Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Notices 331 

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 in the 

Less-Than-Fair-Value Investigation of Certain Paper 

Shopping Bags from Taiwan,’’ 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 41590. 

6See Memorandum, ‘‘Preliminary Scope Decision 

Memorandum,’’ dated concurrently with this notice 

(Preliminary Scope Decision Memorandum). 

Dated: December 27, 2023. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix 

List of Topics Discussed in the Issues and 

Decision Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Scope of the Order 

IV. History of the Order 

V. Legal Framework 

VI. Discussion of the Issues 

1. Likelihood of Continuation or 

Recurrence of Dumping 

2. Magnitude of the Margin Likely to 

Prevail 

VII. Final Results of Sunset Review 

VIII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–28946 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–583–872] 

Certain Paper Shopping Bags From 

Taiwan: Preliminary Affirmative 

Determination of Sales at Less Than 

Fair Value, Preliminary Affirmative 

Determination of Critical 

Circumstances, Postponement of Final 

Determination, and Extension of 

Provisional Measures 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily 

determines that that certain paper 

shopping bags (paper bags) from Taiwan 

are being, or are likely to be, sold in the 

United States at less than fair value 

(LTFV). The period of investigation 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: 

Nathan James, AD/CVD Operations, 

Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 

Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482–5305. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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 certain paper shopping 

bags from Taiwan. 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 in 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 deadline for parties to 

submit scope case and rebuttal briefs. 

Methodology 

Commerce is conducting this 

investigation in accordance with section 

731 of the Act. Commerce has 

calculated export prices for Haurtyi 

Paper Bag Co. (Haurtyi) in accordance 

with section 772(a) of the Act. Normal 

value for Haurtyi is calculated in 

accordance with section 773 of the Act. 

Furthermore, pursuant to sections 

776(a) and (b) of the Act, Commerce has 

preliminarily relied on facts otherwise 

available, with adverse inferences 

(AFA), for Juang Jia Guoo Co., Ltd. (JJG). 

For a full description of the 

methodology underlying the 

preliminary determination, see the 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum. 

Preliminary Affirmative Determination 

of Critical Circumstances 

In accordance with section 733(e) of 

the Act and 19 CFR 351.206(c), 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that critical circumstances exist with 

respect to imports of paper bags from 

Taiwan for JJG and for all other 

producers and exporters. For a full 

description of the methodology and 

results of Commerce’s critical 

circumstances analysis, 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 

a 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 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. 

Where the rates for individually 

investigated companies are all zero or 

de minimis, or determined entirely 

using facts otherwise available, section 

735(c)(5)(B) of the Act instructs 

Commerce to rely on ‘‘any reasonable 

method to establish the estimated allothers rate for exporters and producers 

not individually investigated, including 

averaging the estimated weightedaverage dumping margins determined 


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

7See 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). 

8See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2) and (d)(2). 

9We use the term ‘‘issue’’ here to describe an 

argument that Commerce would normally address 

in a comment of the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum. 

10See APO and Service Final Rule. 

for the exporters and producers 

individually investigated.’’ 

Commerce has preliminarily 

determined the dumping margin for JJG 

under section 776 of the Act and has 

calculated an estimated weightedaverage dumping margin for Haurtyi of 

zero. Consequently, pursuant to section 

735(c)(5)(B) of the Act, we calculated 

the all-others rate based on a simple 

average of the zero percent dumping 

margin and the dumping margin based 

on AFA. 

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated weightedaverage dumping margins exist: 

Producer/exporter 

Weightedaverage 

dumping 

margin 

(percent) 

Haurtyi Paper Bag Co ................ 0.00 

Juang Jia Guoo Co., Ltd ............ * 60.26 

All Others .................................... 30.13 

* Rate based on AFA. 

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 allothers rate, as follows: (1) the cash 

deposit rates for the respondents listed 

above will be equal to the companyspecific estimated weighted-average 

dumping margins 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 weightedaverage 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 all-others 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margin. 

Section 733(e)(2) of the Act provides 

that, given an affirmative determination 

of critical circumstances, any 

suspension of liquidation shall apply to 

unliquidated entries of subject 

merchandise entered, or withdrawn 

from warehouse, for consumption on or 

after the later of: (a) the date which is 

90 days before the date on which the 

suspension of liquidation was first 

ordered; or (b) the date on which notice 

of initiation of the investigation was 

published. Commerce preliminarily 

finds that critical circumstances exist 

for imports of subject merchandise 

produced or exported by JJG. In 

accordance with section 733(e)(2)(A) of 

the Act, the suspension of liquidation 

shall apply to unliquidated entries of 

shipments of subject merchandise from 

the producer/exporter identified in this 

paragraph that were entered, or 

withdrawn from warehouse, for 

consumption on or after the date which 

is 90 days before the publication of this 

notice. 

Because the estimated weightedaverage dumping margin for Haurtyi is 

zero, entries of shipments of subject 

merchandise from this company will 

not be subject to suspension of 

liquidation or cash deposit 

requirements. In such situations, 

Commerce applies the exclusion to the 

provisional measures to the producer/ 

exporter combination that was 

examined in the investigation. 

Accordingly, Commerce is directing 

CBP not to suspend liquidation of 

entries of subject merchandise produced 

and exported by Haurtyi. Entries of 

shipments of subject merchandise from 

Haurtyi in any other producer/exporter 

combination, or by third parties that 

sourced subject merchandise from the 

excluded producer/exporter 

combination, are subject to the 

provisional measures at the all-others 

rate. 

Should the final estimated weightedaverage dumping margin be zero or de 

minimis for Haurtyi, entries of 

shipments of subject merchandise 

produced and exported by the company 

will be excluded from the potential 

antidumping duty order. Such an 

exclusion would not be applicable to 

merchandise exported to the United 

States by this respondent in any other 

producer/exporter combination or by 

third parties that sourced subject 

merchandise from the excluded 

producer/exporter combination. These 

suspension of liquidation measures will 

remain in effect until further notice. 

Disclosure 

Commerce intends to disclose its 

calculations and analysis performed to 

interested parties in 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 the Federal Register, in accordance 

with 19 CFR 351.224(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 

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 the case briefs, may be 

filed not later than five days after the 

date for filing case briefs.7 Interested 

parties who submit case briefs or 

rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must 

submit: (1) a table of contents listing 

each issue; and (2) a table of 

authorities.8

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.9 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).10

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 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
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: 


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