2023-22195. Paper File Folders From the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value

AGENCY:

Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that paper file folders from the People's Republic of China (China) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less-than-fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is April 1, 2022, through September 30, 2022.

DATES:

Applicable October 5, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

William Horn, AD/CVD Operations, Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On May 17, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register the Preliminary Determination in this investigation.^[1] On May 31, 2023, Commerce published the postponement of the final determination deadline until September 29, 2023.^[2]

We received no comments or case briefs addressing any of the findings in the Preliminary Determination; therefore, there is no Decision Memorandum accompanying this notice.

Scope of the Investigation

The products covered by this investigation are paper file folders from China. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see the appendix to this notice.

Scope Comments

During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope Memorandum to address these comments and set aside a period of time for parties to address scope issues in scope-specific case and rebuttal briefs.^[3] We did not receive comments from any interested parties on the Preliminary Scope Memorandum. We, therefore, did not make any changes to the scope of the investigation from the scope published in the Preliminary Determination, as noted in the appendix.

China-Wide Entity and Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)

For the purposes of this final determination, consistent with the Preliminary Determination,^[4] we relied solely on the application of AFA for the China-wide entity, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Further, because no companies are eligible for a rate separate from the China-wide entity, we continue to find that all exporters of Chinese paper file folders are part of the China-wide entity. No interested party submitted comments on the Preliminary Determination. Thus, we made no changes to our analysis or to the China-wide entity's dumping margin for the final determination. A detailed discussion of our application of AFA is provided in the Preliminary Determination.^[5]

Combination Rates

Because no Chinese exporters qualified for a separate rate, producer/exporter combination rates were not calculated for this final determination.

Final Determination

The final estimated weighted-average dumping margin is as follows:

Exporter/producer	Weighted- average dumping margin (percent)
China-Wide Entity	192.70

Disclosure

Normally, Commerce will disclose to the parties in a proceeding the calculations performed in connection with a final determination within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the notice of final determination in the Federal Register , in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce continues to find that all Chinese exporters of paper file folders are part of the China-wide entity and continues to rely solely on the application of AFA for the China-wide entity, there are no calculations to disclose for this final determination.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend liquidation of subject merchandise, as described in the appendix to this notice, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after May 17, 2023, which is the date of publication of the affirmative Preliminary Determination in the Federal Register , at the cash deposit rate indicated above.

Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(d), we will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit for such entries of merchandise equal to the amount by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. price as follows: (1) for all Chinese exporters of subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated dumping margin established for the China-wide entity; and (2) for all third country exporters of subject merchandise, the cash deposit rate is also the cash deposit rate applicable to the China-wide entity. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of our final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. We will allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Because the final determination in this proceeding is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of paper file folders from China no later than 45 days after our final determination. If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and all cash deposits will be refunded. If the ITC determines that such injury does exist, Commerce intends to issue an antidumping duty order, in accordance with section 736(a) of the Act, directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in the “Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation” section.

Administrative Protective Order

In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a violation which is subject to sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

This determination is issued and published in pursuant to sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

Dated: September 29, 2023.

Lisa W. Wang,

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Investigation

The products within the scope of this investigation 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 the investigation is dispositive.

Footnotes

1.   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) ( Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).

2.   See 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).

3.   See Memorandum, “Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,” dated May 10, 2023 (Preliminary Scope Memorandum).

4.   See Preliminary Determination PDM at 7–11.

5.   Id.