45220 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 

1See Rubber Bands from the People’s Republic of 

China, Sri Lanka, and Thailand: Initiation of LessThan-Fair-Value Investigations, 83 FR 8424 

(February 27, 2018) (Initiation Notice). 

2See Rubber Bands from the People’s Republic of 

China and Thailand: Postponement of Preliminary 

Determinations in the Less-Than-FairValue 

Investigations, 83 FR 29748 (June 26, 2018). 

3See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Determination in the Less-ThanFair-Value Investigation of Rubber Bands from 

Thailand,’’ 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. 

6See Greenbrier’s and Conair’s letter, ‘‘Rubber 

Bands from, Thailand, China and Sri Lanka: Scope 

Comments,’’ dated March 12, 2018; Jafferjee’s letter, 

‘‘Rubber Bands from Thailand: Scope Comments,’’ 

dated March 12, 2018; and, the petitioner’s letter, 

‘‘Petition for the Imposition of Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duties on Rubber Bands from 

Thailand and China—Rebuttal Scope Comments,’’ 

dated March 22, 2018. 

7See Memorandum, ‘‘Rubber Bands from 

Thailand: Scope Comments Decision Memorandum 

for the Preliminary Determination,’’ dated 

concurrently with this notice (Preliminary Scope 

Decision Memorandum). 

will send appropriate instructions to 

CBP to reflect these changes to the scope 

of the investigation. 

ITC Notification 

In accordance with section 703(f) of 

the Act, we will notify the ITC of this 

preliminary determination of critical 

circumstances. 

This determination is issued and 

published pursuant to sections 703(f) 

and 777(i)(1) of the Act. 

Dated: August 29, 2018. 

Christian Marsh, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix 

Amended 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. 

[FR Doc. 2018–19335 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–549–835] 

Rubber Bands From Thailand: 

Preliminary Affirmative Determination 

of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, 

Postponement of Final Determination, 

and Extension of Provisional Measures 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce 

(Commerce) preliminarily determines 

that rubber bands from Thailand are 

being or are likely to be sold in the 

United States at less than fair value 

(LTFV). The period of investigation 

(POI) is January 1, 2017, through 

December 31, 2017. Interested parties 

are invited to comment on this 

preliminary determination. 

DATES: Applicable September 6, 2018. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Laurel LaCivita or Stephanie Berger, 

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) 482–4243 or 

(202) 482–2483, respectively. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

This preliminary determination is 

made in accordance with section 733(b) 

of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 

(the Act). We published the notice of 

initiation of this investigation on 

February 27, 2018.1 On June 26, 2018, 

we postponed the preliminary 

determination of this investigation. The 

revised deadline is now August 29, 

2018.2 For a complete description of the 

events that followed the initiation of 

this investigation, see the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics 

included 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, and to all parties in the 

Central Records Unit, room B8024 of the 

main Department of Commerce 

building. In addition, a complete 

version of the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum can be accessed directly 

at http://enforcement.trade.gov/frn/. 

The signed and the electronic versions 

of the Preliminary Decision 

Memorandum are identical in content. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products covered by this 

investigation are rubber bands from 

Thailand. For a complete description of 

the scope of this investigation, see 

Appendix I. 

Scope Comments 

In accordance with the preamble to 

our regulations,4 the Initiation Notice 

set aside a period of time for parties to 

raise issues regarding product coverage 

(i.e., scope).5 Certain interested parties 

provided comments on the scope of the 

investigation as it appeared in the 

Initiation Notice.6 For a summary of the 

product coverage comments and 

rebuttal responses submitted to the 

record for this preliminary 

determination, and accompanying 

discussion and analysis of all comments 

timely received, see the Preliminary 

Scope Decision Memorandum.7 We are 

preliminarily modifying the scope 

language as it appeared in the Initiation 

Notice. See the revised scope in 

Appendix I to this notice. 

Methodology 

We are conducting this investigation 

in accordance with section 731 of the 

Act. We have calculated export prices in 

accordance with section 772(a) of the 

Act. Normal value (NV) is calculated in 

accordance with section 773 of the Act. 

For a full description of the 

methodology underlying the 

preliminary determination, see the 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 45221 

8See Memorandum, ‘‘Analysis Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Determination of the Antidumping 

Duty Investigation of Rubber Bands from Thailand: 

Liang Hah Heng International Rubber Co., Ltd. 

(Liang Hah Heng) and Hah Shung Heng Co. (Hah 

Shung Heng),’’ dated concurrently with this notice 

(Liang Hah Heng’s Preliminary Analysis 

Memorandum). 

9See Memorandum, ‘‘Analysis Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Determination of the Antidumping 

Duty Investigation of Rubber Bands from Thailand: 

U. Yong Industry Co., Ltd. (U. Yong),’’ dated 

concurrently with this notice (U. Yong’s 

Preliminary Analysis Memorandum). 

10We have preliminarily determined that Liang 

Hah Heng and its affiliated party, Hah Shung Heng 

Co. (Hah Shung Heng) are a single entity. See 

Memorandum, ‘‘Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation 

of Rubber Bands from Thailand: Affiliation and 

Collapsing Memorandum Regarding Liang Hah 

Heng International Rubber Co., Ltd. and Hah Shung 

Heng Co.,’’ dated July 20, 2018. 

11See Rubber Bands from Thailand: Preliminary 

Negative Countervailing Duty Determination and 

Alignment of Final Determination with Final 

Antidumping Duty Determination, 83 FR 31728 

(July 9, 2018). 

12See 19 CFR 351.309; see also 19 CFR 351.303 

(for general filing requirements). 

All-Others Rate 

Sections 733(d)(1)(ii) and 735(c)(5)(A) 

of the Act provide that in the 

preliminary determination we shall 

determine an estimated all-others rate 

for all exporters and producers not 

individually examined. This rate shall 

be an amount equal to the weighted 

average of the estimated weightedaverage dumping margins established 

for exporters and producers 

individually investigated, excluding any 

zero and de minimis margins, and any 

margins determined entirely under 

section 776 of the Act. 

In this investigation, we preliminarily 

determined a zero rate for Liang Hah 

Heng International Rubber Co., Ltd. 

(Liang Hah Heng).8 Therefore, the only 

rate that is not zero, de minimis or based 

entirely on facts otherwise available is 

the rate calculated for U. Yong Industry 

Co., Ltd. (U. Yong).9 Consequently, the 

rate calculated for U. Yong is also 

assigned as the rate for all-other 

producers and exporters. 

Preliminary Determination 

We preliminarily determine that the 

following estimated weighted-average 

dumping margins exist: 

Exporter/producer 

Estimated 

weightedaverage 

dumping 

margin 

(percent) 

Liang Hah Heng International 

Rubber Co., Ltd./Hah 

Shung Heng Co 10 ............ 0.00 

U. Yong Industry Co., Ltd ..... 5.86 

All Others .............................. 5.86 

Consistent with section 733(b)(3) of 

the Act, we disregard de minimis rates 

and preliminarily determine that 

individually examined respondents 

with de minimis rates have not made 

sales of subject merchandise at LTFV. 

Suspension of Liquidation 

In accordance with section 733(d)(2) 

of the Act, we will direct U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection (CBP) to suspend 

liquidation of entries of subject 

merchandise, as described in Appendix 

I, entered, or withdrawn from 

warehouse, for consumption on or after 

the date of publication of this notice in 

the Federal Register. Further, pursuant 

to section 733(d)(1)(B) of the Act and 19 

CFR 351.205(d), we will instruct CBP to 

require a cash deposit equal to the 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margin or the estimated all-others rate, 

as follows: (1) The cash deposit rate for 

the respondents listed above will be 

equal to the company-specific estimated 

weighted-average dumping margins 

determined in this preliminary 

determination, except if that rate is zero 

or de minimis, no cash deposit will be 

required; (2) if the exporter is not a 

respondent identified above, but the 

producer is, then the cash deposit rate 

will be equal to the company-specific 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margin established for that producer of 

the subject merchandise; and (3) the 

cash deposit rate for all-other producers 

and exporters will be equal to the allothers estimated weighted-average 

dumping margin. 

We normally adjust cash deposits for 

estimated antidumping duties by the 

amount of export subsidies 

countervailed in a companion 

countervailing duty (CVD) proceeding, 

when CVD provisional measures are in 

effect. Accordingly, where we 

preliminarily make an affirmative 

determination for countervailable export 

subsidies, we offset the estimated 

weighted-average dumping margin by 

the appropriate CVD rate. 

However, in the companion CVD 

preliminary determination, we have 

preliminarily determined that no 

countervailable subsidies are being 

provided to the production or 

exportation of subject merchandise, and 

therefore, we did not direct CBP to 

suspend liquidation of any such 

entries.11 Accordingly, we made no 

adjustment for the prohibited subsidy 

offset to the estimated weighted-average 

dumping margin. These suspension of 

liquidation instructions will remain in 

effect until further notice. 

Disclosure 

We intend to disclose to interested 

parties the calculations and analysis 

performed in connection with this 

preliminary 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 accordance 

with 19 CFR 351.224(b). 

Verification 

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

Act, we intend to verify information 

relied upon in making our final 

determination. 

Public Comment 

Case briefs or other written comments 

may be submitted to the Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance no later than seven days 

after the date on which the last 

verification report is issued in this 

investigation. Rebuttal briefs, limited to 

issues raised in case briefs, may be 

submitted no later than five days after 

the deadline date for case briefs.12

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. 

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, whether any 

participant is a foreign national, and a 

list of the issues to be discussed. If a 

request for a hearing is made, we intend 

to hold the hearing at the U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20230, at a time and date to be 

determined. Parties should confirm by 

telephone the date, time, and location of 

the hearing two days before the 

scheduled date. 

Postponement of Final Determination 

and Extension of Provisional Measures 

Section 735(a)(2) of the Act provides 

that a final determination may be 

postponed until not later than 135 days 

after the date of the publication of the 

preliminary determination if, in the 

event of an affirmative preliminary 

determination, a request for such 

postponement is made by exporters who 


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45222 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 173 / Thursday, September 6, 2018 / Notices 

13See Liang Hah Heng’s letter, ‘‘Rubber Bands 

from Thailand: Request to Extend the Deadline for 

the Final Determination,’’ dated July 31, 2018; U. 

Yong’s letter, ‘‘Rubber Bands from Thailand: 

Conditional Request for Extension of Final 

Determination,’’ dated August 1, 2018. 

14 Id. 

account for a significant proportion of 

exports of the subject merchandise, or in 

the event of a negative preliminary 

determination, a request for such 

postponement is made by the petitioner. 

Section 351.210(e)(2) of our regulations 

requires that a request by exporters for 

postponement of the final determination 

be accompanied by a request for 

extension of provisional measures from 

a four-month period to a period not 

more than six months in duration. 

On July 31, 2018, and August 1, 2018, 

in accordance with 19 CFR 

351.210(b)(2)(ii), Liang Hah Heng and U. 

Yong requested to postpone the final 

determination for a maximum of 135 

days after the date of publication of the 

preliminary determination in the 

Federal Register, in the event that we 

issued an affirmative preliminary 

determination.13 Liang Hah Heng and U. 

Yong, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), 

also requested an extension of 

provisional measures from a four-month 

period to a period not more than six 

months in duration.14 In accordance 

with section 735(a)(2)(A) of the Act and 

19 CFR 351.210(b)(2)(ii), because: (1) 

The preliminary determination is 

affirmative; (2) the requesting exporters 

account for a significant proportion of 

exports of the subject merchandise; and 

(3) no compelling reasons for denial 

exist, we are postponing the final 

determination and extending the 

provisional measures from a four-month 

period to a period not greater than six 

months. Accordingly, we will make our 

final determination no later than 135 

days after the date of publication of this 

preliminary determination. 

International Trade Commission 

Notification 

In accordance with section 733(f) of 

the Act, we will notify the International 

Trade Commission (ITC) of our 

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 these imports 

are materially injuring, or threaten 

material injury to, the U.S. industry. 

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. Postponement of Final Determination and 

Extension of Provisional Measures 

V. Scope Comments 

VI. Affiliation and Collapsing 

VII. Discussion of the Methodology 

A. Determination of the Comparison 

Method 

B. Results of the Differential Pricing 

Analysis 

VIII. Date of Sale 

IX. Product Comparisons 

X. Export Price 

XI. Normal Value 

A. Home Market Viability 

B. Affiliated-Party Transactions 

C. Level of Trade 

D. Cost of Production Analysis 

1. Cost Averaging Methodology 

a. Significance of Cost Changes 

b. Linkage Between Sales and Cost 

Information 

2. Calculation of COP 

3. Test of Comparison Market Sales Prices 

4. Results of the COP Test 

E. Calculation of NV Based on Comparison 

Market Prices 

F. Calculation of NV Based on Constructed 

Value 

XII. Currency Conversion 

XIII. Verification 

XIV. Conclusion 

[FR Doc. 2018–19332 Filed 9–5–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

RIN 0648–XG455 

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management 

Council (MAFMC); Public Meeting 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice; public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council’s Mackerel, Squid, 

and Butterfish Advisory Panel and 

Committee will hold a public meeting 

via webinar. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Monday September 24, 2018, from 10 

a.m. to 12 p.m. See SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION for agenda details. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held 

via webinar, which can be accessed at: 

http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/ 

chubapcom2/. Participants may also 

connect via telephone by calling 1–800– 

832–0736 and entering room number 

5068871. 

Council address: Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, 800 N. State 

Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901; 

telephone: (302) 674–2331; website: 

www.mafmc.org. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Christopher M. Moore, Ph.D., Executive 

Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery 

Management Council, telephone: (302) 

526–5255. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The MidAtlantic Fishery Management Council’s 


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