[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 74 (Friday, April 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21203-21207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-08903]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-014]


53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers From the People's Republic of 
China: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Final 
Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Commerce.

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) determines that 
imports of 53-foot domestic dry containers (domestic dry containers) 
from the People's Republic of China (PRC) are being, or are likely to 
be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV), as 
provided in section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the 
Act). The final weighted-average dumping margins for the investigation 
on domestic dry

[[Page 21204]]

containers from the PRC are listed below in the ``Final Determination'' 
section of this notice.

DATES: Effective: April 17, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Davis (Singamas), John Drury 
(CIMC), or Angelica Townshend, AD/CVD Operations, Office VI, 
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. 
Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7924, (202) 482-0195 or 
(202) 482-3019, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 26, 2014, the Department published the preliminary 
determination of the LTFV investigation of domestic dry containers from 
the PRC in the Federal Register.\1\ The following events occurred since 
then. On December 9, 2014, we received scope comments from interested 
parties Crowley Maritime Corporation and Crowley Liner Services, Inc., 
and Sea Star Lines LLC (collectively, ``Crowley''). On December 1, 
2014, respondent Singamas \2\ submitted timely ministerial error 
allegations with respect to the Department's calculation the weighted-
average dumping margin for Singamas.\3\ Also on December 1, 2014, 
Petitioner \4\ submitted ministerial error allegations \5\ with respect 
to respondent CIMC.\6\ We received no rebuttal comments regarding these 
allegations. On December 31, 2014, we published the amended preliminary 
determination in the Federal Register.\7\ Between January 12, 2015, and 
January 23, 2015, the Department conducted verification of the 
mandatory respondents CIMC and Singamas. The Department issued the 
sales and factors-of-production verification reports for both CIMC and 
Singamas on February 26, 2015.\8\ On March 10, 2015, Petitioner, 
Crowley, CIMC, and Singamas filed case briefs (which included scope 
comments). On March 16, 2015, Petitioner, Crowley, CIMC, and Singamas 
filed rebuttal briefs (which included scope comments). The Department 
did not hold a hearing as all requests for a hearing were withdrawn.
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    \1\ See 53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers From the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less than 
Fair Value; Preliminary Negative Determination of Critical 
Circumstances; and Postponement of Final Determination and Extension 
of Provisional Measures, 79 FR 70501 (November 26, 2014) 
(Preliminary Determination).
    \2\ Singamas consists of Hui Zhou Pacific Container Co., Ltd., 
Qingdao Pacific Container Co., Ltd., Qidong Singamas Energy 
Equipment Co., Ltd., and their holding company Singamas Container 
Holding Limited.
    \3\ See Singamas' Letter to the Department, ``53-Foot Domestic 
Dry Containers from the People's Republic of China: Ministerial 
Errors in the Preliminary Determination,'' dated December 1, 2014.
    \4\ Petitioner is Stoughton Trailers, LLC.
    \5\ Petitioner's Letter to the Department, ``53-Foot Domestic 
Dry Containers from the People's Republic of China,'' dated December 
1, 2014.
    \6\ CIMC consists of China International Marine Containers 
(Group) Co., Ltd., China International Marine Containers (HK) Ltd., 
Xinhui CIMC Special Transportation Equipment Co., Ltd., Nantong 
CIMC-Special Transportation Equipment Manufacture Co., Ltd., and 
Qingdao CIMC Container Manufacture Co., Ltd.
    \7\ See 53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers from the People's 
Republic of China: Amended Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less-than-Fair-Value, 79 FR 78800 (December 31, 2014) (Amended 
Preliminary Determination).
    \8\ See Verification of the Sales and Factors of Production 
Response of CIMC International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Ltd. 
(``CIMC Group''); China International Marine Containers (HK) Ltd. 
(``CIMC HK''); Guangdong Xinhui CIMC Special Transportation 
Equipment Co., Ltd. (``Xinhui Special''); Qingdao CIMC Containers 
Manufacture Co., Ltd. (``Qingdao''); Nantong CIMC-Special 
Transportation Equipment Manufacture Co., Ltd. (``Nantong''); and 
Xinhui CIMC Container Co., Ltd. (``Xinhui Container'') (collectively 
``CIMC'') in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of 53-Foot Domestic 
Dry Containers (``domestic dry containers'') from the People's 
Republic of China (the ``PRC''), dated February 26, 2015 (CIMC 
Verification Report); and Verification of the Sales and Factors of 
Production (FOPs) Response of Hui Zhou Pacific Container Co., Ltd. 
(HPCL); Qingdao Pacific Container Co., Ltd. (QPCL); Qidong Singamas 
Energy Equipment Co., Ltd. (QSCL); Singamas Container Holdings 
Limited (SCHL); and Singamas Management Services Limited (SMSL) 
(collectively, Singamas) in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of 
53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers (domestic dry containers) from the 
People's Republic of China (the PRC), dated February 26, 2015 
(Singamas Verification Report).
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Period of Investigation

    The period of investigation (POI) is October 1, 2013, through March 
31, 2014.

Scope Comments

    The Department received comments regarding the scope of this 
investigation from interested parties. As detailed in the accompanying 
Issues and Decision Memorandum,\9\ we have not made any changes to the 
scope.\10\
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    \9\ See Memorandum to Ronald K. Lorentzen, Acting Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, from Christian Marsh, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, regarding ``53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers from the 
People's Republic of China: Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Determination of Sales at Less than Fair Value,'' dated 
concurrently with this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
    \10\ See the Issues and Decision Memorandum at section, ``Scope 
of the Investigation.''
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Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to investigation is closed (i.e., not open 
top) van containers exceeding 14.63 meters (48 feet) but generally 
measuring 16.154 meters (53 feet) in exterior length, which are 
designed for the intermodal transport \11\ of goods other than bulk 
liquids within North America primarily by rail or by road vehicle, or 
by a combination of rail and road vehicle (domestic containers). 
Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under subheading 
8609.00.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States 
(HTSUS). Imports of the subject merchandise which meet the definition 
of and requirements for ``instruments of international traffic'' 
pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1322 and 19 CFR 10.41a may be classified under 
subheading 9803.00.50, HTSUS. For a complete description of the scope 
of the investigation, see Appendix II to this notice.
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    \11\ ``Intermodal transport'' refers to a movement of freight 
using more than one mode of transportation, most commonly on a 
container chassis for on-the-road transportation and on a rail car 
for rail transportation.
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by parties to 
this investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum 
accompanying this notice, which is hereby adopted by this notice. A 
list of the issues which the parties raised and to which the Department 
responded in the memorandum appears in Appendix I of this notice. The 
Issues and Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file 
electronically via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS). 
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 Issues and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic 
versions of the memorandum are identical in content.

Changes Since the Amended Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
parties, and minor corrections presented at verification, we made 
certain changes to CIMC's and Singamas's margin calculations since the 
Amended Preliminary Determination. For a discussion of these changes, 
see the Issues and Decision Memorandum and the Final Analysis 
Memoranda, all dated concurrently with this notice.\12\
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    \12\ See Final Analysis Memorandum for the PRC-Wide Entity, and 
Final Analysis Memorandum for Hui Zhou Pacific Container Co., Ltd. 
(HPCL), Qingdao Pacific Container Co., Ltd. (QPCL), Qidong Singamas 
Energy Equipment Co., Ltd. (QSCL), and Singamas Management Services 
Limited (SMSL) and their holding company Singamas Container Holdings 
Limited (collectively, Singamas), dated April 10, 2015.

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[[Page 21205]]

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice, the Department stated that it would 
calculate combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a 
separate rate in this investigation.\13\ Policy Bulletin 05.1 sets 
forth this practice.\14\
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    \13\ See 53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers From the People's 
Republic of China: Initiation of Antidumping Duty Investigations, 79 
FR 28674, 28683 (May 19, 2014) (Initiation Notice).
    \14\ See Enforcement and Compliance Policy Bulletin No. 05.1 
``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination Rates in 
Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy Countries,'' 
(April 5, 2005) (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available on the 
Department's Web site at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Final Determination

    The Department determines that the following estimated weighted-
average dumping margins exist for the period October 1, 2013, through 
March 31, 2014:
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    \15\ As detailed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, we 
continue to find that CIMC did not demonstrate that it is entitled 
to a separate rate, and we consider CIMC to be the PRC-Wide Entity.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Weighted-
           Exporter                    Producer         average  dumping
                                                        margin (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hui Zhou Pacific Container      Hui Zhou Pacific                  111.22
 Co., Ltd./Qingdao Pacific       Container Co., Ltd./
 Container Co., Ltd./Qidong      Qingdao Pacific
 Singamas Energy Equipment       Container Co., Ltd./
 Co., Ltd./Singamas Management   Qidong Singamas
 Services Limited                Energy Equipment Co.,
                                 Ltd.
PRC-Wide Entity \15\..........  ......................            107.19
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Disclosure

    We intend to disclose to parties the calculations performed in this 
proceeding within five days of any public announcement of this notice 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Final Negative Determination of Critical Circumstances

    No parties made any comments on our critical circumstances analysis 
announced in the Preliminary Determination, which is hereby adopted by 
this notice. In the Preliminary Determination, the Department stated 
that it did not preliminarily find critical circumstances because 
Petitioner did not allege that there has been a history of dumping and 
material injury pursuant to section 733(e)(1)(A)(i) of the Act and did 
not provide any evidence that importers knew or should have known that 
there was likely to be material injury by reason of such sales in a 
situation where the U.S. industry has not been established.\16\ Thus, 
pursuant to 735(a)(3) of the Act, we continue to find that critical 
circumstances do not exist with respect to imports of domestic dry 
containers from the PRC from Singamas and the company covered by the 
PRC-wide rate.
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    \16\See Preliminary Determination, Preliminary Determination 
Memorandum at 27-28.
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Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to 
suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of domestic dry 
containers from the PRC, as described in the ``Scope of the 
Investigation'' section of this notice and which were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after November 26, 
2014, the date of publication of the Preliminary Determination in the 
Federal Register.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), we will instruct CBP to require a 
cash deposit \17\ for all suspended entries at an ad valorum rate equal 
to the weighted-average amount by which normal value exceeds U.S. 
price, adjusted where appropriate for export subsidies and estimated 
domestic subsidy pass-through,\18\ as follows: (1) The cash deposit 
rate for the exporter/producer combination listed in the table above 
will be the rate identified for that combination in the table; (2) for 
all combinations of PRC exporters/producers of merchandise under 
consideration that have not received their own separate rate above, the 
cash-deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate established for the 
PRC-wide entity, 107.19 percent; and (3) for all non-PRC exporters of 
the merchandise under consideration which have not received their own 
separate rate above, the cash-deposit rate will be the cash deposit 
rate applicable to the PRC exporter/producer combination that supplied 
that non-PRC exporter. These suspension of liquidation and cash deposit 
instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
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    \17\ See Modification of Regulations Regarding the Practice of 
Accepting Bonds During the Provisional Measures Period in 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Investigations, 76 FR 61042 
(October 3, 2011).
    \18\ See sections 772(c)(1)(C) and 777A(f) of the Act, 
respectively. Unlike in administrative reviews, the Department 
calculates the adjustment for export subsidies in investigations not 
in the margin-calculation program, but in the cash-deposit 
instructions issued to CBP. See Notice of Final Determination of 
Sales at Less than Fair Value, and Negative Determination of 
Critical Circumstances: Certain Lined Paper Products from India, 71 
FR 45012 (August 8, 2006), and accompanying Issues and Decision 
memorandum at Comment 1.
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    Furthermore, as stated above and consistent with our practice, we 
will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the amount by 
which the normal value exceeds export price or constructed export 
price, less the amount of any countervailing duty (CVD) determined to 
constitute an export subsidy. With respect to the PRC-wide entity 
(which is based on CIMC's data), export subsidies constitute 11.67 
percent of CIMC's final calculated CVD rate in the companion CVD 
investigation. Therefore, we will offset the PRC-wide rate of 107.19 
percent by the CVD rate attributable to export subsidies (i.e., 11.67 
percent) to calculate the final PRC-wide entity cash deposit rate for 
this LTFV investigation.\19\ With respect to Singamas, export subsidies 
constitute 10.54 percent of Singamas's final calculated CVD rate in the 
companion CVD investigation. Therefore, we will offset Singamas's rate 
of 111.22 percent by the CVD rate attributable to export subsidies 
(i.e., 10.54 percent) to calculate the final Singamas cash deposit rate 
for this LTFV investigation.\20\
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    \19\ See 53-Foot Domestic Dry Containers from the People's 
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty 
Determination and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum. The 
final determination in this companion CVD proceeding is being 
concurrently released on the same day as this final determination.
    \20\ Id.
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    We are also adjusting the preliminary cash deposit rate for 
estimated domestic subsidy pass-through for Singamas (i.e.,

[[Page 21206]]

5.87 percent). However, we are not adjusting the PRC-wide entity final 
determination rate for estimated domestic subsidy pass-through because 
we have no basis upon which to make such an adjustment.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we notified the 
International Trade Commission (ITC) of the final affirmative 
determination of sales at less than fair value. Because the final 
determination in this proceeding is affirmative, the ITC will make its 
final determination, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, 
as to whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially 
injured, threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an 
industry in the United States is materially retarded by reason of 
imports of domestic dry containers from the PRC no later than 45 days 
after our final determination. If the ITC determines that material 
injury, threat of material injury, or material retardation, does not 
exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all securities posted 
will be refunded or canceled. If the ITC determines that such injury or 
material retardation does exist, then the Department will issue an 
antidumping duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further 
instruction by the Department, antidumping duties on all imports of the 
subject merchandise entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of 
liquidation. We are making available to the ITC all non-privileged and 
non-proprietary information related to this investigation. We will 
allow the ITC access to all privileged and business proprietary 
information in our files, provided the ITC confirms that it will not 
disclose such information, either publicly or under an administrative 
protective order (APO), without the written consent of the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice also serves as a reminder to parties subject to 
administrative protective orders (APOs) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of the return or 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.
    This determination and notice are issued and published pursuant to 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

     Dated: April 10, 2015.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. List of Issues
III. Background
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Period of Investigation
VI. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences
VII. Changes Since the Amended Preliminary Determination
VIII. Discussion of Interested Party Comments

A. General Issues

Comment 1: Scope Exclusion Request
Comment 2: Surrogate Value for Ocean Freight
Comment 3: Surrogate Value for ``Wood Flooring--Other''
Comment 4: Whether to Deduct Return Transportation Costs for Wide-
Top Pick (WTP) Lift-Off Bars from U.S. Net Price

B. CIMC-Specific Issues

Comment 5: Proper Valuation of Ocean Freight and Brokerage and 
Handling Expenses
Comment 6: Alleged Unreported U.S. Brokerage and Handling Expenses
Comment 7: Capping of Ocean Freight Revenue by Ocean Freight Expense
Comment 8: Surrogate Value for Corner Castings
Comment 9: Incorrect Calculation of CIMC's ``Wood Flooring--Other'' 
Surrogate Value
Comment 10: Separate Rate Determination

C. Singamas-Specific Issues

Comment 11: Surrogate Value for Hinges
Comment 12: Steel Coil Factor-of-Production (FOP) Should Be 
Increased to Account for Yield Loss
VII. Conclusion

Appendix II

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise subject to investigation is closed (i.e., not 
open top) van containers exceeding 14.63 meters (48 feet) but 
generally measuring 16.154 meters (53 feet) in exterior length, 
which are designed for the intermodal transport \21\ of goods other 
than bulk liquids within North America primarily by rail or by road 
vehicle, or by a combination of rail and road vehicle (domestic 
containers). The merchandise is known in the industry by varying 
terms including ``53-foot containers,'' ``53-foot dry containers,'' 
``53-foot domestic dry containers,'' ``domestic dry containers'' and 
``domestic containers.'' These terms all describe the same article 
with the same design and performance characteristics. 
Notwithstanding the particular terminology used to describe the 
merchandise, all merchandise that meets the definition set forth 
herein is included within the scope of this investigation.
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    \21\ ``Intermodal transport'' refers to a movement of freight 
using more than one mode of transportation, most commonly on a 
container chassis for on-the-road transportation and on a rail car 
for rail transportation.
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    Domestic containers generally meet the characteristic for closed 
van containers for domestic intermodal service as described in the 
American Association of Railroads (AAR) Manual of Standards and 
Recommended Practices Intermodal Equipment Manual Closed Van 
Containers for Domestic Intermodal Service Specification M 930 
Adopted: 1972; Last Revised 2013 (AAR Specifications) for 53-foot 
and 53-foot high cube containers. The AAR Specifications generally 
define design, performance and testing requirements for closed van 
containers, but are not dispositive for purposes of defining subject 
merchandise within this scope definition. Containers which may not 
fall precisely within the AAR Specifications or any successor 
equivalent specifications are included within the scope definition 
of the subject merchandise if they have the exterior dimensions 
referenced below, are suitable for use in intermodal transportation, 
are capable of and suitable for double-stacking \22\ in intermodal 
transportation, and otherwise meet the scope definition for the 
subject merchandise.
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    \22\ ``Double-stacking'' refers to two levels of intermodal 
containers on a rail car, one on top of the other.
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    Domestic containers have the following actual exterior 
dimensions: An exterior length exceeding 14.63 meters (48 feet) but 
not exceeding 16.154 meters (53 feet); an exterior width of between 
2.438 meters and 2.60 meters (between 8 feet and 8 feet 6\3/8\ 
inches); and an exterior height of between 2.438 meters and 2.908 
meters (between 8 feet and 9 feet 6\1/2\ inches), all subject to 
tolerances as allowed by the AAR Specifications. In addition to two 
frames (one at either end of the container), the domestic containers 
within the scope definition have two stacking frames located 
equidistant from each end of the container, as required by the AAR 
Specifications. The stacking frames have four upper handling 
fittings and four bottom dual aperture handling fittings, placed at 
the respective corners of the stacking frames. Domestic containers 
also have two forward facing fittings at the front lower corners and 
two downward facing fittings at the rear lower corners of the 
container to facilitate chassis interface.
    All domestic containers as described herein are included within 
this scope definition, regardless of whether the merchandise enters 
the United States in a final, assembled condition, or as an 
unassembled kit or substantially complete domestic container which 
requires additional manipulation or processing after entry into the 
United States to be made ready for use as a domestic container.
    The scope of this investigation excludes the following items: 
(1) Refrigerated containers; (2) trailers, where the cargo box

[[Page 21207]]

and rear wheeled chassis are of integrated construction, and the 
cargo box of the unit may not be separated from the chassis for 
further intermodal transport; (3) container chassis, whether or not 
imported with domestic containers, but the domestic containers 
remain subject merchandise, to the extent they meet the written 
description of the scope. Imports of the subject merchandise are 
provided for under subheading 8609.00.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Imports of the subject 
merchandise which meet the definition of and requirements for 
``instruments of international traffic'' pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1322 
and 19 CFR10.41a may be classified under subheading 9803.00.50, 
HTSUS. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise 
as set forth herein is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2015-08903 Filed 4-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P