[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 18 (Monday, January 28, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3878-3879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2033]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

A-570-827


Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Rescission of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Preliminary Rescission of Antidumping Duty New 
Shipper Review of Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of 
China.

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SUMMARY:

    The Department of Commerce (the Department) is preliminarily 
rescinding the antidumping duty new shipper review requested by Wuxi 
Andi Civilization PE Gift Give Away Co., Ltd. (Wuxi or respondent), the 
exporter, and Safety Touch & Javithon Inc., the importer, of the 
antidumping duty order on certain cased pencils from the People's 
Republic of China (PRC). The period of the requested review is December 
1, 2000 through May 31, 2001.
    The Department invites interested parties to comment on the 
preliminary results.

DATES: January 28, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Conniff or Paul Stoltz, AD/CVD 
Enforcement, Office 4, Group II, Import Administration, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20230; telephone (202) 482-
1009 and (202) 482-4474, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Applicable Statute and Regulations

    Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended, (the Act) are references to the provisions effective 
January 1, 1995, the effective date of the amendments made to the Act 
by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. In addition, unless otherwise 
indicated, all citations to the Department's regulations are to the 
regulations at 19 CFR Part 351 (2000).

Background

    On December 28, 1994, the Department published in the Federal 
Register (59 FR 66909) the antidumping duty order on certain cased 
pencils from the People's Republic of China. On May 31, 2001, in 
accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.214, the 
Department received a timely request from Wuxi to conduct a new shipper 
review of that order.
    Section 351.214(b) of the Department's regulations requires that 
the exporter or producer requesting a new shipper review include the 
following in its request: (i) a statement from such exporter or 
producer that it did not export subject merchandise to the United 
States during the period of investigation (POI); (ii) certification 
that, since the investigation was initiated, such exporter or producer 
has never been affiliated with any exporter or producer who exported 
the subject merchandise to the United States during the POI; (iii) in 
an antidumping proceeding involving imports from a non-market economy 
(NME) country, a certification that the export activities of such 
exporter or producer are not controlled by the central government; and 
(iv) documentation establishing: (a) the date on which the subject 
merchandise was first entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption, or, if this date cannot be established, the date on which 
the exporter or producer first shipped the subject merchandise for 
export to the United States; (b) the volume of that shipment and 
subsequent shipments; and (c) the date of the first sale to an 
unaffiliated customer in the United States. Wuxi's May 31, 2001 request 
for review included certifications from both Wuxi and Shanghai Anli 
Stationary Sporting Goods Co. Ltd. (Anfong), the company that supplied 
Wuxi with semi-finished pencils. The certifications stated that neither 
company exported the subject merchandise to the United States during 
the POI nor is affiliated with any company which did so. In addition, 
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.214(b)(2)(iii)(B), Wuxi's request certified that 
the export activities of both companies are not controlled by the 
central government of the PRC. Wuxi's new shipper review request also 
included information regarding the date on which the company's subject 
merchandise was first entered for consumption in the United States, the 
volume of the shipment, and the date of the first sale to an 
unaffiliated customer in the United States.
    On July 24, 2001, the Department initiated a new shipper review of 
Wuxi covering the period December 1, 2000, through May 31, 2001. See 
Certain Cased Pencil From the People's Republic of China: Initiation of 
Antidumping New Shipper Review, 66 FR 39732 (August 1, 2001) 
(Initiation Notice). On August 7, 2001, the Department issued its 
antidumping questionnaire to Wuxi. After granting Wuxi three extensions 
of time to respond to section A of the antidumping questionnaire, the 
Department received Wuxi's timely section A response on September 17, 
2001. The Department also granted Wuxi an extension of time to respond 
to sections C and D of the antidumping questionnaire until September 
28, 2001. However, Wuxi failed to respond to these sections of the 
Department's questionnaire.

Scope of the Review

    Imports covered by this review are shipments of certain cased 
pencils of any shape or dimension 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 this investigation are 
classified under subheading 9609.10.00 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedules of the United States (HTSUS). Specifically excluded from the 
scope of this order are mechanical pencils, cosmetic pencils, pens, 
non-cased crayons (wax), pastels, charcoals, and chalks. Although the 
HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes our 
written description of the scope of the order is dispositive.

Rescission of the Review

    In our Initiation Notice we stated the following:
    If the respondent provides sufficient evidence that it is not 
subject to either de jure or de facto government control with respect 
to its exports of certain cased pencils, this review will proceed. If, 
on the other hand, Wuxi does not meet its burden to demonstrate its 
eligibility for a separate rate, then Wuxi will be deemed to be 
affiliated with other companies that exported during the POI. This 
review will then be terminated due to failure of the exporter or 
producer to meet the requirements of section 751(a)(2)(B)(i)(II) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.214(b)(2)(iii)(B).
    See Initiation Notice (66 FR 39732).
    In its September 17, 2001 response to section A of the Department's

[[Page 3879]]

questionnaire, Wuxi stated that it is not under the control of the PRC 
government. After submitting its section A response, Wuxi failed to 
submit any other information to the Department including its response 
to sections C and D of the antidumping questionnaire. Because Wuxi 
terminated its participation in this review, we have preliminarily 
determined that Wuxi is not entitled to a separate rate. Thus, we are 
preliminarily rescinding this new shipper review.
    Any interested party may request a hearing within 30 days of 
publication of this notice in accordance with section 351.310(c) of the 
Department's regulations. Any hearing would normally be held 37 days 
after the publication of this notice, or the first workday thereafter, 
at the U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20230. Individuals who wish to request a hearing 
must submit a written request within 30 days of the publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register to the Assistant Secretary for Import 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Room 1870, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230. Requests for a public 
hearing should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone 
number; (2) the number of participants; and, (3) to the extent 
practicable, an identification of the arguments to be raised at the 
hearing. Unless otherwise notified by the Department, interested 
parties may submit case briefs within 21 days of the date of 
publication of this notice in accordance with 351.309(c)(ii) of the 
Department's regulations. As part of the case brief, parties are 
encouraged to provide a summary of the arguments not to exceed five 
pages and a table of statutes, regulations, and cases cited. Rebuttal 
briefs, which must be limited to issues raised in the case briefs, must 
be filed within five days after the case brief is filed. Further, we 
would appreciate it if parties submitting written comments would 
provide the Department with an additional copy of the public version of 
any such comments on diskette. If a hearing is held, an interested 
party may make an affirmative presentation only on arguments included 
in that party's case brief and may make a rebuttal presentation only on 
arguments included in that party's rebuttal brief. Parties should 
confirm by telephone the time, date, and place of the hearing 48 hours 
before the scheduled time.
    The Department will issue the final results of this new shipper 
review, which will include the results of its analysis of issues raised 
in the briefs, within 90 days from the date of this preliminary result, 
unless the time limit is extended.
    This new shipper review and this notice are published in accordance 
with sections 751(a)(2)(B) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    January 18, 2002
Faryar Shirzad,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-2033 Filed 1-25-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S