2018-22126. Laminated Woven Sacks From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

AGENCY:

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

SUMMARY:

The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that laminated woven sacks (LWS) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV) for the period of investigation (POI) July 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017. Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary determination.

DATES:

Applicable: October 11, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Drew Jackson or Celeste Chen, AD/CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: [phone] or [phone], respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 3, 2018.^[1] On July 31, 2018, Commerce postponed the preliminary determination of this investigation and the revised deadline is now October 3, 2018.^[2] For a complete description of the events that followed the initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.^[3] A list of topics included in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). ACCESS is available to registered users at https://access.trade.gov,, and to all parties in the Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/​frn/​. The signed and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.

Scope of the Investigation

The products covered by this investigation are LWS from Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations,^[4] the Initiation Notice set aside a period of time for parties to raise issues regarding product coverage (scope).^[5] Certain interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the Initiation Notice, as well as additional language proposed by Commerce. For a summary of the product coverage comments and rebuttal responses submitted to the record for this investigation, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.^[6] Commerce is preliminarily modifying the scope language as it appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the revised scope in Appendix I to this notice.

Methodology

Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with section 731 of the Act. Commerce has calculated export prices in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act. Because Vietnam is a non-market economy country, within the meaning of section 771(18) of the Act, Commerce has calculated normal value (NV) in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act. Furthermore, Commerce preliminarily has denied a separate rate to mandatory respondent Xinsheng Plastic Industry Co., Ltd., which failed to respondent to certain supplemental questionnaires. For a full description of the methodology underlying Commerce's preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

In the Initiation Notice,^[7] Commerce stated that it would calculate producer/exporter combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 05.1 describes this practice.^[8]

Preliminary Determination

Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated weighted-average dumping margins exist:

Exporter	Producer	Estimated weighted- average dumping margin (percent)	Cash deposit rate (adjusted for subsidy offsets) (percent)
Duong Vinh Hoa Packaging Company Limited	Duong Vinh Hoa Packaging Company Limited	161.16	158.43
C.P. Packaging (Vietnam) Industry Co., Ltd	C.P. Packaging (Vietnam) Industry Co., Ltd	161.16	156.19
Tan Dai Hung d.b.a. Tan Dai Hung Joint Stock Co. and Tan Dai Hung Plastic Joint Stock Company	Tan Dai Hung d.b.a. Tan Dai Hung Joint Stock Co. and Tan Dai Hung Plastic Joint Stock Company	161.16	156.19
TKMB Joint Stock Company	TKMB Joint Stock Company	161.16	156.19
Trung Dong Corporation	Trung Dong Corporation	161.16	156.19
Vietnam-wide entity 9		292.61	289.88

Suspension of Liquidation

In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of subject merchandise as described in the scope of the investigation section entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, as discussed below. Further, pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the weighted average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. price, as indicated in the table above as follows: (1) For the producer/exporter combinations listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin listed for that combination in the table; (2) for all combinations of Vietnam producers/exporters of merchandise under consideration that have not established eligibility for their own separate rates, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for the Vietnam-wide entity; and (3) for all third-county exporters of merchandise under consideration not listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate is the cash deposit rate applicable to the Vietnam producer/exporter combination (or the Vietnam-wide entity) that supplied that third-country exporter.

To determine the cash deposit rate, Commerce normally adjusts the estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the amount of domestic subsidy pass-through and export subsidies determined in a companion CVD proceeding when CVD provisional measures are in effect. Accordingly, where Commerce has made a preliminary affirmative determination for domestic subsidy pass-through or export subsidies, Commerce has offset the calculated estimated weighted-average dumping margin by the appropriate rate(s). Any such adjusted rates may be found in the Preliminary Determination Section's table of estimated weighted-average dumping margins above.

Should provisional measures in the companion CVD investigation expire prior to the expiration of provisional measures in this LTFV investigation, Commerce will direct CBP to begin collecting cash deposits at a rate equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins calculated in this preliminary determination unadjusted for the passed-through domestic subsidies or for export subsidies at the time the CVD provisional measures expire.

These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

Commerce intends to disclose to interested parties the calculations performed in connection with this preliminary determination within five days of its public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of this notice in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Verification

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, Commerce intends to verify information relied upon in making its final determination.

Public Comment

Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no later than seven days after the date on which the last final verification report is issued in this investigation, unless the Secretary alters the time limit. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days after the deadline date for case briefs.^[10] Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled date.

International Trade Commission Notification

In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its preliminary determination of sales at LTFV. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will determine before the later of 120 days after the date of this preliminary determination or 45 days after the final determination whether imports of the subject merchandise are materially injuring, or threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

This determination is issued and published in accordance with sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

Dated: October 3, 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.

Appendix I—Scope of the Investigation

The merchandise covered by this investigation is laminated woven sacks. Laminated woven sacks are bags consisting of one or more plies of fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven polyethylene strip, regardless of the width of the strip; with or without an extrusion coating of polypropylene and/or polyethylene on one or both sides of the fabric; laminated by any method either to an exterior ply of plastic film such as biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyester (PET), polyethylene (PE), nylon, or any film suitable for printing, or to an exterior ply of paper; printed; displaying, containing, or comprising three or more visible colors (e.g., laminated woven sacks printed with three different shades of blue would be covered by the scope), not including the color of the woven fabric; regardless of the type of printing process used; with or without lining; with or without handles; with or without special closing features (including, but not limited to, closures that are sewn, glued, easy-open (e.g., tape or thread), re-closable (e.g., slider, hook and loop, zipper), hot-welded, adhesive-welded, or press-to-close); whether finished or unfinished (e.g., whether or not closed on one end and whether or not in roll form, including, but not limited to, sheets, lay-flat, or formed in tubes); not exceeding one kilogram in actual weight. Laminated woven sacks produced in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are subject to the scope regardless of the country of origin of the fabric used to make the sack.

The scope of this investigation excludes laminated woven sacks having each of the following physical characteristics: (1) No side greater than 24 inches, (2) weight less than 100 grams, (3) an open top that is neither sealable nor closable, the rim of which is hemmed or sewn around the entire circumference, (4) carry handles sewn on the open end, (5) side gussets, and (6) either a bottom gusset or a square or rectangular bottom. The excluded items with the above-mentioned physical characteristics may be referred to as reusable shopping bags.

Subject laminated woven sacks are currently classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheadings 6305.33.0040 and 6305.33.0080. If entered with plastic coating on both sides of the fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven polyethylene strip, laminated woven sacks may be classifiable under HTSUS subheadings 3923.21.0080, 3923.21.0095, and 3923.29.0000. If entered not closed on one end or in roll form (including, but not limited to, sheets, lay-flat tubing, and sleeves), laminated woven sacks may be classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings, including 3917.39.0050, 3921.90.1100, 3921.90.1500, and 5903.90.2500. If the polypropylene strips and/or polyethylene strips making up the fabric measure more than 5 millimeters in width, laminated woven sacks may be classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings including 4601.99.0500,4601.99.9000, and 4602.90.0000. Although HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II—List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary

II. Background

III. Period of Investigation

IV. Scope Comments

V. Product Characteristics

VI. Selection of Respondents

VII. Determination Not To Select TKMB as Voluntary Respondent

VIII. Discussion of the Methodology

A. Non-Market Economy Country

B. Surrogate Country and Surrogate Value Comments

C. Separate Rates

D. Dumping Margin for the Separate Rate Companies Not Individually Examined

E. The Vietnam-Wide Entity

F. Application of Facts Available and Adverse Inferences

G. Date of Sale

H. Comparisons to Fair Value

I. Export Price

J. Normal Value

K. Factor Valuation Methodology

IX. Currency Conversion

X. Adjustment Under Section 777a(f) of the Act

XI. Adjustment for Countervailable Export Subsidies

XII. Conclusion

Footnotes

1.  See Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 83 FR 14257 (April 3, 2018) (Initiation Notice).

2.  See Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 83 FR 36876 (July 31, 2018).

3.  See Memorandum, “Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).

4.  See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997).

5.  See Initiation Notic e.

6.  See Memorandum, “Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary Determination” (Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum), dated concurrently with this preliminary determination.

7.  See Initiation Notice.

8.  See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, regarding, “Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy Countries,” (April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/​policy/​bull05-1.pdf.

9.  The Vietnam-wide entity includes Xinsheng Plastic Industry Co., Ltd.

10.  See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general filing requirements).