Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from China - Preliminary Antidumping Review

Notice

Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Administrative Review; 2024-2025

A Notice by the International Trade Administration on 04/06/2026

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• Public Inspection Published Document: 2026-06560 (91 FR 17247) Document Headings ###### Department of Commerce

International Trade Administration

1. [A-570-886]

AGENCY:

Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) preliminarily determines that that Crown Polyethylene Products (International) Ltd. (Crown) is not eligible for a separate rate and is part of the China-wide entity. Further, Commerce is rescinding, in part, the administrative review of the antidumping duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from the People's Republic of China (China) for the period of review (POR) August 1, 2024, through July 31, 2025, with respect to Dongguan Nozawa Plastics Products Co., Ltd., and United Power Packaging, Ltd. (collectively Nozawa). Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES:

Applicable April 6, 2026.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Yang Jin Chun, AD/CVD Operations, Office I, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-5760.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On August 9, 2004, Commerce published in the Federal Register the antidumping duty order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from China. [1 ] On August 1, 2025, Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the Order. [2 ] On August 29, 2025, Hilex Poly Co., LLC and Superbag Corporation (collectively, the petitioners) submitted timely requests that Commerce conduct an administrative review of the Order with respect to Nozawa and Crown. [3 ]

On September 25, 2025, Commerce published in the Federal Register a notice of initiation of an administrative ( printed page 17248) review with respect to imports of polyethylene retail carrier bags exported and/or produced by Nozawa and Crown in accordance with section 751(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.221(c)(1)(i). [4 ] In the “Respondent Selection” section of the Initiation Notice, we indicated that, in the event that we limited the number of respondents selected for individual examination in accordance with section 777A(c)(2) of the Act, we intended to select respondents based on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. [5 ] Therefore, on September 25, 2025, we placed on the record CBP data for entries of subject merchandise from China during the POR, showing suspended entries during the POR and invited interested parties to comment. [6 ] No parties filed any comments by the deadline, October 2, 2025.

Due to the lapse in appropriations and Federal Government shutdown, on November 14, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by 47 days. [7 ] Additionally, due to a backlog of documents that were electronically filed via Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) during the Federal Government shutdown, on November 24, 2025, Commerce tolled all deadlines in administrative proceedings by an additional 21 days. [8 ]

On December 11, 2025, Commerce notified interested parties of its intent to rescind this administrative review in part with respect to Nozawa because it had no reviewable, suspended entries. [9 ] No party submitted comments regarding out notice of intent to rescind the review with respect to Nozawa.

Scope of the Order

The products covered by the Order are polyethylene retail carrier bags which may be referred to as t-shirt sacks, merchandise bags, grocery bags, or checkout bags. The full description of the scope of the Order is provided in the appendix to this notice.

Rescission of Review, in Part

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), it is Commerce's practice to rescind an administrative review of an antidumping duty order when there are no reviewable entries of subject merchandise during the POR for which liquidation is suspended. [10 ] Normally, upon completion of an administrative review, the suspended entries are liquidated at the antidumping duty assessment rate calculated for the review period. [11 ] Therefore, for an administrative review to be conducted, there must be a reviewable, suspended entry that Commerce can instruct CBP to liquidate at the antidumping duty assessment rate calculated for the review period. [12 ]

The record indicates there were no entries of subject merchandise for Nozawa during the POR. [13 ] In particular, CBP data placed on the record at the outset of this administrative review indicate no entries of merchandise from this company. [14 ] Accordingly, in the absence of suspended entries of subject merchandise during the POR, we are hereby rescinding this administrative review with respect to this company in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3).

China-Wide Entity

Because Crown did not file a separate rate application or certification in this administrative review, it is ineligible for a separate rate and we are unable to select it for individual examination. [15 ] Accordingly, Commerce finds that Crown, a company under review, has not established eligibility for a separate rate and is considered to be part of the China-wide entity for these preliminary results.

Commerce's policy regarding conditional review of the China-wide entity applies to this administrative review. [16 ] Under this policy, the China-wide entity will not be under review unless a party specifically requests, or Commerce self-initiates, a review of the entity. Because no party requested a review of the China-wide entity, the entity is not under review and the entity's rate of 77.57 percent is not subject to change. [17 ]

Disclosure

Normally, Commerce will disclose the calculations used in its analysis to parties in an administrative review within five days of the date of publication of the notice of preliminary results in the Federal Register, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, here Commerce preliminarily found Crown ineligible for a separate rate and treated it part of the China-wide entity. [18 ] Thus, there are no calculations to disclose, and no decision memorandum accompanies this notice.

Public Comment

Case briefs or other written comments may be submitted to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), we have modified the deadline for interested parties to submit case briefs to Commerce to no later than 21 days after the date of the publication of this notice. [19 ] Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed not later than five days after the date for filing case briefs. [20 ] Interested parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this proceeding must submit: (1) a table of contents listing each issue; and, (2) a table of authorities. [21 ]

As provided under 19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)(iii) and (d)(2)(iii), we request that interested parties provide at the beginning of their briefs a public executive summary for each issue raised in their briefs. [22 ] Further, we request that interested parties limit their public executive summary of each issue to no more than 450 words, not including citations. We intend to use the public executive summaries as the basis of the comment summaries included in the issues and decision memorandum that will accompany the final results in this administrative review. We request that ( printed page 17249) interested parties include footnotes for relevant citations in the public executive summary of each issue.

Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance, filed electronically via ACCESS. Requests should contain: (1) the party's name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants and whether any participant is a foreign national; and (3) a list of issues to be discussed. Issues raised in the hearing will be limited to those raised in the respective case briefs. An electronically filed hearing request must be received successfully in its entirety via ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. If a request for a hearing is made, parties will be notified of the date, time, and location of the hearing. [23 ] Parties should confirm the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before the scheduled hearing date.

All submissions, including case and rebuttal briefs, as well as hearing requests, must be filed via ACCESS. [24 ] An electronically filed document must be received successfully in its entirety in ACCESS by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the established deadline. Note that Commerce has amended certain of its requirements pertaining to the service of documents in 19 CFR 351.303(f). [25 ]

Assessment Rates

For the company for which this review is being rescinded Commerce will instruct CBP to assess antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Antidumping duties shall be assessed at rates equal to the cash deposit rate for estimated antidumping duties required at the time of entry, or withdrawal from warehouse, for consumption, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.212(c)(1)(i). With respect to the recission of this review, in part, Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register.

When Commerce determines that an exporter under review made no shipments of subject merchandise during the POR, upon issuing the final results, Commerce will instruct CBP to liquidate any suspended entries of subject merchandise that entered under that exporter's cash deposit requirement, i.e., under the exporter's CBP case number, during the POR at the weighted-average dumping margin for the China-wide entity, i.e., 77.57 percent. [26 ]

With respect to Crown, Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP no earlier than 35 days after the date of publication of the final results of this review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 90 days of publication).

For the final results, if we continue to treat Crown as part of the China-wide entity, we will instruct CBP to apply an ad valorem assessment rate of 77.57 percent to all entries of subject merchandise during the POR which were produced and/or exported by this company. The final results of this review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on entries of merchandise covered by the final results of this review and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.

Cash Deposit Rates

The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon publication of the final results of this administrative review for shipments of the subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as provided by sections 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for all Chinese exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be entitled to a separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the existing rate for the China-wide entity of 77.57 percent.; and (2) for all non-China exporters of subject merchandise which have not received their own rate, the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the China exporter that supplied that non-Chinese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Final Results of Review

Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final results of this administrative review, including the results of its analysis of issues raised by the parties in the written comments, within 120 days of publication of these preliminary results in the Federal Register, no later than 120 days after the date of publication of this notice, unless otherwise extended. [27 ]

Notification to Importers

This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply with this requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

This notice is issued and published in accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.213(d)(4).

Dated: March 30, 2026.

Christopher Abbott,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Negotiations, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.

Appendix

Scope of the Order

The merchandise subject to this antidumping duty Order are polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs), which also may be referred to as t-shirt sacks, merchandise bags, grocery bags, or checkout bags. The subject merchandise is defined as non-sealable sacks and bags with handles (including drawstrings), without zippers or integral extruded closures, with or without gussets, with or without printing, of polyethylene film having a thickness no greater than 0.035 inch (0.889 mm) and no less than 0.00035 inch (0.00889 mm), and with no length or width shorter than 6 inches (15.24 cm) or longer than 40 inches (101.6 cm). The depth of the bag may be shorter than 6 inches (15.24 cm) but not longer than 40 inches (101.6 cm).

PRCBs are typically provided without any consumer packaging and free of charge by retail establishments, e.g., grocery, drug, convenience, department, specialty retail, discount stores, and restaurants to their customers to package and carry their purchased products. The scope of this antidumping duty Order excludes (1) PRCBs that are not printed with logos or store names and that are closeable with drawstrings made of polyethylene film and (2) PRCBs that are packed in consumer packaging with printing that refers to specific end-uses other than packaging and carrying merchandise from retail establishments, e.g., garbage bags, lawn bags, trash-can liners.

Imports of merchandise included within the scope of this antidumping duty Order are currently classifiable under statistical ( printed page 17250) category 3923.21.0085 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). This subheading may also cover products that are outside the scope of this antidumping duty Order. Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this antidumping duty Order is dispositive.

Footnotes

1. See Antidumping Duty Order: Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from the People's Republic of China, 69 FR 48201 (August 9, 2004) (Order).

Back to Citation 2. See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation; Opportunity to Request Administrative Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 90 FR 36141 (August 1, 2025).

Back to Citation 3.

                     
                    See 
                     Petitioners Letter, “Request for Administrative Review,” dated August 29, 2025.

Back to Citation 4. See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative Reviews, 90 FR 46173, 46181 (September 25, 2025) (Initiation Notice).

Back to Citation 5. Id. at 46173.

Back to Citation 6.

                     
                    See 
                     Memorandum, “Release of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Data Release,” dated September 25, 2025 (CBP Data Memorandum).

Back to Citation 7.

                     
                    See 
                     Memorandum, “Deadlines Affected by the Shutdown of the Federal Government,” dated November 14, 2025.

Back to Citation 8.

                     
                    See 
                     Memorandum, “Tolling of all Case Deadlines,” dated November 24, 2025.

Back to Citation 9.

                     
                    See 
                     Memorandum, “Notice of Intent to Rescind Review, in Part,” dated December 11, 2025.

Back to Citation 10. See, e.g., Dioctyl Terephthalate from the Republic of Korea: Rescission of Antidumping Administrative Review; 2021-2022, 88 FR 24758 (April 24, 2023); see also Certain Carbon and Alloy Steel Cut- to Length Plate from the Federal Republic of Germany: Recission of Antidumping Administrative Review; 2020-2021, 88 FR 4157 (January 24, 2023).

Back to Citation 11.

                     
                    See [19 CFR 351.212(b)(1)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.212#p-351.212(b)(1)).

Back to Citation 12.

                     
                    See [19 CFR 351.213(d)(3)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.213#p-351.213(d)(3)).

Back to Citation 13.

                     
                    See 
                     CBP Data Memorandum.

Back to Citation 14. Id.

Back to Citation 15. See Initiation Notice, 90 FR at 46173.

Back to Citation 16. See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).

Back to Citation 17. See Order, 69 FR at 48203.

Back to Citation 18. See, e.g., Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 74 FR 6857 (February 11, 2009).

Back to Citation 19.

                     
                    See [19 CFR 351.309](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.309).

Back to Citation 20.

                     
                    See [19 CFR 351.309(d)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.309#p-351.309(d)); *see also Administrative Protective Order, Service, and Other Procedures in Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Proceedings,* [88 FR 67069](https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/88-FR-67069), [67077](https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/88-FR-67077) (September 29, 2023) (*APO and Service Final Rule*).

Back to Citation 21.

                     
                    See [19 CFR 351.309(c)(2)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.309#p-351.309(c)(2)) and [(d)(2)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.309#p-351.309(d)(2)).

Back to Citation 22.

                     We use the term “issue” here to describe an argument that Commerce would normally address in a comment of the Issues and Decision Memorandum.

Back to Citation 23.

                     
                    See [19 CFR 351.310(d)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.310#p-351.310(d)).

Back to Citation 24.

                     
                    See [19 CFR 351.303](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.303).

Back to Citation 25. See APO and Service Final Rule.

Back to Citation 26.

                     For a full discussion of this practice, *see Non-Market Economy Antidumping Proceedings: Assessment of Antidumping Duties,* [76 FR 65694](https://www.federalregister.gov/citation/76-FR-65694) (October 24, 2011).

Back to Citation 27.

                     
                    See 
                     section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act; and [19 CFR 351.213(h)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-351.213#p-351.213(h)).

Back to Citation [FR Doc. 2026-06560 Filed 4-3-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P

Published Document: 2026-06560 (91 FR 17247)