[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 202 (Friday, October 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55915-55919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22766]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-602-807; A-351-842; A-570-022; C-570-023; A-560-828; C-560-829]
Certain Uncoated Paper Products From Australia, Brazil, the
People's Republic of China, and Indonesia: Initiation of Anti-
Circumvention Inquiry of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Orders
AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to requests from Domtar Corporation; Packaging
Corporation of America; North Pacific Paper Company; Finch Paper LLC;
United Steel, Paper, and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy,
Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union
(collectively, the petitioners), the U.S. Department of Commerce
(Commerce) is initiating an anti-circumvention inquiry. In this
inquiry, Commerce intends to determine whether certain imports of
sheeter rolls of uncoated paper exported from Australia, Brazil, the
People's Republic of China (China), and Indonesia, and completed by
conversion into sheets of paper in the United States, are circumventing
the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on certain uncoated
paper sheets. Commerce declines to initiate an anti-circumvention
inquiry on Portugal at this time.
DATES: Applicable October 18, 2019.
[[Page 55916]]
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Genevieve Coen, AD/CVD Operations,
Enforcement and Compliance, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
3251.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Antidumping duty orders on certain uncoated paper (uncoated paper)
from Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Portugal, and
countervailing duty orders on uncoated paper from China and Indonesia
(collectively, the Orders), were published on March 3, 2016.\1\ On
September 1, 2017, Commerce issued the affirmative final determination
in a prior anti-circumvention inquiry, finding that imports into the
United States of uncoated paper with a GE brightness of 83 +/-1 percent
and otherwise meeting the description of in-scope merchandise are
covered by the Orders.\2\
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\1\ See Certain Uncoated Paper from Australia, Brazil,
Indonesia, the People's Republic of China, and Portugal: Amended
Final Affirmative Antidumping Determinations for Brazil and
Indonesia and Antidumping Duty Orders, 81 FR 11174 (March 3, 2016);
see also Certain Uncoated Paper from Indonesia and the People's
Republic of China: Amended Final Affirmative Countervailing Duty
Determination and Countervailing Duty Order, 81 FR 11187 (March 3,
2016) (collectively, the Orders).
\2\ See Certain Uncoated Paper from Australia, Brazil, the
People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and Portugal: Affirmative
Final Determination of Circumvention of the Antidumping and
Countervailing Duty Orders, 82 FR 41610 (September 1, 2017).
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On August 2, 2019, pursuant to section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of
1930, as amended (the Act) and 19 CFR 351.225(c)(1), the petitioners
submitted a request that Commerce initiate an anti-circumvention
inquiry of the Orders based on an allegation of minor completion or
assembly of merchandise in the United States, and that Commerce find
that the paper rolls at issue should be subject to the Orders.\3\
Specifically, the petitioners allege that imports of uncoated paper
rolls known as ``sheeter rolls'' from countries under the Orders are
being cut into individual sheets of paper in the United States in
circumvention of the Orders.\4\
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\3\ See Petitioners' letter, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from
Australia, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and
Portugal: Petitioners' Request for an Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
Pursuant to Section 781(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930,'' dated August
2, 2019 (Initiation Request).
\4\ Id. at 1-2.
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On August 14, 2019, Commerce sent the petitioners a questionnaire
to obtain additional information regarding their allegations.\5\ On
August 23, 2019, the petitioners filed their response to Commerce's
questionnaire.\6\
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\5\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from
Australia, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and
Portugal: Anticircumvention Inquiry Questionnaire,'' dated August
14, 2019.
\6\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from
Australia, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and
Portugal: Petitioners' Response to the Department's Questions
Regarding Petitioners' Request for Anti-Circumvention Inquiries,''
dated August 23, 2019 (Petitioners' August 23 Response).
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On August 27, 2019, we received comments from several interested
parties. Indonesian paper producers PT. Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper Tbk;
PT. Pindo Deli Pulp and Paper Mills; and PT. Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia
TBK (collectively, PT Paper) filed comments opposing initiation on the
petitioners' circumvention claims.\7\ The Navigator Company, S.A.
(Navigator) filed comments opposing initiation of the petitioners'
circumvention claims with respect to Portugal, stating that it has not
sold sheeter rolls in the United States since the Orders were issued,
but acknowledging that it has exported web rolls to the United
States.\8\ Suzano S.A. and Suzano Pulp and Paper America, Inc.
(collectively, Suzano) filed comments opposing initiation, stating that
their imports of sheeter rolls have not increased since the Orders were
issued, and arguing that, if an anti-circumvention inquiry is
initiated, the scope should be specifically defined to exclude web
rolls.\9\
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\7\ See PT Paper's Letter, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from
Australia, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and
Portugal, Response to Request for a Circumvention Inquiry,'' dated
August 23, 2019.
\8\ See Navigator's Letter, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from
Portugal: Navigator's Response to Petitioners' Request for an Anti-
Circumvention Inquiry and Questionnaire Response,'' dated August 27,
2019.
\9\ See Suzano's Letter, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from Brazil:
Response to Petitioners' Request for an Anticircumvention Inquiry,''
dated August 27, 2019.
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On September 9, 2019, we issued a letter to the petitioners
clarifying the deadline associated with this anti-circumvention
inquiry.\10\ Commerce required supplemental information in order to
make a determination of whether to initiate the inquiry, and this
information was not available until the Petitioners' August 23
Response. Therefore, Commerce stated that the 45-day period to initiate
or issue a final ruling on the Initiation Request established by 19 CFR
351.225(c)(2) started August 23, 2019. On October 7, 2019, Commerce
extended by three days the deadline to issue a final ruling or to
initiate an inquiry based on the petitioners' request. The new deadline
is October 10, 2019.\11\
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\10\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Certain Uncoated Paper from
Australia, Brazil, the People's Republic of China, Indonesia, and
Portugal: Anti-Circumvention Inquiry,'' dated September 9, 2019.
\11\ See Memorandum, ``Certain Uncoated Paper Products from
Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Portugal: Anti-
Circumvention Inquiry of the Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Orders,'' dated October 7, 2019.
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Scope of the Orders
The merchandise covered by these orders include uncoated paper in
sheet form; weighing at least 40 grams per square meter but not more
than 150 grams per square meter; that either is a white paper with a GE
brightness level \12\ of 85 or higher or is a colored paper; whether or
not surface-decorated, printed (except as described below), embossed,
perforated, or punched; irrespective of the smoothness of the surface;
and irrespective of dimensions (Certain Uncoated Paper).
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\12\ One of the key measurements of any grade of paper is
brightness. Generally speaking, the brighter the paper the better
the contrast between the paper and the ink. Brightness is measured
using a GE Reflectance Scale, which measures the reflection of light
off a grade of paper. One is the lowest reflection, or what would be
given to a totally black grade, and 100 is the brightest measured
grade. ``Colored paper'' as used in this scope definition means a
paper with a hue other than white that reflects one of the primary
colors of magenta, yellow, and cyan (red, yellow, and blue) or a
combination of such primary colors.
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Certain Uncoated Paper includes (a) uncoated free sheet paper that
meets this scope definition; (b) uncoated ground wood paper produced
from bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp (BCTMP) that meets this
scope definition; and (c) any other uncoated paper that meets this
scope definition regardless of the type of pulp used to produce the
paper.
Specifically excluded from the scope are (1) paper printed with
final content of printed text or graphics and (2) lined paper products,
typically school supplies, composed of paper that incorporates straight
horizontal and/or vertical lines that would make the paper unsuitable
for copying or printing purposes. For purposes of this scope
definition, paper shall be considered ``printed with final content''
where at least one side of the sheet has printed text and/or graphics
that cover at least five percent of the surface area of the entire
sheet.
Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) categories
4802.56.1000, 4802.56.2000, 4802.56.3000, 4802.56.4000, 4802.56.6000,
4802.56.7020, 4802.56.7040, 4802.57.1000, 4802.57.2000, 4802.57.3000,
and 4802.57.4000. Some imports of subject merchandise may also be
classified under 4802.62.1000,
[[Page 55917]]
4802.62.2000, 4802.62.3000, 4802.62.5000, 4802.62.6020, 4802.62.6040,
4802.69.1000, 4802.69.2000, 4802.69.3000, 4811.90.8050 and
4811.90.9080. While HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and
customs purposes, the written description of the scope of the orders is
dispositive.
Merchandise Subject to the Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
This anti-circumvention inquiry, as requested by the petitioners,
covers imports of rolls of uncoated paper commonly known as ``sheeter
rolls'' from Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Portugal that are
further processed in the United States to create individual sheets of
uncoated paper that would be subject to the Orders. Sheeter rolls are
designed to be converted into sheets of uncoated paper using
specialized cutting machinery prior to printing, and are typically, but
not exclusively, between 52 and 103 inches wide and 50 inches in
diameter. Rolls of uncoated paper at issue in this inquiry are
classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code 4802.55.
Initiation of Anti-Circumvention Inquiry
Section 781(a) of the Act provides that Commerce may find
circumvention of an antidumping or countervailing duty order when
merchandise of the same class or kind subject to the order is completed
or assembled in the United States from parts or components produced in
the country subject to the order. In conducting an anti-circumvention
inquiry under section 781(a) of the Act, Commerce will rely on the
following criteria: (A) The merchandise sold in the United States is of
the same class or kind as any other merchandise that is the subject of
an antidumping duty order or countervailing duty order; (B) such
merchandise sold in the United States is completed or assembled in the
United States from parts or components produced in the foreign country
with respect to which such order applies; (C) the process of assembly
or completion in the United States is minor or insignificant; and (D)
the value of the parts or components referred to in subparagraph (B) is
a significant portion of the total value of the merchandise. As
discussed below, the petitioners provided evidence with respect to
these criteria.
A. Merchandise of the Same Class or Kind
The petitioners state that the uncoated paper sheets that result
from converting sheeter rolls exported to the United States from the
countries subject to the Orders are the same class or kind of
merchandise as the uncoated paper covered by the Orders.\13\ The
petitioners note that sheeter rolls were not explicitly included or
excluded from the scope of the Orders, and that sheeter rolls are not
used for any purpose but subsequent conversion into sheets of
paper.\14\ When the paper comprising the sheeter roll otherwise meets
the scope of the Orders (e.g., brightness levels, weight per square
meter, etc.), the sheets of paper resulting from the conversion process
are identical to subject merchandise.\15\ The petitioners provided
affidavits and supporting information in the form of ship manifest data
and United States International Trade Commission import data (ITC data)
from 2011 through May 2019 suggesting that Brazilian, Chinese, and
Indonesian exporters and producers are exporting sheeter rolls to the
United States and contracting with converters in the United States to
cut sheets of paper from the rolls, resulting in merchandise identical
to that which is subject to the Orders.\16\ Additionally, the
petitioners provided a photograph of a ream of copy paper sold by
United States retailer Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco), printed
with an identifier code for Brazilian paper producer Suzano and the
Forestry Stewardship Council code for the United States paper converter
Performance Office Papers (Performance).\17\ The petitioners also
provided shipping records (i.e., shipment manifest data and/or bills of
lading) indicating uncoated paper rolls have been exported from
Australia, Brazil, China, and Indonesia to the United States in 2018
and 2019.\18\ The petitioners stated they were unable to locate public
ship manifest data for uncoated paper rolls imported to the United
States from Portugal. Instead, the petitioners provided ship manifest
data for shipments from Portugal to Mexico via U.S. ports, and evidence
that some of those shipments were to a Mexican converter.\19\ The
petitioners also provided data from 2016 through May 2019 from the
Eurostat Comext Database, indicating that the volume of exports of
uncoated paper rolls from Portugal is increasing to the United States
and is decreasing to other countries.\20\
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\13\ See Initiation Request at 7; see also Petitioners' August
23 Response at 3-4.
\14\ See Initiation Request at 5-6.
\15\ Id. at 7, citing Exhibit 1; see also Petitioners' August 23
Response at 3-4.
\16\ See Initiation Request at Exhibits 1 and 3; see also
Petitioners' August 23 Response at Exhibits 8-10.
\17\ See Petitioners' August 23 Response at 4-5 and Exhibit 8.
\18\ See Initiation Request at Exhibits 4, 8, and 9; see also
Petitioners' August 23 Response at 5-7 and Exhibits 8-12.
\19\ See Petitioners' August 23 Response at 22-23 and Exhibit
14.
\20\ See Petitioners' August 23 Response at 21.
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B. Completion of Merchandise in the United States
Section 781(a)(1)(B) of the Act requires Commerce to determine
whether the merchandise sold in the United States is completed or
assembled in the United States from parts or components produced in the
countries to which the Orders apply. The petitioners presented evidence
demonstrating how sheeter rolls are completed in the United States by
conversion from rolls into sheets. The petitioners provided affidavits
stating that some paper conversion operations in the United States have
increased their sheeting capacity and contracted with importers of
sheeter rolls to convert rolls into sheets of uncoated paper.\21\ The
petitioners provided shipping records (i.e., shipment manifest data
and/or bills of lading) indicating paper rolls have been exported from
Australia, Brazil, China, and Indonesia to the United States in 2018
and 2019.\22\ Additionally, the petitioners provided a photograph of a
ream of copy paper sold by Costco, printed with an identifier code for
Brazilian paper producer Suzano and the Forestry Stewardship Council
code for the United States paper converter Performance.\23\ The
petitioners also provided bills of lading from 2018 and 2019 supporting
their allegation that paper rolls were imported from China and
Indonesia to the United States for conversion.\24\ The petitioners
submitted evidence demonstrating imports of uncoated paper rolls based
on ITC data in the years following issuance of the Orders. In the case
of Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Portugal, these data demonstrate
an increase in such imports.\25\ However, with regard to Portugal, the
petitioners did not provide similar supporting data or affidavits
indicating that Portuguese exporters are exporting sheeter rolls, and
not web
[[Page 55918]]
rolls, into the United States. In addition, the petitioner did not
submit any evidence demonstrating that rolls from Portugal were being
converted to subject merchandise in the United States.
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\21\ See Initiation Request at Exhibits 1 and 3.
\22\ See Initiation Request at Exhibits 4, 8, and 9; see also
Petitioners' August 23 Response at 5-7 and Exhibits 8-12.
\23\ See Petitioners' August 23 Response at 4-5 and Exhibit 8.
\24\ Id. at 5-6 and Exhibit 10.
\25\ Id. at Exhibit 2. As noted below, the import data is based
on an HTS code that is a basket category including both sheeter
rolls (which are allegedly circumventing the Orders) and web rolls
(which are not).
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C. Minor or Insignificant Process
Under sections 781(a)(1)(C) and 781(a)(2) of the Act, Commerce is
required to consider five factors to determine whether the process of
assembly or completion is minor or insignificant. The petitioners
allege that the process of converting sheeter rolls into uncoated paper
sheets in the United States is a minor and insignificant process, and
that the processing occurring in the United States adds relatively
little to the overall value of the finished uncoated paper sheets.\26\
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\26\ Id. at 2.
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(1) Level of Investment in the United States
The petitioners provided affidavits estimating the costs involved
in establishing a sheeting operation in the United States, based on
their own costs to process sheeter rolls into sheets of paper in the
United States and the cost of certain equipment to convert sheeter
rolls into sheets.\27\ The affidavits explain that the costs to
complete processing of sheeter rolls into sheets of paper, including
labor, energy, maintenance, overhead, and depreciation, comprise a very
small percentage of the total value of sheeted uncoated paper sold in
the United States.\28\ Additionally, they provided documentation of the
actual costs involved in establishing a paper conversion facility in
the United States and data related to production costs.\29\ The
petitioners provided evidence that the cost to establish a sheeting
operation is less than one percent of the cost to establish a fully-
integrated paper production facility.\30\ Further, the petitioners note
that if foreign producers of paper from countries subject to the Orders
are contracting with paper converters already based in the United
States, the investment in U.S. production facilities by foreign
producers is extremely minimal.\31\
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\27\ See Initiation Request at Exhibit 1, 3, and 11; see also
Petitioners' August 23 Response at Exhibits 2 and 3.
\28\ Id.
\29\ See Petitioners' August 23 Response at 11-15 and Exhibits
18, 19, and 20.
\30\ See Initiation Request at Exhibit 1.
\31\ See Initiation Request at 21-22.
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(2) Level of Research and Development in the United States
The petitioners assert that uncoated paper production is an
established, mostly automated, process, and that there has been no
significant, recent advancement in the sheeting process.\32\ As such,
the level of research and development to produce uncoated paper sheets
from sheeter rolls is minimal to non-existent.\33\
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\32\ Id. at Exhibit 1.
\33\ Id.
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(3) Nature of Production Process in the United States
According to the petitioners, and based on their own experience,
the additional processing undertaken at converting facilities in the
United States is minimal.\34\ The process of slicing sheeter rolls into
individual sheets of paper is a rapid and simple process that involves
cutting the rolls into sheets, checking the surface quality, removing
defective sheets, and packaging the sheets into reams, which are
stacked, palletized, and delivered.\35\ Conversely, the manufacturing
process to produce uncoated sheets of paper from the beginning of the
production process is much more complex. Specifically, the
manufacturing process for uncoated paper sheets consists of five
production phases: (1) Debarking and converting logs into chips, or
alternately sourcing chips from sawmills; (2) chemically pulping and
bleaching the chips; (3) forming the paper, pressing out excess water,
and drying; (4) applying heat and pressure to achieve specific finish
characteristics such as smoothness (``calendering'') and then rolling
onto reels and slitting into smaller rolls; and (5) cutting rolls into
sheets, quality control and removal of defective sheets, packaging into
reams, and stacking reams for delivery.\36\
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\34\ Id. at 2 and Exhibits 1 and 3; see also Petitioners' August
23 Response at 11-16 and Exhibits 2,3,7, and 18.
\35\ See Initiation Request. at 8, citing Certain Uncoated Paper
from Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, and Portugal, U.S.
International Trade Commission, Investigation Nos. 701-TA-528-529
and 731-TA-1264-1268 (February 2016) Publication 4592, at I-11 to I-
13 (Attachment 1).
\36\ Id. at 7-8.
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(4) Extent of Production Facilities in the United States
The petitioners provided evidence, including affidavits, to
demonstrate that converting sheeter rolls into sheets of paper is a
simple operation that requires minimal personnel and only basic
production facilities and equipment to slit rolls into sheets and then
package the resulting sheets.\37\
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\37\ Id. at Exhibits 1 and 3; see also Petitioners' August 23
Response at 11-15 and Exhibits 7, 18, 19, and 20.
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(5) Value of Processing in the United States
The petitioners assert, based on their own experience and industry
data, that the production of sheeter rolls in the countries subject to
the Orders account for a large percentage of the total value of the
finished uncoated paper sheets that are produced in the United
States.\38\ Using information provided in an affidavit, the petitioners
state that the price of sheeter rolls of uncoated paper is the vast
majority of the price of finished uncoated paper sheets.\39\ The
petitioners maintain that the completion activities in the United
States add very little value to the final cost of the uncoated paper
sheets cut in the United States from sheeter rolls manufactured in the
countries subject to the Orders and imported to the United States.\40\
The petitioners further provided internal data from petitioner North
Pacific Paper Company to support their description of sheeting
costs.\41\
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\38\ Id. at 25, citing Exhibit 1.
\39\ Id.
\40\ Id.; see also Petitioners' August 23 Response at 12-13, 16,
and Exhibits 2, 3, and 20.
\41\ See Petitioners' August 23 Response at Exhibits 18 and 19.
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D. Value of Merchandise Produced in the Foreign Countries Is a
Significant Portion of the Value of the Merchandise
The petitioners argue that the evidence, as discussed above, in
their anti-circumvention inquiry request clearly supports their
position that the value of sheeter rolls manufactured in the countries
subject to the Orders represents a significant portion of the total
value of the merchandise exported to the United States for processing
into uncoated paper sheets, as measured by a percentage of the total
cost of manufacture.\42\
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\42\ See Initiation Request at 24-25.
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E. Additional Factors To Consider in Determining Whether Inquiry Is
Warranted
Section 781(b)(3) of the Act directs Commerce to consider
additional factors in determining whether to include merchandise
assembled or completed in a foreign country within the scope of the
order, such as: (A) The pattern of trade, including sourcing patterns;
(B) any affiliations; and (C) whether imports into the United States
have increased after initiation of the underlying investigation.
[[Page 55919]]
(1) Pattern of Trade
The petitioners state that the record evidence demonstrates that,
since the imposition of the Orders, a pattern of trade illustrates
circumvention because imports of sheeter rolls from countries subject
to the Orders have increased, while imports of uncoated paper sheets
have decreased.\43\ Publicly-available import data submitted by the
petitioners show that, prior to the imposition of the Orders, exports
of paper rolls under the HTS code which includes sheeter rolls from
Brazil, Indonesia, and Portugal to the United States were very low.\44\
Exports of paper rolls from Australia and China to the United States
were relatively high. Imports of paper rolls into the United States
from Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Portugal have increased since
the imposition of the Orders.\45\
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\43\ Id. at 23.
\44\ See supra, fn. 25.
\45\ Id. at Exhibit 2.
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(2) Affiliation
The petitioners provided no information indicating potential
affiliation between producers of sheeter rolls from countries subject
to the Orders and companies in the United States with facilities to
convert sheeter rolls into uncoated paper sheets. In affidavits, the
petitioners indicated that the foreign producers are believed to have
contracted with converters in the United States for conversion
services.\46\
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\46\ Id. at Exhibits 1 and 3.
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(3) Imports after Initiation of the Investigation
The petitioners presented import data indicating that shipments of
paper rolls from Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Portugal have
increased since the initiation of the investigation, whereas shipments
of uncoated paper sheets from Australia, Indonesia, and Portugal have
steadily declined.\47\
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\47\ Id. at Exhibit 2.
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Conclusion
Based on our analysis of the petitioners' anti-circumvention
inquiry request, Commerce determines that the petitioners have
satisfied the criteria under section 781(a) of the Act to warrant the
initiation of an anti-circumvention inquiry on sheeter rolls of
uncoated paper from Australia, Brazil, China, and Indonesia which are
further processed into sheets of uncoated paper and sold in the United
States. Accordingly, we are initiating an anti-circumvention inquiry on
sheeter rolls of uncoated paper from Australia, Brazil, China, and
Indonesia pursuant to section 781(a) of the Act.
Further, we decline to initiate an anti-circumvention inquiry for
sheeter rolls of uncoated paper from Portugal. The import data
submitted by the petitioners for patterns of trade is a basket category
that includes both web and sheeter rolls and, as such, these data do
not establish that Portuguese sheeter rolls specifically are being
exported to the United States for conversion into sheets.\48\ Moreover,
there is no additional evidence that U.S. imports of sheeter rolls from
Portugal are being converted into and sold as sheets. As noted above,
the ship manifest data on the record for Portugal indicated that
imports from Portugal were entering U.S. ports, but those shipments'
final destination was Mexico.\49\ Therefore, we find that the
petitioners did not provide sufficient evidence to support their claim
that sheeter rolls from Portugal are being converted and sold as sheets
which are physically identical to the subject merchandise, as they did
in their request for the other countries. However, this decision does
not preclude the petitioners from re-filing their request with respect
to Portugal at a later time with additional evidence.
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\48\ See Petitioners' August 23 Response at 3.
\49\ Id. at Exhibit 14.
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In connection with this anti-circumvention inquiry, in order to
determine: (1) The extent to which sheeter rolls sourced from
Australia, Brazil, China, and Indonesia are further processed into
uncoated sheets of paper in the United States; (2) the extent to which
a country-wide finding applicable to all such exports might be
warranted, as alleged by the petitioners; and (3) whether the process
of turning sheeter rolls sourced from countries subject to the Orders
into finished uncoated paper sheets in the United States is minor or
insignificant, Commerce intends to issue questionnaires to solicit
information from producers and exporters in Australia, Brazil, China,
and Indonesia concerning shipments of sheeter rolls to the United
States. Commerce also intends to establish a schedule for
questionnaires and comments for this inquiry. Companies failing to
respond completely and timely to Commerce's questionnaire may be deemed
uncooperative and an adverse inference may be applied in determining
whether such companies are circumventing the Orders.\50\
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\50\ See section 776 of the Act.
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Commerce will not order the suspension of liquidation of entries of
any additional merchandise at this time. In accordance with 19 CFR
351.225(1)(2), if Commerce issues an affirmative preliminary
determination of circumvention, we will then instruct U.S. Customs and
Border Protection to suspend liquidation and require cash deposits of
estimated antidumping duties, at the applicable rates, for each
unliquidated entry of the merchandise at issue, entered or withdrawn
from warehouse for consumption on or after the date of initiation of
the inquiry.
In the event we issue a preliminary affirmative determination of
circumvention pursuant to section 781(a) of the Act (further
manufactured in the United States), we intend to notify the
International Trade Commission, in accordance with section 781(e)(1) of
the Act and 19 CFR 351.225(f)(7)(i)(C), if applicable.
In accordance with section 781(f) of the Act and 19 CFR
351.225(f)(5), Commerce intends to issue its final determination within
300 days of the date of publication of this notice.
This notice is published in accordance with section 781(a) of the
Act and 19 CFR 351.225(g).
Dated: October 10, 2019.
Jeffrey I. Kessler,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2019-22766 Filed 10-17-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P