[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33350-33351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16273]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-475-059]
Pressure Sensitive Plastic Tape From Italy; Preliminary Results
of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of preliminary results of antidumping duty
administrative review of pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy.
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SUMMARY: In response to a request from an importer, Horizon Plastics,
the Department of Commerce is conducting an administrative review of
the antidumping duty finding on pressure sensitive plastic tape from
Italy. The period of review is October 1, 1996 through September 30,
1997. This review covers products manufactured and exported by
N.A.R.S.p.A. We have preliminarily found that sales of subject
merchandise have been made below normal value. If these preliminary
results are adopted in our final results, we will instruct the Customs
Service to assess antidumping duties based on the difference between
the export price or constructed export price and normal value.
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary
results. Parties who submit arguments are requested to submit with the
argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the
argument. We will issue the final results not later than 120 days from
the date of publication of this notice.
EFFECTIVE DATE: June 18, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Todd Peterson or Thomas Futtner, AD/CVD Enforcement Office 4, Import
Administration, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20230; telephone (202) 482-4195, and 482-3814, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Applicable Statute and Regulations
Unless otherwise indicated, all citations to the statute are
references to the provisions effective January 1, 1995, the effective
date of the amendments made to the Tariff Act of 1930 (the Act) by the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). In addition, unless otherwise
indicated, all citations to the Department of Commerce's (the
Department's) regulations refer to the regulations codified at 19 CFR
Part 351 (62 FR 27296, May 19, 1997).
Background
On October 21, 1997, the Department published in the Federal
Register (42 FR 56110) the antidumping duty finding on pressure
sensitive plastic tape (PSPT) from Italy. On October 31, 1997, in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(b), an interested party and importer of
the subject merchandise, Horizon Plastics, Inc., requested that the
Department conduct an administrative review of N.A.R.S.p.A. exports of
subject merchandise to the United States. We published the notice of
initiation of this review on November 26, 1997 (62 FR 63069).
Scope of the Review
Imports covered by the review are shipments of PSPT measuring 1\3/
8\ inches in width and not exceeding 4 mils in thickness. During the
period of review (POR), the above described PSPT was classified under
HTS subheadings 3919.90.20 and 3919.90.50. The HTS subheadings are
provided for convenience and for U.S. Customs purposes. The written
description remains dispositive as to the scope of the product
coverage.
Use of Facts Otherwise Available
We preliminarily determine that, in accordance with section
776(a)(2)(A) of the Act, the use of facts available is
[[Page 33351]]
appropriate for N.A.R.S.p.A. because this firm did not respond to the
Department's antidumping questionnaire. In addition, there is no
information on the record within the meaning of section 782(e) of the
Act with regard to sales by N.A.R.S.p.A. and therefore no information
to consider as an alternative to facts available in determining the
margin for N.A.R.S.p.A.
The Department finds that, in not responding to the questionnaire,
this firm failed to cooperate by not acting to the best of its ability
to comply with requests for information from the Department. Where the
Department must base the entire dumping margin for a respondent in an
administrative review on the facts available because the respondent
failed to cooperate, section 776(b) authorizes the Department to use an
inference adverse to the interests of the respondent in choosing the
facts available. Section 776(b) also authorizes the Department to use
as adverse facts available information derived from the petition, the
final determination, a previous administrative review, or other
information placed on the record.
As adverse facts available, we have used the highest rate from any
prior segment of the proceeding, 12.66 percent. This rate was
calculated in the Final Results of Administrative Review of Antidumping
Finding (48 FR 35666), covering the period February 18, 1977 through
September 30, 1980. Information from prior segments of the proceeding
constitutes ``secondary information'' within the meaning of section
776(c) of the Act. Section 776(c) provides that the Department shall,
to the extent practicable, corroborate secondary information by
comparing it with independent sources reasonably at its disposal. The
Statement of Administrative Action (SAA) provides that corroborate
means simply that the Department will satisfy itself that the secondary
information to be used has probative value.
To corroborate secondary information, the Department will, to the
extent practicable, examine the reliability and relevance of the
information to be used. However, unlike other types of information,
such as input costs or selling expenses, there are no independent
sources for calculated dumping margins. The only source for margins is
administrative determinations. Thus, in an administrative review, if
the Department chooses as total adverse facts available a calculated
dumping margin from a prior segment of the proceeding, it is not
necessary to question the reliability of the margin for that time
period. With respect to the relevance aspect of corroboration, however,
the Department will consider information reasonably at its disposal as
to whether there are circumstances that would render a margin not
relevant. Where circumstances indicate that the selected margin is not
appropriate as adverse facts available, the Department will disregard
the margin and determine an appropriate margin (see, e.g., Fresh Cut
Flowers from Mexico; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review (60 FR 49567), where the Department disregarded
the highest margin as averse facts available because the margin was
based on another company's uncharacteristic business expense resulting
in an unusually high margin). No such circumstances exist in this case
which would cause the Department to disregard a prior margin.
Preliminary Results of the Review
As a result of this review, we preliminarily determine that the
following margin exists for the period October 1, 1996, through
September 30, 1997:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Margin
Manufacturer/exporter (percent)
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N.A.R.S.p.A................................................ 12.66
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Parties to the proceeding may request disclosure within five days
of the date of publication of this notice. Interested parties may also
request a hearing within ten days of publication. If requested, a
hearing will be held as early as convenient for the parties but not
later than 39 days after the date of publication of the first work day
thereafter. Interested parties may submit case briefs not later than 30
days after the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs,
which must be limited to issues raised in the case briefs, may be filed
not later than 37 days after the date of publication of this notice.
The Department will issue a notice of the final results of this
administrative review, which will include the results of its analysis
of issues raised in any such briefs, within 120 days from the
publication of these preliminary results.
The Department shall determine, and the Customs Service shall
assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate entries. Furthermore, the
following deposit requirements will be effective upon completion of the
final results of this administrative review for all shipments of
pressure sensitive plastic tape from Italy entered, or withdrawn from
warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date of the
final results of this administrative review, as provided by section
751(a)(1) of the Act: (1) the cash deposit rate for the reviewed
company will be the rate established in the final results of this
administrative review (except no cash deposit will be required where
weighted-average margin is de minimis, i.e., less than 0.5 percent);
(2) for merchandise exported by manufacturers or exporters not covered
in this review but covered in the original less-than-fair-value (LTFV)
investigation or a previous review, the cash deposit will continue to
be the most recent rate published in the final determination or final
results for which the manufacturer or exporter received an individual
rate; (3) if the exporter is not a firm covered in this review, a
previous review, or the original investigation, but the manufacturer
is, the cash deposit rate will be the rate established for the most
recent period for the manufacturer of the merchandise; and (4) if
neither the exporter nor the manufacturer is a firm covered in this or
any previous reviews or the original investigation, the cash deposit
rate will be 12.66 percent, the ``new shipper'' rate established in the
first notice of final results of administrative review published by the
Department (48 FR 35686, August 5, 1983).
This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their
responsibility 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 the Secretary's presumption that reimbursement of antidumping
duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double antidumping
duties.
This administrative review and notice are in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act.
Dated: June 11, 1998.
Robert S. LaRussa,
Assistant Secretary, Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-16273 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-M