[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22991-22993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07011]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-112]


Certain Collated Steel Staples From the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Determination of No Shipments and Partial Rescission 
of Administrative Review; 2022-2023

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 
determines that Zhejiang Best Nail Industrial Co., Ltd. and its 
affiliated exporter Shaoxing Bohui Import & Export Co., Ltd. (Best 
Nail/Shaoxing Bohui) made no shipments of subject merchandise during 
the period of review (POR) July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. In 
addition, we are rescinding the administrative review with respect to 
Shanghai Yueda Nail Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Yueda); Tianjin Hweschun 
Fasteners Manufacturing, Co., Ltd. (Tianjin Hweschun); Vina Hardwares 
Joint Stock Company (Vina Hardwares); YF Technology Corporation 
(Thailand) Ltd.; and YF Technology Corporation Limited because the 
requests for review for these companies were timely withdrawn. We 
invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable April 3, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Smith or Kate 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) 482-1766 or (202) 
482-4929, respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On September 11, 2023, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i), 
Commerce initiated an administrative review of the antidumping duty 
order on certain collated steel staples (staples) from the People's 
Republic of China (China) with respect to the following companies: Best 
Nail/Shaoxing Bohui; Shanghai Yueda; Tianjin Hweschun; Vina Hardwares; 
YF Technology Corporation (Thailand) Ltd.; and YF Technology 
Corporation Limited.\1\ In accordance with the publication of the 
Initiation Notice, Commerce released data obtained from the U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) with respect to entries of staples 
from China for the POR and invited comments on the data for respondent 
selection purposes.\2\
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    \1\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 88 FR 62322 (September 11, 2023) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Release of U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection Data,'' dated September 15, 2023 (CBP Entry Data).
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    On October 4, 2023, Vina Hardwares timely withdrew its request for 
an administrative review.\3\ On October 11, 2023, Best Nail/Shaoxing 
Bohui submitted a no shipment claim for this POR segment.\4\ In 
response to a no-shipment inquiry Commerce issued to CBP, on October 
25, 2024, CBP responded that it had no record of any subject entries 
for Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui.\5\
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    \3\ See Vina Hardwares' Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review,'' dated October 4, 2023.
    \4\ See Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui's Letter, ``Submission of 
Statement of No Shipment,'' dated October 11, 2023.
    \5\ See Memorandum, ``No Shipment Inquiry for Zhejiang Best Nail 
Industrial Co., Ltd. and Shaoxing Bohui Import & Export Co., Ltd. 
during the period 07/01/2022 through 06/30/2023,'' dated November 6, 
2023 (CBP No Shipment Memo). Prior to issuing our no-shipment 
inquiry to CBP and receiving CBP's response to that inquiry, we 
requested entry documentation for a certain entry in the CBP Entry 
Data that appeared to be associated with Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui. 
We placed this entry documentation on the record of this review on 
January 19, 2024, and provided parties the opportunity to comment on 
the information. No party submitted comments.
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    On November 6, 2023, we selected Shanghai Yueda and Tianjin 
Hweschun as the mandatory respondents in this administrative review.\6\ 
We subsequently issued Commerce's antidumping duty questionnaire to 
these two companies.
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    \6\ See Memorandum, ``Respondent Selection,'' dated November 6, 
2023.
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    On December 7 and 11, 2023, Shanghai Yueda and Tianjin Hweschun, 
respectively, withdrew their requests for administrative review.\7\ On 
December 11, 2023, Kyocera Senco Industrial Tools, Inc. (Kyocera 
Senco), a domestic producer of staples, withdrew its request for an 
administrative review of Tianjin Hweschun.\8\ On this same date, Black 
& Decker, a U.S. importer, withdrew its request for an administrative 
review of YF Technology Corporation (Thailand) Ltd. and YF Technology 
Corporation Limited.\9\
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    \7\ See Shanghai Yueda's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review and Request for Suspension of Deadlines,'' 
dated December 7, 2023; and Tianjin Hweschun's Letter, ``Withdrawal 
of Request for Administrative Review,'' dated December 11, 2023.
    \8\ See Kyocera Senco's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review,'' dated December 11, 2023.
    \9\ See Black & Decker's Letter, ``Withdrawal of Request for 
Administrative Review, dated December 11, 2023.

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[[Page 22992]]

Scope of the Order 10
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    \10\ See Certain Collated Steel Staples from the People's 
Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order, 85 FR 43815 (July 20, 
2020) (Order).
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    The merchandise covered by the scope of this Order is certain 
collated steel staples. Certain collated steel staples subject to this 
investigation are made from steel wire having a nominal diameter from 
0.0355 inch to 0.0830 inch, inclusive, and have a nominal leg length 
from 0.25 inch to 3.0 inches, inclusive, and a nominal crown width from 
0.187 inch to 1.125 inch, inclusive. Certain collated steel staples may 
be manufactured from any type of steel, and are included in the scope 
of this Order regardless of whether they are uncoated or coated, and 
regardless of the type or number of coatings, including but not limited 
to coatings to inhibit corrosion.
    Certain collated steel staples may be collated using any material 
or combination of materials, including but not limited to adhesive, 
glue, and adhesive film or adhesive or paper tape.
    Certain collated steel staples are generally made to American 
Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification ASTM F1667-18a, 
but can also be made to other specifications.
    Excluded from the scope of this Order are any carton-closing 
staples covered by the scope of the antidumping duty order on Carton-
Closing Staples from the People's Republic of China. See Carton-Closing 
Staples from the People's Republic of China: Antidumping Duty Order, 83 
FR 20792 (May 8, 2018).
    Also excluded are collated fasteners commonly referred to as ``C-
ring hog rings'' and ``D-ring hog rings'' produced from stainless or 
carbon steel wire having a nominal diameter of 0.050 to 0.081 inches, 
inclusive. C-ring hog rings are fasteners whose legs are not 
perpendicular to the crown, but are curved inward resulting in the 
fastener forming the shape of the letter ``C''. D-ring hog rings are 
fasteners whose legs are straight but not perpendicular to the crown, 
instead intersecting with the crown at an angle ranging from 30 degrees 
to 75 degrees. The hog rings subject to the exclusion are collated 
using glue, adhesive, or tape. The hog rings subject to this exclusion 
have either a 90 degree blunt point or 15-75 degree divergent point.
    Certain collated steel staples subject to this Order are currently 
classifiable under subheading 8305.20.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). While the HTSUS subheading and 
ASTM specification are provided for convenience and for customs 
purposes, the written description of the subject merchandise is 
dispositive.

Rescission of Administrative Review, in Part

    As discussed above, the review requests for Shanghai Yueda, Tianjin 
Hweschun, Vina Hardwares, YF Technology Corporation (Thailand) Ltd., 
and YF Technology Corporation Limited have all been withdrawn. Pursuant 
to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(1), Commerce will rescind an administrative 
review, in whole or in part, if the parties that requested a review 
withdraw their request within 90 days of the date of publication of the 
notice of initiation. Because no other parties requested a review of 
the above five companies, Commerce is rescinding this review, in part, 
with respect to these companies. As such, only Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui 
remain under review.

Preliminary Determination of No Shipments

    In the Initiation Notice, we instructed producers or exporters 
under review that had no exports, sales, or entries of subject 
merchandise during the POR to notify Commerce within 30 days of 
publication of the notice. As noted above, Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui 
timely submitted a no-shipment certification. Based on an analysis of 
information from CBP, we preliminarily determine that the information 
on the record does not contradict Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui's no- 
shipment certification.\11\
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    \11\ See CBP No Shipment Memo and Memorandum, ``Placing CBP 
Entry Documents on the Record,'' dated January 19, 2024.
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    Consistent with our practice in non-market economy (NME) cases, we 
are not rescinding this review with respect to Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui 
but, rather, we intend to complete the review and issue appropriate 
instructions to CBP based on the final results of the review.\12\
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    \12\ See Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment 
of Antidumping Duties, 76 FR 65694, 65694-95 (October 24, 2011) (NME 
AD Assessment); see also the ``Assessment Rates'' section, below.
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The China-Wide Entity

    Commerce's policy regarding conditional review of the China-wide 
entity applies to this administrative review.\13\ Under this policy, 
the China-wide entity will not be under review unless a party 
specifically requests, or Commerce self-initiates, a review of the 
entity. Because no party requested a review of the China-wide entity, 
the entity is not under review, and the entity's rate (i.e., 112.01 
percent) \14\ is not subject to change.
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    \13\ 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).
    \14\ See Order, 85 FR at 43816.
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Disclosure

    Normally, Commerce will disclose to the parties in a proceeding the 
calculations performed in connection with the preliminary results 
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 the preliminary results in the Federal Register, in accordance with 
19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce is rescinding the review 
for five companies and preliminarily finding that Best Nail/Shaoxing 
Bohui made no shipments of subject merchandise during the POR, there 
are no calculations to disclose. Given these facts, there is no 
decision memorandum accompanying this notice.

Public Comment

    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c), interested parties may submit case 
briefs to Commerce no later than 30 days after the date of publication 
of this notice.\15\ Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the 
case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for 
filing case briefs.\16\ Interested parties who submit case briefs or 
rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents 
listing each issue; and (2) a table of authorities.\17\
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    \15\ See 19 CFR 351.309(c); see also 19 CFR 351.303 (for general 
filing requirements).
    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative Protective 
Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 
2023) (APO and Service Final Rule).
    \17\ See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2).
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    As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), in prior 
proceedings we have encouraged interested parties to provide an 
executive summary of their brief that should be limited to five pages 
total, including footnotes. In this review, we instead request that 
interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public, 
executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs.\18\ Further, 
we request that interested parties limit their executive summary of 
each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We 
intend to use the executive summaries as the basis of the comment

[[Page 22993]]

summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will 
accompany the final results in this administrative review. We request 
that interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the 
executive summary of each issue. Note that Commerce has amended certain 
of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 
351.303(f).\19\
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    \18\ We use the term ``issue'' here to describe an argument that 
Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and 
Decision Memorandum.
    \19\ See APO and Service Final Rule.
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via 
ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and 
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of 
issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to 
those raised in the respective case briefs. An electronically filed 
hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety by 
Commerce's electronic records system, ACCESS, by 5 p.m. Eastern Time 
within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice.

Assessment Rates

    For the companies for which this review is rescinded with these 
preliminary results, we will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties 
on all appropriate entries at a rate equal to the cash deposit of 
estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or 
withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, during the period July 1, 
2022, through June 30, 2023, in accordance with 19 CFR 
351.212(c)(1)(i). We intend to issue assessment instructions to CBP for 
these companies no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication 
of this notice in the Federal Register.
    In addition, if we continue to find no POR shipments of subject 
merchandise for Best Nail/Shaoxing Bohui in the final results, any 
suspended entries of subject merchandise associated with this company 
will be liquidated at the China-wide rate.\20\ For this company, we 
intend to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days 
after the date of publication of the final results of this 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).
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    \20\ See NME AD Assessment.
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Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping and/or countervailing 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 and/or countervailing duties occurred 
and the subsequent assessment of doubled antidumping duties, and/or an 
increase in the amount of the antidumping duties by the amount of the 
countervailing duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    We are issuing and publishing these preliminary results in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(l) and 777(i)(l) of the Act, and 19 CFR 
351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: March 26, 2024.
Abdelali Elouaradia,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2024-07011 Filed 4-2-24; 8:45 am]
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