[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 77 (Friday, April 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28743-28745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08370]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-552-835]


Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale From the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales 
at Less-Than-Fair-Value

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

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that 
imports of boltless steel shelving units prepackaged for sale (boltless 
steel shelving) from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam) are 
being, or likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair 
value (LTFV). The period of investigation is October 1, 2022, through 
March 31, 2023.

DATES: Applicable April 19, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eliza DeLong or Eric Hawkins, 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) 482-3878 or (202) 482-1988, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On November 29, 2023, Commerce published in the Federal Register 
its preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of 
boltless steel shelving from Vietnam.\1\ We invited parties to comment 
on the Preliminary Determination.
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    \1\ See Boltless Steel Shelving Units from the 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 83392 (November 29, 2023) 
(Preliminary Determination), and accompanying Preliminary Decision 
Memorandum (PDM).
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    A summary of the events that occurred since Commerce published the 
Preliminary Determination, as well as a full discussion of the issues 
raised by parties for this final determination, may be found in the 
Issues and Decision Memorandum.\2\ The Issues and 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 Issues 
and Decision Memorandum can be accessed directly at https://access.trade.gov/public/FRNoticesListLayout.aspx.
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    \2\ See Memorandum, ``Decision Memorandum for the Final 
Affirmative Determination in the Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation 
of Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale from the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated concurrently with, and hereby 
adopted by, this notice (Issues and Decision Memorandum).
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Scope of the Investigation

    The product covered by this investigation is boltless steel 
shelving from Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of this 
investigation, see Appendix I.

Scope Comments

    During the course of this investigation, Commerce received scope 
comments from interested parties. Commerce issued a Preliminary Scope 
Decision Memorandum to address these comments and set aside a period of 
time for parties to address scope issues in scope-specific case and 
rebuttal briefs.\3\ We received comments from interested parties on the 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum, which we addressed in the Final 
Scope Decision Memorandum.\4\ We did not make any changes to the scope 
of the investigation from the scope published in the Preliminary 
Determination.
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    \3\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigations of 
Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale from India, 
Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 
Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum,'' dated November 13, 2023 
(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum).
    \4\ See Memorandum, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation of Boltless 
Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for Sale from Malaysia, Taiwan, 
Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Scope 
Decision Memorandum,'' dated April 12, 2024 (Final Scope Decision 
Memorandum).
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Verification

    Commerce verified the sales and factors of production information 
submitted by Xinguang (Vietnam) Logistic Equipment Co., Ltd (Xinguang 
Vietnam) and the sales information submitted by Thanh Phong Production 
and Trade Limited Company (Thanh Phong) for use in our final 
determination, consistent with section 782(i) of the Tariff Act of 
1930, as amended (the Act). We used standard verification procedures, 
including an examination of relevant sales and accounting records, and 
original source documents provided by Xinguang Vietnam and Thanh 
Phong.\5\
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    \5\ See Memoranda, ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses 
of Thanh Phong Production and Trade Limited Company in the Less-
Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Boltless Steel Shelving Units 
Prepackaged for Sale from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated 
February 13, 2024; and ``Verification of the Questionnaire Responses 
of Xinguang (Vietnam) Logistic Equipment Co., Ltd. in the Less-Than-
Fair-Value Investigation of Boltless Steel Shelving Units 
Prepackaged for Sale from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated 
February 13, 2024.

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[[Page 28744]]

Analysis of Comments Received

    All issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs submitted by 
interested parties in this investigation are addressed in the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum. A list of the issues raised is attached to 
this notice as Appendix II.

Changes Since the Preliminary Determination

    Based on our review and analysis of the comments received from 
interested parties, we made changes to the margin calculations for 
Xinguang Vietnam.\6\ For a discussion of these changes, see the Issues 
and Decision Memorandum.
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    \6\ See Issues and Decision Memorandum.
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Vietnam-Wide Entity and Use of Adverse Facts Available (AFA)

    Consistent with the Preliminary Determination,\7\ Commerce 
continues to find, pursuant to sections 776(a)(1) and (a)(2)(A)-(C) of 
the Act, that the use of facts available is warranted in determining 
the rate of the Vietnam-wide entity, which includes Cuong Nghia Imp. 
Exp. (Cuong Nghia) and Parkway Thanh Phong Co. (Parkway), two companies 
that were not selected for individual examination \8\ that did not 
respond to our requests for information. Furthermore, we continue to 
find that an adverse inference is warranted in selecting from the facts 
otherwise available, pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.308(a), because the Vietnam-wide entity, including the two 
companies referred to above, failed to cooperate by not acting to the 
best of its ability to comply with Commerce's requests for information. 
For the final determination, consistent with the Preliminary 
Determination,\9\ as AFA, we are continuing to assign the Vietnam-wide 
entity, including the above-referenced companies, the rate of 224.94 
percent, which is the highest margin alleged in the petition.\10\
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    \7\ See Preliminary Determination PDM at 6-8.
    \8\ Id.
    \9\ Id.
    \10\ See Initiation Checklist, ``Antidumping Duty Investigation 
Initiation Checklist: Boltless Steel Shelving Units Prepackaged for 
Sale from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'' dated May 15, 2023.
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Combination Rates

    Consistent with the Preliminary Determination and Policy Bulletin 
05.1,\11\ Commerce calculated a combination rate for Xinguang Vietnam, 
i.e., the sole respondent eligible for a separate rate.
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    \11\ See Enforcement and Compliance's Policy Bulletin No. 05.1, 
regarding, ``Separate-Rates Practice and Application of Combination 
Rates in Antidumping Investigations involving Non-Market Economy 
Countries,'' dated April 5, 2005 (Policy Bulletin 05.1), available 
on Commerce's website at http://enforcement.trade.gov/policy/bull05-1.pdf.
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Final Determination

    The final estimated weighted-average dumping margins are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Estimated
                                                             weighted-
             Exporter                     Producer            average
                                                          dumping margin
                                                             (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Xinguang (Vietnam) Logistic         Xinguang (Vietnam)            181.60
 Equipment Co., Ltd.                 Logistic Equipment
                                     Co., Ltd.
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Vietnam-Wide Entity.....................................     \12\ 224.94
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclosure
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    \12\ The Vietnam-wide rate is based on facts available with 
adverse inferences.
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    Commerce intends to disclose its calculations performed to 
interested parties in this final determination within five days of any 
public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five 
days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register, 
in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b).

Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation

    In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, we will 
instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to 
suspend liquidation of subject merchandise entries, as described in 
Appendix I of this notice, which are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after November 29, 2023, the date of 
publication in the Federal Register of the Preliminary Determination.
    Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 
351.210(d), Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal 
to the amount by which the normal value exceeds the U.S. price as 
follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the exporter/producer 
combination listed in the table above will be the rate identified in 
the table; (2) for all combinations of Vietnamese exporters/producers 
of subject merchandise that have not received their own separate rate 
above, the cash deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate established 
for the Vietnam-wide entity; and (3) for all non-Vietnamese exporters 
of subject merchandise which have not received their own separate rate 
above, the cash deposit rate will be the cash deposit rate applicable 
to the Vietnamese exporter/producer combination that supplied that non-
Vietnamese exporter. These suspension of liquidation instructions will 
remain in effect until further notice.

U.S. International Trade Commission Notification

    In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, Commerce will notify 
the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) of its final affirmative 
determination of sales at LTFV. Because the final determination in this 
proceeding is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the 
Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the 
domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or 
threatened with material injury, by reason of imports of boltless steel 
shelving from Vietnam no later than 45 days after this final 
determination. If the ITC determines that material injury or threat of 
material injury does not exist, the proceeding will be terminated and 
all cash deposits will be refunded or canceled, and suspension of 
liquidation will be lifted. If the ITC determines that such injury does 
exist, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order directing CBP to 
assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on all 
imports of the subject merchandise that are entered, or withdrawn from 
warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the 
suspension of liquidation, as discussed in the

[[Page 28745]]

``Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation'' section above.

Administrative Protective Order

    This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an 
administrative protective order (APO) of their responsibility 
concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under 
APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written 
notification of return or destruction 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 violation which is subject to 
sanction.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This final determination is issued and published in accordance with 
sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).

    Dated: April 12, 2024.
Ryan Majerus
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the 
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for 
Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix I

Scope of the Investigation

    The scope of this investigation covers boltless steel shelving 
units prepackaged for sale, with or without decks (boltless steel 
shelving). The term ``prepackaged for sale'' means that, at a 
minimum, the steel vertical supports (i.e., uprights and posts) and 
steel horizontal supports (i.e., beams, braces) necessary to 
assemble a completed shelving unit (with or without decks) are 
packaged together for ultimate purchase by the end-user. The scope 
also includes add-on kits. Add-on kits include, but are not limited 
to, kits that allow the end-user to add an extension shelving unit 
onto an existing boltless steel shelving unit such that the 
extension and the original unit will share common frame elements 
(e.g., two posts). The term ``boltless'' refers to steel shelving in 
which the vertical and horizontal supports forming the frame are 
assembled primarily without the use of nuts and bolts, or screws. 
The vertical and horizontal support members for boltless steel 
shelving are assembled by methods such as, but not limited to, 
fitting a rivet, punched or cut tab, or other similar connector on 
one support into a hole, slot or similar receptacle on another 
support. The supports lock together to form the frame for the 
shelving unit and provide the structural integrity of the shelving 
unit separate from the inclusion of any decking. The incidental use 
of nuts and bolts, or screws to add accessories, wall anchors, tie-
bars or shelf supports does not remove the product from scope. 
Boltless steel shelving units may also come packaged as partially 
assembled, such as when two upright supports are welded together 
with front-to-back supports, or are otherwise connected, to form an 
end unit for the frame. The boltless steel shelving covered by this 
investigation may be commonly described as rivet shelving, welded 
frame shelving, slot and tab shelving, and punched rivet (quasi-
rivet) shelving as well as by other trade names. The term ``deck'' 
refers to the shelf that sits on or fits into the horizontal 
supports (beams or braces) to provide the horizontal storage surface 
of the shelving unit.
    The scope includes all boltless steel shelving meeting the 
description above, regardless of: (1) vertical support or post type 
(including but not limited to open post, closed post and tubing); 
(2) horizontal support or beam/brace profile (including but not 
limited to Z-beam, C-beam, L-beam, step beam and cargo rack); (3) 
number of supports; (4) surface coating (including but not limited 
to paint, epoxy, powder coating, zinc and other metallic coating); 
(5) number of levels; (6) weight capacity; (7) shape (including but 
not limited to rectangular, square, and corner units); (8) decking 
material (including but not limited to wire decking, particle board, 
laminated board or no deck at all); or (9) the boltless method by 
which vertical and horizontal supports connect (including but not 
limited to keyhole and rivet, slot and tab, welded frame, punched 
rivet and clip).
    Specifically excluded from the scope are:
     Wall-mounted shelving, defined as shelving that is hung 
on the wall and does not stand on, or transfer load to, the floor. 
The addition of a wall bracket or other device to attach otherwise 
freestanding subject merchandise to a wall does not meet the terms 
of this exclusion;
     Wire shelving units, which consist of shelves made from 
wire that incorporates both a wire deck and wire horizontal supports 
(taking the place of the horizontal beams and braces) into a single 
piece with tubular collars that slide over the posts and onto 
plastic sleeves snapped on the posts to create the finished shelving 
unit;
     Bulk-packed parts or components of boltless steel 
shelving units; and
     Made-to-order shelving systems.
    Subject boltless steel shelving enters the United States through 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) statistical 
subheading 9403.20.0075. While the HTSUS subheading is provided for 
convenience and customs purposes, the description of the scope of 
this investigation is dispositive.

Appendix II

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and Decision Memorandum

I. Summary
II. Background
III. Changes from the Preliminary Determination
IV. Use of Facts Otherwise Available
V. Discussion of the Issues
    Comment 1: Whether Thanh Phong Sold Subject Merchandise
    Comment 2: Selection of Surrogate Financial Statements
    Comment 3: Whether to Separately Value the Energy Factors of 
Production (FOPs)
    Comment 4: Surrogate Value (SV) for Hot-Rolled Steel
    Comment 5: Whether Certain Raw Materials Should be Part of 
Overhead
    Comment 6: How to Treat Wire Fees
    Comment 7: Treatment of ``Transfer'' Transactions
VI. Recommendation

[FR Doc. 2024-08370 Filed 4-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P