[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 156 (Monday, August 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39983-39985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17287]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-552-824]


Laminated Woven Sacks From the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 
Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment 
of Final Determination With Final Antidumping Duty Determination

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that countervailable subsidies are being provided to producers and 
exporters of laminated woven sacks (LWS) from the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam (Vietnam). The period of investigation is January 1, 2017, 
through December 31, 2017. Interested parties are invited to comment on 
this preliminary determination.

DATES: Applicable August 13, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Martin or Ariela Garvett, AD/

[[Page 39984]]

CVD Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International 
Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution 
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 202-482-3936 or 202-482-
3609, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
703(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on April 3, 
2018.\1\ On May 17, 2018, Commerce published its postponement of the 
deadline for the preliminary determination of the investigation for the 
full 130 days permitted under section 703(c)(1)(A) of the Act and 19 
CFR 351.205(b)(2) until August 6, 2018.\2\
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    \1\ See Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Initiation of Countervailing Duty Investigation, 83 FR 
14253 (April 3, 2018) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Countervailing Duty Investigation of Laminated Woven 
Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Postponement of 
Preliminary Determination, 83 FR 22953 (May 17, 2018).
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    For a complete description of the events that followed the 
initiation of this investigation, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.\3\ A list of topics discussed in the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum is included as Appendix II to this notice. The Preliminary 
Decision Memorandum is a public document and is on file electronically 
via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping (AD) and Countervailing 
Duty (CVD) 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 at 
http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. The signed and electronic versions 
of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum are identical in content.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Affirmative Determination: Countervailing Duty Investigation of 
Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' 
dated concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 
(Preliminary Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The products covered by this investigation are laminated woven 
sacks from Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the preamble to Commerce's regulations, we set 
aside a period of time in our Initiation Notice for parties to raise 
issues regarding product coverage and encouraged all parties to submit 
comments within 20 calendar days of the signature date of that notice. 
We received several comments concerning the scope of the AD and CVD 
investigations of LWS from Vietnam.
    We are currently evaluating the scope comments filed by interested 
parties. We intend to issue our preliminary decision regarding the 
scope of the AD and CVD investigations in the preliminary determination 
of the companion AD investigation, which is due for signature on 
October 3, 2018. We will incorporate the scope decisions from the AD 
investigation into the scope of the final CVD determination after 
considering any relevant comments submitted in case and rebuttal 
briefs.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy programs found 
countervailable, we preliminarily determine that there is a subsidy, 
i.e., a financial contribution by an ``authority'' that confers a 
benefit on the recipient, and that the subsidy is specific.\4\ For a 
full description of the methodology underlying our preliminary 
conclusions, see the Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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    \4\ See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act regarding 
financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) of the Act regarding 
benefit; and section 771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity.
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Alignment

    As noted in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum, in accordance with 
section 705(a)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), Commerce is 
aligning the final CVD determination in this investigation with the 
final determination in the companion AD investigation of LWS from 
Vietnam, based on a request made by Laminated Woven Sacks Fair Trade 
Coalition (the Coalition) and its individual members Polytex Fibers 
Corporation and ProAmpac Holdings Inc., (the petitioners).\5\ 
Consequently, the final CVD determination will be issued on the same 
date as the final AD determination, which is currently scheduled to be 
issued no later than December 17, 2018.\6\
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    \5\ See Letter from the petitioners, ``Investigation of 
Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 
Petitioners' Alignment Request,'' dated July 13, 2018.
    \6\ See Laminated Woven Sacks from the Socialist Republic of 
Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary Determination in the Less-Than-
Fair-Value Investigation, 83 FR 36876 (July 31, 2018).
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All-Others Rate and Preliminary Determination

    With respect to the all-others rate, section 705(c)(5)(A) of the 
Act provides that if the countervailable subsidy rates established for 
all exporters and producers individually investigated are determined 
entirely in accordance with section 776 of the Act, Commerce may use 
any reasonable method to establish an all-others rate for exporters and 
producers not individually investigated.
    In this investigation, Commerce calculated individual estimated 
countervailable subsidy rates for Duong Vinh Hoa Packaging Company Ltd 
(DVH) and Xinsheng Plastic Industry Co Ltd (Xinsheng) that are not 
zero, de minimis, or based entirely on facts otherwise available. 
Commerce calculated the all-others rate using a weighted average of the 
individual estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined 
respondents using each company's publicly-ranged values for the 
merchandise under consideration.\7\
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    \7\ With two respondents under examination, Commerce normally 
calculates (A) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates 
calculated for the examined respondents; (B) a simple average of the 
estimated subsidy rates calculated for the examined respondents; and 
(C) a weighted-average of the estimated subsidy rates calculated for 
the examined respondents using each company's publicly-ranged U.S. 
sale quantities for the merchandise under consideration. Commerce 
then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate closest to (A) 
as the most appropriate rate for all other producers and exporters. 
See, e.g., Ball Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, 
Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Reviews, Final Results of Changed-Circumstances 
Review, and Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 
(September 1, 2010). As complete publicly ranged sales data was 
available, Commerce based the all-others rate on the publicly ranged 
sales data of the mandatory respondents. For a complete analysis of 
the data, please see the All-Others' Rate Calculation Memorandum.
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    Commerce summarizes its preliminary countervailable subsidy rates 
in the table below:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                    Producer/exporter                        (percent)
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Duong Vinh Hoa Packaging Company Limited................            3.24
Xinsheng Plastic Industry Co., Ltd......................            6.15
All-Others..............................................            5.19
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, 
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and

[[Page 39985]]

Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation of all entries of LWS 
from Vietnam as described in the scope of the investigation entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, pursuant 
to 19 CFR 351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash 
deposit equal to the rates indicated above.

Public Comment

    Interested parties may submit case and rebuttal briefs, as well as 
request a hearing. Case briefs or other written comments may be 
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no 
later than seven days after the date on which the last verification 
report is issued in this investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to 
issues raised in case briefs, may be submitted no later than five days 
after the deadline date for case briefs.\8\ Pursuant to 19 CFR 
351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal 
briefs in this investigation are encouraged to submit with each 
argument: (1) A statement of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the 
argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
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    \8\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing, limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal 
briefs, must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, within 30 days 
after the date of publication of this notice. Requests should contain 
the party's name, address, and telephone number, the number of 
participants, whether any participant is a foreign national, and a list 
of the issues to be discussed. If a request for a hearing is made, 
Commerce intends to hold the hearing at the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230, at a time 
and date to be determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the 
date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled 
date.

International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 703(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its determination. If 
Commerce's final determination is affirmative, the ITC will make its 
final determination before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after Commerce's final 
determination.

Notification Regarding Administrative Protective Orders

    In the event that the ITC issues a final negative injury 
determination, this notice will serve as the only reminder to parties 
subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the destruction of 
proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return/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 violation which is subject to sanction.
    This determination is issued and published pursuant to sections 
703(f) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: August 6, 2018.
James Maeder,
Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Operations performing the duties of the Deputy Assistant Secretary 
for Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Operations.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The merchandise covered by this investigation is laminated woven 
sacks. Laminated woven sacks are bags consisting of one or more 
plies of fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven 
polyethylene strip, regardless of the width of the strip; with or 
without an extrusion coating of polypropylene and/or polyethylene on 
one or both sides of the fabric; laminated by any method either to 
an exterior ply of plastic film such as biaxially-oriented 
polypropylene (BOPP), polyester (PET), polyethylene (PE), nylon, or 
any film suitable for printing, or to an exterior ply of paper; 
printed; displaying, containing, or comprising three or more visible 
colors (e.g., laminated woven sacks printed with three different 
shades of blue would be covered by the scope), not including the 
color of the woven fabric; regardless of the type of printing 
process used; with or without lining; with or without handles; with 
or without special closing features (including, but not limited to, 
closures that are sewn, glued, easy-open (e.g., tape or thread), re-
closable (e.g., slider, hook and loop, zipper), hot-welded, 
adhesive-welded, or press-to-close); whether finished or unfinished 
(e.g., whether or not closed on one end and whether or not in roll 
form, including, but not limited to, sheets, lay-flat, or formed in 
tubes); not exceeding one kilogram in actual weight. Laminated woven 
sacks produced in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are subject to 
the scope regardless of the country of origin of the fabric used to 
make the sack.
    Subject laminated woven sacks are currently classifiable under 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 
6305.33.0040. If entered with plastic coating on both sides of the 
fabric consisting of woven polypropylene strip and/or woven 
polyethylene strip, laminated woven sacks may be classifiable under 
HTSUS subheadings 3923.21.0080, 3923.21.0095, and 3923.29.0000. If 
entered not closed on one end or in roll form (including, but not 
limited to, sheets, lay-flat tubing, and sleeves), laminated woven 
sacks may be classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings, including 
3917.39.0050, 3921.90.1100, 3921.90.1500, and 5903.90.2500. If the 
polypropylene strips and/or polyethylene strips making up the fabric 
measure more than 5 millimeters in width, laminated woven sacks may 
be classifiable under other HTSUS subheadings including 
4601.99.0500, 4601.99.9000, and 4602.90.0000. Although HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the scope is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Scope Comments
IV. Scope of the Investigation
V. Alignment
VI. Injury Test
VII. Application of the CVD Law to Imports from Vietnam
VIII. Subsidies Valuation
IX. Analysis of Programs
X. Calculation of the All-Others Rate
XI. ITC Notification
XII. Recommendation
[FR Doc. 2018-17287 Filed 8-10-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P