Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Orange Juice from Brazil, 51798-51800 [E7-17873]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51798-51800]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-17873]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-351-840]


Notice of Initiation and Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty 
Changed Circumstances Review: Certain Orange Juice from Brazil

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
SUMMARY: Fischer S/A--Agroindustria (Fischer Agroindustria) has 
requested a changed circumstances review of the antidumping duty order 
on certain orange juice from Brazil pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of 
the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act) and 19 CFR 351.216(b). The 
Department of Commerce (the Department) is initiating this changed 
circumstances review and issuing this notice of preliminary results 
pursuant to 19 CFR 351.221(c)(3)(ii). We have preliminarily determined 
that Fischer S.A. Comercio, Industria and Agricultura (Fischer 
Comercio) is the successor-in-interest to Fischer Agroindustria.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 11, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Eastwood, AD/CVD Operations, 
Office 2, Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone (202) 482-3874.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On March 9, 2006, the Department published in the Federal Register 
an antidumping duty order on certain orange juice from Brazil.
    On May 21, 2007, Fischer Agroindustria requested an expedited 
changed circumstances review to determine that Fischer Comercio is the 
successor-in-interest to Fischer Agroindustria and, therefore, that 
Fischer Comercio is subject to the antidumping duty order on certain 
orange juice from Brazil.
    On May 29, 2007, we requested additional information from Fischer 
Agroindustria regarding the factors the Department examines when 
conducting a changed circumstances review. On June 27, 2007, Fischer 
Agroindustria submitted this requested information, indicating that 
assets of Fischer Agroindustria were spun off and merged with Fischer 
Comercio. On August 2, 2007, we requested additional supporting 
documentation from Fischer Agroindustria to substantiate its assertions 
that the management, suppliers, and customers of the company had not 
changed as a result of the merger. On August 9 and 13, 2007, Fischer 
submitted this requested information. According to Fischer 
Agroindustria, it is necessary for the Department to determine that 
Fischer Comercio is the successor-in-interest to Fischer Agroindustria 
so that Fischer Comercio's entries of subject merchandise continue to 
receive Fischer Agroindustria's antidumping duty rate from U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection (CBP).

Scope of the Order

    The scope of this order includes certain orange juice for transport 
and/or further manufacturing, produced in two different forms: (1) 
frozen orange juice in a highly concentrated form, sometimes referred 
to as FCOJM; and (2) pasteurized single-strength orange juice which has 
not been concentrated, referred to as NFC. At the time of the filing of 
the petition, there was an existing antidumping duty order on FCOJ from 
Brazil. See Antidumping Duty Order; Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice 
from Brazil, 52 FR 16426 (May 5, 1987). Therefore, the scope of this 
order with regard to FCOJM covers only FCOJM produced and/or exported 
by those companies which were

[[Page 51799]]

excluded or revoked from the pre-existing antidumping order on FCOJ 
from Brazil as of December 27, 2004. Those companies are Cargill Citrus 
Limitada (Cargill), Coinbra-Frutesp S.A. (Coinbra-Frutesp), Sucocitrico 
Cutrale, S.A. (Cutrale), Fischer Agroindustria, and Montecitrus Trading 
S.A. (Montecitrus).
    Excluded from the scope of the order are reconstituted orange juice 
and frozen concentrated orange juice for retail (FCOJR). Reconstituted 
orange juice is produced through further manufacture of FCOJM, by 
adding water, oils and essences to the orange juice concentrate. FCOJR 
is concentrated orange juice, typically at 42[lsqb]deg[rsqb] Brix, in a 
frozen state, packed in retail-sized containers ready for sale to 
consumers. FCOJR, a finished consumer product, is produced through 
further manufacture of FCOJM, a bulk manufacturer's product. The 
subject merchandise is currently classifiable under subheadings 
2009.11.00, 2009.12.25, 2009.12.45, and 2009.19.00 of the Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). These HTSUS subheadings 
are provided for convenience and for customs purposes only and are not 
dispositive. Rather, the written description of the scope of this order 
is dispositive.

Initiation and Preliminary Results

    Pursuant to section 751(b)(1) of the Act, the Department will 
conduct a changed circumstances review upon receipt of information 
concerning, or a request from an interested party for a review of, an 
antidumping duty order which shows changed circumstances sufficient to 
warrant a review of the order. As indicated in the ``Background'' 
section, we have received information indicating that assets of Fischer 
Agroindustria were spun off and merged with Fischer Comercio. This 
constitutes changed circumstances warranting a review of the order. 
Therefore, in accordance with section 751(b)(1) of the Act, we are 
initiating a changed circumstances review based upon the information 
contained in Fischer Agroindustria's submissions.
    Section 351.221(c)(3)(ii) of the Department's regulations permits 
the Department to combine the notice of initiation of a changed 
circumstances review and the notice of preliminary results if the 
Department concludes that expedited action is warranted. In this 
instance, because we have on the record the information necessary to 
make a preliminary finding, we find that expedited action is warranted 
and have combined the notice of initiation and the notice of 
preliminary results.
    In making a successor-in-interest determination, the Department 
examines several factors including, but not limited to, changes in: (1) 
management; (2) production facilities; (3) supplier relationships; and 
(4) customer base. See, e.g., Notice of Final Results of Changed 
Circumstances Antidumping Duty Administrative Review: Polychloroprene 
Rubber From Japan, 67 FR 58 (Jan. 2, 2002); Brass Sheet and Strip from 
Canada: Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review, 57 FR 
20460, 20462 (May 13, 1992). While no single factor or combination of 
these factors will necessarily provide a dispositive indication of a 
successor-in-interest relationship, the Department will generally 
consider the new company to be the successor to the previous company if 
the new company's resulting operation is not materially dissimilar to 
that of its predecessor. See, e.g., Fresh and Chilled Atlantic Salmon 
from Norway; Final Results of Changed Circumstances Antidumping Duty 
Administrative Review, 64 FR 9979 (Mar. 1, 1999); Industrial Phosphoric 
Acid from Israel; Final Results of Changed Circumstances Review, 59 FR 
6944 (Feb. 14, 1994). Thus, if the evidence demonstrates that, with 
respect to the production and sale of the subject merchandise, the new 
company operates as the same business entity as the former company, the 
Department will accord the new company the same antidumping treatment 
as its predecessor.
    In its May 21, 2007, submission, Fischer Agroindustria states that 
the operational functions of Fischer Agroindustria were collapsed into 
Fischer Comercio. According to Fischer Agroindustria's June 27, 2007, 
submission, the company's management, production facilities and 
customer/supplier relationships have not changed as a result of the 
merger. To support its claims, Fischer Agroindustria submitted the 
following documents: (1) organizational charts from before and after 
the date of the merger; (2) minutes from the special meeting of 
shareholders for Fischer Agroindustria held December 31, 2006; (3) 
minutes from the special meeting of shareholders for Fischer Comercio 
held December 31, 2006; (4) the ``Protocol for Justification of Spin-
Off Followed by Merger'' (the Protocol); (5) the list of shareholders 
of Fischer Comercio before and after the merger, as filed with the 
Register of Commerce in Brazil; (6) approval from the Register of 
Commerce of the minutes of the December 31, 2006, special meetings of 
Fischer Agroindustria and Fischer Comercio and of the Protocol; (7) a 
list of the managers of Fischer Agroindustria before the merger and 
Fischer Comercio after the merger; (8) a list of the suppliers of 
Fischer Agroindustria before the merger and Fischer Comercio after the 
merger; and (9) a list of the customers of Fischer Agroindustria before 
the merger and Fischer Comercio after the merger.
    Based on the information submitted by Fischer Agroindustria, we 
preliminarily find that Fischer Comercio is the successor-in-interest 
to Fischer Agroindustria. Based on the evidence reviewed, we find that 
Fischer Comercio operates as the same business entity as Fischer 
Agroindustria and that the production facilities, supplier 
relationships, and customers have not changed as a result of the 
merger. Further, the companies' senior management is largely the same. 
Thus, we preliminarily find that Fischer Comercio should receive the 
same antidumping duty cash-deposit rate (i.e., 12.46 percent) with 
respect to the subject merchandise as Fischer Agroindustria, its 
predecessor company.
    However, because cash deposits are only estimates of the amount of 
antidumping duties that will be due, changes in cash deposit rates are 
not made retroactive. If Fischer Comercio believes that the deposits 
paid exceed the actual amount of dumping, it is entitled to request an 
administrative review during the anniversary month of the publication 
of the order of those entries to determine the proper assessment rate 
and receive a refund of any excess deposits. See Certain Hot-Rolled 
Lead and Bismuth Carbon Steel Products From the United Kingdom: Final 
Results of Changed-Circumstances Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 64 FR 66880 (Nov. 30, 1999). As a result, if 
these preliminary results are adopted in our final results of this 
changed circumstances review, we will instruct CBP to suspend shipments 
of subject merchandise made by Fischer Comercio at Fischer 
Agroindustria's cash deposit rate (i.e., 12.46 percent).

Public Comment

    Any interested party may request a hearing within 30 days of 
publication of this notice. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). A hearing, if 
requested, will be held 44 days after the date of publication of this 
notice, or the first working day thereafter. Interested parties may 
submit case briefs and/or written comments not later than 30 days after 
the date of publication of this notice. Rebuttal briefs and rebuttals 
to written

[[Page 51800]]

comments, which must be limited to issues raised in such briefs or 
comments, may be filed not later than 37 days after the date of 
publication of this notice. Parties who submit arguments are requested 
to submit with the argument: (1) a statement of the issue; (2) a brief 
summary of the argument; and (3) a table of authorities.
    Consistent with 19 CFR 351.216(e), we will issue the final results 
of this changed circumstances review no later than 270 days after the 
date on which this review was initiated, or within 45 days if all 
parties agree to our preliminary finding. We are issuing and publishing 
this finding and notice in accordance with sections 751(b)(1) and 
777(i)(1) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.216.

    Dated: September 5, 2007.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E7-17873 Filed 9-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-S