Creation of third-country case number for certain cased pencils from the People's Republic of China (A-570-827) completed/assembled in Vietnam (A-552-627)

This is an informational message. No action is required. 1. AD/CVD orders generally cover products from a particular country. In some cases, however, products from the country subject to the AD/CVD order may undergo completion or assembly in a third country prior to export or sale to the United States. The products may remain subject to the AD/CVD order despite the completion or assembly that occurs in the third country. However, for CBP purposes, the country of origin for such products may be the third country where the completion or assembly occurred. For technical reasons, the country of the AD/CVD case number must match the CBP country of origin in the entry summary documentation. Accordingly, Commerce establishes third country AD/CVD case numbers that match the CBP country of origin for CBP purposes. 2. The merchandise covered by this order is certain cased pencils of any shape or dimension which are writing and/or drawing instruments that feature cores of graphite or other materials, encased in wood and/or man-made materials, whether or not decorated and whether or not tipped (e.g., with erasers, etc.) in any fashion, and either sharpened or unsharpened. The pencils subject to this order are classified under subheading 9609.10.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Specifically excluded from the scope of this order are mechanical pencils, cosmetic pencils, pens, non-cased crayons (wax), pastels, charcoals, and chalks, and pencils produced under U.S. patent number 6,217,242, from paper infused with scents by the means covered in the above-referenced patent, thereby having odors distinct from those that may emanate from pencils lacking the scent infusion. Also excluded from the scope of the order are pencils with all of the following physical characteristics: (1) length: 13.5 or more inches; (2) sheath diameter: not less than one-and-one-quarter inches at any point (before sharpening); and (3) core length: not more than 15 percent of the length of the pencil. In addition, pencils with all of the following physical characteristics are excluded from the scope of the order: novelty jumbo pencils that are octagonal in shape, approximately ten inches long, one inch in diameter before sharpening, and three-and-one eighth inches in circumference, composed of turned wood encasing one-and-one half inches of sharpened lead on one end and a rubber eraser on the other end. Although the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes; our written description of the scope of this order is dispositive. 3. Effective 12/01/2017, Commerce established third-country case numbers to allow products assembled in Vietnam using certain component parts sourced from China to be properly reported as subject to the order on certain cased pencils from the People's Republic of China upon entry. Third Country: Vietnam Case Number: A-552-627 Producer and/or Exporter: Vietnam-Wide Entity Case Number: A-552-627-000 Cash Deposit Rate: 114.90% The third-country AD case number above has been assigned for CBP purposes. 4. If there are any questions by the importing public regarding this message, please contact the Call Center for the Office of AD/CVD Operations, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce at (202) 482-0984. CBP ports should submit their inquiries through authorized CBP channels only. (This message was generated by OIX: MS) 5. There are no restrictions on the release of this information. Alexander Amdur