2023-25290. Certain Cased Pencils From the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has completed its administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain cased pencils (cased pencils) from the People's Republic of China (China) for the period of review (POR) December 1, 2021, through November 30, 2022. We continue to find that the single entity Wah Yuen Stationery Co. Ltd./Shandong Wah Yuen Stationery Co. Ltd. (Wah Yuen) as well as Tianjin Tonghe Stationery Co., Ltd. (Tianjin Tonghe) and Ningbo Homey Union Co., Ltd. (Ningbo Homey) are part of the China-wide entity.

DATES:

Applicable November 16, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Katherine Johnson, 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 September 5, 2023, Commerce published the Preliminary Results in the Federal Register .^[1] We invited interested parties to comment on the Preliminary Results; however, no interested parties submitted comments. Accordingly, we made no changes to the Preliminary Results and no decision memorandum accompanies this Federal Register notice.

Scope of the Order ^[2]

The merchandise covered by the Order is 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 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 physical characteristics are excluded from the scope of 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 merchandise covered by the scope of the Order is dispositive.

China-Wide Entity

We find all companies for which a review was requested to be part of the China-wide entity, because they did not file no-shipment statements, separate rate applications, or separate rate certifications. Accordingly, Wah Yuen, Tianjin Tonghe, and Ningbo Homey are part of the China-wide entity. Because no party requested a review of the China-wide entity, and Commerce no longer considers the China-wide entity as an exporter conditionally subject to administrative reviews, we did not conduct a review of the China-wide entity.^[3] Accordingly, the rate previously established for the China-wide entity, 114.90 percent, is not changed as a result of this review.^[4]

Assessment Rates

Commerce will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries in accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1). Because we determined that Wah Yuen, Tianjin Tonghe, and Ningbo Homey are not eligible for separate rates and are part of the China-wide entity, we intend to instruct CBP to apply an ad valorem assessment rate of 114.90 percent ( i.e., the China-wide entity rate) to all entries of subject merchandise during the POR that were exported by these companies.

Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of these final results of review in the Federal Register . If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired ( i.e., within 90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the final results of this administrative review for shipments of subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of this notice, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for previously investigated or reviewed Chinese and non-Chinese exporters for which a review was not requested and that received a separate rate in a prior segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will continue to be the existing exporter-specific rate published for the most recently-completed period; (2) for all Chinese exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate for the China-wide entity; and (3) for all non-Chinese exporters of subject merchandise that have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the Chinese exporter that supplied that non-Chinese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers Regarding the Reimbursement of Duties

This notice serves as a final 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 Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Administrative Protective Order

This notice also serves as a final reminder to parties subject to an administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3), which continues to govern business proprietary information in this segment of the proceeding. Timely written notification of the return or 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 sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h) and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).

Dated: November 9, 2023.

Abdelali Elouaradia,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Footnotes

1.   See Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021–2022,88 FR 60636 (September 5, 2023).

2.   See Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Order,88 FR 15673 (March 14, 2023); and Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of China,59 FR 66909 (December 28, 1994) ( Order).

3.   See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings,78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).

4.   See Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2012–2013,80 FR 26897 (May 11, 2015).