
30, 2008 POR. On September 9, 2008, the Department initiated an NSR of
Fangjia.
On September 10, 2008, the Department issued an antidumping duty
[[Page 31245]]
questionnaire to Fangjia. Fangjia submitted its section A questionnaire
response on October 9, 2008, and submitted its sections C and D
questionnaire responses on November 3, 2008. The Department
subsequently issued a supplemental questionnaire to Fangjia on March
23, 2009, to which Fangjia responded on April 22, 2009.
On February 27, 2009, the Department extended the deadline for the
issuance of the preliminary results of the NSR until June 22, 2009. See
Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of China: Extension
of Time for the Preliminary Results of the New Shipper Review, 74 FR
8906 (February 27, 2009).
Period of Review
The POR is January 1, 2008, through June 30, 2008.
Scope of the Order
The product covered by the Order is wooden bedroom furniture.
Wooden bedroom furniture is generally, but not exclusively, designed,
manufactured, and offered for sale in coordinated groups, or bedrooms,
in which all of the individual pieces are of approximately the same
style and approximately the same material and/or finish. The subject
merchandise is made substantially of wood products, including both
solid wood and also engineered wood products made from wood particles,
fibers, or other wooden materials such as plywood, oriented strand
board, particle board, and fiberboard, with or without wood veneers,
wood overlays, or laminates, with or without non-wood components or
trim such as metal, marble, leather, glass, plastic, or other resins,
and whether or not assembled, completed, or finished.
The subject merchandise includes the following items: (1) Wooden
beds such as loft beds, bunk beds, and other beds; (2) wooden
headboards for beds (whether stand-alone or attached to side rails),
wooden footboards for beds, wooden side rails for beds, and wooden
canopies for beds; (3) night tables, night stands, dressers, commodes,
bureaus, mule chests, gentlemen's chests, bachelor's chests, lingerie
chests, wardrobes, vanities, chessers, chifforobes, and wardrobe-type
cabinets; (4) dressers with framed glass mirrors that are attached to,
incorporated in, sit on, or hang over the dresser; (5) chests-on-
chests,\1\ highboys,\2\ lowboys,\3\ chests of drawers,\4\ chests,\5\
door chests,\6\ chiffoniers,\7\ hutches,\8\ and armoires; \9\ (6)
desks, computer stands, filing cabinets, book cases, or writing tables
that are attached to or incorporated in the subject merchandise; and
(7) other bedroom furniture consistent with the above list.
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\1\ A chest-on-chest is typically a tall chest-of-drawers in two
or more sections (or appearing to be in two or more sections), with
one or two sections mounted (or appearing to be mounted) on a
slightly larger chest; also known as a tallboy.
\2\ A highboy is typically a tall chest of drawers usually
composed of a base and a top section with drawers, and supported on
four legs or a small chest (often 15 inches or more in height).
\3\ A lowboy is typically a short chest of drawers, not more
than four feet high, normally set on short legs.
\4\ A chest of drawers is typically a case containing drawers
for storing clothing.
\5\ A chest is typically a case piece taller than it is wide
featuring a series of drawers and with or without one or more doors
for storing clothing. The piece can either include drawers or be
designed as a large box incorporating a lid.
\6\ A door chest is typically a chest with hinged doors to store
clothing, whether or not containing drawers. The piece may also
include shelves for televisions and other entertainment electronics.
\7\ A chiffonier is typically a tall and narrow chest of drawers
normally used for storing undergarments and lingerie, often with
mirror(s) attached.
\8\ A hutch is typically an open case of furniture with shelves
that typically sits on another piece of furniture and provides
storage for clothes.
\9\ An armoire is typically a tall cabinet or wardrobe
(typically 50 inches or taller), with doors, and with one or more
drawers (either exterior below or above the doors or interior behind
the doors), shelves, and/or garment rods or other apparatus for
storing clothes. Bedroom armoires may also be used to hold
television receivers and/or other audio-visual entertainment
systems.
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The scope of the Order excludes the following items: (1) Seats,
chairs, benches, couches, sofas, sofa beds, stools, and other seating
furniture; (2) mattresses, mattress supports (including box springs),
infant cribs, water beds, and futon frames; (3) office furniture, such
as desks, stand-up desks, computer cabinets, filing cabinets,
credenzas, and bookcases; (4) dining room or kitchen furniture such as
dining tables, chairs, servers, sideboards, buffets, corner cabinets,
china cabinets, and china hutches; (5) other non-bedroom furniture,
such as television cabinets, cocktail tables, end tables, occasional
tables, wall systems, book cases, and entertainment systems; (6)
bedroom furniture made primarily of wicker, cane, osier, bamboo or
rattan; (7) side rails for beds made of metal if sold separately from
the headboard and footboard; (8) bedroom furniture in which bentwood
parts predominate; \10\ (9) jewelry armoires; \11\ (10) cheval mirrors;
\12\ (11) certain metal parts; \13\ (12) mirrors that do not attach to,
incorporate in, sit on, or hang over a dresser if they are not designed
and marketed to be sold in conjunction with a dresser as part of a
dresser-mirror set; (13) upholstered beds; \14\ and (14) toy boxes.\15\
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\10\ As used herein, bentwood means solid wood made pliable.
Bentwood is wood that is brought to a curved shape by bending it
while made pliable with moist heat or other agency and then set by
cooling or drying. See Customs' Headquarters' Ruling Letter 043859,
dated May 17, 1976.
\11\ Any armoire, cabinet or other accent item for the purpose
of storing jewelry, not to exceed 24'' in width, 18'' in depth, and
49'' in height, including a minimum of 5 lined drawers lined with
felt or felt-like material, at least one side door (whether or not
the door is lined with felt or felt-like material), with necklace
hangers, and a flip-top lid with inset mirror. See Issues and
Decision Memorandum from Laurel LaCivita to Laurie Parkhill, Office
Director, Concerning Jewelry Armoires and Cheval Mirrors in the
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the
People's Republic of China, dated August 31, 2004. See also Wooden
Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of China: Notice of
Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review and Revocation in
Part, 71 FR 38621 (July 7, 2006).
\12\ Cheval mirrors are any framed, tiltable mirror with a
height in excess of 50 that is mounted on a floor-
standing, hinged base. Additionally, the scope of the order excludes
combination cheval mirror/jewelry cabinets. The excluded merchandise
is an integrated piece consisting of a cheval mirror, i.e., a framed
tiltable mirror with a height in excess of 50 inches, mounted on a
floor-standing, hinged base, the cheval mirror serving as a door to
a cabinet back that is integral to the structure of the mirror and
which constitutes a jewelry cabinet lined with fabric, having
necklace and bracelet hooks, mountings for rings and shelves, with
or without a working lock and key to secure the contents of the
jewelry cabinet back to the cheval mirror, and no drawers anywhere
on the integrated piece. The fully assembled piece must be at least
50 inches in height, 14.5 inches in width, and 3 inches in depth.
See Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China:
Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review and Determination To
Revoke Order in Part, 72 FR 948 (January 9, 2007).
\13\ Metal furniture parts and unfinished furniture parts made
of wood products (as defined above) that are not otherwise
specifically named in this scope (i.e., wooden headboards for beds,
wooden footboards for beds, wooden side rails for beds, and wooden
canopies for beds) and that do not possess the essential character
of wooden bedroom furniture in an unassembled, incomplete, or
unfinished form. Such parts are usually classified under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS'')
subheading 9403.90.7000.
\14\ Upholstered beds that are completely upholstered, i.e.,
containing filling material and completely covered in sewn genuine
leather, synthetic leather, or natural or synthetic decorative
fabric. To be excluded, the entire bed (headboards, footboards, and
side rails) must be upholstered except for bed feet, which may be of
wood, metal, or any other material and which are no more than nine
inches in height from the floor. See Wooden Bedroom Furniture from
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Changed
Circumstances Review and Determination to Revoke Order in Part, 72
FR 7013, 7015 (February 14, 2007).
\15\ To be excluded the toy box must: (1) Be wider than it is
tall; (2) have dimensions within 16 inches to 27 inches in height,
15 inches to 18 inches in depth, and 21 inches to 30 inches in
width; (3) have a hinged lid that encompasses the entire top of the
box; (4) not incorporate any doors or drawers; (5) have slow-closing
safety hinges; (6) have air vents; (7) have no locking mechanism;
and (8) comply with American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) standard F963-03. Toy boxes are boxes generally designed for
the purpose of storing children's items such as toys, books, and
playthings.
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[[Page 31246]]
Imports of subject merchandise are classified under subheading
9403.50.9040 of the HTSUS as ``wooden * * * beds'' and under subheading
9403.50.9080 of the HTSUS as ``other * * * wooden furniture of a kind
used in the bedroom.'' In addition, wooden headboards for beds, wooden
footboards for beds, wooden side rails for beds, and wooden canopies
for beds may also be entered under subheading 9403.50.9040 of the HTSUS
as ``parts of wood'' and framed glass mirrors may also be entered under
subheading 7009.92.5000 of the HTSUS as ``glass mirrors * * * framed.''
This order covers all wooden bedroom furniture meeting the above
description, regardless of tariff classification. Although the HTSUS
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, our
written description of the scope of this proceeding is dispositive.
Bona Fide Analysis
Consistent with the Department's practice, the Department
investigated the bona fide nature of the sales made by Fangjia for this
review. In evaluating whether or not a single sale in an NSR is
commercially reasonable, and therefore bona fide, the Department
considers, inter alia, such factors as: (1) The timing of the sale; (2)
the price and quantity; (3) the expenses arising from the transaction;
(4) whether the goods were resold at a profit; and (5) whether the
transaction was made on an arm's-length basis. See, e.g., Tianjin
Tiancheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. v. United States, 366 F. Supp. 2d
1246, 1250 (CIT 2005). Accordingly, the Department considers a number
of factors in its bona fide analysis, ``all of which may speak to the
commercial realities surrounding an alleged sale of subject
merchandise.'' See Hebei New Donghua Amino Acid Co., Ltd. v. United
States, 374 F. Supp. 2d 1333, 1342 (CIT 2005) (citing Fresh Garlic From
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping
Administrative Review and Rescission of New Shipper Review, 67 FR 11283
(March 13, 2002), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum).
The Department preliminarily finds that the new shipper sales made
by Fangjia were made on a bona fide basis. Specifically, the Department
preliminarily finds that: (1) The price and quantity of each new
shipper sale was within the range of the prices and quantities of other
entries of subject merchandise from the PRC into the United States
during the POR; (2) Fangjia and its customer(s) did not incur any
extraordinary expenses arising from the transactions; (3) each new
shipper sale was made between unaffiliated parties at arm's length; (4)
there is no record evidence that indicates that each new shipper sale
was not made based on commercial principles; (5) the merchandise was
resold at a profit; and (6) the timing of each of the new shipper sales
does not indicate the sales were made on a non-bona fide basis. See the
Memorandum titled, ``Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review of Wooden
Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of China: Bona Fide Nature
of the Sale Under Review for Shanghai Fangjia Industry Co., Ltd.''
dated June 22, 2009. Therefore, the Department has preliminarily found
that Fangjia's sales of subject merchandise to the United States were *
* * for purposes of this NSR.
Non-Market Economy Country Status
In every antidumping case conducted by the Department involving the
PRC, the PRC has been treated as a non-market economy (``NME'')
country. See, e.g., Brake Rotors From the People's Republic of China:
Final Results and Partial Rescission of the 2004/2005 Administrative
Review and Notice of Rescission of 2004/2005 New Shipper Review, 71 FR
66304 (November 14, 2006). In accordance with section 771(18)(C)(i) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act''), any determination
that a foreign country is an NME country shall remain in effect until
revoked by the administering authority. None of the parties to this
proceeding has contested such treatment. Accordingly, the Department
calculated NV in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, which
applies to NME countries.
Separate Rates
In proceedings involving NME countries, the Department has a
rebuttable presumption that all companies within the country are
subject to government control and thus should be assessed a single
antidumping duty rate. It is the Department's policy to assign all
exporters of merchandise subject to investigation in an NME country
this single rate unless an exporter can demonstrate that it is
sufficiently independent so as to be entitled to a separate rate.
Exporters can demonstrate this independence through the absence of both
de jure and de facto government control over export activities. The
Department analyzes each entity exporting the subject merchandise under
a test arising from the Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value: Sparklers from the People's Republic of China, 56 FR 20588 (May
6, 1991) (``Sparklers''), as further developed in the Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from
the People's Republic of China, 59 FR 22585 (May 2, 1994) (``Silicon
Carbide''). See also Policy Bulletin 05.1: Separate-Rates Practice and
Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations
involving Non-Market Economy Countries (April 5, 2005), available at
http://ia.ita.doc.gov/policy/ at p. 6 stating:
[w]hile continuing the practice of assigning separate rates only to
exporters, all separate rates that the Department will now assign in
its NME investigations will be specific to those producers that
supplied the exporter during the period of investigation. Note,
however, that one rate is calculated for the exporter and all of the
producers which supplied subject merchandise to it during the period
of investigation. This practice applies both to mandatory
respondents receiving an individually calculated separate rate as
well as the pool of non-investigated firms receiving the weighted-
average of the individually calculated rates. This practice is
referred to as the application of `combination rates' because such
rates apply to specific combinations of exporters and one or more
producers. The cash-deposit rate assigned to an exporter will apply
only to merchandise both exported by the firm in question and
produced by a firm that supplied the exporter during the period of
investigation. However, if the Department determines that a company
is wholly foreign-owned or located in a market economy, then a
separate-rate analysis is not necessary to determine whether it is
independent from government control.
Fangjia is a wholly Chinese-owned company and is located in the
PRC. Therefore, the Department must analyze whether it can demonstrate
the absence of both de jure and de facto government control over its
export activities.
A. Absence of De Jure Control
The Department considers the following de jure criteria in
determining whether an individual company may be granted a separate
rate: (1) An absence of restrictive stipulations associated with an
individual exporter's business and export licenses; (2) any legislative
enactments decentralizing control of companies; and (3) other formal
measures by the government decentralizing control of companies. See
Sparklers, 56 FR at 20589.
Throughout the course of this proceeding, Fangjia has placed a
number of documents on the record to demonstrate absence of de jure
control including: its articles of association, the
[[Page 31247]]
``Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China'' and the ``The
Company Law of the People's Republic of China.'' See Exhibits 2 and 7
of its Section A questionnaire response dated October 9, 2008
(``Section A response''). The evidence provided by Fangjia supports a
preliminary finding of de jure absence of government control based on
the following: (1) An absence of restrictive stipulations associated
with the individual exporters' business and export licenses; (2) there
are applicable legislative enactments decentralizing control of the
companies; and (3) and there are formal measures by the government
decentralizing control of companies.
B. Absence of De Facto Control
Typically the Department considers four factors in evaluating
whether each respondent is subject to de facto government control of
its export functions: (1) Whether the export prices are set by or are
subject to the approval of a government agency; (2) whether the
respondent has authority to negotiate and sign contracts and other
agreements; (3) whether the respondent has autonomy from the government
in making decisions regarding the selection of management; and (4)
whether the respondent retains the proceeds of its export sales and
makes independent decisions regarding disposition of profits or
financing of losses. See Silicon Carbide, 59 FR at 22587; see also
Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value:
Furfuryl Alcohol From the People's Republic of China, 60 FR 22544,
22545 (May 8, 1995). The Department has determined that an analysis of
de facto control is critical in determining whether respondents are
subject to a degree of government control which would preclude the
Department from assigning separate rates.
In its Section A response, Fangjia submitted evidence indicating an
absence of de facto government control over its export activities. The
evidence placed on the record of this review by Fangjia demonstrates an
absence of de facto government control with respect to its exports of
the merchandise under review, in accordance with the criteria
identified in Sparklers and Silicon Carbide. Specifically, this
evidence indicates that: (1) Fangjia sets its own export prices
independent of the government and without the approval of a government
authority; (2) Fangjia retains the proceeds from its sales and makes
independent decisions regarding the disposition of profits or financing
of losses; (3) Fangjia's general manager has the authority to negotiate
and bind the company in an agreement; (4) Fangjia's management is
selected by its owners; and (5) there is no restriction on Fangjia's
use of export revenues. See Section A response at 4-7. Therefore,
because Fangjia has demonstrated a lack of de jure and de facto
control, we have preliminarily determined it is eligible for a separate
rate.
Surrogate Country
When the Department is reviewing imports from an NME country,
section 773(c)(1) of the Act directs it to base NV, in most
circumstances, on the NME producer's factors of production (``FOPs''),
valued in a surrogate market economy country or countries considered to
be appropriate by the Department. In accordance with section 773(c)(4)
of the Act, in valuing the FOPs, the Department shall utilize, to the
extent possible, the prices or costs of FOPs in one or more market
economy countries that are: (1) At a level of economic development
comparable to that of the NME country; and (2) significant producers of
comparable merchandise. The sources of the surrogate factor values are
discussed under the ``Normal Value'' section below and in the
Memorandum to the File, ``New Shipper Review of Wooden Bedroom
Furniture from the People's Republic of China: Surrogate Values for the
Preliminary Results,'' dated June 22, 2009 (``Factor Valuation
Memorandum'').
The Department has determined that India, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Colombia, and Thailand are comparable to the PRC in terms
of economic development. See the Memorandum titled, ``Request for a
List of Surrogate Countries for a 2008 New Shipper Review of the
Antidumping Duty Order on Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People's
Republic of China,'' dated September 15, 2008. It is the Department's
practice to select from among these countries based on the availability
and reliability of data. See Department Policy Bulletin No. 04.1: Non-
Market Economy Surrogate Country Selection Process (March 1, 2004).
The Department is preliminarily selecting the Philippines as the
surrogate country for the PRC. The Philippines is at a level of
economic development comparable to that of the PRC, it is a significant
producer of comparable merchandise, and the Department has reliable,
publicly available data from the Philippines that it can use to value
the FOPs.
Fair Value Comparisons
To determine whether sales of the subject merchandise made by
Fangjia to the United States were at prices below NV, the Department
compared Fangjia's export price (``EP'') to NV, as described below.
Export Price
In accordance with section 772(a) of the Act, the Department
calculated the EP for sales to the United States for Fangjia because
the first sale to an unaffiliated party was made before the date of
importation and the use of constructed export price (i.e., CEP) was not
otherwise warranted. The Department calculated EP based on the price to
unaffiliated purchasers in the United States. In accordance with
section 772(c) of the Act, as appropriate, the Department deducted from
the starting price to unaffiliated purchasers foreign inland freight,
and brokerage and handling. For Fangjia, each of these services was
either provided by an NME vendor or paid for using an NME currency.
Thus, the Department based the deduction of these movement charges on
surrogate values. See Factor Valuation Memorandum for details regarding
the surrogate values for movement expenses.
Normal Value
Section 773(c)(1) of the Act provides that the Department shall
determine NV using an FOP methodology if: (1) the merchandise is
exported from an NME country; and (2) the information does not permit
the calculation of NV using home market prices, third country prices,
or constructed value under section 773(a) of the Act. See also 19 CFR
351.408. When determining NV in an NME context, the Department will
base NV on FOPs because the presence of government controls on various
aspects of these economies renders price comparisons and the
calculation of production costs invalid under our normal methodologies.
Under section 773(c)(3) of the Act, FOPs include but are not limited
to: (1) Hours of labor required; (2) quantities of raw materials
employed; (3) amounts of energy and other utilities consumed; and (4)
representative capital costs. The Department used FOPs reported by
respondents for materials, energy, labor and packing.
In accordance with 19 CFR 351.408(c)(1), the Department will
normally use publicly available information to find an appropriate SV
to value FOPs, but when a producer sources an input from a market
economy and pays for it in market-
[[Page 31248]]
economy currency, the Department may value the factor using the actual
price paid for the input. See Lasko Metal Products, Inc. v. United
States, 43 F.3d 1442, 1446 (Fed. Cir. 1994). However, when the
Department has reason to believe or suspect that such prices may be
distorted by subsidies, the Department will disregard the market
economy purchase prices and use SVs to determine the NV. See Brake
Rotors From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative and New Shipper Reviews and Partial
Rescission of the 2005-2006 Administrative Review, 72 FR 42386 (August
2, 2007) (``Brake Rotors''), and accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 1.
In avoiding the use of prices that may be subsidized, the
Department does not conduct a formal investigation to ensure that such
prices are not subsidized, but rather relies on information that is
generally available at the time of its determination. See Omnibus Trade
and Competitiveness Act of 1988, Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 3,
H.R. Rep. 100-576, at 590-91 (1988), reprinted in 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N.
1547, 1623-24. It is the Department's practice to find a that there is
reason to believe or suspect that inputs may be subsidized if the facts
developed in the United States or third country countervailing duty
findings indicate the existence of subsidies that appear to be used
generally (in particular, broadly available, non-industry-specific
export subsidies). See Brake Rotors and China National Machinery Imp. &
Exp. Corp. v. United States, 293 F. Supp. 2d 1334, 1338-39 (CIT 2003).
The Department has reason to believe or suspect that prices of inputs
from India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand may have been
subsidized. Through other proceedings, the Department has learned that
these countries maintain broadly available, non-industry specific
export subsidies and, therefore, finds it reasonable to infer that all
exports to all markets from these countries may be subsidized. See,
e.g., Brake Rotors at Comment 1. Accordingly, the Department has
disregarded prices from India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand in
calculating the Philippine import-based SVs.
Factor Valuations
In accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, the Department
calculated NV based on FOPs reported by respondents for the POR. To
calculate NV, the Department multiplied the reported per-unit factor
consumption quantities by publicly available Philippine SVs (except as
noted below). In selecting the SVs, the Department considered the
quality, specificity, and contemporaneity of the data. As appropriate,
the Department adjusted input prices by including freight costs to make
them delivered prices. Specifically, the Department added to Philippine
import SVs a surrogate freight cost using the shorter of the reported
distance from the domestic supplier to the factory or the distance from
the nearest seaport to the factory where appropriate (i.e., where the
sales terms for the market-economy inputs were not delivered to the
factory). This adjustment is in accordance with the decision of the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Sigma Corp. v. United
States, 117 F.3d 1401, 1407-08 (Fed. Cir. 1997). The Department made
currency conversions into U.S. dollars, in accordance with section
773A(a) of the Act, based on the exchange rates in effect on the dates
of the U.S. sales as certified by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank. For a
detailed description of all SVs used to value the respondents' reported
FOPs, see Factor Valuation Memorandum.
Fangjia's producer, Jiangsu Danyang Brilliant Furniture Co., Ltd.,
(``Brilliant'') purchased all reported FOPs from NME sources.
Therefore, to calculate SVs, the Department used contemporaneous import
data from the World Trade Atlas online, published by the Philippines
National Statistics Office. Among the FOPs for which the Department
calculated SVs using Philippine Import Statistics are plywood, screws,
wood plugs, glue, lacquer, hinges, bolts, and packing materials. For a
complete listing of all of the inputs and the valuation for each input,
see Factor Valuation Memorandum.
Where the Department could not obtain information contemporaneous
with the POR with which to value FOPs, the Department adjusted the SVs
using, where appropriate, the Philippine Wholesale Price Index
(``WPI'') available at the Web site of the Philippines National
Statistics Office at http://www.census.gov.ph/data/sectordata/
datawpi.html. See Factor Valuation Memorandum.
For direct labor, indirect labor, and packing labor, consistent
with 19 CFR 351.408(c)(3), the Department used the PRC regression-based
wage rate as reported on Import Administration's Web site, Import
Library, Expected Wages of Selected NME Countries, revised in May 2008,
using 2005 data, http://ia.ita.doc.gov/wages/05wages/05wages-
051608.html#table1. The source of these wage-rate data is the
International Labour Organization, Geneva, Labour Statistics Database,
Copyright International Labour Organization, 1998-2007 Yearbook,
Selection: years: 2004-2005, Chapter 5B: Wages in Manufacturing.
Because this regression-based wage rate does not separate the labor
rates into different skill levels or types of labor, the Department has
applied the same wage rate to all skill levels and types of labor
reported by the respondents. See Factor Valuation Memorandum.
To value electricity, we used data from Doing Business in the
Philippines, published by SGV & Co. See Factor Valuation Memorandum.
To calculate the value for domestic brokerage and handling, the
Department used brokerage fees available at the website of the Republic
of the Philippines Tariff Commission, http://
www.tariffcommission.gov.ph/cao01-2001.html.
We calculated the SV for truck freight using Philippine data from
three sources, (1) The Cost of Doing Business in Camarines Sur,
available at the Philippine government's Web site for the province
http://www.camarinessur.gov.ph, (2) Province of Misamis Oriental: Cost
of Doing Business, available at the Web site http://
www.orobpc.org.ph:8080/pdf/costmor.pdf, and (3) a news article from the
Manila Times entitled ``Government Mulls Cut in Export Target.'' See
Factor Valuation Memorandum.
To value factory overhead, selling, general, and administrative
expenses (``SG&A''), and profit, we used the audited financial
statements for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2007, from the
following producers: Maitland-Smith Cebu, Inc.; Casa Cebuana
Incorporated; Global Classic Designs, Inc.; Diretso Design Furniture
Inc.; and Las Palmas Furniture, Inc., all of which are Philippine
producers of comparable merchandise. From this information, we were
able to determine factory overhead as a percentage of the total raw
materials, labor and energy (``ML&E'') costs; SG&A as a percentage of
ML&E plus overhead (i.e., cost of manufacture); and the profit rate as
a percentage of the cost of manufacture plus SG&A. For further
discussion, see Factor Valuation Memorandum.
Preliminary Results of Review
The Department preliminarily determines that the following
weighted-average dumping margin exists for the period January 1, 2008,
through June 30, 2008:
[[Page 31249]]
Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the PRC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weighted-
average
Exporter/producer margin
(percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shanghai Fangjia Industry Co., Ltd./Jiangsu Danyang 0.00
Brilliant Furniture Co., Ltd.............................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclosure and Public Comment
The Department will disclose calculations performed for these
preliminary results to the parties within five days of the date of
publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).
Interested parties may submit written comments no later than 30 days
after the date of publication of these preliminary results of review.
See 19 CFR 351.309(c). Rebuttals to written comments may be filed no
later than five days after the written comments are filed. See 19 CFR
351.309(d). Further, parties submitting written comments and rebuttal
comments are requested to provide the Department with an additional
copy of those comments on diskette. Any interested party may request a
hearing within 30 days of publication of these preliminary results. See
19 CFR 351.310(c). If requested, a hearing normally will be held two
days after the scheduled date for submission of rebuttal comments. See
19 CFR 351.310(d).
The Department intends to issue the final results of this NSR,
which will include the results of its analysis of any issues raised in
written comments, within 90 days of the date on which these preliminary
results are issued, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.214(i)(1), unless the
time limit is extended. See 19 CFR 351.214(i)(2).
Assessment Rates
Upon completion of the final results, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.212(b), the Department will determine, and CBP shall assess,
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. The Department intends
to issue assessment instructions to CBP 15 days after the date of
publication of the final results of review. If these preliminary
results are adopted in our final results of review, the Department
shall determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all
appropriate entries. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), the Department
will calculate importer-specific (or customer) ad valorem duty
assessment rates based on the ratio of the total amount of the dumping
margins calculated for the examined sales to the total entered value of
those same sales. The Department will instruct CBP to assess
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review if
any importer-specific assessment rate calculated in the final results
of this review is above de minimis.
Cash Deposit Requirements
On August 17, 2006, the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (``H.R. 4'')
was signed into law. Section 1632 of H.R. 4 temporarily suspends the
authority of the Department to instruct CBP to collect a bond or other
security in lieu of a cash deposit in NSRs. Therefore, the posting of a
bond under section 751(a)(1)(B)(iii) of the Act in lieu of a cash
deposit is not available in this case.
The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of the final results of this NSR for shipments of subject
merchandise from Fangjia entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for
consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by section
751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For subject merchandise produced by
Brilliant and exported by Fangjia, the cash deposit rate will be that
established in the final results of this review; (2) for subject
merchandise exported by Fangjia but not produced by Fangjia, the cash
deposit rate will continue to be the PRC-wide rate of 216.01 percent;
(3) for subject merchandise exported by Fangjia and produced by
Fangjia, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the PRC-wide rate of
216.01 percent; (4) for subject merchandise produced by Fangjia, and
exported by any party but itself, the cash deposit rate will be the
rate applicable to the exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.
Notification to Interested Parties
This notice 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 POR. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of double antidumping duties.
The Department is issuing and publishing this determination in
accordance with sections 751(a)(2)(B) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR
351.214(h) and 351.221(b)(4).
Dated: June 22, 2009.
Ronald K Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-15495 Filed 6-29-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P