[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 117 (Friday, June 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34128-34130]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-13816]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-557-813]


Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Malaysia

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

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 18, 2004.

SUMMARY: On January 26, 2003, the Department of Commerce published its 
preliminary determination of sales at less than fair value of the 
investigation on polyethylene retail carrier bags from Malaysia. The 
period of investigation is April 1, 2002, through March 31, 2003. The 
investigation covers six manufacturers/exporters.
    We invited interested partes to comment on our preliminary 
determination of sales at less than fair value. Based on our analysis 
of the comments received, we have made changes to our calculations. The 
final dumping margins for this investigation are listed in the ``Final 
Determination Margins'' section below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Dirstine (Bee Lian Plastic 
Industries Sdn. Bhd.) or Catherine Cartsos (Teong Chuan Plastic and 
Timber Sdn. Bhd.), Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4033 or (202) 482-1757, respectively.

Final Determination

    We determine that polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs) from 
Malaysia are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at 
less than fair value, as provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act). The estimated margins of sales at less than 
fair value (LTFV) are shown in the AFinal Determination Margins' 
section of this notice.

Case History

    The preliminary determination of sales at LTFV in this 
investigation was issued on January 21, 2004. See Notice of Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of 
Final Determination: Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from Malaysia, 69 
FR 35557 (January 26, 2004) (Preliminary Determination).
    Since the Preliminary Determination the following events have 
occurred. Pursuant to section 782(i) of the Act, we conducted 
verification of the questionnaire responses of the sole responsive 
exporter in this case, Bee Lian Plastic Industries Sdn. Bhd. (Bee 
Lian), in March 2004. We gave interested parties an opportunity to 
comment on the Preliminary Determination. In April 2004, we received 
case and rebuttal briefs from the Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bag 
Committee and its individual members, PCL Packaging, Inc., Hilex Poly 
Co. LLC, Superbag Corp., Vanguard Plastics, Inc., and Interplast Group, 
Ltd. (the petitioners), and Bee Lian. We also received a case brief 
from the Malaysian Plastic Manufacturers Association. The Department 
held a public hearing on April 23, 2004, at the request of the 
petitioners.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation (POI) is April 1, 2002, through March 
31, 2003, which corresponds to the four most recent fiscal quarters 
prior to the June 20, 2003, filing of the petition.

Scope of Investigation

    The merchandise subject to this investigation is polyethylene 
retail carrier bags, 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 .035 inch (0.889 mm) and no less 
than .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 investigation 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 classified under statistical 
category 3923.21.0090 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (HTSUS). This subheading also covers products that are outside 
the scope of this investigation. Furthermore, although the HTSUS 
subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, our 
written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this antidumping investigation are addressed in the ``Issues and 
Decision Memorandum'' (Decision

[[Page 34129]]

Memorandum) from Jeffrey May, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Import 
Administration, to James J. Jochum, Assistant Secretary for Import 
Administration, dated June 9, 2004, which is hereby adopted by this 
notice. A list of the issues which parties have raised and to which we 
have responded, all of which are in the Decision Memorandum, is 
attached to this notice as an appendix. Parties can find a complete 
discussion of all issues raised in this investigation and the 
corresponding recommendations in this public memorandum which is on 
file in the Central Records Unit, room B-099 of the main Department of 
Commerce building. In addition, a complete version of the Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly on the Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/. The paper copy and electronic version of the Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.

Use of Facts Otherwise Available

    As explained in the Preliminary Determination, because some 
companies failed to respond, wholly or in part, to our request for 
information, we have found that they failed to cooperate to the best of 
their ability. Therefore, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act, we 
have used an adverse inference in selecting from the facts available 
for the margins for these companies. See Memorandum from Laurie 
Parkhill to Jeffrey May, dated January 16, 2004, ``Determination to 
Apply Adverse Facts Available and the Calculation of the Adverse Facts-
Available Rate'' (AFA Memo).
    As adverse facts available, we have examined the margins that the 
petitioners alleged in their June 30, 2003, response to our June 25, 
2003, letter requesting supplemental information with respect to the 
petition and selected the higher of the two margins; that rate is 
101.74 percent.
    Section 776(c) of the Act provides that the Department shall, to 
the extent practicable, corroborate secondary information used for 
facts available by reviewing independent sources reasonably at its 
disposal. Information from the petitioners constitutes secondary 
information. The Statement of Administrative Action accompanying the 
Uruguay Round Agreements Act, H.R. Doc. 103-316, Vol. 1, at 870 (1994) 
(SAA), provides that the word ``corroborate'' means that the Department 
will satisfy itself that the secondary information to be used has 
probative value.
    As discussed in the AFA Memo, we found that the export-price and 
normal-value information in the supplemental petition was reasonable 
and, therefore, we preliminarily determined that the information had 
probative value. Accordingly, we find that the highest margin based on 
that information, 101.74 percent, is corroborated within the meaning of 
section 776(c) of the Act.
    Furthermore, there is no information on the record that 
demonstrates that the rate we have selected is an inappropriate total 
adverse facts--available rate for the companies in question. Therefore, 
we consider the selected rate to have probative value with respect to 
the firms in question and to reflect the appropriate adverse inference.
    Accordingly, we have applied a margin of 101.74 percent to Branpak 
Industries Sdn. Bhd., Gants Pac Industries, Sido Bangun, Zhin Hin/Chin 
Hin, and Teong Chuan.

Currency Conversion

    We made currency conversions into U.S. dollars, in accordance with 
section 773A(a) of the Act, based on the exchange rates in effect on 
the dates of the U.S. sales, as certified by the Federal Reserve Bank.

Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, we verified the 
information submitted by the respondent for use in our final 
determination. We used standard verification procedures, including 
examination of relevant accounting and production records, as well as 
original source documents provided by the respondent.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our analysis of comments received, we have made certain 
changes to the margin calculations. For a discussion of these changes, 
see Memorandum to the File from David Dirstine, dated June 9, 2004, 
Final Determination Analysis Memorandum for Bee Lian Plastic Industries 
Sdn. Bhd. (Bee Lian)--Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from Malaysia.

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will instruct 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend liquidation 
of all imports of subject merchandise from Malaysia (except for entries 
of Bee Lian because this company has a de minimis margin) entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after January 26, 2004, 
the date of the publication of our preliminary determination. The CBP 
shall continue to require a cash deposit or the posting of a bond equal 
to the estimated amount by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. 
price as shown below. These instructions suspending liquidation will 
remain in effect until further notice.

Final Determination Margin

    The weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
                    Exporter or producer                       percent
                                                                margin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bee Lian Plastic Industries Sdn. Bhd.......................        00.91
Teong Chuan Plastic and Timber Sdn. Bhd....................       101.74
Brandpak Industries Sdn. Bhd...............................       101.74
Gants Pac Industries.......................................       101.74
Sido Bangun Sdn. Bhd.......................................       101.74
Zhin Hin/Chin Hin Plastic Manufacturer Sdn. Bhd............       101.74
All Others.................................................        84.94
------------------------------------------------------------------------

All Others

    All companies that we examined have either a de minimis margin or 
rates based on total adverse facts available. Therefore, for purposes 
of determining the all-others rate and pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) 
of the Act, we have calculated a simple average of the six margin rates 
we have determined in the investigation. See All-Others Rate 
Calculation Memorandum from Laurie Parkhill to Jeffrey May, dated 
January 16, 2004.
    The Department will disclose calculations performed within five 
days of publication of this notice to parties in this proceeding in 
accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our final determination of 
sales at LTFV. As our final determination is affirmative and in 
accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act the ITC will, within 45 
days, determine whether the domestic industry in the United States is 
materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of 
imports, or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation, of the 
subject merchandise. If the ITC determines that material injury or 
threat of material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be 
terminated and all securities posted will be refunded or canceled. If 
the ITC determines that such injury does exist, the Department will 
issue an antidumping duty order directing the CBP to assess antidumping 
duties on all imports of the subject merchandise

[[Page 34130]]

entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
effective date of the suspension of liquidation (i.e., January 26, 
2004).

Notification Regarding APO

    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. Timely notification of return/
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.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: June 9, 2004.
James J. Jochum,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix--Issues in the Decision Memorandum

1. All-Others Rate
2. Rejection of Bee Lian's Response and Application of Total Adverse 
Facts Available
3. Determination of Production and Sales Quantities
4. Offset to Cost of Manufacturing (COM) for the Sale of Recycled 
Resin Produced from Scrap and Misprinted Bags
5. Value of Recycled Resin Used in Production
6. Average Resin Cost by Type
7. Application of Auditors Year-End Adjustments
8. General, Administrative and Financial Expenses of Affiliated 
Companies
9. Treatment of Glue Spots as Cost of Materials Instead of Packing 
Cost
10. Billing Adjustments
11. Affiliation of Bee Lian and Certain U.S. Customers

[FR Doc. 04-13816 Filed 6-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P