[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12700-12702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5267]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-549-821]


Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand: Final Results of 
Antidumping Duty Administrative Review

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

SUMMARY: On September 2, 2010, the Department of Commerce published the 
preliminary results of the 2008/2009 administrative review of the 
antidumping duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from 
Thailand. We gave interested parties an opportunity to comment on the 
preliminary results. Based on our analysis of the comments received and 
an examination of our calculations, we have made certain changes for 
the final results. The final weighted-average dumping margins for the 
respondents are listed below in the ``Final Results of Review'' section 
of this notice.

DATES: Effective Date: March 8, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Schauer or Richard Rimlinger, 
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-
0410 or (202) 482-4477, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On September 2, 2010, the Department of Commerce (the Department) 
published Polyethylene

[[Page 12701]]

Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand: Preliminary Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review, 75 FR 53953 (September 2, 2010) 
(Preliminary Results), in the Federal Register. The administrative 
review covers C.P. Packaging Co., Ltd. (C.P. Packaging), Giant Pack 
Co., Ltd. (Giant), Sahachit Watana Plastics Ind. Co., Ltd. (Sahachit 
Watana), Thai Plastic Bags Industries Co., Ltd. (TPBI), and Thantawan 
Industry Public Co., Ltd. (Thantawan).\1\ The Department has determined 
previously that TPBI, Apec Film Ltd., and Winner's Pack Co., Ltd., 
comprise the Thai Plastic Bags Group. See Notice of Final Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From 
Thailand, 69 FR 34122, 34123 (June 18, 2004). The period of review is 
August 1, 2008, through July 31, 2009.
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    \1\ We had originally selected Landblue (Thailand) Co., Ltd. 
(Landblue), and TPBI for individual examination in this review (see 
Memorandum to Laurie Parkhill dated October 15, 2009), but 
subsequently we rescinded the review in part with respect to 
Landblue. See Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand: 
Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review in Part, 75 FR 
34699 (June 18, 2010).
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    We invited parties to comment on the Preliminary Results. On 
December 10, 2010, we received case briefs from the Polyethylene Retail 
Carrier Bag Committee and its individual members, Hilex Poly Co., LLC, 
and Superbag Corporation (collectively, the petitioners), and from 
TPBI. On December 15, 2010, we received rebuttal briefs from the 
petitioners and from TPBI. We did not hold a hearing as the only 
request for a hearing was withdrawn. See the petitioners' letter dated 
December 20, 2010.
    We have conducted this review in accordance with section 751(a) of 
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise subject to the antidumping duty order is 
polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs) 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 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 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 order 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 currently classifiable under 
statistical category 3923.21.0085 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS). Furthermore, although the HTSUS subheading 
is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope of the order is dispositive.

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case briefs by parties to this review are 
addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum for the Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review of Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From 
Thailand for the Period of Review August 31, 2008, through July 31, 
2009 (Decision Memo), which is dated concurrently with this notice and 
hereby adopted by this notice. A list of the issues which parties have 
raised and to which we have responded is in the Decision Memo and 
attached to this notice as an Appendix. The Decision Memo, which is a 
public document, is on file in the Department's Central Records Unit 
(CRU) of the main Commerce building, Room 7046, and is accessible on 
the Web at http://ia.ita.doc.gov/frn/index.html. The paper copy and 
electronic version of the Decision Memo are identical in content.

Non-Selected Companies

    As discussed in the Preliminary Results, 75 FR at 53954, we 
preliminarily determined to apply the weighted-average margin of TPBI, 
the sole remaining company as selected for individual examination, for 
the following companies: C.P. Packaging, Giant, Sahachit Watana, and 
Thantawan. We received no comments on the use of TPBI's rate. 
Therefore, for these final results of review, we have applied the rate 
we have calculated for TPBI to the companies named above which were not 
selected for individual examination.

Changes Since the Preliminary Results

    We made the following changes to our calculation of TPBI's margin 
for the final results: (1) We revised our calculations of the cost of 
production and constructed value for TPBI to include exempted import 
duties, (2) we revised the general and administrative expenses of TPBI 
to include certain expenses, (3) we corrected a clerical error whereby 
we inadvertently used only 14 of the 15 physical characteristics in 
matching models across markets, and (4) we corrected a clerical error 
by using the correct quantity variable. See the memorandum to the file 
entitled ``Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From Thailand--Thai Plastic 
Bags Industries Co., Ltd., Final Results Analysis Memorandum'' dated 
concurrently with this notice for details regarding these changes.

Sales Below Cost in the Home Market

    As explained in the Preliminary Results, 75 FR at 53954, in 
accordance with section 773(b) of the Act, the Department tested 
whether TPBI made sales at prices below the cost of production. For 
these final results of review and based on the statutory criteria 
concerning below-cost sales, the Department disregarded home-market 
sales by TPBI that failed the cost-of-production test.

Final Results of Review

    As a result of our review, we determine that the following 
percentage weighted-average dumping margins exist for PRCBs from 
Thailand for the period August 1, 2008, through July 31, 2009:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Percent
                       Producer/Exporter                         margin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TPBI..........................................................     20.15
C.P. Packaging Co., Ltd.......................................     20.15
Giant Pack Co., Ltd...........................................     20.15
Sahachit Watana Plastics Ind. Co., Ltd........................     20.15
Thantawan Industry Public Co., Ltd............................     20.15
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assessment Rates

    The Department shall determine, and U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries.
    We calculated importer/customer-specific duty-assessment amounts 
with respect to export-price sales by TPBI in the following manner. We 
divided the total dumping margins (calculated as the difference between 
normal value and the export price) for each importer or customer by the 
total number of kilograms TPBI sold to that importer or

[[Page 12702]]

customer. We will direct CBP to assess the resulting per-kilogram 
dollar amount against each kilogram of merchandise on each of that 
importer's or customer's entries during the period of review. See 19 
CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    The Department clarified its ``automatic assessment'' regulation on 
May 6, 2003. This clarification will apply to entries of subject 
merchandise during the period of review produced by TPBI for which it 
did not know that the merchandise it sold to an intermediary (e.g., a 
reseller, trading company, or exporter) was destined for the United 
States. In such instances, we will instruct CBP to liquidate unreviewed 
entries at the all-others rate if there is no rate for the 
intermediary(ies) involved in the transaction. See Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties, 68 
FR 23954 (May 6, 2003).
    For the companies which were not selected for individual 
examination, we will instruct CBP to apply the rates listed above to 
all entries of subject merchandise produced and/or exported by such 
firms.
    We intend to issue liquidation instructions to CBP 15 days after 
publication of these final results of review.

Cash-Deposit Requirements

    The following deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of this notice of final results of administrative review 
for all shipments of the subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of publication, 
consistent with section 751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) The cash-deposit 
rates for the reviewed companies will be the rates shown above; (2) for 
previously investigated or reviewed companies not listed above, the 
cash-deposit rate will continue to be the company-specific rate 
published for the most recent period; (3) if the exporter is not a firm 
covered in this or a previous review or the original less-than-fair-
value (LTFV) investigation but the manufacturer is, the cash-deposit 
rate will be the rate established for the most recent period for the 
manufacturer of the merchandise; (4) the cash-deposit rate for all 
other manufacturers or exporters will be 4.69 percent, the all-others 
rate from the amended final determination of the LTFV investigation as 
revised as a result of the Section 129 determination published on 
August 12, 2010. See Notice of Implementation of Determination Under 
Section 129 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act and Partial Revocation 
of the Antidumping Duty Order on Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From 
Thailand, 75 FR 48940 (August 12, 2010).
    These deposit requirements shall remain in effect until further 
notice.

Notification Requirements

    This notice serves as a reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding 
the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the 
relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in the Department's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of doubled antidumping duties. See Id.
    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(a)(3). Timely notification of the 
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.
    We are issuing and publishing these results in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).

    Dated: March 1, 2011.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix

    1. Conversion-Cost Reallocation.
    2. Affiliated-Party Inputs.
    3. Blue Corner Rebates.
    4. Zeroing.
    5. Duties in Cost of Production and Constructed Value.
    6. General and Administrative Expenses.
    7. Ministerial Errors and Other Issues.

[FR Doc. 2011-5267 Filed 3-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P