New Trade Case on Imports of Certain Paper Shopping Bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam

New U.S. antidumping (“AD”) duty petitions were filed on May 31 by the Coalition For Fair Trade in Shopping Bags (the “Coalition”) against imports of certain paper shopping bags from Cambodia, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam. The petitions also seek the imposition of a countervailing duty (“CVD”) on imports from China and India.

The merchandise covered by these petitions consists of certain paper shopping bags (“PSBs”). PSBs are bags with handles. They are commonly used by commercial establishments as shopping, delivery, or take-away bags. PSBs are typically made from Kraft paper that may be made with virgin fiber or recycled fiber. PSBs can be brown, white, or colored paper. They can be sold unprinted or printed with a design or logo. Please see below for the full text of the proposed scope for the investigations.

The Department of Commerce (“DOC”) and the International Trade Commission (“ITC”) will conduct the investigations. Within the next 45 days, the ITC will determine if there is a reasonable indication that the imports are injuring or threatening to injure the U.S. industry. If the ITC finds that this standard is met, the cases will move to the DOC, which will calculate the preliminary AD and CVD duty margins. Importers should be aware that entries may be subject to AD/CVD cash deposits 90 days before the DOC preliminary determinations if the DOC and ITC issue a finding of “critical circumstances” meaning that imports increased by at least 15 percent following the filing of the petition compared to a similar period (typically three months) before the petition.

The DOC’s preliminary determinations are currently expected by Aug. 23, 2023 (CVD) and Nov. 6, 2023 (AD). On the date of publication of DOC’s preliminary determinations, importers will be required to deposit the calculated duties upon the products’ entry into the U.S. market.

There are strict statutory deadlines associated with these proceedings and affected companies are advised to prepare as soon as possible. If this product is of interest to you, please let us know so that we can provide you with additional information as it becomes available. A schedule of approximate key dates is attached below.

The following are key facts about this trade case:

Petitioner: Coalition For Fair Trade in Shopping Bags

Foreign Producers/Exporters and US Importers: Please contact us for a listing of individual companies named in the petition.

AD/CVD margins:  Petitioner alleged the following AD/CVD margins:

• Cambodia: calculated dumping margins between 44.29 to 221.36 percent, ad valorem;
• China: calculated dumping margins between 133.80 to 324.24 percent, ad valorem;
• China: countervailing duty margins above de minimis;
• Colombia: calculated dumping margin of 65.04 percent, ad valorem;
• India: calculated dumping margins between 22.05 to 88.56 percent, ad valorem;
• India: countervailing duty margins above de minimis;
• Malaysia: calculated dumping margin of 173.38 percent, ad valorem;
• Portugal: calculated dumping margins between 26.71 to 204.54 percent, ad valorem;
• Taiwan: calculated dumping margins between 44.76 to 50.13 percent, ad valorem;
• Turkey: calculated dumping margins between 12.51 to 45.29 percent, ad valorem; and
• Vietnam: calculated dumping margins between 63.67 to 128.81 percent, ad valorem.

Merchandise covered by the scope of the case:

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 a 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 subheadings 4819.30.0040 and 4819.40.0040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.

If you have any questions regarding the content of this alert, please contact Mark Ludwikowski (mludwikowski@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6680), Kevin Williams (kwilliams@clarkhill.com; 312-985-5907), Will Sjoberg (wsjoberg@clarkhill.com; 202-772-0924), Aristeo Lopez (alopez@clarkhill.com; 202-552-2366), Kelsey Christensen (kchristensen@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6670), Sally Alghazali (salghazali@clarkhill.com; 202-572-8676), or another member of Clark Hill’s International Trade Business Unit.

Approximate Key Dates*

Antidumping Duty Investigations
Event	No. of Days	Date of Action
Petition Filed	0	5/31/2023
Initiation Date	20	6/20/2023
	ITC Preliminary Investigations**
Questionnaires Due	14	6/14/2023
Request to appear at hearing	18	6/20/2023
Hearing	21	6/23/2023
Briefs	26	6/28/2023
ITC Vote	43	7/13/2023
ITC Preliminary Determination	45	7/15/2023
	DOC Investigations
DOC Preliminary AD Determination	160	11/7/2023
DOC Final AD Determination	235	1/22/2024
	ITC Final Investigations
ITC Final AD Determination	280	3/6/2024
	DOC Final Investigations
DOC AD Publication of Order	287	3/13/2024
Countervailing Duty Investigations
Event	No. of Days	Date of Action
Petition Filed	0	5/31/2023
Initiation Date	20	6/20/2023
ITC Determination of Reasonable Indication of Injury	45	7/15/2023
DOC Preliminary CVD Determination	85	8/24/2023
Submission of factual information	95	9/5/2023
Request for a hearing	122	10/2/2023
Briefs	142	10/20/2023
DOC Final CVD Determination	160	11/7/2023
ITC Final CVD Determination	205	12/22/2023
DOC CVD Publication of Order	212	12/29/2023

* Deadlines are approximate and may change. When a deadline falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, deadlines will be extended to the next business day, as reflected in the above.

** The ITC preliminary dates may change slightly when the ITC publishes its notice of institution in the Federal Register. When the notice is published, parties will have seven days to file an entry of appearance at the ITC and apply for access to confidential information through counsel under Administrative Protective Order.