[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81048-81051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25688]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-147, A-533-910, A-552-834, C-533-911]


Paper File Folders From the People's Republic of China, India, 
and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders; and 
Paper File Folders From India: Countervailing Duty Order

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

SUMMARY: Based on affirmative final determinations by the U.S. 
Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade 
Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing the antidumping duty (AD) orders 
on paper file folders from the People's Republic of China (China), 
India, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) and the 
countervailing duty (CVD) order on paper file folders from India.

DATES: Applicable November 21, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Horn (China), Jinny Ahn 
(Vietnam), Eric Hawkins (AD India), or Thomas Martin (CVD India), AD/
CVD Operations, Offices IV, V, and VIII, Enforcement and Compliance, 
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
4868, (202) 482-0339, (202) 482-1988, or (202) 482-3936, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    In accordance with sections 705(d) and 735(d) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act), on October 5, 2023, Commerce published its 
affirmative final determinations in the less-than-fair-value (LTFV) 
investigations of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam,\1\ 
and its affirmative final determination that countervailable subsidies 
are being provided to producers and exporters of paper file folders 
from India.\2\
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    \1\ See Paper File Folders from the People's Republic of China: 
Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 88 
FR 69141 (October 5, 2023); Paper File Folders from India: Final 
Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 88 FR 
69138 (October 5, 2023); and Paper File Folders from the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value, 88 FR 69130 (October 5, 2023).
    \2\ See Paper File Folders from India: Final Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination, 88 FR 69134 (October 5, 2023) 
(CVD Final Determination).
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    On November 13, 2023, pursuant to sections 705(d) and 735(d) of the 
Act, the ITC notified Commerce of its final affirmative determinations 
that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason 
of LTFV imports of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam, 
and subsidized imports of paper file folders from India, within the 
meaning of sections 705(b)(1)(A)(i) and 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act.\3\
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    \3\ See ITC's Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final 
Determinations,'' dated November 13, 2023 (ITC Notification Letter).
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Scope of the Orders

    The products covered by these orders are paper file folders from 
China, India, and Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of 
the orders, see the appendix to this notice.

AD Orders

    On November 13, 2023, in accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, 
the ITC notified Commerce of its final determinations that an industry 
in the United States is materially injured within the meaning of 
section 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by reason of imports of paper file 
folders from China, India, and Vietnam that are sold in the United 
States at LTFV.\4\ Therefore, in accordance with sections 735(c)(2) and 
736 of the Act, Commerce is issuing these AD orders. Because the ITC 
determined that imports of paper file folders from China, India, and 
Vietnam are materially injuring a U.S. industry, unliquidated entries 
of such merchandise from China, India, and Vietnam, entered or 
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are subject to the assessment 
of antidumping duties.
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    \4\ Id.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, 
Commerce will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties equal 
to the amount by which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds the 
export price (or constructed export price) of the merchandise on all 
relevant entries of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam. 
Antidumping duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of paper 
file folders entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on 
or after May 17, 2023, the date of publication of the AD Preliminary 
Determinations,\5\ but will

[[Page 81049]]

not include entries occurring after the expiration of the provisional 
measures period and before publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination, as further described below.
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    \5\ See Paper File Folders from the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, 88 FR 31485 (May 17, 2023); Paper File Folders from India: 
Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value, Postponement of Final Determination, and Extension of 
Provisional Measures, 88 FR 31490 (May 17, 2023); and Paper File 
Folders from Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Preliminary Affirmative 
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of 
Final Determination, and Extension of Provisional Measures, 88 FR 
31488 (May 17, 2023) (collectively, AD Preliminary Determinations).
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Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits--AD

    Except as noted in the ``Provisional Measures--AD'' section of this 
notice, in accordance with section 736 of the Act, Commerce intends to 
instruct CBP to continue to suspend liquidation on all relevant entries 
of paper file folders from China, India and Vietnam. These instructions 
suspending liquidation will remain in effect until further notice.
    Commerce also intends to instruct CBP to require cash deposits 
equal to the estimated weighted-average dumping margins indicated in 
the tables below, adjusted by the relevant subsidy offsets. 
Accordingly, effective on the date of publication in the Federal 
Register of the notice of the ITC's final affirmative injury 
determination, CBP must require, at the same time as importers would 
normally deposit estimated customs duties on subject merchandise, a 
cash deposit equal to the rates listed in the tables below.

Estimated Weighted-Average Dumping Margins

    The estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Weighted-
                                                              average
                    Exporter/producer                     dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
China
    China-wide entity...................................          192.70
------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Cash deposit
                                             Weighted-    rate (adjusted
            Exporter/producer                 average       for subsidy
                                          dumping margin     offsets)
                                             (percent)     (percent) \6\
------------------------------------------------------------------------
India
    Navneet Education Limited...........           17.22           13.44
    Kokuyo Riddhi Paper Products Pvt.              86.01           82.23
     Ltd................................
    LGPL Paper Industries Pvt. Limited..           86.01           82.23
    All Others..........................           17.22           13.44
------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Weighted-
                                                               average
              Exporter                      Producer           dumping
                                                                margin
                                                              (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vietnam
    Three-Color Stone Stationary     Three-Color Stone             97.52
     (Viet Nam) Company Limited.      Stationary (Viet Nam)
                                      Company Limited.
    Vietnam-Wide Entity............  ......................       233.93
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Provisional Measures--AD

    Section 733(d) of the Act states that suspension of liquidation 
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in 
effect for more than four months, except where exporters representing a 
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise request 
that Commerce extend the four-month period to no more than six months. 
At the request of exporters that accounted for a significant proportion 
of exports of paper file folders from China, India, and Vietnam, 
Commerce extended the four-month period to no more than six-months.\7\ 
In the underlying investigations, Commerce published the AD Preliminary 
Determinations on May 17, 2023. Therefore, the six-month period 
beginning on the date of the publication of the AD Preliminary 
Determinations ended on November 12, 2023. Pursuant to section 737(b) 
of the Act, the collection of cash deposits at the rates listed above 
will begin on the date of publication of the ITC's final injury 
determinations. Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the 
Act and our practice, Commerce will instruct CBP to terminate the 
suspension of liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to 
antidumping duties, unliquidated entries of paper file folders from 
China, India, and Vietnam entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after November 13, 2023, the first day provisional 
measures were no longer in effect, until and through the day preceding 
the date of publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the 
Federal Register. Suspension of liquidation and the collection of cash 
deposits will resume on the date of publication of the ITC's final 
determinations in the Federal Register.
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    \6\ In the companion CVD investigation, Commerce calculated a 
3.78 percent export subsidy rate for Navneet Education Limited. See 
CVD Final Determination and accompanying Issues and Decision 
Memorandum at 6.
    \7\ See AD Preliminary Determinations; and Paper File Folders 
from the People's Republic of China: Postponement of Final 
Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation, 88 FR 34827 
(May 31, 2023).
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CVD Order

    As stated above, based on the above-referenced affirmative final 
determination by the ITC 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 paper file folders from 
India,\8\ in accordance with section 705(c)(2) of the Act, Commerce is 
issuing this CVD order. Moreover, because the ITC determined that 
imports of paper file folders from India are materially injuring a U.S. 
industry, unliquidated entries of subject merchandise from India 
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, are subject to 
the assessment of countervailing duties.
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    \8\ See ITC Notification Letter.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 706(a) of the Act, Commerce 
intends to direct CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, 
countervailing duties on all relevant entries of paper file folders 
from India, which are entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after March 20, 2023, the date of publication of the 
CVD Preliminary Determination, 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

[[Page 81050]]

the Act, as further described in the ``Provisional Measures--CVD'' 
section of this notice.\9\
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    \9\ See Paper File Folders from India: Preliminary Affirmative 
Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment of Final 
Determination With the Final Antidumping Duty Determination, 88 FR 
16590 (March 20, 2023) (CVD Preliminary Determination).
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Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits--CVD

    In accordance with section 706 of the Act, Commerce intends to 
instruct CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of paper file 
folders from India, effective on the date of publication of the ITC's 
final affirmative injury determination in the Federal Register, and to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, pursuant to section 
706(a)(1) of the Act, countervailing duties on each entry of subject 
merchandise in an amount based on the net countervailable subsidy rates 
below. On or after the date of publication of the ITC's final injury 
determination in the Federal Register, CBP must require, at the same 
time as importers would normally deposit estimated customs duties on 
this merchandise, a cash deposit equal to the rates listed in the table 
below. 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, as appropriate:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Subsidy rate
                         Company                            (percent ad
                                                             valorem)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Navneet Education Limited...............................            3.78
Lotus Global Pvt. Ltd...................................      \10\ 90.98
All Others..............................................            3.78
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Provisional Measures--CVD

    Section 703(d) of the Act states that the suspension of liquidation 
pursuant to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in 
effect for more than four months. Commerce published the CVD 
Preliminary Determination on March 20, 2023.\11\ As such, the four-
month period beginning on the date of the publication of the CVD 
Preliminary Determination ended on July 17, 2023.
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    \10\ Commerce has assigned a rate to Lotus Global Pvt. Ltd. 
based entirely on facts available, using adverse inferences, under 
section 776 of the Act.
    \11\ Id.
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    Therefore, in accordance with section 703(d) of the Act, we 
instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to 
liquidate, without regard to countervailing duties, unliquidated 
entries of paper file folders from India entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption, on or after July 18, 2023, 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 and 
the collection of cash deposits will resume on the date of publication 
of the ITC's final determination in the Federal Register.

Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service Lists

    On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the Final Rule in the 
Federal Register.\12\ On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published 
the Procedural Guidance in the Federal Register.\13\ The Final Rule and 
Procedural Guidance provide that Commerce will maintain an annual 
inquiry service list for each order or suspended investigation, and any 
interested party submitting a scope ruling application or request for 
circumvention inquiry shall serve a copy of the application or request 
on the persons on the annual inquiry service list for that order, as 
well as any companion order covering the same merchandise from the same 
country of origin.\14\
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    \12\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement 
of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 
20, 2021) (Final Rule).
    \13\ See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List; 
and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021) 
(Procedural Guidance).
    \14\ Id.
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    In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for orders published in 
the Federal Register after November 4, 2021, Commerce will create an 
annual inquiry service list segment in Commerce's online e-filing and 
document management system, Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Electronic Service System (ACCESS), available at https://access.trade.gov, within five business days of publication of the 
notice of the order. Each annual inquiry service list will be saved in 
ACCESS, under each case number, and under a specific segment type 
called ``AISL-Annual Inquiry Service List.'' \15\
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    \15\ This segment will be combined with the ACCESS Segment 
Specific Information (SSI) field which will display the month in 
which the notice of the order or suspended investigation was 
published in the Federal Register, also known as the anniversary 
month. For example, for an order under case number A-000-000 that 
was published in the Federal Register in January, the relevant 
segment and SSI combination will appear in ACCESS as ``AISL-January 
Anniversary.'' Note that there will be only one annual inquiry 
service list segment per case number, and the anniversary month will 
be pre-populated in ACCESS.
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    Interested parties who wish to be added to the annual inquiry 
service list for an order must submit an entry of appearance to the 
annual inquiry service list segment for the order in ACCESS within 30 
days after the date of publication of the order. For ease of 
administration, Commerce requests that law firms with more than one 
attorney representing interested parties in an order designate a lead 
attorney to be included on the annual inquiry service list. Commerce 
will finalize the annual inquiry service list within five business days 
thereafter. As mentioned in the Procedural Guidance,\16\ the new annual 
inquiry service list will be in place until the following year, when 
the Opportunity Notice for the anniversary month of the order is 
published.
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    \16\ See Procedural Guidance, 86 FR at 53206.
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    Commerce may update an annual inquiry service list at any time as 
needed based on interested parties' amendments to their entries of 
appearance to remove or otherwise modify their list of members and 
representatives, or to update contact information. Any changes or 
announcements pertaining to these procedures will be posted to the 
ACCESS website.

Special Instructions for Petitioners and Foreign Governments

    In the Final Rule, Commerce stated that, ``after an initial request 
and placement on the annual inquiry service list, both petitioners and 
foreign governments will automatically be placed on the annual inquiry 
service list in the years that follow.'' \17\ Accordingly, as stated 
above, the petitioner and the Governments of China, India, and Vietnam 
should submit their initial entries of appearance after publication of 
this notice in order to appear in the first annual inquiry service 
lists for these orders. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(n)(3), the 
petitioner and the Governments of China, India, and Vietnam will not 
need to resubmit their entries of appearance each year to continue to 
be included on the annual inquiry service list. However, the petitioner 
and the Governments of China, India, and Vietnam are responsible for 
making amendments to their entries of appearance during the annual 
update to the annual inquiry service list in accordance with the 
procedures described above.
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    \17\ See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
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Notification to Interested Parties

    This notice constitutes the AD orders with respect to paper file 
folders from China, India, and Vietnam and the CVD order with respect 
to paper file folders from India, pursuant to sections 706(a) and 
736(a) of the Act. Interested parties

[[Page 81051]]

can find a list of AD and CVD orders currently in effect at https://enforcement.trade.gov/stats/iastats1.html.
    These orders are issued and published in accordance with sections 
706(a) and 736(a) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.211(b).

    Dated: November 15, 2023.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix--Scope of the Orders

    The products within the scope of these orders are file folders 
consisting primarily of paper, paperboard, pressboard, or other 
cellulose material, whether coated or uncoated, that has been folded 
(or creased in preparation to be folded), glued, taped, bound, or 
otherwise assembled to be suitable for holding documents. The scope 
includes all such folders, regardless of color, whether or not 
expanding, whether or not laminated, and with or without tabs, 
fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, hangers, pockets, gussets, or 
internal dividers. The term ``primarily'' as used in the first 
sentence of this scope means 50 percent or more of the total product 
weight, exclusive of the weight of fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, 
hangers, removable tabs, and similar accessories, and exclusive of 
the weight of packaging.
    Subject folders have the following dimensions in their folded 
and closed position: lengths and widths of at least 8 inches and no 
greater than 17 inches, regardless of depth.
    The scope covers all varieties of folders, including but not 
limited to manila folders, hanging folders, fastener folders, 
classification folders, expanding folders, pockets, jackets, and 
wallets.
    Excluded from the scope are:
     mailing envelopes with a flap bearing one or more 
adhesive strips that can be used permanently to seal the entire 
length of a side such that, when sealed, the folder is closed on all 
four sides;
     binders, with two or more rings to hold documents in 
place, made from paperboard or pressboard encased entirely in 
plastic;
     binders consisting of a front cover, back cover, and 
spine, with or without a flap; to be excluded, a mechanism with two 
or more metal rings must be included on or adjacent to the interior 
spine;
     non-expanding folders with a depth exceeding 2.5 inches 
and that are closed or closeable on the top, bottom, and all four 
sides (e.g., boxes or cartons);
     expanding folders that have: (1) 13 or more pockets; 
(2) a flap covering the top; (3) a latching mechanism made of 
plastic and/or metal to close the flap; and (4) an affixed plastic 
or metal carry handle;
     folders that have an outer surface (other than the 
gusset, handles, and/or closing mechanisms, if any) that is covered 
entirely with fabric, leather, and/or faux leather;
     fashion folders, which are defined as folders with all 
of the following characteristics: (1) plastic lamination covering 
the entire exterior of the folder; (2) printing, foil stamping, 
embossing (i.e., raised relief patterns that are recessed on the 
opposite side), and/or debossing (i.e., recessed relief patterns 
that are raised on the opposite side), covering the entire exterior 
surface area of the folder; (3) at least two visible and printed or 
foil stamped colors (other than the color of the base paper), each 
of which separately covers no less than 10 percent of the entire 
exterior surface area; and (4) patterns, pictures, designs, or 
artwork covering no less than thirty percent of the exterior surface 
area of the folder;
     portfolios, which are folders having: (1) a width of at 
least 16 inches when open flat; (2) no tabs or dividers; and (3) one 
or more pockets that are suitable for holding letter size documents 
and that cover at least 15 percent of the surface area of the 
relevant interior side or sides; and
     report covers, which are folders having: (1) no tabs, 
dividers, or pockets; and (2) one or more fasteners or clips, each 
of which is permanently affixed to the center fold, to hold papers 
securely in place.
    Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) category 
4820.30.0040. Subject imports may also enter under other HTSUS 
classifications. While the HTSUS subheading is provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the 
scope of these orders is dispositive.

[FR Doc. 2023-25688 Filed 11-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P