[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 77 (Tuesday, April 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22134-22136]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08546]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[C-570-107]


Wooden Cabinets and Vanities and Components Thereof From the 
People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the Department of 
Commerce (Commerce) and the International Trade Commission (ITC), 
Commerce is issuing a countervailing duty (CVD) order on wooden 
cabinets and vanities and components thereof (wooden cabinets and 
vanities) from the People's Republic of China (China).

DATES: Applicable April 21, 2020.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Benito Ballesteros, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-7425.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In accordance with section 705(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (Act), on February 28, 2020, Commerce published its affirmative 
final determination that countervailable subsidies are being provided 
to producers and exporters of wooden cabinets and vanities from 
China.\1\ On April 13, 2020, the ITC notified Commerce of its final 
determination that an industry in the United States is materially 
injured within the meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by 
reason of subsidized imports of subject merchandise from China.\2\
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    \1\ See Wooden Cabinets and Vanities and Components Thereof from 
the People's Republic of China: Final Affirmative Countervailing 
Duty Determination, 85 FR 11962 (February 28, 2020) (Final 
Determination).
    \2\ See Letter to Jeffrey Kessler, Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Enforcement and Compliance, from David S. Johanson, 
Chairman of the U.S. International Trade Commission, dated April 13, 
2020 (ITC Letter).
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Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are wooden cabinets and vanities 
from China. For a complete description of the scope of this order, see 
the Appendix to this notice.

Countervailing Duty Order

    On April 13, 2020, in accordance with section 705(d) of the Act, 
the ITC notified Commerce of its final determination in this 
investigation, in which it found that an industry in the United States 
is materially injured within the meaning of section 705(b)(1)(A)(i) of 
the Act by reason of subsidized imports of wooden cabinets and vanities 
from China.\3\ Therefore, in accordance with sections 705(c)(2) and 706 
of the Act, Commerce is issuing this countervailing duty order. Because 
the ITC determined that imports of wooden cabinets and vanities from 
China are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries of 
such merchandise from China, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for 
consumption, are subject to the assessment of countervailing duties.
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    \3\ Id.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 706(b)(1) of the Act, 
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, countervailing duties for 
all relevant entries of wooden cabinets and vanities from China, which 
are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
August 12, 2019, the date of publication of the Preliminary 
Determination,\4\ but will not include entries occurring after the 
expiration of the provisional measures period and before the 
publication of the ITC's final injury determination under section 
705(b) of the Act, as further described below.
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    \4\ See Wooden Cabinets and Vanities and Components Thereof from 
the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, and Alignment of Final 
Determination with Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 84 FR 39798 
(August 12, 2019) (Preliminary Determination) and accompanying 
Preliminary Decision Memorandum.
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, we will instruct CBP to 
reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of wooden cabinets and 
vanities from China as described in the Appendix to this notice which 
are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after 
the date of publication of the ITC's notice of final determination in 
the

[[Page 22135]]

Federal Register. We will also instruct CBP to require, at the same 
time as importers would normally deposit estimated customs duties on 
the subject merchandise, a cash deposit of countervailing duties for 
each entry of the subject merchandise in an amount based on the net 
countervailable subsidy rates below for the subject merchandise. These 
instructions suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further 
notice. The all-others rate applies to all producers or exporters not 
specifically listed below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                                (%)
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The Ancientree Cabinet Co., Ltd.\5\.....................           13.33
Dalian Meisen Woodworking Co., Ltd.\6\..................           18.27
Rizhao Foremost Woodwork Manufacturing Company Ltd.\7\..           31.18
Henan AiDiJia Furniture Co., Ltd........................          293.45
Deway International Trade Co., Ltd......................          293.45
All Others..............................................           20.93
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Provisional Measures
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    \5\ In the Final Determination, Commerce found the following 
companies to be cross-owned with The Ancientree Cabinet Co., Ltd.: 
Jiangsu Hongjia Wood Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Hongjia Wood Co., Ltd. 
Shanghai Branch, and Shanghai Hongjia Wood Co., Ltd. See Final 
Determination, 85 FR at 11963.
    \6\ In the Final Determination, Commerce found the following 
company to be cross-owned with Dalian Meisen Woodworking Co., Ltd.: 
Dalian Hechang Technology Development Co., Ltd. Id.
    \7\ In the Final Determination, Commerce found the following 
companies to be cross-owned with Rizhao Foremost Woodwork 
Manufacturing Company Ltd.: Foremost Worldwide Co., Ltd. and Rizhao 
Foremost Landbridge Wood Industries Co., Ltd. Id.
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    Section 703(d) of the Act states that instructions issued pursuant 
to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect 
for more than four months. In the underlying investigation, Commerce 
published the Preliminary Determination on August 12, 2019. As such, 
the four-month period beginning on the date of the publication of the 
Preliminary Determination ended on December 9, 2019. Furthermore, 
section 707(b) of the Act states that definitive duties are to begin on 
the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination.
    Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act and our 
practice, we instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation 
and to liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated 
entries of wooden cabinets and vanities from China entered, or 
withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, after December 9, 2019, the 
date on which the provisional measures expired, until and through the 
day preceding the date of publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination in the Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation will 
resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final determination in 
the Federal Register.

Notifications to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the countervailing duty order with respect 
to wooden cabinets and vanities from China pursuant to section 706(a) 
of the Act. Interested parties can find a list of countervailing duty 
orders currently in effect at http://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    This order is issued and published in accordance with sections 
705(c)(2) and 706(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: April 16, 2020.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

    The merchandise subject to the order consists of wooden cabinets 
and vanities that are for permanent installation (including floor 
mounted, wall mounted, ceiling hung or by attachment of plumbing), 
and wooden components thereof. Wooden cabinets and vanities and 
wooden components are made substantially of wood products, including 
solid wood and engineered wood products (including those made from 
wood particles, fibers, or other wooden materials such as plywood, 
strand board, block board, particle board, or fiberboard), or 
bamboo. Wooden cabinets and vanities consist of a cabinet box (which 
typically includes a top, bottom, sides, back, base blockers, ends/
end panels, stretcher rails, toe kicks, and/or shelves) and may or 
may not include a frame, door, drawers and/or shelves. Subject 
merchandise includes wooden cabinets and vanities with or without 
wood veneers, wood, paper or other overlays, or laminates, with or 
without non-wood components or trim such as metal, marble, glass, 
plastic, or other resins, whether or not surface finished or 
unfinished, and whether or not completed.
    Wooden cabinets and vanities are covered by the order whether or 
not they are imported attached to, or in conjunction with, faucets, 
metal plumbing, sinks and/or sink bowls, or countertops. If wooden 
cabinets or vanities are imported attached to, or in conjunction 
with, such merchandise, only the wooden cabinet or vanity is covered 
by the scope.
    Subject merchandise includes the following wooden component 
parts of cabinets and vanities: (1) Wooden cabinet and vanity frames 
(2) wooden cabinet and vanity boxes (which typically include a top, 
bottom, sides, back, base blockers, ends/end panels, stretcher 
rails, toe kicks, and/or shelves), (3) wooden cabinet or vanity 
doors, (4) wooden cabinet or vanity drawers and drawer components 
(which typically include sides, backs, bottoms, and faces), (5) back 
panels and end panels, (6) and desks, shelves, and tables that are 
attached to or incorporated in the subject merchandise.
    Subject merchandise includes all unassembled, assembled and/or 
``ready to assemble'' (RTA) wooden cabinets and vanities, also 
commonly known as ``flat packs,'' except to the extent such 
merchandise is already covered by the scope of antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders on Hardwood Plywood from the People's 
Republic of China. See Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the 
People's Republic of China: Amended Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, and Antidumping Duty Order, 83 FR 504 (January 
4, 2018); Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 83 FR 513 (January 4, 
2018). RTA wooden cabinets and vanities are defined as cabinets or 
vanities packaged so that at the time of importation they may 
include: (1) Wooden components required to assemble a cabinet or 
vanity (including drawer faces and doors); and (2) parts (e.g., 
screws, washers, dowels, nails, handles, knobs, adhesive glues) 
required to assemble a cabinet or vanity. RTAs may enter the United 
States in one or in multiple packages.
    Subject merchandise also includes wooden cabinets and vanities 
and in-scope components that have been further processed in a third 
country, including but not limited to one or more of the following: 
Trimming, cutting, notching, punching, drilling, painting, staining, 
finishing, assembly, or any other processing that would not 
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of the investigation 
if performed in the country of manufacture of the in-scope product.
    Excluded from the scope of the order, if entered separate from a 
wooden cabinet or vanity are:
    (1) Aftermarket accessory items which may be added to or 
installed into an interior of a cabinet and which are not considered 
a structural or core component of a wooden cabinet or vanity. 
Aftermarket accessory items may be made of wood, metal, plastic, 
composite material, or a combination thereof that can be inserted 
into a cabinet and which are utilized in the function of 
organization/accessibility on the interior of a cabinet; and 
include:
     Inserts or dividers which are placed into drawer boxes 
with the purpose of organizing or dividing the internal portion of 
the drawer into multiple areas for the purpose of containing smaller 
items such as cutlery, utensils, bathroom essentials, etc.
     Round or oblong inserts that rotate internally in a 
cabinet for the purpose of accessibility to foodstuffs, dishware, 
general supplies, etc.
    (2) Solid wooden accessories including corbels and rosettes, 
which serve the primary purpose of decoration and personalization.
    (3) Non-wooden cabinet hardware components including metal 
hinges, brackets, catches, locks, drawer slides, fasteners (nails, 
screws, tacks, staples), handles, and knobs.
    (4) Medicine cabinets that meet all of the following five 
criteria are excluded from the

[[Page 22136]]

scope: (1) Wall mounted; (2) assembled at the time of entry into the 
United States; (3) contain one or more mirrors; (4) be packaged for 
retail sale at time of entry; and (5) have a maximum depth of seven 
inches.
    Also excluded from the scope of the order are:
    (1) All products covered by the scope of the antidumping duty 
order on Wooden Bedroom Furniture from the People's Republic of 
China. 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).
    (2) All products covered by the scope of the antidumping and 
countervailing duty orders on Hardwood Plywood from the People's 
Republic of China. See Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the 
People's Republic of China: Amended Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, and Antidumping Duty Order, 83 FR 504 (January 
4, 2018); Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Countervailing Duty Order, 83 FR 513 (January 4, 
2018).
    Imports of subject merchandise are classified under Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) statistical numbers 
9403.40.9060 and 9403.60.8081. The subject component parts of wooden 
cabinets and vanities may be entered into the United States under 
HTSUS statistical number 9403.90.7080. Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes, the 
written description of the scope of the order is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2020-08546 Filed 4-20-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P