[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 37 (Monday, February 25, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12716-12717]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04148]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-916; C-570-917]


Laminated Woven Sacks From the People's Republic of China: 
Negative Final Determination of Circumvention

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') continues to 
determine that the laminated woven sacks subject to this inquiry are 
not circumventing the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on 
laminated woven sacks from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''), as 
provided in section 781(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the 
Act'').\1\
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    \1\ See Notice of Antidumping Duty Order: Laminated Woven Sacks 
From the People's Republic of China, 73 FR 45941 (August 7, 2008); 
see also Laminated Woven Sacks From the People's Republic of China: 
Countervailing Duty Order, 73 FR 45955 (August 7, 2008), 
(collectively, ``Orders'').

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DATES: Effective Date: February 25, 2013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irene Gorelik, Office 9, Import 
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230; telephone (202) 482-6905.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 12717]]

Scope of the Orders

    The merchandise covered by the orders \2\ is laminated woven sacks. 
Laminated woven sacks are bags or sacks consisting of one or more plies 
of fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven 
polyethylene strip, regardless of the width of the strip; with or 
without an extrusion coating of polypropylene and/or polyethylene on 
one or both sides of the fabric; laminated by any method either to an 
exterior ply of plastic film such as biaxially-oriented polypropylene 
(``BOPP'') or to an exterior ply of paper that is suitable for high 
quality print graphics.\3\ Effective July 1, 2007, laminated woven 
sacks are classifiable under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States (``HTSUS'') subheadings 6305.33.0050 and 6305.33.0080. Laminated 
woven sacks were previously classifiable under HTSUS subheading 
6305.33.0020.\4\ The HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes only; the written product description of the scope of 
the orders is dispositive.
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    \2\ See Orders.
    \3\ See ``Decision Memorandum for Final Determination of 
Circumvention of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders: 
Laminated Woven Sacks from the People's Republic of China,'' from 
Christian Marsh, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Operations, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary 
for Import Administration, (``Final Decision Memo''), dated 
concurrently with this final determination for a complete 
description of the Scope of the Order.
    \4\ Additional HTSUS considerations apply. See Final Decision 
Memo.
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Scope of the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry

    The merchandise subject to the anti-circumvention inquiry is 
laminated woven sacks produced with two ink colors printed in register 
and a screening process (``screening-process sacks''). Petitioners 
allege that PRC producers of screening-process sacks have adapted the 
screening process to create graphics that appear to have three or more 
distinct colors visible, although, they are produced using only two 
inks and a screen. Petitioners contend that such graphics would 
normally be printed using three inks printed in register at three 
different print stations, which would then make them subject 
merchandise. However, by adapting the screening process, Petitioners 
state that PRC producers of screening-process sacks are able to produce 
similar graphics while only using two inks, thus, making merchandise 
that is out of scope and not subject to antidumping and countervailing 
duties.
    The screening process at issue, as described by interested parties, 
only uses two ink colors printed in register at two different print 
stations. However, the artwork, by use of a screen, allows for 
different shades of a single color to appear on the bag. Thus, when 
printed, the screening-process sacks appear to have been printed with 
more than two colored inks because more than two distinct colors are 
visible on the finished product. As an example of the screening-process 
sacks, the Department placed on the record of both proceedings five 
laminated woven sacks imported by Shapiro: Two individual Manna Pro 
Horse Feed sacks, two individual Red Head Deer Corn sacks, and one 
Manna Pro Calf-Manna sack.\5\ Following the Negative Preliminary 
Determination,\6\ an additional sack was placed on the record,\7\ 
referred to as the ``Manna Pro Complete Sack,'' as an example of a two-
ink, screened sack imported by Shapiro and addressed in the Post-
Preliminary Determination.
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    \5\ See Memorandum to the File from Jamie Blair-Walker regarding 
Anti-circumvention Inquiry of Laminated Woven Sacks from the 
People's Republic of China on the subject of Meeting with Counsel 
for the Laminated Woven Sacks Committee and its individual members, 
Coating Excellence International, LLC and Polytex Fibers 
Corporation, dated July 15, 2011.
    \6\ See Laminated Woven Sacks from the People's Republic of 
China: Negative Preliminary Determination of Circumvention of the 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 76 FR 72161 (November 
22, 2011) (``Negative Preliminary Determination'').
    \7\ See Shapiro's supplemental questionnaire response entitled 
``Laminated Woven Sacks from China; Printed Inks Anti-Circumvention 
Inquiry: Submission of AMS Third Supplemental Response'' dated 
January 27, 2012 (``January 27, 2012 Supplemental Response''), at 2-
3 and Attachment I.
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Methodology

    The Department has conducted this proceeding in accordance with 
section 781(d)(1) of the Act.\8\ For a full description of the 
methodology underlying our conclusions, please see the Final Decision 
Memo,\9\ dated concurrently with this final determination and hereby 
adopted by this notice. The Final Decision Memo is a public document 
and is on file electronically via Import Administration's Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (``IA 
ACCESS''). Access to IA ACCESS is available to registered users at 
http://iaaccess.trade.gov and is available to all parties in the 
Central Records Unit, Room 7046 of the main Department of Commerce 
building. In addition, a complete version of the Final Decision Memo 
can be accessed directly on the Internet at http://www.trade.gov/ia/. 
The signed Final Decision Memo and the electronic versions of the Final 
Decision Memo are identical in content.
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    \8\ See section 781(d)(1) of the Act.
    \9\ See Final Decision Memo for a complete description of the 
Scope of the Order.
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Final Determination

    For the reasons discussed in the Final Decision Memo, we continue 
to determine that the screening-process sacks are not later-developed 
merchandise because they were commercially available at the time of the 
initiation of the less-than-fair-value investigation on laminated woven 
sacks from the PRC. Therefore, we also continue to determine that 
screening-process sacks are not circumventing the Orders within the 
meaning of section 781(d) of the Act.
    This final determination is published in accordance with section 
781(d) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.225.

    Dated: February 14, 2013.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.

Appendix

Comment 1: Commercial Availability in the U.S. Market Prior To 
Initiation of Investigations
Comment 2: The Shapiro Sacks and Complete Sack Are Commercially 
Comparable Merchandise

[FR Doc. 2013-04148 Filed 2-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P