# Paper File Folders From Sri Lanka: Final Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less-Than-Fair Value
**AGENCY:**
Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce.
**SUMMARY:**
The U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) determines that imports of paper file folders (file folders) from Sri Lanka are being, or are likely to be, sold in the United States at less than fair value (LTFV). The period of investigation is October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024.
**DATES:**
Applicable August 8, 2025.
**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:**
Rachel Jennings, AD/CVD Operations, Office V, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-1110.
**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:**
**Background**
On May 29, 2025, Commerce published in the *Federal Register* its preliminary affirmative determination in the LTFV investigation of file folders from Sri Lanka. [^1] We invited interested parties to comment on the * Preliminary Determination.* No interested party submitted comments. Accordingly, the final determination remains unchanged from the *Preliminary Determination* and no decision memorandum accompanies this notice. The *Preliminary Determination* is hereby adopted in this final determination. Commerce conducted this LTFV investigation in accordance with section 735 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act).
[^1]*See Paper File Folders from Sri Lanka: Preliminary Affirmative Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value,* 90 FR 22696 (May 29, 2025) ( *Preliminary Determination* ), and accompanying Preliminary Decision Memorandum (PDM).
**Scope of the Investigation**
The product covered by this investigation is file folders from Sri Lanka. For a complete description of the scope of this investigation, *see* the appendix to this notice.
**Scope Comments**
We received no comments from interested parties on the scope of the investigation as it appeared in the *Preliminary Determination.* Therefore, we made no changes to the scope of the investigation.
**Verification**
As stated in the *Preliminary Determination,* after being selected as the sole mandatory respondent, Lanka Educational Products Pvt Ltd (Lanka Educational Products) failed to respond to Commerce's requests for information. Accordingly, Commerce based the *Preliminary Determination* entirely on the application of facts available with adverse inferences (AFA) and did not conduct verification under section 782(i) of the Act.
**Use of Adverse Facts Available**
In the *Preliminary Determination,* we assigned Lanka Educational Products an estimated dumping margin based entirely on AFA, pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of Act. [^2] There is no new information on the record that would cause us to revisit our decision in the *Preliminary Determination.* Accordingly, for this final determination, we continue to apply AFA pursuant to sections 776(a) and (b) of the Act and, as AFA, we continue to select the highest rate alleged in the Petition [^3] as the rate applicable to Lanka Educational Products. [^4]
[^2]*See Preliminary Determination,* 90 FR at 22696-97.
[^3]*See* Petitioners' Letter, “Petitions for the Imposition of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties on Imports of Paper File Folders from Cambodia and Sri Lanka,” dated October 21, 2024 (Petition).
[^4]*See Preliminary Determination* PDM at 4-7.
**All-Others Rate**
Section 735(c)(5)(A) of the Act provides that the estimated dumping margin for all other producers and exporters not individually investigated shall be equal to the weighted average of the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for exporters and producers individually investigated excluding rates that are zero, *de minimis,* or determined entirely under section 776 of the Act. However, if the estimated weighted-average dumping margins established for all exporters and producers individually examined are zero, *de minimis,* or determined based entirely on facts otherwise available, Commerce may use any reasonable method to establish the estimated dumping margin for all other producers or exporters. [^5]
[^5]*See* section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act.
In the *Preliminary Determination,* we assigned a dumping margin of 57.43 percent as the all-others rate based on a simple average of the calculated rates in the Petition, pursuant to section 735(c)(5)(B) of the Act. [^6] As noted above, we received no comments on our *Preliminary Determination;* thus, we continue to assign a dumping margin of 57.43 percent as the all-others rate for this final determination.
[^6]*See Preliminary Determination* PDM at 7-8.
**Final Determination**
Commerce determines that the following estimated dumping margins exist:
| Exporter/producer | Dumping |
| --- | --- |
| Lanka Educational Products Pvt Ltd | * 91.28 |
| All Others | 57.43 |
**Disclosure**
Normally, Commerce will disclose to the parties in a proceeding the calculations performed in connection with a final determination within five days of any public announcement or, if there is no public announcement, within five days of the date of publication of the notice of final determination in the *Federal Register* , in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, because Commerce received no comments on the *Preliminary Determination,* we are adopting the *Preliminary Determination* as the final determination in this investigation. Consequently, there are no new calculations to disclose.
**Continuation of Suspension of Liquidation**
In accordance with section 735(c)(1)(B) of the Act, Commerce will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to continue to suspend liquidation of subject merchandise, as described in the appendix to this notice, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption, on or after May 29, 2025, which is the date of publication of the affirmative *Preliminary Determination* in the *Federal Register* .
Pursuant to section 735(c)(1)(B)(ii) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.210(d), where appropriate, Commerce will instruct CBP to require a cash deposit equal to the estimated dumping margin or the estimated all-others rate as follows: (1) the cash deposit rate for the respondent listed above will be equal to the company-specific estimated dumping margins determined in this final determination; (2) if the exporter is not a respondent identified above, but the producer is, then the cash deposit rate will be equal to the company-specific estimated dumping margin established for that producer of the subject merchandise; and (3) the cash deposit rate for all other producers and exporters will be equal to the all-others estimated dumping margin. These suspension of liquidation instructions will remain in effect until further notice.
**U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) Notification**
In accordance with section 735(d) of the Act, we will notify the ITC of the final affirmative determination of sales at LTFV. Because Commerce's final determination is affirmative, in accordance with section 735(b)(2) of the Act, the ITC will make its final determination as to whether the domestic industry in the United States is materially injured, or threatened with material injury, by reason of imports or sales (or the likelihood of sales) for importation of file folders from Sri Lanka no later than 45 days after this final determination. If the ITC determines that such injury does not exist, this proceeding will be terminated, and all cash deposits will be refunded, and suspension of liquidation will be lifted. If the ITC determines that material injury, or the threat of material injury, exists, Commerce will issue an antidumping duty order directing CBP to assess, upon further instruction by Commerce, antidumping duties on all imports of the subject merchandise, entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for consumption on or after the effective date of the suspension of liquidation, as discussed above in the “Suspension of Liquidation” section.
**Administrative Protective Order**
This notice serves as the only reminder to parties subject to an APO of their responsibility concerning the disposition of proprietary information disclosed under APO in accordance with 19 CFR 351.305(a)(3). Timely written notification of the return or destruction of APO materials or conversion to judicial protective order is hereby requested. Failure to comply with the regulations and terms of an APO is a sanctionable violation.
**Notification to Interested Parties**
This determination and this notice are issued and published pursuant to sections 735(d) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, and 19 CFR 351.210(c).
Dated: August 4, 2025.
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 Investigation**
The products within the scope of 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. The scope includes 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 first sentence of this 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 the packaging.
Subject folders 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.
The scope covers all varieties of folders, including but not limited to manila folders, hanging folders, fastener holders, classification folders, expanding folders, pockets, jackets, and wallets.
Excluded from the scope 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 of 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.
Imports of the subject merchandise are provided for under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) category 4820.30.0040. Subject imports may also enter under other HTSUS classifications. While the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, the written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.