[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 232 (Monday, December 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71629-71631]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28986]
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION
[Investigation No. 731-TA-747 (Third Review)]
Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico: Institution of a Five-Year Review
Concerning the Suspended Investigation on Fresh Tomatoes From Mexico
AGENCY: United States International Trade Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Commission hereby gives notice that it has instituted a
review pursuant to section 751(c) of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1675(c)) (the Act) to determine whether termination of the suspended
investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico would be likely to lead to
continuation or recurrence of material injury. Pursuant to section
751(c)(2) of the Act, interested parties are requested to respond to
this notice by submitting the information specified below to the
Commission; \1\ to be assured of consideration, the deadline for
responses is January 2, 2013. Comments on the adequacy of responses may
be filed with the Commission by February 15, 2013. For further
information concerning the conduct of this review and rules of general
application, consult the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure,
part 201, subparts A through E (19 CFR part 201), and part 207,
subparts A, D, E, and F (19 CFR part 207), as most recently amended at
74 FR 2847 (January 16, 2009).
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\1\ 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. 13-5-280,
expiration date June 30, 2014. 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.
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DATES: Effective Date: December 3, 2012.
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
(http://www.usitc.gov). The public record for this review may be viewed
on the Commission's electronic docket (EDIS) at http://edis.usitc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background. On November 1, 1996, the Department of Commerce
(``Commerce'') suspended an antidumping duty investigation on imports
of fresh tomatoes from Mexico (61 FR 56618). On October 1, 2001,
Commerce initiated its first five-year review of the suspended
investigation (66 FR 49926). On the basis of the withdrawal from the
suspension agreement by Mexican tomato growers which accounted for a
significant percentage of all fresh tomatoes imported into the United
States from Mexico, Commerce terminated the suspension agreement,
terminated the first five-year review, and resumed the antidumping
investigation, effective July 30, 2002 (67 FR 50858, August 6, 2002).
On December 16, 2002, Commerce suspended the antidumping duty
investigation on imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico (67 FR 77044).
On November 1, 2007, Commerce initiated its second five-year review of
the suspended investigation (72 FR 61861). Once again, based on the
withdrawal from the suspension agreement by Mexican tomato growers
which accounted for a significant percentage of all fresh tomatoes
imported into the United States from Mexico, Commerce terminated the
suspension agreement, terminated the first five-year review, and
resumed the antidumping investigation, effective January 18, 2008 (73
FR 2887, January 16, 2008). The antidumping investigation was again
suspended effective January 22, 2008 (73 FR 4831, January 28, 2008).
The Commission is now instituting a third five-year review to determine
whether termination of the suspended investigation would be likely to
lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury to the domestic
industry within a reasonably foreseeable time. It 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 Mexico.
(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. For the purpose
of the preliminary investigation, the Commission defined the Domestic
Like Product as all fresh market tomatoes. Fresh market tomatoes do not
include processing tomatoes.
(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. For the purpose of the preliminary
investigation, the Commission defined the Domestic Industry as growers
and packers of fresh tomatoes.
(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 review 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 review 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 review.
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
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underlying original investigation. The Commission's designated agency
ethics official has advised that a five-year review is not considered
the ``same particular matter'' as the corresponding underlying original
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)), 73 FR 24609 (May 5, 2008). This advice was developed in
consultation with the Office of Government Ethics. 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 was pending when they were Commission
employees. For further ethics advice on this matter, contact Carol
McCue Verratti, Deputy Agency Ethics Official, at 202-205-3088.
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 review available to authorized applicants under
the APO issued in the review, 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 review. 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 review must certify that the information is accurate and complete
to the best of the submitter's knowledge. In making the certification,
the submitter will be deemed to consent, unless otherwise specified,
for the Commission, its employees, and contract personnel to use the
information provided in any other reviews or investigations of the same
or comparable products which the Commission conducts under Title VII of
the Act, or in internal audits and investigations relating to the
programs and operations of the Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix
3.
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
January 2, 2013. 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
February 15, 2013. All written submissions must conform with the
provisions of sections 201.8 and 207.3 of the Commission's rules and
any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the
requirements of sections 201.6 and 207.7 of the Commission's rules.
Please be aware that the Commission's rules with respect to electronic
filing have been amended. The amendments took effect on November 7,
2011. See 76 FR 61937 (Oct. 6, 2011) and the newly revised Commission's
Handbook on E-Filing, available on the Commission's Web site at http://edis.usitc.gov. Also, in accordance with sections 201.16(c) and 207.3
of the Commission's rules, each document filed by a party to the review
must be served on all other parties to the review (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 review you do not need to serve your response).
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 in making its determination
in the review.
Information To Be Provided in Response to this Notice of
Institution: As used below, the term ``firm''includes any related
firms.
(1) The name and address of your firm or entity (including World
Wide Web address) and name, telephone number, fax number, and Email
address of the certifying official.
(2) A statement indicating 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, 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 review by providing information requested by the
Commission.
(4) A statement of the likely effects of the termination of the
suspended investigation 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 2006.
(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 Email 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 2011, except as noted (report quantity
data in pounds 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;
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(b) Capacity (quantity) of your firm to produce the Domestic Like
Product (i.e., 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);
(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).
(10) 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 2011 (report quantity data in pounds 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) 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) 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) of U.S. internal
consumption/company transfers of Subject Merchandise imported from the
Subject Country.
(11) 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 2011 (report quantity
data in pounds and value data in U.S. dollars, landed and duty-paid at
the U.S. port). 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 (i.e., 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 2006, 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 review 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.
Issued: November 26, 2012.
By order of the Commission.
Lisa R. Barton,
Acting Secretary to the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2012-28986 Filed 11-30-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7020-02-P