[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48075-48078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19711]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-890]


Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Results of Changed Circumstances Review, and Intent To 
Revoke Antidumping Duty Order in Part

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: On February 13, 2015, the Department of Commerce (the 
``Department'') received a request for revocation, in part, of the 
antidumping duty (``AD'') order on wooden bedroom furniture from the 
People's Republic of China (``PRC'') \1\ with respect to jewelry 
armoires that have at least one front door. We preliminarily determine 
that the producers accounting for substantially all of the production 
of the domestic like product to which the Order pertains lack interest 
in the relief provided by the Order with respect to jewelry armoires 
that have at least one front door as described below. Accordingly, we 
intend to revoke, in part, the Order as to imports of jewelry armoires 
with at least one front door. The Department invites interested parties 
to comment on these preliminary results.
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    \1\ See Notice of Amended Final Determination of Sales at Less 
Than Fair Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Wooden Bedroom Furniture 
From the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 329 (January 4, 2005) 
(``Order'').

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DATES: Effective Date: August 11, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Patrick O'Connor or Howard Smith, AD/
CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
0989 or (202) 482-5193, respectively.

Background

    On January 4, 2005, the Department published the Order in the 
Federal Register. On February 13, 2015, the Department received a 
request on behalf of Pier 1 Imports (U.S.), Inc. (``Pier One'') for a 
changed circumstances review to revoke, in part, the Order with respect 
to jewelry armoires with at least one front door.\2\ On March 11, 2015, 
the American Furniture Manufacturers Committee for Legal Trade and 
Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Company, Inc. (collectively, ``Petitioners'') 
stated that they agree with the scope exclusion language proposed by 
Pier One.\3\
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    \2\ See Submission from Pier One, ``Wooden Bedroom Furniture 
From the People's Republic of China; Request for a Changed 
Circumstance Review as to Certain Additional Jewelry Armoires,'' 
dated February 13, 2015 (``Pier One's Request'').
    \3\ See March 11, 2015 letter from King & Spalding Re: Wooden 
Bedroom Furniture From The People's Republic of China/Petitioners' 
Response to Pier 1 Imports' Letter of February 13, 2015.
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    On April 2, 2015, we published the Initiation Notice in the Federal 
Register.\4\ Because the statement submitted by Petitioners in support 
of Pier One's Request did not indicate whether Petitioners account for 
substantially all of the domestic wooden bedroom furniture production, 
in the Initiation Notice, we invited interested parties to submit 
comments concerning industry support for the revocation in part, as 
well as comments and/or factual information regarding the changed 
circumstances review. No comments were submitted by any party.
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    \4\ See Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of 
China: Notice of Initiation of Changed Circumstances Review, and 
Consideration of Revocation of the Antidumping Duty Order in Part, 
80 FR 17719 (April 2, 2015) (``Initiation Notice'').
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Scope of the Order

    The product covered by the order is wooden bedroom furniture. 
Wooden bedroom furniture is generally, but not exclusively, designed, 
manufactured, and offered for sale in coordinated groups, or bedrooms, 
in which all of the individual pieces are of approximately the same 
style and approximately the same material and/or finish. The subject 
merchandise is made substantially of wood products, including both 
solid wood and also engineered wood products made from wood particles, 
fibers, or other wooden materials such as plywood, strand board, 
particle board, and fiberboard, with or without wood veneers, wood 
overlays, or laminates, with or without non-wood components or trim 
such as metal, marble, leather, glass, plastic, or other resins, and 
whether or not assembled, completed, or finished.
    The subject merchandise includes the following items: (1) Wooden 
beds such as loft beds, bunk beds, and other beds; (2) wooden 
headboards for beds (whether stand-alone or attached to side rails), 
wooden footboards for beds, wooden side rails for beds, and wooden 
canopies for beds; (3) night tables, night stands, dressers, commodes, 
bureaus, mule chests, gentlemen's chests, bachelor's chests, lingerie 
chests, wardrobes, vanities, chessers, chifforobes, and wardrobe-type 
cabinets; (4) dressers with framed glass mirrors that are attached to, 
incorporated in, sit on, or hang over the dresser; (5) chests-on-
chests,\5\ highboys,\6\ lowboys,\7\ chests of drawers,\8\ chests,\9\ 
door chests,\10\ chiffoniers,\11\ hutches,\12\ and armoires;\13\

[[Page 48076]]

(6) desks, computer stands, filing cabinets, book cases, or writing 
tables that are attached to or incorporated in the subject merchandise; 
and (7) other bedroom furniture consistent with the above list.
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    \5\ A chest-on-chest is typically a tall chest-of-drawers in two 
or more sections (or appearing to be in two or more sections), with 
one or two sections mounted (or appearing to be mounted) on a 
slightly larger chest; also known as a tallboy.
    \6\ A highboy is typically a tall chest of drawers usually 
composed of a base and a top section with drawers, and supported on 
four legs or a small chest (often 15 inches or more in height).
    \7\ A lowboy is typically a short chest of drawers, not more 
than four feet high, normally set on short legs.
    \8\ A chest of drawers is typically a case containing drawers 
for storing clothing.
    \9\ A chest is typically a case piece taller than it is wide 
featuring a series of drawers and with or without one or more doors 
for storing clothing. The piece can either include drawers or be 
designed as a large box incorporating a lid.
    \10\ A door chest is typically a chest with hinged doors to 
store clothing, whether or not containing drawers. The piece may 
also include shelves for televisions and other entertainment 
electronics.
    \11\ A chiffonier is typically a tall and narrow chest of 
drawers normally used for storing undergarments and lingerie, often 
with mirror(s) attached.
    \12\ A hutch is typically an open case of furniture with shelves 
that typically sits on another piece of furniture and provides 
storage for clothes.
    \13\ An armoire is typically a tall cabinet or wardrobe 
(typically 50 inches or taller), with doors, and with one or more 
drawers (either exterior below or above the doors or interior behind 
the doors), shelves, and/or garment rods or other apparatus for 
storing clothes. Bedroom armoires may also be used to hold 
television receivers and/or other audio-visual entertainment 
systems.
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    The scope of the order excludes the following items: (1) Seats, 
chairs, benches, couches, sofas, sofa beds, stools, and other seating 
furniture; (2) mattresses, mattress supports (including box springs), 
infant cribs, water beds, and futon frames; (3) office furniture, such 
as desks, stand-up desks, computer cabinets, filing cabinets, 
credenzas, and bookcases; (4) dining room or kitchen furniture such as 
dining tables, chairs, servers, sideboards, buffets, corner cabinets, 
china cabinets, and china hutches; (5) other non-bedroom furniture, 
such as television cabinets, cocktail tables, end tables, occasional 
tables, wall systems, book cases, and entertainment systems; (6) 
bedroom furniture made primarily of wicker, cane, osier, bamboo or 
rattan; (7) side rails for beds made of metal if sold separately from 
the headboard and footboard; (8) bedroom furniture in which bentwood 
parts predominate; \14\ (9) jewelry armories; \15\ (10) cheval mirrors; 
\16\ (11) certain metal parts; \17\ (12) mirrors that do not attach to, 
incorporate in, sit on, or hang over a dresser if they are not designed 
and marketed to be sold in conjunction with a dresser as part of a 
dresser-mirror set; (13) upholstered beds; \18\ and (14) toy boxes.\19\ 
Also excluded from the scope are certain enclosable wall bed units, 
also referred to as murphy beds, which are composed of the following 
three major sections: (1) A metal wall frame, which attaches to the 
wall and uses coils or pistons to support the metal mattress frame; (2) 
a metal frame, which has euro slats for supporting a mattress and two 
legs that pivot; and (3) wood panels, which attach to the metal wall 
frame and/or the metal mattress frame to form a cabinet to enclose the 
wall bed when not in use. Excluded enclosable wall bed units are 
imported in ready-to-assemble format with all parts necessary for 
assembly. Enclosable wall bed units do not include a mattress. Wood 
panels of enclosable wall bed units, when imported separately, remain 
subject to the order.
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    \14\ As used herein, bentwood means solid wood made pliable. 
Bentwood is wood that is brought to a curved shape by bending it 
while made pliable with moist heat or other agency and then set by 
cooling or drying. See CBP's Headquarters Ruling Letter 043859, 
dated May 17, 1976.
    \15\ Any armoire, cabinet or other accent item for the purpose 
of storing jewelry, not to exceed 24 inches in width, 18 inches in 
depth, and 49 inches in height, including a minimum of 5 lined 
drawers lined with felt or felt-like material, at least one side 
door (whether or not the door is lined with felt or felt-like 
material), with necklace hangers, and a flip-top lid with inset 
mirror. See Issues and Decision Memorandum from Laurel LaCivita to 
Laurie Parkhill, Office Director, concerning ``Jewelry Armoires and 
Cheval Mirrors in the Antidumping Duty Investigation of Wooden 
Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of China,'' dated 
August 31, 2004. See also Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's 
Republic of China: Final Changed Circumstances Review, and 
Determination To Revoke Order in Part, 71 FR 38621 (July 7, 2006).
    \16\ Cheval mirrors are any framed, tiltable mirror with a 
height in excess of 50 inches that is mounted on a floor-standing, 
hinged base. Additionally, the scope of the order excludes 
combination cheval mirror/jewelry cabinets. The excluded merchandise 
is an integrated piece consisting of a cheval mirror, i.e., a framed 
tiltable mirror with a height in excess of 50 inches, mounted on a 
floor-standing, hinged base, the cheval mirror serving as a door to 
a cabinet back that is integral to the structure of the mirror and 
which constitutes a jewelry cabinet line with fabric, having 
necklace and bracelet hooks, mountings for rings and shelves, with 
or without a working lock and key to secure the contents of the 
jewelry cabinet back to the cheval mirror, and no drawers anywhere 
on the integrated piece. The fully assembled piece must be at least 
50 inches in height, 14.5 inches in width, and 3 inches in depth. 
See Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China: 
Final Changed Circumstances Review and Determination To Revoke Order 
in Part, 72 FR 948 (January 9, 2007).
    \17\ Metal furniture parts and unfinished furniture parts made 
of wood products (as defined above) that are not otherwise 
specifically named in this scope (i.e., wooden headboards for beds, 
wooden footboards for beds, wooden side rails for beds, and wooden 
canopies for beds) and that do not possess the essential character 
of wooden bedroom furniture in an unassembled, incomplete, or 
unfinished form. Such parts are usually classified under HTSUS 
subheadings 9403.90.7005, 9403.90.7010, or 9403.90.7080.
    \18\ Upholstered beds that are completely upholstered, i.e., 
containing filling material and completely covered in sewn genuine 
leather, synthetic leather, or natural or synthetic decorative 
fabric. To be excluded, the entire bed (headboards, footboards, and 
side rails) must be upholstered except for bed feet, which may be of 
wood, metal, or any other material and which are no more than nine 
inches in height from the floor. See Wooden Bedroom Furniture from 
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Changed 
Circumstances Review and Determination to Revoke Order in Part, 72 
FR 7013 (February 14, 2007).
    \19\ To be excluded the toy box must: (1) Be wider than it is 
tall; (2) have dimensions within 16 inches to 27 inches in height, 
15 inches to 18 inches in depth, and 21 inches to 30 inches in 
width; (3) have a hinged lid that encompasses the entire top of the 
box; (4) not incorporate any doors or drawers; (5) have slow-closing 
safety hinges; (6) have air vents; (7) have no locking mechanism; 
and (8) comply with American Society for Testing and Materials 
(``ASTM'') standard F963-03. Toy boxes are boxes generally designed 
for the purpose of storing children's items such as toys, books, and 
playthings. See 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). Further, as determined in the scope ruling memorandum 
``Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of China: 
Scope Ruling on a White Toy Box,'' dated July 6, 2009, the 
dimensional ranges used to identify the toy boxes that are excluded 
from the wooden bedroom furniture order apply to the box itself 
rather than the lid.
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    Also excluded from the scope are certain shoe cabinets 31.5-33.5 
inches wide by 15.5-17.5 inches deep by 34.5-36.5 inches high. They are 
designed strictly to store shoes, which are intended to be aligned in 
rows perpendicular to the wall along which the cabinet is positioned. 
Shoe cabinets do not have drawers, rods, or other indicia for the 
storage of clothing other than shoes. The cabinets are not designed, 
manufactured, or offered for sale in coordinated groups or sets and are 
made substantially of wood, have two to four shelves inside them, and 
are covered by doors. The doors often have blinds that are designed to 
allow air circulation and release of bad odors. The doors themselves 
may be made of wood or glass. The depth of the shelves does not exceed 
14 inches. Each shoe cabinet has doors, adjustable shelving, and 
ventilation holes.
    Imports of subject merchandise are classified under subheadings 
9403.50.9042 and 9403.50.9045 of the HTSUS as ``wooden . . . beds'' and 
under subheading 9403.50.9080 of the HTSUS as ``other . . . wooden 
furniture of a kind used in the bedroom.'' In addition, wooden 
headboards for beds, wooden footboards for beds, wooden side rails for 
beds, and wooden canopies for beds may also be entered under subheading 
9403.50.9042 or 9403.50.9045 of the HTSUS as ``parts of wood.'' Subject 
merchandise may also be entered under subheadings 9403.50.9041, 
9403.60.8081, 9403.20.0018, or 9403.90.8041. Further, framed glass 
mirrors may be entered under subheading 7009.92.1000 or 7009.92.5000 of 
the HTSUS as ``glass mirrors . . . framed.'' The order covers all 
wooden bedroom furniture meeting the above description, regardless of 
tariff classification. Although the HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, our written description of the scope 
of this proceeding is dispositive.

[[Page 48077]]

Scope of Changed Circumstances Review

    The scope of the order currently excludes certain jewelry armoires 
with at least one side door but does not exclude jewelry armoires with 
at least one front door. Pier One proposes adding the phrase ``or at 
least one front door'' to the existing exclusion for jewelry armoires. 
Thus, excluded jewelry armoires would be: ``{A{time} ny armoire, 
cabinet or other accent item for the purpose of storing jewelry, not to 
exceed 24 inches in width, 18 inches in depth, and 49 inches in height, 
including a minimum of 5 lined drawers lined with felt or felt-like 
material, at least one side door or one front door (whether or not the 
door is lined with felt or felt-like material), with necklace hangers, 
and a flip-top lid with inset mirror.''

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

    Pursuant to section 751(d)(1) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 
(the ``Act''), and 19 CFR 351.222(g), the Department may revoke an AD 
order, in whole or in part, based on a review under section 751(b) of 
the Act (i.e., a changed circumstances review). Section 751(b)(1) of 
the Act requires a changed circumstances review to be conducted upon 
receipt of a request which shows changed circumstances sufficient to 
warrant a review. Section 782(h)(2) of the Act gives the Department the 
authority to revoke an order if producers accounting for substantially 
all of the production of the domestic like product have expressed a 
lack of interest in the order. 19 CFR 351.222(g) provides that the 
Department will conduct a changed circumstances review under 19 CFR 
351.216, and may revoke an order (in whole or in part), if it concludes 
that (i) producers accounting for substantially all of the production 
of the domestic like product to which the order pertains have expressed 
a lack of interest in the relief provided by the order, in whole or in 
part, or (ii) if other changed circumstances sufficient to warrant 
revocation exist. Both the Act and the Department's regulations require 
that ``substantially all'' domestic producers express a lack of 
interest in the order for the Department to revoke the order, in whole 
or in part.\20\ The Department has interpreted ``substantially all'' to 
represent producers accounting for at least 85 percent of U.S. 
production of the domestic like product.\21\
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    \20\ See section 782(h) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.222(g).
    \21\ See Honey From Argentina; Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Changed Circumstances Reviews; Preliminary Intent to Revoke 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 77 FR 67790, 67791 
(November 14, 2012), unchanged in Honey From Argentina; Final 
Results of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances 
Reviews; Revocation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 
77 FR 77029 (December 31, 2012)(``Honey From Argentina'').
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    On February 13, 2015, Pier One requested that the Department 
expedite the changed circumstances review.\22\ The Department's 
regulations do not specify a deadline for the issuance of preliminary 
results of a changed circumstances review, but provide that the 
Department will issue the final results of review within 270 days after 
the date on which the changed circumstances review is initiated, or 
within 45 days if all parties to the proceeding agree to the outcome of 
the review.\23\ The Department did not issue a combined notice of 
initiation and preliminary results because, as discussed above, the 
statement provided by Petitioners and offered in support of Pier One's 
Request did not indicate whether Petitioners account for substantially 
all domestic wooden bedroom furniture production.\24\ Thus, the 
Department did not determine in the Initiation Notice that producers 
accounting for substantially all of the production of the domestic like 
product lacked interest in the continued application of the Order as to 
certain jewelry armoires. Further, the Department requested interested 
party comments on the issue of domestic industry support of a partial 
revocation.\25\ Because the Department received no comments concerning 
a lack of industry support or opposing initiation of the changed 
circumstances review of the Order, the Department now preliminarily 
finds that producers accounting for substantially all of the production 
of the domestic like product lack interest in the relief afforded by 
the Order with respect to the jewelry armoires described in Pier One's 
Request. We will consider comments from interested parties on these 
preliminary results before issuing the final results of this 
review.\26\
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    \22\ See Pier One's Request.
    \23\ 19 CFR 351.216(e).
    \24\ See Initiation Notice.
    \25\ Id.
    \26\ See, e.g., Honey From Argentina; Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Changed Circumstances Reviews; Preliminary 
Intent to Revoke Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders, 77 FR 
67790, 67791 (November 14, 2012); Aluminum Extrusions From the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Changed 
Circumstances Reviews, and Intent to Revoke Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Orders in Part, 78 FR 66895 (November 7, 2013); 
see also 19 CFR 351.222(g)(1)(v).
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    As noted in the Initiation Notice, Pier One requested the 
revocation of the Order, in part, and supported its request. In light 
of Pier One's Request and the absence of any interested party comments 
received during the comment period, we preliminarily conclude that 
changed circumstances warrant revocation of the Order, in part, because 
the producers accounting for substantially all of the production of the 
domestic like product to which the Order pertains lack interest in the 
relief provided by the Order with respect to the jewelry armoires that 
are the subject of Pier One's Request.
    Accordingly, we are notifying the public of our intent to revoke 
the Order, in part, with respect to jewelry armoires with at least one 
front door. We intend to carry out this revocation by stating that the 
scope of the order excludes any armoire, cabinet or other accent item 
for the purpose of storing jewelry, not to exceed 24 inches in width, 
18 inches in depth, and 49 inches in height, including a minimum of 5 
lined drawers lined with felt or felt-like material, at least one side 
door or one front door (whether or not the door is lined with felt or 
felt-like material), with necklace hangers, and a flip-top lid with 
inset mirror.

Public Comment

    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results in accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii). 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 seven days 
after the due date for comments. All submissions must be filed 
electronically using Enforcement and Compliance's AD and Countervailing 
Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (``ACCESS''). ACCESS is 
available to registered users at http://access.trade.gov and in the 
Central Records Unit, Room B8024 of the main Department of Commerce 
building. An electronically filed document must be received 
successfully in its entirety by ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the 
day it is due.
    The Department will issue the final results of this changed 
circumstances review, which will include its analysis of any written 
comments, no later than 270 days after the date on which this review 
was initiated.
    If, in the final results of this review, the Department continues 
to determine

[[Page 48078]]

that changed circumstances warrant the revocation of the Order, in 
part, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to liquidate 
without regard to antidumping duties, and to refund any estimated 
antidumping duties, on all unliquidated entries of the merchandise 
covered by the revocation that are not covered by the final results of 
an administrative review or automatic liquidation.
    The current requirement for cash deposits of estimated antidumping 
duties on all entries of subject merchandise will continue unless until 
they are modified pursuant to the final results of this changed 
circumstances review.
    These preliminary results of review and notice are in accordance 
with sections 751(b) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.221 and 19 
CFR 351.222.

    Dated: July 31, 2015.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-19711 Filed 8-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P