[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3431-3433]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-01604]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-182, A-552-845]
Thermoformed Molded Fiber Products From the People's Republic of
China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Antidumping Duty Orders
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: Based on the affirmative final determinations by the U.S.
Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. International Trade
Commission (ITC), Commerce is issuing the antidumping (AD) orders on
thermoformed molded fiber products (molded fiber products) from the
People's Republic of China (China) and the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam (Vietnam).
DATES: Applicable January 27, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis McClure or Matthew Lipka
(China) and Zachary Shaykin (Vietnam), AD/CVD Operations, Offices VIII
and IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5973, (202) 482-7976, or (202) 482-2638,
respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In accordance with sections 735(d) and 777(i) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act), on September 30, 2025, Commerce published
its affirmative final determinations of sales at less-than-fair-value
(LFTV) of molded fiber products from China and Vietnam.\1\
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\1\ See Thermoformed Molded Fiber Products from the People's
Republic of China: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less
Than Fair Value, 90 FR 46800 (September 30, 2025) (China Final
Determination); see also Thermoformed Molded Fiber Products from the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Final Affirmative Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 90 FR 46791 (September 30, 2025)
(Vietnam Final Determination) (collectively, the Final
Determinations).
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On January 5, 2025, the ITC notified Commerce of its final
affirmative determinations that an industry in the United States is
materially injured within the meanings of 735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act,
by reason of imports of thermoformed molded fiber products from China
and Vietnam sold in the United States at less than fair value.\2\
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\2\ See ITC's Letter, ``Notification of ITC Final Determination,
'' dated January 5, 2026 (ITC Notification Letter).
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Scope of the Orders
The products covered by these orders are molded fiber products from
China and Vietnam. For a complete description of the scope of the
orders, see the appendix to this notice.
Antidumping Duty Orders
Based on the above-referenced final determinations, 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 molded fiber
products from China and Vietnam are materially injuring a U.S.
industry, unliquidated entries of such merchandise from China and
Vietnam, entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, are
subject to the assessment of antidumping duties.
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 for all
relevant entries of molded fiber products from China and Vietnam.
Antidumping duties will be assessed on unliquidated entries of molded
fiber products from China and Vietnam entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after May 12, 2025, the date of
publication of the Preliminary Determinations,\3\ but will 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 in the ``Provisional Measures'' section of this
notice.
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\3\ See Thermoformed Molded Fiber Products from the People's
Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value, Postponement of Final Determination and
Extension of Provisional Measures, 90 FR 20147 (May 12, 2025), and
accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM); Thermoformed
Molded Fiber Products from the People's Republic of China:
Correction and Amended Preliminary Determination at Sales at Less
Than Fair Value, 90 FR 24590 (June 11, 2025); Thermoformed Molded
Fiber Products 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, 90 FR 20153 (May 12, 2025), and accompanying PDM
(collectively, the Preliminary Determinations).
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Suspension of Liquidation and Cash Deposits
In accordance with section 736 of the Act, Commerce intends to
instruct CBP to reinstitute the suspension of liquidation of molded
fiber products from China and Vietnam effective the date of publication
of the ITC's final affirmative injury determinations in the Federal
Register. 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, adjusted by the relevant subsidy offsets, indicated in the
Final Determinations.\4\ The rates for the China- and Vietnam-wide
entities applies to all producers and exporters from China and Vietnam,
respectively, not specifically listed, as appropriate.
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\4\ See China Final Determination, 90 FR at 46802-03; Vietnam
Final Determination, 90 FR at 46793.
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Provisional Measures
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 account for a significant proportion
of exports of thermoformed molded fiber products from China and
Vietnam, Commerce extended the four-month period to six months in these
investigations.\5\
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\5\ See Preliminary Determinations, 90 FR at 20152, 20155.
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The provisional measures period, beginning on the date of
publication of the Preliminary Determinations, ended on November 8,
2025. Therefore, in accordance with section 733(d) of the Act and our
practice,\6\ Commerce instructed CBP to terminate the suspension of
liquidation and to liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties,
unliquidated entries of thermoformed molded fiber products from China
and Vietnam entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption after
November 8, 2025, the final day on which the provisional measures were
in effect, until and through the day preceding the date of publication
of the ITC's final affirmative 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.
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\6\ See, e.g., Certain Corrosion-Resistant Steel Products from
India, Italy, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea
and Taiwan: Amended Final Affirmative Antidumping Determination for
India and Taiwan, and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 48390, 48392
(July 25, 2016).
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Establishment of the Annual Inquiry Service Lists
On September 20, 2021, Commerce published the Final Rule in the
Federal Register.\7\ On September 27, 2021, Commerce also published the
Procedural Guidance in the Federal Register.\8\ 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.
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\7\ See Regulations to Improve Administration and Enforcement of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws, 86 FR 52300 (September 20,
2021) (Final Rule).
\8\ See Scope Ruling Application; Annual Inquiry Service List;
and Informational Sessions, 86 FR 53205 (September 27, 2021)
(Procedural Guidance).
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In accordance with the Procedural Guidance, for an order 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.'' \9\
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\9\ 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,\10\ 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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\10\ 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.'' \11\ Accordingly, as stated
above, the petitioner and the Governments of China 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
this order. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.225(n)(3), the petitioner and the
Governments of China 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 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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\11\ See Final Rule, 86 FR at 52335.
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Notification to Interested Parties
This notice constitutes the AD orders with respect to molded fiber
products from China pursuant to sections 736(a) of the Act. Interested
parties can find a list of duty orders currently in effect at https://www.trade.gov/data-visualization/adcvd-proceedings.
These orders are published in accordance with sections 736(a) of
the Act, and 19 CFR 351.211(b).
Dated: January 22, 2026.
Christopher Abbott,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the
non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for
Enforcement and Compliance.
Appendix
Scope of the Orders
The merchandise subject to these orders consists of thermoformed
molded fiber products regardless of shape, form, function, fiber
source, or finish. Thermoformed molded fiber products are formed
with cellulose fibers, thermoformed using one or more heated molds,
and dried/cured in the mold.
Thermoformed molded fiber products include, but are not limited
to, plates, bowls, clamshells, trays, lids, food or foodservice
contact packaging, and consumer or other product packaging.
Thermoformed molded fiber products are relatively dense, with a
typical fiber density above 0.5 grams per cubic centimeter, and are
generally characterized by relatively smooth surfaces. They may be
derived from any virgin or recycled cellulose fiber source
(including, but not limited to, those sourced from wood, woody
crops, agricultural crops/byproducts/residue, and agricultural/
industrial/other waste). They may have any weight, shape,
dimensionality, design, or size, and may be bleached, unbleached,
dyed, colored, or printed. They may include ingredients, additives,
or chemistries to enhance functionality including, but not limited
to, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, heat/flame
resistant, hydrophobic, oleophobic, absorbent, or adsorbent.
Thermoformed molded fiber products may also be subject to other
processing or treatments, including, but not limited to, hot or
after pressing, die-cutting, punching, trimming, padding,
perforating, printing, labeling, dying, coloring, coating,
laminating, embossing, debossing, repacking, or denesting.
Thermoformed molded fiber products subject to these orders may also
have additional design features, including, but not limited to, tab
closures, venting, channeling, or stiffening.
Thermoformed molded fiber products remain covered by the scope
of these orders if the subject product is encased by exterior
packaging. They also remain covered by the scope of these orders
whether imported alone, or in any combination of subject and non-
subject merchandise (e.g., a lid or cover of any type packaged with
a molded fiber bowl, addition of any items to make the thermoformed
molded fiber packaging suitable for end-use such as absorbent pads).
When thermoformed molded fiber products are imported in combination
with non-subject merchandise, only the thermoformed molded fiber
products are subject merchandise.
Also excluded from the scope of these orders are products
covered by the scope of the antidumping and countervailing duty
orders on paper plates from People's Republic of China, the Kingdom
of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Excluded from the scope of these orders are thermoformed molded
fiber products
[[Page 3433]]
imported as packaging material that enclose and/or surround non-
subject merchandise prepackaged for final sale upon importation into
the United States (e.g., molded fiber packaging surrounding a
cellular phone).
Thermoformed molded fiber products include thermoformed molded
fiber products matching the above description that have been
finished, packaged, or otherwise processed in a third country by
performing finishing, packaging, or processing that would not
otherwise remove the merchandise from the scope of these orders if
performed in the country of manufacture of the thermoformed molded
fiber products. Examples of finishing, packaging, or other
processing in a third country that would not otherwise remove the
merchandise from the scope of these orders if performed in the
country of manufacture of the thermoformed molded fiber products
include, but are not limited to, hot or after pressing, die-cutting,
punching, trimming, padding, perforating, printing, labeling, dying,
coloring, coating, laminating, embossing, debossing, repacking, or
denesting.
Thermoformed molded fiber products are classified under
subheadings 4823.70.0020 and 4823.70.0040, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Imports may also be
classified under subheadings 4823.61.0020, 4823.61.0040,
4823.69.0020, 4823.69.0040, 4823.90.1000, HTSUS. References to the
HTSUS classification are provided for convenience and customs
purposes, and the written description of the merchandise of these
orders is dispositive.
[FR Doc. 2026-01604 Filed 1-26-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P