Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Notices 341 

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 Portugal,’’ dated concurrently 

with, and hereby adopted by, this notice 

(Preliminary Decision Memorandum). 

If a request for a hearing is made, 

Commerce intends 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 hearing date. 

Final Determination 

Section 735(a)(1) of the Act and 19 

CFR 351.210(b)(1) provide that 

Commerce will issue the final 

determination within 75 days after the 

date of its preliminary determination. 

Accordingly, Commerce will make its 

final determination no later than 75 

days after the signature date of this 

preliminary determination, unless 

extended. 

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. 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: 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 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. All-Others Rate 

VI. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–28944 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[A–471–808] 

Certain Paper Shopping Bags From 

Portugal: Preliminary Affirmative 

Determination of Sales at Less Than 

Fair Value, Preliminary Negative 

Determination of Critical 

Circumstances, and 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 certain paper shopping 

bags (paper bags) from Portugal 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: 

Colin Thrasher, 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) 482–3004. 

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. 


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

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). 

7Case briefs and rebuttal briefs submitted in 

response to this preliminary LTFV determination 

should not include scope-related issues. 

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. 

Scope of the Investigation 

The products covered by this 

investigation are paper bags from 

Portugal. 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 and constructed 

export prices in accordance with 

sections 772(a) and 772(b) of the Act. 

Normal value 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. 

Preliminary Negative 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 do not exist 

with respect to imports of paper bags 

from Portugal for Finieco Indu ́ stria e 

Come ́rcio de Embalagens, SA (Finieco) 

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 

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. 

Commerce calculated an individual 

estimated weighted-average dumping 

margin for Finieco, the only 

individually examined exporter/ 

producer in this investigation. Because 

the only individually calculated 

dumping margin is not zero, de 

minimis, or based entirely on facts 

otherwise available, the estimated 

weighted-average dumping margin 

calculated for Finieco is the margin 

assigned to all other producers and 

exporters, pursuant to section 

735(c)(5)(A) of the Act. 

Preliminary Determination 

Commerce preliminarily determines 

that the following estimated weightedaverage dumping margins exist: 

Producer/exporter 

Weightedaverage 

dumping 

margin 

(percent) 

Finieco Indu ́stria e Come ́rcio de 

Embalagens, SA ..................... 11.33 

All Others .................................... 11.33 

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). 

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 rate for the respondent listed 

above will be equal to the companyspecific estimated 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 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. These suspension of liquidation 

instructions will remain in effect until 

further notice. 

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 final 

verification report is issued in this 

investigation.7 Rebuttal briefs, limited to 

issues raised in case briefs, may be filed 

not later than five days after the date for 

filing case briefs.8 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.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 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 2 / Wednesday, January 3, 2024 / Notices 343 

11See APO and Service Final Rule. 

12See Petitioner’s Letter, ‘‘Certain Paper 

Shopping Bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, 

India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, and 

Vietnam/Petitioner’s Request for Postponement of 

the Final Determinations,’’ dated November 21, 

2023. 

13See Finieco’s Letter, ‘‘Request for 

Postponement of Final Determination,’’ dated 

December 14, 2023. 

14Paper sacks or bags with handles made of 

braided or twisted materials, such as rope or cord, 

do not qualify for this exclusion. 

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 date and 

time 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 

respondents for postponement of a final 

antidumping duty determination be 

accompanied by a request for extension 

of provisional measures from a fourmonth period to a period not more than 

six months in duration. 

On November 21, 2023, Coalition for 

Fair Trade in Shopping Bags (the 

petitioner) requested that Commerce 

postpone the final determination in the 

event of a negative preliminary 

determination.12 On December 14, 2023, 

Finieco also requested that Commerce 

postpone the final determination in the 

event of an affirmative preliminary 

determination and that provisional 

measures be extended to a period not to 

exceed 135 days.13 In accordance with 

section 735(a)(2)(B) of the Act, and 19 

CFR 351.210(b)(2)(i), because: (1) the 

preliminary determination is 

affirmative; (2) the requesting exporter 

has requested the postponement of the 

final determination; 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’s final 

determination will be issued no later 

than 135 days after the date of 

publication of this preliminary 

determination in the Federal Register, 

pursuant to section 735(a)(2) of the Act. 

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. 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: 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 14 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. Discussion of the Methodology 

V. Critical Circumstances 

VI. Currency Conversion 

VII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2023–28942 Filed 1–2–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1