[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 205 (Friday, October 23, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64392-64394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27089]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-928]


Uncovered Innerspring Units From the People's Republic of China: 
Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Circumvention of the 
Antidumping Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') preliminarily 
determines that uncovered innerspring units (``innersprings units'') 
completed or assembled in Malaysia by Goldon Bedding Manufacturing Sdn. 
Bhd. (``Goldon'') using components from the People's Republic of China 
(``PRC''), and exported to the United States, are circumventing the 
antidumping duty order on innersprings from the PRC, as provided in 
section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (``the Act'').\1\
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    \1\ See Uncovered Innerspring Units from the People's Republic 
of China: Notice of Antidumping Duty Order, 74 FR 7661 (February 19, 
2009) (``Order'').

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DATES: Effective Date: October 23, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Pulongbarit, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On December 31, 2014, the Department initiated an anticircumvention 
inquiry on imports of innersprings from the PRC exported by Goldon.\2\ 
On January 12, 2015, the Department issued a circumvention inquiry 
questionnaire.\3\ On January 22, 2015, we placed information on the 
record confirming Goldon's receipt of the questionnaire.\4\ The 
Department has,

[[Page 64393]]

to date, not received any responses to our requests for information 
from Goldon.
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    \2\ See Uncovered Innerspring Units From the People's Republic 
of China: Initiation of Anticircumvention Inquiry on Antidumping 
Duty Order, 79 FR 78792 (December 31, 2014) (``Initiation'').
    \3\ See Letter from the Department, to Goldon, regarding 
``Uncovered Innerspring Units from the People's Republic of China: 
Circumvention Inquiry Questionnaire,'' dated January 12, 2015 
(``Circumvention Questionnaire'').
    \4\ See Memo to the File, through Scot T. Fullerton, Program 
Manager, Office V, AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, 
from Steven Hampton, International Trade Compliance Analyst, Office 
V, AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, regarding 
``Uncovered Innerspring Units from the People's Republic of China: 
Anticircumvention Inquiry Questionnaire: Documentation to Confirm 
Goldon's Receipt of the Questionnaire,'' dated January 22, 2015.
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    Because Goldon failed to respond to the questionnaire, the record 
does not contain complete information regarding the factors set forth 
in section 781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (the ``Act''). Accordingly, 
we have based our determination on facts otherwise available, pursuant 
to sections 776(a)(2)(A) and (C) of the Act, applying an adverse 
inference, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act.\5\
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    \5\ For more information, see Department Memorandum, 
``Anticircumvention Inquiry Regarding the Antidumping Duty Order on 
Uncovered Innerspring Units from the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Determination Decision Memorandum for Goldon Bedding 
Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd.,'' dated concurrently with these results 
(``Preliminary Decision Memorandum'').
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Scope of the Antidumping Duty Order

    The merchandise subject to the order is uncovered innerspring 
units. The product is currently classified under subheading 
9404.29.9010 and has also been classified under subheadings 
9404.10.0000, 7326.20.0070, 7320.20.5010, 7320.90.5010, or 7326.20.0071 
of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS''). The 
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes 
only; the written product description of the scope of the order is 
dispositive.\6\
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    \6\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum for a complete 
description of the scope of the Order.
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Scope of the Anticircumvention Inquiry

    The products covered by this inquiry are innerspring units, as 
described above, that are manufactured in Malaysia by Goldon with PRC-
origin components and other direct materials, such as helical wires, 
and that are subsequently exported from Malaysia to the United States.

Methodology

    The Department has conducted this preliminary determination of 
circumvention in accordance with section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.225(h). For a full description of the methodology underlying our 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 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, the signed Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum can be accessed directly at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed Preliminary Decision Memorandum and the 
electronic version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical 
in content. The Preliminary Decision Memorandum is hereby adopted by 
this notice.

Affirmative Preliminary Determination of Circumvention

    As detailed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, the Department 
preliminarily determines, based on facts available with an adverse 
inference pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, that 
innerspring units completed and assembled in Malaysia by Goldon using 
components from the PRC and exported from Malaysia to the United States 
are circumventing the Order. Moreover, because we are unable to 
distinguish between those innerspring units that Goldon is exporting to 
the United States which contain PRC-origin components and those that do 
not, the Department has preliminarily determined that it is appropriate 
to instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to suspend 
liquidation of all entries of innerspring units from Malaysia produced 
by Goldon as subject to the Order.

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.225(l)(2), the Department will direct 
CBP to suspend liquidation and to require a cash deposit of estimated 
duties at the rate applicable to the exporter, on all unliquidated 
entries of innerspring units produced by Goldon that were entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after December 22, 
2014, the date of initiation of the anticircumvention inquiry.
    Should the Department conduct an administrative review in the 
future, and determine in the context of that review that Goldon did not 
produce for export innerspring units using PRC-origin innerspring 
components, the Department will consider initiating a changed 
circumstances review pursuant to section 751(b) of the Act to determine 
if the continued suspension of all innerspring units produced by Goldon 
is warranted.\7\
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    \7\ See, e.g., Certain Tissue Paper Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Affirmative Final Determination of Circumvention 
of the Antidumping Duty Order, 76 FR 47554 (August 5, 2011).
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Notification to the International Trade Commission

    The Department, consistent with section 781(e)(1)(B) of the Act and 
19 CFR 351.225(f)(7)(i)(B), has notified the International Trade 
Commission (``ITC'') of this preliminary determination to include the 
merchandise subject to this anticircumvention inquiry within the Order. 
Pursuant to section 781(e)(2) of the Act, the ITC may request 
consultations concerning the Department's proposed inclusion of the 
subject merchandise. If, after consultations, the ITC believes that a 
significant injury issue is presented by the proposed inclusion, it 
will have 15 days to provide written advice to the Department.\8\
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    \8\ See section 781(e)(2) of the Act.
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Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case briefs within 15 days after the 
date of publication of these preliminary results of review in the 
Federal Register. Rebuttals to case briefs, which are limited to issues 
raised in the case briefs, must be filed within five days after the 
time limit for filing case briefs. Parties who submit case or rebuttal 
briefs are requested to submit with the argument (a) a statement of the 
issue, (b) a brief summary of the argument, and (c) a table of 
authorities. Parties submitting briefs should do so using the 
Department's electronic filing system, ACCESS.
    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, 
filed electronically using ACCESS. An electronically filed document 
must be received successfully in its entirety by the Department's 
electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, within 30 
days after the date of publication of this notice.\9\ Hearing requests 
should contain the party's name, address, and telephone number, the 
number of participants, and a list of the issues parties intend to 
present at the hearing. If a request for a hearing is made, the 
Department intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20230, at a time and location to be determined. Prior to the date of 
the hearing, the Department will contact all parties that submitted 
case or rebuttal brief to determine if they wish to participate in the 
hearing.

[[Page 64394]]

The Department will then distribute a hearing schedule to the parties 
prior to the hearing and only those parties listed on the schedule may 
present issues raised in their briefs.
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    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
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Final Determination

    Pursuant to section 781(f) of the Act, the final determination with 
respect to this anticircumvention inquiry, including the results of the 
Department's analysis of any written comments, will be issued no later 
than December 2, 2015, unless extended.
    This preliminary affirmative circumvention determination is 
published in accordance with section 781(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.225.

    Dated: October 19, 2015.
Ronald K. Lorentzen,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2015-27089 Filed 10-22-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P