New AD/CV Duties Requested on Paper Shopping Bags
A domestic producer and a labor union seek the imposition of new antidumping duties on paper shopping bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam, as well as new countervailing duties on paper shopping bags from China and India, they said in petitions filed with the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission May 31. Commerce will now decide whether to begin AD/CVD investigations, which could result in the imposition of permanent AD/CVD orders and the assessment of AD and CVD on importers. The Coalition for Fair Trade in Shopping Bags, consisting of Novolex and the United Steelworkers labor union, filed the petition.
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Proposed Scope
The petition proposes the following scope for the investigations:
"The products within the scope of these investigations 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), and regardless of whether the tops can be sealed. Subject paper shopping bags have a width of at least 4.5 inches and depth of at least 2.5 inches.
"Excluded from the scope are:
- Multiwall sacks and bags;
- 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;
- Paper sacks or bags with die-cut handles, a standard basis paper weight of less than 38 pounds, and a height of less than 11.5 inches;
- Shopping 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; and
- Gift bags marked for retail sale that are physically bundled into the saleable unit prior to importation such that each bundled unit is composed of no less than three individual bags and no more than 30 individual bags.
"This merchandise is currently classifiable under HTS item numbers 4819.30.0040 and 4819.40.0040."
Commerce Accepting Comments on Petition Support
The Commerce Department is accepting comments on domestic industry support for the petitions to determine whether the petitions meet the dual requirements of support by domestic producers or workers accounting for (1) at least 25% of the total production of the domestic-like product and (2) more than 50% of the production of the domestic-like product produced by that portion of the industry expressing support for, or opposition to, the petition. If the petitions meet these requirements, among others, Commerce will initiate antidumping and countervailing duty investigations.