[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 235 (Thursday, December 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75231-75232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26670]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-051, C-570-052]


Certain Hardwood Plywood Products From the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Scope Determination and Affirmative Preliminary 
Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Orders; Extension of Deadline To Certify Certain Entries

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

SUMMARY: On July 29, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) 
published a notice of a preliminary scope determination and affirmative 
preliminary circumvention determination in the Federal Register 
concerning the antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) 
orders on certain hardwood plywood products (hardwood plywood) from the 
People's Republic of China (China). This notice informs parties that 
Commerce has extended the deadline for certain exporters and importers 
to certify entries of hardwood plywood exported from the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) that were entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after June 17, 2020, and until August 
28, 2022. This notice also informs interested parties that Commerce is 
requesting comments regarding a potential modification to certification 
program eligibility, and the process for demonstrating eligibility for 
the certification program. In addition, this notice provides several 
other procedural notifications to interested parties.

DATES: Applicable December 1, 2022.

[[Page 75232]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kabir Archuletta, 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) 482-2593.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the Preliminary Determination, Commerce 
established a certification program and a deadline for certain 
exporters and importers to certify that entries of hardwood plywood 
exported from Vietnam that entered, or were withdrawn from warehouse, 
for consumption on or after June 17, 2020, and until August 28, 2022, 
are not subject to the AD and CVD orders on hardwood plywood from 
China.\1\ On September 12, 2022, Commerce extended the deadline for 
exporters and importers to complete these certifications from September 
12, 2022,\2\ to December 1, 2022.\3\
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    \1\ See Certain Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's 
Republic of China: Preliminary Scope Determination and Affirmative 
Preliminary Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Orders, 87 FR 45753, 45756-58 (July 29, 2022) 
(Preliminary Determination); see also 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); and Certain Hardwood Plywood 
Products from the People's Republic of China: Countervailing Duty 
Order, 83 FR 513 (January 4, 2018).
    \2\ See Preliminary Determination, 87 FR at 45756.
    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline to Certify Certain 
Entries of Hardwood Plywood and Response to Request to Modify Cash 
Deposit Instructions,'' dated September 12, 2022; see also Certain 
Hardwood Plywood Products from the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Scope Determination and Affirmative Preliminary 
Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping and Countervailing 
Duty Orders; Extension of Deadline To Certify Certain Entries, 87 FR 
58063 (September 23, 2022).
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Extension and Modification

    On November 30, 2022, Commerce issued a memorandum via Enforcement 
and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized 
Electronic Service System (ACCESS) notifying interested parties that it 
was extending the deadline for certifications of entries on or after 
June 17, 2020, and until August 28, 2022, until thirty days after the 
deadline for the final determination of this inquiry. Accordingly, 
unless the final determination is extended, certifications of entries 
on or after June 17, 2020, and until August 28, 2022, will be due by 
March 2, 2023.\4\ Also on November 30, 2022, Commerce transmitted 
instructions to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) notifying CBP 
of the extended deadline.\5\ The deadline for exporters and importers 
to complete the certification requirements established in the 
Preliminary Determination for entries on or after June 17, 2020, 
through August 28, 2022, is now March 2, 2023.
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    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Extension of Deadline to Certify Certain 
Entries of Hardwood Plywood and Response to Ministerial Error 
Allegations,'' dated November 30, 2022.
    \5\ See CBP Message 2335408, ``Notice of Amended Deadline for 
Certifications in the Vietnam-wide Circumvention Inquiry of the 
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders on certain Hardwood 
Plywood Products and Veneered Panels from the People's Republic of 
China (A-570-051, C-570-052 and A-552-006, C-552-007),'' dated 
December 1, 2022; see also CBP Message 2335409, ``Notice of Amended 
Deadline for Certifications in the Scope Inquiry of the Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Orders on Certain Hardwood Plywood Products 
and Veneered Panels from the People's Republic of China (A-570-051 
and C-570-052),'' dated December 1, 2022.
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    In addition, after considering interested party comments to date, 
Commerce is considering modifying its eligibility determination and 
allowing 22 of the companies that Commerce precluded from participating 
in the certification program in the Preliminary Determination (i.e., 
companies that failed to cooperate by submitting unreliable 
information) \6\ to certify entries during the period beginning on June 
17, 2020, through December 31, 2021. However, as detailed below, should 
they wish to participate in the certification program after December 
31, 2021, these 22 companies would still need to demonstrate their 
eligibility to certify entries occurring on or after January 1, 2022. 
As such, these 22 companies will not be allowed to participate in the 
certification program for entries that entered on or after January 1, 
2022. Additionally, Commerce does not intend to modify the 
certification program for the 14 companies that are precluded from 
participating in this certification program in the Preliminary 
Determination (i.e., companies that failed to respond to Commerce's 
requests for information) \7\ and continue to find these companies are 
still not eligible to participate in the certification program until 
they are able to demonstrate their eligibility, as described below. 
Parties that wish to comment on this potential modification should do 
so in their case briefs.\8\
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    \6\ See Preliminary Determination at Appendix V.
    \7\ Id.
    \8\ Commerce intends to establish the schedule for case and 
rebuttal briefs under 19 CFR 351.309(c) and (d) at a later date.
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    In the event of an affirmative final determination, Commerce 
intends to instruct CBP to liquidate all suspended entries from June 
17, 2020, through December 31, 2021, pursuant to the previously issued 
automatic liquidation instructions (ALIs) applicable to those periods.
    Entries made on or after January 1, 2022, that are ineligible for 
certification (from the 22 companies that failed to cooperate, the 14 
companies that failed to respond, or for other reasons) shall remain 
subject to suspension until final assessment on those entries, whether 
by ALIs, or final results of administrative review.\9\ Interested 
parties that wish to have their suspended entries reviewed or 
eligibility for the certification program reevaluated should request an 
administrative review of the relevant suspended entries during the next 
anniversary month of these Orders (i.e., January 2023).\10\
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    \9\ Commerce continues to consider the process by which 
companies may demonstrate eligibility for the certification program 
in future segments and may determine to audit some or all of the 
certifications during this special excepted period (i.e., June 17, 
2020-December 31, 2021) by parties that subsequently seek to 
participate in the certification program. Commerce encourages 
interested parties to provide comments on this topic in their case 
briefs.
    \10\ See 19 CFR 351.213(b).
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Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice is issued and published in accordance with section 
781(b) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended and 19 CFR 351.225(f) and 
(h).\11\
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    \11\ Commerce significantly revised its scope regulations on 
September 20, 2021, with an effective date of November 4, 2021. See 
Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of Antidumping 
and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 20, 2021). The 
amendments to 19 CFR 351.225 apply to scope inquiries for which a 
scope ruling application is filed, as well as any scope inquiry 
self-initiated by Commerce, on or after November 4, 2021. The newly 
promulgated 19 CFR 351.226 applies to circumvention inquiries for 
which a circumvention request is filed, as well as any circumvention 
inquiry self-initiated by Commerce, on or after November 4, 2021. We 
note that these scope and circumvention inquiries were initiated 
prior to the effective date of the new regulations, and, thus, any 
reference to the regulations is to the prior version of the 
regulations.

    Dated: December 1, 2022.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2022-26670 Filed 12-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P