[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13352-13353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3746]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-827]


Notice of Final Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances 
Review, and Determination To Revoke Order in Part: Certain Cased 
Pencils From the People's Republic of China

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

SUMMARY: On August 30, 2005, the Department of Commerce (the 
Department) published a notice of initiation of an antidumping duty 
changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order on certain 
cased pencils (pencils) from the People's Republic of China (PRC). See 
Notice of Initiation of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: 
Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 51336 
(August 30, 2005) (Initiation). The Department published the 
preliminary results of this review on January 3, 2006. See Notice of 
Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review 
and Intent to Revoke Order in Part: Certain Cased Pencils from the 
People's Republic of China, 71 FR 92 (January 3, 2006) (Preliminary 
Results). We are now revoking this order, in part, with respect to 
pencils meeting the specifications described below, based on the fact 
that domestic interested parties \1\ have expressed no objection to 
exclusion of these pencils from the order.
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    \1\ Sanford Corporation, Musgrave Pencil Company, RoseMoon, 
Inc., and General Pencil Company, domestic manufacturers of cased 
pencils (collectively, the domestic interested parties).

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DATES: Effective Date: March 15, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Stolz or Charles Riggle, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 8, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-
4474 and (202) 482-0650, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 14, 2005, M.A. Notch Corporation (Notch), a U.S. importer, 
filed a request asking the Department to revoke the antidumping duty 
order (AD order) on certain cased pencils from the PRC with respect to 
a large novelty pencil. See Notch's letter to the Department, dated 
April 5, 2005 (Notch Request Letter). Specifically, Notch requests that 
the Department revoke the AD order with respect to imports of certain 
cased pencils meeting the following description: novelty jumbo pencil 
that is octagonal in shape, approximately ten inches long, one inch in 
diameter, 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. See Notch Request Letter at 
1. On May 6, 2005, the domestic interested parties submitted a letter 
to the Department stating that they `` * * * do not object to exclusion 
of items meeting the description set forth in the quoted description'' 
(as stated above). On August 22, 2005, the Department initiated a 
changed circumstances review. See Notice of Initiation of Antidumping 
Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Cased Pencils from the 
People's Republic of China, 70 FR 51336 (August 30, 2005).
    On August 25, 2005, we informed all interested parties that 
comments on the initiation of the changed circumstances review and/or 
comments with respect to whether the domestic interested parties 
account for substantially all of the production of the domestic like 
product, were due 21 days subsequent to publication of the initiation 
notice in the Federal Register. No interested party submitted comments.
    As noted above, on January 3, 2006, the Department published the 
Preliminary Results in the Federal Register and gave interested parties 
an additional opportunity to comment. We received no comments from 
interested parties.

[[Page 13353]]

New Scope Based on This Changed Circumstances Review

    Imports covered by this order are shipments of certain cased 
pencils of any shape or dimension (except as noted 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, our written description of the scope of the order is 
dispositive.

Final Results of Review; Partial Revocation of Antidumping Duty Order

    The affirmative statement by interested parties that they have no 
objection to exclusion of pencils meeting the specifications described 
above from the order constitutes changed circumstances sufficient to 
warrant partial revocation of this order. No party commented on the 
preliminary results or claimed that the domestic interested parties 
mentioned above do not account for substantially all of the production 
of the domestic like product to which the order pertains. Therefore, 
the Department is revoking, in part, the order on pencils from the PRC 
with regard to the pencils meeting the specifications described above, 
in accordance with sections 751(b), 751(d)(1), and 782(h)(2) of the 
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1).
    The Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) to liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, all 
unliquidated entries of pencils meeting the specifications described 
above. The Department will instruct CBP to refund with interest any 
estimated antidumping duties collected with respect to unliquidated 
entries of pencils meeting the specifications entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption prior to the effective date of this 
notice. In addition, the Department will terminate the suspension of 
liquidation for the merchandise covered by this partial revocation, 
effective on the date of publication of this notice.
    This notice 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 351.306. Timely written notification of 
the return/destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial 
protective order is hereby requested. See 19 CFR 351.305. Failure to 
comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable 
violation.
    This changed circumstances administrative review, partial 
revocation of the antidumping duty order and notice are in accordance 
with sections 751(b), 751(d)(1), 777(i) and 782(h)(2) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.216(e) and 19 CFR 351.222(g) of the Department's regulations.

    Dated: March 9, 2006.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-3746 Filed 3-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P