Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 45215 

1Certain Plastic Decorative Ribbon from the 

People’s Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative 

Countervailing Duty Determination and Alignment 

of Final Determination with Final Antidumping 

Duty Determination, 83 FR 29096 (June 22, 2018) 

(Preliminary CVD Determination). 

2See Scope Comments Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum, dated July 30, 2018. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This determination is issued and 

published in accordance with sections 

733(f) and 777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 

CFR 351.205(c). 

Dated: August 29, 2018. 

Christian Marsh, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix I 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products subject to this investigation 

are bands made of vulcanized rubber, with a 

flat length, as actually measured end-to-end 

by the band lying flat, no less than 1⁄2 inch 

and no greater than 10 inches; with a width, 

which measures the dimension 

perpendicular to the length, actually of at 

least 3⁄64 inch and no greater than 2 inches; 

and a wall thickness actually from 0.020 inch 

to 0.125 inch. Vulcanized rubber has been 

chemically processed into a more durable 

material by the addition of sulfur or other 

equivalent curatives or accelerators. Subject 

products are included regardless of color or 

inclusion of printed material on the rubber 

band’s surface, including but not limited to, 

rubber bands with printing on them, such as 

a product name, advertising, or slogan, and 

printed material (e.g., a tag) fastened to the 

rubber band by an adhesive or another 

temporary type of connection. The scope 

includes vulcanized rubber bands which are 

contained or otherwise exist in various forms 

and packages, such as, without limitation, 

vulcanized rubber bands included within a 

desk accessory set or other type of set or 

package, and vulcanized rubber band balls. 

The scope excludes products that consist of 

an elastomer loop and durable tag all-in-one, 

and bands that are being used at the time of 

import to fasten an imported product. 

Excluded from the scope of this 

investigation are vulcanized rubber bands of 

various sizes with arrow shaped rubber 

protrusions from the outer diameter that 

exceeds at the anchor point a wall thickness 

of 0.125 inches and where the protrusion is 

used to loop around, secure and lock in 

place. 

Excluded from the scope of this 

investigation are yarn/fabric-covered 

vulcanized rubber hair bands, regardless of 

size. 

Merchandise covered by this investigation 

is currently classified in the Harmonized 

Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 

under subheading 4016.99.3510. 

Merchandise covered by the scope may also 

enter under HTSUS subheading 

4016.99.6050. While the HTSUS subheadings 

are provided for convenience and customs 

purposes, the written description of the 

scope of the investigation is dispositive. 

Appendix II 

List of Topics Discussed in the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Period of Investigation 

IV. Scope Comments 

V. Discussion of the Methodology 

A. Non-Market Economy Country 

B. China-Wide Entity 

C. Use of Facts Otherwise Available With 

an Adverse Inference 

D. Application of Facts Available 

E. Application of Facts Available With an 

Adverse Inference 

F. Selection and Corroboration of the AFA 

Rate 

G. Preliminary Affirmative Determination 

of Critical Circumstances 

1. Legal Framework 

2. Critical Circumstances Allegation 

3. Analysis 

VI. Adjustment under Section 777a(F) of the 

Act 

VII. Adjustments to Cash Deposit Rates for 

Export Subsidies 

VIII. Verification 

IX. Conclusion 

[FR Doc. 2018–19333 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[C–570–076] 

Certain Plastic Decorative Ribbon 

From the People’s Republic of China: 

Amended Preliminary Affirmative 

Countervailing Duty Determination 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: On June 22, 2018, the 

Department of Commerce (Commerce) 

published in the Federal Register the 

preliminary determination of the 

countervailing duty (CVD) investigation 

on certain plastic decorative ribbon 

(plastic ribbon) from the People’s 

Republic of China (China). Commerce is 

amending the scope of the preliminary 

determination. 

DATES: Applicable September 6, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mark Hoadley, AD/CVD Operations, 

Office VII, Enforcement and 

Compliance, International Trade 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 

(202) 482–3148. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 

22, 2018, Commerce published in the 

Federal Register the preliminary 

determination of the CVD investigation 

of plastic ribbon.1 On August 2, 2018, 

Commerce placed on the record of this 

investigation a preliminary decision 

memorandum addressing all comments 

received in this proceeding and the 

companion antidumping proceeding 

regarding the scope of the 

investigations.2 In accordance with the 

comments discussed in the 

memorandum, we made certain changes 

to the scope of these investigations. The 

changes include a revision to part b) of 

clause 4 in paragraph 5, and the 

exclusion of certain shredded plastic 

film or shredded plastic strip from the 

investigations. The revised scope is 

printed in its entirety below. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The merchandise covered by this 

investigation is certain plastic 

decorative ribbon having a width 

(measured at the narrowest span of the 

ribbon) of less than or equal to four (4) 

inches in actual measurement, 

including but not limited to ribbon 

wound onto itself; a spool, a core or a 

tube (with or without flanges); attached 

to a card or strip; wound into a keg- or 

egg-shaped configuration; made into 

bows, bow-like items, or other shapes or 

configurations; and whether or not 

packaged or labeled for retail sale. The 

subject merchandise is typically made 

of substrates of polypropylene, but may 

be made in whole or in part of any type 

of plastic, including without limitation, 

plastic derived from petroleum products 

and plastic derived from cellulose 

products. Unless the context otherwise 

clearly indicates, the word ‘‘ribbon’’ 

used in the singular includes the plural 

and the plural ‘‘ribbons’’ includes the 

singular. 

The subject merchandise includes 

ribbons comprised of one or more layers 

of substrates made, in whole or in part, 

of plastics adhered to each other, 

regardless of the method used to adhere 

the layers together, including without 

limitation, ribbons comprised of layers 

of substrates adhered to each other 

through a lamination process. Subject 

merchandise also includes ribbons 

comprised of (a) one or more layers of 

substrates made, in whole or in part, of 

plastics adhered to (b) one or more 

layers of substrates made, in whole or in 

part, of non-plastic materials, including, 

without limitation, substrates made, in 

whole or in part, of fabric. 

The ribbons subject to this 

investigation may be of any color or 

combination of colors (including 

without limitation, ribbons that are 

transparent, translucent or opaque) and 

may or may not bear words or images, 

including without limitation, those of a 

holiday motif. The subject merchandise 


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45216 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 

3See Memorandum from Kaitlin Wojnar, 

‘‘Countervailing Duty Investigation of Plastic 

Decorative Ribbon from the People’s Republic of 

China: Extension of Briefing Schedule and 

Clarification Regarding Scope Issues,’’ dated July 

24, 2018. 

4See Scope Comments Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum at 5. 

includes ribbons with embellishments 

and/or treatments, including, without 

limitation, ribbons that are printed, hotstamped, coated, laminated, flocked, 

crimped, die-cut, embossed (or that 

otherwise have impressed designs, 

images, words or patterns), and ribbons 

with holographic, metallic, glitter or 

iridescent finishes. 

Subject merchandise includes ‘‘pullbows’’ an assemblage of ribbons 

connected to one another, folded flat, 

and equipped with a means to form 

such ribbons into the shape of a bow by 

pulling on a length of material affixed 

to such assemblage, and ‘‘pre-notched’’ 

bows, an assemblage of notched ribbon 

loops arranged one inside the other with 

the notches in alignment and affixed to 

each other where notched, and which 

the end user forms into a bow by 

separating and spreading the loops 

circularly around the notches, which 

form the center of the bow. Subject 

merchandise includes ribbons that are 

packaged with non-subject 

merchandise, including ensembles that 

include ribbons and other products, 

such as gift wrap, gift bags, gift tags and/ 

or other gift packaging products. The 

ribbons are covered by the scope of this 

investigation; the ‘‘other products’’ (i.e., 

the other, non-subject merchandise 

included in the ensemble) are not 

covered by the scope of this 

investigation. 

Excluded from the scope of this 

investigation are the following: (1) 

Ribbons formed exclusively by weaving 

plastic threads together; (2) ribbons that 

have metal wire in, on, or along the 

entirety of each of the longitudinal 

edges of the ribbon; (3) ribbons with an 

adhesive coating covering the entire 

span between the longitudinal edges of 

the ribbon for the entire length of the 

ribbon; (4) ribbon formed into a bow 

without a tab or other means for 

attaching the bow to an object using 

adhesives, where the bow has: (a) An 

outer layer that is either flocked or made 

of fabric, and (b) a flexible metal wire 

at the base which permits attachment to 

an object by twist-tying; (5) elastic 

ribbons, meaning ribbons that elongate 

when stretched and return to their 

original dimension when the stretching 

load is removed; (6) ribbons affixed as 

a decorative detail to non-subject 

merchandise, such as a gift bag, gift box, 

gift tin, greeting card or plush toy, or 

affixed (including by tying) as a 

decorative detail to packaging 

containing non-subject merchandise; (7) 

ribbons that are (a) affixed to nonsubject merchandise as a working 

component of such non-subject 

merchandise, such as where the ribbon 

comprises a book marker, bag cinch, or 

part of an identity card holder, or (b) 

affixed (including by tying) to nonsubject merchandise as a working 

component that holds or packages such 

non-subject merchandise or attaches 

packaging or labeling to such nonsubject merchandise, such as a ‘‘belly 

band’’ around a pair of pajamas, a pair 

of socks or a blanket; (8) imitation raffia 

made of plastics having a thickness not 

more than one (1) mil when measured 

in an unfolded/untwisted state; and (9) 

ribbons in the form of bows having a 

diameter of less than seven-eighths (7⁄8) 

of an inch, or having a diameter of more 

than 16 inches, based on actual 

measurement. For purposes of this 

exclusion, the diameter of a bow is 

equal to the diameter of the smallest 

circular ring through which the bow 

will pass without compressing the bow. 

The scope of the investigation is not 

intended to include shredded plastic 

film or shredded plastic strip, in each 

case where the shred does not exceed 5 

mm in width and does not exceed 18 

inches in length, imported in bags. 

Further, excluded from the scope of 

the antidumping duty investigation are 

any products covered by the existing 

antidumping duty order on 

polyethylene terephthalate film, sheet, 

and strip (PET Film) from the People’s 

Republic of China (China). See 

Polyethylene Terephthalate Film, Sheet, 

and Strip from Brazil, the People’s 

Republic of China and the United Arab 

Emirates: Antidumping Duty Orders and 

Amended Final Determination of Sales 

at Less Than Fair Value for the United 

Arab Emirates, 73 FR 66595 (November 

10, 2008). 

Merchandise covered by this 

investigation is currently classified in 

the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

United States (HTSUS) under 

subheadings 3920.20.0015 and 

3926.40.0010. Merchandise covered by 

this investigation also may enter under 

subheadings 3920.10.0000; 

3920.20.0055; 3920.30.0000; 

3920.43.5000; 3920.49.0000; 

3920.62.0050; 3920.62.0090; 

3920.69.0000; 3921.90.1100; 

3921.90.1500; 3921.90.1910; 

3921.90.1950; 3921.90.4010; 

3921.90.4090; 3926.90.9996; 

5404.90.0000; 9505.90.4000; 

4601.99.9000; 4602.90.0000; 

5609.00.3000; 5609.00.4000; and 

6307.90.9889. These HTSUS 

subheadings are provided for 

convenience and customs purposes; the 

written description of the scope of this 

investigation is dispositive. 

Suspension of Liquidation 

Pursuant to the Preliminary CVD 

Determination, Commerce previously 

suspended liquidation of certain plastic 

decorative ribbon from China entered, 

or withdrawn from warehouse, for 

consumption on or after June 22, 2018 

(the publication of the Preliminary CVD 

Determination in the Federal Register). 

Commerce will now instruct Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 

liquidation of certain plastic decorative 

ribbon from China, as defined by the 

revised scope language included above, 

entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, 

for consumption on or after the 

publication of this amended preliminary 

determination in the Federal Register. 

Commerce will also instruct CBP to lift 

suspension of certain shredded plastic 

film or shredded plastic strip, as defined 

above, now excluded from the 

investigation. 

Public Comment 

Commerce has previously set August 

13, 2018, as the deadline for case briefs 

and August 20, 2018 as the deadline for 

rebuttal briefs regarding the CVD 

preliminary determination.3 Commerce 

has set a separate deadline for scope 

comments for both the antidumping and 

CVD proceedings.4 The current deadline 

for case briefs regarding scope issues is 

August 30, 2018, and the current 

deadline for rebuttal briefs regarding 

scope issues is September 4, 2018. 

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and 

(d)(2), parties who submit case briefs 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. 

International Trade Commission 

Notification 

In accordance with section 703(f) of 

the Act, Commerce will notify the 

International Trade Commission (ITC) of 

its amended preliminary determination. 

If Commerce’s final determination is 

affirmative, the ITC will make its final 

determination before the later of 120 

days after the date of this preliminary 

determination or 45 days after 

Commerce’s final determination. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This determination is issued and 

published pursuant to sections 705(d) 

and 777(i) of the Act. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 45217 

1See Letter from the petitioner, ‘‘Petition for the 

Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing 

Duties: Rubber Bands from Thailand, China, and Sri 

Lanka,’’ dated January 30, 2018 (Petition). 

2See Rubber Bands from Thailand, the People’s 

Republic of China, and Sri Lanka: Initiation of 

Countervailing Duty Investigations, 83 FR 8429 

(February 27, 2018) (Initiation Notice), and 

accompanying Initiation Checklist. 

3See Rubber Bands from the People’s Republic of 

China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty 

Determination and Alignment of Final 

Determination with Final Antidumping 

Determination, 83 FR 31729 (July 9, 2018) 

(Preliminary Determination), and accompanying 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM). 

Dated: August 29, 2018. 

Christian Marsh, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19336 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

President’s Advisory Council on Doing 

Business in Africa 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Commerce, 

International Trade Administration. 

ACTION: Notice of an open meeting of the 

President’s Advisory Council on Doing 

Business in Africa (PAC–DBIA or 

Council). 

SUMMARY: The President’s Advisory 

Council on Doing Business in Africa 

will hold the final meeting of its term 

to deliberate and consider adopting a 

report containing recommendations to 

the President on actions the United 

States Government could take to 

mitigate obstacles that U.S. companies 

face in doing business in Africa, as well 

as findings from the Council’s June 24– 

July 5, 2018 Fact-Finding Trip to 

Ethiopia, Kenya, Coˆte d’Ivoire and 

Ghana, countries the Council identified 

as holding particular promise of 

business opportunities for U.S. 

companies, that was led by Commerce 

Secretary Wilbur Ross and Under 

Secretary for International Trade Gil 

Kaplan. The recommendations in the 

Council’s report may include updates to 

recommendations the Council 

previously adopted on April 18, 2018 

for Ethiopia, Kenya, Coˆte d’Ivoire and 

Ghana, new recommendations that 

focus on those or other African 

countries, and recommendations that 

apply to the African region broadly. 

The Secretary of Commerce extended 

the appointments of the members of the 

PAC–DBIA by 60 days, to expire on 

November 5, 2018, to allow the Council 

sufficient time to complete its final 

report following the Fact-Finding Trip. 

The final agenda for the meeting will 

be posted at least one week in advance 

of the meeting on the Council’s website 

at http://trade.gov/pac-dbia. 

DATES: September 26, 2018, 9:30 a.m.– 

11:30 a.m. 

ADDRESSES: The President’s Advisory 

Council on Doing Business in Africa 

meeting will be broadcast via live 

webcast on the internet at http://

whitehouse.gov/live. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Giancarlo Cavallo or Ashley Bubna, 

Designated Federal Officers, President’s 

Advisory Council on Doing Business in 

Africa, Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Ave. NW, Room 22004, 

Washington, DC, 20230, telephone: 202– 

482–2091, email: dbia@trade.gov, 

Giancarlo.Cavallo@trade.gov, 

Ashley.Bubna@trade.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background: The Council was 

established on November 4, 2014, to 

advise the President, through the 

Secretary of Commerce, on 

strengthening commercial engagement 

between the United States and Africa. 

The Council’s charter was renewed for 

a second, two-year term in September 

2017. The Council was established in 

accordance with the provisions of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, as 

amended, 5 U.S.C. App. 

Public Submissions: The public is 

invited to submit written statements to 

the Council. Statements must be 

received by 5:00 p.m. September 19, 

2018 by either of the following methods: 

a. Electronic Submissions 

Submit statements electronically to 

Giancarlo Cavallo and Ashley Bubna, 

Designated Federal Officers, President’s 

Advisory Council on Doing Business in 

Africa, via email: dbia@trade.gov. 

b. Paper Submissions 

Send paper statements to Giancarlo 

Cavallo and Ashley Bubna, Designated 

Federal Officers, President’s Advisory 

Council on Doing Business in Africa, 

Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Ave. NW, Room 22004, 

Washington, DC, 20230. 

Statements will be provided to the 

members in advance of the meeting for 

consideration and also will be posted on 

the Council website (http://trade.gov/ 

pac-dbia). Any business proprietary 

information should be clearly 

designated as such. All statements 

received, including attachments and 

other supporting materials, are part of 

the public record and subject to public 

disclosure. 

Meeting minutes: Copies of the 

Council’s meeting minutes will be 

available within ninety (90) days of the 

meeting on the Council’s website at 

http://trade.gov/pac-dbia. 

Dated: August 30, 2018. 

Fred Stewart, 

Director, Office of Africa. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19346 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DR–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[C–570–070] 

Rubber Bands From the People’s 

Republic of China: Preliminary 

Affirmative Determination of Critical 

Circumstances, in Part, in the 

Countervailing Duty Investigation, and 

Amendment to the Scope of the 

Preliminary Determination in the 

Countervailing Duty Investigation 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

(Commerce) has preliminarily 

determined that critical circumstances 

exist with respect to imports of rubber 

bands from certain producers and 

exporters from the People’s Republic of 

China (China). Further, Commerce has 

amended the scope of the countervailing 

duty (CVD) investigation on rubber 

bands from China. 

DATES: Applicable September 6, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Kristen Johnson, AD/CVD Operations, 

Office III, Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20230; telephone (202) 482–4793. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On January 30, 2018, Commerce 

received a CVD petition concerning 

imports of rubber bands from China 

filed in proper form on behalf of 

Alliance Rubber Co. (the petitioner).1

The investigation was initiated on 

February 20, 2018,2 and the affirmative 

Preliminary Determination was 

published on July 9, 2018.3

Commerce selected Graceful Imp. & 

Exp. Co., Ltd. (Graceful), Moyoung 

Trading Co., Ltd. (Moyoung), and 

Ningbo Syloon Imp & Exp Co., Ltd. 

(Ningbo Syloon) (collectively, the 

mandatory respondents) as the 

individually-examined respondents in 


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