[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 43 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9272-9274]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-04392]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-890]
Wooden Bedroom Furniture From the People's Republic of China:
Notice of Covered Merchandise Referral
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Enforce and Protect Act of 2015 (EAPA), the
Department of Commerce (Commerce) received a covered merchandise
referral from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in connection
with a CBP Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) investigation concerning the
antidumping duty (AD) order on wooden bedroom furniture (WBF) from the
People's Republic of China (China). In accordance with EAPA, Commerce
intends to determine whether the merchandise subject to the referral is
covered by the scope of the order and promptly transmit its
determination to CBP. Commerce is providing notice of the referral and
inviting participation from interested parties.
DATES: Applicable March 5, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ariela Garvett at (202) 482-3609 or
Howard Smith at (202) 482-5193, AD/CVD Operations Office IV,
Enforcement & Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S.
Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20230.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On February 24, 2016, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement
Act of 2015 was signed into law, which contains Title IV-Prevention of
Evasion of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders (short title
``Enforce and Protect Act of 2015'' or ``EAPA'') (Pub. L. 114-125, 130
Stat. 122, 155, Feb. 24, 2016). Effective August 22, 2016, section 421
of the EAPA added section 517 to the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended
(the Act), which establishes a formal process for CBP to investigate
allegations of the evasion of antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/
CVD) orders. Section 517(b)(4)(A) of the Act provides a procedure
whereby if, during the course of an EAPA investigation, CBP is unable
to determine whether the merchandise at issue is covered merchandise
within the meaning of section 517(a)(3) of the Act, it shall refer the
matter to Commerce to make such a determination. Section 517(a)(3) of
the Act defines covered merchandise as merchandise that is subject to
an antidumping duty order issued under section 736 of the Act or a
countervailing duty order issued under section 706 of the Act. Section
517(b)(4)(B) of the Act states that Commerce, after receiving a covered
merchandise referral from CBP, shall determine whether the merchandise
is covered merchandise and promptly transmit its determination to CBP.
The Act does not establish a deadline within which Commerce must issue
its determination.
On December 22, 2017, Commerce received a covered merchandise
referral from CBP regarding CBP EAPA Investigation No. 7189 \1\ which
concerns the AD order on WBF from China.\2\ Specifically, based on an
allegation by the American Furniture Manufacturers Committee for Legal
Trade, CBP has requested that Commerce issue a determination as to
whether certain merchandise imported by Aspects Furniture
International, Inc. is subject to the AD order on WBF from China:
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\1\ See Letter from CBP, ``EAPA Case Number: 7189; Scope
Referral Request for merchandise under EAPA Investigation 7189,
imported by Aspects Furniture International, Inc. and concerning
evasion of the antidumping duty order on Wooden Bedroom Furniture
from the People's Republic of China,'' dated December 22, 2017. This
document and any supporting documents will be available
electronically on Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping Duty and
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS)
within five days of publication of this notice.
\2\ 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).
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(1) Desk/Console table with drawers;
(2) Credenza/Trunk Storage/Cabinet with minibar;
(3) Consoles/Custom Dresser/Console; and
(4) Bed Bench Base.
Notification to Interested Parties
Commerce is hereby notifying interested parties that it has
received the covered merchandise referral referenced above, will begin
a new segment of the proceeding, and intends to issue a determination
regarding whether the merchandise subject to the referral is covered
merchandise within the meaning of section 517(a)(3) of the Act.
Additionally, Commerce intends to provide interested parties with the
opportunity to participate in this segment of the proceeding, including
through the submission of comments, and, if appropriate, new factual
information and verification. Specifically, Commerce will notify
parties on the segment-specific service list for this segment of the
proceeding of a schedule for comments. In addition, Commerce may
request factual information from any person to assist in making its
determination and may verify submissions of factual information, if
Commerce determines that such verification is appropriate. Commerce
intends to issue a final determination within 120 days of the
publication of this notice (this deadline may be extended if it is not
practicable to complete the final determination within 120 days), and
will promptly transmit its final determination to CBP in accordance
with section 517(b)(4)(B) of the Act.
[[Page 9273]]
Parties are also hereby notified that this is the only notice that
Commerce intends to publish in the Federal Register concerning this
covered merchandise referral. Therefore, interested parties that wish
to participate in this segment of the proceeding, and receive notice of
the final determination, must submit their letters of appearance as
discussed below. Further, any party desiring access to business
proprietary information in this segment of the proceeding must file an
application for access to business proprietary information under
administrative protective order (APO), as discussed below.
Finally, we note that covered merchandise referrals constitute a
new type of segment of a proceeding at Commerce and, therefore,
Commerce will continue to develop its practice and procedures in this
area.
Scope of the AD Order Wooden Bedroom Furniture From People's Republic
of China
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,\3\ highboys,\4\ lowboys,\5\ chests of drawers,\6\ chests,\7\
door chests,\8\ chiffoniers,\9\ hutches,\10\ and armoires; \11\ (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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\3\ 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.
\4\ 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).
\5\ A lowboy is typically a short chest of drawers, not more
than four feet high, normally set on short legs.
\6\ A chest of drawers is typically a case containing drawers
for storing clothing.
\7\ 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.
\8\ 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.
\9\ A chiffonier is typically a tall and narrow chest of drawers
normally used for storing undergarments and lingerie, often with
mirror(s) attached.
\10\ A hutch is typically an open case of furniture with shelves
that typically sits on another piece of furniture and provides
storage for clothes.
\11\ 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; \12\ (9) jewelry armories; \13\ (10) cheval mirrors;
\14\ (11) certain metal parts; \15\ (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; \16\ (14) toy boxes; \17\
(15) certain enclosable wall
[[Page 9274]]
bed units; \18\ (16) certain shoe cabinets; \19\ and (17) certain bed
bases.\20\
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\12\ 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.
\13\ 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. 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).
\14\ 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).
\15\ 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.
\16\ 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).
\17\ 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.
\18\ 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.
\19\ 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.
\20\ Excluded from the scope are certain bed bases consisting
of: (1) A wooden box frame, (2) three wooden cross beams and one
perpendicular center wooden support beam, and (3) wooden slats over
the beams. These bed bases are constructed without inner springs
and/or coils and do not include a headboard, footboard, side rails,
or mattress. The bed bases are imported unassembled.
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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 be entered under subheadings
9403.90.7005 or 9403.90.7080 of the HTSUS. 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.
Filing Requirements
All submissions to Commerce must be filed electronically using
ACCESS.\21\ An electronically filed document must be received
successfully in its entirety by the time and date it is due. Documents
exempted from the electronic submission requirements must be filed
manually (i.e., in paper form) with Enforcement and Compliance's APO/
Dockets Unit, Room 18022, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, and stamped with the date
of receipt by the applicable deadlines.
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\21\ See Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings:
Electronic Filing Procedures; Administrative Protective Order
Procedures, 76 FR 39263 (July 6, 2011), as amended in Enforcement
and Compliance; Change of Electronic Filing System Name, 79 FR 69046
(November 20, 2014) for details of Commerce's electronic filing
requirements, effective August 5, 2011. Information on help using
ACCESS can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help.aspx and a
handbook can be found at https://access.trade.gov/help/Handbook%20on%20Electronic%20Filing%20Procedures.pdf.
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Letters of Appearance and Administrative Protective Order
Interested parties that wish to participate in this segment of the
proceeding and be added to the public service list for this segment of
the proceeding must file a letter of appearance in accordance with 19
CFR 351.103(d)(1), with one exception: the parties publicly identified
by CBP in the covered merchandise referral (referenced above) are not
required to submit a letter of appearance, and will be added to the
public service list for this segment of the proceeding by Commerce.
Commerce placed an APO on the record on January 11, 2018,\22\ and
established the APO service list for use in this segment. Commerce
intends to place the business proprietary versions of the documents
contained in the covered merchandise referral on the record of this
proceeding in ACCESS within five days of publication of this notice.
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\22\ See the Administrative Protective Order ``In the Matter of
the Scope Inquiry of the Antidumping Duty Order on Wooden Bedroom
Furniture from the People's Republic of China (A-570-890) (CBP EAPA
Inv. No. 7189)'', dated January 11, 2018.
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Interested parties must submit applications for disclosure under
the APO in accordance with the procedures outlined in Commerce's
regulations at 19 CFR 351.305. Those procedures apply to this segment
of the proceeding, with one exception: APO applicants representing the
parties that have been identified by CBP as an importer in the covered
merchandise referral (referenced above) are exempt from the additional
filing requirements for importers pursuant to 19 CFR 351.305(d).
Dated: February 22, 2018.
Christian Marsh,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2018-04392 Filed 3-2-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P