Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Notices 333 

11See Petitioner’s Letter, ‘‘Petitioner’s Request for 

Postponement of the Final Determinations,’’ dated 

November 21, 2023. 

12See Haurtyi’s Letter, ‘‘Request for Extension of 

Final Determination,’’ dated December 13, 2023. 

13Paper sacks or bags with handles made of 

braided or twisted materials, such as rope or cord, 

do not qualify for this exclusion. 

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, Commerce 

intends to hold the hearing 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 

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. 

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.210(e)(2), 

Commerce requires that requests 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 November 21, 2023, the Coalition 

For Fair Trade in Shopping Bags (the 

petitioner) requested that Commerce 

postpone the final determination in the 

event of a negative preliminary 

determination.11 On December 13, 2023, 

Haurtyi requested that Commerce 

postpone the final determination and 

that provisional measures be extended 

to a period not to exceed six months.12

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 exporter accounts for a 

significant proportion of exports of the 

subject merchandise; and (3) no 

compelling reasons for denial exist, 

Commerce is postponing the final 

determination and extending the 

provisional measures from a four-month 

period to a period not greater than six 

months. Accordingly, Commerce will 

make its final determination no later 

than 135 days after the date of 

publication of this preliminary 

determination. 

U.S. International Trade Commission 

Notification 

In accordance with section 733(f) of 

the Act, Commerce will notify the 

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 Taiwan are 

materially injuring, or threaten material 

injury to, the U.S. industry. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This preliminary 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: December 27, 2023. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy 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 

• Paper sacks or bags (i) with non-paper 

handles made wholly of woven ribbon or 

other similar woven fabric 13 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). 

This 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. Period of Investigation 

IV. Use of Facts Available With Adverse 

Inferences 

V. Discussion of the Methodology 

VI. Critical Circumstances 

VII. Currency Conversion 

VIII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–28943 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–557–825] 

Certain Paper Shopping Bags From 

Malaysia: Preliminary Affirmative 

Determination of Sales at Less-ThanFair-Value 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 

determines that certain paper shopping 

bags (paper bags) from Malaysia are 

being, or are likely to be, sold in the 

United States at less than fair value 

(LTFV). The period of investigation 

(POI) is April 1, 2022, through March 

31, 2023. Interested parties are invited 

to comment on this preliminary 

determination. 

DATES: Applicable January 3, 2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan 

Alexander, AD/CVD Operations, 

Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–4313. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
334 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Notices 

1See Certain Paper Shopping Bags From 

Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, 

Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, the 

Republic of Turkey, and the Socialist Republic of 

Vietnam: Initiation of Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigations, 88 FR 41589, (June 27, 2023) 

(Initiation Notice). 

2See Certain Paper Shopping Bags from 

Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, 

Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, the 

Republic of Turkey, and the Socialist Republic of 

Vietnam: Postponement of Preliminary 

Determinations in the Less-Than-Fair-Value 

Investigations, 88 FR 68097, (October 3, 2023). 

3See Memorandum, ‘‘Decision Memorandum for 

the Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales 

at Less Than Fair Value in the Investigation of 

Certain Paper Shopping Bags from Malaysia,’’ dated 

concurrently with, and hereby adopted by, this 

notice (Preliminary Decision Memorandum). 

4See Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties: 

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

5See Initiation Notice, 88 FR at 41590. 

6See Memorandum, ‘‘Preliminary Scope Decision 

Memorandum,’’ dated December 27, 2023 

(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum). 

7With two respondents under examination, 

Commerce normally calculates: (A) a weightedaverage of the estimated weighted-average dumping 

margins calculated for the examined respondents; 

(B) a simple average of the estimated weightedaverage dumping margins calculated for the 

examined respondents; and (C) a weighted-average 

of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins 

calculated for the examined respondents using each 

company’s publicly ranged U.S. sale quantities for 

the merchandise under consideration. Commerce 

then compares (B) and (C) to (A) and selects the rate 

closer to (A) as the most appropriate rate for all 

other producers and exporters. See, e.g., Ball 

Bearings and Parts Thereof from France, Germany, 

Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom: Final Results 

of Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews, Final 

Results of Changed-Circumstances Review, and 

Revocation of an Order in Part, 75 FR 53661, 53663 

(September 1, 2010), and accompanying Issues and 

Decision Memorandum at Comment 1; see also 

Memorandum, ‘‘All-Others Rate Calculation,’’ dated 

concurrently with this notice. 

Background 

This preliminary determination is 

made in accordance with section 733(b) 

of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended 

(the Act). Commerce published the 

notice of initiation of this investigation 

in the Federal Register on June 27, 

2023.1 On October 3, 2023, Commerce 

postponed the preliminary 

determination of this investigation until 

December 27, 2023.2

For a complete description of the 

events that followed the initiation of 

this investigation, see the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum.3 A list of topics 

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 

Malaysia. 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, Commerce set aside a period of 

time for parties to raise issues regarding 

product coverage (i.e., scope).5 Certain 

interested parties commented on the 

scope of the investigation as it appeared 

in the Initiation Notice. For a summary 

of the product coverage comments and 

rebuttal responses submitted to the 

record for this investigation and 

accompanying discussion and analysis 

of all comments timely received, see the 

Preliminary Scope Decision 

Memorandum.6 As discussed in the 

Preliminary Scope Decision 

Memorandum, Commerce preliminarily 

modified the scope language as it 

appeared in the Initiation Notice. In the 

Preliminary Scope Decision 

Memorandum, Commerce established 

the deadlines for parties to submit scope 

case and rebuttal briefs. 

Methodology 

Commerce is conducting this 

investigation in accordance with section 

731 of the Act. Constructed export price 

is calculated in accordance with section 

772 of the Act. Normal value is 

calculated in accordance with section 

773 of the Act. Furthermore, pursuant to 

sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act, 

Commerce preliminarily has relied 

upon facts otherwise available, with 

adverse inferences (AFA), to assign a 

dumping margin for Kooka Paper 

Manufacturing Sdn. Bhd. (Kooka). For a 

full description of the methodology 

underlying the preliminary 

determination, see the Preliminary 

Decision Memorandum. 

All-Others Rate 

Sections 733(d)(1)(A)(ii) and 

735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provide that in 

the preliminary determination 

Commerce 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 

weighted-average 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, Commerce has 

preliminarily determined the estimated 

weighted-average dumping margin for 

Kooka under section 776 of the Act. 

Commerce calculated estimated 

weighted-average dumping margins that 

are above de minimis for the mandatory 

respondents, Nanwang and Hexachase. 

Therefore, Commerce calculated the allothers rate by weight-averaging the 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margins that it calculated for the 

individually examined respondents. 

Commerce weight-averaged these 

dumping margins using the publicly 

ranged total quantities of each 

respondent’s sales of subject 

merchandise to the United States during 

the POI.7

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated weightedaverage dumping margins exist: 

Exporter/producer 

Weightedaverage 

dumping 

margin 

(percent) 

Hexachase Packaging Sdn. Bhd 3.10 

Nanwang Pack (M) Sdn. Bhd ..... 67.94 

Kooka Paper Manufacturing 

Sdn. Bhd ................................. * 112.22 

All others ..................................... 35.52 

* Rate based on AFA. 

Disclosure 

Commerce intends to disclose its 

calculations and analysis performed in 

connection with this preliminary 

determination to interested parties 

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). 

Suspension of Liquidation 

In accordance with section 733(d)(2) 

of the Act, Commerce 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), Commerce 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 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Notices 335 

8See 19 CFR 351.309(d); see also Administrative 

Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 

88 FR 67069, 67077 (September 29, 2023) (APO and 

Service Final Rule). 9See 19 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2). 10We use the term ‘‘issue’’ here to describe an 

argument that Commerce would normally address 

in a comment of the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum. 11See APO and Service Final Rule. 

12Paper sacks or bags with handles made of 

braided or twisted materials, such as rope or cord, 

do not qualify for this exclusion. 

weighted-average dumping margin 

determined in this preliminary 

determination; (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. 

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 

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 not later than five days after 

the date for filing case briefs.8 Interested 

parties who submit case or rebuttal 

briefs in this proceeding must submit: 

(1) a table of contents listing each issue; 

and (2) a table of authorities.9

As provided under 19 CFR 

351.309(c)(2) and d(2), in prior 

proceedings we have encouraged 

interested parties to provide an 

executive summary of their brief that 

should be limited to five pages total, 

including footnotes. In this 

investigation, we instead request that 

interested parties provide at the 

beginning of their briefs a public, 

executive summary for each issue raised 

in their briefs.10 Further, we request that 

interested parties limit their executive 

summary of each issue to no more than 

450 words, not including citations. We 

intend to use the executive summaries 

as the basis of the comment summaries 

included in the issues and decision 

memorandum that will accompany the 

final determination in this investigation. 

We request that interested parties 

include footnotes for relevant citations 

in the executive summary of each issue. 

Note that Commerce has amended 

certain of its requirements pertaining to 

the service of documents in 19 CFR 

351.303(f).11

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, Commerce 

intends to hold the hearing at a time and 

date to be determined. Parties should 

confirm the date and time of the hearing 

two days before the scheduled date. 

U.S. International Trade Commission 

Notification 

In accordance with section 733(f) of 

the Act, Commerce will notify the U.S. 

International Trade Commission (ITC) of 

its preliminary determination of sales at 

LTFV. 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 the subject 

merchandise 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: December 27, 2023. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy 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 

• Paper sacks or bags (i) with non-paper 

handles made wholly of woven ribbon or 

other similar woven fabric 12 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). 

This 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. Period of Investigation 

IV. Application of Facts Available and Use of 

Adverse Inferences 

V. Discussion of the Methodology 

VI. Currency Conversion 

VII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–28941 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1