[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 148 (Monday, August 3, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45951-45952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18980]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-122-854]


Supercalendered Paper From Canada: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (the Department) preliminarily 
determines that countervailable subsidies are being provided to 
producers and exporters of supercalendered paper (SC paper) from 
Canada. The period of investigation is January 1, 2014, through 
December 31, 2014. Interested parties are invited to comment on this 
preliminary determination.

DATES: Effective Date: August 3, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dana Mermelstein or Shane Subler, AD/
CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
1391 and (202) 482-0189, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    On March 18, 2015, the Department initiated this countervailing 
duty (CVD) investigation.\1\ On April 15, in response to a request from 
the petitioner, the Coalition for Fair Paper Imports,\2\ the Department 
postponed the preliminary determination in the CVD investigation.\3\
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    \1\ See Supercalendered Paper From Canada: Initiation of 
Countervailing Duty Investigation, 80 FR 15981 (March 26, 2015).
    \2\ The individual member companies of the Coalition for Fair 
Paper Imports are Madison Paper Industries and Verso Corporation.
    \3\ See Supercalendered Paper From Canada: Postponement of 
Preliminary Determinations in the Countervailing Duty Investigation, 
80 FR 22477 (April 22, 2015).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is SC paper. For a 
complete description of the scope of the investigation, see Appendix 1 
to this notice.

Methodology

    The Department is conducting this CVD investigation in accordance 
with section 701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). For a 
full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.\4\ The list of 
topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum is included as 
Appendix 2 to this notice. The Preliminary 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://access.trade.gov, and is available to all parties in the Central 
Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce building. 
In addition, a complete version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum 
can be accessed directly on the Internet at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum and the electronic versions of the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \4\ See Memorandum from Gary Taverman, Associate Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Operations, to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 
Compliance, regarding ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Countervailing Duty Investigation of 
Supercalendered Paper From Canada,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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    For this preliminary determination, we have relied partially on 
facts available for Resolute, because the company did not act to the 
best of its ability when responding to the Department's request for 
information. Further, we have drawn an adverse inference in selecting 
from among the facts otherwise available to calculate the ad valorem 
rate for Resolute.\5\ For further information, see ``Use of Facts 
Otherwise Available and Adverse Inferences'' in the Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.
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    \5\ See sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act.
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    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated a CVD rate for each individually investigated producer/
exporter of the subject merchandise.

Preliminary Determination and Suspension of Liquidation

    We preliminarily determine the countervailable subsidy rates to be:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Port Hawkesbury Paper LP (Port Hawkesbury)..............           20.33
Resolute FP Canada Inc. (Resolute)......................            2.04
All Others..............................................           11.19
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In accordance with sections 703(d)(1)(B) and (2) of the Act, we are 
directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection to suspend liquidation of 
all entries of SC paper from Canada that are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of the publication of 
this notice in the Federal Register, and to require a cash deposit for 
such entries of merchandise in the amounts indicated above.
    In accordance with section 705(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act, we 
calculated a rate for each company respondent. Section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) 
of the Act states that, for companies not individually investigated, we 
will determine an ``all others'' rate equal to the weighted-average 
countervailable subsidy rates established for exporters and producers 
individually investigated, excluding any zero and de minimis 
countervailable subsidy rates, and any rates determined entirely under 
section 776 of the Act.
    Notwithstanding the language of section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of the Act, 
we have not calculated the ``all others'' rate by weight averaging the 
rates of Port Hawkesbury and Resolute because doing so risks disclosure 
of proprietary

[[Page 45952]]

information. Therefore, we calculated a simple average of Port 
Hawkesbury's and Resolute's rates.\6\
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    \6\ We have calculated the simple average of the two responding 
firm's rates for the all-others rate using the following 
calculation: (20.33 (Port Hawkesbury's calculated rate) + 2.04 
(Resolute's calculated rate))/2 = 11.19 (the all others rate).
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the Act, we intend to verify 
the information submitted by the respondents prior to making our final 
determination.

Disclosure and Public Comment

    The Department intends to disclose to interested parties the 
calculations performed in connection with this preliminary 
determination within five days of its public announcement.\7\ 
Interested parties may submit case and rebuttal briefs,\8\ and request 
a hearing.\9\ For a schedule of the deadlines for filing case briefs, 
rebuttal briefs, and hearing requests, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ See 19 CFR 351.224(b).
    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c) and (d).
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.510.
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U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, we will notify the 
ITC of our determination. In addition, we are making available to the 
ITC all non-privileged and non-proprietary information relating 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, without the written consent 
of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
    In accordance with section 705(b)(2) of the Act, if our final 
determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its final determination 
within 45 days after the Department makes its final determination.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: July 27, 2015.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix 1

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is supercalendered 
paper (SC paper). SC paper is uncoated paper that has undergone a 
calendering process in which the base sheet, made of pulp and filler 
(typically, but not limited to, clay, talc, or other mineral 
additive), is processed through a set of supercalenders, a 
supercalender, or a soft nip calender operation.\1\
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    \1\ Supercalendering and soft nip calendering processing, in 
conjunction with the mineral filler contained in the base paper, are 
performed to enhance the surface characteristics of the paper by 
imparting a smooth and glossy printing surface. Supercalendering and 
soft nip calendering also increase the density of the base paper.
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    The scope of this investigation covers all SC paper regardless 
of basis weight, brightness, opacity, smoothness, or grade, and 
whether in rolls or in sheets. Further, the scope covers all SC 
paper that meets the scope definition regardless of the type of pulp 
fiber or filler material used to produce the paper.
    Specifically excluded from the scope are imports of paper 
printed with final content of printed text or graphics.
    Subject merchandise primarily enters under Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 4802.61.3035, but 
may also enter under subheadings 4802.61.3010, 4802.62.3000, 
4802.62.6020, and 4802.69.3000. Although the HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope of the investigation is dispositive.

Appendix 2

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Injury Test
VI. Subsidies Valuation
VII. Analysis of Programs
VIII. Calculation of the All Others Rate
IX. ITC Notification
X. Disclosure and Public Comment
XI. Verification
XII. Conclusion

[FR Doc. 2015-18980 Filed 7-31-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P