New Antidumping Duty and Countervailing Duty Petitions on Certain Paper File Folders From Cambodia and Sri Lanka

At a Glance

• The Coalition of Domestic Folder Manufacturers filed antidumping duty petitions on certain paper file folders from Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and countervailing duty petitions on imports from Cambodia.
• Investigations related to these petitions could result in increased prices and/or decreased supply of certain paper file folders.
• The U.S. Department of Commerce is expected to begin investigations on November 7, 2024.

On October 18, 2024, antidumping duty (AD) petitions were filed on certain paper file folders from Cambodia and Sri Lanka, and countervailing duty (CVD) petitions were filed on certain paper file folders from Cambodia. The petitions were filed by the Coalition of Domestic Folder Manufacturers, which consists of Smead Manufacturing Company, Inc. and TOPS Products LLC (collectively “Petitioners”).

The United States AD law imposes special tariffs to counteract imports that are sold in the U.S. at less than “normal value.” The U.S. CVD law imposes special tariffs to counteract imports that are sold in the U.S. with the benefit of foreign government subsidies. For AD/CVD duties to be imposed, the U.S. government must determine not only that dumping and/or subsidization is occurring, but also that there is “material injury” (or threat thereof) by reason of the dumped and/or subsidized imports. Importers are liable for any potential AD/CVD duties imposed. In addition, these investigations could impact purchasers by increasing prices and/or decreasing supply of certain paper file folders.

Scope

Please note that this section was not written by our authors but is taken verbatim from the petition.

The merchandise subject to this investigation is certain paper file folders. Paper file folders subject to this investigation are file folders consisting primarily of paper, paperboard, pressboard, or other cellulose material, whether coated or uncoated, that has been folded (or creased in preparation to be folded), glued, taped, bound, or otherwise assembled to be suitable for holding documents. Paper file folders subject to this investigation include all such folders, regardless of color, whether or not expanding, whether or not laminated, and with or without tabs, fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, hangers, pockets, gussets, or internal dividers. The term “primarily” as used in the scope means 50 percent or more of the total product weight, exclusive of the weight of fasteners, closures, hooks, rods, hangers, removable tabs, and similar accessories, and exclusive of the weight of packaging.

Paper file folders subject to this investigation have the following dimensions in their folded and closed position: lengths and widths of at least 8 inches and no greater than 17 inches, regardless of depth.  Paper file folders subject to this investigation may be all varieties of folders, including but not limited to manila folders, hanging folders, fastener folders, classification folders, expanding folders, pockets, jackets, and wallets.

Paper file folders subject to this investigation remain covered by the scope of this investigation whether imported under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) category 4820.30.0040, or under other HTSUS classifications. The HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes and are subject to the written description of the scope of these investigations.

Excluded from the scope of this investigation are:

• mailing envelopes with a flap bearing one or more adhesive strips that can be used permanently to seal the entire length of a side such that, when sealed, the folder is closed on all four sides;
• binders, with two or more rings to hold documents in place, made from paperboard or pressboard encased entirely in plastic;
• binders consisting of a front cover, back cover, and spine, with or without a flap; to be excluded, a mechanism with two or more metal rings must be included on or adjacent to the interior spine;
• ·non-expanding folders with a depth exceeding 2.5 inches and that are closed or closeable on the top, bottom, and all four sides (e.g., boxes or cartons);
• expanding folders that have: (1) 13 or more pockets; (2) a flap covering the top; (3) a latching mechanism made of plastic and/or metal to close the flap; and (4) an affixed plastic or metal carry handle;
• folders that have an outer surface (other than the gusset, handles, and/or closing mechanisms, if any) that is covered entirely with fabric, leather, and/or faux leather;
• fashion folders, which are defined as folders with all of the following characteristics: (1) plastic lamination covering the entire exterior of the folder; (2) printing, foil stamping, embossing (i.e., raised relief patterns that are recessed on the opposite side), and/or debossing (i.e., recessed relief patterns that are raised on the opposite side), covering the entire exterior surface area of the folder; (3) at least two visible and printed or foil stamped colors (other than the color of the base paper), each of which separately covers no less than 10 percent of the entire exterior surface area; and (4) patterns, pictures, designs, or artwork covering no less than thirty percent of the exterior surface area of the folder;
• portfolios, which are folders having: (1) a width of at least 16 inches when open flat; (2) no tabs or dividers; and (3) one or more pockets that are suitable for holding letter size documents and that cover at least 15 percent of the surface area of the relevant interior side or sides; and
• report covers, which are folders having: (1) no tabs, dividers, or pockets; and (2) one or more fasteners or clips, each of which is permanently affixed to the center fold, to hold papers securely in place.

Estimated Dumping Margins

The Petitioners allege the following dumping margins exist:

• Cambodia: 93.15% to 239.64%
• Sri Lanka: 19.22% to 108.61%

The Petitioners also allege significant subsidies with respect to Cambodia, although the petitions do not quantify the alleged net subsidy margins.

Estimated Schedule of Investigations

The following is an estimated schedule of investigations by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC):

Please note that the DOC sets short and strict deadlines at the beginning of the investigation for certain information from foreign producers and exporters, such as information on quantity and value of exports. Any foreign producer or exporter that fails to answer these questions on time can be subject to very high duties. Because importers are liable for any AD/CVD duty payments, it is extremely important that they understand the information that their suppliers must provide to DOC early in the proceeding. Otherwise, the importer could be liable for extremely high AD/CVD duties.

Legal Clerk Lucy Zhang contributed to the preparation of this article.