[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78721-78723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25290]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-827]


Certain Cased Pencils From the People's Republic of China: Final 
Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 2021-2022

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) has completed its 
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain cased 
pencils (cased pencils) from the People's Republic of China (China) for 
the period of review (POR) December 1, 2021, through November 30, 2022. 
We continue to find that the single entity Wah Yuen Stationery Co. 
Ltd./Shandong Wah Yuen Stationery Co. Ltd. (Wah Yuen) as well as 
Tianjin Tonghe

[[Page 78722]]

Stationery Co., Ltd. (Tianjin Tonghe) and Ningbo Homey Union Co., Ltd. 
(Ningbo Homey) are part of the China-wide entity.

DATES: Applicable November 16, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katherine Johnson, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 
NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4929.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    On September 5, 2023, Commerce published the Preliminary Results in 
the Federal Register.\1\ We invited interested parties to comment on 
the Preliminary Results; however, no interested parties submitted 
comments. Accordingly, we made no changes to the Preliminary Results 
and no decision memorandum accompanies this Federal Register notice.
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    \1\ See Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review; 2021-2022, 88 FR 60636 (September 5, 2023).
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Scope of the Order 2
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    \2\ See Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of 
China: Continuation of Antidumping Duty Order, 88 FR 15673 (March 
14, 2023); and Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Cased Pencils from 
the People's Republic of China, 59 FR 66909 (December 28, 1994) 
(Order).
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    The merchandise covered by the Order is certain cased pencils of 
any shape or dimension (except as described below) which are writing 
and/or drawing instruments that feature cores of graphite or other 
materials, encased in wood and/or man-made materials, whether or not 
decorated and whether or not tipped (e.g., with erasers, etc.) in any 
fashion, and either sharpened or unsharpened. The pencils subject to 
the Order are currently classifiable under subheading 9609.10.00 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Specifically 
excluded from the scope of the Order are mechanical pencils, cosmetic 
pencils, pens, non-cased crayons (wax), pastels, charcoals, chalks, and 
pencils produced under U.S. patent number 6,217,242, from paper infused 
with scents by the means covered in the above-referenced patent, 
thereby having odors distinct from those that may emanate from pencils 
lacking the scent infusion. Also excluded from the scope of the Order 
are pencils with all of the following physical characteristics: (1) 
length: 13.5 or more inches; (2) sheath diameter: not less than one-
and-one quarter inches at any point (before sharpening); and (3) core 
length: not more than 15 percent of the length of the pencil.
    In addition, pencils with all of the following physical 
characteristics are excluded from the scope of the Order: novelty jumbo 
pencils that are octagonal in shape, approximately ten inches long, one 
inch in diameter before sharpening, and three-and-one eighth inches in 
circumference, composed of turned wood encasing one-and-one half inches 
of sharpened lead on one end and a rubber eraser on the other end.
    Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and 
customs purposes, the written description of the merchandise covered by 
the scope of the Order is dispositive.

China-Wide Entity

    We find all companies for which a review was requested to be part 
of the China-wide entity, because they did not file no-shipment 
statements, separate rate applications, or separate rate 
certifications. Accordingly, Wah Yuen, Tianjin Tonghe, and Ningbo Homey 
are part of the China-wide entity. Because no party requested a review 
of the China-wide entity, and Commerce no longer considers the China-
wide entity as an exporter conditionally subject to administrative 
reviews, we did not conduct a review of the China-wide entity.\3\ 
Accordingly, the rate previously established for the China-wide entity, 
114.90 percent, is not changed as a result of this review.\4\
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    \3\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in 
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty 
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity 
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
    \4\ See Certain Cased Pencils from the People's Republic of 
China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2012-2013, 80 FR 26897 (May 11, 2015).
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Assessment Rates

    Commerce will determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries in 
accordance with section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.212(b)(1). Because we determined that Wah Yuen, Tianjin Tonghe, and 
Ningbo Homey are not eligible for separate rates and are part of the 
China-wide entity, we intend to instruct CBP to apply an ad valorem 
assessment rate of 114.90 percent (i.e., the China-wide entity rate) to 
all entries of subject merchandise during the POR that were exported by 
these companies.
    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier 
than 35 days after the date of publication of these final results of 
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the 
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will 
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties 
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 
90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this administrative review for 
shipments of subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of this 
notice, as provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for 
previously investigated or reviewed Chinese and non-Chinese exporters 
for which a review was not requested and that received a separate rate 
in a prior segment of this proceeding, the cash deposit rate will 
continue to be the existing exporter-specific rate published for the 
most recently-completed period; (2) for all Chinese exporters of 
subject merchandise that have not been found to be entitled to a 
separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate for the China-
wide entity; and (3) for all non-Chinese exporters of subject 
merchandise that have not received their own rate, the cash deposit 
rate will be the rate applicable to the Chinese exporter that supplied 
that non-Chinese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers Regarding the Reimbursement of Duties

    This notice serves as a final reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement 
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double 
antidumping duties.

Administrative Protective Order

    This notice also serves as a final reminder to parties subject to 
an administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the return or destruction of proprietary information 
disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3), which 
continues to govern business proprietary information in this segment of 
the proceeding. Timely written notification of the return or 
destruction

[[Page 78723]]

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 sanctionable violation.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing this notice in accordance with 
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.213(h) and 
19 CFR 351.221(b)(5).

    Dated: November 9, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2023-25290 Filed 11-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P