Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 213 / Monday, November 6, 2023 / Notices 76185 

1See Certain Paper Shopping Bags from India 

and the People’s Republic of China: Initiation of 

Countervailing Duty Investigations, 88 FR 41380 

(June 26, 2023) (Initiation Notice). 

2See Certain Paper Shopping Bags from the 

People’s Republic of China and India: 

Postponement of Preliminary Determinations in the 

Countervailing Duty Investigations, 88 FR 52122 

(August 7, 2023). 

3See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Affirmative Determination in the 

Countervailing Duty Investigation of Certain Paper 

Shopping Bags from India,’’ dated concurrently 

with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 

(Preliminary Decision Memorandum). 

4See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties, 

Final Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27323 (May 19, 1997). 

5See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 41380–81. 

6See Preliminary Decision Memorandum at 5–6. 

7The deadline for interested parties to submit 

scope case and rebuttal briefs will be established in 

the preliminary scope decision memorandum. 

8See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act 

regarding financial contribution; section 771(5)(E) 

of the Act regarding benefit; and section 771(5A) of 

the Act regarding specificity. 

9See Petitioner’s Letter, ‘‘Petitioner’s Request to 

Align Countervailing Duty Investigation Final 

Determination with Antidumping Duty 

Investigation Final Determination,’’ dated October 

5, 2023. 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[C–533–918] 

Certain Paper Shopping Bags From 

India: Preliminary Affirmative 

Determination of Countervailable 

Subsidies, Preliminary Affirmative 

Determination of Critical 

Circumstances in Part, and Alignment 

of Final Determination With the Final 

Antidumping Duty Determination 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 

determines that countervailable 

subsidies are being provided to 

producers and exporters of certain paper 

shopping bags (paper bags) from India. 

The period of investigation (POI) is 

January 1, 2022, through December 31, 

2022. Interested parties are invited to 

comment on this preliminary 

determination. 

DATES: Applicable November 6, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul 

Kebker or Drew Jackson, AD/CVD 

Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and 

Compliance, International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 

(202) 482–2254 or (202) 482–4406, 

respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This preliminary determination is 

made in accordance with section 703(b) 

of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 

(the Act). Commerce published the 

notice of initiation of this countervailing 

duty (CVD) investigation on June 26, 

2023.1 On August 7, 2023, Commerce 

postponed the preliminary 

determination until October 30, 2023.2

For a complete description of events 

that followed the initiation of this 

investigation, see the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics 

discussed in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum is included as Appendix 

II to this notice. The Preliminary 

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 Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum can be accessed directly 

at https://access.trade.gov/public/

FRNoticesListLayout.aspx. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products covered by this 

investigation are paper bags from India. 

For a complete description of the scope 

of this investigation, see Appendix I. 

Scope Comments 

In accordance with the preamble to 

Commerce’s regulations,4 the Initiation 

Notice set aside a period of time for 

parties to raise issues regarding product 

coverage, (i.e., scope).5 We received 

comments concerning the scope of the 

concurrent antidumping duty (AD) and 

CVD investigations of paper bags as it 

appeared in the Initiation Notice, which 

are listed in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum.6 We are currently 

evaluating the scope comments filed by 

the interested parties and intend to 

issue our preliminary decision regarding 

the scope of the AD and CVD 

investigations prior to or concurrently 

with the AD preliminary 

determinations. We will incorporate the 

scope decisions from the AD 

investigations into the scope of the final 

CVD determination for this 

investigation, after considering any 

relevant comments submitted in scope 

case and rebuttal briefs.7

Preliminary Affirmative Determination 

of Critical Circumstances, in Part 

In accordance with section 703(e)(1) 

of the Act, we preliminarily find that 

critical circumstances exist with respect 

to imports of subject merchandise for 

Velvin Paper Products. Additionally, we 

find that critical circumstances do not 

exist for Aero Plast Packaging Solutions 

Private Limited and companies subject 

to the all-others subsidy rate. For a full 

discussion of our preliminary critical 

circumstances determination, see the 

‘‘Critical Circumstances’’ section of the 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 

Methodology 

Commerce is conducting this 

investigation in accordance with section 

701 of the Act. For each of the subsidy 

programs found to be countervailable, 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial 

contribution by an ‘‘authority’’ that 

gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, 

and that the subsidy is specific.8

Commerce notes that, in making these 

findings, it relied, in part, on facts 

available. For further information, see 

the ‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise Available’’ 

section in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum. 

Alignment 

In accordance with section 705(a)(1) 

of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(b)(4), 

Commerce is aligning the final CVD 

determination in this investigation with 

the final determination in the 

companion AD investigation of paper 

bags from India based on a request made 

by the Coalition For Fair Trade in 

Shopping Bags (the petitioner).9

Consequently, the final CVD 

determination will be issued on the 

same date as the final AD 

determination, which is currently 

scheduled to be issued no later than 

March 11, 2024, unless postponed. 

All-Others Rate 

Sections 703(d) and 705(c)(5)(A) of 

the Act provide that in the preliminary 

determination, Commerce shall 

determine an estimated all-others rate 

for companies not individually 

examined. This rate shall normally be 

an amount equal to the weighted 

average of the estimated subsidy rates 

established for those companies 

individually examined, excluding any 

zero and de minimis rates and any rates 

based entirely under section 776 of the 

Act. 

In this investigation, Commerce 

preliminarily calculated individual 

estimated countervailable subsidy rates 

for both mandatory respondents that are 

not zero, de minimis, or based entirely 

on facts otherwise available. Therefore, 

Commerce calculated the all-others rate 

using a weighted average of the 

individually estimated subsidy rates 

calculated for the examined respondents 


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76186 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 213 / Monday, November 6, 2023 / Notices 

10See Memorandum, ‘‘Calculation of the 

Weighted-Average Dumping Margin for Companies 

Noy Selected for Individual Examination,’’ dated 

concurrently with this notice. 

11As discussed in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily determines 

that Aero Plast Packaging Solutions Private Limited 

is cross-owned with Aero Business Solutions 

Private Limited and Aero Plast Limited. 

12As discussed in the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily determines 

that Velvin Paper Products is cross-owned with 

Velvin Packaging Solutions Private Limited. 

13See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 

(for general filing requirements). 

14See Administrative Protective Order, Service, 

and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings; Final Rule, 88 FR 

67069 (September 29, 2023). 15See 19 CFR 351.310(d). 

using each company’s public ranged 

data for the value of its exports of 

subject merchandise to the United 

States.10

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated 

countervailable subsidy rates exist: 

Company 

Subsidy rate 

(percent ad 

valorem) 

Aero Plast Packaging Solutions Private Limited 11 ...... 5.00 

Velvin Paper Products 12 ...... 2.37 

All Others .............................. 3.47 

Suspension of Liquidation 

In accordance with section 

703(e)(2)(A) of the Act, because we find 

that critical circumstances exists for 

Velvin Paper Products, Commerce will 

direct U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 

of entries of subject merchandise as 

described in the scope of the 

investigation section entered, or 

withdrawn from warehouse, for 

consumption on or after the date 90 

days prior to the date of publication of 

this notice in the Federal Register. 

Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.205(d), 

Commerce will instruct CBP to require 

a cash deposit equal to the rates 

indicated above. 

For Aero Plast Packaging Solutions 

Private Limited and companies subject 

to the ‘‘all-others’’ subsidy rate, in 

accordance with section 703(d)(1)(B) 

and (d)(2) of the Act, Commerce will 

direct CBP to suspend liquidation of 

entries of subject merchandise as 

described in the scope of the 

investigation section entered, or 

withdrawn from warehouse, for 

consumption on or after the date of the 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register. Further, pursuant to 19 CFR 

351.205(d), Commerce will instruct CBP 

to require a cash deposit equal to the 

rates indicated above. 

Disclosure 

Commerce intends to disclose its 

calculations and analysis performed to 

interested parties in this preliminary 

determination within five days of its 

public announcement, or if there is no 

public announcement, within five days 

of the date of the publication of this 

notice, in accordance with 19 CFR 

351.244(b). 

Verification 

As provided in section 782(i)(1) of the 

Act, Commerce intends to verify the 

information relied upon in making its 

final determination. 

Public Comment 

All interested parties will have the 

opportunity to submit scope case and 

rebuttal briefs on the preliminary 

decision regarding the scope of the AD 

and CVD investigations. The deadlines 

to submit scope case and rebuttal briefs 

will be provided in the preliminary 

scope decision memorandum. For all 

scope case and rebuttal briefs, parties 

must file identical documents 

simultaneously on the records of the 

ongoing AD and CVD investigations. No 

new factual information or business 

proprietary information may be 

included in either scope case or rebuttal 

briefs. 

Case briefs or other written comments 

on non-scope issues may be submitted 

to the Assistant Secretary for 

Enforcement and Compliance. 

Interested parties will be notified of the 

timeline for the submission of case 

briefs and written comments at a later 

date. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues 

raised in case briefs, may be submitted 

no later than seven days after the 

deadline date for case briefs after the 

deadline date for case briefs.13 Pursuant 

to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2), 

parties who submit case or rebuttal 

briefs in this investigation are 

encouraged to submit with each 

argument: (1) a statement of the issue; 

(2) a brief summary of the argument; 

and (3) a table of authorities. Note that 

Commerce has amended certain of its 

requirements pertaining to the service of 

documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).14

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), 

interested parties who wish to request a 

hearing, limited to issues raised in the 

case and rebuttal briefs, must submit a 

written request to the Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, within 30 days after the date 

of publication of this notice. Requests 

should contain the party’s name, 

address, and telephone number, the 

number of participants, and a list of the 

issues to be discussed. Oral 

presentations at the hearing will be 

limited to issues raised in the briefs. If 

a request for a hearing is made, parties 

will be notified of the time and date for 

the hearing.15

U.S. International Trade Commission 

Notification 

In accordance with section 703(f) of 

the Act, Commerce will notify the U.S. 

International Trade Commission (ITC) of 

its preliminary determination. If the 

final determination is affirmative, the 

ITC will determine before the later of 

120 days after the date of this 

preliminary determination or 45 days 

after the final determination whether 

imports of paper bags from India are 

materially injuring, or threaten material 

injury to, the U.S. industry. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This determination is issued and 

published pursuant to sections 703(f) 

and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 

351.205(c). 

Dated: October 30, 2023. 

Lisa W. Wang, 

Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance. 

Appendix I 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products within the scope of this 

investigation are paper shopping bags with 

handles of any type, regardless of whether 

there is any printing, regardless of how the 

top edges are finished (e.g., folded, serrated, 

or otherwise finished), regardless of color, 

and regardless of whether the top edges 

contain adhesive or other material for sealing 

closed. Subject paper shopping bags have a 

width of at least 4.5 inches and depth of at 

least 2.5 inches. 

Paper shopping bags typically are made of 

kraft paper but can be made from any type 

of cellulose fiber, paperboard, or pressboard 

with a basis weight less than 300 grams per 

square meter (GSM). 

A non-exhaustive illustrative list of the 

types of handles on shopping bags covered 

by the scope include handles made from any 

materials such as twisted paper, flat paper, 

yarn, ribbon, rope, string, or plastic, as well 

as die-cut handles (whether the punchout is 

fully removed or partially attached as a flap). 

Excluded from the scope are: 

• Paper sacks or bags that are of a 1⁄6 or 1⁄7

barrel size (i.e., 11.5–12.5 inches in width, 

6.5- 7.5 inches in depth, and 13.5–17.5 

inches in height) with flat paper handles or 

die-cut handles; 

• Paper sacks or bags with die-cut handles, 

a grams per square meter paper weight of less 

than 86 GSM, and a height of less than 11.5 

inches; and 

• Shopping bags (i) with non-paper 

handles made wholly of woven ribbon or 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 213 / Monday, November 6, 2023 / Notices 76187 

other similar woven fabric and (ii) that are 

finished with folded tops or for which tied 

knots or t-bar aglets (made of wood, metal, 

or plastic) are used to secure the handles to 

the bags. 

The above-referenced dimensions are 

provided for paper bags in the opened 

position. The height of the bag is the distance 

from the bottom fold edge to the top edge 

(i.e., excluding the height of handles that 

extend above the top edge). The depth of the 

bag is the distance from the front of the bag 

edge to the back of the bag edge (typically 

measured at the bottom of the bag). The 

width of the bag is measured from the left to 

the right edges of the front and back panels 

(upon which the handles typically are 

located). 

The merchandise is currently classifiable 

under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States (HTSUS) subheadings 

4819.30.0040 and 4819.40.0040. The HTSUS 

subheadings are provided for convenience 

and customs purposes only; the written 

description of the scope is dispositive. 

Appendix II 

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Scope of the Investigation 

IV. Scope Comments 

V. Injury Test 

VI. Preliminary Determination of Critical 

Circumstances, In Part 

VII. Use of Facts Otherwise Available 

VIII. Subsidies Valuation 

IX. Benchmark Interest Rates and Discount 

Rates 

X. Diversification of India’s Economy 

XI. Analysis of Programs 

XII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–24472 Filed 11–3–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

[Docket Number: 230818–0199] 

Request for Information on 

Implementation of the United States 

Government National Standards 

Strategy for Critical and Emerging 

Technology (USG NSSCET); Extension 

of Comment Period 

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards 

and Technology (NIST), Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; extension of comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: The National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) is 

extending the period for submitting 

comments to support the development 

of an implementation plan for the 

United States Government National 

Standards Strategy for Critical and 

Emerging Technology (USG NSSCET) 

until December 22, 2023. In a Request 

for Information (RFI) that published in 

the Federal Register on September 7, 

2023, NIST requested information on 

behalf of the U.S. Department of 

Commerce and the U.S. Government to 

support the development of an 

implementation plan for the United 

States Government National Standards 

Strategy for Critical and Emerging 

Technology (USG NSSCET). The USG 

NSSCET is intended to support and 

complement existing private sector-led 

activities and plans, including the 

American National Standards Institute 

(ANSI) United States Standards Strategy 

(USSS), with a focus on critical and 

emerging technology(ies) (CET). The 

USG NSSCET reinforces the U.S. 

Government’s support of a private 

sector-led, open, consensus-based 

international standards system, 

corresponding to the World Trade 

Organization (WTO) Technical Barriers 

to Trade (TBT) Committee decision that 

articulates and elaborates on principles 

that are fundamental to the 

development of an international 

standards: transparency; openness; 

impartiality and consensus; 

effectiveness and relevance; and 

coherence. To inform the USG NSSCET 

implementation, including how to best 

partner with relevant stakeholders, 

NIST is requesting information that will 

support the identification and 

prioritization of key activities that will 

optimize the USG NSSCET 

implementation and further enhance the 

U.S. Government’s ability to support a 

private sector-led, open, consensusbased international standards system, to 

which the U.S. Government is an active 

stakeholder and participant. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

11:59 p.m. Eastern time on December 

22, 2023. Comments received after 

November 6, 2023 and before 

publication of this notice are deemed to 

be timely. Submissions received after 

December 22, 2023 may not be 

considered. Those who have already 

submitted comments need not resubmit. 

ADDRESSES: Comments may be 

submitted by either of the following 

methods: 

• Electronic submission: Submit 

electronic public comments via the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal. 

1. Go to www.regulations.gov and 

enter NIST–2023–0005 in the search 

field, 

2. Click the ‘‘Comment Now!’’ icon, 

complete the required fields, and 

3. Enter or attach your comments. 

Comments containing references, 

studies, research, and other empirical 

data that are not widely published 

should include copies of the referenced 

materials. All submissions, including 

attachments and other supporting 

materials, will become part of the public 

record and subject to public disclosure. 

All comments responding to this 

document will be a matter of public 

record. Relevant comments will 

generally be available on the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal at 

www.regulations.gov. After the 

comment period closes, relevant 

comments will generally be available on 

www.standards.gov. NIST will not 

accept comments accompanied by a 

request that part or all of the material be 

treated confidentially because of its 

business proprietary nature or for any 

other reason. Therefore, do not submit 

confidential business information or 

otherwise sensitive, protected, or 

personal information, such as account 

numbers, Social Security numbers, or 

names of other individuals. 

For Public Meetings/Webcast: NIST 

may hold a series of ‘‘Listening 

Sessions’’ or ‘‘Stakeholder Events’’ in 

support of the USG NSSCET 

implementation. Information on these 

and any other NIST-sponsored events in 

connection with the USG NSSCET 

implementation will be announced at 

www.standards.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about this notice please 

contact: Standards Coordination Office 

(SCO), NIST via email at sco@nist.gov or 

by phone at (301) 975–5633. Please 

direct all media inquiries to Public 

Affairs Office (PAO), NIST via email at 

inquires@nist.gov or by phone at (301) 

975–2762. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In an RFI 

that published in the Federal Register 

on September 7, 2023 (88 FR 61527), 

NIST requested information on behalf of 

the U.S. Department of Commerce and 

the U.S. Government to support the 

development of an implementation plan 

for the United States Government 

National Standards Strategy for Critical 

and Emerging Technology (USG 

NSSCET). The USG NSSCET is intended 

to support and complement existing 

private sector-led activities and plans, 

including the American National 

Standards Institute (ANSI) United States 

Standards Strategy (USSS), with a focus 

on critical and emerging technology(ies) 

(CET). The U.S. standards development 

system is unique because it is built 

upon a wide variety of processes that 

are open, voluntary, decentralized, and 

led by the private sector. These 

processes feature openness to 

participation by materially interested 

stakeholders with consensus-based 

decision making. Finalized standards 


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