19-5-423 Steel wire garment hangers from China

INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation No. 731-TA-1123 (Second Review)]
Steel Wire Garment Hangers from China; Institution of a Five-Year Review
AGENCY:

United States International Trade Commission.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted a review pursuant to
the Tariff Act of 1930 (“the Act”), as amended, to determine whether revocation of the
antidumping duty order on steel wire garment hangers from China would be likely to lead to
continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to the Act, interested parties are
requested to respond to this notice by submitting the information specified below to the
Commission.
DATES: Instituted February 1, 2019. To be assured of consideration, the deadline for
responses is March 6, 2019. Comments on the adequacy of responses may be filed with the
Commission by April 16, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Messer (202-205-3193), Office of
Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.
Hearing-impaired persons can obtain information on this matter by contacting the
Commission’s TDD terminal on 202-205-1810. Persons with mobility impairments who will need
special assistance in gaining access to the Commission should contact the Office of the
Secretary at 202-205-2000. General information concerning the Commission may also be
obtained by accessing its internet server (https://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this
proceeding may be viewed on the Commission’s electronic docket (EDIS) at
https://edis.usitc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background.-- On October 6, 2008, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) issued
an antidumping duty order on imports of steel wire garment hangers from China (73 FR 58111).
Following the first five-year reviews by Commerce and the Commission, effective March 11,
2014, Commerce issued a continuation of the antidumping duty order on imports of steel wire
garment hangers from China (79 FR 13613). The Commission is now conducting a second
review pursuant to section 751(c) of the Act, as amended (19 USC 1675(c)), to determine
whether revocation of the order would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of
material injury to the domestic industry within a reasonably foreseeable time. Provisions
concerning the conduct of this proceeding may be found in the Commission’s Rules of Practice
and Procedure at 19 CFR parts 201, subparts A and B and 19 CFR part 207, subparts A and F.

The Commission will assess the adequacy of interested party responses to this notice of
institution to determine whether to conduct a full review or an expedited review. The
Commission’s determination in any expedited review will be based on the facts available, which
may include information provided in response to this notice.
Definitions.--The following definitions apply to this review:
(1)

Subject Merchandise is the class or kind of merchandise that is within the scope
of the five-year review, as defined by the Department of Commerce.

(2)

The Subject Country in this review is China.

(3)

The Domestic Like Product is the domestically produced product or products
which are like, or in the absence of like, most similar in characteristics and uses
with, the Subject Merchandise. In its original determination and its expedited
first five-year review determination, the Commission defined a single Domestic
Like Product consisting of all the various types of steel wire garment hangers, coextensive with Commerce’s scope.

(4)

The Domestic Industry is the U.S. producers as a whole of the Domestic Like
Product, or those producers whose collective output of the Domestic Like
Product constitutes a major proportion of the total domestic production of the
product. In its original determination, the Commission defined a single Domestic
Industry consisting of all domestic producers of steel wire garment hangers, with
the exception of two domestic firms (Laidlaw Company LLC (“Laidlaw”) and
United Wire Hangers Corporation (“United Wire”)), which were excluded from
the Domestic Industry by a majority of the Commission in the Commission’s
original determination based on the firms’ related party status and their
importation of subject merchandise. In its expedited first five-year review
determination, however, the Commission defined a single Domestic Industry
consisting of all domestic producers of steel wire garment hangers.

(5)

An Importer is any person or firm engaged, either directly or through a parent
company or subsidiary, in importing the Subject Merchandise into the United
States from a foreign manufacturer or through its selling agent.

Participation in the proceeding and public service list.--Persons, including industrial
users of the Subject Merchandise and, if the merchandise is sold at the retail level,
representative consumer organizations, wishing to participate in the proceeding as parties must
file an entry of appearance with the Secretary to the Commission, as provided in section
201.11(b)(4) of the Commission’s rules, no later than 21 days after publication of this notice in
the Federal Register. The Secretary will maintain a public service list containing the names and
addresses of all persons, or their representatives, who are parties to the proceeding.

Former Commission employees who are seeking to appear in Commission five-year
reviews are advised that they may appear in a review even if they participated personally and
substantially in the corresponding underlying original investigation or an earlier review of the
same underlying investigation. The Commission’s designated agency ethics official has advised
that a five-year review is not the same particular matter as the underlying original investigation,
and a five-year review is not the same particular matter as an earlier review of the same
underlying investigation for purposes of 18 U.S.C. 207, the post employment statute for Federal
employees, and Commission rule 201.15(b) (19 CFR 201.15(b)), 79 FR 3246 (Jan. 17, 2014), 73
FR 24609 (May 5, 2008). Consequently, former employees are not required to seek Commission
approval to appear in a review under Commission rule 19 CFR 201.15, even if the corresponding
underlying original investigation or an earlier review of the same underlying investigation was
pending when they were Commission employees. For further ethics advice on this matter,
contact Charles Smith, Office of the General Counsel, at 202-205-3408.
Limited disclosure of business proprietary information (BPI) under an administrative
protective order (APO) and APO service list.--Pursuant to section 207.7(a) of the Commission’s
rules, the Secretary will make BPI submitted in this proceeding available to authorized
applicants under the APO issued in the proceeding, provided that the application is made no
later than 21 days after publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Authorized applicants
must represent interested parties, as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to the
proceeding. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties
authorized to receive BPI under the APO.
Certification.--Pursuant to section 207.3 of the Commission’s rules, any person
submitting information to the Commission in connection with this proceeding must certify that
the information is accurate and complete to the best of the submitter’s knowledge. In making
the certification, the submitter will acknowledge that information submitted in response to this
request for information and throughout this proceeding or other proceeding may be disclosed
to and used: (i) by the Commission, its employees and Offices, and contract personnel (a) for
developing or maintaining the records of this or a related proceeding, or (b) in internal
investigations, audits, reviews, and evaluations relating to the programs, personnel, and
operations of the Commission including under 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3; or (ii) by U.S. government
employees and contract personnel, solely for cybersecurity purposes. All contract personnel will
sign appropriate nondisclosure agreements.
Written submissions.--Pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission’s rules, each
interested party response to this notice must provide the information specified below. The
deadline for filing such responses is March 6, 2019. Pursuant to section 207.62(b) of the
Commission’s rules, eligible parties (as specified in Commission rule 207.62(b)(1)) may also file
comments concerning the adequacy of responses to the notice of institution and whether the
Commission should conduct an expedited or full review. The deadline for filing such comments
is April 16, 2019. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of section 201.8 of

the Commission’s rules; any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the
requirements of sections 201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission’s rules. The Commission’s
Handbook on E-Filing, available on the Commission’s website at https://edis.usitc.gov,
elaborates upon the Commission’s rules with respect to electronic filing. Also, in accordance
with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission’s rules, each document filed by a party to
the proceeding must be served on all other parties to the proceeding (as identified by either the
public or APO service list as appropriate), and a certificate of service must accompany the
document (if you are not a party to the proceeding you do not need to serve your response).
No response to this request for information is required if a currently valid Office of
Management and Budget (“OMB”) number is not displayed; the OMB number is 3117
0016/USITC No. 19-5-423, expiration date June 30, 2020. Public reporting burden for the
request is estimated to average 15 hours per response. Please send comments regarding the
accuracy of this burden estimate to the Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade
Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436.
Inability to provide requested information.--Pursuant to section 207.61(c) of the
Commission’s rules, any interested party that cannot furnish the information requested by this
notice in the requested form and manner shall notify the Commission at the earliest possible
time, provide a full explanation of why it cannot provide the requested information, and
indicate alternative forms in which it can provide equivalent information. If an interested party
does not provide this notification (or the Commission finds the explanation provided in the
notification inadequate) and fails to provide a complete response to this notice, the
Commission may take an adverse inference against the party pursuant to section 776(b) of the
Act (19 U.S.C. 1677e(b)) in making its determination in the review.
INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE OF INSTITUTION:
below, the term “firm” includes any related firms.

As used

(1)

The name and address of your firm or entity (including World Wide Web address) and
name, telephone number, fax number, and E-mail address of the certifying official.

(2)

A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is an interested party under 19 U.S.C.
1677(9) and if so, how, including whether your firm/entity is a U.S. producer of the
Domestic Like Product, a U.S. union or worker group, a U.S. importer of the Subject
Merchandise, a foreign producer or exporter of the Subject Merchandise, a U.S. or
foreign trade or business association (a majority of whose members are interested
parties under the statute), or another interested party (including an explanation). If you
are a union/worker group or trade/business association, identify the firms in which your
workers are employed or which are members of your association.

(3)

A statement indicating whether your firm/entity is willing to participate in this
proceeding by providing information requested by the Commission.

(4)

A statement of the likely effects of the revocation of the antidumping duty order on the
Domestic Industry in general and/or your firm/entity specifically. In your response,
please discuss the various factors specified in section 752(a) of the Act (19 U.S.C.
1675a(a)) including the likely volume of subject imports, likely price effects of subject
imports, and likely impact of imports of Subject Merchandise on the Domestic Industry.

(5)

A list of all known and currently operating U.S. producers of the Domestic Like Product.
Identify any known related parties and the nature of the relationship as defined in
section 771(4)(B) of the Act (19 U.S.C. 1677(4)(B)).

(6)

A list of all known and currently operating U.S. importers of the Subject Merchandise
and producers of the Subject Merchandise in the Subject Country that currently export
or have exported Subject Merchandise to the United States or other countries after
2012.

(7)

A list of 3-5 leading purchasers in the U.S. market for the Domestic Like Product and the
Subject Merchandise (including street address, World Wide Web address, and the name,
telephone number, fax number, and E-mail address of a responsible official at each
firm).

(8)

A list of known sources of information on national or regional prices for the Domestic
Like Product or the Subject Merchandise in the U.S. or other markets.

(9)

If you are a U.S. producer of the Domestic Like Product, provide the following
information on your firm’s operations on that product during calendar year 2018, except
as noted (report quantity data in number of hangers and value data in U.S. dollars, f.o.b.
plant). If you are a union/worker group or trade/business association, provide the
information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms in which your workers are
employed/which are members of your association.
(a)

Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the percentage of total U.S.
production of the Domestic Like Product accounted for by your firm’s(s’)
production;

(b)

Capacity (quantity) of your firm to produce the Domestic Like Product (that is,
the level of production that your establishment(s) could reasonably have
expected to attain during the year, assuming normal operating conditions (using
equipment and machinery in place and ready to operate), normal operating
levels (hours per week/weeks per year), time for downtime, maintenance,
repair, and cleanup, and a typical or representative product mix);

(10)

(11)

(c)

the quantity and value of U.S. commercial shipments of the Domestic Like
Product produced in your U.S. plant(s);

(d)

the quantity and value of U.S. internal consumption/company transfers of the
Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s); and

(e)

the value of (i) net sales, (ii) cost of goods sold (COGS), (iii) gross profit, (iv)
selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses, and (v) operating income of
the Domestic Like Product produced in your U.S. plant(s) (include both U.S. and
export commercial sales, internal consumption, and company transfers) for your
most recently completed fiscal year (identify the date on which your fiscal year
ends).

If you are a U.S. importer or a trade/business association of U.S. importers of the Subject
Merchandise from the Subject Country, provide the following information on your
firm’s(s’) operations on that product during calendar year 2018 (report quantity data in
number of hangers and value data in U.S. dollars). If you are a trade/business
association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms which are
members of your association.
(a)

The quantity and value (landed, duty-paid but not including antidumping duties)
of U.S. imports and, if known, an estimate of the percentage of total U.S. imports
of Subject Merchandise from the Subject Country accounted for by your firm’s(s’)
imports;

(b)

the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping duties) of U.S.
commercial shipments of Subject Merchandise imported from the Subject
Country; and

(c)

the quantity and value (f.o.b. U.S. port, including antidumping duties) of U.S.
internal consumption/company transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from
the Subject Country.

If you are a producer, an exporter, or a trade/business association of producers or
exporters of the Subject Merchandise in the Subject Country, provide the following
information on your firm’s(s’) operations on that product during calendar year 2018
(report quantity data in number of hangers and value data in U.S. dollars, landed and
duty-paid at the U.S. port but not including antidumping duties). If you are a
trade/business association, provide the information, on an aggregate basis, for the firms
which are members of your association.

(a)

Production (quantity) and, if known, an estimate of the percentage of total
production of Subject Merchandise in the Subject Country accounted for by your
firm’s(s’) production;

(b)

Capacity (quantity) of your firm(s) to produce the Subject Merchandise in the
Subject Country (that is, the level of production that your establishment(s) could
reasonably have expected to attain during the year, assuming normal operating
conditions (using equipment and machinery in place and ready to operate),
normal operating levels (hours per week/weeks per year), time for downtime,
maintenance, repair, and cleanup, and a typical or representative product mix);
and

(c)

the quantity and value of your firm’s(s’) exports to the United States of Subject
Merchandise and, if known, an estimate of the percentage of total exports to the
United States of Subject Merchandise from the Subject Country accounted for by
your firm’s(s’) exports.

(12)

Identify significant changes, if any, in the supply and demand conditions or business
cycle for the Domestic Like Product that have occurred in the United States or in the
market for the Subject Merchandise in the Subject Country after 2012, and significant
changes, if any, that are likely to occur within a reasonably foreseeable time. Supply
conditions to consider include technology; production methods; development efforts;
ability to increase production (including the shift of production facilities used for other
products and the use, cost, or availability of major inputs into production); and factors
related to the ability to shift supply among different national markets (including barriers
to importation in foreign markets or changes in market demand abroad). Demand
conditions to consider include end uses and applications; the existence and availability
of substitute products; and the level of competition among the Domestic Like Product
produced in the United States, Subject Merchandise produced in the Subject Country,
and such merchandise from other countries.

(13)

(OPTIONAL) A statement of whether you agree with the above definitions of the
Domestic Like Product and Domestic Industry; if you disagree with either or both of
these definitions, please explain why and provide alternative definitions.

AUTHORITY: This proceeding is being conducted under authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of
1930; this notice is published pursuant to section 207.61 of the Commission’s rules.
By order of the Commission.

Lisa R. Barton

Secretary to the Commission
Issued: