Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review, 4822-4827 [E8-1444]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• International Trade Administration

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 18 (Monday, January 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4822-4827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1444]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-851]


Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the People's Republic of China: 
Preliminary Results of the Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 28, 2008.
SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce (``the Department'') is currently 
conducting a new shipper review of the antidumping duty order on 
certain preserved mushrooms from the People's Republic of China 
(``PRC'') covering the period February 1, 2006, through January 31, 
2007. We preliminarily determine that the sale made by Ayecue 
International SLU (``Ayecue International'') of subject merchandise 
produced by Ayecue (Liaocheng) Foodstuff Co., Ltd. (``Ayecue 
(Liaocheng)'') (collectively, ``Ayecue'') was not made below normal 
value (``NV''). If these preliminary results are adopted in our final 
results of this review, we will instruct U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection (``CBP'') to assess antidumping duties on entries of subject 
merchandise during the period of review (``POR'') for any importer-

[[Page 4823]]

specific assessment rates that are above de minimis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas Martin at (202) 482-3936; AD/
CVD Operations, Office 4, Import Administration, International Trade 
Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street and 
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 19, 1999, the Department 
published in the Federal Register an amended final determination and 
antidumping duty order on certain preserved mushrooms from the PRC. See 
Notice of Amendment of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value and Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the 
People's Republic of China, 64 FR 8308 (February 19, 1999) (``Order''). 
On February 20, 2007, we received a timely new shipper review request 
in accordance with section 751(a)(2)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (``the Act''), and 19 CFR 351.214(c), from an exporter and 
producer, Ayecue. On April 2, 2007, the Department published a notice 
in the Federal Register initiating a new shipper review for Ayecue. See 
Certain Preserved Mushrooms from the People's Republic of China: 
Initiation of New Shipper Antidumping Duty Review, 72 FR 15657 (April 
2, 2007) (``Initiation Notice'').
    On September 12, 2007, the Department published a notice in the 
Federal Register of the extension of the preliminary results by 120 
days to January 22, 2008. See Certain Preserved Mushrooms From the 
People's Republic of China: Extension of Preliminary Results for 
Eleventh Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review, 72 FR 52078 (September 
12, 2007).
    We issued the general antidumping duty questionnaire, along with 
the standard importer questionnaire for new shipper reviews on April 6, 
2007, and received responses in May 2007. We issued supplemental 
questionnaires from June through November 2007, and received timely 
responses to those questionnaires.

Period of Review

    The POR covers February 1, 2006, through January 31, 2007.

Scope of the Order

    The products covered by this order are certain preserved mushrooms, 
whether imported whole, sliced, diced, or as stems and pieces. The 
certain preserved mushrooms covered under this order are the species 
Agaricus bisporus and Agaricus bitorquis. ``Certain Preserved 
Mushrooms'' refers to mushrooms that have been prepared or preserved by 
cleaning, blanching, and sometimes slicing or cutting. These mushrooms 
are then packed and heated in containers including, but not limited to, 
cans or glass jars in a suitable liquid medium, including, but not 
limited to, water, brine, butter or butter sauce. Certain preserved 
mushrooms may be imported whole, sliced, diced, or as stems and pieces. 
Included within the scope of this order are ``brined'' mushrooms, which 
are presalted and packed in a heavy salt solution to provisionally 
preserve them for further processing.\1\
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    \1\ On June 19, 2000, the Department affirmed that 
``marinated,'' ``acidified,'' or ``pickled'' mushrooms containing 
less than 0.5 percent acetic acid are within the scope of the 
antidumping duty order. See ``Recommendation Memorandum-Final Ruling 
of Request by Tak Fat, et al. for Exclusion of Certain Marinated, 
Acidified Mushrooms from the Scope of the Antidumping Duty Order on 
Certain Preserved Mushrooms from the People's Republic of China,'' 
dated June 19, 2000. On February 9, 2005, this decision was upheld 
by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 
(``CAFC''). See Tak Fat v. United States, 396 F.3d 1378 (Fed. Cir. 
2005).
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    Excluded from the scope of this order are the following: (1) All 
other species of mushroom, including straw mushrooms; (2) all fresh and 
chilled mushrooms, including ``refrigerated'' or ``quick blanched 
mushrooms'' (3) dried mushrooms; (4) frozen mushrooms; and (5) 
``marinated,'' ``acidified,'' or ``pickled'' mushrooms, which are 
prepared or preserved by means of vinegar or acetic acid, but may 
contain oil or other additives.
    The merchandise subject to this order is classifiable under 
subheadings: 2003.10.0127, 2003.10.0131, 2003.10.0137, 2003.10.0143, 
2003.10.0147, 2003.10.0153 and 0711.51.0000 of the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (``HTSUS''). Although the HTSUS 
subheadings are provided for convenience and Customs purposes, the 
written description of the scope of this order is dispositive.

Affiliation and Determination of Respondent

    Based on the evidence on the record of this new shipper review, we 
preliminarily find that Ayecue (Liaocheng) and Ayecue International are 
affiliated pursuant to section 771(33)(E) of the Act. Moreover, even 
though the Department initiated this review with respect to Ayecue 
(Liaocheng), the Department's review of the record evidence 
demonstrates that its parent company, Ayecue International, is the true 
respondent in this segment of the proceeding. This decision is based on 
the fact that Ayecue International conducted all sales-related 
activities with respect to the shipment made by Ayecue (Liaocheng) of 
the merchandise under review to an unaffiliated U.S. customer. Due to 
the proprietary nature of this issue, for a detailed discussion of our 
analysis, see Memorandum to the File from Thomas Martin, International 
Trade Compliance Analyst, AD/CVD Operations, to Abdelali Elouaradia, 
Director, AD/CVD Operations, ``Certain Preserved Mushrooms from the 
People's Republic of China: Affiliation of Ayecue (Liaocheng) Foodstuff 
Co., Ltd., and Ayecue International SLU, and Treatment of Sales, `` 
dated concurrently with this notice (``Ayecue Affiliation and Treatment 
of Sales Memorandum'').

Bona Fide Analysis

    Consistent with the Department's practice, we investigated the bona 
fide nature of the sale made by Ayecue International for this new 
shipper review. In evaluating whether or not a single sale in a new 
shipper review is commercially reasonable, and therefore bona fide, the 
Department considers, inter alia, such factors as: (1) The timing of 
the sale; (2) the price and quantity; (3) the expenses arising from the 
transaction; (4) whether the goods were resold at a profit; and (5) 
whether the transaction was made on an arm's-length basis. See Tianjin 
Tiancheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. v. United States, 366 F. Supp. 2d 
1246, 1250 (CIT 2005). Accordingly, the Department considers a number 
of factors in its bona fide analysis, ``all of which may speak to the 
commercial realities surrounding an alleged sale of subject 
merchandise.'' See Hebei New Donghua Amino Acid Co., Ltd. v. United 
States, 374 F. Supp. 2d 1333, 1342 (CIT 2005) (citing Fresh Garlic From 
the People's Republic of China: Final Results of Antidumping 
Administrative Review and Rescission of New Shipper Review, 67 FR 11283 
(March 13, 2002) and accompanying Issues and Decision Memorandum).
    We preliminarily found that the U.S. sale made by Ayecue 
International during the POR was made on a bona fide basis. 
Specifically, we found that: (1) The timing of the sale does not 
indicate that the sale might not be bona fide; (2) the price and 
quantity of the sale were within the range of the prices and quantities 
of other entries of subject merchandise from the PRC into the United 
States during the POR, based upon the Department's review of data 
obtained from CBP; (3) Ayecue International and its customer did not 
incur any extraordinary expenses arising from the transaction; (4) the 
sale was resold at a profit; and (5) the sale

[[Page 4824]]

was made between unaffiliated parties at arm's-length.\2\
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    \2\ See Memorandum from Thomas Martin, International Trade 
Compliance Analyst, to Abdelali Elouaradia, Director, Office 4, 
``Bona Fide Sales Analysis for Ayecue (Liaocheng) Foodstuff Co., 
Ltd. and Ayecue International SLU,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice.
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    Based on our review of the record evidence concerning the bona fide 
nature of this sale, as well as Ayecue International's eligibility for 
a separate rate (see ``Separate Rates Determination'' section, below) 
and the Department's determination that the seller was not affiliated 
with any exporter or producer that had previously shipped subject 
merchandise to the United States, we preliminarily determine that 
Ayecue International has met the requirements to qualify as a new 
shipper during the POR. Therefore, for purposes of these preliminary 
results, we are treating the sale of subject merchandise to the United 
States as an appropriate transaction for this new shipper review.

NME Country Status

    In every case conducted by the Department involving the PRC, the 
PRC has been treated as a non-market economy (``NME'') country. See 
Brake Rotors From the People's Republic of China: Final Results and 
Partial Rescission of the 2004/2005 Administrative Review and Notice of 
Rescission of 2004/2005 New Shipper Review, 71 FR 66304 (November 14, 
2006). In accordance with 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. None of the 
parties to this proceeding have contested such treatment. Accordingly, 
we calculated NV in accordance with section 773(c) of the Act, which 
applies to NME countries.

Separate Rates Determination

    A designation of a country as an NME remains in effect until it is 
revoked by the Department. See section 771(18)(C) of the Act. 
Accordingly, there is a rebuttable presumption that all companies 
within the PRC are subject to government control and, thus, should be 
assessed a single antidumping duty rate. It is the Department's 
standard policy to assign all exporters of the merchandise subject to 
review in NME countries a single 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 exports. To establish 
whether a company is sufficiently independent to be entitled to a 
separate, company-specific rate, the Department analyzes each exporting 
entity in an NME country under the test established in the Final 
Determination of Sales at Less than Fair Value: Sparklers from the 
People's Republic of China, 56 FR 20588 (May 6, 1991), as amplified by 
the Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Silicon Carbide from the People's Republic of China, 59 FR 22585 (May 
2, 1994).
    As discussed in detail in the Ayecue Affiliation and Treatment of 
Sales Memorandum, the Department has preliminarily determined that 
Ayecue (Liaocheng) should not be considered the respondent in this new 
shipper review. Since Ayecue (Liaocheng) did not have a sale of its own 
during the POR, we are not making a separate rate determination for 
Ayecue (Liaocheng).\3\ However, we have preliminarily granted Ayecue 
International its own rate because it is a company located in a market 
economy country, Spain. This decision is consistent with the 
Department's practice of granting a separate rate when the seller is 
located in a market economy country. See Preliminary Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: 
Certain Activated Carbon From the People's Republic of China, 71 FR 
59721 (October 11, 2006), unchanged in Final Determination of Sales at 
Less Than Fair Value: Certain Activated Carbon from the People's 
Republic of China, 72 FR 9508 (March 2, 2007); and Notice of 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Silicomanganese From Kazakhstan, 66 FR 56639, 56641 (November 9, 2001), 
unchanged in Notice of Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair 
Value: Silicomanganese From Kazakhstan, 67 FR 15535 (April 2, 2002). 
Therefore, the Department calculated a company-specific dumping margin 
for Ayecue International.
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    \3\ The Department notes that although Ayecue (Liaocheng) 
submitted a separate rate application and complete information in 
its Section A questionnaire response, the record evidence 
demonstrates that Ayecue International was the seller of the 
merchandise. See Ayecue Affiliation and Treatment of Sales 
Memorandum.
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Surrogate Country

    When the Department investigates imports from an NME country, 
section 773(c)(1) of the Act directs it to base NV, in most 
circumstances, on the NME producer's factors of production (``FOPs''), 
valued in a surrogate market-economy country or countries considered to 
be appropriate by the Department. In accordance with section 773(c)(4) 
of the Act, in valuing the FOPs, the Department shall utilize, to the 
extent possible, the prices or costs of FOPs in one or more market-
economy countries that are at a level of economic development 
comparable to that of the NME country and are significant producers of 
comparable merchandise. The sources of the surrogate values we have 
used in this investigation are discussed under the ``Normal Value'' 
section, below. On July 12, 2007, the Department determined that India, 
Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Egypt are countries 
comparable to the PRC in terms of economic development, and requested 
comments from interested parties on selecting the appropriate surrogate 
country for this review. See Letter to All Interested Parties, ``New 
Shipper Review of Certain Preserved Mushrooms from the People's 
Republic of China: Ayecue (Liaocheng) Foodstuff Co., Ltd., and Ayecue 
International SLU,'' dated July 12, 2007. No party submitted surrogate 
country selection comments.
    On August 20, 2007, the Department examined the export levels \4\ 
of subject merchandise from the above-mentioned countries and found 
that India and Indonesia are significant producers of comparable 
merchandise. See Memorandum from Thomas Martin, International Trade 
Compliance Analyst, to Abdelali Elouaradia, Director, ``Antidumping 
Duty New Shipper Review of Certain Preserved Mushrooms from the 
People's Republic of China: Selection of a Surrogate Country,'' dated 
August 20, 2007 (``Surrogate Country Memorandum''), at 4. In selecting 
the appropriate surrogate country, the Department examines the 
availability and reliability of data from the countries deemed to be 
economically comparable and significant producers of subject 
merchandise. For a description of our practice, see Department Policy 
Bulletin No. 04.1: Non-Market Economy Surrogate Country Selection 
Process (March 1, 2004). In this case, we found that India has publicly 
available and reliable data that is more contemporaneous with the POR 
than is Indonesia's data. See Surrogate Country Memorandum at 4-5. 
Therefore, since India is a significant producer of comparable 
merchandise, is at a similar level of economic development, and has 
publicly available and reliable data contemporaneous with the POR, the 
Department selected India as the

[[Page 4825]]

surrogate country, pursuant to section 773(c)(4) of the Act. See 
Surrogate Country Memorandum at 5.
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    \4\ The Department was unable to find world production data for 
subject merchandise and relied on export data as a substitute for 
overall production.
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Fair Value Comparisons

    To determine whether Ayecue's sale of subject merchandise to the 
United States was made at a price below NV, we compared its U.S. price 
to NV, as described in the ``U.S. Price'' and ``Normal Value'' sections 
of this notice, below.

U.S. Price

    In accordance with section 772(a) of the Act, we based U.S. price 
on the export price (``EP'') of the sale to the United States by Ayecue 
International because the first sale to an unaffiliated party was made 
before the date of importation and the use of constructed export price 
(``CEP'') was not otherwise warranted. We calculated EP based on the 
free-on-board price to the first unaffiliated purchaser in the United 
States. For this EP sale, we deducted foreign inland freight and 
foreign brokerage and handling from the starting price (or gross unit 
price), in accordance with section 772(c) of the Act. For Ayecue 
International's U.S. sale, each of these services was either provided 
by an NME vendor or paid for using an NME currency. Thus, we based the 
deduction of these movement charges on surrogate values. We valued 
foreign inland freight with the surrogate value for truck freight, 
which we obtained from www.infreight.com. This source provides daily 
rates per truck load from six major points of origin to five different 
destinations in India. See Memorandum from Thomas Martin, International 
Trade Compliance Analyst, to the File, ``New Shipper Review of Certain 
Preserved Mushrooms from the People's Republic of China: Surrogate 
Values for the Preliminary Results,'' dated concurrently with this 
notice (``Surrogate Values Memorandum''), at Exhibit 8. We valued 
foreign brokerage and handling with the publicly summarized brokerage 
and handling expense reported by an Indian mushroom processor, Agro 
Dutch Industries, Ltd. (``Agro Dutch''), in the 2004-2005 
administrative review of Certain Preserved Mushrooms from India. Id. at 
Exhibit 9.

Normal Value

1. Methodology

    Section 773(c)(1)(B) of the Act provides that the Department shall 
determine the NV using an FOP methodology if the merchandise is 
exported from an NME and the information does not permit the 
calculation of NV using home-market prices, third-country prices, or 
constructed value under section 773(a) of the Act. The Department bases 
NV on FOPs because the presence of government controls on various 
aspects of NMEs renders price comparisons and the calculation of 
production costs invalid under the Department's normal methodologies. 
See Tapered Roller Bearings and Parts Thereof, Finished or Unfinished, 
From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping 
Duty Administrative Review and Notice of Intent to Rescind in Part, 70 
FR 39744 (July 11, 2005), unchanged in Tapered Roller Bearings and 
Parts Thereof, Finished and Unfinished, from the People's Republic of 
China: Final Results of 2003-2004 Administrative Review and Partial 
Rescission of Review, 71 FR 2517 (January 17, 2006).
    We calculated NV by adding together the value of the FOPs, general 
expenses, profit, and packing costs. The FOPs for subject merchandise 
include: (1) Quantities of raw materials employed; (2) hours of labor 
required; (3) amounts of energy and other utilities consumed; (4) 
representative capital and selling costs; and (5) packing materials. We 
used the FOPs reported by Ayecue for materials, energy, labor, and 
packing, and valued those FOPs by multiplying the amount of the factor 
consumed in producing subject merchandise by the average unit surrogate 
value of the factor.
    In accordance with 19 CFR 351.408(c)(1), when a producer sources an 
input from a market-economy country and pays for it in a market-economy 
currency, the Department will normally value the FOP using the actual 
price paid for the input. See 19 CFR 351.408(c)(1); see also Lasko 
Metal Products v. United States, 43 F.3d 1442, 1445-1446 (Fed. Cir. 
1994) (affirming the Department's use of market-based prices to value 
certain FOPs). The Department has instituted a rebuttable presumption 
that market economy input prices are the best available information for 
valuing an input when the total volume of the input purchased from all 
market economy sources during the period of investigation or review is 
33 percent or greater of the total volume of the input purchased from 
all sources during the period. In these cases, unless case-specific 
facts provide adequate grounds to rebut the Department's presumption, 
the Department will use the weighted-average market economy purchase 
price to value the input. Alternatively, when the volume of an NME 
firm's purchases of an input from market economy suppliers during the 
period is below 33 percent of its total volume of purchases of the 
input during the period, but where these purchases are otherwise valid 
and there is no reason to disregard the prices, the Department will 
weight-average the weighted-average market economy purchase price with 
an appropriate surrogate value according to their respective shares of 
the total volume of purchases, unless case-specific facts provide 
adequate grounds to rebut the presumption. When a firm has made market 
economy input purchases that may have been dumped or subsidized, are 
not bona fide, or are otherwise not acceptable for use in a dumping 
calculation, the Department will exclude them from the numerator of the 
ratio to ensure a fair determination of whether valid market economy 
purchases meet the 33 percent threshold. See Antidumping Methodologies: 
Market Economy Inputs, Expected Non-Market Economy Wages, Duty 
Drawback; and Request for Comments, 71 FR 61716 (October 19, 2006). In 
this case, Ayecue reported that it did not purchase any inputs from 
market economy sources.
    In addition, we added freight costs to the surrogate costs that we 
calculated for material inputs. We calculated freight costs by 
multiplying surrogate freight rates by the shorter of the reported 
distance from the domestic supplier to the factory that produced the 
subject merchandise or the distance from the nearest seaport to the 
factory that produced the subject merchandise, as appropriate. Where 
there were multiple domestic suppliers of a material input, we 
calculated a weighted-average distance after limiting each supplier's 
distance to no more than the distance from the nearest seaport to 
Ayecue (Liaocheng). This adjustment is in accordance with the decision 
by the CAFC in Sigma Corp. v. United States, 117 F.3d 1401, 1407-1408 
(Fed. Cir. 1997). We increased the calculated costs of the FOPs for 
surrogate general expenses and profit. See Surrogate Value Memorandum.

2. Selection of Surrogate Values

    In selecting surrogate values, we followed, to the extent 
practicable, the Department's practice of choosing public values which 
are non-export averages, representative of a range of prices in effect 
during the POR, or over a period as close as possible in time to the 
POR, product-specific, and tax-exclusive. See, e.g., Notice of 
Preliminary Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value, Negative 
Preliminary Determination of Critical Circumstances and Postponement of

[[Page 4826]]

Final Determination: Certain Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp From 
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 69 FR 42672, 42682 (July 16, 2004), 
unchanged in Final Determination of Sales at Less Than Fair Value: 
Certain Frozen and Canned Warmwater Shrimp From the Socialist Republic 
of Vietnam, 69 FR 71005 (December 8, 2004). We also considered the 
quality of the source of surrogate information in selecting surrogate 
values. See Manganese Metal From the People's Republic of China; Final 
Results and Partial Rescission of Antidumping Duty Administrative 
Review, 63 FR 12440 (March 13, 1998). Where we could only obtain 
surrogate values that were not contemporaneous with the POR, we 
inflated (or deflated) the surrogate values using, where appropriate, 
the Indian Wholesale Price Index (``WPI'') as published in 
International Financial Statistics by the International Monetary Fund. 
See Factor Value Memorandum.
    In calculating surrogate values from import statistics, in 
accordance with the Department's practice, we disregarded statistics 
for imports from NME countries and countries deemed to maintain broadly 
available, non-industry-specific subsidies which may benefit all 
exporters to all export markets (e.g., Indonesia, South Korea, and 
Thailand). 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 Notice of Final Determination of 
Sales at Less Than Fair Value and Negative Final Determination of 
Critical Circumstances: Certain Color Television Receivers From the 
People's Republic of China, 69 FR 20594 (April 16, 2004). Additionally, 
we excluded from our calculations imports that were labeled as 
originating from an unspecified country because we could not determine 
whether they were from an NME country.
    To value the fresh mushroom input, the Department used data from 
the fiscal year 2005-2006 financial statement of Agro Dutch. See 
Surrogate Values Memorandum, at Exhibit 3.
    We valued other raw material inputs (salt, citric acid, vitamin C, 
tin cans and tin lids) using weighted-average Indian import values 
derived from the World Trade Atlas online (``WTA''), for the period 
February 2006 through January 2007. See Surrogate Values Memorandum. In 
addition, we valued packing inputs (cartons, labels, tape, and glue) 
with weighted-average Indian import values derived from the WTA. The 
Indian import statistics obtained from the WTA were published by the 
Indian Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, 
Ministry of Commerce of India and are contemporaneous with the POR. As 
the Indian surrogate values were denominated in rupees, in accordance 
with 773A(a) of the Act, they were converted to U.S. dollars using the 
official exchange rate for India recorded on the date of sale of 
subject merchandise in this case. See https://www.ia.ita.doc.gov/
exchange/.
    To value electricity, the Department used the 2000 electricity 
price in India reported in Energy Prices & Taxes, Second Quarter 2003, 
published by the International Energy Agency. See Surrogate Values 
Memorandum at Exhibit 5, containing information obtained from 
data.iea.org. Since the electricity rates were not contemporaneous with 
the POR, the Department adjusted the value for inflation. Id. at 
Exhibit 5.
    To value natural gas, the Department used information from the 
Natural Gas Authority of India, from February 2005. Because the 
information was not contemporaneous with the POR, we adjusted the 
average cost of natural gas for inflation. See Surrogate Values 
Memorandum, at Exhibit 6.
    To value water, the Department used data from the Maharastra 
Industrial Development Corporation (www.midcindia.org) for June 2003, 
which it found to be the best available information since it includes a 
wide range of industrial water rates. Since the water rates were not 
contemporaneous with the POR, the Department adjusted the value for 
inflation. See Surrogate Values Memorandum, at Exhibit 7.
    To value inland freight expenses incurred for transporting raw 
materials and finished subject merchandise, we used data from 
www.infreight.com. This source provides daily rates per truck load from 
six major points of origin to five different destinations in India, 
from February through July 2005. Since these freight rates are not 
contemporaneous with the POR, the Department adjusted the value for 
inflation. See Surrogate Values Memorandum, at Exhibit 8.
    19 CFR 351.408(c)(3) requires the use of a regression-based wage 
rate. Therefore, to value labor, the Department used the regression-
based wage rate for the PRC published on the Import Administration Web 
site. See https://ia.ita.doc.gov/wages/04wages/04wages-010907.html.
    To value brokerage and handling, the Department used the publicly 
summarized average brokerage and handling expenses reported in the U.S. 
sales listings of Agro Dutch's May 24, 2005, submission in the sixth 
antidumping duty review of certain preserved mushrooms from India. See 
Surrogate Values Memorandum, at Exhibit 9.
    To value the surrogate financial ratios for factory overhead 
(``OH''), selling, general & administrative (``SG&A'') expenses, and 
profit, the Department used the 2005-2006 (April 2005 through March 
2006) financial statements of Agro Dutch and Flex Foods Ltd. (``Flex 
Foods'').\5\ The Department notes that Agro Dutch is a processor of 
mushrooms, and Flex Foods is an Indian producer of mushrooms and 
vegetable products. Therefore, Agro Dutch's and Flex Foods' financial 
ratios for OH and SG&A are comparable to Ayecue (Liaocheng)'s financial 
ratios because Agro Dutch's and Flex Foods' production experience is 
comparable to Ayecue (Liaocheng)'s production experience. Additionally, 
the financial statements of these two companies are contemporaneous for 
two months of the POR. Moreover, an average of the financial statements 
of Agro Dutch and Flex Foods represents a broader spectrum of the 
Indian mushroom industry, than the financial statement of a single 
mushroom producer. See Surrogate Values Memorandum, at Exhibit 10.
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    \5\ Both Agro Dutch and Flex Foods have a fiscal year of April 
to March.
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Currency Conversion

    We made currency conversions into U.S. dollars, in accordance with 
section 773A(a) of the Act, based on the exchange rates in effect on 
the dates of the U.S. sales as certified by the Federal Reserve Bank. 
These exchange rates can be accessed at the Web site of Import 
Administration at https://ia.ita.doc.gov/exchange/.

Combination Rate

    In new shipper reviews, where subject merchandise is exported to 
the United States by a company that is not the producer of the 
merchandise, the Department may, pursuant to 19 CFR 351.107(b), 
establish a combination cash

[[Page 4827]]

deposit rate for each combination of the exporter and its supplying 
producer(s). See Fresh Garlic From the People's Republic of China: 
Final Results of Antidumping Duty New Shipper Review, 67 FR 72139 at 
72140 (December 4, 2002), Notice of Final Results of Antidumping Duty 
New Shipper Review: Certain In-Shell Raw Pistachios From Iran, 68 FR 
353 at 354 (January 3, 2003), and Certain Forged Stainless Steel 
Flanges From India: Final Results of Antidumping Duty New Shipper 
Review, 68 FR 351 (January 3, 2002). The Department has preliminarily 
determined that a combination rate is appropriate in this case, as 
Ayecue International is not the producer of the subject merchandise. 
Therefore, the Department will include in its cash deposit instructions 
to CBP appropriate language to enforce the final results of this review 
on the basis of a combination rate involving Ayecue International and 
Ayecue (Liaocheng).

Preliminary Results of Review

    We preliminarily determine that the following margin exists during 
the period February 1, 2006, through January 31, 2007:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Weighted-
            Exporter                  Manufacturer        average margin
                                                           (percentage)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ayecue International SLU.......  Ayecue (Liaocheng)                 0.00
                                  Foodstuff Co., Ltd..
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Public Comment

    The Department will disclose to parties to this proceeding the 
calculations performed in reaching the preliminary results within five 
days after the date of publication of these preliminary results. 
Interested parties may submit written comments (case briefs) within 30 
days of publication of the preliminary results and rebuttal comments 
(rebuttal briefs), which must be limited to issues raised in the case 
briefs, within five days after the time limit for filing case briefs. 
See 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii) and 19 CFR 351.309(d). 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. Further, the Department requests that parties submitting 
written comments provide the Department with a diskette containing the 
public version of those comments.
    Any interested party may request a hearing within 30 days of 
publication of this notice. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). Interested parties 
who wish to request a hearing or to participate if one is requested, 
must submit a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Import 
Administration within 30 days of the date of publication of this 
notice. Requests should contain: (1) The party's name, address, and 
telephone number; (2) the number of participants; and (3) a list of 
issues to be discussed. See 19 CFR 351.310(c). Issues raised in the 
hearing will be limited to those raised in the briefs.
    Unless the deadline is extended pursuant to section 
751(a)(2)(B)(iv) of the Act, the Department will issue the final 
results of this new shipper review, including the results of our 
analysis of the issues raised by the parties in their comments, within 
90 days of publication of these preliminary results.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuing the final results of the review, the Department shall 
determine, and CBP shall assess, antidumping duties on all appropriate 
entries. The Department intends to issue assessment instructions to CBP 
15 days after the date of publication of the final results of review. 
Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1), we will calculate importer-specific 
ad valorem duty assessment rates based on the ratio of the total amount 
of the dumping margins calculated for the examined sales to the total 
entered value of those same sales. We will instruct CBP to assess 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this review if 
any importer-specific assessment rate calculated in the final results 
of this review is above de minimis. However, the final results of this 
review shall be the basis for the assessment of antidumping duties on 
entries of merchandise covered by the final results of these reviews 
and for future deposits of estimated duties, where applicable.

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements, when imposed, will be 
effective upon publication of the final results of this new shipper 
review for all shipments of subject merchandise exported by Ayecue 
International and produced by Ayecue (Liaocheng) entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as 
provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) For subject 
merchandise exported by Ayecue International and produced by Ayecue 
(Liaocheng), the cash-deposit rate will be that established in the 
final results of this review; (2) for subject merchandise exported by 
Ayecue International but not manufactured by Ayecue (Liaocheng), the 
cash deposit rate will continue to be the PRC-wide rate (i.e., 198.63 
percent); and (3) for subject merchandise manufactured by Ayecue 
(Liaocheng) but exported by any party other than Ayecue International, 
the cash deposit rate will be the rate applicable to the exporter. If 
the cash deposit rate calculated for Ayecue International in the final 
results is zero or de minimis, no cash deposit will be required for 
entries of subject merchandise exported by Ayecue International and 
produced by Ayecue (Liaocheng). These cash deposit requirements, when 
imposed, shall remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of their 
responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this review period. Failure to comply 
with this requirement could result in the Secretary's presumption that 
reimbursement of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent 
assessment of double antidumping duties.
    This new shipper review and notice are in accordance with sections 
751(a)(2)(B) and 777(i) of the Act and 19 CFR 351.214(h)(i).

    Dated: January 18, 2008.
David M. Spooner,
Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-1444 Filed 1-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P