[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26003-26006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09967]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-469-824]


Thermal Paper From Spain: Preliminary Affirmative Determination 
of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination, 
and Extension of Provisional Measures

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

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines 
that thermal paper from Spain is being, or is likely to be, sold in the 
United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of 
investigation (POI) is October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2020. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on this preliminary 
determination.

DATES: Applicable May 12, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Abdul Alnoor, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4554.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    This preliminary determination is made in accordance with section 
733(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act). Commerce 
published the notice of initiation of this investigation on November 3, 
2020.\1\ On February 25, 2021, Commerce postponed the deadline for the 
preliminary

[[Page 26004]]

determination in this investigation; the revised deadline is now May 5, 
2021.\2\ 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 in Appendix II to this notice. 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 https://access.trade.gov. In addition, a complete 
version of the Preliminary Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly 
at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/.
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    \1\ See Thermal Paper from Germany, Japan, the Republic of 
Korea, and Spain: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 
85 FR 69580 (November 3, 2020) (Initiation Notice).
    \2\ See Thermal Paper from Germany, Japan, the Republic of 
Korea, and Spain: Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the 
Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigations, 86 FR 11502 (February 25, 
2021).
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Preliminary 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Thermal 
Paper from Spain,'' 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 thermal paper from 
Spain. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, 
see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    In accordance with the Preamble to Commerce's regulations,\4\ in 
the Initiation Notice we set aside a period of time for parties to 
raise issues regarding product coverage (i.e., scope).\5\ Certain 
interested parties commented on the scope of the investigation as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice. For a summary of the product 
coverage comments and rebuttals submitted on the record of this 
investigation, and accompanying discussion and analysis of all comments 
timely received, see the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum.\6\ 
Commerce is not preliminarily modifying the scope language as it 
appeared in the Initiation Notice. See the scope in Appendix I to this 
notice.
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    \4\ See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties; Final Rule, 
62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997) (Preamble).
    \5\ See Initiation Notice, 85 FR 69580, 69581.
    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Thermal Paper from Germany, Japan, the 
Republic of Korea, and Spain: Preliminary Scope Decision,'' dated 
May 5, 2021.
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Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this investigation in accordance with 
section 731 of the Act. Pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 
Commerce has preliminarily relied upon facts otherwise available to 
assign an estimated weighted-average dumping margin to the sole 
mandatory respondent in this investigation, Torraspapel S.A. 
(Torraspapel) because Torraspapel failed to submit a full response to 
Commerce's antidumping duty questionnaire. Furthermore, Commerce is 
preliminarily determining that Torraspapel failed to cooperate by not 
acting to the best of its ability to comply with a request for 
information and is using an adverse inference when selecting from among 
the facts otherwise available (i.e., is basing Torraspapel's dumping 
margin on total adverse facts available (AFA), in accordance with 
section 776(b) of Act). For a full description of the methodology 
underlying the preliminary determination, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.

All-Others Rate

    Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that, in 
the preliminary determination, Commerce shall determine an estimated 
all-others rate for all exporters and producers not individually 
examined. This rate shall be equal to the weighted average of the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters 
and producers individually investigated, excluding any zero and de 
minimis dumping margins, and any dumping margins determined entirely 
under section 776 of the Act.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, if the estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins established for all exporters and 
producers individually examined are zero, de minimis or determined 
based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any 
reasonable method to establish the estimated weighted-average dumping 
margin for all-other producers or exporters. Commerce has preliminarily 
determined the estimated weighted-average dumping margin for the sole 
mandatory respondent, Torraspapel, under section 776 of the Act. 
Consequently, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, Commerce's 
normal practice under these circumstances has been to calculate the 
``all-others'' ' rate as a simple average of the alleged dumping 
margins from the petition.\7\ For a full description of the methodology 
underlying Commerce's analysis, see the Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum.
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    \7\ See, e.g., Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite from the Federal Republic of 
Germany, 73 FR 21909, 21912 (April 23, 2008), unchanged in Notice of 
Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sodium Nitrite 
from the Federal Republic of Germany, 73 FR 38986, 38987 (July 8, 
2008), and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2; 
see also Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Raw Flexible Magnets from Taiwan, 73 FR 39673, 39674 (July 
10, 2008); Steel Threaded Rod from Thailand: Preliminary 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances, 78 FR 79670, 
79671 (December 31, 2013), unchanged in Steel Threaded Rod from 
Thailand: Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value and 
Affirmative Final Determination of Critical Circumstances, 79 FR 
14476, 14477 (March 14, 2014); Petitioners' Letter, ``Petitions for 
the Imposition of Antidumping Duties on Imports of Thermal Paper 
From Germany, Japan, Korea, and Spain,'' dated October 7, 2020 at 
Volume V; Petitioners' Letter, ``Response of Petitioners to Volumes 
I-V Supplemental Questionnaires: Thermal Paper from Germany, Japan, 
Korea, and Spain,'' dated October 16, 2020 at section ``Petitioners' 
Responses to Supplemental Questions Regarding Volume V''; and 
Checklist, ``Enforcement and Compliance Office of AD/CVD Operations 
Antidumping Duty Investigation Initiation Checklist: Thermal Paper 
from Spain,'' dated October 27, 2020.
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Preliminary Determination

    Commerce preliminarily determines that the following estimated 
weighted-average dumping margins exist:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Dumping
                      Exporter/producer                         margin
                                                               (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Torraspapel S.A.............................................       41.45
All others..................................................       37.07
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Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 733(d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 
direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 
of entries of subject merchandise, as described in the Appendix I, 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the 
date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Further, 
pursuant to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(d), 
Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin or the estimated all-others 
rate, as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for the respondent listed 
above will be equal to the company-specific estimated weighted-average 
dumping margin determined in this preliminary determination; (2) if the 
exporter is not a respondent identified above, but the producer is, 
then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific 
estimated weighted-average dumping margin established for that producer 
of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other 
producers and exporters will be equal to the all-others

[[Page 26005]]

estimated weighted-average dumping margin. These suspension of 
liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.

Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce discloses to interested parties the calculations 
performed in connection with a preliminary determination within five 
days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, 
within five days of the date of publication of the notice of 
preliminary determination in the Federal Register, in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce preliminarily applied AFA 
to the mandatory respondent in this investigation, Torraspapel, in 
accordance with section 776 of the Act, and the AFA dumping margin is 
based solely on the petition, there are no calculations to disclose.

Verification

    Because the mandatory respondent in this investigation did not act 
to the best of its ability to provide information requested by 
Commerce, and Commerce preliminarily determined that the mandatory 
respondent is uncooperative, we will not conduct verification.

Public Comment

    Case briefs or other written comments on non-scope issues may be 
submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance no 
later than 21 days after the date of publication of the preliminary 
determination in the Federal Register.\8\ Rebuttal briefs on non-scope 
issues, limited to issues raised in case briefs on non-scope issues, 
may be submitted no later than seven days after the deadline for case 
briefs.\9\ The deadlines for submitting case and rebuttal briefs on 
scope issues are in the Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum. Note 
that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements for 
serving documents containing business proprietary information, until 
further notice.\10\ 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(c)(1)(i); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for 
general filing requirements). Commerce has exercised its discretion 
under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(i) to alter the time limit for submission 
of case briefs.
    \9\ See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \10\ See Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements 
Due to COVID-19, 85 FR 17006 (March 26, 2020); and Temporary Rule 
Modifying AD/CVD Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of 
Effective Period, 85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020).
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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 in the Federal Register. 
Requests for a hearing should contain: (1) The requesting party's name, 
address, and telephone number; (2) the number of individuals from the 
requesting party's firm that will attend the hearing, including whether 
any individual is a foreign national; and (3) a list of the issues the 
party intends to discuss at the hearing. If a request for a hearing is 
made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at a time and date to be 
determined. Parties should confirm by telephone the date, and time of 
the hearing two days before the scheduled hearing date.

Postponement of Final Determination and Extension of Provisional 
Measures

    Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides that a final determination 
may be postponed until not later than 135 days after the date of the 
publication of the preliminary determination in the Federal Register 
if, in the event of an affirmative preliminary determination, a request 
for such postponement is made by exporters who account for a 
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, or in the 
event of a negative preliminary determination, a request for such 
postponement is made by the petitioner. Section 351.210(e)(2) of 
Commerce's regulations requires that a request by exporters for 
postponement of the final determination be accompanied by a request for 
extension of provisional measures from a four-month period to a period 
not more than six months in duration.
    On April 27, 2021, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e), Torraspapel 
requested that Commerce postpone the final determination and that 
provisional measures be extended not more than six months.\11\ In 
accordance with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) The preliminary determination is 
affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter accounts for a significant 
proportion of exports of the subject merchandise; and (3) no compelling 
reasons for denial exist, Commerce is postponing the final 
determination and extending the provisional measures from a four-month 
period to a period not greater than six months. Accordingly, Commerce 
will make its final determination no later than 135 days after the date 
of publication of this preliminary determination in the Federal 
Register.
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    \11\ See Torraspapel's Letter, ``Thermal Paper from Spain; AD 
Investigation; Request for Postponement of Final Determination and 
Extension of Provisional Measures Period,'' dated April 27, 2021.
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International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 733(f) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) of its affirmative preliminary 
determination. If the final determination is affirmative, the ITC will 
determine, before the later of 120 days after the date of this 
preliminary determination or 45 days after Commerce's final 
determination, whether subject imports are materially injuring, or 
threaten material injury to, the U.S. industry.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.205(c).

    Dated: May 5, 2021.
Christian Marsh,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I--Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers thermal paper in the form 
of ``jumbo rolls'' and certain ``converted rolls.'' The scope covers 
jumbo rolls and converted rolls of thermal paper with or without a 
base coat (typically made of clay, latex, and/or plastic pigments, 
and/or like materials) on one or both sides; with thermal active 
coating(s) (typically made of sensitizer, dye, and co-reactant, and/
or like materials) on one or both sides; with or without a top coat 
(typically made of pigments, polyvinyl alcohol, and/or like 
materials), and without an adhesive backing. Jumbo rolls are defined 
as rolls with an actual width of 4.5 inches or more, an actual 
weight of 65 pounds or more, and an actual diameter of 20 inches or 
more (jumbo rolls). All jumbo rolls are included in the scope 
regardless of the basis weight of the paper. Also included in the 
scope are ``converted rolls'' with an actual width of less than 4.5 
inches, and with an actual basis weight of 70 grams per square meter 
(gsm) or less.
    The scope of this investigation covers thermal paper that is 
converted into rolls with an actual width of less than 4.5 inches 
and with an actual basis weight of 70 gsm or less in third countries 
from jumbo rolls produced in the subject countries.
    The merchandise subject to this investigation may be classified 
in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under 
subheadings

[[Page 26006]]

4811.90.8030 and 4811.90.9030. Although HTSUS subheadings are 
provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written 
description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

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

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Period of Investigation
IV. Scope Comments
V. Scope of the Investigation
VI. Application of Facts Available, Use of Adverse Inferences, and 
Calculation of All-Others Rate
VII. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2021-09967 Filed 5-11-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P