[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42276-42278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17523]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-827]


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

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In accordance with section 751(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, 
as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.216(b), ThinkGeek, Inc. 
(ThinkGeek) filed a request for a changed circumstances review of the 
antidumping duty (AD) order on certain cased pencils (pencils) from the 
People's Republic of China (PRC) to revoke the AD order with respect to 
novelty drumstick pencils. The domestic industry has affirmatively 
expressed a lack of interest in continuing the AD order with respect to 
this product. In response to ThinkGeek's request, the Department of 
Commerce (the Department) is initiating a changed circumstances review 
to be conducted on an expedited basis and issuing a notice of 
preliminary intent to revoke, in part, this order. Pursuant to 
ThinkGeek's request, this partial revocation would be applied 
retroactively to June 1, 2011. Interested parties are invited to 
comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Effective Date: June 1, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Gorman at (202) 482-1174 or 
Yasmin Nair at (202) 482-3813; AD/CVD Operations, Office 1, Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230.

Background

    On December 28, 1994, the Department published in the Federal 
Register the AD order on certain cased pencils from China. See 
Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Cased Pencils from the People's 
Republic of China, 59 FR 66909 (December 28, 1994) (AD order). On May 
23, 2012, in accordance with section 751(b) and 751(d)(1) of the Act, 
19 CFR 351.216(b), and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1), ThinkGeek, a U.S. importer 
of subject merchandise, requested revocation in part, of the AD order 
with respect to its novelty pencil, which is shaped like a drumstick, 
as part of a changed circumstances review. ThinkGeek's novelty 
drumstick pencil is made to look like a pencil, except that it is 
shaped as a drumstick. This pencil is longer than regular wooden 
pencils and does not contain an eraser. ThinkGeek requested that the 
Department conduct the changed circumstances review on an expedited 
basis pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii).

Scope of the Order

    Imports covered by this order are shipments of certain cased 
pencils of any shape or dimension (except as described 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

[[Page 42277]]

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 characteristics are 
excluded from 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, the written description of the scope and order is 
dispositive.

Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed 
Circumstances Review, and Intent To Revoke the Order in Part

    At the request of ThinkGeek, and in accordance with sections 
751(b)(1) and 751(d)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216 and 19 CFR 
351.222(g)(1), the Department is initiating a changed circumstances 
review of novelty drumstick pencils from the PRC to determine whether 
partial revocation of the AD order is warranted with respect to this 
product. Section 782(h)(2) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i) 
provide that the Department may revoke an order (in whole or in part) 
if it determines that producers accounting for substantially all of the 
production of the domestic like product have no further interest in the 
order, in whole or in part. In its administrative practice, the 
Department has interpreted ``substantially all'' to mean at least 85 
percent of the total production of the domestic like product covered by 
the order. See, e.g., Certain Pasta From Italy: Final Results of 
Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Review and Revocation, In 
Part, 76 FR 27634, 27635 (May 12, 2011). In addition, in the event the 
Department determines that expedited action is warranted, 19 CFR 
351.221(c)(3)(ii) permits the Department to combine the notices of 
initiation and preliminary results.
    On May 23, 2012, ThinkGeek submitted a letter from petitioners and 
domestic pencil producers Sanford, L.P.; Musgrave Pencil Company and 
General Pencil Company (collectively, Petitioners) expressing a lack of 
interest in maintaining the AD order with respect to the novelty 
drumstick pencils identified in ThinkGeek's request. On June 5, 2012, 
Petitioners submitted a letter stating that they comprise 
``substantially all'' of the production of the domestic like product, 
as provided in section 782(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(i), 
in that they account for at least 85 percent of such production. See 
ThinkGeek's letter dated June 5, 2012. Also, ThinkGeek's letter 
requested that this partial revocation be retroactively applied to 
ThinkGeek's drumstick pencils, entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption, on or after June 1, 2011, which would apply to any 
remaining unliquidated entries of this product. See id.
    In accordance with section 751(b) of the Act, 19 CFR 351.216, 19 
CFR 351.222(g), and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii), we are initiating this 
changed circumstances review and have determined that expedited action 
is warranted. In accordance with 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1), we find that 
Petitioners' affirmative statements of no interest constitutes good 
cause for the conduct of this review. Additionally, our decision to 
expedite this review pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii) stems from 
the domestic industry's lack of interest in applying the AD order to 
these drumstick novelty pencils, described above, covered by 
ThinkGeek's request.
    Based on the expression of no interest by Petitioners and absent 
any objection by other domestic interested parties, we preliminarily 
determine that substantially all of the domestic producers have no 
interest in the continued application of the AD order on pencils from 
the PRC to the merchandise that is subject to ThinkGeek's request. 
Therefore, we are notifying the public of our intent to revoke, in 
part, the AD order as it relates to imports of drumstick novelty 
pencils, as described above, from the PRC. This partial revocation 
would be retroactively applied to entries of novelty drumstick pencils, 
entered or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after June 
1, 2011, a date after the last day of the most recently completed 
administrative review. See, e.g., Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the 
People's Republic of China: Final Results of Changed Circumstances 
Review and Determination to Revoke Order in Part, 74 FR 8506 (February 
25, 2009) (retroactively revoking an order, in part, to unliquidated 
entries not subject to a final determination by the Department). We 
intend to modify the scope of the AD order to read as follows:

    In addition, pencils with all of the following characteristics 
are excluded from 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. Also excluded are novelty drumstick pencils that are shaped 
like drumsticks, longer than regular wooden pencils, and do not 
contain erasers.

Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results. Written comments may be submitted no later than 14 days after 
the date of publication of these preliminary results. Rebuttals to 
written comments, limited to issues raised in such comments, may be 
filed no later than 21 days after the date of publication of these 
preliminary results. Consistent with 19 CFR 351.309, parties who submit 
written comments or rebuttal comments in this proceeding are requested 
to submit with each argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a 
brief summary of the argument (no longer than five pages, including 
footnotes). Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), any interested party may 
request a hearing within 10 days of the date of publication of this 
notice. Further, any hearing, if requested, will be held no later than 
25 days after the date of publication of this notice, or the first 
business day thereafter. All written comments and/or hearing requests 
must be filed electronically using Import Administration's Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (IA 
ACCESS).\1\ An electronically filed document must be received 
successfully in its entirety by the Department's electronic records 
system, IA ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time of the deadlines set forth in 
this notice.
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    \1\ See generally 19 CFR 351.303.
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    We will issue our final results of this changed circumstances 
review as soon as practicable following the above comment period, but 
not later than 270 days after the date on which we initiated the 
changed circumstances review or within 45 days if all parties agree to 
our preliminary results, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.216(e).
    If final revocation occurs, we will instruct U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection to end the suspension of liquidation for the 
merchandise covered by the revocation on the effective date of the 
notice of revocation and to release any cash deposit or bond. The 
current requirement for a cash deposit of estimated AD duties on all 
subject merchandise will continue unless and until it is modified 
pursuant to the final results of this changed circumstances review.
    This initiation and preliminary results of review notice is 
published in

[[Page 42278]]

accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.216, 351.221(b)(1) and (4), and 351.222(g).

    Dated: July 11, 2012.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-17523 Filed 7-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P