[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12700-12702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5267]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-549-821]
Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand: Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On September 2, 2010, the Department of Commerce published the
preliminary results of the 2008/2009 administrative review of the
antidumping duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from
Thailand. We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the
preliminary results. Based on our analysis of the comments received and
an examination of our calculations, we have made certain changes for
the final results. The final weighted-average dumping margins for the
respondents are listed below in the ``Final Results of Review'' section
of this notice.
DATES: Effective Date: March 8, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Schauer or Richard Rimlinger,
AD/CVD Operations, Office 5, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-
0410 or (202) 482-4477, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On September 2, 2010, the Department of Commerce (the Department)
published Polyethylene
[[Page 12701]]
Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand: Preliminary Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review, 75 FR 53953 (September 2, 2010)
(Preliminary Results), in the Federal Register. The administrative
review covers C.P. Packaging Co., Ltd. (C.P. Packaging), Giant Pack
Co., Ltd. (Giant), Sahachit Watana Plastics Ind. Co., Ltd. (Sahachit
Watana), Thai Plastic Bags Industries Co., Ltd. (TPBI), and Thantawan
Industry Public Co., Ltd. (Thantawan).\1\ The Department has determined
previously that TPBI, Apec Film Ltd., and Winner's Pack Co., Ltd.,
comprise the Thai Plastic Bags Group. See Notice of Final Determination
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From
Thailand, 69 FR 34122, 34123 (June 18, 2004). The period of review is
August 1, 2008, through July 31, 2009.
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\1\ We had originally selected Landblue (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
(Landblue), and TPBI for individual examination in this review (see
Memorandum to Laurie Parkhill dated October 15, 2009), but
subsequently we rescinded the review in part with respect to
Landblue. See Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand:
Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review in Part, 75 FR
34699 (June 18, 2010).
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We invited parties to comment on the Preliminary Results. On
December 10, 2010, we received case briefs from the Polyethylene Retail
Carrier Bag Committee and its individual members, Hilex Poly Co., LLC,
and Superbag Corporation (collectively, the petitioners), and from
TPBI. On December 15, 2010, we received rebuttal briefs from the
petitioners and from TPBI. We did not hold a hearing as the only
request for a hearing was withdrawn. See the petitioners' letter dated
December 20, 2010.
We have conducted this review in accordance with section 751(a) of
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
Scope of the Order
The merchandise subject to the antidumping duty order is
polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs) which 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 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 the order excludes (1) polyethylene bags that
are not printed with logos or store names and that are closeable with
drawstrings made of polyethylene film and (2) polyethylene bags 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 the subject merchandise are currently classifiable under
statistical category 3923.21.0085 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of
the United States (HTSUS). Furthermore, although the HTSUS subheading
is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written
description of the scope of the order is dispositive.
Analysis of Comments Received
All issues raised in the case briefs by parties to this review are
addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review of Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From
Thailand for the Period of Review August 31, 2008, through July 31,
2009 (Decision Memo), which is dated concurrently with this notice and
hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the issues which parties have
raised and to which we have responded is in the Decision Memo and
attached to this notice as an Appendix. The Decision Memo, which is a
public document, is on file in the Department's Central Records Unit
(CRU) of the main Commerce building, Room 7046, and is accessible on
the Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/index.html. The paper copy and
electronic version of the Decision Memo are identical in content.
Non-Selected Companies
As discussed in the Preliminary Results, 75 FR at 53954, we
preliminarily determined to apply the weighted-average margin of TPBI,
the sole remaining company as selected for individual examination, for
the following companies: C.P. Packaging, Giant, Sahachit Watana, and
Thantawan. We received no comments on the use of TPBI's rate.
Therefore, for these final results of review, we have applied the rate
we have calculated for TPBI to the companies named above which were not
selected for individual examination.
Changes Since the Preliminary Results
We made the following changes to our calculation of TPBI's margin
for the final results: (1) We revised our calculations of the cost of
production and constructed value for TPBI to include exempted import
duties, (2) we revised the general and administrative expenses of TPBI
to include certain expenses, (3) we corrected a clerical error whereby
we inadvertently used only 14 of the 15 physical characteristics in
matching models across markets, and (4) we corrected a clerical error
by using the correct quantity variable. See the memorandum to the file
entitled ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand--Thai Plastic
Bags Industries Co., Ltd., Final Results Analysis Memorandum'' dated
concurrently with this notice for details regarding these changes.
Sales Below Cost in the Home Market
As explained in the Preliminary Results, 75 FR at 53954, in
accordance with section 773(b) of the Act, the Department tested
whether TPBI made sales at prices below the cost of production. For
these final results of review and based on the statutory criteria
concerning below-cost sales, the Department disregarded home-market
sales by TPBI that failed the cost-of-production test.
Final Results of Review
As a result of our review, we determine that the following
percentage weighted-average dumping margins exist for PRCBs from
Thailand for the period August 1, 2008, through July 31, 2009:
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Percent
Producer/Exporter margin
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TPBI.......................................................... 20.15
C.P. Packaging Co., Ltd....................................... 20.15
Giant Pack Co., Ltd........................................... 20.15
Sahachit Watana Plastics Ind. Co., Ltd........................ 20.15
Thantawan Industry Public Co., Ltd............................ 20.15
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Assessment Rates
The Department shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate
entries.
We calculated importer/customer-specific duty-assessment amounts
with respect to export-price sales by TPBI in the following manner. We
divided the total dumping margins (calculated as the difference between
normal value and the export price) for each importer or customer by the
total number of kilograms TPBI sold to that importer or
[[Page 12702]]
customer. We will direct CBP to assess the resulting per-kilogram
dollar amount against each kilogram of merchandise on each of that
importer's or customer's entries during the period of review. See 19
CFR 351.212(b)(1).
The Department clarified its ``automatic assessment'' regulation on
May 6, 2003. This clarification will apply to entries of subject
merchandise during the period of review produced by TPBI for which it
did not know that the merchandise it sold to an intermediary (e.g., a
reseller, trading company, or exporter) was destined for the United
States. In such instances, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed
entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the
intermediary(ies) involved in the transaction. See Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68
FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
For the companies which were not selected for individual
examination, we will instruct CBP to apply the rates listed above to
all entries of subject merchandise produced and/or exported by such
firms.
We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after
publication of these final results of review.
Cash-Deposit Requirements
The following deposit requirements will be effective upon
publication of this notice of final results of administrative review
for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication,
consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash-deposit
rates for the reviewed companies will be the rates shown above; (2) for
previously investigated or reviewed companies not listed above, 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 or a previous review or the original less-than-fair-
value (LTFV) investigation but the manufacturer is, the cash-deposit
rate will be the rate established for the most recent period for the
manufacturer of the merchandise; (4) the cash-deposit rate for all
other manufacturers or exporters will be 4.69 percent, the all-others
rate from the amended final determination of the LTFV investigation as
revised as a result of the Section 129 determination published on
August 12, 2010. See Notice of Implementation of Determination Under
Section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and Partial Revocation
of the Antidumping Duty Order on Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From
Thailand, 75 FR 48940 (August 12, 2010).
These deposit requirements shall remain in effect until further
notice.
Notification Requirements
This notice serves as a reminder to importers of their
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding
the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the
relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this
requirement could result in the Department's presumption that
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent
assessment of doubled antidumping duties. See Id.
This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely notification of the
destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order
is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and the
terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).
Dated: March 1, 2011.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
Appendix
1. Conversion-Cost Reallocation.
2. Affiliated-Party Inputs.
3. Blue Corner Rebates.
4. Zeroing.
5. Duties in Cost of Production and Constructed Value.
6. General and Administrative Expenses.
7. Ministerial Errors and Other Issues.
[FR Doc. 2011-5267 Filed 3-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P