[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3112-3115]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01020]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-022]


Certain Uncoated Paper From the People's Republic of China: Final 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``Department'') determines that 
certain uncoated paper from the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') is 
being, or is 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 period of investigation (``POI'') is July 
1, 2014, through December 31, 2014. The final weighted-average dumping 
margins of sales at LTFV are listed below in the ``Final Determination 
Margins'' section of this notice.

DATES: Effective: January 20, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Moore, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3692.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 26, 2015, the Department published the Preliminary 
Determination of this antidumping duty (``AD'') investigation.\1\ The 
following events occurred since the Preliminary Determination was 
issued.
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    \1\ See Certain Uncoated Paper from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value 
and Postponement of Final Determination, 80 FR 51768 (August 26, 
2015) (``Preliminary Determination'') and accompanying Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum.
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    Between September 21, 2015, and September 30, 2015, the Department 
conducted verifications of the sales and factors of production 
(``FOP'') information submitted by Greenpoint Global Trading (Macao 
Commercial Offshore) Ltd. (``Greenpoint''), Asia Symbol (Guangdong) 
Paper Co. Ltd. (``AS Guangdong''), and Asia Symbol (Shandong) Pulp and 
Paper Co. Ltd. (``AS Shandong'') (collectively, ``Asia Symbol'') \2\ 
for use in the final

[[Page 3113]]

determination. We issued our verification report on November 10, 
2015.\3\
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    \2\ The Department preliminarily collapsed AS Guangdong, AS 
Shandong, and Greenpoint, treating them as a single entity for the 
purposes of calculating a margin in this investigation. See 
Memorandum to the File, ``Investigation of Uncoated Paper from the 
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Determination Regarding 
Affiliation and Collapsing of Asia Symbol (Guangdong) Paper Co., 
Ltd., Asia Symbol (Shandong) Pulp and Paper Co., Ltd., and 
Greenpoint Global Trading (Macao Commercial Offshore) Ltd.,'' dated 
August 19, 2015. No party provided further comment or subsequent 
challenge to this finding. Accordingly, the Department sustains this 
collapsing determination for the final determination.
    \3\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Verification of the Sales and 
Factors Responses of Greenpoint Global Trading (Macao Commercial 
Offshore) Ltd., Asia Symbol (Guangdong) Paper Co. Ltd., and Asia 
Symbol (Shandong) Pulp and Paper Co., Ltd. in the Antidumping 
Investigation of Uncoated Paper from the People's Republic of 
China,'' dated November 10, 2015 (``Asia Symbol Verification 
Report'').
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    Petitioners and Asia Symbol submitted case briefs on November 19, 
2015,\4\ and rebuttal briefs on November 24, 2015.\5\ On December 9, 
2015, Asia Symbol provided a revised FOP database and market-economy 
purchases (``MEP'') chart.\6\ On December 15, 2015, Petitioners 
provided comments on that submission.\7\
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    \4\ See Letter from Petitioners, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from 
the People's Republic of China: Petitioners Case Brief,'' dated 
November 19, 2015 (``Petitioners' Case Brief''). See also Letter 
from Asia Symbol, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from the People's 
Republic of China: Case Brief of the Asia Symbol Companies,'' dated 
November 19, 2015 (``Asia Symbol's Case Brief'').
    \5\ See Letter from Petitioners, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from 
the People's Republic of China: Petitioners' Rebuttal Brief,'' dated 
November 24, 2015 (``Petitioners' Rebuttal Brief''). See also Letter 
from Asia Symbol, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from the People's 
Republic of China: Rebuttal Brief of the Asia Symbol Companies,'' 
dated November 24, 2015 (``Asia Symbol's Rebuttal Brief'').
    \6\ See Letter from Asia Symbol, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from 
the People's Republic of China: Revised Database and MEP Chart,'' 
dated December 9, 2015 (``Revised Database Submission'').
    \7\ See Letter from Petitioners, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from 
the People's Republic of China: Petitioners' Response to Asia 
Symbol's Revised Database and MEP Chart,'' dated December 15, 2015.
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is certain uncoated paper 
from the PRC. For a full description of the scope of this 
investigation, see the ``Scope of the Investigation,'' in Appendix I of 
this notice, which incorporates changes made subsequent to the 
Preliminary Determination.
    On October 2, 2015, Gartner Studios, Inc. submitted its case brief 
on the scope of the investigations.\8\ On October 19, 2015, American 
Greetings Corporation (``American Greetings'') submitted its case brief 
regarding the scope of the investigations.\9\ On October 29, 2015, 
Petitioners submitted their rebuttal brief regarding the scope of the 
investigations.\10\ The Department is issuing a scope comments decision 
memorandum for the final determinations of the AD and countervailing 
duty investigations of uncoated paper, which is incorporated by 
reference in, and hereby adopted by, this final determination.\11\ As 
explained in the Final Scope Decision Memorandum, to facilitate the 
scope's administrability and enforcement, we have clarified the scope 
language such that certain uncoated paper with ``final printed 
content'' is excluded from the scope of the investigations.
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    \8\ See Letter to Secretary Pritzker, from Gartner Studios, 
Inc., ``Certain Uncoated Paper from Australia, Brazil, the People's 
Republic of China, Indonesia, and Portugal: Case Brief'' (October 2, 
2015).
    \9\ See Letter to Secretary Pritzker, from American Greetings, 
``Certain Uncoated Paper from Australia, Brazil, the People's 
Republic of China, Indonesia, and Portugal: Case Brief of American 
Greetings Corporation'' (October 19, 2015).
    \10\ See Letter to Secretary Pritzker, from Petitioners, 
``Certain Uncoated Paper from Australia, Brazil, the People's 
Republic of China, Indonesia, and Portugal: Scope Rebuttal Brief'' 
(October 29, 2015).
    \11\ See the Department's Memorandum to the File, ``Less Than 
Fair Value Investigations of Certain Uncoated Paper from Australia, 
Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and Portugal; and 
Countervailing Duty Investigations of Certain Uncoated Paper from 
the People's Republic of China and Indonesia: Scope Comments 
Decision Memorandum for the Final Determinations,'' dated January 8, 
2016 (``Final Scope Decision Memorandum'').
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Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs by interested 
parties in this investigation that are not related to the scope of this 
investigation are addressed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum, 
which is incorporated by reference by, and hereby adopted by, this 
notice.\12\ 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://access.trade.gov. The Issues and Decision Memorandum 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 
Issues and Decision Memorandum is available at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/index.html. The signed and electronic 
versions of the Issues and Decision Memorandum are identical in 
content.
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    \12\ See Memorandum to Paul Piquado, Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, ``Issues and Decision Memorandum for the 
Final Determination of Sales at Less than Fair Value in the 
Antidumping Duty Investigation of Certain Uncoated Paper from the 
People's Republic of China,'' dated concurrently with this notice 
(``Issues and Decision Memorandum'').
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Verification

    As provided in section 782(i) of the Act, from September 21, 2015, 
to September 30, 2015, we conducted verification of the information 
submitted by Asia Symbol for use in the final determination.\13\ We 
issued a verification report on November 10, 2015.\14\ The Department 
used standard verification procedures, including an examination of 
relevant accounting and production records and original source 
documents provided by respondents.\15\
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    \13\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Verification of the Sales and 
Factors Responses of Greenpoint Global Trading (Macao Commercial 
Offshore) Ltd., Asia Symbol (Guangdong) Paper Co. Ltd., and Asia 
Symbol (Shandong) Pulp and Paper Co., Ltd. in the Antidumping 
Investigation of Uncoated Paper from the People's Republic of 
China,'' dated November 10, 2015 (``Verification Report'').
    \14\ See Memorandum to the File, ``Verification of the Sales and 
Factors Responses of Greenpoint Global Trading (Macao Commercial 
Offshore) Ltd., Asia Symbol (Guangdong) Paper Co. Ltd., and Asia 
Symbol (Shandong) Pulp and Paper Co., Ltd. in the Antidumping 
Investigation of Uncoated Paper from the People's Republic of 
China,'' dated November 10, 2015 (``Verification Report'').
    \15\ Id.
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Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on the Department's analysis of the comments received and our 
findings at verification, we made certain changes to Asia Symbol's 
margin calculations. For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum.

Combination Rates

    In the Initiation Notice,\16\ the Department stated that it would 
calculate combination rates for the respondents that are eligible for a 
separate rate in this investigation. Policy Bulletin 05.1 describes 
this practice.\17\
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    \16\ See Certain Uncoated Paper From Australia, Brazil, the 
People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and Portugal: Initiation of 
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 80 FR 8608 (February 18, 2015) 
(``Initiation Notice'').
    \17\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' dated 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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PRC-Wide Rate

    For the final determination, we have determined to use, as the 
adverse facts available (``AFA'') rate applied to the PRC-wide entity, 
149.00 percent, the highest transaction-specific dumping margin 
calculated in the final determination. Consistent with our practice, 
the Department selected Asia Symbol's highest transaction-specific

[[Page 3114]]

margin, as AFA, because this rate is higher than the other rates in 
this investigation and therefore, sufficiently adverse to serve the 
purposes of facts available.\18\ Furthermore, there is no need to 
corroborate the selected margin because it is based on information 
submitted by Asia Symbol in the course of this investigation, i.e., it 
is not secondary information.\19\
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    \18\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum for a detailed 
discussion.
    \19\ See 19 CFR 351.308(c) and (d) and section 776(c) of the 
Act. See also Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 20.
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Final Determination

    The Department determines that the estimated final weighted-average 
dumping margins are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
            Exporter                     Producer             dumping
                                                              margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greenpoint Global Trading        Asia Symbol (Guangdong)           84.05
 (Macao Commercial Offshore)      Paper Co., Ltd.; and
 Ltd.                             Asia Symbol (Shandong)
                                  Pulp & Paper Co., Ltd.
PRC-Wide Entity................  .......................          149.00
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure

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

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, the Department 
will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (``CBP'') to continue 
to suspend liquidation of all appropriate entries of certain uncoated 
paper from the PRC as described in Appendix I of this notice, which 
were entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
August 26, 2015, the date of publication in the Federal Register of the 
affirmative Preliminary Determination.
    Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), the Department will 
instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the weighted-average 
amount by which the normal value exceeds U.S. price, adjusted where 
appropriate for export subsidies and estimated domestic subsidy pass-
through,\20\ as follows: (1) For the exporter/producer combination 
listed in the table above, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the 
dumping margin which the Department determined in this final 
determination; (2) for all combinations of PRC exporters/producers of 
merchandise under consideration which have not received their own 
separate rate above, the cash deposit rate will be equal to the dumping 
margin established for the PRC-wide entity; and (3) for all non-PRC 
exporters of merchandise under consideration which have not received 
their own separate rate above, the cash deposit rate will be equal to 
the cash deposit rate applicable to the PRC exporter/producer 
combination that supplied that non-PRC exporter.
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    \20\ 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) and section 772(c)(1)(C) of the Act. 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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    As we stated in the Preliminary Determination, consistent with our 
practice, where the product under investigation is also subject to a 
concurrent countervailing duty investigation, we instruct CBP to 
require a cash deposit equal to the amount by which the normal value 
exceeds the export price or constructed export price, less the amount 
of the countervailing duty determined to constitute an export 
subsidy.\21\ In this LTFV investigation, export subsidies constitute 
0.13 percent \22\ of the final calculated countervailing duty rate in 
the concurrent countervailing duty investigation, and, thus, we will 
offset the calculated rates for Asia Symbol, the company receiving a 
separate rate, and the PRC-wide rate by the countervailing duty rate 
attributable to export subsidies (i.e., 0.13 percent) to calculate the 
cash deposit rate for this LTFV investigation.\23\ We are not adjusting 
the rates for estimated domestic subsidy pass-through because there is 
no cost-to-price linkage to a subsidized program and, thus, we have no 
basis upon which to make such an adjustment.\24\
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    \21\ See Preliminary Determination, 80 FR at 51769-70.
    \22\ The following subsidy programs in the final determination 
of the concurrent countervailing duty investigation are export 
subsidies: City bonus for export activity from finance bureau (0.13 
percent). See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Uncoated 
Paper from the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination (``CVD Final''), 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.
    \23\ The cash deposit rate reflecting the export subsidy offset 
will be in effect until the countervailing duty provisional measures 
expire (i.e. 120 days after the publication of the preliminary 
determination of the companion countervailing duty investigation).
    \24\ See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at the section, 
``Adjustment Under Section 777A(f) of the Act.''
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the 
International Trade Commission (``ITC'') of the final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this 
proceeding is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the 
Act, the ITC will determine, within 45 days, whether the domestic 
industry in the United States is materially injured, or threatened with 
material injury, by reason of imports of certain uncoated paper from 
the PRC, or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation, of 
certain uncoated paper from the PRC. If the ITC determines that such 
injury does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated and all 
securities posted will be refunded or canceled. If the ITC determines 
that such injury does exist, 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.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    This notice also serves as a reminder to the parties subject to 
administrative protective order (``APO'') of their

[[Page 3115]]

responsibility concerning the disposition of propriety information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 
written notification of return or destruction of APO materials or 
conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to 
comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable 
violation.
    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.

    Dated: January 8, 2016.
Paul Piquado,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation includes uncoated 
paper in sheet form; weighing at least 40 grams per square meter but 
not more than 150 grams per square meter; that either is a white 
paper with a GE brightness level \1\ of 85 or higher or is a colored 
paper; whether or not surface-decorated, printed (except as 
described below), embossed, perforated, or punched; irrespective of 
the smoothness of the surface; and irrespective of dimensions 
(Certain Uncoated Paper).
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    \1\ One of the key measurements of any grade of paper is 
brightness. Generally speaking, the brighter the paper the better 
the contrast between the paper and the ink. Brightness is measured 
using a GE Reflectance Scale, which measures the reflection of light 
off a grade of paper. One is the lowest reflection, or what would be 
given to a totally black grade, and 100 is the brightest measured 
grade. ``Colored paper'' as used in this scope definition means a 
paper with a hue other than white that reflects one of the primary 
colors of magenta, yellow, and cyan (red, yellow, and blue) or a 
combination of such primary colors.
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    Certain Uncoated Paper includes (a) uncoated free sheet paper 
that meets this scope definition; (b) uncoated ground wood paper 
produced from bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp (BCTMP) that 
meets this scope definition; and (c) any other uncoated paper that 
meets this scope definition regardless of the type of pulp used to 
produce the paper.
    Specifically excluded from the scope are (1) paper printed with 
final content of printed text or graphics and (2) lined paper 
products, typically school supplies, composed of paper that 
incorporates straight horizontal and/or vertical lines that would 
make the paper unsuitable for copying or printing purposes. For 
purposes of this scope definition, paper shall be considered 
``printed with final content'' where at least one side of the sheet 
has printed text and/or graphics that cover at least five percent of 
the surface area of the entire sheet.
    Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) categories 
4802.56.1000, 4802.56.2000, 4802.56.3000, 4802.56.4000, 
4802.56.6000, 4802.56.7020, 4802.56.7040, 4802.57.1000, 
4802.57.2000, 4802.57.3000, and 4802.57.4000. Some imports of 
subject merchandise may also be classified under 4802.62.1000, 
4802.62.2000, 4802.62.3000, 4802.62.5000, 4802.62.6020, 
4802.62.6040, 4802.69.1000, 4802.69.2000, 4802.69.3000, 4811.90.8050 
and 4811.90.9080. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of the investigations is dispositive.

Appendix II--List of Topics Discussed in the Final Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Margin Calculations
V. List of Comments
VI. Discussion of Comments
    Comment 1: Surrogate Country
    Comment 2: Selection of Surrogate Value for Wood Chips
    Comment 3: Selection of Surrogate Values for Sodium 
Hypochlorite, Citric Acid, and Aluminum Chloride
    Comment 4: Selection of Surrogate Value for Bamboo Pulp
    Comment 5: Selection of Surrogate Values for Cationic Starch, 
Whitening Materials, Calcium Carbonate Fillers, Hydrogen Peroxide, 
Ferrous Sulphate, and Sodium Sulphate
    Comment 6: Selection of Surrogate Value for Fuel Inputs
    Comment 7: Selection of Surrogate Value for Native Starches
    Comment 8: Selection of Surrogate Values for Limestone, Antifoam 
Compound, Liquid Polymer, and Sodium Phosphate
    Comment 9: Selection of Surrogate Value for LMSTONE80_ENE_MAT
    Comment 10: Selection of Surrogate Value for Bailing Wire
    Comment 11: Selection of Surrogate Value for Packing Cartons
    Comment 12: Selection of Surrogate Value for Paper Cores
    Comment 13: Selection of Surrogate Value for Packing Covers
    Comment 14: Brokerage and Handling Surrogate Value
    Comment 15: Conversion of Nitrogen Surrogate Value
    Comment 16: Inland Insurance Surrogate Value
    Comment 17: Water Treatment Chemical FOPs Comment
    18: Minor Correction for Market Economy Purchases
    Comment 19: Mondi's SG&A Ratio
    Comment 20: PRC-Wide Rate
    Comment 21: Minor Corrections and Inadvertent Errors
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2016-01020 Filed 1-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P