Honey from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 74764-74776 [E5-7448]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 241 / Friday, December 16, 2005 / Notices
In conjunction with the results of other
testing (e.g., cognitive tests, focus
groups, the 2003 National Census Test,
the 2004 Census Test, and the 2005
National Census Test) the 2006 SFE will
help us develop the optimal data
collection methodology for the 2010
Census.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households.
Frequency: One-time.
Respondent’s Obligation: Mandatory.
Legal Authority: Title 13 U.S.C.,
Sections 141 and 193.
OMB Desk Officer: Susan Schechter,
(202) 395–5103.
Copies of the above information
collection proposal can be obtained by
calling or writing Diana Hynek,
Departmental Paperwork Clearance
Officer, (202) 482–0266, Department of
Commerce, room 6625, 14th and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20230 (or via the Internet at
dhynek@doc.gov).
Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent
within 30 days of publication of this
notice to Susan Schechter, OMB Desk
Officer either by fax (202–395–7245) or
e-mail (susan_schechter@omb.eop.gov).
Dated: December 13, 2005.
Madeleine Clayton,
Management Analyst, Office of the Chief
Information Officer.
[FR Doc. E5–7456 Filed 12–15–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–07–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
not acting to the best of their ability to
comply with our requests for
information and, as a result, should be
assigned a rate based on adverse facts
available. Finally, we have preliminarily
determined that five respondents made
sales to the United States of the subject
merchandise at prices below normal
value.
We invite interested parties to
comment on these preliminary results.
Parties that submit comments are
requested to submit with each argument
(1) a statement of the issue and (2) a
brief summary of the argument(s).
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 16, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kristina Boughton or Bobby Wong, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 9, Import
Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230;
telephone: (202) 482–8173 or (202) 482–
0409, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 1, 2004, the Department
published a Notice of Opportunity to
Request an Administrative Review of
Antidumping or Countervailing Duty
Order, Finding, or Suspended
Investigation, 69 FR 69889 (December 1,
2004). On December 30, 2004, the
American Honey Producers Association
and the Sioux Honey Association
(collectively, petitioners), requested, in
accordance with section 351.213(b) of
the Department’s regulations, an
administrative review of entries of
subject merchandise made during the
POR by 19 Chinese producers/
exporters.1 Also on December 30, 2004,
[A–570–863]
Honey from the People’s Republic of
China: Preliminary Results and Partial
Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review
Import Administration,
International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to requests from
interested parties, the Department of
Commerce (the Department) is
conducting the third administrative
review of the antidumping duty order
on honey from the People’s Republic of
China (PRC). The period of review
(POR) is December 1, 2003, through
November 30, 2004. One named
respondent company had no exports or
sales of the subject merchandise during
the POR; therefore, we are preliminarily
rescinding our review of this company.
We preliminarily determine that two
companies have failed to cooperate by
AGENCY:
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1 The request included: Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region Native Produce and Animal
By-Products Import & Export Corp. (Inner
Mongolia); Kunshan Foreign Trade Company
(Kunshan); Zhejiang Native Produce and Animal
By-Products Import & Export Corp. aka Zhejiang
Native Produce and Animal By-Products Import &
Export Group Corp. (Zhejiang); High Hope
International Group Jiangsu Foodstuffs Import &
Export Corp. (High Hope); Shanghai Eswell
Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Eswell); Anhui Native Produce
Import & Export Corp. (Anhui Native); Henan
Native Produce Import & Export Corp. (Henan);
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Native
Produce and Animal By-Products; Shanghai Xiuwei
International Trading Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Xiuwei);
Sichuan-Dujiangyan Dubao Bee Industrial Co., Ltd.
(Dubao); Wuhan Bee Healthy Company, Ltd.
(Wuhan Bee); Jinfu Trading Co., Ltd. (Jinfu);
Shanghai Shinomiel International Trade
Corporation (Shanghai Shinomiel); Anhui Honghui
Foodstuff (Group) Co., Ltd. (Anhui Honghui);
Chengdu Waiyuan Bee Products Co., Ltd. (Chengdu
Waiyuan); Eurasia Bee’s Products Co., Ltd.
(Eurasia); Foodworld International Club, Ltd.
(Foodworld); Inner Mongolia Youth Trade
Development Co., Ltd. (Inner Mongolia Youth); and
Jiangsu Kanghong Natural Healthfoods Co., Ltd.
(Jiangsu Kanghong).
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Wuhan Bee, Zhejiang, Anhui Honghui,
Eurasia, Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, and
Eswell requested that the Department
conduct an administrative review of
each respective company’s entries
during the POR.
On January 3, 2005, Dubao and
Chengdu Waiyuan requested that the
Department conduct an administrative
review of each respective company’s
entries during the POR. On January 31,
2005, the Department initiated an
administrative review of 19 Chinese
companies. See Initiation of
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty
Administrative Reviews and Request for
Revocation in Part, 70 FR 4818 (January
31, 2005).
On February 1, 2005, the Department
issued antidumping duty questionnaires
to 18 PRC producers/exporters of the
subject merchandise covered by this
administrative review.2 On February 3,
2005, the Department received a letter
from Inner Mongolia Youth and
Shanghai Xiuwei stating that neither
company sold subject merchandise to
the United States during the POR. On
February 22, 2005, petitioners filed a
letter withdrawing their request for
review of Kunshan, High Hope, Henan,
Shanghai Xiuwei, Shanghai Shinomiel,
Foodworld, and Inner Mongolia Youth.
On February 23, 2005, Anhui Native
separately notified the Department that
it had no sales of subject merchandise
to the United States during the POR,
and requested that the Department
rescind this proceeding for Anhui
Native.
On March 9, 2005, we invited
interested parties to comment on the
Department’s surrogate country
selection and/or significant production
in the other potential surrogate
countries and to submit publicly
available information to value the
factors of production. On March 29,
2005, the Department rescinded this
review with respect to Kunshan, High
Hope, Henan, Shanghai Xiuwei,
Shanghai Shinomiel, Foodworld, and
Inner Mongolia Youth, because
petitioners, the only party to request a
review for these companies, withdrew
their request for review. See Notice of
Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review: Honey from the
People’s Republic of China, 70 FR 15836
(March 29, 2005).
On April 28, 2005, petitioners
withdrew their request for review of
2 The Department notes that while petitioners
requested a review for Inner Mongolia Autonomous
Region Native Produce and Animal By-Products
Import & Export Corp. and Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region Native Produce and Animal
By-Products separately, both names refer to the
same company.
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Anhui Native, and on April 29, 2005,
petitioners withdrew their request for
review of Inner Mongolia. On May 25,
2005, the Department rescinded this
review with respect to Anhui Native
and Inner Mongolia because petitioners,
the only party to request a review for
these companies, withdrew their request
for review. See Honey from the People’s
Republic of China: Notice of Partial
Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 70 FR 30082
(May 25, 2005).
On June 22, 2005, petitioners filed a
letter withdrawing their request for
review of Wuhan Bee, and on the same
day, the respondent also filed a letter
withdrawing its request for an
administrative review. On July 21, 2005,
the Department rescinded this review
with respect to Wuhan Bee. See Honey
from the People’s Republic of China:
Notice of Partial Rescission of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 70 FR 42032 (July 21, 2005).
Also on July 21, 2005, the Department
published an extension of the time
limits to complete these preliminary
results. See Honey from the People’s
Republic of China: Notice of Extension
of Time Limit for Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 70 FR 42033 (July 21, 2005).
On October 11, 2005, petitioners and
Eswell, Anhui Honghui, Jiangsu
Kanghong, and Zhejiang submitted
comments on surrogate information
with which to value the factors of
production in this proceeding. On
October 18 and 21, 2005, the same
parties submitted comments on each
other’s October 11, 2005, surrogate
value submissions. From October 18 to
21, 2005, the Department conducted
verification of the information
submitted by Anhui Honghui, and from
October 23 to 27, 2005, the Department
conducted verification of the
information submitted by Jiangsu
Kanghong.
With regard to Anhui Honghui,
Eswell, Jinfu, Jiangsu Kanghong, and
Zhejiang, between March and December
2005, the Department received timely
filed original and supplemental
questionnaire responses and petitioners’
comments on those responses.
Eurasia:
We received timely responses from
Eurasia to the Department’s original
questionnaire. We subsequently issued
three supplemental questionnaires to
Eurasia, receiving responses to the first
two supplemental questionnaires and
no response to the third supplemental
questionnaire, sent October 7, 2005. On
October 19, 2005, the Department
received a letter from Eurasia’s counsel
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stating that Eurasia was withdrawing its
request for an administrative review. On
October 26, 2005, the Department issued
a warning letter to Eurasia, noting that
petitioners had not withdrawn their
request for review and that the
Department required Eurasia’s response
to the supplemental questionnaire. The
Department noted that it might have to
resort to facts available if Eurasia failed
to file a response. The Department
received no response to this letter.
Dubao:
The Department received no response
from Dubao to its original questionnaire,
sent February 1, 2005. On February 23,
2005, Dubao, through its counsel,
withdrew its request for a review in this
administrative proceeding. On March 7,
2005, the Department informed Dubao,
via its counsel, that petitioners had not
withdrawn their request for review of
Dubao, that the Department was
proceeding with the review, and that the
Department required Dubao’s
questionnaire response or the
Department might resort to facts
available. On March 17, 2005, the
Department notified Dubao for the
second time, through its counsel, that
the Department was not rescinding the
review with respect to Dubao and that
Dubao risked application of adverse
facts available if it failed to submit a
response. The Department did not
receive a response to either letter.
Chengdu Waiyuan:
In response to the Department’s
issuance of the antidumping duty
questionnaire, on February 23, 2005,
Chengdu Waiyuan notified the
Department that it had no sales of
subject merchandise to the United
States during the POR, and requested
that the Department rescind this
proceeding for Chengdu Waiyuan. We
received no comments from any
interested parties regarding Chengdu
Waiyuan’s request for rescission.
Therefore, because Chengdu Waiyuan
had no shipments to the United States
during the POR, the Department is
preliminarily rescinding this
administrative review for Chengdu
Waiyuan. See ‘‘Preliminary Partial
Rescission of Administrative Review’’
section, below.
Scope of the Antidumping Duty Order
The products covered by this order
are natural honey, artificial honey
containing more than 50 percent natural
honey by weight, preparations of natural
honey containing more than 50 percent
natural honey by weight, and flavored
honey. The subject merchandise
includes all grades and colors of honey
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whether in liquid, creamed, comb, cut
comb, or chunk form, and whether
packaged for retail or in bulk form.
The merchandise subject to this order
is currently classifiable under
subheadings 0409.00.00, 1702.90.90,
and 2106.90.99 of the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
Although the HTSUS subheadings are
provided for convenience and customs
purposes, the Department’s written
description of the merchandise under
order is dispositive.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the
Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act),
and 19 CFR 351.307, we conducted
verification of the questionnaire
responses of Anhui Honghui and
Jiangsu Kanghong in October 2005. We
used standard verification procedures,
including on–site inspections of the
production facilities and examination of
relevant sales and financial records. Our
verification results are outlined in the
verification reports, public versions of
which are on file in the Central Records
Unit (CRU) located in room B–099 of the
Main Commerce Building. See ‘‘Memo
to the File: Verification of Sales and of
Factors of Production for Anhui
Honghui Foodstuff (Group) Co., Ltd.
(‘‘Anhui Honghui’’) in the Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review of Honey
from the People’s Republic of China
(‘‘PRC’’),’’ dated December 9, 2005; see
also ‘‘Memo to the File: Verification of
U.S. Sales and Factors of Production for
Respondent Jiangsu Kanghong Natural
Healthfoods Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu
Kanghong),’’ dated December 9, 2005,
(Jiangsu Kanghong Verification Report).
Preliminary Partial Rescission of
Administrative Review
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), we
have preliminarily determined that
Chengdu Waiyuan made no shipments
of subject merchandise to the United
States during the POR. In making this
determination, the Department
examined PRC honey shipment data
maintained by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP). Based on the
information obtained from CBP, we
found no entries of subject merchandise
during the POR manufactured or
exported by Chengdu Waiyuan to the
United States. The Department also
issued a no shipment inquiry to CBP on
May 2, 2005, asking for notification
from CBP if it had information contrary
to our finding of no entries of subject
merchandise for Chengdu Waiyuan
during the POR. We received no
response from CBP. See also
‘‘Memorandum to the File regarding
Entries by Chengdu Waiyuan Bee
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Products Co., Ltd.,’’ dated December 9,
2005.
Therefore, based on the results of our
corroborative CBP query, indicating no
shipments of subject merchandise by
Chengdu Waiyuan during the POR, as
well as Chengdu Waiyuan’s claim that
it had no subject shipments, we are
preliminarily rescinding the
administrative review, in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), with respect
to Chengdu Waiyuan.
Separate Rates
In proceedings involving non–market
economy (NME) countries, the
Department begins with a rebuttable
presumption that all companies within
the country are subject to government
control and, thus, should be assigned a
single antidumping duty rate unless an
exporter can affirmatively demonstrate
an absence of government control, both
in law (de jure) and in fact (de facto),
with respect to its export activities. In
this review Anhui Honghui, Eswell,
Eurasia, Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, and
Zhejiang submitted information in
support of their claim for a company–
specific rate.
Accordingly, we have considered
whether each of the companies is
independent from government control,
and therefore eligible for a separate rate.
The Department’s separate–rate test to
determine whether the exporters are
independent from government control
does not consider, in general,
macroeconomic/border–type controls,
e.g., export licenses, quotas, and
minimum export prices, particularly if
these controls are imposed to prevent
dumping. The test focuses, rather, on
controls over the investment, pricing,
and output decision–making process at
the individual firm level. See Certain
Cut–to-Length Carbon Steel Plate from
Ukraine: Final Determination of Sales at
Less than Fair Value, 62 FR 61754,
61757 (November 19, 1997), and
Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts
Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, from
the People’s Republic of China: Final
Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 62 FR 61276,
61279 (November 17, 1997).
To establish whether a firm is
sufficiently independent from
government control of its export
activities to be entitled to a separate
rate, the Department analyzes each
entity exporting the subject
merchandise under a test arising from
the Notice of Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers
from the People’s Republic of China, 56
FR 20588 at Comment 1 (May 6, 1991)
(Sparklers), as amplified by Notice of
Final Determination of Sales at Less
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Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from
the People’s Republic of China, 59 FR
22585, 22586–7 (May 2, 1994) (Silicon
Carbide). In accordance with the
separate–rates criteria, the Department
assigns separate rates in NME cases only
if respondents can demonstrate the
absence of both de jure and de facto
government control over export
activities.
Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Jiangsu
Kanghong, Jinfu, and Zhejiang
(collectively, fully responsive
companies) provided complete
separate–rate information in their
responses to our original and
supplemental questionnaires.
Accordingly, we performed a separate–
rates analysis to determine whether
these exporters are independent from
government control.
For the reasons discussed below in
the section titled ‘‘The Use of Facts
Otherwise Available and PRC–wide
Rate,’’ we have preliminarily
determined that Dubao and Eurasia do
not qualify for a separate rate and are
instead part of the PRC–wide entity.
Absence of De Jure Control
The Department considers the
following de jure criteria in determining
whether an individual company may be
granted a separate rate: (1) an absence of
restrictive stipulations associated with
an individual exporter’s business and
export licenses; (2) any legislative
enactments decentralizing control of
companies; and (3) other formal
measures by the government
decentralizing control of companies. See
Sparklers, 56 FR at 20589. As discussed
below, our analysis shows that the
evidence on the record supports a
preliminary finding of de jure absence
of government control for the five fully
responsive companies based on each of
these factors.
Anhui Honghui:
Anhui Honghui has placed on the
record a number of documents to
demonstrate absence of de jure control,
including the ‘‘Company Law of the
People’s Republic of China’’ (December
29, 1993) (Company Law), the ‘‘Foreign
Trade Law of the People’s Republic of
China’’ (May 12, 1994) (Foreign Trade
Law), the revised Foreign Trade Law
(April 6, 2004), and ‘‘Administrative
Regulations of the People’s Republic of
China Governing the Registration of
Legal Corporations’’ (June 3, 1988)
(Legal Corporations Regulations). See
Exhibit 2 of Anhui Honghui’s March 10,
2005, submission (Anhui Honghui
Section A). Anhui Honghui also
submitted a copy of its business license
in Exhibit 3 of Anhui Honghui Section
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A. The Feidong County Industrial and
Commercial Bureau issued this license.
Anhui Honghui explains that its
business license defines the scope of the
company’s business activities and
ensures the company has sufficient
capital to continue its business
operations. Anhui Honghui affirms that
its business operations are limited to the
scope of the license, though it can be
amended if it wishes to expand the
scope of its operations, and that the
license may be revoked if the company
has insufficient capital or engages in
activities outside the scope of its
business. Further, Anhui Honghui states
that the license must be renewed or
reviewed annually, and to obtain a
renewal, it must apply for a renewal and
provide a copy of its most recent
financial statements to the issuing
authority.
Eswell:
Eswell has placed on the record a
number of documents to demonstrate
absence of de jure control, including the
Company Law, Foreign Trade Law, and
the Legal Corporations Regulations. See
Exhibit 3 of Eswell’s March 10, 2005,
submission (Eswell Section A). Eswell
also submitted a copy of its business
license in Exhibit 4 of Eswell Section A.
The Shanghai Industry and Commerce
Administrative Bureau issued this
license. Eswell explains that its business
license defines the scope of its business
operations. Eswell affirms that its
business operations are limited to the
scope of the license, and that the license
may be revoked if the company engages
in illegal activities or if the company
conducts activities outside its
authorized business scope. Further,
Eswell states that the license must be
reviewed annually, and to obtain a
review qualification, it must apply for a
renewal and provide a copy of its most
recent financial statements to the
issuing authority.
Jiangsu Kanghong:
Jiangsu Kanghong has placed on the
record a number of documents to
demonstrate absence of de jure control,
including the Company Law, the
Foreign Trade Law, the revised Foreign
Trade Law, and the Legal Corporations
Regulations. See Exhibit 2 of Jiangsu
Kanghong’s March 10, 2005, submission
(Jiangsu Kanghong Section A). Jiangsu
Kanghong also submitted a copy of its
business license in Exhibit 3 of Jiangsu
Kanghong Section A. The Funing
County Industrial and Commercial
Bureau issued this license. Jiangsu
Kanghong explains that its business
license defines the scope of the
company’s business activities and
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ensures the company has sufficient
capital to continue its business
operations. Jiangsu Kanghong affirms
that its business operations are limited
to the scope of the license, though it can
be amended if it wishes to expand the
scope of its operations, and that the
license may be revoked if the company
has insufficient capital or engages in
activities outside the scope of its
business. Further, Jiangsu Kanghong
states that the license must be renewed
or reviewed annually, and to obtain a
renewal, it must apply for a renewal and
provide a copy of its most recent
financial statements to the issuing
authority.
Jinfu:
Jinfu has placed on the record a
number of documents to demonstrate
absence of de jure control, including the
Company Law and Foreign Trade Law.
See Exhibit A–2 of Jinfu’s March 10,
2005, submission (Jinfu Section A).
Jinfu also submitted a copy of its
business license in Exhibit A–3 of Jinfu
Section A. The Suzhou Kunshan
Industry and Commerce Administrative
Bureau issued this license. Jinfu
explains that the business license
defines its business scope and ensures
that the company has sufficient capital
to continue its business operations.
Jinfu also affirms that its business
operations are limited to the scope of
the license, and that the license may be
revoked if the company engages in
activities outside the scope of its
business or if the company goes
bankrupt. Further, Jinfu states that the
license is reviewed annually, and to
obtain a renewal, it must provide a copy
of its most recent financial statements to
the issuing authority.
Zhejiang:
Zhejiang has placed on the record a
number of documents to demonstrate
absence of de jure control, including the
‘‘Law of the People’s Republic of China
on Industrial Enterprises Owned by the
Whole People’’ (April 13, 1988),
Company Law, the revised Foreign
Trade Law, and the Legal Corporations
Regulations. See Exhibit 2 of Zhejiang’s
March 10, 2005, submission (Zhejiang
Section A). Zhejiang also submitted a
copy of its business license in Exhibit 3
of Zhejiang Section A. The Industrial
and Commercial Administrative Bureau
of Zhejiang Province issued this license.
Zhejiang explains that its business
license defines the scope of the
company’s business activities and
ensures the company has sufficient
capital to continue its business
operations. Zhejiang affirms that its
business operations are limited to the
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scope of the license, though it can be
amended if it wishes to expand the
scope of its operations, and that the
license may be revoked if the company
has insufficient capital or engages in
activities outside the scope of its
business. Further, Zhejiang states that
the license must be renewed or
reviewed annually, and to obtain a
renewal, it must apply for a renewal and
provide a copy of its most recent
financial statements to the issuing
authority.
We note that all five of the fully
responsive companies state that they are
governed by the Company Law, which
they claim governs the establishment of
limited liability companies and
provides that such a company shall
operate independently and be
responsible for its own profits and
losses. All of the fully responsive
companies have placed on the record
the Foreign Trade Law and state that
this law allows them full autonomy
from the central authority in governing
their business operations. We have
reviewed Article 11 of Chapter II of the
Foreign Trade Law, which states,
‘‘foreign trade dealers shall enjoy full
autonomy in their business operation
and be responsible for their own profits
and losses in accordance with the law.’’
As in prior cases, we have analyzed
such PRC laws and found that they
establish an absence of de jure control.
See, e.g., Pure Magnesium from the
People’s Republic of China: Final
Results of New Shipper Review, 63 FR
3085, 3086 (January 21, 1998) and
Preliminary Results of New Shipper
Review: Certain Preserved Mushrooms
From the People’s Republic of China, 66
FR 30695, 30696 (June 7, 2001), as
affirmed in Final Results of New
Shipper Review: Certain Preserved
Mushrooms From the People’s Republic
of China, 66 FR 45006 (August 27,
2001). Therefore, we preliminarily
determine that there is an absence of de
jure control over the export activities of
Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Jiangsu
Kanghong, Jinfu, and Zhejiang.
Absence of De Facto Control
Typically, the Department considers
four factors in evaluating whether a
respondent is subject to de facto
government control of its export
functions: (1) whether the export prices
are set by, or subject to, the approval of
a government authority; (2) whether the
respondent has authority to negotiate
and sign contracts, and other
agreements; (3) whether the respondent
has autonomy from the government in
making decisions regarding the
selection of its management; and (4)
whether the respondent retains the
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proceeds of its export sales and makes
independent decisions regarding
disposition of profits or financing of
losses. See Silicon Carbide, 59 FR at
22587.
As stated in previous cases, there is
some evidence that certain enactments
of the PRC central government have not
been implemented uniformly among
different sectors and/or jurisdictions in
the PRC. Id. at 22586–22587. Therefore,
the Department has determined that an
analysis of de facto control is critical in
determining whether respondents are,
in fact, subject to a degree of
government control, which would
preclude the Department from assigning
separate rates.
Anhui Honghui has asserted the
following: (1) It is a privately owned
company; (2) there is no government
participation in its setting of export
prices; (3) its general manager has the
authority to bind sales contracts; (4) the
company’s executive director appoints
the company’s management and it does
not have to notify government
authorities of its management selection;
(5) there are no restrictions on the use
of its export revenue; and (6) its
executive director decides how profits
will be used. We have examined the
documentation provided and note that it
does not suggest that pricing is
coordinated among exporters of PRC
honey.
Eswell has asserted the following: (1)
It is a privately owned company; (2)
there is no government participation in
its setting of export prices; (3) the
president of its affiliated company in
the United States or its designated sales
agent have the authority to bind sales
contracts; (4) its management is
appointed by its board of directors and
it does not have to notify government
authorities of its management selection;
(5) there are no restrictions on the use
of its export revenue; and (6) its board
of directors decides how profits will be
used. We have examined the
documentation provided and note that it
does not suggest that pricing is
coordinated among exporters of PRC
honey.
Jiangsu Kanghong has asserted the
following: (1) it is a privately owned
company; (2) there is no government
participation in its setting of export
prices; (3) its general manager has the
authority to bind sales contracts; (4) the
company’s executive director appoints
the company’s management and it does
not have to notify government
authorities of its management selection;
(5) there are no restrictions on the use
of its export revenue; and (6) its
executive director decides how profits
will be used. We have examined the
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documentation provided and note that it
does not suggest that pricing is
coordinated among exporters of PRC
honey.
Jinfu has asserted the following: (1) It
is a privately owned company; (2) there
is no government participation in its
setting of export prices; (3) the general
manager has the authority to bind sales
contracts; (4) the company’s board of
directors appoints the company’s
management and it does not have to
notify government authorities of its
management selection; (5) there are no
restrictions on the use of its export
revenue; and (6) its board of directors
decides how profits will be used. We
have examined the documentation
provided and note that it does not
suggest that pricing is coordinated
among exporters of PRC honey.
Zhejiang has asserted the following:
(1) It is a publicly owned company; (2)
there is no government participation in
its setting of export prices; (3) the
manager of the Bee Department Number
1 has the authority to bind sales
contracts; (4) the company’s president
selects the company’s management and
it does not have to notify government
authorities of its management selection;
(5) there are no restrictions on the use
of its export revenue; and (6) its
president decides how profits will be
used. We have examined the
documentation provided and note that it
does not suggest that pricing is
coordinated among exporters of PRC
honey.
Consequently, because evidence on
the record indicates an absence of
government control, both in law and in
fact, over each respondent’s export
activities, we preliminarily determine
that each fully responsive company has
met the criteria for the application of a
separate rate.
Use of Facts Otherwise Available and
the PRC–Wide Rate
Anhui Honhui, Eswell, Jiangsu
Kanghong, Jinfu, Zhejiang, Chengdu
Waiyuan, Dubao, and Eurasia were
given the opportunity to respond to the
Department’s questionnaire. As
explained above, we received complete
questionnaire responses from Anhui
Honghui, Eswell, Jiangsu Kanghong,
Jinfu, and Zhejiang, and we have
calculated a separate rate for these
companies. The PRC–wide rate applies
to all entries of subject merchandise
except for entries from PRC producers/
exporters that have their own calculated
rate. See ‘‘Separate Rates’’ section
above.3
3 Chengdu Waiyuan’s reply to the Department’s
questionnaire was its February 23, 2005, letter
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Dubao and Eurasia are appropriately
considered to be part of the PRC–wide
entity because they failed to establish
their eligibility for a separate rate.
Because the PRC–wide entity did not
provide requested information
necessary to the instant proceeding, it is
necessary that we review the PRC–wide
entity. In doing so, we note that section
776(a)(1) of the Act mandates that the
Department use the facts available if
necessary information is not available
on the record of an antidumping
proceeding. In addition, section
776(a)(2) of the Act provides that if an
interested party or any other person: (A)
withholds information that has been
requested by the administering
authority; (B) fails to provide such
information by the deadlines for the
submission of the information or in the
form and manner requested, subject to
subsections (c)(1) and (e) of section 782
of the Act; (C) significantly impedes a
proceeding under this title; or (D)
provides such information but the
information cannot be verified as
provided in section 782(i) of the Act, the
Department shall, subject to section
782(d) of the Act, use the facts
otherwise available in reaching the
applicable determination under this
title. Where the Department determines
that a response to a request for
information does not comply with the
request, section 782(d) of the Act
provides that the Department shall
promptly inform the party submitting
the response of the nature of the
deficiency and shall, to the extent
practicable, provide that party with an
opportunity to remedy or explain the
deficiency. Section 782(d) of the Act
additionally states that if the party
submits further information that is
unsatisfactory or untimely, the
administering authority may, subject to
subsection (e), disregard all or part of
the original and subsequent responses.
Section 782(e) of the Act provides that
the Department shall not decline to
consider information that is submitted
by an interested party and is necessary
to the determination but does not meet
all the applicable requirements
established by the administering
authority if: (1) the information is
submitted by the deadline established
for its submission; (2) the information
can be verified; (3) the information is
not so incomplete that it cannot serve as
a reliable basis for reaching the
stating it had no sales in the United States during
the POR. Based on this and the Department’s
analysis of CBP data, we have determined that
Chengdu Waiyuan had no shipments during the
POR and therefore we are preliminarily rescinding
this review for Chengdu Waiyuan. See ‘‘Partial
Rescission’’ section of this notice.
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applicable determination; (4) the
interested party has demonstrated that it
acted to the best of its ability in
providing the information and meeting
the requirements established by the
administering authority with respect to
the information; and (5) the information
can be used without undue difficulties.
We find that the PRC–wide entity
(including Dubao and Eurasia) did not
respond to our request for information
and that necessary information either
was not provided, or the information
provided cannot be verified and is not
sufficiently complete to enable the
Department to use it for these
preliminary results. Therefore, we find
it necessary, under section 776(a)(2) of
the Act, to use facts otherwise available
as the basis for the preliminary results
of this review for the PRC–wide entity.
As stated above in the ‘‘Background’’
section, Dubao did not respond to the
Department’s antidumping
questionnaire. The Department has no
information on the record for Dubao
with which to calculate a dumping
margin or determine if it is eligible for
a separate rate in this proceeding;
therefore, we find that Dubao has
significantly impeded the proceeding,
pursuant to sections 776(a)(2)(A) and
776(a)(2)(B) of the Act. Because Dubao
did not respond to the Department’s
questionnaires, sections 782(d) and (e)
of the Act are not applicable.
As stated above in the ‘‘Background’’
section, Eurasia responded to the
Department’s antidumping
questionnaire, and two subsequent
supplemental questionnaires. The
Department subsequently requested
additional information from Eurasia in a
supplemental questionnaire. See
Supplemental A, C, and D
questionnaire, dated October 7, 2005.
On October 19, 2005, the Department
received a letter from Eurasia stating
that it was withdrawing its request for
a review. We note that the omitted
information included details relating to
Eurasia’s ownership structure,
information critical to the Department’s
separate–rates analysis (see ‘‘Separate
Rates’’ section above), as well as
information on freight expenses and
payment. The Department gave Eurasia
an additional opportunity to provide the
information the Department had
requested on October 26, 2005. See
Letter from Carrie Blozy to Eurasia
dated October 26, 2005. The Department
received no response to this request.
Due to these serious deficiencies, we
preliminarily find that Eurasia has
failed to provide the information
requested, thereby significantly
impeding the proceeding. Therefore,
pursuant to section 776(a)(2)(A), (B),
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and (C) of the Act, the Department
preliminarily finds that the application
of facts available is appropriate for these
preliminary results.
Application of Adverse Inference
Section 776(b) of the Act provides
that, in selecting from among the facts
available, the Department may use an
inference that is adverse to the interests
of the respondent if it determines that
a party has failed to cooperate to the
best of its ability. Adverse inferences are
appropriate ‘‘to ensure that the party
does not obtain a more favorable result
by failing to cooperate than if it had
cooperated fully.’’ See Statement of
Administrative Action (SAA)
accompanying the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act, H. Doc. No. 316, 103d
Cong., 2d Session, Vol. 1 (1994) at 870.
In determining whether a respondent
has failed to cooperate to the best of its
ability, the Department need not make
a determination regarding the
willfulness of a respondent’s conduct.
See Nippon Steel Corp. v. United States,
337 F. 3d 1373, 1382–1393 (Fed. Cir.
2003). Furthermore, ‘‘ affirmative
evidence of bad faith on the part of a
respondent is not required before the
Department may make an adverse
inference.’’ Antidumping Duties;
Countervailing Duties: Final Rule, 62 FR
27296, 27340 (May 19, 1997).
In determining whether a party failed
to cooperate to the best of its ability, the
Department considers whether a party
could comply with the request for
information, and whether a party paid
insufficient attention to its statutory
duties. See Pacific Giant Inc. v. United
States, 223 F. Supp 2d 1336, 1342 (CIT
2002). Furthermore, the Department also
considers the accuracy and
completeness of submitted information,
and whether the respondent has
hindered the calculation of accurate
dumping margins. See Certain Welded
Carbon Steel Pipes and Tubes from
Thailand: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review, 62 FR
53808, 53819–53820 (October 16, 1997).
Pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act,
we find that the PRC–wide entity
(including Dubao and Eurasia) failed to
cooperate by not acting to the best of its
ability to comply with requests for
information. As noted above, the PRC–
wide entity informed the Department
that it would not participate in this
review, or otherwise did not provide the
requested information, despite repeated
requests that it do so. This information
was in the sole possession of the
respondents, and could not be obtained
otherwise. Thus, because the PRC–wide
entity refused to participate fully in this
proceeding, we find it appropriate to
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use an inference that is adverse to the
interests of the PRC–wide entity in
selecting from among the facts
otherwise available. By doing so, we
ensure that the companies that are part
of the PRC–wide entity will not obtain
a more favorable result by failing to
cooperate than had they cooperated
fully in this review.
Selection of AFA Rate
In deciding which facts to use as
AFA, section 776(b) of the Act and 19
CFR 351.308(c)(1) authorize the
Department to rely on information
derived from: (1) the petition; (2) a final
determination in the investigation; (3)
any previous review or determination;
or (4) any information placed on the
record. In reviews, it is the Department’s
practice to select, as AFA, the highest
rate determined for any respondent in
any segment of the proceeding. See, e.g.,
Freshwater Crawfish Tail Meat from the
People’s Republic of China; Notice of
Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 68 FR 19504,
19508 (April 21, 2003).
The U.S. Court of International Trade
(CIT) and the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit (CAFC) have
consistently upheld the Department’s
practice in this regard. See Rhone
Poulenc, Inc. v. United States, 899 F.2d
1185, 1190 (Fed. Circ. 1990) (Rhone
Poulenc); NSK Ltd. v. United States, 346
F. Supp. 2d 1312, 1335 (CIT 2004)
(upholding a 73.55 percent total AFA
rate, the highest available dumping
margin from a different respondent in a
LTFV investigation); see also Kompass
Food Trading Int’l v. United States, 24
CIT 678, 689 (2000) (upholding a 51.16
percent total AFA rate, the highest
available dumping margin from a
different, fully cooperative respondent);
and Shanghai Taoen International
Trading Co., Ltd. v. United States, 360
F. Supp. 2d 1339, 1348 (CIT 2005)
(upholding a 223.01 percent total AFA
rate, the highest available dumping
margin from a different respondent in a
previous administrative review).
The Department’s practice when
selecting an adverse rate from among
the possible sources of information is to
ensure that the margin is sufficiently
adverse ‘‘as to effectuate the purpose of
the facts available role to induce
respondents to provide the Department
with complete and accurate information
in a timely manner.’’ Static Random
Access Memory Semiconductors from
Taiwan; Final Determination of Sales at
Less than Fair Value, 63 FR 8909, 8932
(February 23, 1998). The Department’s
practice also ensures ‘‘that the party
does not obtain a more favorable result
by failing to cooperate than if it had
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74769
cooperated fully.’’ SAA at 870. See also
D&L Supply Co. v. United States, 113 F.
3d 1220, 1223 (Fed. Cir. 1997) and Final
Determination of Sales at Less than Fair
Value: Certain Frozen and Canned
Warmwater Shrimp from Brazil, 69 FR
76910 (December 23, 2004). In choosing
the appropriate balance between
providing respondents with an
incentive to respond accurately and
imposing a rate that is reasonably
related to the respondent’s prior
commercial activity, selecting the
highest prior margin ‘‘reflects a common
sense inference that the highest prior
margin is the most probative evidence of
current margins, because, if it were not
so, the importer, knowing of the rule,
would have produced current
information showing the margin to be
less.’’ Rhone Poulenc, 899 F.2d at 1190.
Consistent with the statute, court
precedent, and its practice, the
Department has preliminarily assigned
the rate of 183.80 percent, the highest
rate determined in any segment of the
proceeding to the PRC–wide entity
(including Dubao and Eurasia) as AFA.
See Notice of Final Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Honey
from the PRC, 66 FR 50608 (October 4,
2001) (Final Determination). As
discussed further below, this rate has
been corroborated.
Corroboration of Secondary
Information Used as AFA
We note that information from a prior
segment of this proceeding constitutes
‘‘secondary information,’’ and section
776(c) of the Act provides that, when
the Department relies on such
secondary information rather than on
information obtained in the course of a
review, the Department shall, to the
extent practicable, corroborate that
information from independent sources
that are reasonably at its disposal.4 The
SAA states that the independent sources
may include published price lists,
official import statistics and customs
data, and information obtained from
interested parties during the particular
investigation or review. The SAA also
clarifies that ‘‘corroborate’’ means that
the Department will satisfy itself that
the secondary information to be used
has probative value. See SAA at 870. To
corroborate secondary information, the
Department will, to the extent
practicable, examine the reliability and
relevance of the information used. See
Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts
4 Secondary information is described in the SAA
as ‘‘information derived from the petition that gave
rise to the investigation or review, the final
determination concerning the subject merchandise,
or any previous review under section 751
concerning the subject merchandise.’’ SAA at 870.
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Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, from
Japan, and Tapered Roller Bearings,
Four Inches or Less in Outside
Diameter, and Components Thereof,
from Japan; Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Reviews and Partial Termination of
Administrative Reviews, 61 FR 57391,
57392 (November 6, 1996) (TRBs), as
affirmed in Tapered Roller Bearings and
Parts Thereof, Finished and Unfinished,
from Japan, and Tapered Roller
Bearings, Four Inches or Less in Outside
Diameter, and Components Thereof,
from Japan; Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Reviews and Termination in Part, 62 FR
11825 (March 13, 1997). The SAA also
states that independent sources used to
corroborate such evidence may include,
for example, published price lists,
official import statistics and customs
data, and information obtained from
interested parties during the particular
investigation. SAA at 870. See Notice of
Preliminary Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value: High and Ultra–
High Voltage Ceramic Station Post
Insulators from Japan, 68 FR 35627,
35629 (June 16, 2003), as affirmed in
Notice of Final Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value: High and
Ultra–High Voltage Ceramic Station
Post Insulators from Japan, 68 FR 62560
(November 7, 2003); and Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Live Swine from Canada, 70
FR 12181, 12183–4 (March 11, 2005).
We note that in the LTFV
investigation, the Department
corroborated the information in the
petition that formed the basis of the
183.80 percent PRC–wide rate. See Final
Determination. Specifically, in the
LTFV investigation, the Department
compared the prices in the petition to
the prices submitted by individual
respondents for comparable
merchandise. For normal value (NV), we
compared petitioners’ factor–
consumption data to data reported by
respondents. See Notice of Preliminary
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Honey from the People’s
Republic of China, 66 FR 24101, 24105
(May 11, 2001) (Investigation Prelim), as
affirmed in the Final Determination.
To satisfy the corroboration
requirements under section 776(c) of the
Act, in the instant review, we compared
this margin rate to the margins we found
for respondents in this review.
Specifically, we found that respondents
reported sales of subject merchandise
for which the highest margins
corroborate the 183.80 percent rate as
established in the LTFV investigation
and affirmed in the first and second
administrative reviews. See
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Investigation Prelim; Honey from the
People’s Republic of China: Preliminary
Results of First Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 68 FR 69988,
69991–2 (December 16, 2003) and
affirmed in Honey from the People’s
Republic of China: Final Results of First
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 69 FR 24128, 24130 (May 3,
2004); and Honey from the People’s
Republic of China: Final Results and
Final Rescission, In Part, of
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 70 FR 38873, 38880 (July 6,
2005) (AR2 Final Results).
Based on our analysis of respondents’
margin results, we find that the margin
of 183.80 percent is reliable and
relevant. As the rate is both reliable and
relevant, and no information has been
presented to call into question the
reliability of this information, we
determine that it has probative value.
For the company–specific information
used to corroborate this rate, see
‘‘Memorandum to the File:
Corroboration of the PRC–Wide Adverse
Facts Available Rate,’’ dated December
9, 2005.
We further note that, with respect to
the relevance aspect of corroboration,
the Department stated in TRBs that it
will ‘‘consider information reasonably at
its disposal as to whether there are
circumstances that would render a
margin irrelevant. 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.’’ TRBs, 61 FR at 57392. See also
Fresh Cut Flowers from Mexico; Final
Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 61 FR 6812,
6814 (February 22, 1996) (disregarding
the highest margin in the case as best
information available because the
margin was based on another company’s
uncharacteristic business expense
resulting in an extremely high margin).
Similarly, the Department does not
apply a margin that has been
discredited. See D & L Supply Co. v.
United States, 113 F.3d 1220, 1221 (Fed.
Cir. 1997) (the Department will not use
a margin that has been judicially
invalidated).
The rate applied in this review is the
rate currently applicable to all exporters
subject to the PRC–wide rate. Further, as
noted above, there is no information on
the record that the application of this
rate would be inappropriate in this
administrative review or that the margin
is not relevant. Thus, we find that the
information is relevant. Therefore, the
Department preliminarily determines
that the PRC–wide rate of 183.80 is still
reliable, relevant, and has probative
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value within the meaning of section
776(c) of the Act.
Affiliation
Jinfu has claimed that it is affiliated
with Jinfu Trading (USA) Inc., (Jinfu
USA) within the meaning of section
771(33) of the Act. Section 771(33) of
the Act states that affiliated persons
include: (A) Members of a family,
including brothers and sisters (whether
by the whole or half blood), spouse,
ancestors, and lineal descendants; (B)
any officer or director of an organization
and such organization; (C) partners; (D)
employer and employee; (E) any person
directly or indirectly owning,
controlling, or holding with power to
vote, five percent or more of the
outstanding voting stock or shares of
any organization and such organization;
(F) two or more persons directly or
indirectly controlling, controlled by, or
under common control with, any
person; (G) any person who controls any
other person and such other person. For
purposes of this paragraph, a person
shall be considered to control another
person if the person is legally or
operationally in a position to exercise
restraint or direction over the other
person. To find affiliation between
companies, the Department must find
that at least one of the criteria listed
above is applicable to the respondents.
Though no party in this case is
questioning whether or not Jinfu was in
fact affiliated with Jinfu USA at some
point during the POR within the
meaning of section 771(33), the effective
date of this affiliation is in question, and
is significant to this proceeding for
purposes of determining whether
certain of Jinfu’s U.S. sales should be
reported as ‘‘export price’’ sales or
‘‘constructed export price’’ sales. See
discussion below under ‘‘U.S. Price’’
section of this notice. In this regard,
Jinfu claims that it was affiliated with
Jinfu USA as of October 25, 2002, which
means the two firms were affiliated
throughout the entire POR.
In the most recently completed
segment of these PRC honey
proceedings, the Department
determined that Jinfu was not affiliated
with Jinfu USA until October 25, 2003,
at the earliest. See AR2 Final Results
and accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 8. In making
this finding in AR2 Final Results, the
Department noted that it intended to
examine Jinfu’s date of affiliation
further in the instant review. See id.
In considering for purposes of these
preliminary results whether Jinfu was
affiliated with Jinfu USA under section
771(33) of the Act, we note that in the
previous administrative review, the
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Department found that evidence on the
record in that review did not reflect a
specific date of acquisition by Jinfu’s
CEO of Jinfu USA. Nevertheless, in that
review, the Department found that the
‘‘Certificate of Transfer of Stocks,’’ a
stock ownership transfer agreement, was
the most significant in establishing
affiliation between Jinfu and Jinfu USA.
Specifically, in the AR2 Final Results,
we found that Jinfu’s purchase/
investment in Jinfu USA, as delineated
in the Certificate of Transfer of Stocks,
resulted in a common control
relationship between Jinfu USA and
Jinfu upon the date (October 25, 2003)
that document was signed. See AR2
Final Results and accompanying Issues
and Decision Memorandum at Comment
8. This decision is also consistent with
our findings in the new shipper review
that Jinfu requested. See Final Results
and Final Rescission, In Part, of
Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review,
69 FR 64029 (November 3, 2004) and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 2.
For purposes of this review, the
Department continues to find that the
stock ownership transfer agreement,
which the Department placed on the
record of this review, results in
affiliation between Jinfu and Jinfu USA.
The issue at hand is when the document
was actually signed. The document
itself indicates a date of October 25,
2003. However, Jinfu has stated that the
document was not signed until
December 2003. This information is
contained in an affidavit, signed by
Jinfu’s CEO, in which he states: ‘‘In
December 2003, Jinfu’s Trading council
in the new antidumping new shipper
review asked me for a copy of the
Certificate of Transfer. I realized than
that I had forgotten to sign the
Certificate of Transfer of Stocks. ‘‘ See
Attachment I of the October 5, 2005,
supplemental questionnaire from the
Department to Jinfu; see also
Attachment I of the November 18, 2005,
supplemental questionnaire from the
Department to Jinfu.
However, Jinfu was unable to provide
the exact date in December on which it
was signed. Therefore, according to the
information on the record, the
Department has preliminarily
determined that Jinfu and Jinfu USA
were not affiliated within the meaning
of section 771(33) of the Act until
December 31, 2003, which is the last
possible date that the above–referenced
stock transfer agreement could have
been executed. We note that this
decision is consistent with our findings
in AR2 Final Results. Moreover, in
reaching this decision, the Department
considered the limited additional
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information submitted by Jinfu in this
proceeding, but determined such
additional information did not have
sufficient probative value to call into
question the decision in AR2 Final
Results. For a further discussion of this
issue, see ‘‘Memorandum to James C.
Doyle, Office Director: Analysis of the
Relationship and Treatment of Sales
between Jinfu Trading, Co., Ltd. and
Jinfu Trading (USA) Inc.,’’ dated
December 9, 2005.
Normal Value Comparisons
To determine whether the
respondents’ sales of the subject
merchandise to the United States were
made at prices below normal value, we
compared their United States prices to
normal values, as described in the ‘‘U.S.
Price’’ and ‘‘Normal Value’’ sections of
this notice.
U.S. Price
Export Price
For Jiangsu Kanghong, and certain
sales by Jinfu (i.e., those prior to or on
December 31, 2003), we based U.S. price
on export price (EP) in accordance with
section 772(a) of the Act, because the
first sale to an unaffiliated purchaser
was made prior to importation, and
constructed export price (CEP) was not
otherwise warranted by the facts on the
record. We calculated EP based on the
packed price from the exporter to the
first unaffiliated customer in the United
States. Where applicable, we deducted
foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage
and handling expenses, international
freight, marine insurance, U.S. inland
freight expenses from port to
warehouse, and U.S. import duties and
brokerage and handling from the
starting price (gross unit price), in
accordance with section 772(c) of the
Act.
Specifically, for Jiangsu Kanghong we
deducted foreign inland freight, foreign
brokerage and handling expenses,
international freight, U.S. inland freight
expenses from warehouse to customer,
and U.S. import duties, dock charges,
and brokerage and handling from the
starting price (gross unit price), in
accordance with section 772(c) of the
Act. Based on information obtained at
verification, we made changes to the
U.S. brokerage and handling charges for
certain sales. See ‘‘Memorandum to the
File: Jiangsu Kanghong Natural
Healthfoods Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu
Kanghong) Analysis Memorandum for
the Preliminary Results of Review,’’
dated December 9, 2005, (Jiangsu
Kanghong Analysis Memo).
Based on the Department’s
preliminary decision on affiliation
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74771
between Jinfu and Jinfu USA, the
Department requested that Jinfu supply
EP sales information for all of its sales
to the United States during the POR. For
those sales that the Department
determined should be considered EP
sales for Jinfu, we deducted foreign
inland freight and foreign brokerage and
handling expenses, from the starting
price (gross unit price), in accordance
with section 772(c) of the Act.
Where foreign inland freight, foreign
brokerage and handling, or marine
insurance were provided by PRC service
providers or paid for in renminbi, we
valued these services using Indian
surrogate values (see ‘‘Factors of
Production’’ section below for further
discussion). For those expenses that
were provided by a market–economy
provider and paid for in market–
economy currency, we used the
reported expense, pursuant to 19 CFR
351.408(c)(1).
Constructed Export Price
For Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Zhejiang,
and certain sales by Jinfu, we calculated
CEP in accordance with section 772(b)
of the Act, because certain sales were
made on behalf of the PRC–based
company by its U.S. affiliate to
unaffiliated purchasers. We based CEP
on packed, delivered or ex–warehouse
prices to the first unaffiliated purchaser
in the United States. Where appropriate,
we made deductions from the starting
price (gross unit price) for movement
expenses in accordance with section
772(c)(2)(A) of the Act; these included
foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage
and handling charges, international
freight, marine insurance, U.S.
brokerage and handling, U.S. import
duties, and U.S. inland freight expenses.
In accordance with section 772(d)(1)
of the Act, we also deducted those
selling expenses associated with
economic activities occurring in the
United States, including direct selling
expenses and indirect selling expenses.
We also made an adjustment for profit
in accordance with section 772(d)(3) of
the Act.
Specifically, for Anhui Honghui we
deducted (where applicable) foreign
inland freight, foreign brokerage and
handling, international freight, marine
insurance, U.S. brokerage and handling,
U.S. customs duties, U.S. inland freight
from the port to warehouse, U.S.
warehouse, U.S. dock storage, inventory
carrying costs, credit expenses, other
direct selling expenses (lab tests),
indirect selling expenses, CEP profit,
and added (where applicable) freight
revenue. In its new shipper review, we
found that Anhui Honghui was
affiliated with Honghui USA and that
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the use of CEP sales was appropriate.
See Notice of Preliminary Results of
Antidumping Duty New Shipper
Reviews: Honey From the People’s
Republic of China, 69 FR 69350, 69353
(November 29, 2004), affirmed without
change in Honey From the People’s
Republic of China: Notice of Final
Results of Antidumping Duty New
Shipper Reviews, 70 FR 9271 (February
25, 2005). For purposes of this review,
there is no information on the record
that would cause the Department to
reconsider its affiliation finding.
Therefore, we are continuing to analyze
Honghui USA’s sales to the first
unaffiliated customer.
For Eswell we deducted (where
applicable) foreign inland freight,
foreign brokerage and handling,
international freight, marine insurance,
U.S. brokerage and handling, U.S.
customs duties, U.S. inland freight from
the port to warehouse, U.S. inland
freight from the warehouse to the
customer, U.S. dock storage,
commissions, credit expenses, other
direct selling expenses (lab tests),
indirect selling expenses, CEP profit,
and inventory carrying costs. We
recalculated Eswell’s reported indirect
selling expenses to be consistent with
the Department’s standard methodology.
See ‘‘Memorandum to the File:
Shanghai Eswell Enterprise Co., Ltd.
(Eswell) Analysis Memorandum for the
Preliminary Results of Review,’’ dated
December 9, 2005 (Eswell Analysis
Memo).
For Zhejiang we deducted (where
applicable) foreign inland freight,
foreign brokerage and handling,
international freight, marine insurance,
other discounts, U.S. brokerage, U.S.
customs duties, commissions, credit
expenses, indirect selling expenses, CEP
profit, and inventory carrying costs.
For those sales that the Department
has determined should be calculated on
a CEP basis for Jinfu, we deducted
(where applicable) foreign inland
freight, foreign brokerage and handling,
international freight, U.S. brokerage,
U.S. customs duties, U.S. inland freight
from the port to warehouse, U.S.
warehouse, U.S. inland freight from the
warehouse to the customer, credit
expenses, inventory carrying costs,
indirect selling expenses, and CEP
profit. Although Jinfu reported indirect
selling expenses, the methodology used
resulted in the double counting of
certain expenses. Therefore, we
recalculated the indirect selling
expenses for Jinfu’s affiliated company
using its affiliate’s financial statements
to be consistent with the Department’s
standard methodology. See
‘‘Memorandum to the File: Jinfu Trading
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19:37 Dec 15, 2005
Jkt 208001
Co., Ltd. (Jinfu) Analysis Memorandum
for the Preliminary Results of Review,’’
dated December 9, 2005 (Jinfu Analysis
Memo).
Where foreign inland freight, foreign
brokerage and handling, or marine
insurance, were provided by PRC
service providers or paid for in
renminbi, we valued these services
using Indian surrogate values (see
‘‘Factors of Production’’ section below
for further discussion). For those
expenses that were provided by a
market–economy provider and paid for
in market–economy currency, we used
the reported expense.
Normal Value
Non–Market-Economy Status
In every case conducted by the
Department involving the PRC, the PRC
has been treated as a NME country.
Pursuant to section 771(18)(C)(i) of the
Act, any determination that a foreign
country is an NME country shall remain
in effect until revoked by the
administering authority. See Tapered
Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof,
Finished and Unfinished, from the
People’s Republic of China: Preliminary
Results 2001–2002 Administrative
Review and Partial Rescission of
Review, 68 FR 7500 (February 14, 2003),
as affirmed in Tapered Roller Bearings
and Parts Thereof, Finished and
Unfinished, from the People’s Republic
of China: Final Results of 2001–2002
Administrative Review and Partial
Rescission of Review, 68 FR 70488
(December 18, 2003). None of the parties
to these reviews have contested such
treatment. Accordingly, we calculated
normal value (NV) in accordance with
section 773(c) of the Act, which applies
to NME countries.
Surrogate Country
Section 773(c)(4) of the Act requires
the Department to value an NME
producer’s factors of production, to the
extent possible, in one or more market–
economy countries that: (1) are at a level
of economic development comparable to
that of the NME country, and (2) are
significant producers of comparable
merchandise. India is among the
countries comparable to the PRC in
terms of overall economic development,
as identified in the ‘‘Memorandum from
the Office of Policy to Carrie Blozy,’’
dated March 7, 2005.5 In addition, based
on publicly available information
placed on the record (e.g., world
production data), India is a significant
5 This memorandum is attached to the letters sent
to interested parties to this proceeding requesting
comments on surrogate country and surrogate value
information, dated March 9, 2005.
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producer of honey. Accordingly, we
considered India the surrogate country
for purposes of valuing the factors of
production because it meets the
Department’s criteria for surrogate–
country selection. See ‘‘Memorandum to
the File: Selection of a Surrogate
Country,’’ dated December 9, 2005,
(Surrogate Country Memo).
Factors of Production
In accordance with section 773(c) of
the Act, we calculated NV based on the
factors of production which included,
but were not limited to: (A) hours of
labor required; (B) quantities of raw
materials employed; (C) amounts of
energy and other utilities consumed;
and (D) representative capital costs,
including depreciation. We used factors
of production reported by the producer
or exporter for materials, energy, labor,
and packing, except as indicated. To
calculate NV, we multiplied the
reported unit factor quantities by
publicly available Indian values.
For Anhui Honghui, based on
information obtained at verification, for
these preliminary results the
Department will adjust the labor input
and recalculate energy, labor, and
packing inputs so that they are reported
on the correct per–unit measurement.
See ‘‘Memorandum to the File: Anhui
Honghui Foodstuff (Group) Co., Ltd.
(Anhui Honghui) Analysis
Memorandum for the Preliminary
Results of Review,’’ dated December 9,
2005.
For Eswell, the Department has
adjusted two of Eswell’s reported factors
of production for these preliminary
results, including recalculating one of
Eswell’s packing inputs, but not
including one of Eswell’s reported by–
products, for which it could not
substantiate that said by–product was
sold during the POR, in the normal
value calculation. See Eswell Analysis
Memo.
In the instant review, Jiangsu
Kanghong reported factors of production
beginning at the beehive stage because
it maintains lease agreements with and
pays salaries, rental fees, and bonuses to
its raw honey suppliers. All other
respondents in this proceeding have
reported factors from the raw honey
input stage of production. Although
Jiangsu Kanghong initially only reported
bee medicine and mileage and labor
factors for the beehives, we asked
Jiangsu Kanghong to report other factors
used in the bee–keeping process,
including beehives and all their parts,
bees, and bee farmer tools. We asked
them to report a factor for raw honey
consumption as well. We note that
Jiangsu Kanghong did not place any
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surrogate value information on the
record to value any of the inputs from
the beehive stage of production, though
it did provide surrogate value
information on the record to value
inputs from the raw honey stage of the
production process.
The Department has preliminarily
determined, as discussed below, that it
should value Jiangsu Kanghong’s
intermediate product of raw honey
because we do not find the factor data
for the production of raw honey to be
reliable. To calculate a factor of
production for the number of bees per
kilogram of processed honey (which the
Department requested), Jiangsu
Kanghong used the number of bee
farmers, raw honey produced during the
POR, and consumption of raw honey
per kilogram of processed honey, but
relied on estimates for the number of
bee hives, bees per hive, days in the
POR bee season, and average bee life
expectancy. Jiangsu Kanghong was
unable to provide either verifiable direct
evidence or even authoritative
secondary sources to substantiate the
accuracy of the estimated number of
beehives, bees per hive, and average bee
life expectancy that it reported.
Furthermore, queen bees play an
important role in the honey making
process, yet Jiangsu Kanghong did not
address this element at all in its
reported bee factor of production. See
‘‘Memorandum to the File: Bee
Research,’’ dated December 9, 2005. In
addition, our research has indicated that
bee species matter in terms of
production output and value, yet there
is no authoritative source on the record
supporting Jiangu Kanghong’s claim of
the type of bees that its beekeepers use.
See Id. In summary, the respondent
failed to provide authoritative sources to
indicate the resulting quantity of bees to
value and the appropriate information
with which to value a major material
input at this stage of production. Lastly,
the limited data placed on the record by
Jiangsu Kanghong suggest, contrary to
Jiangsu Kanghong’s argument, that bees
should be considered a factor of
production rather than treated as
overhead because they are ‘‘consumed,’’
similar to other inputs. For instance,
information on the record suggests that
worker bees during the production
season live only from one to three
months. See Jiangsu Kanghong
Verification Report.
At verification, the Department also
found numerous errors with the factors
of production data regarding other
beekeeping inputs. These problems
included three unreported inputs sugar,
royal jelly scraper, and warming cloth.
When beekeeping inputs were
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19:37 Dec 15, 2005
Jkt 208001
examined, we found that the reported
measurements or quantities did not
consistently match the measurements
reported by Jiangsu Kanghong. For
instance, the majority of the
beekeeping–related inputs did not
weigh what Jiangsu Kanghong reported
or contain the exact number of pieces
that Jiangsu Kanghong reported. The
company also did not provide any
supporting documentation
demonstrating the useful asset lives of
the beehives or beekeeping equipment
to substantiate the numbers reported in
its responses. Further, at verification,
we could not reconcile the bee medicine
input nor verify the packing input used
for three of its reported by–products. We
found that the majority of supplier
distances and beekeeping labor hours
were reported incorrectly. In addition,
of the two beekeepers interviewed, one
claimed that he had not repaired his
hives in ‘‘many’’ years, yet we saw
beehive covers obviously made of fresh
wood. Both of these beekeepers said
they did not use bee medicine, though
Jiangsu Kanghong reported this input as
its only raw material in its original
Section C response. See Jiangsu
Kanghong Verification Report.
Because of the many errors in the
factors of production data for raw honey
submitted by Jiangsu Kanghong, the
Department finds that it is not necessary
to reach a determination on whether
Jiangsu Kanghong is sufficiently
vertically integrated to value the raw
honey using a factors of production
approach. Because we do not find the
factor data for raw honey to be reliable
due to the lack of reliable information
regarding bee consumption during the
POR and the many errors found in the
reported data at verification, for these
preliminary results the Department will
value the raw honey consumed by
Jiangsu Kanghong using a surrogate
value for the raw honey itself rather
than a factor of production approach.
In selecting the surrogate values, we
considered the quality, specificity, and
contemporaneity of the data, in
accordance with our practice. See, e.g.,
Fresh Garlic from the People’s Republic
of China: Final Results of Antidumping
Duty New Shipper Review, 67 FR 72139
(December 4, 2002), and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum at
Comment 6; and Certain Preserved
Mushrooms from China Final Results of
First New Shipper Review and First
Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review: Certain Preserved Mushrooms
From the People’s Republic of China, 66
FR 31204 (June 11, 2001), and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 5. When we
used publicly available import data
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74773
from the Ministry of Commerce of India
(Indian Import Statistics) for December
2003 through November 2004 to value
inputs sourced domestically by PRC
suppliers, we added to the Indian
surrogate values a surrogate freight cost
calculated using the shorter of the
reported distance from the domestic
supplier to the factory or the distance
from the nearest port of export to the
factory. This adjustment is in
accordance with the CAFC’s decision in
Sigma Corp. v. United States, 117 F. 3d
1401, 1408 (Fed. Cir. 1997). When we
used non–import surrogate values for
factors sourced domestically by PRC
suppliers, we based freight for inputs on
the actual distance from the input
supplier to the site at which the input
was used. In instances where we relied
on Indian import data to value inputs,
in accordance with the Department’s
practice, we excluded imports from both
NME countries and countries deemed to
maintain broadly available, non–
industry-specific subsidies which may
benefit all exporters to all export
markets (i.e., Indonesia, South Korea,
and Thailand) from our surrogate value
calculations. See, e.g., Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than
Fair Value: Certain Automotive
Replacement Glass Windshields from
the People’s Republic of China, 67 FR
6482 (February 12, 2002) and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 1. See also,
Notice of Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value,
Postponement of Final Determination,
and Affirmative Preliminary
Determination of Critical
Circumstances: Certain Color Television
Receivers From the People’s Republic of
China, 68 FR 66800, 66808 (November
28, 2003), unchanged in the
Department’s final results at 69 FR
20594 (April 16, 2004). See
‘‘Memorandum to the File: Factors of
Production Valuation Memorandum for
the Preliminary Results and Partial
Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review of Honey from
the People’s Republic of China,’’ dated
December 9, 2005 (Factor Valuation
Memo), for a complete discussion of the
import data that we excluded from our
calculation of surrogate values. This
memorandum is on file in the CRU.
Where we could not obtain publicly
available information contemporaneous
with the POR to value factors, we
adjusted the surrogate values using the
Indian Wholesale Price Index (WPI) as
published in the International Financial
Statistics of the International Monetary
Fund, for those surrogate values in
Indian rupees. We made currency
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conversions, where necessary, pursuant
to 19 CFR 351.415, to U.S. dollars using
the daily exchange rate corresponding to
the reported date of each sale. We relied
on the daily exchanges rates posted on
the Import Administration Web site
(https://ia.ita.doc.gov). See Factor
Valuation Memo.
We valued the factors of production
as follows:
To value raw honey, we took a
weighted average of the raw honey
prices for each month from December
2002 through June 2003, based on the
percentage of each type of honey
produced and sold, as derived from
EDA Rural Systems Pvt Ltd. website,
https://www.litchihoney.com (EDA
data), and as submitted by petitioners in
their October 11, 2005, submission. We
inflated the value for raw honey using
the POR average WPI rate.
The respondents in this review
submitted news articles to be used as
potential sources for the surrogate value
data for raw honey, including an article
from the Hindu Business Line dated
January 2004 and an article from
IndiaInfoline.com dated September
2003. We have not used either of these
alternate sources proposed by
respondents in the preliminary results,
as discussed in the Factor Valuation
Memo.
In selecting the raw honey values
from the EDA data as the best available
information with which to value raw
honey in this proceeding, we note that
the Department has conducted extensive
research on potential raw honey
surrogate values for this administrative
review, including data collected from
www.banajata.org, published by the
Regional Centre for Development
Cooperation. The relevant research is
included as Attachment 18 of the Factor
Valuation Memo. However, the
Department cannot confirm the quality
or reliability of the Banajata values
because it was unable to ascertain how
the information published by the
website was collected.
The use of EDA data is also consistent
with the Department’s recent decision
in the second administrative review of
this order. See AR2 Final Results and
accompanying Issues and Decision
Memorandum at Comment 1. For a
further discussion of this issue, see
Factor Valuation Memo.
To value coal, the Department used
data from the Teri Energy Data Directory
& Yearbook, 2003 - 2004, as consistent
with the findings affirmed in Wuhan
Bee Healthy Co., Ltd. v. United States,
Slip Op. 05–142 (CIT 2005). The
Department calculated a simple average
of all types of grade C coal produced by
Coal India Ltd. and its subsidiaries from
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19:37 Dec 15, 2005
Jkt 208001
September 29, 2003, through June 15,
2004. See Factor Valuation Memo.
To value water, we calculated the
average price of inside and outside
industrial water rate from various
regions as reported by the Maharashtra
Industrial Development Corporation,
https://midcindia.org, dated June 1,
2003. We inflated the value for water
using the POR average WPI rate. See
Factor Valuation Memo.
We valued electricity using the 2000
electricity price in India reported by the
International Energy Agency statistics
for Energy Prices & Taxes, Second
Quarter 2003. We inflated the value for
electricity using the POR average WPI
rate. See Factor Valuation Memo.
While Anhui Honghui, Eswell,
Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, and Zhejiang
also identified diesel fuel and gasoline
as inputs consumed in the production of
the subject merchandise, the
Department considers these materials as
overhead rather than direct material
inputs. The Department therefore has
excluded diesel fuel and gasoline from
the normal value calculation.
To value beeswax, scrap honey, paint,
and labels, we used Indian Import
Statistics, contemporaneous with the
POR, removing data from certain
countries as discussed in the Factor
Valuation Memo. We also adjusted the
surrogate values to include freight costs
incurred between the shorter of the two
reported distances from either: (1) the
closest PRC seaport to the location
producing the subject merchandise, or
(2) the PRC domestic materials supplier
to the location where the subject
merchandise is produced. See Factor
Valuation Memo.
To value drums, we relied upon a
price quote from an Indian steel drum
manufacturer from September 2000, as
provided by petitioners in their October
11, 2005, submission at Exhibit 8. We
inflated the value for drums using the
POR average WPI rate. See Factor
Valuation Memo.
To value factory overhead, selling,
general, and administrative expenses
(SG&A), and profit, we relied upon
publicly available information in the
2003–2004 annual report of
Mahabaleshwar Honey Production
Cooperative Society Ltd. (MHPC), a
producer of the subject merchandise in
India, upon which petitioners and
Eswell have argued that the Department
should rely. Petitioners maintain in
their October 11, 2005, submission that
the Department should continue to rely
on the methodology as used in AR2
Final Results for calculation of the
SG&A ratios. Eswell argued in its
October 11, 2005, submission that the
Department should adjust its SG&A
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methodology for the MHPC data so that
the cost calculations reflect the
additional expenses incurred in selling
honey from inventory. Anhui Honghui,
Jiangsu Kanghong, and Zhejiang argue
in their October 11, 2005, submission
that the Department should rely on
information available in an alternate
Indian producer’s financial statements,
that of Apis India Natural Products Ltd.
(Apis), 2003 2004. However, we
preliminarily find that the Department’s
calculation in AR2 Final Results was
appropriate, including relying on MHPC
data as opposed to Apis data, because
the Apis data are not as reliable or
detailed as that of MHPC, and because
the publicly available MHPC
information meets the Department’s
criteria for data on which to base
surrogate financial ratios. Therefore, for
these preliminary results we are
continuing to calculate SG&A based on
the MHPC data as consistent with the
AR2 Final Results. For a further
discussion of this issue, see Factor
Valuation Memo.
Because of the variability of wage
rates in countries with similar levels of
per capita gross domestic product,
section 351.408(c)(3) of the
Department’s regulations requires the
use of a regression–based wage rate.
Therefore, to value the labor input, we
used the PRC’s regression–based wage
rate published by Import
Administration on its Web site, https://
www.ia.ita.doc.gov. See Factor
Valuation Memo.
To value truck freight, we calculated
a weighted–average freight cost based
on publicly available data from
www.infreight.com, an Indian inland
freight logistics resource website. To
value train freight, we used an average
of rail freight prices based on the
publicly available freight rates reported
by the Official Website of the Ministry
of Railways: https://
www.indianrailways.gov.in/railway/
freightrates/freightlcharges.htm.
Consistent with the calculation of
inland truck freight, the Department
used the same freight distances used in
the calculation of inland truck freight,
as reported by www.infreight.com to
derive the surrogate value. See Factor
Valuation Memo.
We valued marine insurance, where
necessary, based on publicly available
price quotes from a marine insurance
provider at https://
www.rjgconsultants.com/
insurance.html. We valued international
freight expenses, where necessary, using
contemporaneous freight quotes that the
Department obtained from Maersk
Sealand, a market–economy shipper.
See Factor Valuation Memo.
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To value brokerage and handling, we
used a simple average of the publicly
summarized versions of the average
value for brokerage and handling
expenses reported in the U.S. sales
listings in Essar Steel Ltd.’s (Essar Steel)
February 28, 2005, submission in the
antidumping duty review of Certain
Hot–Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products
from India, and the March 9, 2004,
submission from Pidilite Industries Ltd.
(Pidilite) in the antidumping duty
investigation of Carbazole Violet
Pigment 23 from India. Since the
reported rate in Essar Steel is
contemporaneous with the POR, no
adjustments to the value were
necessary. However, as the Pidilite rate
was dated from October 2002 through
September 2003, we adjusted this rate
for inflation using the POR wholesale
WPI for India. See Factor Valuation
Memo.
In accordance with section
351.301(c)(3)(ii) of the Department’s
regulations, for the final results of this
administrative review, interested parties
may submit publicly available
information to value the factors of
production until 20 days following the
date of publication of these preliminary
results.
Preliminary Results of Review
We preliminarily determine that the
following antidumping duty margins
exist:
Exporter
Margin (percent)
Anhui Honghui Foodstuffs (Group) Co., Ltd. ...........................................................
Shanghai Eswell Enterprise Co., Ltd. ......................................................................
Jiangsu Kanghong Natural Healthfoods Co., Ltd. ...................................................
Jinfu Trading Co., Ltd. .............................................................................................
Zhejiang Native Produce and Animal By–Products Import & Export Group Corp.
PRC–Wide Rate (including Sichuan–Dujiangyan Dubao Bee Industrial Co., Ltd.
and Eurasia’s Bee Products Co., Ltd.) ................................................................
For details on the calculation of the
antidumping duty weighted–average
margin for each company, see the
respective company’s analysis
memorandum for the preliminary
results of the third administrative
review of the antidumping duty order
on honey from the PRC, dated December
9, 2005. Public Versions of these
memoranda are on file in the CRU.
Assessment Rates
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.212(b), the
Department will determine, and CBP
shall assess, antidumping duties on all
appropriate entries. The Department
will issue appropriate assessment
instructions directly to CBP within 15
days of publication of the final results
of this review. For assessment purposes,
where possible, we calculated importer–
specific assessment rates for honey from
the PRC on a per–unit basis.
Specifically, we divided the total
dumping margins (calculated as the
difference between normal value and
export price or constructed export price)
for each importer by the total quantity
of subject merchandise sold to that
importer during the POR to calculate a
per–unit assessment amount. If these
preliminary results are adopted in our
final results of review, we will direct
CBP to levy importer–specific
assessment rates based on the resulting
per–unit (i.e., per–kilogram) rates by the
weight in kilograms of each entry of the
subject merchandise during the POR.
Cash Deposits
The following cash–deposit
requirements will be effective upon
publication of the final results for
shipments of the subject merchandise
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19:37 Dec 15, 2005
Jkt 208001
74775
151.80%
117.53%
151.13%
115.59%
116.22%
183.80%
entered, or withdrawn from warehouse,
for consumption on or after the
publication date of the final results, as
provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the
Act: (1) For subject merchandise
exported by Anhui Honghui, Eswell,
Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, and Zhejiang,
we will establish a per–kilogram cash
deposit rate which will be equivalent to
the company–specific cash deposit
established in this review; (2) the cash
deposit rate for PRC exporters who
received a separate rate in a prior
segment of the proceeding will continue
to be the rate assigned in that segment
of the proceeding (except for Eurasia,
whose cash–deposit rate has changed in
this review to the PRC–wide entity rate,
as noted below); (3) for all other PRC
exporters of subject merchandise which
have not been found to be entitled to a
separate rate (including Dubao and
Eurasia), the cash–deposit rate will be
the PRC–wide rate of 183.80 percent; (4)
for all non–PRC exporters of subject
merchandise, the cash–deposit rate will
be the rate applicable to the PRC
supplier of that exporter.
These deposit requirements shall
remain in effect until publication of the
final results of the next administrative
review.
Schedule for Final Results of Review
The Department will disclose
calculations performed in connection
with the preliminary results of this
review within five days of the date of
publication of this notice in accordance
with 19 CFR 351.224(b). Any interested
party may request a hearing within 30
days of publication of this notice in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.310(c).
Any hearing would normally be held 37
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Frm 00017
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
days after the publication of this notice,
or the first workday thereafter, at the
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20230. Individuals who
wish to request a hearing must submit
a written request within 30 days of the
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register to the Assistant Secretary for
Import Administration, U.S. Department
of Commerce, Room 1870, 14th Street
and Constitution Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20230. Requests for a
public hearing should contain: (1) the
party’s name, address, and telephone
number; (2) the number of participants;
and (3) to the extent practicable, an
identification of the arguments to be
raised at the hearing.
Unless otherwise notified by the
Department, interested parties may
submit case briefs within 30 days of the
date of publication of this notice in
accordance with 19 CFR 351.309(c)(ii).
As part of the case brief, parties are
encouraged to provide a summary of the
arguments not to exceed five pages and
a table of statutes, regulations, and cases
cited. Rebuttal briefs, which must be
limited to issues raised in the case
briefs, must be filed within five days
after the case brief is filed. If a hearing
is held, an interested party may make an
affirmative presentation only on
arguments included in that party’s case
brief and may make a rebuttal
presentation only on arguments
included in that party’s rebuttal brief.
Parties should confirm by telephone the
time, date, and place of the hearing
within 48 hours before the scheduled
time. The Department will issue the
final results of this review, which will
include the results of its analysis of
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 241 / Friday, December 16, 2005 / Notices
issues raised in the briefs, not later than
120 days after the date of publication of
this notice.
Notification to Importers
This notice also serves as a
preliminary reminder to importers of
their responsibility under 19 CFR
351.402(f) to file a certificate regarding
the reimbursement of antidumping
duties prior to liquidation of the
relevant entries during these review
periods. 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 this
notice are published in accordance with
sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the
Act.
Dated: December 9, 2005.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretaryfor Import
Administration.
[FR Doc. E5–7448 Filed 12–15–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
The Industry Trade Advisory
Committee on Chemicals,
Pharmaceuticals, Health/Science
Products and Services and the
Industry Trade Advisory Committee on
Intellectual Property Rights; Request
for Nominations of Public Health and
Health Care Community
Representatives
International Trade
Administration, Manufacturing and
Services, Commerce.
ACTION: Request for nominations.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Secretary of Commerce
(Commerce) and the United States Trade
Representative (USTR) seek
nominations for the appointment of
public health or health care community
representatives to the Industry Trade
Advisory Committee on Chemicals,
Pharmaceuticals, Health/Science
Products and Services (ITAC 3); and the
Industry Trade Advisory Committee on
Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC 15).
In order to be considered for such an
appointment, a nominee must be a U.S.
citizen, must represent a U.S. entity in
the public health or health care
community, and may not be a registered
foreign agent under the Foreign Agents
Registration Act. A nominee’s interest
and expertise in public health or health
care, international trade, and sectoral
VerDate Aug<31>2005
20:21 Dec 15, 2005
Jkt 208001
issues will be considered. Recruitment
information is available on the
International Trade Administration Web
site at https://www.ita.doc.gov/itac.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Further inquiries may be directed to
Ingrid V. Mitchem, Director, Industry
Trade Advisory Center, U.S. Department
of Commerce, 14th and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Room 4043, Washington,
DC 20230 or Justin J. McCarthy,
Assistant USTR for Intergovernmental
Affairs, Winder Building, Room 100,
600 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC
20580.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
In section 135 of the 1974 Trade Act,
as amended (19 U.S.C. 2155), Congress
established a private-sector trade
advisory committee system to ensure
that U.S. trade policy and trade
negotiation objectives adequately reflect
U.S. commercial and economic
interests. Section 135(a)(1) of the 1974
Trade Act directs the President to ‘‘seek
information and advice from
representative elements of the private
sector and the non-Federal
governmental sector with respect to:
(A) Negotiating objectives and
bargaining positions before entering into
a trade agreement under [title I of the
1974 Trade Act and section 2103 of the
Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority
Act of 2002];
(B) the operation of any trade
agreement once entered into, including
preparation for dispute settlement panel
proceedings to which the United States
is a party; and
(C) other matters arising in connection
with the development, implementation,
and administration of the trade policy of
the United States * * *. ’’
Section 135(c)(2) of the 1974 Trade
Act provides—
‘‘(2) The President shall establish
such sectoral or functional advisory
committees as may be appropriate. Such
committees shall, insofar as is
practicable, be representative of all
industry, labor, agricultural, or service
interests (including small business
interests) in the sector or functional
areas concerned. In organizing such
committees, the United States Trade
Representative and the Secretaries of
Commerce, Labor, Agriculture, the
Treasury, or other executive
departments, as appropriate, shall—
(A) consult with interested private
organizations; and
(B) take into account such factors as—
(i) patterns of actual and potential
competition between United States
industry and agriculture and foreign
enterprise in international trade,
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(ii) the character of the non-tariff
barriers and other distortions affecting
such competition,
(iii) the necessity for reasonable limits
on the number of such advisory
committees,
(iv) the necessity that each committee
be reasonably limited in size, and
(v) in the case of each sectoral
committee, that the product lines
covered by each committee be
reasonably related.’’
Pursuant to this provision, Commerce
and USTR have established and co-chair
sixteen Industry Trade Advisory
Committees (ITACs), plus an ITAC
Committee of Chairs. ITACs provide
information and advice that assists the
USTR to develop U.S. trade policy and
negotiating positions for specific
industry sectors. ITAC members serve
without compensation and are
responsible for all expenses incurred in
attending ITAC meetings. For additional
information regarding ITAC functions
and members, and general qualifications
for membership, visit the ITAC Web site
at https://www.ita.doc.gov/itac.
Commerce and USTR are now
soliciting nominations of
representatives of the public health and
health care community to serve on ITAC
3 and ITAC 15. Nominations will be
considered in light of the eligibility
requirements and selection criteria set
forth below.
Eligibility
Eligibility to serve as a public health
or health care community representative
is limited to U.S. citizens who are not
full-time employees of a governmental
entity, who represent a U.S. entity that
is an organization in the public health
and health care community and who are
not registered with the Department of
Justice under the Foreign Agents
Registration Act. For purposes of the
preceding sentence, a ‘‘U.S. entity’’ is an
organization incorporated in the United
States (or, if unincorporated, having its
headquarters in the United States):
(1) That is controlled by U.S. citizens
or by another U.S. entity. An entity is
not a U.S. entity if more than 50 percent
of its Board of Directors or membership
is made up of non-U.S. citizens. If the
nominee is to represent an organization
more than 10 percent of whose Board of
Directors or membership is made up of
non-U.S. citizens, or non-U.S. entities,
the nominee must demonstrate at the
time of nomination that this non-U.S.
interest does not constitute control and
will not adversely affect his or her
ability to serve as a trade advisor to the
United States; and
E:\FR\FM\16DEN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 241 (Friday, December 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74764-74776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-7448]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
International Trade Administration
[A-570-863]
Honey from the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results
and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration,
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: In response to requests from interested parties, the
Department of Commerce (the Department) is conducting the third
administrative review of the antidumping duty order on honey from the
People's Republic of China (PRC). The period of review (POR) is
December 1, 2003, through November 30, 2004. One named respondent
company had no exports or sales of the subject merchandise during the
POR; therefore, we are preliminarily rescinding our review of this
company. We preliminarily determine that two companies have failed to
cooperate by not acting to the best of their ability to comply with our
requests for information and, as a result, should be assigned a rate
based on adverse facts available. Finally, we have preliminarily
determined that five respondents made sales to the United States of the
subject merchandise at prices below normal value.
We invite interested parties to comment on these preliminary
results. Parties that submit comments are requested to submit with each
argument (1) a statement of the issue and (2) a brief summary of the
argument(s).
EFFECTIVE DATE: December 16, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristina Boughton or Bobby Wong, AD/
CVD Operations, Office 9, Import Administration, International Trade
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-
8173 or (202) 482-0409, respectively.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 1, 2004, the Department published a Notice of
Opportunity to Request an Administrative Review of Antidumping or
Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or Suspended Investigation, 69 FR
69889 (December 1, 2004). On December 30, 2004, the American Honey
Producers Association and the Sioux Honey Association (collectively,
petitioners), requested, in accordance with section 351.213(b) of the
Department's regulations, an administrative review of entries of
subject merchandise made during the POR by 19 Chinese producers/
exporters.\1\ Also on December 30, 2004, Wuhan Bee, Zhejiang, Anhui
Honghui, Eurasia, Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, and Eswell requested that
the Department conduct an administrative review of each respective
company's entries during the POR.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The request included: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Native Produce and Animal By-Products Import & Export Corp. (Inner
Mongolia); Kunshan Foreign Trade Company (Kunshan); Zhejiang Native
Produce and Animal By-Products Import & Export Corp. aka Zhejiang
Native Produce and Animal By-Products Import & Export Group Corp.
(Zhejiang); High Hope International Group Jiangsu Foodstuffs Import
& Export Corp. (High Hope); Shanghai Eswell Enterprise Co., Ltd.
(Eswell); Anhui Native Produce Import & Export Corp. (Anhui Native);
Henan Native Produce Import & Export Corp. (Henan); Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region Native Produce and Animal By-Products; Shanghai
Xiuwei International Trading Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Xiuwei); Sichuan-
Dujiangyan Dubao Bee Industrial Co., Ltd. (Dubao); Wuhan Bee Healthy
Company, Ltd. (Wuhan Bee); Jinfu Trading Co., Ltd. (Jinfu); Shanghai
Shinomiel International Trade Corporation (Shanghai Shinomiel);
Anhui Honghui Foodstuff (Group) Co., Ltd. (Anhui Honghui); Chengdu
Waiyuan Bee Products Co., Ltd. (Chengdu Waiyuan); Eurasia Bee's
Products Co., Ltd. (Eurasia); Foodworld International Club, Ltd.
(Foodworld); Inner Mongolia Youth Trade Development Co., Ltd. (Inner
Mongolia Youth); and Jiangsu Kanghong Natural Healthfoods Co., Ltd.
(Jiangsu Kanghong).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On January 3, 2005, Dubao and Chengdu Waiyuan requested that the
Department conduct an administrative review of each respective
company's entries during the POR. On January 31, 2005, the Department
initiated an administrative review of 19 Chinese companies. See
Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Administrative
Reviews and Request for Revocation in Part, 70 FR 4818 (January 31,
2005).
On February 1, 2005, the Department issued antidumping duty
questionnaires to 18 PRC producers/exporters of the subject merchandise
covered by this administrative review.\2\ On February 3, 2005, the
Department received a letter from Inner Mongolia Youth and Shanghai
Xiuwei stating that neither company sold subject merchandise to the
United States during the POR. On February 22, 2005, petitioners filed a
letter withdrawing their request for review of Kunshan, High Hope,
Henan, Shanghai Xiuwei, Shanghai Shinomiel, Foodworld, and Inner
Mongolia Youth. On February 23, 2005, Anhui Native separately notified
the Department that it had no sales of subject merchandise to the
United States during the POR, and requested that the Department rescind
this proceeding for Anhui Native.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The Department notes that while petitioners requested a
review for Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Native Produce and
Animal By-Products Import & Export Corp. and Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region Native Produce and Animal By-Products separately,
both names refer to the same company.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
On March 9, 2005, we invited interested parties to comment on the
Department's surrogate country selection and/or significant production
in the other potential surrogate countries and to submit publicly
available information to value the factors of production. On March 29,
2005, the Department rescinded this review with respect to Kunshan,
High Hope, Henan, Shanghai Xiuwei, Shanghai Shinomiel, Foodworld, and
Inner Mongolia Youth, because petitioners, the only party to request a
review for these companies, withdrew their request for review. See
Notice of Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review:
Honey from the People's Republic of China, 70 FR 15836 (March 29,
2005).
On April 28, 2005, petitioners withdrew their request for review of
[[Page 74765]]
Anhui Native, and on April 29, 2005, petitioners withdrew their request
for review of Inner Mongolia. On May 25, 2005, the Department rescinded
this review with respect to Anhui Native and Inner Mongolia because
petitioners, the only party to request a review for these companies,
withdrew their request for review. See Honey from the People's Republic
of China: Notice of Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 70 FR 30082 (May 25, 2005).
On June 22, 2005, petitioners filed a letter withdrawing their
request for review of Wuhan Bee, and on the same day, the respondent
also filed a letter withdrawing its request for an administrative
review. On July 21, 2005, the Department rescinded this review with
respect to Wuhan Bee. See Honey from the People's Republic of China:
Notice of Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review,
70 FR 42032 (July 21, 2005). Also on July 21, 2005, the Department
published an extension of the time limits to complete these preliminary
results. See Honey from the People's Republic of China: Notice of
Extension of Time Limit for Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 70 FR 42033 (July 21, 2005).
On October 11, 2005, petitioners and Eswell, Anhui Honghui, Jiangsu
Kanghong, and Zhejiang submitted comments on surrogate information with
which to value the factors of production in this proceeding. On October
18 and 21, 2005, the same parties submitted comments on each other's
October 11, 2005, surrogate value submissions. From October 18 to 21,
2005, the Department conducted verification of the information
submitted by Anhui Honghui, and from October 23 to 27, 2005, the
Department conducted verification of the information submitted by
Jiangsu Kanghong.
With regard to Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Jinfu, Jiangsu Kanghong, and
Zhejiang, between March and December 2005, the Department received
timely filed original and supplemental questionnaire responses and
petitioners' comments on those responses.
Eurasia:
We received timely responses from Eurasia to the Department's
original questionnaire. We subsequently issued three supplemental
questionnaires to Eurasia, receiving responses to the first two
supplemental questionnaires and no response to the third supplemental
questionnaire, sent October 7, 2005. On October 19, 2005, the
Department received a letter from Eurasia's counsel stating that
Eurasia was withdrawing its request for an administrative review. On
October 26, 2005, the Department issued a warning letter to Eurasia,
noting that petitioners had not withdrawn their request for review and
that the Department required Eurasia's response to the supplemental
questionnaire. The Department noted that it might have to resort to
facts available if Eurasia failed to file a response. The Department
received no response to this letter.
Dubao:
The Department received no response from Dubao to its original
questionnaire, sent February 1, 2005. On February 23, 2005, Dubao,
through its counsel, withdrew its request for a review in this
administrative proceeding. On March 7, 2005, the Department informed
Dubao, via its counsel, that petitioners had not withdrawn their
request for review of Dubao, that the Department was proceeding with
the review, and that the Department required Dubao's questionnaire
response or the Department might resort to facts available. On March
17, 2005, the Department notified Dubao for the second time, through
its counsel, that the Department was not rescinding the review with
respect to Dubao and that Dubao risked application of adverse facts
available if it failed to submit a response. The Department did not
receive a response to either letter.
Chengdu Waiyuan:
In response to the Department's issuance of the antidumping duty
questionnaire, on February 23, 2005, Chengdu Waiyuan notified the
Department that it had no sales of subject merchandise to the United
States during the POR, and requested that the Department rescind this
proceeding for Chengdu Waiyuan. We received no comments from any
interested parties regarding Chengdu Waiyuan's request for rescission.
Therefore, because Chengdu Waiyuan had no shipments to the United
States during the POR, the Department is preliminarily rescinding this
administrative review for Chengdu Waiyuan. See ``Preliminary Partial
Rescission of Administrative Review'' section, below.
Scope of the Antidumping Duty Order
The products covered by this order are natural honey, artificial
honey containing more than 50 percent natural honey by weight,
preparations of natural honey containing more than 50 percent natural
honey by weight, and flavored honey. The subject merchandise includes
all grades and colors of honey whether in liquid, creamed, comb, cut
comb, or chunk form, and whether packaged for retail or in bulk form.
The merchandise subject to this order is currently classifiable
under subheadings 0409.00.00, 1702.90.90, and 2106.90.99 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Although the
HTSUS subheadings are provided for convenience and customs purposes,
the Department's written description of the merchandise under order is
dispositive.
Verification
As provided in section 782(i)(3) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as
amended (the Act), and 19 CFR 351.307, we conducted verification of the
questionnaire responses of Anhui Honghui and Jiangsu Kanghong in
October 2005. We used standard verification procedures, including on-
site inspections of the production facilities and examination of
relevant sales and financial records. Our verification results are
outlined in the verification reports, public versions of which are on
file in the Central Records Unit (CRU) located in room B-099 of the
Main Commerce Building. See ``Memo to the File: Verification of Sales
and of Factors of Production for Anhui Honghui Foodstuff (Group) Co.,
Ltd. (``Anhui Honghui'') in the Antidumping Duty Administrative Review
of Honey from the People's Republic of China (``PRC''),'' dated
December 9, 2005; see also ``Memo to the File: Verification of U.S.
Sales and Factors of Production for Respondent Jiangsu Kanghong Natural
Healthfoods Co., Ltd. (Jiangsu Kanghong),'' dated December 9, 2005,
(Jiangsu Kanghong Verification Report).
Preliminary Partial Rescission of Administrative Review
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), we have preliminarily determined
that Chengdu Waiyuan made no shipments of subject merchandise to the
United States during the POR. In making this determination, the
Department examined PRC honey shipment data maintained by U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP). Based on the information obtained from
CBP, we found no entries of subject merchandise during the POR
manufactured or exported by Chengdu Waiyuan to the United States. The
Department also issued a no shipment inquiry to CBP on May 2, 2005,
asking for notification from CBP if it had information contrary to our
finding of no entries of subject merchandise for Chengdu Waiyuan during
the POR. We received no response from CBP. See also ``Memorandum to the
File regarding Entries by Chengdu Waiyuan Bee
[[Page 74766]]
Products Co., Ltd.,'' dated December 9, 2005.
Therefore, based on the results of our corroborative CBP query,
indicating no shipments of subject merchandise by Chengdu Waiyuan
during the POR, as well as Chengdu Waiyuan's claim that it had no
subject shipments, we are preliminarily rescinding the administrative
review, in accordance with 19 CFR 351.213(d)(3), with respect to
Chengdu Waiyuan.
Separate Rates
In proceedings involving non-market economy (NME) countries, the
Department begins with a rebuttable presumption that all companies
within the country are subject to government control and, thus, should
be assigned a single antidumping duty rate unless an exporter can
affirmatively demonstrate an absence of government control, both in law
(de jure) and in fact (de facto), with respect to its export
activities. In this review Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Eurasia, Jiangsu
Kanghong, Jinfu, and Zhejiang submitted information in support of their
claim for a company-specific rate.
Accordingly, we have considered whether each of the companies is
independent from government control, and therefore eligible for a
separate rate. The Department's separate-rate test to determine whether
the exporters are independent from government control does not
consider, in general, macroeconomic/border-type controls, e.g., export
licenses, quotas, and minimum export prices, particularly if these
controls are imposed to prevent dumping. The test focuses, rather, on
controls over the investment, pricing, and output decision-making
process at the individual firm level. See Certain Cut-to-Length Carbon
Steel Plate from Ukraine: Final Determination of Sales at Less than
Fair Value, 62 FR 61754, 61757 (November 19, 1997), and Tapered Roller
Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, from the People's
Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 62 FR 61276, 61279 (November 17, 1997).
To establish whether a firm is sufficiently independent from
government control of its export activities to be entitled to a
separate rate, the Department analyzes each entity exporting the
subject merchandise under a test arising from the Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Sparklers from the
People's Republic of China, 56 FR 20588 at Comment 1 (May 6, 1991)
(Sparklers), as amplified by Notice of Final Determination of Sales at
Less Than Fair Value: Silicon Carbide from the People's Republic of
China, 59 FR 22585, 22586-7 (May 2, 1994) (Silicon Carbide). In
accordance with the separate-rates criteria, the Department assigns
separate rates in NME cases only if respondents can demonstrate the
absence of both de jure and de facto government control over export
activities.
Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, and Zhejiang
(collectively, fully responsive companies) provided complete separate-
rate information in their responses to our original and supplemental
questionnaires. Accordingly, we performed a separate-rates analysis to
determine whether these exporters are independent from government
control.
For the reasons discussed below in the section titled ``The Use of
Facts Otherwise Available and PRC-wide Rate,'' we have preliminarily
determined that Dubao and Eurasia do not qualify for a separate rate
and are instead part of the PRC-wide entity.
Absence of De Jure Control
The Department considers the following de jure criteria in
determining whether an individual company may be granted a separate
rate: (1) an absence of restrictive stipulations associated with an
individual exporter's business and export licenses; (2) any legislative
enactments decentralizing control of companies; and (3) other formal
measures by the government decentralizing control of companies. See
Sparklers, 56 FR at 20589. As discussed below, our analysis shows that
the evidence on the record supports a preliminary finding of de jure
absence of government control for the five fully responsive companies
based on each of these factors.
Anhui Honghui:
Anhui Honghui has placed on the record a number of documents to
demonstrate absence of de jure control, including the ``Company Law of
the People's Republic of China'' (December 29, 1993) (Company Law), the
``Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China'' (May 12, 1994)
(Foreign Trade Law), the revised Foreign Trade Law (April 6, 2004), and
``Administrative Regulations of the People's Republic of China
Governing the Registration of Legal Corporations'' (June 3, 1988)
(Legal Corporations Regulations). See Exhibit 2 of Anhui Honghui's
March 10, 2005, submission (Anhui Honghui Section A). Anhui Honghui
also submitted a copy of its business license in Exhibit 3 of Anhui
Honghui Section A. The Feidong County Industrial and Commercial Bureau
issued this license. Anhui Honghui explains that its business license
defines the scope of the company's business activities and ensures the
company has sufficient capital to continue its business operations.
Anhui Honghui affirms that its business operations are limited to the
scope of the license, though it can be amended if it wishes to expand
the scope of its operations, and that the license may be revoked if the
company has insufficient capital or engages in activities outside the
scope of its business. Further, Anhui Honghui states that the license
must be renewed or reviewed annually, and to obtain a renewal, it must
apply for a renewal and provide a copy of its most recent financial
statements to the issuing authority.
Eswell:
Eswell has placed on the record a number of documents to
demonstrate absence of de jure control, including the Company Law,
Foreign Trade Law, and the Legal Corporations Regulations. See Exhibit
3 of Eswell's March 10, 2005, submission (Eswell Section A). Eswell
also submitted a copy of its business license in Exhibit 4 of Eswell
Section A. The Shanghai Industry and Commerce Administrative Bureau
issued this license. Eswell explains that its business license defines
the scope of its business operations. Eswell affirms that its business
operations are limited to the scope of the license, and that the
license may be revoked if the company engages in illegal activities or
if the company conducts activities outside its authorized business
scope. Further, Eswell states that the license must be reviewed
annually, and to obtain a review qualification, it must apply for a
renewal and provide a copy of its most recent financial statements to
the issuing authority.
Jiangsu Kanghong:
Jiangsu Kanghong has placed on the record a number of documents to
demonstrate absence of de jure control, including the Company Law, the
Foreign Trade Law, the revised Foreign Trade Law, and the Legal
Corporations Regulations. See Exhibit 2 of Jiangsu Kanghong's March 10,
2005, submission (Jiangsu Kanghong Section A). Jiangsu Kanghong also
submitted a copy of its business license in Exhibit 3 of Jiangsu
Kanghong Section A. The Funing County Industrial and Commercial Bureau
issued this license. Jiangsu Kanghong explains that its business
license defines the scope of the company's business activities and
[[Page 74767]]
ensures the company has sufficient capital to continue its business
operations. Jiangsu Kanghong affirms that its business operations are
limited to the scope of the license, though it can be amended if it
wishes to expand the scope of its operations, and that the license may
be revoked if the company has insufficient capital or engages in
activities outside the scope of its business. Further, Jiangsu Kanghong
states that the license must be renewed or reviewed annually, and to
obtain a renewal, it must apply for a renewal and provide a copy of its
most recent financial statements to the issuing authority.
Jinfu:
Jinfu has placed on the record a number of documents to demonstrate
absence of de jure control, including the Company Law and Foreign Trade
Law. See Exhibit A-2 of Jinfu's March 10, 2005, submission (Jinfu
Section A). Jinfu also submitted a copy of its business license in
Exhibit A-3 of Jinfu Section A. The Suzhou Kunshan Industry and
Commerce Administrative Bureau issued this license. Jinfu explains that
the business license defines its business scope and ensures that the
company has sufficient capital to continue its business operations.
Jinfu also affirms that its business operations are limited to the
scope of the license, and that the license may be revoked if the
company engages in activities outside the scope of its business or if
the company goes bankrupt. Further, Jinfu states that the license is
reviewed annually, and to obtain a renewal, it must provide a copy of
its most recent financial statements to the issuing authority.
Zhejiang:
Zhejiang has placed on the record a number of documents to
demonstrate absence of de jure control, including the ``Law of the
People's Republic of China on Industrial Enterprises Owned by the Whole
People'' (April 13, 1988), Company Law, the revised Foreign Trade Law,
and the Legal Corporations Regulations. See Exhibit 2 of Zhejiang's
March 10, 2005, submission (Zhejiang Section A). Zhejiang also
submitted a copy of its business license in Exhibit 3 of Zhejiang
Section A. The Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau of
Zhejiang Province issued this license. Zhejiang explains that its
business license defines the scope of the company's business activities
and ensures the company has sufficient capital to continue its business
operations. Zhejiang affirms that its business operations are limited
to the scope of the license, though it can be amended if it wishes to
expand the scope of its operations, and that the license may be revoked
if the company has insufficient capital or engages in activities
outside the scope of its business. Further, Zhejiang states that the
license must be renewed or reviewed annually, and to obtain a renewal,
it must apply for a renewal and provide a copy of its most recent
financial statements to the issuing authority.
We note that all five of the fully responsive companies state that
they are governed by the Company Law, which they claim governs the
establishment of limited liability companies and provides that such a
company shall operate independently and be responsible for its own
profits and losses. All of the fully responsive companies have placed
on the record the Foreign Trade Law and state that this law allows them
full autonomy from the central authority in governing their business
operations. We have reviewed Article 11 of Chapter II of the Foreign
Trade Law, which states, ``foreign trade dealers shall enjoy full
autonomy in their business operation and be responsible for their own
profits and losses in accordance with the law.'' As in prior cases, we
have analyzed such PRC laws and found that they establish an absence of
de jure control. See, e.g., Pure Magnesium from the People's Republic
of China: Final Results of New Shipper Review, 63 FR 3085, 3086
(January 21, 1998) and Preliminary Results of New Shipper Review:
Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the People's Republic of China, 66 FR
30695, 30696 (June 7, 2001), as affirmed in Final Results of New
Shipper Review: Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the People's Republic
of China, 66 FR 45006 (August 27, 2001). Therefore, we preliminarily
determine that there is an absence of de jure control over the export
activities of Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, and
Zhejiang.
Absence of De Facto Control
Typically, the Department considers four factors in evaluating
whether a respondent is subject to de facto government control of its
export functions: (1) whether the export prices are set by, or subject
to, the approval of a government authority; (2) whether the respondent
has authority to negotiate and sign contracts, and other agreements;
(3) whether the respondent has autonomy from the government in making
decisions regarding the selection of its management; and (4) whether
the respondent retains the proceeds of its export sales and makes
independent decisions regarding disposition of profits or financing of
losses. See Silicon Carbide, 59 FR at 22587.
As stated in previous cases, there is some evidence that certain
enactments of the PRC central government have not been implemented
uniformly among different sectors and/or jurisdictions in the PRC. Id.
at 22586-22587. Therefore, the Department has determined that an
analysis of de facto control is critical in determining whether
respondents are, in fact, subject to a degree of government control,
which would preclude the Department from assigning separate rates.
Anhui Honghui has asserted the following: (1) It is a privately
owned company; (2) there is no government participation in its setting
of export prices; (3) its general manager has the authority to bind
sales contracts; (4) the company's executive director appoints the
company's management and it does not have to notify government
authorities of its management selection; (5) there are no restrictions
on the use of its export revenue; and (6) its executive director
decides how profits will be used. We have examined the documentation
provided and note that it does not suggest that pricing is coordinated
among exporters of PRC honey.
Eswell has asserted the following: (1) It is a privately owned
company; (2) there is no government participation in its setting of
export prices; (3) the president of its affiliated company in the
United States or its designated sales agent have the authority to bind
sales contracts; (4) its management is appointed by its board of
directors and it does not have to notify government authorities of its
management selection; (5) there are no restrictions on the use of its
export revenue; and (6) its board of directors decides how profits will
be used. We have examined the documentation provided and note that it
does not suggest that pricing is coordinated among exporters of PRC
honey.
Jiangsu Kanghong has asserted the following: (1) it is a privately
owned company; (2) there is no government participation in its setting
of export prices; (3) its general manager has the authority to bind
sales contracts; (4) the company's executive director appoints the
company's management and it does not have to notify government
authorities of its management selection; (5) there are no restrictions
on the use of its export revenue; and (6) its executive director
decides how profits will be used. We have examined the
[[Page 74768]]
documentation provided and note that it does not suggest that pricing
is coordinated among exporters of PRC honey.
Jinfu has asserted the following: (1) It is a privately owned
company; (2) there is no government participation in its setting of
export prices; (3) the general manager has the authority to bind sales
contracts; (4) the company's board of directors appoints the company's
management and it does not have to notify government authorities of its
management selection; (5) there are no restrictions on the use of its
export revenue; and (6) its board of directors decides how profits will
be used. We have examined the documentation provided and note that it
does not suggest that pricing is coordinated among exporters of PRC
honey.
Zhejiang has asserted the following: (1) It is a publicly owned
company; (2) there is no government participation in its setting of
export prices; (3) the manager of the Bee Department Number 1 has the
authority to bind sales contracts; (4) the company's president selects
the company's management and it does not have to notify government
authorities of its management selection; (5) there are no restrictions
on the use of its export revenue; and (6) its president decides how
profits will be used. We have examined the documentation provided and
note that it does not suggest that pricing is coordinated among
exporters of PRC honey.
Consequently, because evidence on the record indicates an absence
of government control, both in law and in fact, over each respondent's
export activities, we preliminarily determine that each fully
responsive company has met the criteria for the application of a
separate rate.
Use of Facts Otherwise Available and the PRC-Wide Rate
Anhui Honhui, Eswell, Jiangsu Kanghong, Jinfu, Zhejiang, Chengdu
Waiyuan, Dubao, and Eurasia were given the opportunity to respond to
the Department's questionnaire. As explained above, we received
complete questionnaire responses from Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Jiangsu
Kanghong, Jinfu, and Zhejiang, and we have calculated a separate rate
for these companies. The PRC-wide rate applies to all entries of
subject merchandise except for entries from PRC producers/exporters
that have their own calculated rate. See ``Separate Rates'' section
above.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Chengdu Waiyuan's reply to the Department's questionnaire
was its February 23, 2005, letter stating it had no sales in the
United States during the POR. Based on this and the Department's
analysis of CBP data, we have determined that Chengdu Waiyuan had no
shipments during the POR and therefore we are preliminarily
rescinding this review for Chengdu Waiyuan. See ``Partial
Rescission'' section of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dubao and Eurasia are appropriately considered to be part of the
PRC-wide entity because they failed to establish their eligibility for
a separate rate. Because the PRC-wide entity did not provide requested
information necessary to the instant proceeding, it is necessary that
we review the PRC-wide entity. In doing so, we note that section
776(a)(1) of the Act mandates that the Department use the facts
available if necessary information is not available on the record of an
antidumping proceeding. In addition, section 776(a)(2) of the Act
provides that if an interested party or any other person: (A) withholds
information that has been requested by the administering authority; (B)
fails to provide such information by the deadlines for the submission
of the information or in the form and manner requested, subject to
subsections (c)(1) and (e) of section 782 of the Act; (C) significantly
impedes a proceeding under this title; or (D) provides such information
but the information cannot be verified as provided in section 782(i) of
the Act, the Department shall, subject to section 782(d) of the Act,
use the facts otherwise available in reaching the applicable
determination under this title. Where the Department determines that a
response to a request for information does not comply with the request,
section 782(d) of the Act provides that the Department shall promptly
inform the party submitting the response of the nature of the
deficiency and shall, to the extent practicable, provide that party
with an opportunity to remedy or explain the deficiency. Section 782(d)
of the Act additionally states that if the party submits further
information that is unsatisfactory or untimely, the administering
authority may, subject to subsection (e), disregard all or part of the
original and subsequent responses. Section 782(e) of the Act provides
that the Department shall not decline to consider information that is
submitted by an interested party and is necessary to the determination
but does not meet all the applicable requirements established by the
administering authority if: (1) the information is submitted by the
deadline established for its submission; (2) the information can be
verified; (3) the information is not so incomplete that it cannot serve
as a reliable basis for reaching the applicable determination; (4) the
interested party has demonstrated that it acted to the best of its
ability in providing the information and meeting the requirements
established by the administering authority with respect to the
information; and (5) the information can be used without undue
difficulties.
We find that the PRC-wide entity (including Dubao and Eurasia) did
not respond to our request for information and that necessary
information either was not provided, or the information provided cannot
be verified and is not sufficiently complete to enable the Department
to use it for these preliminary results. Therefore, we find it
necessary, under section 776(a)(2) of the Act, to use facts otherwise
available as the basis for the preliminary results of this review for
the PRC-wide entity.
As stated above in the ``Background'' section, Dubao did not
respond to the Department's antidumping questionnaire. The Department
has no information on the record for Dubao with which to calculate a
dumping margin or determine if it is eligible for a separate rate in
this proceeding; therefore, we find that Dubao has significantly
impeded the proceeding, pursuant to sections 776(a)(2)(A) and
776(a)(2)(B) of the Act. Because Dubao did not respond to the
Department's questionnaires, sections 782(d) and (e) of the Act are not
applicable.
As stated above in the ``Background'' section, Eurasia responded to
the Department's antidumping questionnaire, and two subsequent
supplemental questionnaires. The Department subsequently requested
additional information from Eurasia in a supplemental questionnaire.
See Supplemental A, C, and D questionnaire, dated October 7, 2005. On
October 19, 2005, the Department received a letter from Eurasia stating
that it was withdrawing its request for a review. We note that the
omitted information included details relating to Eurasia's ownership
structure, information critical to the Department's separate-rates
analysis (see ``Separate Rates'' section above), as well as information
on freight expenses and payment. The Department gave Eurasia an
additional opportunity to provide the information the Department had
requested on October 26, 2005. See Letter from Carrie Blozy to Eurasia
dated October 26, 2005. The Department received no response to this
request.
Due to these serious deficiencies, we preliminarily find that
Eurasia has failed to provide the information requested, thereby
significantly impeding the proceeding. Therefore, pursuant to section
776(a)(2)(A), (B),
[[Page 74769]]
and (C) of the Act, the Department preliminarily finds that the
application of facts available is appropriate for these preliminary
results.
Application of Adverse Inference
Section 776(b) of the Act provides that, in selecting from among
the facts available, the Department may use an inference that is
adverse to the interests of the respondent if it determines that a
party has failed to cooperate to the best of its ability. Adverse
inferences are appropriate ``to ensure that the party does not obtain a
more favorable result by failing to cooperate than if it had cooperated
fully.'' See Statement of Administrative Action (SAA) accompanying the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act, H. Doc. No. 316, 103d Cong., 2d Session,
Vol. 1 (1994) at 870. In determining whether a respondent has failed to
cooperate to the best of its ability, the Department need not make a
determination regarding the willfulness of a respondent's conduct. See
Nippon Steel Corp. v. United States, 337 F. 3d 1373, 1382-1393 (Fed.
Cir. 2003). Furthermore, `` affirmative evidence of bad faith on the
part of a respondent is not required before the Department may make an
adverse inference.'' Antidumping Duties; Countervailing Duties: Final
Rule, 62 FR 27296, 27340 (May 19, 1997).
In determining whether a party failed to cooperate to the best of
its ability, the Department considers whether a party could comply with
the request for information, and whether a party paid insufficient
attention to its statutory duties. See Pacific Giant Inc. v. United
States, 223 F. Supp 2d 1336, 1342 (CIT 2002). Furthermore, the
Department also considers the accuracy and completeness of submitted
information, and whether the respondent has hindered the calculation of
accurate dumping margins. See Certain Welded Carbon Steel Pipes and
Tubes from Thailand: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative
Review, 62 FR 53808, 53819-53820 (October 16, 1997).
Pursuant to section 776(b) of the Act, we find that the PRC-wide
entity (including Dubao and Eurasia) failed to cooperate by not acting
to the best of its ability to comply with requests for information. As
noted above, the PRC-wide entity informed the Department that it would
not participate in this review, or otherwise did not provide the
requested information, despite repeated requests that it do so. This
information was in the sole possession of the respondents, and could
not be obtained otherwise. Thus, because the PRC-wide entity refused to
participate fully in this proceeding, we find it appropriate to use an
inference that is adverse to the interests of the PRC-wide entity in
selecting from among the facts otherwise available. By doing so, we
ensure that the companies that are part of the PRC-wide entity will not
obtain a more favorable result by failing to cooperate than had they
cooperated fully in this review.
Selection of AFA Rate
In deciding which facts to use as AFA, section 776(b) of the Act
and 19 CFR 351.308(c)(1) authorize the Department to rely on
information derived from: (1) the petition; (2) a final determination
in the investigation; (3) any previous review or determination; or (4)
any information placed on the record. In reviews, it is the
Department's practice to select, as AFA, the highest rate determined
for any respondent in any segment of the proceeding. See, e.g.,
Freshwater Crawfish Tail Meat from the People's Republic of China;
Notice of Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 68
FR 19504, 19508 (April 21, 2003).
The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) and the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) have consistently upheld the
Department's practice in this regard. See Rhone Poulenc, Inc. v. United
States, 899 F.2d 1185, 1190 (Fed. Circ. 1990) (Rhone Poulenc); NSK Ltd.
v. United States, 346 F. Supp. 2d 1312, 1335 (CIT 2004) (upholding a
73.55 percent total AFA rate, the highest available dumping margin from
a different respondent in a LTFV investigation); see also Kompass Food
Trading Int'l v. United States, 24 CIT 678, 689 (2000) (upholding a
51.16 percent total AFA rate, the highest available dumping margin from
a different, fully cooperative respondent); and Shanghai Taoen
International Trading Co., Ltd. v. United States, 360 F. Supp. 2d 1339,
1348 (CIT 2005) (upholding a 223.01 percent total AFA rate, the highest
available dumping margin from a different respondent in a previous
administrative review).
The Department's practice when selecting an adverse rate from among
the possible sources of information is to ensure that the margin is
sufficiently adverse ``as to effectuate the purpose of the facts
available role to induce respondents to provide the Department with
complete and accurate information in a timely manner.'' Static Random
Access Memory Semiconductors from Taiwan; Final Determination of Sales
at Less than Fair Value, 63 FR 8909, 8932 (February 23, 1998). The
Department's practice also ensures ``that the party does not obtain a
more favorable result by failing to cooperate than if it had cooperated
fully.'' SAA at 870. See also D&L Supply Co. v. United States, 113 F.
3d 1220, 1223 (Fed. Cir. 1997) and Final Determination of Sales at Less
than Fair Value: Certain Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp from
Brazil, 69 FR 76910 (December 23, 2004). In choosing the appropriate
balance between providing respondents with an incentive to respond
accurately and imposing a rate that is reasonably related to the
respondent's prior commercial activity, selecting the highest prior
margin ``reflects a common sense inference that the highest prior
margin is the most probative evidence of current margins, because, if
it were not so, the importer, knowing of the rule, would have produced
current information showing the margin to be less.'' Rhone Poulenc, 899
F.2d at 1190.
Consistent with the statute, court precedent, and its practice, the
Department has preliminarily assigned the rate of 183.80 percent, the
highest rate determined in any segment of the proceeding to the PRC-
wide entity (including Dubao and Eurasia) as AFA. See Notice of Final
Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value; Honey from the PRC, 66
FR 50608 (October 4, 2001) (Final Determination). As discussed further
below, this rate has been corroborated.
Corroboration of Secondary Information Used as AFA
We note that information from a prior segment of this proceeding
constitutes ``secondary information,'' and section 776(c) of the Act
provides that, when the Department relies on such secondary information
rather than on information obtained in the course of a review, the
Department shall, to the extent practicable, corroborate that
information from independent sources that are reasonably at its
disposal.\4\ The SAA states that the independent sources may include
published price lists, official import statistics and customs data, and
information obtained from interested parties during the particular
investigation or review. The SAA also clarifies that ``corroborate''
means that the Department will satisfy itself that the secondary
information to be used has probative value. See SAA at 870. To
corroborate secondary information, the Department will, to the extent
practicable, examine the reliability and relevance of the information
used. See Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts
[[Page 74770]]
Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, from Japan, and Tapered Roller
Bearings, Four Inches or Less in Outside Diameter, and Components
Thereof, from Japan; Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Reviews and Partial Termination of Administrative
Reviews, 61 FR 57391, 57392 (November 6, 1996) (TRBs), as affirmed in
Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and Unfinished,
from Japan, and Tapered Roller Bearings, Four Inches or Less in Outside
Diameter, and Components Thereof, from Japan; Final Results of
Antidumping Duty Administrative Reviews and Termination in Part, 62 FR
11825 (March 13, 1997). The SAA also states that independent sources
used to corroborate such evidence may include, for example, published
price lists, official import statistics and customs data, and
information obtained from interested parties during the particular
investigation. SAA at 870. See Notice of Preliminary Determination of
Sales at Less Than Fair Value: High and Ultra-High Voltage Ceramic
Station Post Insulators from Japan, 68 FR 35627, 35629 (June 16, 2003),
as affirmed in Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair
Value: High and Ultra-High Voltage Ceramic Station Post Insulators from
Japan, 68 FR 62560 (November 7, 2003); and Final Determination of Sales
at Less Than Fair Value: Live Swine from Canada, 70 FR 12181, 12183-4
(March 11, 2005).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ Secondary information is described in the SAA as
``information derived from the petition that gave rise to the
investigation or review, the final determination concerning the
subject merchandise, or any previous review under section 751
concerning the subject merchandise.'' SAA at 870.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
We note that in the LTFV investigation, the Department corroborated
the information in the petition that formed the basis of the 183.80
percent PRC-wide rate. See Final Determination. Specifically, in the
LTFV investigation, the Department compared the prices in the petition
to the prices submitted by individual respondents for comparable
merchandise. For normal value (NV), we compared petitioners' factor-
consumption data to data reported by respondents. See Notice of
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: Honey from
the People's Republic of China, 66 FR 24101, 24105 (May 11, 2001)
(Investigation Prelim), as affirmed in the Final Determination.
To satisfy the corroboration requirements under section 776(c) of
the Act, in the instant review, we compared this margin rate to the
margins we found for respondents in this review. Specifically, we found
that respondents reported sales of subject merchandise for which the
highest margins corroborate the 183.80 percent rate as established in
the LTFV investigation and affirmed in the first and second
administrative reviews. See Investigation Prelim; Honey from the
People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of First Antidumping
Duty Administrative Review, 68 FR 69988, 69991-2 (December 16, 2003)
and affirmed in Honey from the People's Republic of China: Final
Results of First Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 69 FR 24128,
24130 (May 3, 2004); and Honey from the People's Republic of China:
Final Results and Final Rescission, In Part, of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 70 FR 38873, 38880 (July 6, 2005) (AR2 Final
Results).
Based on our analysis of respondents' margin results, we find that
the margin of 183.80 percent is reliable and relevant. As the rate is
both reliable and relevant, and no information has been presented to
call into question the reliability of this information, we determine
that it has probative value. For the company-specific information used
to corroborate this rate, see ``Memorandum to the File: Corroboration
of the PRC-Wide Adverse Facts Available Rate,'' dated December 9, 2005.
We further note that, with respect to the relevance aspect of
corroboration, the Department stated in TRBs that it will ``consider
information reasonably at its disposal as to whether there are
circumstances that would render a margin irrelevant. 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.'' TRBs, 61 FR at 57392. See also Fresh
Cut Flowers from Mexico; Final Results of Antidumping Duty
Administrative Review, 61 FR 6812, 6814 (February 22, 1996)
(disregarding the highest margin in the case as best information
available because the margin was based on another company's
uncharacteristic business expense resulting in an extremely high
margin). Similarly, the Department does not apply a margin that has
been discredited. See D & L Supply Co. v. United States, 113 F.3d 1220,
1221 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (the Department will not use a margin that has
been judicially invalidated).
The rate applied in this review is the rate currently applicable to
all exporters subject to the PRC-wide rate. Further, as noted above,
there is no information on the record that the application of this rate
would be inappropriate in this administrative review or that the margin
is not relevant. Thus, we find that the information is relevant.
Therefore, the Department preliminarily determines that the PRC-wide
rate of 183.80 is still reliable, relevant, and has probative value
within the meaning of section 776(c) of the Act.
Affiliation
Jinfu has claimed that it is affiliated with Jinfu Trading (USA)
Inc., (Jinfu USA) within the meaning of section 771(33) of the Act.
Section 771(33) of the Act states that affiliated persons include: (A)
Members of a family, including brothers and sisters (whether by the
whole or half blood), spouse, ancestors, and lineal descendants; (B)
any officer or director of an organization and such organization; (C)
partners; (D) employer and employee; (E) any person directly or
indirectly owning, controlling, or holding with power to vote, five
percent or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of any
organization and such organization; (F) two or more persons directly or
indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with,
any person; (G) any person who controls any other person and such other
person. For purposes of this paragraph, a person shall be considered to
control another person if the person is legally or operationally in a
position to exercise restraint or direction over the other person. To
find affiliation between companies, the Department must find that at
least one of the criteria listed above is applicable to the
respondents.
Though no party in this case is questioning whether or not Jinfu
was in fact affiliated with Jinfu USA at some point during the POR
within the meaning of section 771(33), the effective date of this
affiliation is in question, and is significant to this proceeding for
purposes of determining whether certain of Jinfu's U.S. sales should be
reported as ``export price'' sales or ``constructed export price''
sales. See discussion below under ``U.S. Price'' section of this
notice. In this regard, Jinfu claims that it was affiliated with Jinfu
USA as of October 25, 2002, which means the two firms were affiliated
throughout the entire POR.
In the most recently completed segment of these PRC honey
proceedings, the Department determined that Jinfu was not affiliated
with Jinfu USA until October 25, 2003, at the earliest. See AR2 Final
Results and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 8.
In making this finding in AR2 Final Results, the Department noted that
it intended to examine Jinfu's date of affiliation further in the
instant review. See id.
In considering for purposes of these preliminary results whether
Jinfu was affiliated with Jinfu USA under section 771(33) of the Act,
we note that in the previous administrative review, the
[[Page 74771]]
Department found that evidence on the record in that review did not
reflect a specific date of acquisition by Jinfu's CEO of Jinfu USA.
Nevertheless, in that review, the Department found that the
``Certificate of Transfer of Stocks,'' a stock ownership transfer
agreement, was the most significant in establishing affiliation between
Jinfu and Jinfu USA. Specifically, in the AR2 Final Results, we found
that Jinfu's purchase/investment in Jinfu USA, as delineated in the
Certificate of Transfer of Stocks, resulted in a common control
relationship between Jinfu USA and Jinfu upon the date (October 25,
2003) that document was signed. See AR2 Final Results and accompanying
Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 8. This decision is also
consistent with our findings in the new shipper review that Jinfu
requested. See Final Results and Final Rescission, In Part, of
Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review, 69 FR 64029 (November 3, 2004) and
accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum at Comment 2.
For purposes of this review, the Department continues to find that
the stock ownership transfer agreement, which the Department placed on
the record of this review, results in affiliation between Jinfu and
Jinfu USA. The issue at hand is when the document was actually signed.
The document itself indicates a date of October 25, 2003. However,
Jinfu has stated that the document was not signed until December 2003.
This information is contained in an affidavit, signed by Jinfu's CEO,
in which he states: ``In December 2003, Jinfu's Trading council in the
new antidumping new shipper review asked me for a copy of the
Certificate of Transfer. I realized than that I had forgotten to sign
the Certificate of Transfer of Stocks. `` See Attachment I of the
October 5, 2005, supplemental questionnaire from the Department to
Jinfu; see also Attachment I of the November 18, 2005, supplemental
questionnaire from the Department to Jinfu.
However, Jinfu was unable to provide the exact date in December on
which it was signed. Therefore, according to the information on the
record, the Department has preliminarily determined that Jinfu and
Jinfu USA were not affiliated within the meaning of section 771(33) of
the Act until December 31, 2003, which is the last possible date that
the above-referenced stock transfer agreement could have been executed.
We note that this decision is consistent with our findings in AR2 Final
Results. Moreover, in reaching this decision, the Department considered
the limited additional information submitted by Jinfu in this
proceeding, but determined such additional information did not have
sufficient probative value to call into question the decision in AR2
Final Results. For a further discussion of this issue, see ``Memorandum
to James C. Doyle, Office Director: Analysis of the Relationship and
Treatment of Sales between Jinfu Trading, Co., Ltd. and Jinfu Trading
(USA) Inc.,'' dated December 9, 2005.
Normal Value Comparisons
To determine whether the respondents' sales of the subject
merchandise to the United States were made at prices below normal
value, we compared their United States prices to normal values, as
described in the ``U.S. Price'' and ``Normal Value'' sections of this
notice.
U.S. Price
Export Price
For Jiangsu Kanghong, and certain sales by Jinfu (i.e., those prior
to or on December 31, 2003), we based U.S. price on export price (EP)
in accordance with section 772(a) of the Act, because the first sale to
an unaffiliated purchaser was made prior to importation, and
constructed export price (CEP) was not otherwise warranted by the facts
on the record. We calculated EP based on the packed price from the
exporter to the first unaffiliated customer in the United States. Where
applicable, we deducted foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage and
handling expenses, international freight, marine insurance, U.S. inland
freight expenses from port to warehouse, and U.S. import duties and
brokerage and handling from the starting price (gross unit price), in
accordance with section 772(c) of the Act.
Specifically, for Jiangsu Kanghong we deducted foreign inland
freight, foreign brokerage and handling expenses, international
freight, U.S. inland freight expenses from warehouse to customer, and
U.S. import duties, dock charges, and brokerage and handling from the
starting price (gross unit price), in accordance with section 772(c) of
the Act. Based on information obtained at verification, we made changes
to the U.S. brokerage and handling charges for certain sales. See
``Memorandum to the File: Jiangsu Kanghong Natural Healthfoods Co.,
Ltd. (Jiangsu Kanghong) Analysis Memorandum for the Preliminary Results
of Review,'' dated December 9, 2005, (Jiangsu Kanghong Analysis Memo).
Based on the Department's preliminary decision on affiliation
between Jinfu and Jinfu USA, the Department requested that Jinfu supply
EP sales information for all of its sales to the United States during
the POR. For those sales that the Department determined should be
considered EP sales for Jinfu, we deducted foreign inland freight and
foreign brokerage and handling expenses, from the starting price (gross
unit price), in accordance with section 772(c) of the Act.
Where foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage and handling, or
marine insurance were provided by PRC service providers or paid for in
renminbi, we valued these services using Indian surrogate values (see
``Factors of Production'' section below for further discussion). For
those expenses that were provided by a market-economy provider and paid
for in market-economy currency, we used the reported expense, pursuant
to 19 CFR 351.408(c)(1).
Constructed Export Price
For Anhui Honghui, Eswell, Zhejiang, and certain sales by Jinfu, we
calculated CEP in accordance with section 772(b) of the Act, because
certain sales were made on behalf of the PRC-based company by its U.S.
affiliate to unaffiliated purchasers. We based CEP on packed, delivered
or ex-warehouse prices to the first unaffiliated purchaser in the
United States. Where appropriate, we made deductions from the starting
price (gross unit price) for movement expenses in accordance with
section 772(c)(2)(A) of the Act; these included foreign inland freight,
foreign brokerage and handling charges, international freight, marine
insurance, U.S. brokerage and handling, U.S. import duties, and U.S.
inland freight expenses.
In accordance with section 772(d)(1) of the Act, we also deducted
those selling expenses associated with economic activities occurring in
the United States, including direct selling expenses and indirect
selling expenses. We also made an adjustment for profit in accordance
with section 772(d)(3) of the Act.
Specifically, for Anhui Honghui we deducted (where applicable)
foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage and handling, international
freight, marine insurance, U.S. brokerage and handling, U.S. customs
duties, U.S. inland freight from the port to warehouse, U.S. warehouse,
U.S. dock storage, inventory carrying costs, credit expenses, other
direct selling expenses (lab tests), indirect selling expenses, CEP
profit, and added (where applicable) freight revenue. In its new
shipper review, we found that Anhui Honghui was affiliated with Honghui
USA and that
[[Page 74772]]
the use of CEP sales was appropriate. See Notice of Preliminary Results
of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Reviews: Honey From the People's
Republic of China, 69 FR 69350, 69353 (November 29, 2004), affirmed
without change in Honey From the People's Republic of China: Notice of
Final Results of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Reviews, 70 FR 9271
(February 25, 2005). For purposes of this review, there is no
information on the record that would cause the Department to reconsider
its affiliation finding. Therefore, we are continuing to analyze
Honghui USA's sales to the first unaffiliated customer.
For Eswell we deducted (where applicable) foreign inland freight,
foreign brokerage and handling, international freight, marine
insurance, U.S. brokerage and handling, U.S. customs duties, U.S.
inland freight from the port to warehouse, U.S. inland freight from the
warehouse to the customer, U.S. dock storage, commissions, credit
expenses, other direct selling expenses (lab tests), indirect selling
expenses, CEP profit, and inventory carrying costs. We recalculated
Eswell's reported indirect selling expenses to be consistent with the
Department's standard methodology. See ``Memorandum to the File:
Shanghai Eswell Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Eswell) Analysis Memorandum for
the Preliminary Results of Review,'' dated December 9, 2005 (Eswell
Analysis Memo).
For Zhejiang we deducted (where applicable) foreign inland freight,
foreign brokerage and handling, international freight, marine
insurance, other discounts, U.S. brokerage, U.S. customs duties,
commissions, credit expenses, indirect selling expenses, CEP profit,
and inventory carrying costs.
For those sales that the Department has determined should be
calculated on a CEP basis for Jinfu, we deducted (where applicable)
foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage and handling, international
freight, U.S. brokerage, U.S. customs duties, U.S. inland freight from
the port to warehouse, U.S. warehouse, U.S. inland freight from the
warehouse to the customer, credit expenses, inventory carrying costs,
indirect selling expenses, and CEP profit. Although Jinfu reported
indirect selling expenses, the methodology used resulted in the double
counting of certain expenses. Therefore, we recalculated the indirect
selling expenses for Jinfu's affiliated company using its affiliate's
financial statements to be consistent with the Department's standard
methodology. See ``Memorandum to the File: Jinfu Trading Co., Ltd.
(Jinfu) Analysis Memorandum for the Preliminary Results of Review,''
dated December 9, 2005 (Jinfu Analysis Memo).
Where foreign inland freight, foreign brokerage and handling, or
marine insurance, were provided by PRC service providers or paid for in
renminbi, we valued these services using Indian surrogate values (see
``Factors of Production'' section below for further discussion). For
those expenses that were provided by a market-economy provider and paid
for in market-economy currency, we used the reported expense.
Normal Value
Non-Market-Economy Status
In every case conducted by the Department involving the PRC, the
PRC has been treated as a NME country. Pursuant to section
771(18)(C)(i) of the Act, any determination that a foreign country is
an NME country shall remain in effect until revoked by the
administering authority. See Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof,
Finished and Unfinished, from the People's Republic of China:
Preliminary Results 2001-2002 Administrative Review and Partial
Rescission of Review, 68 FR 7500 (February 14, 2003), as affirmed in
Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished and Unfinished,
from the People's Republic of China: Final Results of 2001-2002
Administrative Review and Partial Rescission of Review, 68 FR 70488
(December 18, 2003). None of the parties to these reviews have
contested such treatment. Accordingly, we calculated normal value (NV)
in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, which applies to NME
countries.
Surrogate Country
Section 773(c)(4) of the Act requires the Department to value an
NME producer's factors of production, to the extent possible, in one or
more market-economy countries that: (1) are at a level of economic
development comparable to that of the NME country, and (2) are
significant producers of comparable merchandise. India is among the
countries comparable to the PRC in terms of overall economic
development, as identified in the ``Memorandum from the Office of
Policy to Carrie Blozy,'' dated March 7, 2005.\5\ In addition, based on
publicly available information placed on the record (e.g., world
production data), India is a significant producer of honey.
Accordingly, we considered India the surrogate country for purposes of
valuing the factors of production because it meets the Department's
criteria for surrogate-country selection. See ``Memorandum to the File:
Selection of a Surrogate Country,'' dated December 9, 2005, (Surrogate
Country Memo).
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\5\ This memorandum is attached to the letters sent to
interested parties to this proceeding requesting comments on
surrogate country and surrogate value information, dated March 9,
2005.
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Factors of Production
In accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, we calculated NV
based on the factors of production which included, but were not limited
to: (A) hours of labor required; (B) quantities of raw materials
employed; (C) amounts of energy and other utilities consumed; and (D)
representative capital costs, including depreciatio