[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 232 (Friday, December 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63720-63721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-29017]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-560-822]


Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Indonesia: Amended 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On November 3, 2009, the Department of Commerce published the 
preliminary determination of sales at less than fair value in the 
antidumping duty investigation of polyethylene retail carrier bags from 
Indonesia. See Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from Indonesia: 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Postponement of Final Determination, 74 FR 56807 (November 3, 2009) 
(Preliminary Determination). We are amending our Preliminary 
Determination to correct certain ministerial errors with respect to the 
antidumping duty margin calculation for P.T. Super Exim Sari Ltd. (SES) 
and P.T. Super Makmur (SM) (collectively SESSM). The corrections to the 
margin for SESSM also affect the calculation of the all-others rate.

EFFECTIVE DATE: November 3, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Yang Jin Chun or Minoo Hatten, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office 5, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-5760 
or (202) 482-1690, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 27, 2009, the Department issued a preliminary 
determination that polyethylene retail carrier bags from Indonesia are 
being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value as provided in section 733 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the Act). See Preliminary Determination. On November 2, 2009, SESSM 
filed timely allegations of ministerial errors contained in the 
Preliminary Determination. After reviewing the allegations, we have 
determined that the Preliminary Determination included significant 
ministerial errors. Therefore, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(e), we 
have made changes to the Preliminary Determination as described below.

Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation is January 1, 2008, through December 
31, 2008.

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to this investigation is polyethylene 
retail carrier bags, which also 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 0.035 inch (0.889 mm) and no less 
than 0.00035 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 (15.24 cm) but not longer than 
40 inches (101.6 cm).
    Polyethylene retail carrier bags 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 this 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.

[[Page 63721]]

    Imports of merchandise included within the scope of this 
investigation are currently classifiable under statistical category 
3923.21.0085 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). This subheading may also cover products that are outside the 
scope of this investigation. Furthermore, although the HTSUS subheading 
is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Significant Ministerial Error

    Ministerial errors are defined in section 735(e) of the Act as 
``errors in addition, subtraction, or other arithmetic function, 
clerical errors resulting from inaccurate copying, duplication, or the 
like, and any other type of unintentional error which the administering 
authority considers ministerial.'' Section 351.224(e) of the 
Department's regulations provides that the Department ``will analyze 
any comments received and, if appropriate, correct any significant 
ministerial error by amending the preliminary determination.'' A 
significant ministerial error is defined as a ministerial error, the 
correction of which, singly or in combination with other errors, would 
result in (1) a change of at least five absolute percentage points in, 
but not less than 25 percent of, the weighted-average dumping margin 
calculated in the original (erroneous) preliminary determination, or 
(2) a difference between a weighted-average dumping margin of zero or 
de minimis and a weighted-average dumping margin of greater than de 
minimis or vice versa. See 19 CFR 351.224(g).

Ministerial-Error Allegations

    SESSM argues that the Department treated SESSM as a single entity 
throughout the Preliminary Determination but the Department calculated 
the antidumping duty margin for SESSM erroneously in the Preliminary 
Determination by treating SES and SM as two separate entities. Despite 
the Department's stated intent to treat SES and SM as a single entity, 
SESSM claims, the Department's calculation programs used two different 
manufacturer codes SESSM reported (SES and SM) in its sales databases 
to match U.S. and home-market sales transactions. As a result, SESSM 
states, the Department matched SES's U.S. sales with SES's home-market 
sales but not with SM's home-market sales and did not compare SM's U.S. 
sales to comparable sales of merchandise produced by SES and sold in 
the home market.
    SESSM asserts that, as a result of the oversight, the Department 
also used the manufacturer code to segregate SES's sales and cost data 
from SM's sales and cost data for cost-test purposes. SESSM suggests 
that the Department revise the calculation programs to use one unified 
manufacturer code for model-matching and cost-test purposes. SESSM 
asserts that its suggested programming language is consistent with 
other investigations and reviews in which the Department has had to 
consider U.S., home-market, or third-country sales by multiple 
affiliated companies within a single entity.
    SESSM claims that these ministerial errors in the calculation of an 
antidumping duty margin in the Preliminary Determination for SESSM are 
significant because the correction of these errors would result in a 
cumulative change of at least five percentage points but not less than 
25 percent of the original weighted-average dumping margin or would 
result in a de minimis weighted-average dumping margin in accordance 
with 19 CFR 351.224(g).
    We agree with SESSM that we intended to treat SES and SM as a 
single entity. See, e.g., Preliminary Determination in which we treated 
SES and SM as a single entity and calculated a single margin for SESSM. 
We inadvertently treated SES and SM as separate entities for purposes 
of matching U.S. and home-market sales and conducting the cost test. We 
find that this is a ministerial error in accordance with section 735(e) 
of the Act. Further, correction of the errors confirms that they were 
significant errors under 19 CFR 351.224(g).

Amended Preliminary Determination

    We determine that SESSM's allegations qualify as significant 
ministerial errors as defined in 19 CFR 351.224(g) because they result 
in a change of more than five absolute percentage points to the 
antidumping duty margin for SESSM and is not less than 25 percent of 
the original weighted-average dumping margin. Accordingly, we have 
corrected these errors SESSM alleged. To correct these errors, we have 
used an identical manufacturer code for purposes of matching U.S. and 
home-market sales and conducting the cost test for this amended 
preliminary determination. See more details in the SESSM amended 
preliminary determination analysis memorandum dated concurrently with 
the issuance of this amended preliminary determination. As a result of 
correcting these significant ministerial errors in the Preliminary 
Determination for SESSM, the simple-average all-others rate has also 
changed. As a result of the corrected ministerial errors, the weighted-
average antidumping duty margin for SESSM is 9.10 percent and the 
simple-average all-others rate is 38.14 percent.
    The collection of bonds or cash deposits and suspension of 
liquidation will be revised accordingly and parties will be notified of 
this determination in accordance with sections 733(d) and (f) of the 
Act. The effective date of the implementation of collection of bonds or 
cash deposits and suspension of liquidation as revised in this amended 
preliminary determination will be the effective date of the Preliminary 
Determination. We will issue instructions to U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) authorizing it to refund the antidumping duty deposits 
SESSM made in excess of the amended antidumping duty margin for SESSM 
since the effective date of the Preliminary Determination. We will also 
issue instructions to CBP authorizing it to refund the antidumping duty 
deposits companies subject to the all-others rate made in excess of the 
amended all-others rate since the effective date of the Preliminary 
Determination.

ITC Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, we have notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of our amended preliminary 
determination. If our final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
make its final determination no later than 45 days after our final 
determination as to whether imports of polyethylene retail carrier bags 
from Indonesia are materially injuring, or threatening material injury 
to, the U.S. industry. See section 735(b)(2) of the Act.
    This amended determination is issued and published pursuant to 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.224(e).

    Dated: November 25, 2009.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-29017 Filed 12-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S