Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 17 / Tuesday, January 28, 2025 / Notices 8281 

47See Administrative Protective Order, Service, 

and Other Procedures in Antidumping and 

Countervailing Duty Proceedings, 88 FR 67069 

(September 29, 2023). 

1See Certain Paper Plates from the People’s 

Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative 

Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary 

Affirmative Determination of Critical 

Circumstances, in Part, and Alignment of Final 

Determination With Final Antidumping Duty 

Determination, 89 FR 54432 (July 1, 2024) 

(Preliminary Determination), and accompanying 

Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM). 

2See Memorandum, ‘‘Tolling of Deadlines for 

Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 

Proceedings,’’ dated July 22, 2024. 

3See Memorandum, ‘‘Issues and Decision 

Memorandum for the Final Affirmative 

Determination in the Countervailing Duty 

Investigation of Certain Paper Plates from the 

People’s Republic of China,’’ dated concurrently 

with, and hereby adopted by, this notice (Issues and 

Decision Memorandum). 

4See sections 771(5)(B) and (D) of the Act 

regarding financial contribution; see also section 

771(5)(E) of the Act regarding benefit; and section 

771(5A) of the Act regarding specificity. 

requirements pertaining to the service of 

documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f).47

This notice is issued and published 

pursuant to sections 732(c)(2) and 777(i) 

of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.203(c). 

Dated: January 21, 2025. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix 

Scope of the Investigation 

The merchandise covered by the 

investigation is slag pots with a nominal 

capacity of 65 cubic feet to 1200 cubic feet 

regardless of shape, form, or finish. 

Slag pots are load bearing devices typically 

formed as a curved shell or bowl-shaped 

container. Slag pots are metallurgical goods 

typically produced either using a casting 

process or a fabrication process (e.g., 

welding) and may include a ceramic 

refractory coating, heat treatment or various 

finishes in order to handle high temperature 

slag. Slag pots may contain integral features 

or attachments including (1) legs (or a stand) 

and (2) pivotal mounting hooks or brackets. 

Legs (or a stand) are a fixed or detachable 

support structure which allows the slag pot 

to be securely positioned upright on a surface 

when not being lifted or transported and may 

also keep the slag pot off the ground and 

allow for air cooling. The pivotal mounting 

hooks and brackets are specialized 

attachment points (such as lifting lugs or 

trunnions) that allow the slag pot to be 

securely lifted and transported by a crane or 

lifting device, or that enable the slag pot to 

swing or rotate while remaining attached to 

the lifting mechanism. The merchandise 

covered by this investigation includes all 

aforementioned attachments of a fully 

assembled slag pot, regardless of whether 

shipped assembled or unassembled. 

Slag pots are included within the scope 

whether finished or unfinished, whether 

imported individually or with other subject 

or non-subject merchandise, or whether 

assembled with attachments or unassembled. 

Finishing includes, but is not limited to, arc 

washing, welding, grinding, shot blasting, 

heat treatment, machining, and assembly of 

various parts. 

The country of origin for slag pots whether 

fully assembled, unfinished or finished, is 

the country where the slag pot was cast or 

forged. Subject merchandise includes slag 

pots that have been further processed or 

further assembled in a third country. Further 

processing and further assembly include, but 

is not limited to, arc washing, welding, 

grinding, shot blasting, heat treatment, 

painting, coating, priming, machining, and 

assembly of attachments. 

Slag pots subject to the investigation are 

specified within the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) under 

subheading 7309.00.0090. The slag pot 

attachments covered by the scope of this 

investigation may enter under HTSUS 

subheadings 7316.00.0000, 7325.10.0080, 

7325.99.1000, 7325.99.5000, and 

7326.19.0080. The HTSUS subheading is 

provided for convenience and customs 

purposes only. The written description of the 

scope of the investigation is dispositive. 

[FR Doc. 2025–01793 Filed 1–27–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

International Trade Administration 

[C–570–165] 

Certain Paper Plates From the People’s 

Republic of China: Final Affirmative 

Countervailing Duty Determination and 

Final Affirmative Determination of 

Critical Circumstances, in Part 

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, 

International Trade Administration, 

Department of Commerce. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Commerce (Commerce) determines that 

countervailable subsidies are being 

provided to producers and exporters of 

certain paper plates (paper plates) from 

the People’s Republic of China (China). 

The period of investigation is January 1, 

2023, through December 31, 2023. 

DATES: Applicable January 28, 2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sun 

Cho, 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) 482–6458. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On July 1, 2024, Commerce published 

its Preliminary Determination in the 

Federal Register and invited interested 

parties to comment.1 On July 22, 2024, 

Commerce tolled certain deadlines in 

this administrative proceeding by seven 

days.2 The deadline for the final 

determination is now January 21, 2025. 

A summary of the events that 

occurred since Commerce published the 

Preliminary Determination, as well as a 

full discussion of the issues raised by 

parties for this final determination, may 

be found in the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum.3 The Issues and Decision 

Memorandum is a public document and 

is made available to the public 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 Issues and 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 plates from 

China. For a complete description of the 

scope of this investigation, see 

Appendix I. 

Scope Comments 

We received no comments from 

interested parties on the scope of the 

investigation as it appeared in the 

Preliminary Determination. Therefore, 

we made no changes to the scope of the 

investigation. 

Analysis of Subsidy Programs and 

Comments Received 

The subsidy programs under 

investigation, and the issues raised in 

the case and rebuttal briefs that were 

submitted by parties in this 

investigation, are discussed in the Issues 

and Decision Memorandum. For a list of 

the issues raised by interested parties 

and addressed in the Issues and 

Decision Memorandum, see Appendix 

II. 

Methodology 

Commerce conducted this 

investigation in accordance with section 

701 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 

amended (the Act). For each of the 

subsidy programs found to be 

countervailable, Commerce determines 

that there is a subsidy, i.e., a financial 

contribution by an ‘‘authority’’ that 

gives rise to a benefit to the recipient, 

and that the subsidy is specific.4 For a 

full description of the methodology 

underlying our final determination, see 

the Issues and Decision Memorandum. 

In making this final determination, 

Commerce relied, in part, on facts 

otherwise available, including with an 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
8282 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 17 / Tuesday, January 28, 2025 / Notices 

5See Preliminary Determination PDM at 8–32. 

6See Memoranda, ‘‘Verification of Fuzhou Hengli 

Paper Co., Ltd. Questionnaire Responses,’’ dated 

October 9, 2024; ‘‘Verification of Jinhua P&P 

Product Co., Ltd. Questionnaire Responses,’’ dated 

October 9, 2024; and ‘‘Export Buyer’s Credit 

Program Questionnaire Response Verification 

(Customer A),’’ dated October 9, 2024. 

7These companies are: (1) Ningbo Artcool Co., 

Ltd.; (2) Ningbo Fenghua Yongfa Printing Stationery 

Co., Ltd.; (3) Zhejiang Kingsun Eco-Pack Co., Ltd.; 

and (4) Zhejiang Lingrong Crafts Co., Ltd. 

8See Preliminary Determination PDM at 7. 9See Preliminary Determination, 89 FR at 54433. 

adverse inference (AFA), pursuant to 

sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act. For 

a full discussion of our application of 

AFA, see the Preliminary 

Determination,5 and the Issues and 

Decision Memorandum section entitled 

‘‘Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 

Application of Adverse Inferences.’’ 

Verification 

As provided in section 782(i) of the 

Act, in August and September 2024, we 

conducted verification of information 

submitted by Fuzhou Hengli Paper Co., 

Ltd. (Fuzhou Hengli) and Jinhua P&P 

Product Co., Ltd. (Jinhua P&P) for use in 

our final determination. We used 

standard verification procedures, 

including an examination of relevant 

accounting records, and original source 

documents provided by Fuzhou Hengli 

and Jinhua P&P.6

Final Affirmative Determination of 

Critical Circumstances, in Part 

Commerce preliminarily determined, 

in accordance with sections 703(e)(1)(A) 

and (B) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.206, 

that critical circumstances existed with 

respect to imports of subject 

merchandise for Fuzhou Hengli, the 

‘‘all-other’’ producers and/or exporters, 

and four companies who did not 

respond to our quantity and value 

questionnaire (hereinafter referred to as 

the ‘‘non-responsive companies’’),7 and 

did not exist for Jinhua P&P.8 For this 

final determination, in accordance with 

section 705(a)(2) of the Act, Commerce 

continues to find that critical 

circumstances exist with respect to 

imports of subject merchandise for 

Fuzhou Hengli, all-other producers and/ 

or exporters, and the non-responsive 

companies, and do not exist with 

respect to imports of subject 

merchandise for Jinhua P&P. For a full 

description of the methodology and 

results of our critical circumstances 

analysis, see the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum. 

Changes Since the Preliminary 

Determination 

Based on our analysis of the 

comments received from interested 

parties and our verification findings, we 

made certain changes to the subsidy rate 

calculations for Fuzhou Hengli and 

Jinhua P&P. For a discussion of these 

changes, see the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum. 

All-Others Rate 

Pursuant to section 705(c)(5)(A)(i) of 

the Act, Commerce will determine an 

all-others rate equal to the weightedaverage countervailable subsidy rates 

established for exporters and/or 

producers individually examined, 

excluding any rates that are zero, de 

minimis, or rates based entirely under 

section 776 of the Act. In this 

investigation, Commerce calculated 

total net subsidy rates for Fuzhou 

Hengli and Jinhua P&P that are not zero, 

de minimis, or based entirely on the 

facts otherwise available. Because 

Commerce calculated individual 

estimated countervailable subsidy rates 

for Fuzhou Hengli and Jinhua P&P that 

are not zero, de minimis, or based 

entirely on the facts otherwise available, 

we have calculated the all-others rate 

using a weighted-average of the 

individual estimated subsidy rates 

calculated for the examined respondents 

using each company’s publicly-ranged 

sales values. 

Final Determination 

Commerce determines that the 

following estimated countervailable 

subsidy rates exist: 

Company 

Subsidy rate 

(percent 

ad valorem) 

Fuzhou Hengli Paper Co., 

Ltd ..................................... 11.38 

Jinhua P&P Product Co., Ltd 4.47 

Ningbo Artcool Co., Ltd ........ * 295.08 

Ningbo Fenghua Yongfa 

Printing Stationery Co., Ltd * 295.08 

Zhejiang Kingsun Eco-Pack 

Co., Ltd ............................. * 295.08 

Zhejiang Lingrong Crafts 

Co., Ltd ............................. * 295.08 

All Others .............................. 10.61 

* Rate based on AFA. 

Disclosure 

Commerce intends to disclose its 

calculations and analysis performed in 

connection with this final determination 

within five days of its 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 

As a result of our Preliminary 

Determination and pursuant to sections 

703(d)(1)(B) and (d)(2) of the Act, we 

instructed U.S. Customs and Border 

Protection (CBP) to suspend liquidation 

of entries of subject merchandise from 

China that were entered, or withdrawn 

from warehouse, for consumption, on or 

after July 1, 2024, the date of 

publication of the Preliminary 

Determination in the Federal Register.9

Because we preliminarily determined 

that critical circumstances existed with 

respect to Fuzhou Hengli, the nonresponsive companies, and companies 

covered by the all-others rate, we 

instructed CBP to suspend such entries 

on or after April 2, 2024, which is 90 

days prior to the date of the publication 

of the Preliminary Determination in the 

Federal Register. In accordance with 

section 703(d) of the Act, we instructed 

CBP to discontinue the suspension of 

liquidation of all entries of subject 

merchandise entered or withdrawn from 

warehouse, on or after October 29, 2024, 

but to continue the suspension of 

liquidation of all entries of subject 

merchandise that were subject to 

suspension of liquidation between April 

2, 2024, and October 28, 2024. 

If the U.S. International Trade 

Commission (ITC) issues a final 

affirmative injury determination, we 

will issue a countervailing duty order, 

reinstate the suspension of liquidation 

under section 706(a) of the Act, and 

require a cash deposit of estimated 

countervailing duties for entries of 

subject merchandise in the amounts 

indicated above. If the ITC determines 

that material injury, or threat of material 

injury, does not exist, this proceeding 

will be terminated, and all estimated 

duties deposited or securities posted as 

a result of the suspension of liquidation 

will be refunded or canceled. 

ITC Notification 

In accordance with section 705(d) of 

the Act, we will notify the ITC of our 

final affirmative determination that 

countervailable subsidies are being 

provided to producers and exporters of 

paper plates from China. Because the 

final determination is affirmative, in 

accordance with section 705(b) of the 

Act, the ITC will make its final 

determination as to whether the 

domestic industry in the United States 

is materially injured, or threatened with 

material injury, by reason of imports of 

paper plates from China no later than 45 

days after our final determination. In 

addition, we are making available to the 

ITC all non-privileged and 

nonproprietary information related to 

this investigation. We will allow the ITC 

access to all privileged and business 

proprietary information in our files, 

provided the ITC confirms that it will 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 17 / Tuesday, January 28, 2025 / Notices 8283 

not disclose such information, either 

publicly or under an administrative 

protective order (APO), without the 

written consent of the Assistant 

Secretary for Enforcement and 

Compliance. 

If the ITC determines that material 

injury or threat of material injury does 

not exist, this proceeding will be 

terminated and all cash deposits will be 

refunded. If the ITC determines that 

such injury does exist, Commerce will 

issue a CVD order directing CBP to 

assess, upon further instruction by 

Commerce, countervailing duties on all 

imports of the subject merchandise that 

are entered, or withdrawn from 

warehouse, for consumption on or after 

the effective date of the suspension of 

liquidation, as discussed above in the 

‘‘Suspension of Liquidation’’ section. 

Administrative Protective Order 

In the event that the ITC issues a final 

negative injury determination, this 

notice will serve as the only reminder 

to parties subject to an APO of their 

responsibility concerning the 

destruction of proprietary information 

disclosed under APO, in accordance 

with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely 

written notification of the return/ 

destruction of APO materials or 

conversion to judicial protective order is 

hereby requested. Failure to comply 

with the regulations and terms of an 

APO is a violation which is subject to 

sanction. 

Notification to Interested Parties 

This determination is issued and 

published pursuant to sections 705(d) 

and 777(i) of the Act, and 19 CFR 

351.210(c). 

Dated: January 21, 2025. 

Abdelali Elouaradia, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement 

and Compliance. 

Appendix I—Scope of the Investigation 

The merchandise subject to this 

investigation is certain paper plates. Paper 

plates subject to this investigation may be cut 

from rolls, sheets, or other pieces of paper 

and/or paper board. Paper plates subject to 

this investigation have a depth up to and 

including two (2.0) inches, as measured 

vertically from the base to the top of the lip, 

or the edge if the plate has no lip. Paper 

plates subject to this investigation may be 

uncolored, white, colored, or printed. Printed 

paper plates subject to this investigation may 

have any type of surface finish, and may be 

printed by any means with images, text and/ 

or colors on one or both surfaces. Colored 

paper plates subject to this investigation may 

be colored by any method, including but not 

limited to printing, beater-dyeing, and dipdyeing. Paper plates subject to this 

investigation may be produced from paper of 

any type (including, but not limited to, 

bamboo, straws, bagasse, hemp, kenaf, jute, 

sisal, abaca, cotton inters and reeds, or from 

non-plant sources, such as synthetic resin 

(petroleum)-based resins), may have any 

caliper or basis weight, may have any shape 

or size, may have one or more than one 

section, may be embossed, may have foil or 

other substances adhered to their surface, 

and/or may be uncoated or coated with any 

type of coating. 

The paper plates subject to this 

investigation remain covered by the scope of 

this investigation whether imported alone, or 

in any combination of subject and nonsubject merchandise. When paper plates 

subject to this investigation are imported in 

combination with non-subject merchandise, 

only the paper plates subject to this 

investigation are subject merchandise. 

The paper plates subject to this 

investigation include paper plates matching 

the above description that have been 

finished, packaged, or otherwise processed in 

a third country by performing finishing, 

packaging, or processing that would not 

otherwise remove the merchandise from the 

scope of the investigation if performed in the 

country of manufacture of the paper plates. 

Examples of finishing, packaging, or other 

processing in a third country that would not 

otherwise remove the merchandise from the 

scope of the investigation if performed in the 

country of manufacture of the paper plates 

include, but are not limited to, printing, 

application of other surface treatments such 

as coatings, repackaging, embossing, and 

application of foil surface treatments. 

Excluded from the scope of this 

investigation are paper plates molded or 

pressed directly from paper pulp (including 

but not limited to unfelted pulp), which are 

currently classifiable under subheading 

4823.70.0020 of the Harmonized Tariff 

Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). 

Also excluded from the scope of this 

investigation are articles that otherwise 

would be covered but which exhibit the 

following two physical characteristics: (a) 

depth (measured vertically from the base to 

the top of the lip, or edge if no lip) equal to 

or greater than 1.25 inches but less than two 

(2.0) inches, and (b) a base not exceeding five 

(5.0) inches in diameter if round, or not 

exceeding 20 square inches in area if any 

other shape. 

Also excluded from the scope of this 

investigation are paper bowls, paper buckets, 

and paper food containers with closeable 

lids. 

Paper plates subject to this investigation 

are currently classifiable under HTSUS 

subheading 4823.69.0040. Paper plates 

subject to this investigation also may be 

classified under HTSUS subheading 

4823.61.0040. If packaged with other articles, 

the paper plates subject to this investigation 

also may be classified under HTSUS 

subheadings 9505.90.4000 and 9505.90.6000. 

While the HTSUS subheading(s) are provided 

for convenience and customs purposes, the 

written description of the subject 

merchandise is dispositive. 

Appendix II—List of Topics Discussed 

in the Issues and Decision 

Memorandum 

I. Summary 

II. Background 

III. Final Determination of Critical 

Circumstances, in Part 

IV. Use of Facts Otherwise Available and 

Application of Adverse Inferences 

V. Subsidies Valuation Information 

VI. Analysis of Programs 

VII. Discussion of the Issues 

Comment 1: Countervailability of Policy 

Loans to the Paper Plate Industry 

Comment 2: Countervailability of the 

Enterprise Income Tax (EIT) Law 

Research and Development (R&D) 

Program 

Comment 3: Countervailability of the 

Provision of Electricity for Less Than 

Adequate Remuneration (LTAR) 

Comment 4: Appropriate Electricity 

Benchmark 

Comment 5: Appropriate Denominator for 

Other Subsidy Programs 

Comment 6: Countervailability of Other 

Subsidies 

Comment 7: Whether Commerce Should 

Modify its Adverse Facts Available 

(AFA) Rate Selection Methodology 

Comment 8: Whether Commerce Should 

Apply AFA Regarding the Export Buyer’s 

Credits Program (EBCP) 

Comment 9: Whether To Apply AFA to the 

Provision of Land-Use Rights for LTAR 

VIII. Recommendation 

[FR Doc. 2025–01808 Filed 1–27–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Institute of Standards and 

Technology 

Information Collection Activities; 

Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; National Voluntary 

Laboratory Accreditation Program 

(NVLAP) Information Collection 

System 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit the following information 

collection request to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 

review and clearance in accordance 

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995, on or after the date of publication 

of this notice. We invite the general 

public and other Federal agencies to 

comment on proposed, and continuing 

information collections, which helps us 

assess the impact of our information 

collection requirements and minimize 

the public’s reporting burden. Public 

comments were previously requested 

via the Federal Register on September 

24, 2024 during a 60-day comment 


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